Free Cold Stone

Cold Stone is offering a free 3 oz. Jack's Creation ice cream today from 5pm to 8pm with a donation to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. According to the Cold Stone website, Jack's Creation is a "Sweet Cream Ice Cream mixed with Brownies and Rainbow Sprinkles and topped with Caramel."

Feel good about supporting this wonderful organization and get some great ice cream! Find the store nearest you here.

(picture via Cold Stone website)

Bad Ass Coffee Company

Need a little caffeine fix? Head over to Bad Ass Coffee Company (with a friend) for a Buy One, Get One Free Coffee with this coupon. Read a recent review from hamptonroads.com here.

(photo via bad ass)

Location: 619 18th Street, Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Phone*: 757 233 4007
Menu


*Coupon valid at the time of writing. Please visit the website or call to confirm.

Keagans

If you are trying to figure out a great way to start the week, try a half price burger from Keagan's tomorrow. That's right, all day Monday burgers are half price. Try the Belfast Black and Blue Burger (blackened, topped with bleu cheese), the Chesapeake Bay Crab Burger (topped with lump crab and cheddar), the Whisky BBQ Burger or the Keagans Burger normally priced $7.99 or $8.99 for just $3.99 or $4.50, respectively. They also have a veggie burger option.

Arrive before 7pm to enjoy happy hour specials. Draft beer (16 oz., I believe) are $2.50 and there are many to choose from. Well drinks are just $2.50. There are other specials as well, so be sure to ask your server.

On a recent monday night R and I both enjoyed burgers and a beer for a total of $13.82. That's a deal. And we were able to enjoy a gorgeous evening by sitting in the outdoor patio space at the Town Center location in Virginia Beach.

$5.99 Lunch Specials (include drink and choice of side)
Monday: Chicken Salad Wrap; Half Price Burgers
Tuesday: Corned Beef and Cabbage
Wednesday: Irish Sausage Sub
Thursday: Open Face Prime Rib Sandwich
Friday: Fried Flounder Club

Dinner Specials
Sunday: "Serve Your Country Night" = Buy one entree, get one (of equal or lesser value) free with valid (active duty or retired), Police, Firefighter or Teacher ID.
Monday: Half Off Burgers
Tuesday: $.35 wings and $1.50 Red Stripe with an order of wings (additional Red Stripe $2)
Wednesday: Prime Rib Dinner (4pm - 10pm) $10.99
Thursday: "Appy Hour" = Half off appetizers 4pm to close

Menu: http://www.keagans.com/menu.php
Coupon: 15% off entree up to 6 people available here
Other reviews: here
Locations: http://www.keagans.com/
Phone*: Town Center - 757 961 4432


*Deals and details were valid at the time of writing. Please visit the website or call to confirm.

Saturday Sips

A recent issue of Food and Wine magazine lists "ultravalue" California wines. The three selections are a 2007 Delicato Family Vineyards Chardonnay, a 2007 TBD Rouge and NV Barefoot Zinfandel.

I love lists of inexpensive wines, but always have trouble finding them. Realistically speaking, if Total Wine or the local wine store doesn't have them I give up the search. Luckily, these wines are easily accessible in Hampton Roads. You can purchase the Delicato Chardonnay from Harris Teeter, Food Lion or the Fresh Market (and probably other locations as well, use this nifty link from the Delicato site and enter your zip code for the nearest location). The TBD Rouge is available at Trader Joe's. The Food & Wine article actually mentions that TBD is a Trader Joe's "house brand."

R and I are big fans of zinfandel which dominates the TBD Rouge blend, so we thought we would give it a whirl. Note that the front of the bottle actually says TBD Red Wine and only says rouge on the back label. TBD Rouge did not disappoint. Despite it's high alcohol content, it was smooth, pleasant and thoroughly enjoyable. We felt that it was a great value and plan on going back to Trader Joe's to pick up a few more bottles to keep around.

Virginia Beach Wine Week

I'm a bit behind the curve on this one, but did you know that it's Virginia Beach Wine Week?

(photo via Virginia Beach Wine Week website)

You can learn more from the Virginia Beach Wine Week website, but here are a few highlights:

• Saturday morning (9/19) at the Old Beach Farmers Market wine pros will be pouring several Virginia wines for your tasting pleasure. Plus, there are only 2 more weeks of the season left for this charming little farmer's market so make your way down to 19th Street at the oceanfront (in the Croc's parking lot).


• Waterman's is offering daily Virginia wine selections at half off.


• There are a multitude of other restaurants pouring Virginia wine.

Belvedere Coffee Shop

I have been wanting to check out the Belvedere Coffee Shop for weeks. I heard about it a while back from my dad and have been enchanted with the vintage appeal of hotel in which it resides ever since. Plus, it's called the Belvedere which to me just sounds awesome. The coffee shop is on the bottom left below with the blue awnings.

(photo via Sunny Day Guide)

Finally after pestering everyone I know and love to go with me to the Belvedere, I made my way there for breakfast on a recent week day morning. I was the first to arrive and so I sat down in one of just a handful of booths, ordered a coffee and simply took in the beauty of the view. The coffee shop is directly on the Virginia Beach boardwalk and boasts unobstructed ocean views. With Labor Day behind us, the boardwalk was quiet and only a few people were walking about with their dogs. The ocean on this particular morning was about as calm as I've ever seen it which leant an air of tranquility to the coffee shop and to my experience. By the end of breakfast I felt like I had just done yoga, not eaten eggs and hashbrowns. My particular seat (as is the case with about half in the restaurant) directly faced the ocean and large glass windows provided panoramic views. Fear not if you end up sitting with your back to the ocean, as the wall you are facing hosts a large mirror reflecting the ocean views. I try not to gawk at the dolphins that grace us with their presence in the summer because this is a telltale sign that you are from out of town, but this morning I couldn't help oo-ing and ah-ing over the acrobatics they were displaying.

The restaurant is small and is apparently very crowded on weekend mornings, espeically in the summer. There were plenty of seats available on the that particular morning. The rest of the breakfast party (read: my parents) arrived and we ordered breakfast. We loved the feel of the restaurant -- very minimalist (playing up the great views) but in a classic diner by the sea sort of way.

The menu is reasonably priced. Two eggs and toast was $3.10. Dishes like Steak and Eggs are more expensive, but I don't think anything on the menu was over $10 (including lunch entrees). The wait staff and cooks were very kind and constantly mindful of the blinds, ensuring that views were maximized and squinting from the sun was minimized. We parked in the hotel's parking lot, but were sure to ask for permission from the gentlemen at the front desk. He assured us that it was no problem.


The Belvedere Coffee shop is a Deliberate Dining pick because it reminds us of everything we love about Virginia Beach. The food is inexpensive, the staff is friendly and the restaurant is really the perfect spot to soak in the beach. Check out other reviews here. The restaurant was also featured in Frommer's.



Location: 3601 Atlantic Ave Virginia Beach, VA 23451-2706
Phone: (757) 425-0613
Hours: Daily from 7:00 to 2:30

Five 01 City Grill

I'm going to kick this off with a classic, Five 01 City Grill. It's quite simple - if you haven't been to 501, you should go. This is one of our go to spots on Wednesday nights when all of the pizzas are $5.99. If we arrive between 7 and 8 we plan on waiting 10-20 minutes for a table which is really no problem since Pacifico (a favorite beer) and Corona are only $2 all night. We have tried just about every pizza on the menu and they are all great. Recently, I had the Bbq Chicken Pizza but requested shrimp instead of chicken. I wasn't disappointed. A perennial favorite is the Wolfgang's Shrimp and Goat Cheese Pizza. I always look forward to lunch on Thursday since the pizzas are large and I always take half home.

We have been trying to pry ourselves away from pizza night to try Tuesday Night Tapas and Wine, but we have been unsuccessful thus far. On Tuesday night the Spa Menu (available here) is specially priced at $10 and all wine (by the glass or bottle) is half price. We'll let you know when we've tried it out.

(photos via Five 01 website)

UPDATE 1/16/10: R and I went to pizza night this week and I ordered the BBQ pizza with shrimp. Much to my dismay, 501 has switched to using bay shrimp on the pizza and they had a very fishy taste which I did not enjoy. I would not recommend ordering this pizza. R's Manhattan pizza was still great though.


Here is a run down of all the nightly specials:

Tuesday: Tuesday night tapas, $10 spa menu selections, half price wine
Wednesday: $5.99 pizza, $2 coronas, corona light and pacifico, $3 margaritas
Thursday: all martinis on their extensive list are $5 with live music after 7:30
Friday and Saturday: live music

The restaurant's full menu is available here: http://www.five01citygrill.com/ordereze/Content/1/Summary.aspx
Location: 501 N. Birdneck Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23451
http://www.five01citygrill.com/ordereze/directions.aspx
Phone*: 757 425 7091

*Deals and details were valid at the time of writing. Please visit the website or call to confirm.

The Quest

Several months ago I found myself home from work and feeling like I simply could not handle looking into the pantry, yet again, and finding that there was no way on earth that I could create a whole meal from the lackluster packages housed inside. “We (my husband and i) must go out to eat,” I thought. I sat down on the couch with the computer feeling absolutely certain that we should be able to find a great deal for dinner on a Monday night. I mean, who wants to pay full price on Monday? Not I. I searched several sites, none providing much helpful information. In the end I called several of our “staple” restaurants and chose the one with the best specials for that evening. Upon arrival at the restaurant of choice, my husband and I were shocked to read the table tent as we enjoyed the half price wings that had drawn us there in the first place. I don't remember the exact details, but what I do recall is that almost every night the restaurant had great deals including inexpensive dinner, drink and appetizer options. And thus the quest began…as we’ve dined out since that night I’ve tried to keep track of the many dining deals that restaurants in Hampton roads offer.

It seems silly that there isn't a place to go to find all of this information in one place - so here's my stab at making that information easily accessible. I'll try to post frequently about specials, happy hours and other great deals at restaurants around the 757 and will refrain from overly verbose commentary with a copious number of unappetizing adjectives. I'll keep it simple - here's what we had, I liked it and here are the deals. Hopefully you'll be able to find info here to help you make deliberate dining choices whether you're on vacation in Virginia beach or you’ve lived here your entire life.