So you hate Hampton Roads? What do you suggest to better it? (Norfolk: luxury, casino)

[Spazkat9696]

Originally Posted by lovnova

Thought Whiskey Kitchen was over in Strawbridge?

I guess technically it is in strawbridge but I always thought of that area as red mill.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by Spazkat9696

You should try Whiskey Kitchen at Red Mill. It's a locally owned, and everything is locally sourced. Man is it ever good. The only thing I've had there I didn't like was a watermelon drink.

We've been there! The first time was soon after they opened, and I didn't like it at all, but I think maybe they were still working out some kinks. We went again just a couple months ago and had a MUCH better experience. So we went again just a couple weeks ago right before a movie at the Strawbridge Regal, and I actually, umm, lost my entire dinner at the theater right before the movie, so it will probably be a while before we go back

Firebrew is hit or miss for us, too. We went once and had an AMAZING dinner that I was absolutely raving about. So we returned a few weeks later, and I ordered the same dish, but the second time, my fish was dry/overcooked, and they forgot one of the main ingredients (a mango salsa topping).

[Coconut1]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

We've been there! The first time was soon after they opened, and I didn't like it at all, but I think maybe they were still working out some kinks. We went again just a couple months ago and had a MUCH better experience. So we went again just a couple weeks ago right before a movie at the Strawbridge Regal, and I actually, umm, lost my entire dinner at the theater right before the movie, so it will probably be a while before we go back

Firebrew is hit or miss for us, too. We went once and had an AMAZING dinner that I was absolutely raving about. So we returned a few weeks later, and I ordered the same dish, but the second time, my fish was dry/overcooked, and they forgot one of the main ingredients (a mango salsa topping).

Your experience, IMO, is pretty on par for most restaurants in HR, chain or not. Most restaurants in this area do not have chefs, just cooks. Most cooks are making between $10 and $15 an hour. Sometimes you get a really good one, other times you get a really bad one.

Chefs are not drawn to the Hampton Roads area due to lack of opportunity. It was one of the reasons Johnson and Wales left town in 2006.

[lovnova]

Blue Seafood and Spirits over in Red Mill is very good. Some good eats around town, you just have to take a close look to find them. Many are in those dreaded strip malls with horrible freeways all around them.
In general good and cheap don't go together. You usually get what you pay for.

[Pyroninja42]

I currently live in Asheville, which is supposed to have this amazing food scene. It can be fun, yes, but aside from a few haunts, I preferred eating out in VB. You just have to know ehre to look, like lovnova said.

[Jillo1978]

Needs a casino!

[Pyroninja42]

No, it really doesn't.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Jillo1978

Needs a casino!

These Pilgrims, fundamentalists, conservatives and Protestants that run this area are NOT going to allow that to happen. Especially in areas like Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News. It isn't like Detroit where, if you get hit over the head and someone takes your money it was your own fault for being stupid for flashing your newly found wealth. No, this is more like Footloose.

[randomlikeme]

Originally Posted by Jillo1978

Needs a casino!

I think if we did a casino - the only way I'd see it working would be the Mississippi-style boat casinos (like the movie Maverick!) targeted towards tourists.... that actually could bring in a good deal of tax revenue.

[MaskedRacer]

1. Get Norfolk Admirals back on as an AHL team.

2. VA Beach Town Center is good but more expansion is needed. I would recommend planners use the Glendale, CA Americana is a good reference

3. I noticed a lack of chances for young professionals to get jobs. But I think that speaks of a bigger issue in the USA with outsourcing/bad trade deals and h1b visa abuse. We need to get a control of immigration in this nation. Hampton RoadGet a s is affected too. ALL I mean ALL of the construction workers and landscapers in Norfolk are f'ing mexicans. Probably working those jobs for the federal minimum wage at best too. US citizens should be doing that. I don't buy the "americans won't do those jobs" BS.

4. HRBT expansion is a big one

5. Not sure what to do about Portsmouth. Geography is a big issue there. Water surrounds that city on 3 sides. So bridges and tunnels make a big part of the roads to get there and they are all tolls. I think that hurts P-town's economy big time.

6. Most of all...Get a control on crime in Hampton Roads. Why is there so much??!! And lets be honest black people cause most of it.