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Local Specialties:
Eating seafood is quite different here than you will find at other resort beaches. Places like Ocean City and Myrtle Beach don't have working commercial fishing fleets. We do, and much of the seafood you'll get here was caught that day! Ask your server which of the seafood entrees are locally caught. We're proud of our seafood and when you taste it, you'll know why!
She Crab Soup is one dish that restaurants are judged by in Virginia Beach. Some offer warm sherry in a small pitcher so you can add as much as you want. Most places, including some of the best, offer this amazing soup with the spirits already added. Ask your server to exclude the sherry if you must, but that's what makes She Crab Soup so good.
The Bar-B-Que we serve in Virginia Beach is called North Carolina white barbecue. The reason we call it "white" is because we don't add any barbecue sauce to our pork. North Carolina white barbecue is pit cooked pork that is either minced or"pulled" (shredded)with only a little vinegar and crushed red pepper added for flavor. Around here, we put our barbecue sauce on our own sandwiches. Other places like Texas put globs of sauce on their meats and let them sit around getting mushy. One bite of our barbecue will make a believer out of anyone.
Softshell Crabs & Blue Crabs - Famous all over the world for their uniquely sweet and tender backfin meat, Blue Crabs are one of our most popular local catches. Softshell crabs are blue crabs whose shells haven't had the chance to harden yet. These crabs are cleaned, breaded and deep fried to a wonderfully crispy texture. Blue crabs are steamed with Old Bay seasoning and feature some of the most delicious meat you will ever taste. It takes a bit of work to get at the prized "backfin" meat, but it's worth the effort!
Our greatest seafood delicacy is the Lynnhaven Oyster, available only in the Lynnhaven River that winds through Virginia Beach. Oysters are collected all over the world, but those from the Chesapeake Bay area are universally recognized as being the best. The Lynnhaven Oyster, is the best of the best and until recently was unavailable to anyone but a few locals. Even now you may have a hard time finding Lynnhaven Oysters, but Chesapeake Bay or "Eastern Shore" oysters are widely available in most of our locally owned restaurants. The best oysters you'll ever have. Promise.
That brings us to the last great treasure of Virginia Beach cuisine: The Locally Owned Restaurant. We have all the national chain restaurants in Virginia Beach. Most of them are great, and after a long wonderful day on the beach you may find yourself tempted to "go for what you know." I suggest that when you first get here, try one or two of our locally owned, "mom and pop" restaurants. Don't wait until your last day to find out how good we've got it in Virginia Beach. |
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