On the Fourth Day of Christmas My True Love Have To Me...

Anchor Brewing Special Christmas Beer!

Anchor brewing bed a different Christmas beer each year and typically the results are spectacular.  But this year, I'm sad to say that it's not all that great.  Being their 40th anniversary of this beer I thought it would be amazing. It's certainly drinkable but nothing amazing.

On the Third Day of Christmas my True Love Have to Me

Sweetwater Festive Ale...     This is a nice malty ale with just a touch of holiday spices.  Its a good beer but not as amazing as some beer blogs will lead you to believe.  Don't get me wrong, it's very good but not amazing like it was hyped up as being.

The Second Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me...

Dubuisson Scaldis Noel. 

Now this is a good beer, not really all that Christmasy though.  It has the flavors of a much more heavy and darker beer, sweet and malty with the flavors of dark fruits.  Although i really hate drinking foreign, it is actualy a very good beer.

The First Beer of Christmas That My True Love Gave to Me

Shock-Top's Shockolate Wheat...

Nothing too fancy to start the season of with, but I've never had it before.  Taste very similar to watered down, carbonated chocolate milk.  Shock-Top makes some decent beers, nothing great but decent.  This beer is not even decent, it's actually pretty bad...

Neptune's Land and Sea

403 E Washington St
Petersburg, VA 23803
http://www.neptuneslandandsea.com/



 I recently purchased a Google Local coupon for Neptune's Land and Sea in downtown Petersburg because I wanted to give it a try.  Because it was $25 for $50, Amanda and I decided to invite her parents to eat with us.

Just to warn you, Neptune's has a very small front parking area so we had to park in the sketchy hotel parking lot. It is right next door and the parking lots are conjoined but it's still a little unsettling parking next to what looks like an hourly motel, if you know what I mean.  Inside the place is absolutely packed and extremely loud, like I mean practically shoulder and shoulder packed and so loud you can barely hear the person next to you.   I honestly don't think that Neptune's is usually like that but unfortunately we went on the same night as an VSU fraternity alumni reunion.

Luckily, the party did not adversely effect us getting a seat or the service.  We were immediately seated and promptly waited on by our server.  The menu consisted of an assortment of sea food and soul food.  We started off with the crab dip, which was extremely good. Rich, creamy and full of crab meat. For $9.99, it wasn't a whole lot of dip but it was very good.  Since we started with crab dip, I decided to try something that was not seafood. I was torn between the PITTSBURGH BURGER- an angus burger, topped with corned beef, swiss cheese, cole slaw and a poached egg and the chicken and waffles- 3 jumbo wings served with a waffle topped with apple or blueberry topping and whipped cream. I decided on the chicken and waffles. Amanda got the fried scallops.

It did not take very long before we received our food. My chicken wings were not quite jumbo but they were full wings and fried to a golden brown. They were a little on the bland side but they were cooked very well, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  The waffle was large but it was a little too soft for my liking. I prefer to have my waffles a little crunchy on the outside.  It came smothered in blueberry topping and whipped cream. The salty and savory wings went perfectly with the sweet blueberry topped waffle.  Amanda's scallops were pretty freaking good. They were large and succulent and cooked perfectly.

Overall, Neptune's Land and Sea was good but far from great.  Honestly, the place was not really my scene. While I don't care and didn't feel uncomfortable, it seems to cater more towards the Fort Lee and VSU crowd.  Also, I think that it is hard to compete with Croaker's Spot when serving seafood and soul food.  If I do go back to Neptune's, I am going to go for the seafood; probably the She-crab soup and the seafood mash, which is mashed potatoes topped with she-crab soup and seafood.



    

Deep Run Roadhouse

12377 Gayton Road

Henrico, VA

www.Deeprunroadhouse.com

                Recently opened by Alamo BBQ’s former owner, Deep Run Roadhouse offers up all of the same great bbq as Alamo and then some but it lacks the charm and atmosphere that really made me fall in love with Alamo BBQ.

                Located in the far west end of Richmond near Shortpump, Deep Run Roadhouse is housed in a dinky old nondescript shopping center hidden amongst large subdivisions and across the street from what is probably the most ghetto area in Shortpump. Inside, the restaurant could be any other “fancy” bbq restaurant.  One wall inside is a huge chalkboard with the menu written on it and on the other wall is a large cashiers counter where you place your order.  Just like Alamo, the menu is Tex-mex BBQ with a variety of smoked meats, which can be served as tacos, burritos, sandwiches and just by themselves. The only additional Items on the menu that I noticed were potato wedges, pork chops and burgers. The rest of the menu is identical to Alamo’s. 

                I ordered a fish taco and a fajita burrito with smoked rope sausage and both items were fantastic.  The fish was flaky and topped with their incredible southwest slaw. It very well may be the best fish taco in Richmond. The burrito was loaded with smoky rope sausage, rice, beans, cheese, grilled onions and peppers.  With a little bbq sauce the burrito blew.  The food was perfection.

                The décor and the atmosphere was nice and very subdued but it really lacked the personality that makes Alamo BBQ what it is. It seemed a little stuffy for a place that calls itself a “Roadhouse” but to be fair they are catering to the high end Shortpump crowd while Alamo generally feeds the grungy Church Hill Hipsters. ..

                In the end, the only thing that really matters is the food and the food at Deep Run Roadhouse is outstanding!

Jimmy’s Grille

16 Goodrich Ave.

Petersburg, VA 23805

In the Walnut Hill area of Petersburg off of South Crater Road hides Jimmy’s Grille, a “high end” diner that you would never see unless you know where it is or if you get lost. Jimmy’s Grille is actually a Petersburg tradition that has been around for tears but has stayed hidden in plain sight. 

Jimmy’s Grille is smartly decorated with well painted walls and stylish pictures and furnishing but do not let the looks deceive you because at its heart Jimmy’s is a dinner, it just has a little bit of lipstick on.  Jimmy’s menu is what gives it away, from hot dogs all the way to grilled cheese sandwiches and burgers, it serves classic dinner food in a classy way. The menu reads like Andrew’s Grill or Quick lunch but the décor is more like Longstreet’s and Croaker’s Spot. 

I ordered the dinner classic two hot dogs all the way with slaw. This included chili, onions and mustard topped with sweet and creamy cole slaw.  It is almost impossible to beat a well done slaw dog and Jimmy’s does it just about as good as anybody.  The hot dogs were plump, juicy and just a little bit burned, topped with meaty chili, fresh onions and classic yellow mustard, the flavors danced harmoniously across my palette with no one flavor taking the lead. 

I can’t say that Jimmy’s is any better or any worse than the other handful of little dinners in the tri-cities, it’s just different.  But I can say that if you are in the mood for classic dinner food but want to enjoy it in an actual restaurant atmosphere, with a waitress and without the heat and sound of a flat top then Jimmy’s Grille is the place the place to go.