thejerks.club/restaurants.md4tj

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# The Jerks
## Restaurant Reviews

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#### The Hamilton - Washington DC
Expensive but good. I had the fried blue catfish with jalapeno hush puppies and fries which was $18. Staff was very nice and the bartenders seemed to be having fun. 8/10

#### Betsy Ross Pizza - Dover, Delaware
Nice venue, plenty of windows. Service was very nice. I split a large pizza with salami and beef; the pizza was very cheesy and had a nice crust. However, ultimately it was your run-of-the-mill pizza place. 7/10

#### Chopt - Washington DC
I forgot to write down something for this restaurant, but I'm pretty sure I liked it. ?/10

#### Jethro's - Ames, Iowa
My absolute favorite barbecue place of all time. I like going with my wife and splitting the Iowa Platter, around $25 but I always take a to-go box so it's definitely worth the money. Whatever I get, I usually dump Jethro's Hot Barbecue and Jethro's Carolina Barbecue sauce on it. The atmosphere is nice and there are screens for sports everywhere. I am told Jethro's burnt-ends are amazing, but I think those are only sold at the Des Moines location. If you're up to it, take the Emmenecker challenge for a potential hard-earned free meal; I believe this place got its fifteen minutes minutes of fame for featuring this challenge on Man vs. Food. Iowa State students generally prefer the competing barbecue place in town, Hickory Park, but I swear by Jethro's. 10/10

#### Pizza Pit - Ames, Iowa
My favorite pizza place in Ames. I usually go with a couple of friends and get 12 inferno wings, a 16'' chicken bacon ranch pizza, and a pitcher of Samuel Adams. All in all, around $35 to $40. The pizza isn't the greatest, but it is quite cheap and definitely good enough for me at least. Atmosphere is nice and before covid, they had an awesome arcade machine. It shares a building with Welch Ave. Station, one of the more popular bars in Ames. The two venues have a symbiotic relationship where you can drink downstairs at Welch Ave. and Pizza Pit (upstairs) will run your pizza down. Beware of the bathroom. 9/10

#### Jeff's Pizza - Ames, Iowa
My second-favorite pizza place in Ames. Not really popular among Iowa State students (it's construed as a Freshman-only place as far as I can tell), but it does have the best crust I've ever tasted on a pizza. The venue looks run-down and there are only 2 screens for sports. I usually split a philly cheese steak pizza with someone else for around $25 total. 7/10

#### Blue Owl Bar - Ames, Iowa
My favorite bar in Ames. Over the summer, I always try to make trivia night. There are two pool tables which are actually accessible before 9:00 pm which is when the main crowd usually comes rolling in. I've had many a debate and met many an interesting person on the front porch area. The bathroom is disgusting and I've had many people walk in and piss in the sink when I've been pissing out my alcohol. 7/10

#### Fong's Pizza - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
The most interesting pizza place I have ever visited. This restaurant serves pizza with Chinese-style toppings. I had their famous Crab Rangoon pizza, which put me back $22 for a 20'', a stellar price for specialty pizza. 10/10

#### Spaghetti Works - Des Moines, Iowa
One thing I never understood about white people is their obsession with spaghetti. Boil some noodles, dump some cheap Walmart red sauce on it, and call it a meal. It never filled me up, and it didn't strike me as a great meal that I would go out of my way to eat, especially when Italian cuisine has so much more to offer like literally anything involving alfredo sauce. Nonetheless, I decided that I could not have an educated opinion on spaghetti until I got it from a gourmet spaghetti restaurant. I visited this restaurant with my wife on a beautiful evening and chose the outdoor patio seating. The scenery greatly enhanced my experience, as the restaurant is situated in the Court Avenue District in Des Moines' downtown, a street full of restaurants, bars, and pubs and ultimately capped off by the Polk County courthouse; this neighborhood is situated just right that golden hour in the summer is the comfiest experience ever here. Despite my aversion to any remotely large city, the idea of eating at a place like this regularly made me much more sympathetic to the idea of city-living. I ordered the Spaghetti & Meatballs off the "Classics" section on the menu which cost $12.99, more than a fair price for what I got especially when it comes with a trip to the salad bar and garlic bread. The meatballs were delicious, but while the red sauce was better than any red sauce I had before, it still failed to impress me as a dish. I especially enjoyed the chunks of tomato left in the sauce which give the it a very meaty texture, but the flavor overall was still quite plain. This is obviously the "vanilla" dish, and I'm sure when I return in the future and get something a bit more complex I will certainly like it better. The white people who inexplicably love spaghetti will love this place. 5/10

#### Dublin Bay - Ames, Iowa
A commonly known fact about me is that I do not like food from the British Isles at all. There's the old joke about how the British empire had to subjugate India because British food was so boring (don't worry, I'm 100% Indian so I'm allowed to make this joke), and all my prior experience with British Isles food corroborates this joke. That said, I've never had Irish food before. I don't know if their nationalism bleeds into their food but this experience was a complete departure from my prior experience with British food. I ordered the O'Brien's Stew for $14.50 and was greeted with the most inviting, savory stew I've ever experienced (although I thought the price was a bit high for what it was). Before this, I only ever had lamb in curry form but lamb found a perfect home in this stew. I chose the outdoor seating on a brisk spring evening which was the perfect complement to the warm stew. However, there are no great views to be found here, just the neighboring Staples store. Being an Irish pub, it has all the standard Irish imports if that's your thing. 8/10

#### Americana - Des Moines, Iowa
This is a formal restaurant in the trendy part of Des Moines. It stands as an appreciation of American culture, hence the name; however, I take issue with it as "Americana" to me has always been a populist name, a fitting name for a restaurant of the common man. I certainly liked the decorations inside. I ordered the $40 prime rib (available only on Fridays and Saturdays if I recall correctly) and my wife ordered the $20 truffled mac & cheese. The prime rib was good, but I got absolutely nothing out of my sampling of the truffled mac & cheese; it tasted really plain to me. The restaurant has a nice view of the Western Gateway Park in Des Moines, which is a nice place to walk after dinner. All in all, it was too expensive for what I got. 4/10

#### Hessenhaus - Des Moines, Iowa
This is a German-themed bar which is rather famous in the city of Des Moines. It is a favorite hangout of the Iowa State Airsoft Club of which I was briefly a member a while back. The first step in, I was hit with a smorgasbord of German culture. There were various German brewery posters on the walls and Bundesliga teams referenced all over the place. These are my favorite kind of bars, the ones that fill the interior to the brim with decorations. Nothing dismays me more than the sleek, minimalistic bars the likes of which you would see at the end of Bar Rescue. The tables are huge presumably to facilitate different groups of people sitting together, but I visited this during Covid so that obviously wasn't happening. While there, I ordered the giant Bavarian pretzel and jägerschnitzel and washed all that down with a pint of Paulaner Münchner Lager for a total of around $40. The pretzel was soft and chewy, probably among the best I've had; the beer cheese dip that came with it was excellent too. The jägerschnitzel was equally as delightful, being pretty much everything I've ever wanted out of a jägerschnitzel. Outdoor seating was available, but it was packed when we went so we opted for indoor seating. It is a tradition to play the drinking game involving passing a boot of beer with your group, but it was just my wife and I and I had to drive so there was no way I could drink half a boot. All in all, great food, great venue, and great prices. 10/10

#### Clouds Cafe - Ames, Iowa
This is (in all honesty) a very pretentious "European-style" cafe located on the 7th floor of Legacy tower, one of the nicest apartments in Ames. It affords a gorgeous view of the Iowa State campus. The chairs inside are very luxurious, and I could certainly sink into one for an entire afternoon while sipping a coffee. I had the flammenkuchen with an iced coffee for a total of around $15, both of which I did not especially enjoy. The prices are similar to Starbucks, but by dining at Clouds you can support a local business instead of a oversized mediocre coffee chain. There are also wine-tastings hosted some nights, but I never attended those. 6/10 (mostly for the view)

#### Pies and Pints - Charleston, West Virginia
This restaurant is nestled in downtown Charleston, West Virginia. Unfortunately, as we were just passing through I could only enjoy the pies and not the pints. I ordered the steak & mushroom pie for around $25 and shared it with my wife. and it was about what I expected. The crust wasn't especially good, but the rest of the pizza was fine. Indoor seating was a bit cramped, but the outdoor seating provided a nice view of downtown Charleston. All in all, it is about your standard pizza place. 5/10

#### Angus Barn - Raleigh, North Carolina
I was recommended this restaurant on the pretense that it was a restaurant. What I got instead was a highly exclusive social club which caused me to rescale my entire review system, as several 9s and 10s I gave out meant nothing in the face of this venue. First of all, upon entering you enter a foyer of sorts where you wait to be seated, featuring a full service bar and a waiter who hands out free cheese and crackers. As I am not a rich man, I did not have the money to waste on alcohol prior to the meal so I just enjoyed the cheese and crackers. When we were finally seated, on the way to the table we passed by a humidor which I thought was just a decoration. It turns out after the meal there is a whole outdoor area and indoor area dedicated to smoking cigars in the ultimate comfort. I ordered the beef ribs with stuffed potatoes, while my wife ordered prime rib with mashed potatoes. I got a heavenly French onion soup with my meal, while my wife got a massive salad with hers. While we were waiting, we were served more cheese and crackers which was very welcome indeed as we were both starving. When our food arrived, I was a little shocked (in a good way) at the amount of food we were given. Indeed, my beef ribs lasted about 3 subsequent meals for reference. I had some brew from Asheville, NC with my meal while my wife had a $12 glass of wine that tasted exactly like a mocktail (which is a good thing, especially since we are conditioned to the absolute worst of the worst $5 wine). All in all, our bill came out to around $145 including tip. However, the meal was just the beginning. Our waiter offered us a tour of the place, and our minds were blown. First off, most of the waiters there are trained sommeliers and the restaurant actually has a school inside it where their waiters can get their sommelier certifications. Next, the head chef (who unfortunately doesn't work there much anymore) won Iron Chef America back in 2006. In some competition (I forgot which exactly), this restaurant's wine cellar actually ranked in the top 10 of the world for best wine cellar. The waiter's tour took us through the wine cellar, and we saw some very expensive bottles of wine ranging in the $10000-$20000 range. Along the way, the waiter regaled us with a tale of a man who paid $120 for a shot of a whiskey dating back to the 1800s a while back. We explored the aforementioned smoking rooms and ventured downstairs into the private dining rooms for events, which come with their own full service bars and waiters. We concluded our tour with a visit to the Wild Turkey lounge, featuring a large collection of clay turkeys. We left full, content, and with the knowledge that we could not afford to go there again any time soon. 10/10

#### Taco Addicts - Cary, North Carolina
My husband and I usually go here after an especially tough shift at the hospital. The food is perfect for the pick me up you need after a long day at work. I love to get the California burrito deep fried in cheese sauce  and my husband usually gets 3 tacos-the taco of the month and two diablo tacos. We also usually order drinks. Their manganado margarita is amazing and my husband enjoys their beer selection. We usually spend around $50 for our entire spread. The atmosphere is your standard Mexican restaurant but if it aint broke don't fix it! All in all I would recommend this to anyone looking to get a good dinner on the cheap side in the triangle area! I even took my parents here on a recent visit from them. As a side note, anywhere with their own parking is pretty great too. 10/10

#### CowFish - Raleigh, North Carolina
This year I had to work the day before, the day of, and the day after Valentines day at the hospital so my husband and I decided to try this restaurant out the Friday before. We had been recommended this place as a good place for a date night. In order to join the waitlist they ask that you download their app and join the waitlist. It provided an approximate time for when your table will be ready. (This is a helpful feature as they can have upwards of a two hour wait time.) We were seated almost immediately when we got there. Our table was right by their large fish tank which was both a blessing and a curse. There were kids surrounding it throughout our meal which while cute to watch their enthusiasm about fish also made it hard to have a deep conversation. I ordered and espresso martini and burger and my husband ordered their featured bento box and the itty bitty teensy weeny martini. Our food was your standard American meets Japanese fare. We also got a lot of food for our money. Overall we spent around $150 for drinks and our meal. One nice thing the waitress did was bring us out a free dessert that was very very good. This is a family friendly good for celebrating an event restaurant. My one complaint is the lack of parking surrounding the restaurant. I have noticed in the city it can be hard to park close and you need to factor that in to when you arrive at the restaurant. I cannot wait for my brother to be in town so that we can take an entire party there for my husband's next birthday. 9/10 

#### BarTaco - Raleigh, North Carolina
Happy birthday to me! My husband took me out here for my birthday per a recommendation from some acquaintances at church. After spending the entire day shopping we headed here for dinner. Luckily my birthday was on a Sunday this year so there wasn't't too long of a wait; just long enough to walk around the nearby Target. Once we were seated we were directed to create an account and upload our credit card information and start ordering. You ordered one thing at a time through this account and then when you were done you closed it out and paid through your phone. Our food was brought to the table by different members of the staff each for each item we ordered. The restaurant also told us they pride themselves on paying their staff a livable wage for Raleigh. (Side note that livable wages will look different based on your location. Now to rant about the negatives of my experience. There is no physical menu, and they do not accept cash. I think it is an unfair assumption that all patrons will both have access to a smart phone and understand how to order/pay.  Not mention they then add on a tip your server with the minimum being 20% when you did not even have a server in the first place. (Livable wage???) The food was alright and the drinks were okay. They mainly serve street tacos so they were on the small side. Order more if you have growing boys in your party. The atmosphere was instragrammable with hanging baskets around the light features and warm lighting, but overall it left much to be desired. Not to mention the lack of parking meant walking quite a way to even get to the door. I will not be returning to this restaurant any time soon. 3/10

#### Trophy Brewery - Raleigh, North Carolina
Apparently millennials have a thing for microbreweries and as a zillenial I feel it is important to keep this alive. Trophy is the best place to go and drink a beer and play a game if you go to their tap room or eat a pizza if you are at their restaurant. The beer is much better out of the tap than a can with my personal favorite being the Milky Way. While at their brewery I love to play games with my husband or my brother when he is in town. It is the perfect vibe to chill out and rewind after a long day with the low lighting and swanky music. You cannot go wrong with any of their pizza choices and they have something for every diet. This is a place that everyone should visit when in Raleigh. 10/10

#### Toast - San Francisco, California
This is a nice restaurant on Church Street in San Francisco, about 2 miles from the Bay. The first thing I noticed walking in is it's a very *thin* restaurant, not very open concept. It has some seating at the front and a bar in the back, where they serve all the standard brunch drinks like mimosas and also specialty coffee. The prices were very reasonable for San Francisco (emphasis on "for San Francisco"), my Godfather (Italian) omelet was $18.95 and is the best Italian omelet I've ever had. It had just the right amount of cheese, and I have no idea what they did to the sausage but it was delicious. My wife got the Eggs Benedict ($17.95) and that was delicious as well. To drink, we got an iced Latte and a Cappuccino, both of which were $5.50 but nothing special in my opinion. From the outside, it's nothing to talk about but the only thing that matters for a restaurant is on the inside. I will definitely visit this restaurant again, but due to the limited seating I would not come any time from 9:00-1:00. 7/10

#### Round House Cafe - San Francisco, California
This is a historic art-deco diner-turned-coffee shop a stones throw away from the entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge. Consequently, it features a beautiful view of the San Francisco Bay due to its windowed circular construction. They technically serve food, but we just got an americano and an iced latte, both of which were nothing to write home about. Apparently a favorite local roaster set up shop in there but all coffee (especially americano) tastes the same to me so that isn't really an imporant consideration. What astonished me were the prices, my americano was $3.00 and my wife's latte was $4.25 which is about the price of Starbucks (which is incidentally about a mile away, but you'd have to be an idiot to go there instead of here). Beautiful views and cheap coffee right on the Golden Gate Bridge. 10/10.

#### The Queen and Beaver - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
While wandering around some dark streets in Toronto late into the night, my wife and I stumbled on this British style pub. Upon entering we were hit by a very cozy feeling, a quiet, mostly dark bar with very warm lightning. This is the exact kind of bar I fantasize about wandering into on a freezing night seeking respite from the cold, but unfortunately it was quite warm in Toronto that night so some of the effect was lost. The walls were covered in monarchal memorabilia which made it funny to imagine what a Scotsman, Welshman, or Irishman would say upon walking into this bar. We were seated beneath a large picture of a young Queen Elizabeth, and close by there were some pictures of other English monarchs like Queen Victoria. I had the Rarebit Crusted Rump of Beef with Fingerlings and Claret Sauce and a local Canadian IPA on draft, while my wife had the Hand Raised Beef Brisket and Potatoes with Buttered Cabbage. As an appetizer, we had the Fat Chips and Curried Aioli. I've never had curried aioli before (just normal aioli), but fries went amazing with it and I will definitely try and make my own. All in all, we kept the check just barely under $100 CAD (about $70) and the portion sizes were excellent. I will definitely be visiting this place again if I ever find myself in Toronto in the dead of winter. Definitely do not come here if you have reservations about the existence of the British monarchy. 10/10. 

#### NBA Courtside - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NBA Courtside is an NBA themed restaurant just down the street from Scotiabank Arena where the Toronto Raptors play, on the Harbourfront. To be clear I don't follow the NBA at all - basketball is one of the most approachable sports in the world, so I don't see much point to watching it; I'd rather be playing it. However, when such a heavily themed restaurant comes along I can't help but get caught up in the enthusiasm. The Raptors, unbeknownst to me until halfway through my meal, were actually playing down the street but I don't have the money to see an NBA game on a whim like that, so this was a more than acceptable substitute. The Raptors game was playing on a massive screen above the bar, easily viewed from most points in the restaurant. According to our waiter, the place is an extremely popular post-game destination so it is definitely a good idea to not go right after a Raptors game if you want food in a reasonable amount of time. When you first walk in, you are greeted with a bunch of NBA memorabilia. The most interesting display was a display case full of signed sneakers right by where we were sitting, featuring such treasures as one of the first Air Jordans and a signed Shaquille O'Neal sneaker, which was obviously massive compared to all the shoes around it. As for the food, I paid about 50 CAD (about $35 at the time) for 2 lbs of wings and a beer, both of which were excellent. Regardless of if you like basketball or not, this is an excellent place to eat and is a nice launch point for a night on the Harborfront. 10/10.

#### My Roti Place - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I was told by many that Toronto has excellent Indian food, but this isn't very special to me because as an Indian I've hit a lot of the popular Indian destinations in the US - Iselin, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. not to mention I make Indian food for dinner most nights every week. I went here alone on a whim because all my dinner plans fell through, but this was a pleasant surprise. This restaurant is a chain local mainly to Toronto, and I went to the Harborfront location. I initially tried to order their famous KK Agni challenge which is an ultra-spicy dish which gets you onto their hall of fame if you can finish it in 20 minutes or less, but this location didn't have it so I opted for a lamb roti at the second-highest spice level. The spice was more than bearable and the lamb was very tender and delicious. As a note, this isn't really a traditional roti dish but rather a roti optimized for walking and eating - rather than providing the curry and the roti separately such that you have to break off a piece of the roti and eat it with the curry, they stuff a roti with the curry making it amenable for eating on the go. I sat down in the restaurant so I didn't get any benefit from this, but it's a pretty good idea. My meal came with a gulab-jamun for dessert and some fried snacks. Unfortunately, the interior is cramped and they didn't have a pop fountain so you had to buy cans which could add up fast if you're thirsty. All in all, it was 16.99 CAD (about $12 at the time) plus a couple of extra dollars for pop, making this one of the cheapest meals I've ever seen in downtown Toronto. If I go again, I'd probably just get takeout and spend a night on the Harborfront, but the food itself is solid. 7/10.

#### P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub & Restaurant - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I went here with a couple of friends solely for the reason that it was one of the only places in Toronto serving alcohol that was open at 10:00 AM. We had a bit of a walk from the Harborfront for this one, navigating a maze of streets before running into this one in a nondescript alley. Once inside, we were greeted by a cozy interior; we were allowed to pick anywhere to eat so we picked a comfy booth in a room inside the main room. We arrived well before the lunch rush so service was fast. I ordered the Beef and Guinness Stew and a pint of Kilkenny Cream Ale. It was mostly good, except the potatoes in my stew were slightly underboiled so they were hard and bitter. The venue was great, but I think I just had a bad batch of the stew. 6/10.

#### Chicken Guy! - Orlando, Florida
Near one of the entrances of Disney Springs (Disney World's outdoor shopping mall) is an enticing yellow and red building featuring Guy Fieri's restaurant, "Chicken Guy!". I've never been to a celebrity's restaurant before, so I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, the only thing this one has going for it is the prices - we paid under $30 for 2 meals, which is about the cheapest non-fast food meal in the area especially inside Disney Springs. I got 5 hot tenders, while my wife got the Buffalo Mac N Cheese sandwich, both about $10 plus another $3.49 for fries. The fries were pretty bad, but in my opinion no place gets fries right besides McDonalds so this was expected. The chicken was especially disappointing - it was dry, rubbery, and tasteless, tasting more like a chicken substitute than actual chicken. The entirety of the flavor came from the coating which just tasted like pure spice, nothing else. The buffalo chicken sandwich was no different either. Giving it the benefit of the doubt, perhaps the main selling point is the sauce (after all, one of the taglines is "The sauce is the boss"). My meal came with 2 sauces in very small quantities and it cost 50 cents for each additional sauce. The sauce quantity given was not enough for the 5 pieces I was given. I chose the chipotle ranch and special sauce, neither of which was worth writing home about. The special sauce is apparently composed of mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickle juice, and a proprietary seasoning but all I tasted were the nonproprietary components. Better chicken and unlimited sauce out of a dispenser rather than in individual packages would fix this restaurant. It was pretty hard to find seating, as it's more of a grab and go restaurant with extremely limited seating inside the only free part of the Disney experience. For all these reasons, I will not be returning. 2/10.

#### eet by Maneet Chauhan - Orlando, Florida
I love Indian food, and of course I would want to visit the only Indian restaurant in Disney Springs. This one is also run by a celebrity chef who appears on various Food Network shows. I am pretty well-versed in Indian food, as I cook it almost every night. I am also quite familiar with "generic" Indian restaurants and the horrors that modern chefs concoct in order to make some kind of meaningless social statement that no one but critics understand; that this restaurant would be one of the two was my main fear walking in. Instead, I got enough food for leftovers at a reasonable price for the area. We both chose the "BYOB" (build your own bowl) option, which comes with cabbage and masala-flavored chickpeas. Then, you pick the base, kebab, and sauce; we both chose rice and tandoori chicken for the first two. My wife picked tikka, while I picked bhunna for the sauce. It's hard to mess up tikka, but it was excellent regardless. The bhunna was quite spicy and flavorful. The chickpeas were great: instead of cooking it as a dal (the traditional approach) these were served puffed and crunchy, infused with a nice masala flavor. The cabbage detracted from the dish in my opinion and it would have been better if it were left out. The tandoori chicken didn't have a ton of tandoori flavor, but was serviceable regardless as something to have with the excellent curries. Seating was easy to find, as I guess Indian food isn't popular enough in America to have a line out the door. I will definitely be revisiting this restaurant when I'm in the area again both because the food is excellent at a reasonable price and I missed out on getting the "tandoori chicken poutine" which is an interesting proposition for sure. Unfortunately, I missed meeting Chauhan by a day as she was visiting the restaurant the day after I ate there, I would have loved to have met her. 8/10.

#### The Black Lantern Tea Room & Bakery - Asheboro, North Carolina
After visiting the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, we headed to the downtown to find something to eat. While a "Tea room and bakery" held a promise of overpriced baked goods and an expectation of large tip, we ventured in anyways because of the striking interior. Indeed, the interior was modeled after the Dark Academia aesthetic, looking more like the study of an old European intellectual than a bakery. It's a place where I could let the afternoon pass me by with a cup of hot tea and good conversation with friends. We got a couple of baked goods and two teas, both of which were excellent and reasonably priced. They also sell sandwiches which are reasonably priced. We ended leaving a generous tip due to the excellent experience we had there. 10/10 for the theming and the reasonable prices.

#### Oceanside Bar and Grill - Flagler Beach, Florida
It was a dark and stormy day that led us up the famed Florida A-1-A. After fighting the stormy seas at Ormond Beach, we drove up the road looking for food as swimming has an uncanny ability to sap your satience. After driving north for a bit, we came upon a beach joint right off the road with outdoor seating. The restaurant has two floors, with the top floor being outdoor seating and a bar. We opted for the top floor which was a small mistake as the wind kept blowing our food away, but this weather was the exception and not the rule for Florida so we couldn't hold it against the restaurant. As an appetizer, we got mozzarella sticks. I got the special of that day, which was a sort of citrusy shrimp scampi. My wife had the smash burger melt. Both foods were excellent, and reasonably priced for being a very obvious tourist trap at around $40. They took quite a long time to get us our food which gave us a chance to admire the choppy ocean; the view truly was beautiful. 8/10

#### Renewal Brewing - Martinsville, Virginia
In a slowly gentrifying furniture/NASCAR town right on the border of Virginia and North Carolina lies a distinct local brewery themed after a speakeasy. Indeed, as you walk in you're greeted with an office space and stairs down to a jazzy joint. Featuring comfortable furniture, a view of the vats, and a fully functional upright piano, this is the type of bar I absolutely love. In classic fashion, I ordered the highest ABV beer that they had on tap. I forgot the name of it, and since the place is basically brand new they don't have any of their beers on the internet, I just remember that it started with a "V" named after some act instituted in Virginia, it was an imperial stout, and it was 10% ABV. It was one of the smoothest stouts that ever went down my gullet, and delicious as well. My wife got a strawberry daiquiri and it was the first alcoholic drink she's been able to get down in 7 months as she hates the taste of alcohol. The total was around $25. The bartenders were very friendly and open to conversation, and honestly it was the most welcome a microbrewery has ever made me feel. We will definitely be back, probably with friends. It could be improved with the addition of food, even bar snacks. The only food they had was a pretzel which was not good in our opinion, and they were out of cheese sauce so we could only have it with mustard which was definitely store-bought. 9/10

#### Old Farmhouse Buffet - Martinsville, Virginia
Good southern cookin', reasonably priced for a buffet ($16/person for dinner), NASCAR themed. 9/10

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