OBX Eats: Trio

Posted on February 20, 2012

OBX Eats: Trio

I have to be honest. I got a little flak from my good friend (Karen R., if you are wondering) for turning you all on to The KDG. Her fear is that you will all rush to grab a delicious sammy or salad, and she won’t be able to eat there ever again. Although that may happen, I figured I needed to give you another option. So now I bring you TRIO!

Trio is a place that’s a little hard to explain.

It’s a wine shop. They have a vast retail area and 24 bottles of wine are available at any time in the self-service tasting machines. You can purchase a taste, a half glass, or full. Ever want to taste a $100 bottle of wine, but not willing to spend the money? Here you can get a taste for just a few smackers. It’s like being in Vegas – slide your card in the machine, hit a button, and wine pours out… you’re always a winner!

It’s also an artisanal cheese shop with a… wait for it… CHEESE MONGER! (Yep! I said it! CHEESE MONGER!) This is my favorite part of this eating experience. You order a cheese platter, and the CHEESE MONGER gives you a great sampling, mild to off-the-chart smelly if that’s what you like, and crackers. You can try new things and find what you love. Then, if you’re like me, you forget what you love and have to go back and start all over.

It’s also a 24-beer-on-tap shop. If you can’t find a beer that you like here, you need to stop drinking beer.

It’s even a charcuterie shop. (I’ll let you Google that one).

They have a great pool table upstairs in the mezzanine, and free WiFi. It’s a perfect space for a rehearsal, group meeting, shower, girls/guys night out, or “leave me alone I want to drink and read my Facebook updates in peace.” If you do that, don’t forget to “check-in!’

But I’m not here to tell you about that. I’m here to tell you about the food. Brittany, our Assistant Property Manager, and I went to Trio for lunch this week. If I had my way, I would have ordered one of everything for her to try. They have sandwiches and salads, and the best nibblers on the East coast. We sampled the olives that were salty and briny, and the Trio Toasted Nut mix that has a certain sweetness, and a sneak-up-on-you heat that makes you want to eat more olives.

I had the aged gouda, rare roast beef, baby arugula and roasted tomato Panini. It’s warmed and tender and ooey-gooey deliciousness. Brittney had the mozzarella, roasted tomato, baby arugula and pesto Panini that looked ah-mazing. (Frankly, I could eat a flip-flop with pesto, but that’s a whole other thing.) Well, you can see it for yourself. Looks at those beauties! Don’t you want to eat that? You do. I know you do.

OBX Eats: Trio

Drop in on Trio during your stay. If nothing else, your significant other can drown their sorrows while you are shopping at Diamonds and Dunes and spending your tax refund.

Eat (and shop) Local. Always
Colleen

PS – As a side note, all Seaside Vacations guests have an opportunity for a complimentary wine tasting at Trio through our fabulous Club Seaside program.

OBX Eats: The Kill Devil Grill

Posted on February 6, 2012

OBX Eats: The Kill Devil Grill

Ready for another installment of OBX Eats?! Let’s do this.

Ask any local where they like to eat, and The Kill Devil Grill is sure to be in the top 3. I have been meaning to meet my friend, Sara, from the OBX Chamber of Commerce, for sometime. When she suggested lunch, and she suggested THE KDG (as we call it), I was ready to go!

You can’t miss the 1939 Kullman dining car on the Beach Road. You’ll hear it’s subtle whisper, “PST! You can’t find parking because everyone is eating here!” if your windows are down.

FUN FACT: The KDG has one of only 6 diners in the national registry of historic buildings. (Who knew?)

Anyway, Sara and I agreed that we had THE BEST SERVICE we have ever had. Our waiter was SO patient and courteous. You know how women get, “Blaghgedy blagh blagh” instead of looking at the menu? We had to do the, “Oh, we need a few more minutes” a few times, and he smiled the whole time. One of the waitresses grabbed the paper from our straws as she walked by. Huh, really? Yes! She did! Who does that?!

I told Sara that I am now writing a food blog and begged her to remind me to take a picture of my plate before I dug in. Here it is, the salad I always get, Southern Fried Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Garlic Dressing. If you know me (and you may get to know me more than you care to) you know that I’m not typically a salad girl. I can eat leaves anytime. But THIS salad is so good its borderline sinful. It’s loaded with all kinds of yumminess… mixed greens, roasted corn, tomatoes, bacon, fresh fried potato sticks, fried chicken that’s crispy and hot, but manages to not wilt the salad… Uh…. YUM!

Take it from this “foodie,” The Kill Devil Grill has some of the freshest fish in town and my friends always try the savory Cheese Steak Eggrolls. Sounds crazy? Yes. Get them anyway, they’re delish. I’ve also heard that they have awesome Key Lime Pie, but I’m always too full to get it. Next time, I’ll ask a stranger and see what they say.

And, although this will get me in trouble with my OBX neighbors, I’d be remiss to tell you that they have a fried chicken special for lunch on Fridays that will sell out in mere minutes. Get there early, or have a Plan B in the hopper.

Need more? You got it! Every Wednesday they have 1/2 price bottles of wine and Thursdays the draft beer is just $1. You can’t beat it.

Let me sum it up:

Outstanding service
Great food made with many local ingredients
Inexpensive bevies
Super fun people like Sara … and me

I think this is what we call in the biz, a “winner, winner, chicken dinner.”

Eat Local. Always.

Colleen

OBX Eats: KDH Deli

Posted on February 3, 2012

OBX Eats: KDH Deli

Welcome back to OBX Eats!

I am learning a lot about myself as I embrace this project.

#1. I need to use spell check. There’s nothing worse than getting a call from your mom, congratulating you on your new challenge, and then telling you that you can’t spell. F7 is your fiend. (just kidding)

#2. I have to make it a priority to plan the blog post as I order. Three times I have ordered amazing food, only to remember that I forgot to take a picture of it. “Shame on you, food blogger!” Then I take out the iPhone and snap away at a plate that has sauce pushed all around and hunk out of the prime rib. No one wants to see that, but I take it anyway.

#3. I eat out… a lot.

This week I took a few moments to stop in for lunch at the new KDH Deli. (KDH = Kill Devil Hills, in case you’re not a local) The restaurant was clean and I was greeted right away. Right away, I noticed the Fiddler’s Green Salad on the menu. It was described as “loaded with green vegetables like spinach and avocado, so it’s high iron, fiber, and healthy monounsaturated fats that raise your good cholesterol.” Sounds good, but I wanted something that was a little more fulfilling.

#4. I am an emotional eater.

I considered ordering the Booty Italian Sub, just so I could say, “Booty.” This deliciousness has salami, capicola, pepperoni, ham, provolone cheese, roasted red peppers, sliced black olives, lettuce, tomato, onion, with oil and vinegar. It looked Bootylicious, and yet it didn’t call to me.

#5. Food speaks to me. I don’t always talk back.

I opted for the Buccaneer Beef: roast beef, Swiss cheese, lettuce, mustard. Except I had cheddar, not Swiss. And I had mayo, not mustard. And I felt like a pain, but they were crazy nice to me and accommodating. The fresh baked bread was healthy looking AND tasted good. I crunched on some salt & vinegar chips and sipped a fresh brewed sweet tea. I was happy.

In addition to serving sandwiches that let you say “Booty” in public, an appropriate manner, they also have subs, soup, chili, salads, and kids meals. They’re open for lunch and dinner. I can tell you that I’ll be stopping in to pick-up our lunch on the days that I can pry my way away from the office to go to the beach. Go for a visit, and tell them that Seaside Vacations sent you.

Eat Local. Always.

Colleen

Have you been to the KDH Deli? Do you have a place that’d you’d like me to review? Post a comment and let me know!

OBX Eats: The Black Pelican

Posted on January 23, 2012

OBX Eats: Black Pelican

Welcome to the first installment of our new blog series, OBX Eats!

In addition to loving the role that I play at Seaside Vacations, I am closet foodie. OK, maybe not in the closet, since everyone knows how much I enjoy a yummy meal. You know how they say that you can’t trust a skinny chef? Yeah, well…

This weekend my husband and I joined a few friends at The Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk, so I thought I’d share our experience. If you haven’t been there, you need to go. Really. You could go now if you wanted. Heck, I may be back there right now!

The Black Pelican is one of the more popular restaurants on Outer Banks. It’s one of the few places that allow you to enjoy panoramic ocean views from the upstairs dining room and outside deck.

Here are some fun Black Pelican facts:

The building was constructed in 1874 and used as a United States Lifesaving Station #6.
Back in the day, the building also served as an active weather bureau!
The Wright Brothers used this information to plan their experimental flights.
In 1903, after their successful First Flight, the Wright Brothers sent the telegraph announcement from Station # 6.

Awesome, right?!

Ah-hem, the FOOD?!

The Black Pelican has ample parking and lots of space inside. If you get there at the right time, they can accommodate larger parties. They serve lunch & dinner, and they cater. The menu is large and diverse. Choices include fresh seafood, salads, steaks, vegetarian choices, options for kids, and they have a wood oven for delicious pizza. They have a great raw bar, too!

I know, you’re thinking, “Yeah, yeah. Get to It, girlie. What about the FOOD?!

For appetizers, we enjoyed 2 orders of Drunken Crab, the Spicy Cajun Fish Bites (tuna), and Tuna Tatake’.

For normal people, that would have been enough for dinner. Thankfully, we aren’t normal.

The Drunken Crab is unreal. If you like crab, get it and thank me later. It comes in a huge martini glass, rimmed with Old Bay seasoning. It is ALL lump crab, none of that stringy stuff, and it’s tossed in a softly spiced Bloody Mary mix. Yum-o!

The tuna bites were cooked to perfection and were served with the house-made Ranch dressing. If you put good Ranch on a flip flop, I’d probably eat it, but I digress.

The tuna tar-tar was ICE cold, the wasabi was sinus busting, and the seaweed salad was to die for. It’s a huge portion – enough to share if you aren’t selfish. Which I am. So I ate it all when everyone was busy chatting.

Dinner was just as delish. We all had the seafood special: Artichoke and Parmasan Encrusted Tilefish with Spinach, Wild Rice, and crisps of fried sweet potato strings.

Tilefish, if you’ve never had it, is a white, tender, flaky fish, much like Rockfish/Striped Bass, but I think it’s a little sweeter. It was cooked perfectly and just flaked up. I should not, in any stretch of the imagination, have eaten the whole thing. I did, though. Scraped the remaining sauce with my toasted pita wedge, and everything. It was a spectacle, I admit. Try it for yourself and see if YOU can hold back!

If you’ll be in town the week of March 17-20, 2012, The Black Pelican is participating the OBX Restaurant Association’s Taste of the Beach. Maybe you’ll see me there!

Eat Local. Always.

Colleen - Director of Owner & Guest Services

Have you been to the Black Pelican? Do you have a place that’d you’d like me to review? Post a comment and let me know!