JoJo's Joie: MoJo Bones in Ocean View – Serving Barbeque, Blues, and Other Great Fare

Thursday, August 5, 2010

MoJo Bones in Ocean View – Serving Barbeque, Blues, and Other Great Fare

It’s always fun to discover a new place serving good food, especially when it’s a Barbeque Joint. When it comes to barbeque, I’ll take it anyway it comes, whether simply smoked and pulled or chopped; made with vinegar, mustard, or tomato-based sauces or Cajun-style; whether pork, beef, chicken or fish. I’m not a regionalist about this (heretical, I know), but rather more of a nationalist on the subject.

For me, a good barbeque is a good barbeque, whether it’s from North Carolina, Tennesee, Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri or some other great American state, like Virginia – and Norfolk, Virginia is where I found my latest place to indulge. That place is MoJo Bones by the beach in Ocean View. Located in a tiny shopping strip across from and catty-corner to the beach, it could be hard to miss if you weren’t looking. Luckily, I didn’t miss it when I was out that way hunting for a good place to eat other than the fast food joints close by.

When I went inside, I found a large, dark, and rustic place that looked like it had been there for a good long while. The wooden tables and chairs were mismatched and scarred, the padded bar stools well- worn. There was a large band stage at the front above which hung vintage posters advertising great bands and musicians like the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, The Doors, and Frank Zappa. The walls were chalked up with the names of upcoming blues bands scheduled to play there, including Otis Brooks & Full Phase, STR8 Blues, and the Hampton Roads Blues Band. A long side wall included a "Dance with the Devil" mural; and still more posters along the walls announced MoJo specials and news, including three Virginian Pilot “Best Of” awards. The bar area, adorned with license plates and a light- up devil head was long, the brew offerings were plentiful, and the patrons seemed happy.

All in all, the perfect-looking Barbeque Joint, I thought, and a look at the menu offerings provided further support for that sentiment. I took a seat.

It was hard to decide what to order, but I finally settled on a Cajun catfish Po’boy with MoJo’s “Voodoo Sauce.” My Po’ boy was served in a large round bun, with slaw inside, chips, and a pickle for $7.99 and it was delicious! The catfish was fried perfectly and was plentiful enough to accommodate the largebun, spilling over the sides. In addition to the Voodoo Sauce, I also tried it with their MoJo barbeque sauce, and even with some hot sauce and bite-for-bite, it was all good. So good, in fact, that I will no doubt be having MoJo Bones cravings in the near future.