Granby Street Pizza - Good, Cheap Eats

Armed with our cameras while out and about this weekend, my daughter and I "discovered" Granby Street Pizza in downtown Norfolk. I say "discovered" because although I had heard of it, I didn't realize what a great spot it was until we actually went there.

We really just popped our heads in to see what was going on, especially since we had only recently indulged our sweet tooths at Chocollage (see Sunday, May 22 post).

Inside we found the pizza maker, Mark, tossing the pizza dough in the air to stretch it out, which he repeated a couple more times just for our viewing pleasure. We continued watching him as he made the exceedingly large pepperoni pizza, gaping as he loaded on the sauce, cheese, and roni.  Dessert suddenly seemed such a long time ago...

Although Mark was making up a fresh pizza, we also spied several other, different, delicious-looking pizzas lined up, ready for the serving. Since we love pizza about as much as we love dessert ... well, you can guess how this story ends...

At only $2.50 for a large slice with pepperoni (or $14 for a whole 18" pizza), this pizza is a nice deal.  Even some of the specialty pizzas are only $2.50 a slice, like the Italian Flag Bianca Pizza (white pizza) I enjoyed (shown below right). 

My daughter, Anna, in a kid's conservative fashion, ordered the pepperoni pizza. My tastes run a tad more exotic though, so I chose the Italian slice, which was made with tomato, spinach, ricotta, romano, mozzerella and a goodly smattering of chopped garlic.

After sampling each other's slices, we declared both quite good, although my girl ended up liking mine even more than her own. Determined to try some of the other pizzas at a later date, we decided that we will definitely be back, with the rest of the family in tow!

Granby Street Pizza serves New York Style Pizza; Stromboli, Calzones, and other Italian Fare; Subs, Burgers, Gyros, and Salads.

Located at 235 Granby Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
(757) 622-5084

Thanks to Mark and owner Peter Freda for allowing me to photograph them and their good eats!

Colley Cantina's Hot Poppers and Dark Brews

Been so busy lately, one appointment after another -- 21 in 27 days. Whew! And more to come.

After one doc appointment recently, I found myself with an irate, empty tummy. I'd been up since about 6 am (yes, really), without a thing to eat or drink but about half a cup of joe. Now, I know this is probably not the first thing to come to your mind when you are hungry, but as I was rumbling down Colley Avenue in Ghent just before the lunch rush, I thought about the jalapeno poppers at the Colley Cantina. I hadn't been to Colley Cantina in quite a long time, but I still remembered those poppers.

If you've never had them before, go and try them, and see why my car turned in Colley Cantina's direction. These are the most beautiful, fresh, succulent (!) stuffed jalapeno peppers you will likely ever encounter on this earth. Handmade, batter-crusted and oozing with cheese, dipped in a bit of cool ranch sauce, you will enter a new orbit when you pop one of these babies in your mouth.

So, okay, I got there and ordered me up a batch (a little bad grammar never hurt no one). While waiting, I did what I always do, read everything on it that has writing. Since there were no cereal boxes around, of course, I had to read about their brew offerings, which were plentiful, not to mention outstandingly interesting.

And here is where I really got interested. The Colley Cantina apparently excels at delivering a variety of exotic and micro-brews, of both the light and dark variety. Now, truly, I am not a big drinker, but I do like to quaff a nice, foamy, rich, dark brew every once in a while. However, it is not at all unusual for me to try to order one in a restaurant and then have them tell me that they can serve me a light brew and turn the lights out, if I insist.

Imagine my delight when I saw their dark beer menu, which I have kindly photographed for your reading pleasure (and to save a few keystrokes for my carpal-tunnel wracked wrists):

Pictured above: Stone 09/09/09 Vertical Epic (left) and the Stone Imperial Russian Stout (right)

Now,  I know that it was daytime, and I NEVER (hardly ever) drink in the daytime, but I did notice that they offered tasters for only 25 cents each, which seemed like such a very good idea.  Since this marketing ploy nabbed me on two counts -- dark beer, a penny-pincher's dream bargain -- I really had no choice but to try a couple.  Those would be the two shown above.

I do have to disclose that the 25 cent sizes are really no more than a sip or two, and that I did ask for a larger portion of both, for which I was charged the half-pint price.  However,  since I said that I do not drink during the day, I am only owning up to drinking the two sippy size portions. Based on this sampling, however, I can tell you that these two brews were DELICIOUS, particularly the Vertical Epic. Do try to squint and read what you can of the pictured descriptions as they really do describe the flavors quite accurately (chocolately, creamy, etc.).  I am still thinking about them and am contemplating a return trip very soon. (Curiously, I did happen to leave my credit card there by mistake).

Anyway, between the brews and the poppers, I was quite happy, and my tummy was as well. (I highly recommend dark brews to settle the stomach and they go quite nicely with the jalapenos.  My high school German teacher did advise that German women were known to drink dark beer when pregnant, so there may very well be something to this).

Colley Cantina is located in Norfolk's Ghent area at 1316 Colley Avenue. Phone number is (757) 622-0033.