At the end of the month I'll be getting sent to Norfolk/Va Beach on detail for a bit. Having never been to the area I was wondering if you fine folks could point a wayward soul towards awesome shops/bars/etc in the area. Thanks!
There are some decent shops but no really nice beer bars. 11th Street Taphouse is probably your best bet.
The best craft beer "bar" is the Lynnhaven Pub (Va Beach), whereas the best pizza joint with good beer is Ynot (Greenbrier location only) or Cogans in Norfolk.
Places above as well as http://thebirchbar.com in Norfolk. http://www.grapeandgourmet.com and the total wine in VB are both good shops.
I'll second Grape and Gourmet in VAB. Good selection, but seems like everything is sold by the bottle. Great for tickers/out-of-towners, but not a great price on a full 6pk.
All the places mentioned above are solid. I'd also add the Bier Garden in Portsmouth, which is a 5 minute drive from downtown Norfolk. If you're looking for breweries instead of restaurants/stores there are a few. In Norfolk there is O'Connor's and Smart Mouth. Check their websites for their hours. Smart Mouth is very close to The Birch Bar. Beach Brewing Company is in Virginia Beach, and has some solid offerings. Depending on where you are, a trip to Williamsburg Alewerks might not be out of the question. Williamsburg (west side of town near Alewerks) is about 45 minutes from Norfolk if the traffic isn't bad. But one thing you'll learn about the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area is that traffic is a huge variable when you're using the interstates. Ask the folks you're working with about traffic once you get down here, it will save you some major headaches.
If you want to take a quick weekend trip you can head up to Richmond. Hardywood is really good and Center of the Universe just opened in Ashland. Capital Ale House also had about 50 micro's on tap and the food is really decent. There are Total Wine's in the area as well if you need to sip on anything decent during the week.
