happy accident

Stepping back to last weekend; I had a night in Norfolk/Virginia Beach after leaving the family before flying out of Norfolk the next day. After what had ended up feeling like a busy week, in a way it was kind of refreshing to be on my own for a bit. I did a little web searching and came up with a place I wanted to check out for dinner, but as often happens, I delayed myself to the point of being to late to make it there. This turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. Annoyed with myself, I re-researched for late night options and ran across listings for Doumar's Cones and Barbecue. The name intrigued me enough, but discovering that it was a still-working carhop and a landmark since 1934 sealed the deal. It seems that Abe Doumar created the first waffle cone for the 1904 Worlds Fair in St Louis, and the machine used to make them is still at Doumar's today. But I went for their other signature item - their NC barbecue (and a homemade limeade) and wasn't disappointed. Basic, but good. The place is nothin fancy, it isn't cleaned up and sanitized like Disneyland, but the grit made it all the more authentic to me. I'm glad I didn't miss it.