These were some of our stops during the road trip to Irvington, VA on July 4th weekend in 2010.

Westmoreland Berry Farm
July 5, 2010

Our last stop for this trip was Westmoreland Berry Farm. Berries are definitely in the top five of my favorite food items and the summertime is my happiest time of the year. When my husband planned this whole trip, he was excited to show me Westmoreland Berry Farm.

I brought a cooler and a bunch of tupperware in the trunk to bring back as many berries as possible. The month of July is in the middle of blackberry and blueberry season, the end of red raspberries and cherries, and the beginning of the peach season. Unfortunately, only blueberries, blackberries and peaches were available when we visited but their blackberries are so huge and amazingly sweet and juicy.

I purchased two buckets full of blueberries and blackberries and it all cost only $30. This is heaven.

Another exciting thing for me was they had a small cafe that offered fresh fruit sundaes and shortcakes. I had a "combo" and it came with shortcake and ice cream with whipped cream and fresh berries. It was the perfect size to share with another person but it was my lunch so I ate most of it by myself!

You can also pick your own berries. Visit their website for their crop report to check what fruits are available for PYO.

If you love berries, this is the time to visit them.

Westmoreland Berry Farm
1235 Berry Farm Lane
Oak Grove, VA 22443
1.800.997.BERRY
www.westmorelandberryfarm.com

Ingleside Plantation Winery
July 5, 2010

One of the activities that I recommend to do in Eastern Virginia is going to Ingleside Winery. It is not really in Irvington but you may want to try to go there on the way. There is another winery in Irvington called White Fence but I recommend Ingleside much more.

When we got there on the way to Irvington, there was a large tour bus and both of their tasting rooms were full and it did not look like we could get to the tasting for a while so we decided to come back on Monday on the way back home.

There are three tasting selections. Basic ($3.00), Reserve ($7.00) and Full ($10.00). We did the full tasting with 6 white and blush and 10 reds including two sweet wines plus two extra wines (one is their Petit Verdot 2005 Special Reserve, which they don't usualy offer for tasting).

We both liked the 2008 Chardonnay and the 2005 Petit Verdot the best but I also enjoyed the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2007 Sangiovese.

The staff was very educated and willing to share a lot of information about their wines but it was very casual so even though you don't know much about wine, you can absolutely enjoy it.

We purchased a case of mixed wine and got a 10% discount.

Ingleside Vineyards
5872 Leedstown Rd.
Oak Grove, VA 22443
804.224.8687
www.ipwine.com

Savanna Joe's Bar-B-Que
July 4, 2010

I am not a BBQ person and neither is my husband. But somehow, we were craving it in Virginia there were so many good looking places. And of course it was July 4th. We had seen the sign for Savanna Joe's BBQ many times near Irvington and we decided to get a quick lunch there.

It was already close to three o'clock but people were still eating and customers kept coming up for both eat-in and take-out.

I had a basic pulled pork sandwich ($3.99) with a very cold beer and my hustand chose the pulled chicken sandwitch combo with coleslaw and mac and chesse ($6.49).

The pork was very tender braised pork (shoulder, I beleive) and you add your choice of sauce at the sauce station. They have about 6 different kinds of sauce. The chicken was already seasoned with their sauce and coleslaw was on top. If I have to pick one, I liked the pork better but both were excellent.

Savannah Joe's Bar-B-Que
55 Irvington Rd.
Kilmarnoc, VA 22482
804.435.6000
(three other locations)
www.smokinjoesbarbeque.com

Nate's Trick Dog Cafe
July 3, 2009

Our first dinner in Irvington was at Nate's Trick Dog Cafe. The name comes from the dog statue rescued from the basement of the Opera House after the Great Fire in Irvington in 1917.

Their menu had a good selection of meat along with several seafood choices like tuna, salmon and shrimp. I was lucky to get the seasonal softshell crab special. I could choose either pan fry or deep fry for my softsheff crab and sides were fried green tomatoes and corn. I chose deep fried which was recommended by our waiter and it was very tasty but I was wondering if the pan fried version was better since it came with the fried green tomatoes. Both crab and tomatoes were seasoned very well and I enjoyed them a lot. Unfortunately, the corn was cooked with a massive amount of cumin and it was too strong to eat even though I love both corn and cumin.

My husband picked the Ribeye and the meat was tasty and cooked as he ordered. He enjoyed the meat itself but as you can see in the photo above, the pepper sauce on top was too thin - like a soup. If the sauce had been cooked right, the whole dish would have been better.

Before our entrees, we shared the Shrimp Matamoras (layered avocado, black beans, Tequila lime salsa and shrimp served with corn tortilla chips). I guess I expected something special but it was a layered avocado dip with a lots of sour cream. I did not detect much flavor from this dish, unfortunately.

The staff was very attentive and friendly and they have a modern interior with laid-back atmosphere.

They let you sit with your dog at their patio but not inside.

Nate's Trick Dog Cafe
4357 Irvington Road
Irvington, VA 22480
804.438.6363
www.trickdogcafe.com

Kinsale Harbour Yacht Club & Restaurant
July 3, 2009

We stopped at Kinsale Harbour Yacht Club & Restaurant for lunch on our first day on the way to Irvington, VA. Kinsale Yacht Club has a small restaurant and bar. I was hoping for many selections of Chespeake Bay specialties but the menu was rather ordinary. However, they had a crab sandwich (Crabby Patty, $11.95) which sounded like what we were looking for. We also ordered the yacht "club" sandwich ($9.95). For two simple sandwiches, it took quite a long time to get the food but maybe they were making the crab cake from scratch.

The Crabby Patty was delicious. Simple, fresh and hot crab cake. I usually don't like the web crab cake made with a lots mayo so this one was very delightful. The club sandwitch was just average.

Kinsale Harbour Yacht Club
285 Kinsale Rd
Kinsale, VA 22488
804.472.2514