Waypoint Seafood and Grill Review

Waypoint Seafood & Grill

 

1480 Quarterpath Rd,
Williamsburg, VA 23185
(757) 220-2228
Where traditional cuisine takes a creative journey

Mindy’s Review…

Waypoint Seafood & Grill opened less than a year ago and just by watching how many people came in on a Wednesday night, I’d say the word is spreading quickly about this place. This is the kind of upscale restaurant that’s perfect for a special anniversary date or just getting dressed up for a nice night out. The decor is classy and calm with browns and blues as the color scheme. Our dining room had a fireplace and relaxing music playing in the background, which added to the warmth of the restaurant.

Our waitress started us out with their breads, which included soft and chewy focaccia, crusted artisan bread and sweet cornbread muffins. I can’t decide which one I liked the best because they were all equally tasty. Alongside the breads they served their own bread and butter pickles, whipped butter, and Edwards ham pâté. It was a perfect compliment for the breads.

Our next courses were the Artisanal Cheese and Meat Selection and “Waypoint Way” oysters. I am embarrassed to say I have only eaten oysters once in my life before this, which wasn’t the best experience. Needless to say, these were way better! The “Waypoint Way” oysters tasted like a fancy crab cake baked over an oyster. Edwards ham and spinach are mixed in with the crab meat, making it quite delicious! The cheese tray was generous with a variety of cheeses and condiments. It was very European and reminded me of a trip Eddie and I recently took over there. My favorite part of the tray was the pork rillette. It was wonderfully salty and moist.

Next for our entrées we tasted Oven Roasted Faroe Island Salmon and Parmesan Crusted Grouper. The grouper was their special that night. I wish the leftovers weren’t already gone because writing this makes me want to eat these dishes right now! I especially enjoyed the salmon. The outside was perfectly crusted and salted. The salmon sat atop a bed of asparagus hash, Dave & Dee’s mushroom salad, sundried tomato, and basil emulsion. The flavors and textures were so good. One thing I noticed throughout all the dishes is that Waypoint knows how to season their dishes well, particularly with salt. Everything popped with flavor because of this. The combination of flavors were well thought out and really flowed well together in both entrées. The grouper was also quite tasty. I really liked the ristotto that was underneath the fish. We ended the meal with one of their many mouth-watering dessert choices – the Snickers Torte. You’ll hear more about that in a second…

My Favorite Thing: After we finished dinner, I wrote down the salmon as my favorite thing, but after having their dessert, I had to change it to the Snickers Torte. It was absolutely amazing! The torte was creamy with a milk chocolate ganache’, caramel and peanut top and an extra crunchy crust on the bottom. I could have just eaten a sheet of the crust by itself! If this dessert was THAT good, I’m excited to try the others!

What I would like to try next time: This is an item off their lunch menu that sounded very unique. The “Virginianeer” Sandwich – “Shaved sugar and surry ham, granny smith apples, apple butter, cheddar cheese, batter-dipped and pan-fried french toast”

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Eddie’s Review…

Fresh Seafood, Local Ingredients, Fine Dining

One of the great joys in trying new restaurants is being introduced to the creativity and skill of the owners, their teams and specifically their chefs. I love how in just the presentation of a dish or in the tasting of a few bites, you can experience the flavors and cultures that have shaped a chef’s life. You literally get a “taste” of who they are.

Waypoint Seafood & Grill is a great example of this. They only entered the Williamsburg dining scene a few months ago, but have already made a huge impression. Their emphasis on fresh seafood, quality products and local ingredients along with the skill and talent to turn that into exquisite dining has made this happen. It’s no surprise how packed it was the night of our review.

To start off the review, I’m actually going to comment on their bread. That’s something that is usually left off, but with how good it was, I had to point it out. They brought us three different breads – House-made Focaccia, Cornbread Muffins and a delicious Crusted Artisan Bread. This came with three different condiments – Fresh Whipped Butter, Pickles and a Virginia Ham Pâté. The Virginia Ham Pâté was awesome. I’d love to buy a bucket of that stuff and take it home with me. It’s what made the bringing of the bread so special. Okay, now to the rest of the meal. Our first “order” we tried was the Waypoint Way Oysters – “baked with lump crabmeat, Edwards ham, and spinach“. These were very good. I loved the Virginia Ham inclusion. We then were presented with what was to me the most interesting and memorable dish of the night – the Artisanal Cheese and Meat Selection. This is a nice array of cured meats, cheeses and a few other tasty samples that I’ve never tried or even heard of before. The waitress said that the selection changes constantly, so there’s no hard description of what specifically comes with this plate. I’ll list a few items that stuck out to me though. My favorite was the Pork Rillette. It’s similar to a pâté, but this one was more gelatin-like. Honestly, it didn’t “look” the most appetizing, but it had tremendous flavor. There were four cheeses (Morbier, Maytag Blue Cheese, Goats Brie, and a Honey Almond Goats Cheese) and a couple of meats (Speck Ham and Carabrese). These were all very good. I also enjoyed the Apple/Sage Gelée. It was sweet like honey, and was a nice addition to all the savory cheeses and meats. Next, we had the Oven Roasted Faroe Island Salmon – “Asparagus hash, Dave & Dee’s mushroom salad, sundried tomato, basil emulsion“. All of that accompanied a perfectly cooked Salmon. It was DELICIOUS. The crust was so crunchy, yet the inside so moist. And those accompaniments were amazing. It was simply an outstanding dish. We then had their locally sourced market fresh fish of the day – Parmesan Crusted Grouper. It sat atop a creamy risotto with sweet corn and basil and then a roasted red pepper purée under that. It was topped with a butter poached lobster tail and Manakin Town greens. I liked the greens. They had a very strong flavor that went perfectly with the dish. To end our meal, we had the Snickers Torte. This was so good. The bottom was a crunchy, crackly, crispy layer of fantastic texture and flavor that sits under a cool, thick and creamy chocolate filling. The contrast in texture is delightful. It’s definitely a dessert that I want to try again, and again, and again. And again.

My Favorite Thing: There were so many good dishes here, and while I loved the uniqueness of the Artisinal Cheese and Meat Selection, I’m actually going to go with the Oven Roasted Faroe Island Salmon. The flavors were just too good.
 
What I would like to try next time: The “Original” Virginia BLT – “Fried green tomatoes, local fried oysters, Edwards pepper bacon“. Now THAT sounds interesting.

For more Williamsburg restaurant reviews, visit www.EatPlayWilliamsburg.com



Busch Gardens Germany Review

One Busch Gardens Blvd.,
Williamsburg, VA 23185
(800) 343-7946
Fresh pretzels, delicious sausages, sauerkraut and apple strudel

 

Mindy’s Review…

As most people know, Busch Gardens is known for its beautiful theme park, and its Germany area is no exception. The main “hub” right now seems to be Das Festhaus, which is a 2,000 seat dining hall that really does transport you to another place. The incredibly tall ceilings and walls are decorated in 3D and make you feel like you are in the middle of a German town. There was even a little gingerbread house for the kids to look at.

Our first food stop in Germany was their pretzel shop. We ordered their Jumbo Pretzel and The Pretzel Sandwich. I have seriously never seen a jumbo pretzel that looked that good in my entire life. The pretzel was perfectly crispy, buttery, soft and salty. I don’t like a ton of salt on my pretzels, so these were just right. The Pretzel Sandwich was really good, too. It was piled high with a generous portion of deli meat that tasted fresh out of the deli. You wouldn’t expect this meat quality and generosity from a theme park. We also tried one of their pretzel dipping sauces called Beer Mustard. I used it for both items and it was a great addition. Later in the day we went back for another snack because we just couldn’t resist the Pretzel Nuggets. These were mini versions of the Jumbo Pretzel. It had all the same qualities that I liked about the jumbo one. We gobbled those right up.

For dinner, we visited Das Festaus and chose two dishes. One was the Mile High Corned Beef Sandwich and the other was the German Sampler. I already told Eddie that I would eat the corned beef sandwich, but I wasn’t sure if I would like it since that is not my first choice when it comes to sandwich meat. I was quite surprised though that I actually enjoyed it. They definitely do not skimp on the meat in that sandwich! “Mile High” is a fitting description. The German Sampler had smoked sausage, ribs and roasted chicken alongside a couple of sides. We ended the meal with two of their desserts. One was their strawberry shortcake, which tasted like something mom would make, and the other was their Torte Cake. The pictures do not do the Torte Cake justice. It is absolutely huge! We even had people comment on it as they walked by because it was layered so high. This was the most impressive-looking dessert that I saw. While we ate our dinner, we were able to enjoy the new show called “Entwined”, which is a combination of different storybook characters put into one show. Our kids liked it and were clapping along to the music. For the full experience of Das Festaus, make sure to go when the show is going on.

My Favorite Thing: By far this has to be one of the pretzel items that we tried, but specifically I would say The Pretzel Nuggets. They were so good! I would have to say that Busch Gardens makes the best pretzel I have ever tasted.

What I would like to try next time: Since I am in love with their pretzels, I think I would have to say their pretzel wrapped hot dog. I think I could eat almost anything made with Busch Gardens pretzels.

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Eddie’s Review…

 

Ich Mag Brezeln ! That’s German for “I like Pretzels!”. I really do. They are probably one of my favorite foods. Baked bread and salt is heaven to me. And when I knew that we would be trying various items at Busch Gardens Beste Brezeln und Bier (Best Pretzels and Beer) that just opened last year, I was very happy. This is a different type of review for us. This is more of an Eat AND Play review. We all know about Busch Gardens and what they offer “Play” wise – thrilling rides, entertaining shows and beautiful landscaping makes Busch Gardens one of the top theme park destinations in the country. Don’t forget about the food though. If you don’t know, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is comprised of seven European countries – England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, France, New France (Canada) and Germany which is broken up into two areas (Oktoberfest and “regular” Germany). With all of these countries represented here, you have a number of cuisines to choose from all in one place. That amount of flavor variety adds to the adventure of Busch Gardens. We’d love to try them all, but that would just be too much for one review. So we narrowed it down to one country – Germany.

Busch Gardens Germany offers a variety of attractions and places to eat for both young and old. As I stated above, it’s comprised of two sections – “regular” Germany and Oktoberfest. In Oktoberfest, you’ll find rides like Der Autobahn (Bumper Cars), Mäch Tower (240 foot Drop Tower), Der Wirbelwind (Swings), Curse of DarKastle (4D Motion Based Dark Ride) and coming soon, Verbolten (Roller Coaster). There’s also the Oktoberfest Games area with carnival type games where you can play to win different sized stuffed animals for your children, your sweetheart or I guess, even yourself. In “regular” Germany, you’ll find rides like Alpengeist (Roller Coaster), Kinder Karussel (Merry-Go-Round), Skyride and the Rhine River Cruise (Boat Ride along Busch Gardens river). There’s also the German Gifts area and Land of the Dragons (Children Area with Tree Houses and Children’s Rides).

For eating in Germany, the two main options are Das Festhaus and Beste Brezeln und Bier (Best Pretzels and Beer). Both of these are located in Oktoberfest. We started our eating adventure at Beste Brezeln und Bier. We ordered the Turkey and Cheese Pretzel Sandwich Platter with Homemade Chips and a Jumbo Pretzel with Sünner Kölsch Beer Infused Mustard as a dipping sauce. The sandwich was very good. It had a nice amount of carved turkey and cheese surrounded by a big and chewy pretzel. It turned out better than I expected it to. The Jumbo Pretzel was awesome. It was a humungous, puffy, soft pretzel with great flavor. We came back a few hours later after walking around the park and then tried their Pretzel Nuggets. These were good as well. Big airy puffs of pretzel dough sprinkled with salt that could be devoured in seconds. After exploring the park again, we went on to Das Festhaus for our dinner. Das Festhaus is BIG. You have tons of options food-wise. Plus, they offer a show to entertain you while you eat, which is always nice. Out of all the food options, we chose to go with the Mile High Corned Beef Sandwich, German Sampler, Strawberry Shortcake and Torte Cake. The Corned Beef Sandwich was good. They give you a generous portion of Corned Beef to fit their name “Mile High”. The German Sampler allows you to try three of their meats on one plate. They give you their ribs, sausage and baked chicken. Not bad for theme park food. The Strawberry Shortcake consisted of layers of sponge cake and whipped cream smothered in a strawberry sauce and real strawberries. I liked this. Then came the skyscraper of a dessert known as the Torte Cake. This is one big dessert. It towers above all the other desserts in the dessert case. It consisted of three fat layers of chocolate cake and whipped frosting, appropriately topped with a red cherry to finish it off. We left the park happy and full, enjoying the fun times and good eats we had with our two little daughters. Mia, the oldest (3 yrs), just told me a few hours ago while I was writing this review how she wanted to go to Busch Gardens again. Maybe Italy???

My Favorite Thing: The Jumbo Pretzel. This is one of the best soft pretzels I’ve ever had.
 
What I would like to try next time: Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Nuggets. A sweet version of the Pretzel Nuggets.

For more Williamsburg restaurant reviews, visit www.EatPlayWilliamsburg.com