Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

TJ Vazquez

Table & a Ticket: Rick's Cafe

By TJ Vazquez

So it’s a Friday night and you and your date have just finished sitting through the latest mind-numbing monstrosity that some Hollywood producer had the arrogant gall and pomposity to call a film (probably something like “Final Destination 3,” or the sacrilegious remake of “The Pink Panther”) and you’re feeling a little bit like some greasy old Italian man just worked you over and in the end you gave him half your wallet and he didn’t even say thank you. Your date needs coffee because he or she fell asleep exactly 11 minutes into the movie and likes to have a cup of joe after a good, deep sleep; you need a full meal for a good price because you threw up at the precise moment you realized you paid a total of $17 for you and your date to see something you’ve both seen before and didn’t like the first time.

What do you do to make up for all this disappointment? You go to Rick’s Café on Virginia Beach Boulevard.

Rick’s is a small diner in Virginia Beach, not too far from the oceanfront, owned by Richard Brunson. It’s similar to IHOP but they’re not a franchise. Rick’s is a good old-fashioned mom-and-pop restaurant. It’s the kind of place where, at any moment, if a large man walked through the front door and everyone said, “Norm!” it wouldn’t surprise you one bit.

The food at Rick’s Café is good, too, especially when you take into account the service and the price. For $6.49 you can get a cheeseburger with a generous side of french fries, and another $1.49 gets you an unlimited amount of coffee. And they refill your cup with fresh coffee, not what’s been sitting in a thermos at the end of the table since you got there.

The prices at Rick’s Café range from $.99 for one egg to $19 for a full slab of baby back ribs. And as far as other meats go Rick’s serves an 8oz. New York strip with a side for $9 (don’t worry, there’s salad for you herbivores out there).

The best part is, the oceanfront is but a few miles away from campus.

Rick’s Café

Address: 1612 Va. Beach Blvd.

Phone: 757.425.1625