Having far too much time on our hands, boyfriend and I decided to seek out a new dining experience (I had grown tired of Outback and grocery store sushi). As I needed to go to Barnes and Noble, and he had to pick up something at Walmart, we ended up over at the Lynnhaven mall, where our only dining options were Cheeseburger in Paradise, Olive Garden, and the food court. That was when Dave remembered that we have spent an entire year in VA Beach routinely passing a small diner by Walmart, which we had never tried. So, game for something new, I accepted the offer of lunch at Pop’s Diner.
Upon entering the diner, we were greeted by a hand-written dry erase board displaying the morning’s specials: a Waffle combo (with two eggs and your choice of two strips of bacon, two links, or two patties of sausage), an Egg Sandwich, and the “Pop’s Special,” which includes two eggs, your choice of two strips of bacon, two links, or two patties of sausage, your choice of homefries or grits, and toast. Now, I’m not really a breakfast person, so I knew that these specials didn’t apply to me, but Dave had decided on the Pop’s Special even before we were seated.
We were greeted and seated immediately, with our waitress coming to take our drink order within moments. We went with our staple: Diet with a slice of lemon, to which I add a packet of Sweet N’ Low. Generally I determine whether or not the dining experience will be a good one by how quickly my drink is refilled (I can go through 10+ in one meal) and whether or not a new lemon is provided for each drink. In this case, my drinks were replenished immediately, and I was given a new lemon with each.
As it was my first time at the diner, I did have to request more time to look over the menu. Generally I hate having to do this, as I’ve come to believe that the phrase, “I need a little more time” means roughly “Go away and don’t come back for at least 45 minutes” to servers. On this occasion, I was given roughly 10 minutes to look over the menu, before I chose what I always choose on my first experience in a new restaurant: a cheeseburger with fries. I also ordered a side of onion rings to share with Dave, even though he had ordered breakfast: two eggs over easy, two strips of bacon, homefries, and wheat toast.
It took roughly 20 minutes to be served, which is an acceptable length of time to wait, and in the end, the wait was definitely worth it. I judge every restaurant I patronize by the quality of their cheeseburger. On the first experience, I do not add or subtract anything from the burger listed on the menu, but rather try to eat it exactly as provided. The cheeseburger was delicious: charred, but without any burnt taste, cooked perfectly medium-well, and definitely seasoned to my taste. I chose american cheese, though they give you the choice of american, swiss, cheddar, and mozzarella; the cheese was bubbly and warm, and covered the entire burger, which was a feat in and of itself, as the patty was rather large. Rounding out the burger was lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion slices, and a generous helping of mayo. The bread was delicious as well, neither overpowering or overshadowing the meat.
The fries were exactly the sort I like, which I would compare in size and shape to McDonalds. There, the similarities ended: they were perfectly salty, not one fry was at all limp, and they remained crunchy to the end of the meal. The onion rings were some of the best I have ever eaten: the batter was of the tempura variety, the onions snapped when you bit into them, and not once did I take a bite, only to pull the entire onion out of its batter. They did not provide a dipping sauce for the onion rings, which I personally prefer, which was the only downfall of my entire meal.
Dave’s toast was incrediibly buttery, of which he is not at all fond; however, it was toasted without being burned, and it was wheat, which he had requested. He claimed his bacon was delicious, which I had to take his word for, as I do not eat any pork products. His eggs were very slightly undercooked: the whites around the yolk were still runny, and there was no crisping of the outer edges, which is how he prefers his eggs to be cooked. But, in defense of his breakfast, the homefries at Pop’s Diner were immaculate: they tasted vaguely of onions without actually containing onions, they were heavily seasoned, and yet they managed to be neither too salty, too peppery, or too garlicky, and they paired perfectly with ketchup. They are not cooked as thoroughly as I like, though there were a few that I picked out which were crunchier than the rest.
We got out of Pop’s within an hour of entering, which I like: fast, good, and relatively cheap. Our entire meal came to only $21.00, which, with a $3.00 tip was less than we would have spent at either of the other restaurants we were considering. The restaurant was clean, relatively quiet, provides free WiFi access, and is smoke-free. The best times to go are over lunch during the week: watch out for the weekends, when it’s completely packed.
Would I suggest you check out Pop’s Diner? Yes.
Location:
- 2808 Sabre St., Virginia Beach VA (757) 340-6085