Something new to love
Published 8:48 pm Saturday, March 10, 2012
As we approach the middle of March at Suffolk Publications, we begin to eagerly anticipate publication of our next edition of Suffolk Living magazine, the Green Edition, as we’ve dubbed it. We’ll explore the topic of “green” from a variety of different angles, as one might expect for an magazine set to herald the beginning of spring with a publication date near St. Patrick’s Day.
But I’m still pretty excited about the January/February edition, which you can still find on some stands around Suffolk. Since that edition of the magazine was available for Valentine’s Day, we chose to make it this year’s Love Edition. And in one of my favorite features, we asked a few people from different parts of Suffolk, and with a variety of different backgrounds and social networks, to tell us what they love about the city.
Kenda Council, Evelyn Wall and Carol and Rebecca Warren each had something different to highlight about their hometown. They acknowledged the purpose and meaning they gained from their interactions with others in Suffolk, the sense of being rooted that comes from long associations with others and connections with the city’s landmarks, and even the joy that comes from being part of community organizations like Little League.
None of them, however, talked about food, and food is something that’s dear to my heart. Suffolk’s food, I have learned, is just one more reason to love this place I call home.
Of course, it’s hard not to notice that I’m a fan of food, and the truth is that I can find something wonderful to eat just about anywhere. But Suffolk is special. We have two of the top restaurants in Hampton Roads (and had three of them, before Primo’s 116 Bistro Italiano closed last month). It seems we have more sushi restaurants per capita than they do in Japan (and I mean that as a compliment). We have a growing variety of ethnic cuisine from which to choose, and a growing number of restaurants to visit whenever we’re too tired to cook at home.
I love the opportunity I have to try new restaurants downtown on the rare occasions when I can leave the office for lunch. And I also love the old, familiar standbys (you know who you are) that provide quick service and tasty vittles when I have only enough time to stop in, grab a bag and hurry out.
But Restaurant Week, which 10 Suffolk restaurants will celebrate March 17 to 24 gives me something else to love about Suffolk’s food — great introductory prices on special menu items. Two price levels will be offered at participating restaurants — deluxe, which costs $10 for lunch and $20 for dinner, or premier, which costs $15 for lunch and $30 for dinner. And you’re sure to find something you like.
Visit Suffolk-Fun.com/restaurantweek for more information and to get a list of participating restaurants. And then get ready to find something new to love in Suffolk.
I know I will.