Redhead Bay Cafe: Savory Eats in Creeds
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Among the offerings at Redhead Bay Café is the bodacious BLT!
Skepticism prevailed that sparkling Monday morning as we lowered the ragtop, left the Virginia Beach bustle behind, and threaded our way deep into the hinterlands of Pungo.
Destination: Creeds, population 1,400 and home to Redhead Bay Cafe, a remote brunch spot that you’ll have to pass myriad restaurants to get to.
I wondered, “Would it be worth the drive?”
Owner Aristotle “Ari” Cleanthes, formerly of Blue Pete’s, said that he makes that his mission soon after I take a seat at the bar and begin gawking at the constitution-sized menu.
“The goal is to blow you away,” said Ari, sporting a camo ball cap and lumberjack beard. “We have to, or else we’re going bad out here in the country.”
Mission accomplished, according to the 500 people who regularly pack the place on weekends, ordering up outsized portions of brunch classics, each beautifully plated and prepared with a delicious twist.
Consider the humble scrambled egg. Here, Ari and crew swirl ranch dressing and cheddar cheese into each perfectly cooked portion.
The softball-sized Brisket Dip sandwich ($18) comes stuffed with chunks of house-smoked beef seasoned with a brown sugar and coffee rub.
Order a Bloody Mary ($8)—the menu touts four original concoctions including one made with bourbon—and for eight bucks more they’ll top it with a whole, fried soft shell crab.
And kids who order the current special, Orange Creamsicle Milk ($5), slurp a fantasmagorical creation in a Mason Jar: orange flavored milk with a whipped cream crown dotted with a swarm of sweet, bumble bee-shaped sprinkles.
After much debate, Chris, my starving sidekick, ordered Biscuits & Gravy ($16). To do that, he bypassed a litany of temptations. Think Smoked Salmon Avocado Toast ($18), or, get this, Lamb Chop Benedict ($26), four chops and two poached eggs atop a buttermilk biscuit.
When Chris’ brunch arrived, we again found ourselves gawking, this time at the portion size, enough to serve three. And there was no finely-ground sausage nonsense here. Instead, the dish, built on a buttermilk biscuit foundation that somehow remains slightly crisp throughout, comes cloaked in a savory gravy studded with sausage chunks. Stratas of Redhead’s signature scrambled eggs, stretchy cheddar, a circling of tater tots, and a generous handful of roughly chopped bacon finishes the dish.
It’s a memorable dish, and the guy sitting next to me, Chandler Sheipe, regularly drives 30 minutes from his Chesapeake home to partake.
Feeling carnivorous, I opted for the Brisket Dip, Redhead’s riff on the French dip. Ari has been smoking meats for his whole life, so why not smoke some brisket in house?
This savory sammie gets served on a regular sized hamburger bun, but it’s taller than it is wide. After two bites, the bartender came by, unbidden, with a stack of napkins.
“Do it any way you can,” she said as I shifted to knife and fork.
There’s so many interesting dishes to lure first timers back to the country, and back they come. Count on a wait on weekends. But no worries. Hungry masses here don’t huddle at the door. Instead, a patio with outdoor games, sidewalk chalk, and bar service makes the wait bearable.
Or, call up Ari’s Instagram, @thecampinkitchen, and watch his antics to get to know this kinda crazy, hunting, fishing, Pungo native chef.
Food Find: Redhead Bay Cafe
On Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
605 Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach
(757) 301-2718
Thurs.-Mon. from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tues.-Wed. Closed
Appetizers: $14-18
Salads: $9-17
Handhelds: $15-20
Breakfast Classics: $9-20
Omelets: $16-20
Benedicts: $16-26
Non-Alcoholic Beverages: $3-4
Bloody Marys: $6-8
Coffee Cocktails: $10-14
Kids’ Menu (under 12): $6.50 incl. a fountain drink
Lorraine Eaton, formerly with the Virginian-Pilot, is co-author of the “Food Lover’s Guide to Virginia,” and author of “Tidewater Table,” a local bestseller. She has won numerous writing awards, and her work has been included in “Best Food Writing.” Lorraine lives in Virginia Beach.
