The Pink Dinghy: A Far-Flung Culinary Adventure

Ahh, September, the month of back to school and the end of tourist season proper.

Back in the day, when I spent college summers waiting tables in Nags Head, the all-girl crew at the super-busy Seafare III would suffer seasonal exhaustion, as did wait staffs up and down the beach. By August, our fresh-faced smiles had given way to obligatory fake ones. The buoyancy had dissipated. We just weren’t as nice as we were in June. Some might say we had attitude.

I remember a late-season customer who ordered broiled fish asking me, “Did you all have to catch the fish?”—a testy, tired line that I’d heard too many times.

“Yes,” I replied, “and we’re still waiting on a bite.”

But over at The Pink Dinghy at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, there’s no such ennui. And good thing, because some of the multinational, small-plate menu items might require translation.

On a recent visit, I bypassed the pink picnic tables out front and sat at a small table amid tropical plants, a shelf of cookbooks, and a wall of splashy artwork and scanned the 15-item dinner menu. Knowing the eatery’s reputation for unusual fare, I passed by the house-made focaccia ($7), the marinated mussels ($13), and the burger with fries ($18). 

The house suggests two to three plates per person. I thought the Zucchini Frites ($12) served with a honey-queso, fresco-mint sauce would provide a light start. But the waitress said that the zucchini delivered that day didn’t meet the open kitchen’s standards, so they weren’t serving it that evening.

Instead she suggested the Shishitos ($11). Underneath the name of this mild, green pepper, the menu reads “toum, zhoug vinaigrette, pistachios.” 

Huh?

Although the smattering of tables was nearly full and the communal table that runs almost the length of the dining room only had a few seats left, the waitress patiently and expertly described the dish. The peppers, she said, are mostly mild although there might be a hot one here and there. They arrived cooked to a softness and slicked with the highly herbed and spiced Yemenese zhoug vinaigrette and heaped atop a swirl of toum, which is a cooling, Lebanese lemony-garlic dip. 

Heat, sweet, acid, and an occasional crunch of crushed pistachios, it’s an unforgettable dish.

Where to journey to next? Calamari ($16), lightly fried and seasoned with massaman curry, pickled mango, and peanuts tempted. So did the Crab Rigatoni ($26).

I went Asian instead and opted for the Sticky Fried Chicken Baos ($18). Bao, those downy, steamed Chinese buns, come stuffed with all sorts of goodness. At the Pink Dinghy three fist-sized bao overflowed with a brick-red hunk of hot, crispy fried chicken glazed in sweetness.  

Always inventive, owner Stephanie Dietz has her chefs nix pedestrian cabbage and instead shave crunchy, citrusy yuzu cabbage into the mix. Fresh cilantro leaves and crushed peanuts finish another unforgettable dish.

The namesake pink dinghy resides on the roof of this tiny, pink cinderblock building, an apt icon for a restaurant that transports customers far and wide. 

Other specialties include Caribbean influenced cocktails ($13-$14), fresh fried donuts ($4), and a wall of organic wines for sale.

Kids are welcome and their less adventurous palates can be sated with quesadilla, chicken fingers, and such. Meanwhile, we grown-ups can embark on a far-flung culinary adventure. 

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 Va. Beach.