Hush Puppies at Surf Rider in Virginia Beach, VA
This past weekend our quest was to find the best hush puppies in Virginia Beach. In case you are unfamiliar with what is the deliciousness of hush puppies, they are essentially corn meal batter fried into little balls and usually served with butter. They were invented way back in the day when southern cooks fried leftover batter and tossed them to the dogs in order to “hush the puppies”. Today you can find hush puppies as appetizers and sides at restaurants all over the south, including Virginia Beach.
We started out at Kokoamos (http://www.kokoamos.com/), a place known more for their drink specials ($1 domestics and wells on Fridays and $1.80 domestics every other day) and view than their food. However, I had their hush puppies before and they were quite delicious so I had to include them on our tour and I’m glad I did. The hushpuppies were served to us straight from the deep fryer – very hot and crispy, the way they should be. The presentation was simple, in a basket with red checkers, but what made these special were the chunks of corn in the inside. They were served with little packets of butter, which was kind of a disappointment. Altogether we rated them an 8 out of 10.
Next stop was Surf Rider (http://www.surfridergroup.com/), a seafood restaurant with multiple locations in Hampton Roads. The location off Great Neck Road in Virginia Beach is my favorite though as it is a completely outdoor restaurant (closed in the winter) and reminds me of being on an island in the Caribbean. Surf Rider shares the same parking lot as Kokoamos. Their menu is limited but we didn’t care, all we wanted were hush puppies. Surf Rider’s hush puppies were also served hot and were very crispy. The presentation was even more simple than Kokoamos, served in a red basket on tin foil, and they didn’t have chunks of corn, but they did come with a delicious whipped butter. Surf Rider’s hush puppies were also much cheaper than Kokoamos at less than a dollar for 3. Definitely an added plus. Putting all factors together, we gave Surf Rider’s hush puppies an 8 out of 10.
So we have a tie. What to do now? Find another restaurant that has hush puppies with corn AND whipped butter or some sort of honey butter deliciousness dip. Any ideas? 
Nevertheless, in the end we can conclude that if you are mainly going out for cheap drinks and want a side of hush puppies, then out of the two your best bet is Kokoamos. If you are mainly going out for food and just want a drink or two, then Surf Rider is the better option. No matter what, you are guaranteed a delicious hush puppy experience.
