Terry's Take: Doumar's Drive-In, Norfolk

When people ask me where to eat in Norfolk, I send them to Doumar's. Not because it's fancy, because it isn't. Doumar's Cones & Barbecue at 1919 Monticello Avenue is a working drive-in that's been in the same family since 1907, and it's one of the few places left in Hampton Roads where the food tastes exactly like it did when my parents were kids. This is my review, and the short version is: go.

You need the backstory, because it is the whole point. The story goes that Abe Doumar invented the waffle cone at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. He saw a vendor run out of dishes and roll up a waffle to hold the ice cream, and an idea was born. He brought it home, opened Doumar's in Norfolk in 1907, and the machine that made those first cones is still sitting there today. They still roll cones on it, in front of you, one at a time. Think about that. That machine is older than every neighborhood I sell in, and it still works for a living.

What to Order

Start with a cone or a sundae, because that's the show. You can stand at the counter and watch them pour the batter and roll it hot. My go-to is a hot fudge sundae in a fresh cone. If you want the one the Food Network came in for, get the Strawberry Willy. The ice cream is homemade and it tastes like it. This is not a frozen custard place pretending to be nostalgic. It's the real thing, made the same way it's been made for over a hundred years.

Now the barbecue, because this is where people argue with me. This is eastern North Carolina style: pulled pork, vinegar sauce, on a soft bun. If you grew up on thick sweet sauce, that first bite might surprise you. Give it a second bite. I have brought clients here after closings who swore they "don't do vinegar barbecue" and watched them order a second sandwich before we left the table.

And get the limeade. It is fresh squeezed, right in front of you, no mix, no syrup. Tart on the front, sweet on the back, and cold enough that your hand leaves prints on the cup. I do not know another place in this region that still does it like that.

The Experience

The experience is the point. You can pull up under the canopy and a carhop comes out to the car, the way it worked when the drive-in opened in the 1930s. Or you can go inside and sit at the counter. Either way the cones keep getting rolled, the burgers come off the grill, and nobody is in a hurry. It's got that particular loud: families, kids with ice cream on their shirts, older folks ordering the exact same thing they ordered in 1965. Doumar's doesn't call itself a time capsule. It just is one.

The staff treats regulars like family, and they'll treat you like a regular on visit number one. That's the secret to any place that's lasted this long. You can't fake a hundred years of service. You just have to do it right, every single day, and let the weeks stack up.

Why I Tell Relocating Families About It

This is the part that matters to me. When someone is moving to Norfolk on orders or for a job, I always tell them to eat at Doumar's during house hunting. You will learn more about this town in one lunch there than from any welcome packet. It is the kind of place that tells you what Norfolk actually is: hardworking, unpretentious, proud of its history, and not interested in being something it's not. That is a good thing to know before you pick a neighborhood.

Location and Hours

Doumar's is at 1919 Monticello Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23517, right in the middle of the city and an easy drive from Naval Station Norfolk and downtown. It's open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 in the morning until 11:00 at night, and closed on Sundays, so plan around that. The phone is (757) 627-4163 and the menu is on doumars.com.

The Bottom Line

Doumar's has been doing the same thing, the same way, since before most of us were alive. That's not being stuck in the past. That's a town treasure. If you've never been, take the kids, take the grandparents, take the people who just moved here. Order a cone, a limeade, and one of those vinegar sandwiches, and let the place do its thing.