THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 23, 1994 TAG: 9406210176
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
DATELINE: 940623 LENGTH: Medium
The friends worked construction, and often worked up a hearty appetite.
{REST} ``We were sitting around one Saturday, and we were both saying we were hungry and wanted some food,'' Stenson recalled. ``We wanted sandwiches, not fast food, and Phil said, `Wouldn't an ice cream sundae be good with it?' and we realized there was nowhere close to go get it.
``Ever since the High's Ice Cream store moved out about five years ago, the closest ice cream store is at Southern Shopping Center,'' he said.
So the two pals rented an empty store front in the little white shopping center near the foot of Granby Street that houses Davenport's Barber Shop and the Ocean View Museum.
``Since we had both worked construction we did the work ourselves, with some help from our friends,'' Stenson said. ``We put up partition walls, put in floors.''
The result is a tidy, if spartan, little 16-seat, four-table sandwich shop, known appropriately as Phil & Rob's Deli & Ice Cream Shop, which the partners opened in February.
A deli case out front showcases Boar's Head meats and cheeses, sold by the pound, including the likes of roast beef or corned beef ($6.99 a pound), Genoa salami, honey turkey or bologna ($6.89), pastrami ($5.99) or salads such as chicken ($6.69), or tuna ($5.99). Cheeses by the pound range from $3.99 for white or yellow American cheese to $4.99 for Baby Swiss. They also sell potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw and antipasto.
Choose a meat for a sandwich on deli bread and you'll pay $4.25, with a pickle slice thrown in. French bread subs are $5.25. You can add a salad to that for $5.99.
As for the ice cream, a single dip is $1.09, shakes are $2.49 (strawberry, vanilla and chocolate), a banana split is $2.99, and sundaes range from $1.89 to $2.89.
Being in business for themselves is tough, the partners concede. ``We split the time we're in here,'' Stenson said. ``I'm still a union carpenter, so I'm still working during the day some days. Phil's pretty much here all of the time, and does all of the paperwork.''
So far a lot of the business has been take-out, although at lunchtime the four-table emporium can fill up easily. Since it's usually a one-man show, patience is advisable.
``We know most of the customers, and that's what's keeping us alive right now,'' he added. ``Most people don't know we're here.''
The hours at Phil & Rob's Deli & Ice Cream Shop are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Located ``in beautiful downtown Ocean View,'' at 9619 Granby St., the phone number is 587-6744.
It's summertime and the living is easy, or so goes the Gershwin tune goes, but summertime is tough on crabs, especially the steamed blue crabs served up by the dozens on the deck overlooking Knitting Mill Creek at O'Sullivan's Wharf (4300 Colley Ave., 423-3746).
``We'll have them all through the fall,'' explained owner Buddy Caramillo last week. ``But until the end of June we'll be offering them at $9.95 a dozen. We spread out butcher block paper, little mallets and claw crackers, or we sell them by the piece, half-dozen or the bushel.
``We've been doing pretty well so far,'' Caramillo said. In July the crabs will go to market price, in the area of $14.95 a dozen, he added. And don't be shy about asking for advice cracking the crabs. by CNB