Abbey Road Pub and Lucky Oyster, Virginia Beach, VA

I tasted the best and worst in Virginia Beach.  The best was at Abbey Road Pub.  Texture and flavor were top notch.  It comes with a bourbon sauce and premium vanilla ice cream, but it can truly stand alone.  I am giving it a 4 fork, though I would rate it a 3.5 only because it's so darned sweet.  It has baked in brown sugar on top.  It was so good my non-bread pudding lover friend liked it (I let her have a spoonful) so much that we went back another day and got 2 orders, because I didn't want to share again!

Maybe worst is too dramatic, but look at this to-go portion from Lucky Oyster and what would you think?  This is unappetizing and I really don't like the sliced bread version.  Thankfully, Lucky Oyster is famous for seafood, not desserts.  Ick!  I admit the apples were good and it didn't have raisins, but it looked so afterthought undressed, I couldn't eat it.  It came with two sauces and ice cream.  I suppose when it's cloaked, it's better.

I am not telling you anything more about Lucky Oyster.  For Abbey Road Pub:
Price: $4.99 (a bargain)
Raisins: No
Sauce: Bourbon
Ice cream: Premium vanilla
Visited: February 2012

Poag Mahone's, Chicago, IL

OMG - thank you St. Patrick for whatever you did and thank you people of Ireland and New Orleans for loving to bake bread pudding. I got two different BPs to celebrate March 17, though I'm still eating them days later. This texture is so smooth. It's sliced like French Toast, and I didn't even use the caramel sauce because whatever it was lying in was good enough for me. It was already just a tad too sweet - minor complaint.

Price: $6.95
Raisins: Yellow and black, though not too many
Sauce: Whiskey
Ice cream: No, but whipped cream
Visited: March 17, 2011

Poag Mahone's - it's in a big office building.
333 South Wells
(in the 175 West Jackson Building)
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Ph 312-566-9100