Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 25, 1990 TAG: 9007250101
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Dolores Kostelni
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
When the hankering for a pork barbecue sandwich sets in, head down U.S. 220 south to Old Virginia Barbecue in Rocky Mount. They serve the genuine article on a soft roll with pulled meat, white and sweet, and just enough smoldering red sauce.
I'd walk a mile for their pork barbecue sandwich ($2.95), french fries ($1.25) and onion rings ($1.50). All three come in eye-opening quantities. One taste is not enough.
No frozen products are used here. When the french fries and onion rings come to the table, the entire area is filled with nostalgic aromas for anyone whose mother made these from scratch. The first bite tells all: These have been made from fresh ingredients cut up and fried on the spot. They are simply delicious.
I only scratched the surface of the menu, which includes 14 numbered dinner plates. No. 3 ($8.95), the barbecue combination of beef, chicken and ribs with french fries, cole slaw, barbecued beans and toasted bun, filled me up in a hurry, but I sampled enough to make a report. A cloying smoke-flavored sauce smothered the beef. The falling-off-the-bones chicken and the large, tender ribs had been basted with the same sauce but with a lighter hand, making them more palatable.
Barbecue is a Virginia institution and I am certain Old Virginia Barbecue is on the right track. However, when meat "is slow-cooked to preserve the natural juices," as their menu states, I fail to see how the overpowering, smoky flavoring can enhance anything naturally good.
Old Virginia Barbecue is a spacious, congenial, spotless place, where everyone gets called "honey" and the waitresses encourage you to eat more than you should.
Not a bad idea, especially when it means their pork barbecue, french fries and onion rings. Stuff this good is as rare as hen's teeth.
Three years ago, when Billy Lightner and his dad decided to open a restaurant in the Smith Mountain Lake area, they knew they wanted a family-style establishment with a peaceful environment. This is exactly what they have.
The dining room at Lightner's is like a friend's comfortable living room: Floor-to-ceiling windows give a postcard view of cows languidly grazing in green pastures with the mountains majestically rising in the background. This sets the stage for the real family endeavor, with parents and son working side by side.
While Billy cooks, his parents preside over the 60-seat dining room. On the evening I was there, Mrs. Lightner was in perpetual motion as hostess to a full house. Although two waitresses took orders and served, she changed tablecloths, set tables, seated everyone who came in, processed guest checks, poured wine and was uncommonly gracious, even stopping to make small talk with us.
Billy is the only family member with restaurant experience. Twelve years with Charley's in Lynchburg and Danville gave him a hands-on education. He planned Lightner's menu, a two-page, reasonably priced listing based on his experience of what people enjoy when they go out to eat.
Every main course is served with bread, a house or spinach salad and choice of potato. Surf and turf ($19.95) is the most expensive item; petite prime rib and fettucini with white clam sauce ($7.95 each) are the least costly.
It is possible to put together a decent, satisfying meal of appetizer and entree with a glass of wine ($1.85 for Gallo to $2.50 for Alexis Lichine and Marcus James) that is cooked to order for under $15. Shrimp cocktail ($5.50) is a best-bet appetizer; the French onion soup ($2.95) is overly salty.
Veal and scallops Florentine ($14.95) is a nicely arranged dish of two breaded pieces of veal topped with tender, perfectly cooked broiled scallops and just enough lemon butter sauce. Even though the accompanying spinach was perfectly cooked, the top leaves showed signs of dryness, possibly an indication that the spinach or the entire dish had waited, uncovered, under warming lamps in the kitchen.
Although the veal was evenly thin, there remained a chewiness that could have been eliminated by first scoring the meat on both sides and then proceeding with a well-directed pounding.
Broiled catfish with lemon pepper sauce was an evening special priced right at $5.95. It smelled and tasted fresh despite its cloak of a dandelion-yellow sauce, one of the few items not made on the premises, according to Billy Lightner. By any standard, this piece of catfish was small and it became smaller in comparison with the four pieces served to the next table that were twice the size.
Desserts, including baked Alaska, are gargantuan, run-of-the-mill concoctions and better skipped.
Lightner's is not a flawless restaurant: There could be better organization; the homestyle cooking is inconsistent and sometimes lacks polish; and portion control is virtually non-existent. But I liked it anyway, because it doesn't pretend to be anything but a nice family restaurant where everyone works hard at making it possible.
Evaluations of restaurant accessibility to the handicapped are conducted by the Center for Independence for the Disabled, a non-profit organization.
LIGHTNER'S SMITH MOUNTAIN RESTAURANT
Virginia 626 and 608 at White House Corners Huddleston 297-1315
HOURS: Tuesday-Saturday: 5 p.m.-closing; Sunday: noon to 2 p.m.
PRICE RANGE: $7.95-$19.95
BEVERAGES: Wine and non-alcoholic beverages
CREDIT CARDS: MasterCard, Visa
RESERVATIONS? Recommended on weekends and for large groups.
NON-SMOKING SECTION? As requested.
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? Not evaluated.
\ OLD VIRGINIA BARBECUE
108 Meadowview Just off U.S. 220, Rocky Mount 489-1788
HOURS: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; closed Sunday.
PRICE RANGE: $2.95 for sandwiches; $4.95-$8.95 for complete dinners
BEVERAGES: Non-alcoholic only.
CREDIT CARDS: None accepted.
NON-SMOKING SECTION? As requested.
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? No.
by CNB