Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 17, 1993 TAG: 9312180067
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LELIA ALBRECHT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Through all this, longtime management member Lowell Hill has persevered, and is now in command. The restaurant seems finally to know exactly where it's going and how best to get there. That direction is in elegance in every way - along with fine food, of course.
Between my most recent visit just the other night and many earlier ones, here are the standouts:
Among The Library's appetizers, I've tried the superb oysters Rockefeller, their shells holding fat oysters swimming in a tiny, delicious sea of creamed spinach that shines with a redolent fennel glacage ($7.95). Also, there is asperge vinaigrette: lush, fat white asparagus spears dressed with a marvelous shallot-mustard vinaigrette. (For a mere $4.95, who minds that it is the off-season and these are the best of the canned?)
Also admirable is the saumon fume, a very high-quality (at $7.95 a slice, it better be!), delicately smoked salmon. Very talented chef Beverly Adams imaginatively garnishes this with delicious little croutons spread with a spicy olive tapenade, an interesting foil for the sweet blandness of the smoky pink salmon.
Until recently, one of my last trips to The Library had been on a freezing night when the weather should have been softening into spring but had instead dumped snow on the valley. Some of my food-knowledgeable friends and I risked good limbs, if not life, sliding through the freeze to The Library.
One look at the beautiful service plates greeting us as we were seated made us all aware of a certain new elegance that had come over the place since Hill's reign began. The large white china plates have in their centers a painted profusion of colorful flowers.
I began with an appetizer of little fat scallops, so fresh I could almost taste the sea, wrapped, then broiled so that the bacon was just crisp and the scallops still tender ($5.95). Superb. Another was impressed with his creamy she-crab soup ($5.95). The price seems steep until you learn of the problems in getting the ingredients at crab mating season.
I asked for baby lamb chops (market price). With parsleyed new potatoes and a macedoine of fresh new vegetables, it was easy, for the moment, to ignore the ice outside and feel as though I'd been transferred to a springtime heaven.
One of the men with us seemed to feel the same way with his Dover sole (market price). Even though he thought it must have been frozen and flown in, he declared nonetheless that "it was the best I ever had."
On my most recent visit, there were menus to match the beautiful service plates. And another beautiful echo: The same bouquet graced our table with a profusion of fresh flowers. Unfortunately, it was a shade too high and thick, so that my escort and I had to play peek-a-boo all evening.
There were six of us, all food buffs, and we each ordered different dishes - appetizers, dinners and desserts. We had a ball trading tastes of everything.
The wine expert ordered a Mouton Cadet chablis ($20 a bottle), which he proclaimed drier than the house chardonnay. It was indeed mellow, and quite perfect with the variety of dishes we chose.
One of the evening's specials, veal cutlets with morrels ($23.75), was my and another's choice. The beautiful beige cutlets, in just enough creamy white wine sauce to envelop the mushrooms, were again perfect. Another had Norwegian salmon ($19.95), which was grilled perfectly. Although it was very hard to believe during the following morning's exchanged telephone critiques, not one of us could find a fault.
Although I do not often eat dessert, I can't resist those of Chef Adams. Who could?
Flaming desserts such as cherries jubilee are spectacularly done tableside, but I haven't yet tried one. Others such as the chocolate mousse tort are spectacular enough. It's the classic - no gelatin - topped with bits of crunchy English toffee. I particularly liked the white chocolate mousse in a pretty web of raspberry puree. Either of these is to die for. All desserts are $5.95 except the flaming tableside ones, which are $7.59.
I now give The Library a loud, enthusiastic hurrah, and a top-of-the-list, must-go standing. Save up your money, or write a letter to Santa Claus!
\ The Library 3117 Franklin Road S.W., Roanoke
PHONE: 985-0811
HOURS: Dinner only, Monday-Saturday; closed Sundays. Note special closings: tonight and Dec. 24-25.
DRESS: Jackets required for gentlemen
PRICE RANGE: Appetizers $4.95-7.95; dinners $18.95-24.95.
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED? Yes
NON-SMOKING SECTION? No
CREDIT CARDS: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club CHECKS? Yes; corporate billing accepted
HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE? NO
Dining Out's evaluations of restaurant accessibility to the handicapped are conducted by the Blue Ridge Independent Living Center, a nonprofit organization.
\ shirt: Lelia Albrecht has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post and numerous magazines.
by CNB