ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200019
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BRISTOL, TENN.
SERIES: Taste of Virginia
Town folks were, to say the least, surprised when a pair of transplanted New Yorkers arrived in the isolated and small town of Troutdale (population 200) to open an internationally spiced restaurant in 1976.
Barry and Carol Serber came to the remote wilderness of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in 1974 to work on farms and escape the fast-paced rigors of Manhattan. They opened Troutdale Dining Room inside an old hotel.
``People thought we were crazy,'' Barry Serber recalled. ``Eighty percent of the people really loved the idea; we became conversation pieces. But some people resented outsiders coming in and doing something, even attempting to succeed where others did not.''
Barry, who handles the books and serves as maitre'd, comes to the restaurant field from a former career as an off-off-Broadway actor. Wife Carol, called a ``perfectionist'' by her husband, is a former dog trainer and poet who learned her culinary skills from grandparents who ran a hotel in the Catskill Mountains.
The couple barely made a living for 10 years, and that chapter in the life of the Troutdale ended in 1986. The idea to serve great food while paying close attention to details and freshness was a good one. It just wasn't paying to operate a restaurant so far off the beaten path.
In 1988, they made the move. Today, the Troutdale Dining Room is enjoying a thriving business just on the Tennessee side of Bristol - a city of 50,000 bisected by the Tennessee-Virginia state line. The restaurant is now inside the antebellum Vance House at 412 Sixth Street, about 31/2 blocks south of the Old Dominion.
Specialties rule the menu, Serber says. ``We make everything but the butter.''
The staff, some of which worked with the Serbers at the former location, tends to a herb-garden behind the restaurant. The restaurant bakes its own bread, too.
Fresh is the key word, and you can't get much fresher than the dining room's trout. Barry Serber keeps the fish alive in narrow holding pens. He does not kill them for the table until the afternoon before the night's dinner. The trout come from the Cedar Springs Trout Farm near Rural Retreat. Serber says the difference between these trout and those that have been frozen or shipped via air is a special delicateness, yet firmness, of the meat.
Entrees range $15 to $22 and are served with a salad or vegetable. The trout filet is coated with Parmesan cheese and the restaurant's own breadcrumbs, sauteed and served with lemon caper and white wine beurre blanc with sauteed spinach and steamed potatoes.
Another popular item, the Lamb Dijonnaisse, features a fresh rack of American lamb seasoned with dijon mustard, rosemary, thyme and garlic. Then it is coated with seasoned breadcrumbs and roasted. It's served sliced off the rack with sauce diable, sauteed string zucchini, squash, carrot ribbons and mushrooms with a side of duchesse potatoes.
Another big draw to the Troutdale is its small, yet well-stocked bar. On any given night, you can find patrons elbow-to-elbow in the place.
The Troutdale Dining Room's Chinese-Style Poached Rainbow Trout
Water
1 bunch scallions
5 slices fresh, peeled ginger
Two 14-ounce fresh trout, heads on
salt to taste
7 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons Chinese soy sauce
Fill large skillet with water to cover trout by 1 inch. Bring water to boil with a few scallions cut lengthwise (3 inches) and in half. Add 2 to 3 slices ginger, the size of a quarter, and simmer 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut remaining scallions the same way and slice 2'' lengths of ginger into thin match-sticks. Place with cleaned trouts (heads on), and immerse in salted water with remaining scallions and ginger. Cover, reducing heat to a bare simmer and poach for 8 minutes. After 4 minutes, put oils in a small pan and heat to smoking. Remove trout and place on platter, covering each with ginger and scallions. Drizzle each with heated oil, and pour a good quality Chinese soy sauce over the trout. Makes two servings.
- Recipe supplied by restaurant; tested by members of the junior elemen of the Tidewater Chef's Association, American Culinary Federation and Johnson and Wales University College of Culinary Arts.
Troutdale Dining Room
Address: 412 6th St., Bristol, Tenn. Phone: 615-968-9099. Specialty: Trout and international cuisine. Price Range: Entrees $10.95-$21.95. Hours: Monday through Saturday 5 p.m.-last seating 9:30 p.m. Reservations: Weekends. Dress: Casual. Payment: Mastercard, cash and checks. Alcoholic beverages: Yes, fine collection of single-malt scotches. Non-smoking section: Yes. Handicapped accessible: Yes. Additional information: Deck overlooking herb garden.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 linesby CNB