THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409220066
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Restaurant review
SOURCE: BY DONNA REISS, RESTAURANT CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
THERE'S NO BEACH at Chick's Beach Cafe, but there's a delightful cafe in the Chick's Beach neighborhood.
Clean and cool in whites, aquas, peaches and greens, the restaurant's interior is charming and comfortable. Colors intensify in window swags and chair cushions. The mood is like the decor - gently upbeat.
Before or after dinner, patrons can stroll the sandy shore of the Chesapeake Bay just at the foot of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, only two blocks down the street.
Since January, two sisters, Amy Hodgen and Michele Majane, have operated the cafe. In the kitchen, Rob Podrasky prepares such twists on the familiar as a vegetable quesadilla and baked oysters with jalapenos.
Some of the more fanciful dishes work better than others, and dinners are not cheap, most of them more than $12; however, one pasta dish is as low as $8.95 and a chicken dinner is $10.95. With large fresh salads and bread included, the prices seem more reasonable.
Crisp leaf lettuces plus cherry tomatoes, threads of cheese and a few peas sprinkled around for a seasonal touch made an especially nice house salad. Dressings, though homemade, were standard. The Gorgonzola lacked the distinctive flavor of this special blue cheese; balsamic vinaigrette was better balanced.
If there's a quesadilla available, order it. Twice we have been pleased by chalkboard offerings of flour tortillas, one with a lush fresh mango filling and another with excellent grilled vegetables. Large, lightly browned chunks of squash, broccoli and onion, still a bit crisp within, were pleasing.
Baked oysters came only by the dozen but were reasonably priced at $10.25; the topping of bacon and Parmesan was lightly dotted with jalapenos for just a touch of heat. Garlic came roasted in the bulb for spreading on French bread; its herbed goat cheese accompaniment lacked the distinctive tang, however. Pina colada sauce on the coconut shrimp meant thick globs of coconut cream that did not benefit the jumbo shellfish very well; these shrimp were fine on their own. Corn crab soup was undistinguished.
Two soft-shell crabs came lightly sauteed and surrounded by wedges of red onions, soft rather than the crisp version we had expected from the menu description ``fried.'' These crabs were well chosen, the presentation simple; one member of our party from a distant metropolis tasted her first soft-shell crab that night and understood why locals look forward to this seasonal specialty.
Encrusted with black peppercorns, a satisfactory tenderloin of beef was cooked to order and garnished with boiled potatoes, snow peas and slices of red pepper. Grilled chicken breast with spicy garlic and ginger peanut sauce was excessively peanutty, as well as rather small for $10.95.
Seven pastas included a substantial portion of penne served in a big black bowl that was perfect backdrop to the rosy sauce of tomato, basil, red pepper and vodka-tomato cream. Not on the menu was an evening special of rockfish, a simple tender fillet of this white-fleshed fish, lightly blanketed with a creamy sauce and crawfish tails. This pleasing combination deserved a better accompaniment than a stale-tasting white and wild rice combination.
The menu offers plenty of other options. We would like to try lamb fajitas with guacamole and sea scallops over angel-hair pasta with lemon basil oil. Tuna comes blackened, salmon comes seared with citrus-ginger beurre blanc, and fried flounder comes with roasted red pepper aioli (garlic mayonnaise).
Among the desserts, chocolate torte was an ordinary layer cake with nuts. A white sponge layered with strawberries and whipped cream was pleasing enough but hardly a torte despite its name. Cheesecake had just a hint of Bailey's Irish cream. Coffee was fine; cappuccino was too milky.
Chick's Beach Cafe was a pleasant place to dine, particularly for people who live nearby. It's a comfortable neighborhood spot to try new dishes and to sip a moderately priced cabernet, chardonnay or another of the dozen wines that come by the glass or bottle.
Menus change with the seasons. Oct. 1 will bring more meat dishes to fortify against the chillier bay breezes of autumn. MEMO: Reviews are based on a single, unannounced visit by a party of four,
unless otherwise noted. The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star pay for
the reviewer's meal and those of the guests. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
BILL OF FARE
Chick's Beach Cafe
4600 Lookout Road, Virginia Beach
460-2580
Cuisine: Eclectic
Atmosphere: Comfortable, casual cafe in cool pastels and bright
florals. Acoustic entertainment Thursday nights.
Prices: Starters, soups, and salads from $1.75 to $10.25;
sandwiches from $5.95 to $7.95; main courses from $8.95 to $16.95;
dessert, $3.75; children's portions on request.
Hours: From 5 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, from 5 to 11
p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Reservations: Accepted only for parties of five or more.
Smoking: Bar area and about one-third of dining room.
by CNB