THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 6, 1994 TAG: 9410040137
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
It seemed fitting to hear the late Patsy Cline belting out a plaintive country tune on the juke box at the new Wilma's Chili Parlor on Colley Avenue. With a 24-ounce bowl of Texas chili - diced chuck roast and no beans - cornbread, and a Lone Star beer, a fella might shake the blues brought on by Patsy's sad song.
Can't have a beer yet. Wilma's ABC is pending a use permit from the city, but owner Mike Cavish, the attorney turned restaurateur who brought you Fellini's on 21st Street, tells me he hopes the permit will be in place within a week.
What you can have at the cavernous eatery (once known as the Main Event, but now completely remodeled), is a choice of four chilies, and plenty of Southern-style cooking. Chili varieties include a vegetarian (with two kinds of beans) and a white chili (with shredded chicken breast and white navy beans), and Wilma's own chili of coarse-ground chuck and pinto beans, a more traditional presentation.
Also on the menu are such ``comfort foods'' favorites as meatloaf with tomato gravy ($3.95 for a small serving, or $5.95 for the large), fried pork chops ($4.95 for one chop, $6.94 for two), fried chicken ($4.95/$6.95), chicken and dumplings ($3.95/$5.95, and even country-fried steak ($5.95).
Salads include a ``Southern-style'' chicken salad plate ($5.50), made with white and dark meat, onions, celery and mayo, with a side of potato salad and slaw, while sandwiches include burgers, barbecue, ham and cheese, a club, and even a ``homemade pimento cheese sandwich. ``Sandwiches and burgers are $3.75 to $5.95, and come with chips, fries, potato salad or slaw.
``So far we're selling about half-and-half, between chili and Southern food,'' Cavish told me last week, after a couple of days of operation. The idea for the place came through a contact with Wilma Stocks, who cooked for Cavish at both his downtown Judge's Chambers locations, from 1975 to 1980. ``These are the items that did so well as specials back at the Judge's Chambers,'' he added.
Now Wilma runs the kitchen, and you might say it's a real statement of trust to name a restaurant after the cook. As for the idea of doing a chili parlor, Cavish explained that he read that humorist and entertainer Will Rogers once said he judged the quality of a city by the bowl of chili he could get there. ``And the Southern food fills a gap in this market,'' he said.
I tried fish of the day, fried flounder (which could have been broiled - $5.95), with a side of black-eyed peas and string beans, which is about as local as you can get, with a cup of white chili ($3), and was well-satisfied with my meal. My friend David Puryear couldn't finish his fried pork chop, so full of Wilma's chili was he, but spoke well of it, and the macaroni and cheese and spinach that came with it.
Mike Cavish told me that he will run daily specials, such as roast pork and dressing with baked apples, baked chicken and rice pilaf, baby back ribs and shrimp creole, in the $3.95 to $5.95 range, with the top price he can imagine being an occasional $7.95 fish special. He promised prime rib specials on weekends in the future.
As for the interior of Wilma's, it is painted in green and gold, with booths along one wall and picnic tables along another. Antique tables and the occasional easy chair reminded me of the original Fellini's. An oak bar dominates one side, its blonde wood a contrast to the dark wainscoting circling the room.
Asked about the rough reputation of the former inhabitants, Cavish pointed out the businessmen in coats and ties seated across from us and added that he has a uniformed parking lot attendant on duty seven nights a week, to reassure customers.
``I'm real excited about people's suggestions,'' he added. ``We want some input, and even some old Southern recipes. And there are so many different directions we can go with chili.'' MEMO: AT A GLANCE
Wilma's Chili Parlor: 3910 Colley Ave., 627-7441.
Food: Southern food, sandwiches, salads, and chili; ABC pending.
Prices: no menu item over $7.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
Mike Cavish, left, owns Wilma's Chili Parlor, which was named for
the cook, Wilma Stocks, right.
by CNB