THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 13, 1994 TAG: 9410120059
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F6 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: A LA CARTE
SOURCE: Donna Reiss
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
CAFE SOCIETY, which opened about two weeks ago in Virginia Beach, may be the place to watch.
It's certainly the place to be seen: Surrounded by glass, diners are visible from Mediterranean Avenue and 19th Street, where the restaurant is located.
Using the magic touch that turned the original Coyote Cafe, a tiny three-table restaurant, into a mini-empire of three restaurants in the 1980s, Rick Maggard and his team of up-and-coming-chefs are serving a new take on some signature dishes.
There's tostada of fresh fish with black beans, cheese, and guacamole; chili thick with lightly smoked vegetables; fancy pizzas; and crabcakes rolled in potato chips for an extra-crisp coating and mixed with lobster for an upscale alternative.
Bistro fare meets diner dishes in a menu that includes half a roasted chicken with vegetables, country fried steak, and meatloaf sandwich with smoked mozzarella. Sandwiches, pastas, and small dishes mean you can enjoy the food without spending a fortune. And Madeline Maggard's popular coconut cake is the mainstay of the dessert menu.
Patrons perch on wicker bar stools to dine with a view of the open saute kitchen or sit at tables surrounded by bright white chairs. Dividing the dining room from the main bar is a low wall, just a slight impression of separation.
The neon sign over the door says: ``Eat.'' Friendly, knowledgeable staff say ``welcome''; white paper tablecoths say ``casual.''
Full menu service is offered daily from 5:30 p.m. to midnight (1 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays). Call 422-8744.
Hot Tuna, cold beer
You can sample specialty beers beginning at 7 p.m. next Thursday at Hot Tuna, Shore Drive and N. Great Neck Road in Virginia Beach. Cost is $20, which goes toward Chesapeake Bay Foundation-Save the Bay. Restaurant staffers also donate their time, and tips.
There'll be the familiar St. Pauli from Germany, as well as Abita Turbo Dog, Wild Boar Amber, Crazy Ed's Chili Beer and several other lively labels.
Store Bought Superhero, a local band, will entertain. This is the second year Hot Tuna has joined with Associated Distributors and Specialty Beverage of Richmond, Doughties Foods, Waterside Fish Co. and others to raise money for the Bay. Call 481-2888 for more information.
Fall fare
Bienville Grill in Norfolk has added to its menu. Creole spices are creating a more robust vegetarian pasta; there's sauteed spinach with roasted garlic as an appetizer or accompaniment to a 12-ounce ribeye with tasso-ham-flavored pesto; and spicy chorizo sausage is pan-grilled with stewed fresh okra and tomatoes.
Chef-owner Mike Hall's gumbos and fresh muffins are always warming. For dessert, sweet-potato-pumpkin pie has praline sauce; strawberry-white-chocolate cheesecake has hot fudge sauce.
Along with Louisiana favorites and variations, the menu includes a little Caribbean, a little Southwestern and a big burger on French bread. Call 625-5427.
Combo meals
As it celebrates its second anniversary, Bistro! at 210 York St. in Norfolk continues its innovative combinations. Consider Maine lobster corn risotto in corn lobster broth with roasted shellfish and pan-roasted wild forest mushrooms on stone-ground white polenta. The autumn Caesar is dotted with dried black currants and Parmesan crisps.
Fire-grilled Smithfield natural lean pork tenderloin, a slim pig bred to be 30 percent leaner than the average Luter porker, came with roasted red and yellow peppers, garlicky wilted spinach with scallions and garlic mashed potatoes.
If you want a basic steak or bistro-roasted chicken, you can get it, but the garnishes will reflect chef-owner Todd Jurich's always-intriguing tastes: absolutely greaseless buttermilk-battered onion rings and portabello mushrooms for the beef, potato cake with the bird. Bread pudding is made with already-rich brioche and a swirl of caramel. Call 622-3210.
Quick bites
Mitsunori Ebigasako, better known as Chef Ebi, has reopened Kyushu as a takeout-only sushi restaurant at 400 Newtown Road in Virginia Beach. A couple of dozen options, including vegetarian sushi and cooked dishes such as chicken teriyaki, can be waiting for you to pick up on the way home from work. Call 490-1177, or fax 490-2892. . . . Hello to Areo on Laskin Road in Virginia Beach, where Joe's Sea Grill once was. Areo will be the fourth link in Michael Scaramellino's chain that includes La Brocca, Captain's Table and Cafe Iguana. The middle name of Michael Jr., who will be maitre d' at the new restaurant, Areo also is the name of a contemporary Italian artist. Chef Pier Luigi is coming from Rome to run the kitchen, which will feature seafood and other fare at lunch and dinner. Look for a mid-October opening. Phone 428-0111. . . . Goodbye to El Tropicana, with its Caribbean-European dishes, and Rock-Ola, with its American standards. An especially fond farewell to Italian dining at Isle of Capri, which opened 40 years ago. Doors have closed on all these Virginia Beach restaurants. Correction
Chef Troy Boyd of Pogo's was incorrectly identified in the Sept. 29 a la carte. MEMO: Send restaurant news, along with your name and a daytime phone number,
to a la carte, c/o Flavor, The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, 150
W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510, or send e-mail to
dreiss(AT)infi.net.
by CNB