THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410130065
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BROWN H. CARPENTER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
THE ITALIAN OVEN was made for the night before payday, when you're down to your last $25 and you and your spouse just don't feel like eating at home.
The menu offers 11 pasta dishes for under $6, salad and bread included, and refillable beverages for 95 cents each. For dessert, try a couple of biscotti, which are hard, lightly sweet coffee-dipping pastries, for 99 cents apiece. Add the coffee, tip and tax and you still should go home with some change.
Stick to the cheapest entree, Pasta with Marinara Sauce at $4.95, and you can squeeze Junior into the $25 limit. Kids can have pasta and meatballs or macaroni and cheese for $2.50 and a drink for 65 cents.
As chain restaurants go, the Oven in Loehmann's Plaza, Virginia Beach, keeps dining simple. The space is small and minimally partitioned. Acoustics aren't so good, and things get noisy on crowded weekends.
The menu emphasizes pasta with sausages, chicken, meatballs, cheese or vegetables. The style is traditional, utilitarian Italian-American and you won't be surprised - either pleasantly or unpleasantly.
Our party of four on a recent visit opted for a couple of appetizers: Mixed Frye (named for the chain's owners, James and Janice Frye) for $4.50, comprising fried zucchini, cheese sticks and chicken breast strips and two dipping sauces, and Italian Mushroom Bread for $2.95, consisting of slices of pizza dough covered with with mushrooms, scallions, garlic and Romano cheese.
One order of each was quickly consumed at our table. Our couple with the $25 could easily make a meal of appetizers and soups. On previous visits to the Oven, we've especially enjoyed the Homestyle Italian Wedding Soup with meatballs and veggies ($2.95).
For entrees, we selected the Pasta with Grilled Sausage and Peppers ($6.25), Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Fresh Vegetables ($6.75), Chicken Parmesan (at $7.25, one of the Oven's most expensive entrees) and Meatball Stromboli ($5.25).
The sausage and pepper dish, served with either olive oil and garlic or marinara sauce, was good both ways but was better with the marinara sauce. And it's filling. Both hot and mild sausages are included.
The pasta and chicken was also good, with a rich garlic flavor. The Chicken Parmesan was rather ordinary. It needed more herbs and cheese.
Stromboli is an Italian meat pastry and the Oven's sample was a nice blend of meatballs, cheese, onion and garlic. The order comes with two stick-to-your-ribs pastries, one of which you'll likely take home.
Ah, but the Oven has already figured you will do just that. So your doggy bag is a neat little plastic container ready to go into the microwave. Take the leftovers for lunch the next day or even have them for dinner later. This chain knows how modern, on-the-go America lives.
On previous visits, we have also sampled the lighter Fancy Pizzas and recommend the Basil Pesto ($8.95) and Grilled Chicken and Spinach ($9.75), both light and flavorful. The couple with only $25 could split one of these and order two salads a la carte for $2.75 each.
Traditional pizzas in 10-inch and 12-inch sizes are also offered, starting at $4.95 and $6.50 respectively with extra charges per topping.
For dessert, we ordered three chocolate biscotti and one $2.95 Tartufo, an Italian-style ice cream dipped in chocolate, centered with a cherry and sprinkled with nuts. The Tartufo was rich and delicious - not for dieters; the biscotti an incredible bargain and very satisfying meal ender.
The kitchen was somewhat slow this night, but our waitress hustled the chefs along and generally took care of our table in an attentive, pleasant manner. MEMO: Reviews are based on a single, unannounced visit by a party of two or
three, unless otherwise noted. The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star
pay for the reviewer's meal and those of the guests. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ROY A. BAHLS
The Italian Oven's menu emphasizes pasta with sausages, chicken,
meatballs, cheese or vegetables.
Graphic
CHAIN REACTION
Italian Oven
Loehmann's Plaza, 4000 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach
498-8100
Hours: from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, from 11
a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Prices: entrees with salad and bread, from $4.95 to $7.95;
pizzas, $4.95 for an unadorned Traditional to $9.75 for the top
Fancy pie; strombolis and calzones, from $5.25 to $5.95; sandwiches,
from $4.75 to $5.50; salads, from $2.75 to $5.50 for antipasto.
Owned by: the Italian Oven Inc., Latrobe, Pa. The chain has 71
units in 14 states; just the Beach restaurant in Hampton Roads.
by CNB