THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412060580
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Restaurant review
SOURCE: BY DONNA REISS, RESTAURANT CRITIC
LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
LOOKING LIKE an ice cube on the corner of 19th and Mediterranean in Virginia Beach, Cafe Society is no place for secrets.
Surrounded on two sides by glass, diners eat in full view of passersby. Behind a bar-high counter, a team of cooks sautes the night away in the open kitchen; every flare-up in a frying pan brightening the entire restaurant. Half a wall separates the dining room from the bar, where waiting patrons eye those already eating.
Black-and-white tile floors, bright white furnishings and accessories, a puffy plastic Lone Ranger on horseback, a bold sunflower painting and just enough seating to hold a small crowd and keep some folks hungrily waiting, complete the scene.
Fans of Rick Maggard's enterprises over the years will recognize his hand in the menu design: slightly southwestern, plenty of pasta, and coconut cake made by his wife, Madeline.
Maggard, who opened a tiny Crawdaddy's in 1986, a larger Crawdad's and the Coyote Cafe in 1987, and a short-lived Barking Dog in 1989, made upscale eclectic southwestern his signature.
He nurtured chefs who made names for themselves first with Maggard and then elsewhere. Among them: Todd Jurich, chef-owner of Bistro! in downtown Norfolk. Another, Willie Moats, will join Cafe Society's kitchen team, led by chef Steve Sulecki, on Monday evenings in December and January.
The menu offers plenty of choices for meals large and small. A vegetable-stack starter that would also make a nice snack begins with a grilled eggplant slice, a thick grilled tomato slice, mozzarella crisply breaded and some mushrooms in a fresh tomato sauce demiglaze.
All the appetizers are hearty: bread spread with goat cheese and chopped tomatoes, garlic and mushrooms; fish tostada; and large scallops lightly browned atop a buttery but not overly rich cream sauce dotted with corn kernels.
Soups are equally substantial. The vegetarian chili with a swirl of cilantro cream is a delicious chunky stew comfortably spiced but not overly laden with beans. The sweet onion soup is almost too sweet, needing perhaps a bit more of the smoked pancetta ham. One evening's seasonal special was thick creamy pumpkin soup with a generous dollop of crab to swirl around.
A couple of salads provide a light contrast: iceberg wedges garnished with black olives and onions or California greens doused with a puckery berry vinaigrette. A chalkboard Greek salad was basic, topped with lots of crumbled feta and briny imported olives. A Caesar salad was drenched in an overly eggy dressing.
Menu pizzas come with chicken or vegetables or four cheeses; a chalkboard special combined eggplant, tomato slices and fresh mozzarella on a thick crust for a fine meatless combination. Several untried sandwiches - including meatloaf, grilled-cheese or chicken-salad - should satisfy children or adults.
We were hungry, so we headed for ``the big stuff.'' Fish tostadas on blue tortillas are likely to become the signature dish that fish tacos were at Maggard's earlier restaurants. These are stacked, topped with whatever is fresh (tuna, fortunately, on one of our visits) plus lettuce, gently spiced black beans and a scoop of guacamole. Eat them as an appetizer or combine them with a crab and lobster cake for a cafe combo dinner.
Not a fan of potato-chip chunks as a coating for crab cakes, I found their interesting texture a nice contrast to the lobster-laced cakes. On the side came a huge scoop of wild rice combined with white rice and slightly overcooked sliced squash and onions.
A hefty lamb shank was slow-roasted and surrounded by a garlic-onion confit, the perfect complement, plus a rosette of mashed sweet potatoes, a dollop of mashed white potatoes, and the same vegetables that came with the combo.
Pastas are featured as well. Rigatoni with sun-dried tomato strips and a red pepper sauce was tasty but a bit oily. A chalkboard offering of mahi-mahi came perched atop a bed of fettuccine sauced with clam chunks in a tomato sauce; the fish was tender, the clams rather tough. With all, slices of so-so Italian bread and crocks of butter.
Other tempting offerings: half roasted chicken, grilled tuna, New York strip and three-course vegetarian dinner. Lunches include the same sandwiches as dinner plus a few light plates and additional sandwiches.
Enticing locally made sweets are recited (we overheard a nearby table being offered some items we weren't - an unfortunate hazard of the memory menu method). Sometimes there are as many as eight sweets to choose from.
Madeline Maggard's creamy coconut cake is always a good choice, its three layers interspersed with shredded coconut frosting. We liked a fudgy chocolate torte and palate-sticking peanut-butter pie with a good crust and a few chocolate-chip sprinkles. Strawberry-daiquiri pie tasted like ordinary icebox pie.
About two dozen wines, more whites than reds, include several for as little as $12 and an average price of $16.
Kids are welcome at lunch and dinner, with several sandwiches from the menu or items like homemade macaroni and cheese with rigatoni, available on request.
Parking is provided in two small lots, one on Mediterranean, the other at the Sir Afton Inn. Maggard is working on valet service and additional self-parking spaces, but we had no trouble finding space on a weeknight or a weekend.
At Cafe Society, the prices are moderate, the food fine, the mood lively, the small crowd diverse. And you can order a full meal from the kitchen up to midnight every night of the week. 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
Cafe Society, 1807 Mediterranean Ave., Virginia Beach, 422-8774
Cuisine: Eclectic American with a southwestern flair, prepared in
full view.
Atmosphere: Upbeat cafe with black-and-white tile floors, white
Windsor chairs, paper-covered tables and glass all around.
Prices: Lunch from $2.95 to $7.95; dinner starters from $2.50 to
$5.50; main dishes from $5.50 to $14.95; desserts, $3.50; children's
portions on request.
Hours: Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday;
dinner from 5:30 p.m. to midnight daily.
Reservations: For parties of six or more.
Smoking: 15 percent.
by CNB