THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 15, 1994 TAG: 9412130122
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Restaurant reviews
SOURCE: SAM MARTINETTE
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
David and Tracey Holmes of Magnolia Steak in Ghent are at it again, fine-tuning their menu like a scientist worries a formula until it's just right.
This time they've added spa cuisine and barbecue to their new lunch and dinner menus.
Not resting on the laurels gathered from being featured in an article on steakhouses set for February's Southern Living magazine (as well as in a December article on Ghent that also mentions Bienville Grill and Elliott's), chef/owner Tracey Holmes has tapped a West Coast trend in adding spa cuisine.
Offering items that vary daily, such as poached salmon with a yoghurt dill sauce and steamed vegetables ($9.95), or a rollatini of eggplant with a fresh tomato sauce ($8.95), the spa cuisine is just one item in the ``On the Lighter Side'' section. It also includes a portobella mushroom quesidilla (with sauteed spinach, feta and jack cheese and a tomato salsa - $6.95); and Tracey's personal favorite, a Turkey Scallopini (pan-sauteed and finished with a wine mustard sauce served with black beans and rice - $7.95).
``Spa cuisine is a category that we're doing at dinner, and it's lower in salt and lower in fat,'' Tracey explained. ``Most spas don't serve any portion larger than four ounces, so this is a smaller portion that you'll get with our other fish dishes.''
Those of you with a carnivorous intent needn't worry. At the other end of the philosophical scale from spa cuisine is an addition to the Magnolia Steak lunch menu - barbecue, and lots of it - pork, turkey and beef brisket.
``Our barbecues all have different bases, so they all have different flavors,'' she said. ``The tuna que has a citrus barbecue sauce base, with smoked tomatoes, lime juice, and light horseradish. We've learned over four years that 90 percent of our customers don't want their food too hot, so the customer can add their own heat at the table with hot sauce or cayenne pepper.''
All of the barbecues were tested as specials. I've had the opportunity to try the beef brisket (certified Angus brisket of beef marinated in beer and spices, then slow smoked over hickory wood, thinly sliced and simmered in Magnolia's own sauce - $5.95 for a sandwich with slaw, and $8.95 for a plate with fries and slaw) and found it excellent, not so spicy as to overwhelm the beef and very tender, as brisket must be.
I've also tried the ``turkey que,'' and enjoyed the slightly sweet mango peach sauce it is ``blended with'' ($4.95; $6.95). I look forward to trying the ``tuna que'' ($5.50; $7.50), of yellowfin tuna loin smoked over applewood, with a mildly spicy sauce, I'm told. Also available at lunch are Budweiser Baby Back Ribs, a half-rack, poached in beer and barbecued ($6.95 with fries).
``We added the barbecue section because as far as we know, no one is doing anything but pork barbecue locally, and we also wanted something that could get our lunch customers in and out within a 30-minute period if they need to,'' Holmes explained. ``It takes hours to barbecue, so obviously it isn't cooked to order.
``We'll always have a barbecue on as a dinner special,'' she added. Another special that has found favor with the customers is the barbecue ``Trilogy.'' According to Tracey Holmes, it consists of three-ounce servings of beef, turkey and pork barbecue ($9.95), served with fries and slaw, or perhap with grilled flour tortillas and black beans. ``That way you can taste a little of all of them.''
One other concession to the region is the Smithfield ham sandwich ($5.95 at lunch) and a Smithfield ham and smoked turkey sandwich ($6.95). ``That's on there because the owner craves Smithfield ham,'' Holmes admitted with a laugh. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
Tracey Holmes shows off one of the new barbecue platters available
at Magnolia Steak.
Graphic
AT A GLANCE
Magnolia Steak: located at the corner of Colley Avenue and
Princess Anne Road; phone, 625-0400.
Food: barbecue, steaks, seafood, salads and sandwiches, some
Southwestern-style and regional entrees; full ABC.
Prices: most lunch items are in the $5 to $7 range; dinner
entrees range from $6.95 to $18.95.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., Monday through Friday; 5 p.m. to 2
a.m. on Saturday and Sunday; dinner served until 10:30 p.m. on
weekdays, midnight on weekends.
by CNB