THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502230014
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Restaurant review
SOURCE: BY DONNA REISS, RESTAURANT CRITIC
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
WHEN SOUTHERN Living magazine praised Magnolia Steak's steaks, I rounded up some beef-loving friends for a pleasant evening at the attractive Ghent restaurant with its longhorn-print chair covers and trims of terra cotta and turquoise against sand-toned walls.
The site over the years of many eateries, including a vegetarian restaurant and an elegant urban offshoot of Alexander's, this corner of Princess Anne and Colley blossomed in 1991 as Magnolia. It was upscale-casual in appearance but down-home comfy, with a pool hall on one side of the large lounge and a spacious dining room on the other.
Local owners Tracey and David Holmes have kept a number of favorite dishes, including walnut-encrusted catfish, marinated ribeye steak, and Charleston fried shrimp, as well as excellent salads. The two have added a selection of steaks, several ``lighter side'' small meals, and low-fat, low-sodium spa cuisine adapted from menus of health resorts.
To start, we enjoyed the seafood on the sampler, listed as a light meal but perfect also as a shared appetizer. Offerings were spicy bronzed (nearly blackened) scallops, butterflied fried shrimp, and tangy jumbo shrimp with surry sausage and bacon. With the platter came a cup of basic black beans and rice. White chili was more like bean soup with pieces of chicken stirred in than the cumin-scented specialty the name usually suggests. Hand-dipped onion rings were big circles coated with cornmeal breading, deliciously crisp and surprisingly greaseless.
Magnolia's salads are a bonus; included with most meals, they are based on California leaf lettuces with chopped tomatoes and sprinkles of corn kernels, well balanced by a light balsamic vinaigrette. For an extra $1.50, diners can have a Caesar variant with romaine, white corn, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese, anchovies, croutons and an eggless dressing. Not a classic Caesar, this was nonetheless satisfying.
Tracey Holmes also recommends the ``salad to die for,'' with California lettuces, Smithfield ham, tortilla chicken, apples, bleu cheese and walnuts. We'll have to come back and make a lunch of that mixture.
We came to get serious about steak, settling on a 16-ounce slab of Kansas City strip, sensibly priced at $16.95, including salad and vegetable. The beef was well-trimmed, tasty and cooked as we ordered it. The house mashed potatoes, however, were not very exciting. Their celery blend was too subtle. We had not ordered fries because they were not homemade.
Certified Angus beef is part of the secret here, available in several cuts and sizes or as 12 ounces of chopped sirloin with caramelized onions for $9. Put 7 ounces of it on a bun for $4.95 and you've got a pretty classy burger, available at lunch and dinner.
Several other steaks not identified as Angus also are available. We tried a couple of the extra-price toppers and concluded that a good straightforward steak should not be tampered with. Portobello mushroom gravy was generous, with meaty mushroom chunks in a broth that may have begun as a beef cube; brandy peppercorn sauce had an appealing kick to it, but the creamy base didn't harmonize well with the beef.
Southwestern-style dishes and a variety of American basics still appear on the Magnolia menu. Pork dishes use the local favorite, Smithfield's lean generation (and next time we'll want to try the baby-back ribs poached in beer and barbecued).
New this year is a nightly spa cuisine selection, low in fat and sodium. Eggplant rollups stuffed with ricotta cheese, walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes were surrounded by a sufficiently spicy-sweet tomato sauce, which was probably the best part of the dish; the eggplant was undercooked and chewy, the filling bland. But we liked the idea of a meatless option.
Seafood is de rigueur on local menus; Magnolia obliges with fried shrimp, fried catfish and a salmon-and-corn cake. When we visited, mahi-mahi was an evening special, marinated in rum, ginger, pineapple juice and soy, and then grilled to acquire a golden-brown edge. Topped with a pleasant mango chutney and served with a choice of two vegetables, this dish was well-priced at $12.95. The fish didn't have a lot of flavor but seemed fresh, and the portion was generous. Lightly creamed spinach and fresh garlic green beans made appropriate accompaniments, though the promised garlic flavor was too subtle.
Other dinner choices were chicken breast, pasta, sauteed vegetables, pork loin or baby-back ribs, and several sandwiches. At lunch, customers can eat quickly from a menu of sandwiches, light meals and, new this month, barbecued dishes prepared in the restaurant's smoker.
Afterwards, our party of three shared a chocolate-cappuccino layer cake that tasted like icebox cake, and a pleasingly creamy raspberry-almond cheesecake. We were too full to try the brownie sundae, which our chambray-shirted and pleasantly efficient waitress said was the most popular.
The small rosemary-thyme scented soft rolls and lightly jalapeno-laced corn muffins that came with dinner were the perfect complement.
The wine list is compact and cleverly includes every item by the glass, in prices from $2.95 to $5.95. Many margarita variations are offered; we chose the Mercedes, a smooth blend of Cuervo gold with Grand Marnier and sour mix.
Thanks to Southern Living for reminding us to revisit Magnolia. 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: ROY A. BAHLS COLOR PHOTOS
A 12-ounce Angus sirloin is grilled to order. Kim Holmes, above, is
day manager at her parents' restaurant, Magnolia.
by CNB