THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504240214
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Restaurant review
SOURCE: BY DONNA REISS, RESTAURANT CRITIC
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
TAKING ITS NAME from the cartoon stills on the walls and the motion the very word suggests, Animation features an offbeat setting for an eclectic menu.
Decor and cuisine show the influences of chef Eddie Whedbee, as well as the flair of his artist-wife, Jenny Whedbee.
Co-owner Andy Stein contributed the framed Bart Simpsons and Road Runners. Whedbee is a local who went West, cooking for close to a decade on the other coast. That geographical diversity helps explain such nouveau extremities as lobster dumplings with vodka, pink grapefruit and pine nut sauce, and such fundamentals as Mom's Virginia meatloaf. Substantial salads and vegetable variety welcome diners who eschew meat or simply want more choices than broccoli.
Served in a sturdy white bowl - as were many of the courses - was a huge house salad for only $2.50. Varied crisp leaf lettuces were sprinkled with apples, a few orange sections and kernel corn; the honey-mustard emulsion was a reasonably light dressing.
A Caesar from the open kitchen in the back of the room - its window surrounded by a red faux stage curtain - was dressed with a respectable blend of the usual ingredients. It was a touch eggy but basically well balanced.
A meal in itself, warm spinach salad came with mushrooms, onions, apple slices and a melted gorgonzola dressing that one of our party found too weighty but another enjoyed as an unusual take on a traditional dish.
Appetizers were on the expensive side, many more than $5. But smoked beef tenderloin surrounded by sauteed shiitake mushrooms and flash-fried crispy spinach was a treat. Bourbon-barbecued shrimp was noteworthy, mostly for the chunky corn cake underneath three curls of jumbo shrimp glazed with a too-sweet ketchupy sauce.
The kitchen needed a more subtle hand with the salt in the coating for the cornmeal-crusted oysters; we found they worked best when modulated with a scoop from the bed of sauteed spinach and a few threads of the roasted sweet red pepper relish. Other openers were white bean chili (good on a previous visit), steamed artichoke (rare on local menus), homemade cured salmon, and crab cakes.
Along with 14 big-plate menu items were several evening specials, including two that tempted us away from the standard list. Outstanding was a serving of tender, flaky, seared red snapper topped with an acceptable lime-cilantro sauce and balanced by a scoop of saffron rice and a substantial sprinkling of diced fresh vegetables. Also an evening special, tenderloin of pork was sliced into tender circles and tossed with red pepper fettuccine and flavorful wild mushrooms. As with the other dishes, the portion was plentiful.
Claire's slow-cooked chicken and dumplings from the regular menu brought a big bowl of Southern comfort food. The chicken was shredded in the flavorful broth, the dumplings the pasty white kind we met in our Georgia years.
Other listings include Southern favorites like catfish and fried chicken breast, and American standards like cheeseburger or Kansas City strip steak. There's a pork chop, a free range chicken roasted with rosemary and lemon, a grilled salmon filet, a vegetable pot pie, and a vegetarian selection.
The vegetable list was almost as interesting as the starters and main dishes. We couldn't resist lightly grilled asparagus, homemade potato chips (large but not thick and fortunately not oversalted), and hoppin' John (that traditional Charleston blend of rice and black-eyed peas rarely offered in Charleston restaurants). Other options were greens, green beans, sweet-potato gratin and mashed potatoes.
The best dessert was the rectangular slab of bread pudding with a sugary hard sauce; but an evening special of coconut cake rivaled it, this version not overly sweet and pleasingly balanced with a pool of pineapple sauce. Twelve-layer chocolate cake was fine but nothing special.
Our server looked professional in a traditional waiter's jacket; he was well-informed about the food and checked regularly on our progress. We couldn't blame him for the uninspired dinner rolls but would gladly applaud him for bringing the sweet little corn muffins and suggesting wine from the list of about two dozen, including about eight by the glass.
The barrage of colors and shapes in the decor was part of the charm here; however, the center banquettes with their 1950s dinette look adjoined their neighbors on the side, making for an awkward lack of privacy for conversation.
Nonetheless, the cheerful mood and interesting assortment of food - particularly vegetables, salads, Southern comfort foods, and imaginative West Coast forays - will bring us back for more. 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
ABOVE: Mom's Virginia Meatloaf is a staple.
LEFT: Co-owners Andy Stein, left, and Eddie Whedbee combine a
whimsical decor with an eclectic menu.
Photo
ROY A. BAHLS
Typical of the eye-catching decor at Animation: brightly colored,
cartoonish mushroom-stem fish tanks.
Graphic
BILL OF FARE
Animation, 972-A Laskin Road, Virginia Beach. 491-3252
Cuisine: Updated Southern and California fusion, including a
large selection of vegetable dishes.
Atmosphere: A collection of cartoon stills against green-sponged
walls; bright dissonant hues in trims and furnishings; and
entertaining faux details like mushroom-stem fish tanks and a red
stage curtain.
Prices: Lunches average $6; dinner starters, soups and salads,
$2.50 to $6.25; sandwiches and main dishes, $5.25 to $14.50 (average
$10); desserts $2.50 to $4.25.
Hours: Lunch Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner
Tuesday through Sunday from 5 p.m.
Reservations: Recommended weekends.
Smoking: 40%.
by CNB