THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505180096
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM RAPER, SPECIAL TO SUNDAY FLAVOR
LENGTH: Long : 159 lines
ANYONE WHO dines out in Richmond knows about the booming strip of restaurants in Shockoe Bottom between the Capitol building and the James River.
But not so many know about the fine cuisine and luxurious setting of The Downtown Club of Richmond, which looms over the James on the 20th floor of the modern Riverfront Plaza building.
And even fewer know that a tight group of four Hampton Roads men is responsible for The Club's food, wine and impeccable service.
Their relationship began nearly a decade ago:
William C. Rice, general manager of The Downtown Club for six years, was then manager of Courtney's and Clarks, now-defunct restaurants in Norfolk's Ghent.
David B. McNamara, now executive chef of The Downtown Club, started at Courtney's as a salad maker and later was kitchen manager at Clarks.
David G. Stewart, new line chef at The Club, was a cook and kitchen manager of Clarks.
Christopher Kmet, a Club sous chef who also is pursuing a degree in geriatric medicine, was a cook at the Duck-In for chef Sam McGann - who a few years earlier worked for Rice in the kitchen of Courtney's.
Before fortune brought them together in Richmond, the four worked for about two dozen other Hampton Roads restaurants and clubs. Now, each can name mentors such as prominent local restaurateurs Monroe Duncan and Rob Alcasid.
The dinner menu at The Club may be dominated by red meat. But general manager Rice and head chef McNamara are partial to the seafood of coastal Virginia, so entrees also include flounder, crab, scallops and oysters.
Although dishes from the printed menu are well executed, the more exciting experiences may come from the daily specials created by chefs McNamara and Stewart.
It is possible, too, to ask the chefs to let their inspiration fly free for a unique four- or five-course meal.
Although The Club's dining rooms are restricted to members and their guests, outsiders can wangle seats for an a la carte dinner. Also, The Club has reciprocal agreements with about 60 similar clubs across the nation, including Norfolk's Harbor Club. Or non-members can gain entry by asking someone with member privileges to make reservations for them. NEW LOOK FOR OLD CLUB
Rice became general manager of the 1,200-member club in 1989 - just in time to plan its move from the Ross Building on Main Street to the west tower of the new Riverfront Plaza on Byrd Street. The Club had been founded in 1953 in the basement of the old Raleigh Hotel.
It seemed only fitting, given Rice's origins, that the architects and designers for The Club were from the Norfolk firm of Hanbury Evans Newill Viattas. John Paul C. Hanbury, the dean of the firm, supervised the $1 million job, and was assisted by interior designer Barbara Strickland-Page and architect Wayne Anderson.
``They were great to work with,'' Rice said. ``They created a beautiful facility that also functions quite well and offers a lot of options to our membership.''
Hanbury remembers striving for a ``formal, yet warm and inviting'' look. The 62-seat formal dining room, with its arched entryways between pilasters and beveled pane glass, is the high point.
Diners sated by the interior's beauty can gaze out the broad outside windows for a spectacular view of the river.
The present club, completed in 1990 for $2 million, also has a 122-seat main dining room, 75-seat bar and grill, and convertible banquet space that can seat up to 200.
Rice, 46, is married and has two children. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Old Dominion University, and was a teacher of mechanical drawing and design at Kempsville High School in the early 1970s. He also worked for the Information Center of Hampton Roads before his restaurant career.
``Sometime in late 1977 or early 1978, I started talking to Sam Martinette and Bill Ryan about Bill's plans to open a restaurant in Ghent,'' Rice said. Martinette was an old friend and Ryan, an airline pilot, was just getting his feet wet at the time in restaurant ownership. ``I got talked into giving them a hand in the opening'' of Courtney's.
``To make a long story short, Bill gave me the keys and the checkbook to Courtney's and then Clarks, and there was no turning back.''
Later, Rice worked with Duncan in opening Septembers in Virginia Beach for owner Rex Harrison. And before moving to Richmond, Rice was general manager and an owner - with Dan Hoffler, Russ Kirk and Rick Burnell - of Greensleeves American Cafe in Virginia Beach. The partners sold Greensleeves to Jerry Bryan, who changed the name to Coastal Grill.
By the time he took over The Downtown Club, Rice had long since parted ways with McNamara and Stewart. But he hadn't forgotten them. Both were sons of Norfolk Circuit Court judges and both were ``extremely eager to learn, hard-working and honest,'' he said.
McNamara, 36, whose father, Thomas R. McNamara, is a former state senator, member of the Virginia House of Delegates and judge, was lured to The Club by Rice in 1990. He was sous chef for a year before becoming executive chef.
A soft-spoken and broad-chested man - he was a wrestler during the year he spent at East Carolina University - McNamara contrasts with the thin and gregarious Rice. But both are praised for their people skills, by members of The Club's 50-person staff. DERAILED CAREER
When he was younger, McNamara seemed to have a charmed career in restauranting. He rose through the ranks quickly at Courtney's and Clarks and also became a chef at Masters in Ghent.
``Then I made mistakes in my personal life,'' he said, and his career was derailed for a while. The position with The Downtown Club has given him the opportunity to get back on track, and he has made the most of the opportunity.
``David and I work very well together,'' Rice said. ``We love to experiment with all kinds of food, and I know we share the belief that people do not work for us but with us.''
Kmet, 26, came on board in 1993 while he was a student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He had worked with Duncan at Uncle Louie's and Piranha: An Eating Frenzy, both in Norfolk.
``Monroe called to recommend him, and that was good enough for me,'' Rice said of Kmet. ``We are happy to have him.''
Stewart, 34, came to The Club only a few months ago, after a divorce; he had been executive chef of Crowne Plaza at Ravinia in Atlanta.
Rice and McNamara agreed they wanted to hire Stewart to help The Club reach a new level of kitchen competence, especially in banquet food, to which much of The Club's food service is devoted.
``And we've been wanting to offer a lot more than the chicken with Smithfield ham,'' Rice added. ``We've turned David Stewart loose to come up with exciting plates, and he's done a good job for us.''
McNamara refers to Stewart's ``brilliance in contemporary cuisine'' and readily puts aside his own ego to give his assistant the credit for many recent improvements in The Club's food.
Stewart's father, retired judge Robert W. Stewart, is, the son said, ``a pretty good cook himself.''
The young Stewart said he ``never really caught on as a student'' at ODU, and it was only after stints at Clarks and the Town Point Club in Norfolk that he decided to get serious about cooking.
He enrolled, with Sam McGann, at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, R.I., and graduated magna cum laude.
He followed with chef positions at the City Club of Washington, Crowne Plaza Hotel Metrocenter in Washington, Crystal Sands Crowne Plaza Resort in Hilton Head and the Atlanta Crowne Plaza.
``I learned the technical skills and I learned about organization and management,'' he said. He also picked up a lasting love of fresh herbs, wine and stock reductions, and citrus flavorings.
Stewart aspires to operate his own restaurant, perhaps in Virginia, he said.
McNamara, who is married and has two children, also sees himself as a restaurant owner.
``McNamara's has a nice ring!'' he exclaims. ILLUSTRATION: LAWRENCE JACKSON/Staff color photos
David Stewart, second chef, The Downtown Club of Richmond
David McNamara, head chef
Christopher Kmet, second chef
William Rice, manager
by CNB