THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506070074
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F6 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: A La Carte
SOURCE: Donna Reiss
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
SEVERAL LOCAL chefs will gather on the Chesapeake Bay beach at the Duck-In on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach, to barbecue baby back ribs and shuck clams from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Todd Jurich of Bistro! in Norfolk, Sydney Meers of the Dumbwaiter in Norfolk, Meredith Nicholls of the Kitchen at Powhatan Plantation, and Sam McGann of Blue Point Bar and Grill in Duck, N.C., are donating their time and talents to raise money for a liver transplant for 35-year-old Hampton Roads resident Molly Andrews.
Under the Organ Donor Fund, a national organization that helps families finance transplants, this $20-per-person event will feature food, beer and wine contributed by local individuals and vendors.
For more information, call 622-3210.
Also, Todd Jurich will be cooking indoors at a wine dinner at Bistro! from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Wines from Rosemount Estates of Australia will be featured.
A few tables still are available; reservations are essential.
The cost is about $65, plus tax and gratuity. The restaurant is at 210 York St. in Norfolk; call 622-3210.
Good fortune
Amy Brandt provided two of my best meals last week, even though I had to cook one of them myself.
At the Lucky Star, which Brandt founded with partner Butch Butt, Brandt is the star of the kitchen that treats fortunate diners to such appetizing specialties as pepper-seared tuna with fresh baby greens and a refreshing sesame-wasabi horseradish dressing.
Exceptional crab cakes packed with puffy chunks of crab are garnished with a splendid sweet onion relish.
But Brandt also prepared a vegetable medley on WHRO-TV's special show on outdoor cooking.
Her charcoal-grilled salad looked so tempting and so easy that I duplicated it on my own grill, basting the vegetables, as she instructed, with an olive oil-balsamic vinegar blend to enhance the sweetness of the seared surfaces.
Thanks, Amy, for the dinners and the cooking lesson.
The Lucky Star is at 1608 Pleasure House Road in Virginia Beach; call 363-4810.
Smart new bistro
Sage's may not offer the wisdom of the ages, but the new American bistro under construction at 1658 Pleasure House Road, not far from the Lucky Star, promises to add spice to the Virginia Beach restaurant scene.
With Patrick Galiardi in the kitchen and Tobin Paulk managing the business, Sage's will serve modern American eclectic cuisine in an informal setting.
Galiardi has cooked all over town; his experience includes stints at the Lucky Star, Le Chambord and Bistro, Coastal Grill and Bogie's.
Among the items planned for dinner are leg of lamb with rosemary gnocchi, sun-dried tomatoes, and calamata olives; pan-seared duck; and warm spinach salad with pancetta-wrapped scallops.
And of course, there will be a bistro chicken modernized with wild mushroom ragout. by CNB