THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 27, 1995 TAG: 9507270593
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: ON THE TOWN
SOURCE: SAM MARTINETTE
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
There must be something about the location of the Big Easy that attracts music. I'm talking about the restaurant at 53rd Street and Colley Avenue, not the city of New Orleans, the nickname of which the Norfolk eatery uses. Ever since Angie Alexander operated Colliponte on that spot, on through the Colley Bay Cafe, 53rd Street Cafe and the Jewish Mother, music has been a side dish or the main course.
I called for reservations on a Saturday and was told they were not accepted on nights with live music. Since the bands play on weekends, the busiest evenings for restaurants, I was surprised. As it happened, there were plenty of available tables. Later, I learned that reservations are accepted up until 8 p.m., (the group finally took the stage at 11:15 p.m., which left a lot of empty tables for a long time). The other surprise was that you had to use valet parking (free but mandatory), due to the crowd expected to hear the band. Clearly the tail was wagging the dog that night.
Big Easy owners Jack Rochevot and Allen Smith operate Cara's Restaurant in Chesapeake, and have an ambitious menu at their new eatery on Colley Avenue, six pages of salads, burgers, sandwiches, more than a dozen seafood dishes, pasta and steaks. In addition, there are daily specials, lunch platters and a children's menu.
The Big Easy staff was friendly and helpful. Bright, cheerful paintings by artist Tony Cacalano still adorn one wall. Gone are the pool tables in the back that once caused concern to neighbors, replaced by a banquet room. The bar area opens into a patio with a view of the Lafayette River, while the main dining room still retains the faux marble elegance and mirrored walls of Colliponte.
Our appetizers included ``Jalepeno Poppers,'' breaded jalepenos filled with cream cheese, deep-fried and served with salsa ($5.25) and an ample serving of mini crab cakes (fried or sauteed - $6.95). Although I am not overly fond of anything fried with cheese inside, the jalepenos proved to be quite zippy. Other appetizers included she crab soup ($2.95 a cup, $4.95 a bowl), nachos, ($3.25 for a small order) and fried mozzarella cheese sticks ($5.25). Salads include a Caesar ($3.50/$6.95 with chicken/$7.95 with shrimp, etc.), a taco salad ($5.95), and a Chicken Mandarin salad of greens, a grilled chicken breast and fruit ($6.95).
Burgers and sandwiches are served with a choice of fries, salad or slaw (or add 50 cents for soup or baked potato). A half-pound burger is $5.50, while a crab cake croissant is $6.75. A blackened tuna sandwich with a hot or mild sauce, is $5.95, or a Cajun beef and Cheddar croissant (grilled tenderloin tips, green peppers and red onions topped with Cheddar) is $6.50.
Lunch platters (11:30 to 2:30 on weekdays) include Dijon chicken ($6.50), chopped sirloin with sauteed onions and brown gravy ($5.95), and Cajun catfish (fried or sauteed, hot or mild - $8.25), and are served with bread and a choice of two side dishes, including soup, salad, rice or linguini. The children's menu offers a grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwich with fries ($1.75), fish and chips ($4.75), and fried shrimp (with two sides for $4.95).
The dinner menu is served from 4 p.m. to closing and all day Sunday. I opted for a 10-ounce New York sirloin ($12.50) with a whiskey peppercorn sauce, while my date ordered the seafood mixed grill, which that night was salmon, tuna and catfish, basil butter on the salmon, and the tuna was blackened. Most dinner items are served with two side dishes and homemade bread. Our dinners were fine, but friends who joined us complained that the marinated Steak Chesapeake ($9.95) was tough and the King Crab Legs (a special) overcooked. I sampled the crab legs and agreed.
Other dinner items include shrimp stuffed with crabmeat and baked ($13.95), a seafood Creole of scallops and shrimp ($10.95), and blackened or Cajun-grilled tuna ($12.50). Other dishes include an eight-ounce, bacon-wrapped filet mignon ($14.95), a marinated sirloin for two ($24.95), linguini with marinara or Alfredo sauce ($9.95) and a boneless chicken breast stuffed with crabmeat, baked and topped with hollandaise ($10.95). ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
Trish Peters, a holdover from the days of the Jewish Mother, is the
general manager of the Big Easy at 53rd Street and Colley Avenue.
Graphic
AT A GLANCE
Big Easy: 5215 Colley Ave., 423-1100.
Food: Cajun-style, steaks, seafood, burgers, sandwiches and
salads; full ABC, limited wines, but a large beer selection; $7.95
Sunday brunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Prices: dinner entrees from $9.25 to $14.95; daily specials.
Cover charge for bands.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2
p.m. Friday and Saturday.
by CNB