THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9508310259
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Restaurant Review
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER CHRISTMAN
STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COROLLA LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
FOR DINERS in search of something different than the usual bustling family seafood eateries that fill the Outer Banks, the Boathouse Grille offers a casually intimate alternative.
Tucked in a nook of the Timbuck II shopping center, the Boathouse Grille is tiny - the perfect size for a romantic dinner for two in the restaurant's high-back wicker chairs or a small gathering of friends at one of the wooden tables.
But at the same time, the atmosphere is not exclusive. A bar - with a television - lines the front wall, and part of the kitchen is visible and audible from the dining room. You could walk in wearing shorts.
But call ahead. The small restaurant stresses reservations.
Buck Thorton opened the Boathouse Grille, formerly Finely Ron's, this March. It's the first restaurant venture for Thorton, the developer of TimBuck II and Buck Island and Shipswatch housing developments.
``Our goal is to give not only our visitors but our local folks some of the finest cuisine,'' Thorton says. ``It's not too far out in terms of exotic foods, but it's different - not the same fried food you can get anywhere.''
Some awards and mementos from Thorton's Formula One boat racing accent the dining room. Thorton, who won 18 national and two world championships, plans to hang the boat with which he won the 1989 world championship from the dining room's rafters.
On the Saturday evening two friends and I dined at the Boathouse Grille, we were famished and dove into the bread basket on our table. The familiar dinner rolls were lukewarm.
We split the shrimp cocktail appetizer ($8.95), a special. The six fat shrimp were served ice-cold on a pretty bed of shredded lettuce with a creamy French remoulade sauce for dipping. The sauce, made with mayonaise and horseradish, was a bit heavy but more exciting than the run-of-the-mill sauce.
I was delighted with my grilled swordfish with pesto ($19.95), a special for the evening. Cooked medium, the generous portion of swordfish was delicious. The basil and oil pesto added an unconventional and tasty touch.
Donna enjoyed her shrimp Orlean ($17.95), a creative blend of lump crabmeat and seven large shrimp in a cream sauce served in a fried zucchini boat.
When Debora's filet mignon ($21.95) was touted as ``stuffed with crabmeat,'' we had visions of a steak with a full center. But she finished almost all of her small steak before declaring, ``I think I found some,'' holding up her fork to show us the sliver of crabmeat.
Wade Labrecque, floor manager for the Boathouse Grille, later assured me that the restaurant fills the steak with about three ounces of crabmeat, but the shellfish settles during cooking and spreads throughout the filet.
Entrees are accompanied by colorful hills of sauteed vegetables, shredded sugared red cabbage and shredded marinated carrots. Call me boring, but I would have preferred a potato or a garden salad.
Dessert was delicious, but limited. The night we dined at the Boathouse Grille there was only one dessert selection - a rich cheesecake topped with chocolate, nuts and caramel ($3.50). While we thoroughly enjoyed the two slices we split, part of the fun of ordering dessert at restaurants is sampling your companions' order.
Labrecque later told me that the restaurant usually has more offerings.
Service was friendly, but inexplicably slow. Although there were only a few other patrons seated in the restaurant, an hour passed before our appetizer arrived. Our waitress Stephanie was helpful - she candidly warned us not to order the so-so sausage soup of the day - but there were long stretches of time between her visits to our table to refill glasses.
Overall, the unique atmosphere and interesting menu of the Boathouse Grille make it worth a visit. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by VICI CRONIS
The Boathouse Grille is the perfect size for a romantic dinner for
two in the restaurant's high-back wicker chairs or a small gathering
of friends.
THE BOATHOUSE GRILLE
Where: Timbuck II shopping center in Corolla.
Hours: Dinner is served from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; lunch from
11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Phone: 453-4077.
Reservations: Recommended in all cases for dinner; not required
for lunch.
Features: Seafood, pork, beef and pasta entrees.
Beverages: Soft drinks, tea, coffee, milk, juice, import and
domestic beers, wine.
Smoking: Smoking is permitted, and the restaurant is one room
without divided sections. The staff attempts to group people
according to smoking preferences.
Payment: All major credit cards, local checks.
Handicapped accessible: Yes.
by CNB