THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 19, 1995 TAG: 9510180025
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: A LA CARTE
SOURCE: Donna Reiss
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
CELEBRATE the Old Dominion's bounty at the eighth annual Town Point Virginia Wine Festival from noon until 5 p.m. Saturday at Town Point Park in Norfolk.
Featured in the open air will be Virginia fare, including seafood, smoked turkey, preserves and freshly baked breads.
More than 20 Virginia wineries will offer unlimited samples for $12 a ticket in advance, $15 at the gate. From 1 to 3 p.m., the Virginia Department of Agriculture will conduct a wine seminar; rain date is Sunday.
For information, table reservations or catered picnic, call Norfolk Festevents at 441-2345. Hoggard's new Cafe
Cafe Rosso is the name of Joe Hoggard's new restaurant at 123 W. 21st St. in Norfolk. The former site of Fellini's has been renovated, with red brick, warm shades of wood, bright food art and curlicues of wrought iron. Cozy and casual, this cafe features moderate prices for pasta and pizzas, a woodburning oven that produces splendidly smoky pizza crusts and tomato appetizers, and an extensive list of wines by the glass.
Long known for his way with wine at his Ships Cabin in Norfolk, Hoggard has selected 16 wines, most priced under $3.50. Among more than three dozen wines by the bottle, some are as low as $10. Some are handsomely displayed in an open rack in the dining room.
Chef Paul Grimaldi brings experience from New York Italian restaurants and, more recently, from Pasta e Pani in Virginia Beach. Recently, we stopped in for a wood-oven-roasted tomato with marinated calamari, pizza with spicy homemade lamb sausage, and almond cannoli for dessert.
Most dinners cost less than $10. The restaurant is open for lunch during the week, dinner nightly. Call 627-2078. Tables unlimited
When the first Taste Unlimited opened in 1973, not far from my Virginia Beach home, I went weekly. Some of my favorite cheeses were available only at their specialty shop: Stilton to serve with fruit, and imported Parmesan to grate over my pasta.
Owner Peter Coe or one of his staff offered assistance on wine selection. Even though I can now occasionally find Stilton in the supermarket and can buy imported Parmesan in several venues, I still go to the Hilltop store to buy creme fraiche for cooking or a Eurostyle sandwich of pate or brie on a baguette.
In mid-November, folks near Battlefield Boulevard and Cedar Road in Chesapeake will have a Taste Unlimited at Great Bridge Shopping Center. The new shop will have indoor and outdoor seating, in addition to specialty foods and wines and carry-out cuisine. Bon appetit
Cafe David, formerly Bella Pasta, at 1423 N. Great Neck Road in Virginia Beach, is hosting a French cooking class on Monday and a French wine tasting on Oct. 30.
The class will feature pumpkin crab soup, grilled duck salad, tournedos au poivre and apple tarte, plus appropriate wines. Cost is $50 a person. The tasting dinner will showcase five French wines with complementary courses, including mussels, leeks with scallop mousse and stuffed tenderloin en croute, for $65 a person. Taxes and tip are included. Call 463-3333 for more information or reservations. Wine with game
The fourth in a series of food-and-wine-pairings demonstrated by Alvin Williams of the Bistro at Le Chambord will be at 7 p.m. Monday.
The European-trained chef will prepare wild game in the upstairs area of East of Napa wine shop, 2224 Virginia Beach Blvd. in Virginia Beach. The shop's owner, Andrea Burke Simek, will select wines to harmonize with the venison and quail. Only 18 seats are available for this intimate, informal event; cost is $45 a person. Call 463-0212 for information and reservations.
MEMO: Send restaurant news, along with your name and a daytime phone number,
to a la carte, c/o Flavor, The Virginian-Pilot, 150 W. Brambleton Ave.,
Norfolk, Va. 23510, or send e-mail to dreiss(AT)infi.net.
by CNB