THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 19, 1995 TAG: 9511210486
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Restaurant review
SOURCE: BY DONNA REISS, RESTAURANT CRITIC
LENGTH: Long : 121 lines
THE ANCIENTS thought sage, the aromatic herb familiar in sausages and sauces, had healing powers. Its gray-green leaf inspired a soothing hue for transitional fashions and conservative office walls. A person revered for wisdom is called a sage.
How presumptuous, then, of Tobin Paulk and Patrick Galiardi to name their new restaurant Sage's. And to outfit it with classical influences and pseudo-Renaissance art. Ah, but it somehow works: the Mediterranean tiles, the creamy textured Roman shades and matching table covers, the mural of Venus overseeing the downstairs dining room, the snippet of the Sistine Chapel on the wall of the upper level.
Open since mid-August on the periphery of the Thoroughgood and Church Point neighborhoods in Virginia Beach and halfway between two popular local restaurants, Sage's would need more than a pretty face to draw a crowd. So it offers interesting, well-executed meals by Galiardi, who trained at Norfolk's Johnson & Wales University and at a number of local restaurant kitchens.
Excellent endings come from pastry chef Shelly Owens, who makes lovely tortes and cakes.
Owens also makes biscotti so good you should order a cappuccino even if you don't plan to drink it - and it's so good, you might as well - just to get a complimentary bing-cherry or chocolate biscotti on the side.
We liked everything we ordered on an early fall evening.
Only the saltiness of some dishes jarred, perhaps a result of our own predilection for less salt, perhaps an excess in the kitchen.
The autumn menu was supplemented by several evening specials, so we tried dishes from both lists.
Starters included a lush soup of tomato and smoked Gouda cheese, unusual and deliciously warming. Quail salad brought a pleasing bird on a bed of field lettuce surrounded by tiny black Mission figs. A nonsalad variation was the quail on black-olive polenta, a firm cornmeal cake, glazed with a basil-leek sauce. Risotto with shrimp was a fine take on this classic Italian preparation. The more ordinary choice of a leaf lettuce salad was just as satisfying with its field greens and a flavorful soy-tomato vinaigrette.
Lemon sorbet cleansed the palate before the next course.
Dinner choices were the kind of eclectic new American dishes my companions and I are fond of, but there are plenty of more straightforward offerings.
For example, roasted grouper with seafood consomme or seared hanger steak would suit diners not tempted by delicious salmon rubbed with horseradish and garlic and dusted in Japanese bread crumbs.
Vegetarians could make a meal of a salad and the substantial grilled eggplant appetizer, which comes smeared with goat cheese and surrounded by seared portobello mushrooms. Sometimes a fresh artichoke is available, stuffed with brie.
But we ordered venison, duck and trout.
Venison was flavorful and firm, well matched with a demiglaze of bing cherries and basil. Mallard breast was so meaty and lean - not at all wild - we called for manager Tobin Paulk to convince us it was really a duck. He brought one from the kitchen, a whole breast from a Canadian supplier still in its wrappings and labeled ``mulard.''
On a lighter note, grilled brook trout was lovely, a whole fish with pinkish meat accompanied by a refreshing blend of watercress and grilled red onions plus too-dry couscous.
Fresh rolls and crisp, slender asparagus came with all our dinners.
We were wise to try the pastry chef's specials.
An exceptional brown sugar poundcake was dotted with freshly whipped cream; delicious, too, were banana-raspberry pie and chocolate cake decorated with thick shavings of white and dark chocolate.
Open for lunch and for Sunday brunch, Sage's is a beautiful setting for excellent, interesting food.
Lunch listings include risotto with capon and fresh sage, fettuccine with grilled salmon, and seared sea scallops. Brunch features a $10.95 lobster omelet and a half-dozen selections under $8.
We have sampled the excellent French toast with real maple syrup, a hefty slice of bread with an egg cooked in the middle (comfort food like Grandma made), and the wonderfully seasoned omelet with its hint of fennel.
Despite the elegance of the room, casual attire is appropriate (but save the sweats for another setting).
Galiardi and Paulk continue to refine their offerings, tapering the wine list from the original four dozen to a more select two dozen choices.
Our servers on several visits have been pleasant; when they didn't know about ingredients or preparations, they asked in the kitchen.
A meal here might not give you the wisdom of the ages, but you'll enjoy fine food in a smart setting. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ROY A. BAHLS
Try Pepper-Seared Venison With Bing Cherry and Basil Demiglaze.
Graphic
BILL OF FARE
Sage's, 1658 Pleasure House Road, Virginia Beach. 460-1692.
Cuisine: eclectic new American with classical French influences.
Atmosphere: upscale casual ambiance with elegant touches: etched
glass, molded stone, custom table and window treatments, lots of
tile.
Prices: lunch from $3.95 to $7.95; dinner starters from $3.75 to
$8.95, main dishes from $12.95 to $19.95, desserts from $4 to $4.25;
Sunday brunch from $3.95 to $10.95; Sunday night limited prix fixe
menu averaging $16; children's portions on request.
Hours: lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday;
brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday; dinner from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
daily.
Reservations: suggested weekends.
Smoking: nonsmoking.
by CNB