THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 4, 1996 TAG: 9512300136
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On The Town
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
Dana Bindon and his mother, Cheri Patten, have learned to get along so well over the years that they have gone into business together in Ocean View, running Abbies Premier Deli and a full-service catering operation.
Offering a variety of homemade soups and salads, blue-plate specials at lunch and European pastries that take advantage of Cheri Patten's Austro-Hungarian heritage, as well as deli sandwiches on jalapeno pepper, olive loaf or other special breads that Cheri's husband Ron bakes, Abbies fills the need at the north end of Norfolk for a specialty deli.
Although Bindon was born in Chicago, he calls Ocean View home, and having gone to Holy Trinity School, Norfolk Catholic and Granby High, I would say that makes him pretty local. He credits his mother and grandmother with starting him cooking, and went on to work at the Princess Anne Country Club and the Lynnhaven location of O'Sullivan's Wharf.
``I've always loved to eat, so cooking came pretty natural for me,'' Bindon says.
As for Cheri Patten, she learned the same way, watching her grandmother and mother prepare Austrian and Hungarian dishes in their Midwestern kitchens. She started cooking as a volunteer for church and school functions, then catered a wedding, which led to another, and soon she was a full-fledged caterer with corporate clients.
``My father taught me at 5 to make scrambled eggs and taught me to always clean up as I cooked,'' Patten recalls. ``My mom taught me baking. Her grandfather ran a bakery back in Ohio, and I learned European pastries.''
``She brought the baking skills, and I handle the sauces and hot food mostly,'' Bindon says. ``I brought the food-service skills and the speed because of my background. We're teaching each other.''
Does Patten ever try to pull rank, being Mom, after all?
``No, because he keeps me in line,'' she says, laughing.
``We worked our problems out a couple of years ago,'' Bindon says. ``There's a little stress now and then, but we both know when to be quiet.''
Deli sandwiches at Abbies are made with a quarter-pound of cold cuts and your choice of potato or pasta salad, French rice and chips. We tried the honey-roasted turkey on jalapeno bread ($4.99), with a delicious potato salad, and a Reuben ($5.50) with the cold pasta salad, which had a pleasant taste. The special that day was a Brunswick Stew, rich and full, and while I was waiting for my sandwiches I had a taste of Abbies' tangy she-crab soup ($3).
Other sandwiches include an Italian Hero ($5.50), a grilled chicken breast ($4.99), corned beef, roast beef or beef pastrami ($4.99), grilled veggies with cheese in a pita ($4.99), and a piquant cheese spread Cheri Patten says is made from the original recipe used at the Smith & Welton Tea Room ($4.50). The white-meat curried chicken salad ($4.99) is excellent, too. The choice of breads includes rye or pumpernickel, Kaiser or sub roll, or one of Ron Patten's loaves. Add smoked gouda, muenster or other cheeses for 35 cents.
The Caesar ($3) is a popular salad, Bindon says, as is the spinach salad with real bacon crumbled alongside bits of cheddar and topped with a warm bacon dressing ($3.75). There's also an Oriental salad of fresh greens with mandarin oranges, slices of grilled chicken, Chinese noodles and a low-fat orange dressing ($4).
Blue-plate specials are offered daily, in the $5 range, such as Hungarian Paprikash - chicken, beef or pork sauteed with garlic and onions, then simmered with paprika and thickened into spatzel dumplings with sour cream - or Polish sausage with sweet and sour red cabbage.
Breakfast is served all day, from bagels and cream cheese or a croissant (75 cents), to a fresh fruit melange ($1.25), or a trio of blueberry, banana, peach, chocolate chip or buckwheat pancakes ($3). Sunday brunch, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., includes eggs benedict or quiche ($3.50), crepes ($2.95) and stratas ($3).
Currently, beverages include coffee, tea, soft drinks and juices, but Bindon plans to add wines and some specialty beers early next year.
``We try to make it a homey restaurant, with a neighborhood feel,'' he says. ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
Abbies Premier Deli and Catering: 9619 Granby St., 588-6728.
Food: deli sandwiches, soups, salads, breakfast food and
blue-plate specials. No ABC.
Prices: Most menu items under $5.
Hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3:30
p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
by CNB