THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 14, 1996 TAG: 9601160454
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: BILL OF FARE
TYPE: Restaurant review
SOURCE: By DEBRA GORDON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 131 lines
WHEN THE WIND is howling, the sky is gray, and rain or snow threatens, the place for some classic comfort food is Open Wide on Granby Row in downtown Norfolk. The sequel to Virginia Beach's Phil's Grill, which owner/operator Phil Haushalter closed last year, began serving in August.
With its large portions of homemade pasta, fresh fish, meatloaf and chicken pot pie, Open Wide is proving itself as popular as its resort-city predecessor, where patrons used to line up outside for tables.
Search carefully as you drive up Granby Street. The restaurant is poorly marked and easy to miss. Use the Festevents office across the street and the beautifully restored wooden facing on the front of Open Wide as your landmarks.
Inside are two eating areas. One is the bar-Foosball locale, where patrons cluster along a large, meandering bar or vie for playing spots at the table.
The other room is for dining. About two dozen tables fill the high-ceilinged room, which retains its warehouse look with exposed brick walls and ducts. Local artists' work lines the walls, and in the evening loud music, usually taped but live at least once a week, can be heard from the bar.
The atmosphere is casual - if noisy - and the food filling.
We tried dinner one weeknight evening. The dining room was nearly empty, but the bar was filled with a mostly under-30 crowd having a grand time playing Foosball, listening to the music and sampling from Open Wide's large selection of microbrews.
Having munched earlier, we skipped the starters, which included Monster Nachos ($5.50), artichoke and spinach dip ($5.25), and warmed goat cheese and salami ($6.50). We started with a salad, Caesar for my husband and spinach for me. While the Caesar was classic in its preparation, including homemade croutons, it was small and not worth the $3.75 price. Same with the spinach salad ($3.50), which could have benefited from some bacon and the traditional hot dressing. But they were the only disappointments of the evening.
We both ordered the evening specials: roasted tuna over tortellini with a tomato, basil and garlic sauce ($10.95) for me; a dozen clams casino ($11.95) for my husband. The clams, along with Oysters Rockefeller, were also available by the half dozen for $6.95.
My dinner featured a large, fresh piece of tuna, nicely browned on the outside and sweet inside. It sat atop some of the best pasta I've ever tasted - creamy cheese on the inside, with just enough bite in the al dente tortellini to provide a lovely contrast. Homemade pastas were a speciality at the old Phil's Grill, the waitress informed us, and the chef plans to add more to the Open Wide menu.
The sauce, actually more of a salsa with big chunks of tomato, garlic and fresh basil, provided the perfect complement without overpowering the tuna or the pasta, both of which could have stood on their own.
My husband's clams were large and sweet, topped with the classic casino mix of garlic, bacon, roasted pepper and onion butter.
Served alongside was a basket of fresh sourdough bread, which our waitress kept filled all evening.
Other dinner entrees included specialty pizzas, with such diverse toppings as artichoke hearts, goat cheese and shrimp ($5.95 with toppings 25 cents to 75 cents extra); barbecue ribs served with potato salad and cole slaw ($10.25); half a roasted chicken with a lemon herb butter served with mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables ($9.75); and classic comfort foods including meatloaf with mashed potatoes, gravy and veggies ($6.75), chicken pot pie ($6.95), and lasagna ($7.25).
Service throughout our meal was attentive without being obsequious, and our waitress was knowledgeable about the food and beers.
Open Wide sports a very limited wine list, recited by the wait staff. Perhaps soon the list will grow to mirror that of the beers.
Then it was time for dessert. A sublime coconut tart, made off premises by Giannobili's Cakes and Confections in Virginia Beach, was sinfully sweet and creamy. It easily would have fed three. My husband ordered the Pineapple Upside-Down Cheesecake, rich and creamy, with the tartness of the pineapple a perfect foil for the sweet pastry. Desserts range from $2.25 to $3.25.
Because of its location in downtown Norfolk, we figured Open Wide would be a popular lunch spot, and it is.
On a recent cold, rainy afternoon, the dining area was packed. A separate lunch menu mimicked many dinner selections, albeit at lower prices. The three of us ordered perfect foods for the dreary day: shepherd's pie ($5.50), chicken pot pie ($5.50), and meatloaf and mashed potatoes ($5.25).
All were hearty, filling and highly seasoned. Too highly seasoned, complained my two companions, who had the pot pie and the meatloaf. Still, they scraped up every bite. The shepherd's pie featured ground beef, vegetables, and a thick crust of mashed potatoes and Cheddar cheese. More sourdough bread was served alongside to sop up the gravy.
Other lunch specials include sandwiches ranging from pastrami to chicken salad, all served on hot sourdough rolls ($3.95 to $4.50, 25 cents extra for cheese); the World Famous Burrito, a flour tortilla stuffed with rice, beans, cheese and salsa with your choice of black beans or beef for $5.95; spicy chicken for $6.25; and lasagna for $5.50.
There also was blackened chicken over red beans and rice with salsa and sour cream ($6.25), and hand-tossed pizza ($4.25) with such toppings as mushrooms, roasted red peppers, pepperoni and spicy chicken available for an additional 25 cents each.
Again, we saved room for dessert, the three of us forcing ourselves to share another coconut tart - this time in a chocolate crust - and a chocolate mousse pie. The pie was dense and rich, unlike the whipped mousse many restaurants serve. It tasted more like a ganache, and we gobbled up every bite.
For a casual dining experience with basic, yet delicious food, open wide for Open Wide. But don't forget to save room for dessert. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
ROY A. BAHLS
Blackened Chicken Over Red Beans and Rice with Salsa and Sour Cream
is one of the specialties at Open Wide in downtown Norfolk.
Graphic
BILL OF FARE
Open Wide, 124 Granby St., Norfolk, 533-9153
Cuisine: Bistro foods, hand-tossed pizza
Atmosphere: Casual with art for sale on exposed brick walls; live
music at least one weekend evening. Parking available on the street
or in nearby garages.
Prices: Lunch averages $5 to $6; dinner starters $2.50 to $6.50;
main dishes, including pizzas, $5.75 to $10.25; desserts $2.25 to
$3.25
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch Monday through Friday;
appetizers served Monday through Saturday from 3 to 5:30 p.m.;
dinner served Monday through Saturday from 5:30 to 11 p.m., although
the bar remains open until 2 a.m. Open for Sunday brunch beginning
Feb. 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Reservations: Not accepted.
Smoking: In the bar section.
by CNB