THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9601310039
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: A LA CARTE
SOURCE: Donna Reiss
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
THE SIGN says ``Bakery,'' but Incredible Edibles is more than exquisite decorator cakes and custom pies. Tucked between two popular Virginia Beach restaurants, Coastal Grill and Cafe David, this new shop serves fresh soups, sandwiches, espressos, and fruit and pastries for breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. every day except Sunday.
Made on freshly baked foccacia bread, panini sandwiches have distinctive ridges scored by the imported Italian griddle that gives them their name. Half a veggie panini puffed with shiitake mushrooms, fresh red and yellow peppers and onions, plus a bowl of spinach-potato soup for $4.75 was so substantial we had to take half our half sandwich home for later. Of course, we were saving room for kahlua cake, white chocolate cake, chocolate mousse cake, fruit tart and a couple of specialty cookies - oh, the sacrifices we make in the name of sweet research.
Owner-baker Debra Miller says there's real butter in the buttercream in her special-occasion cakes. Minicakes mean you can indulge yourself daily.
Miller's mother, Phyllis Brown, makes the soups and cinnamon rolls. Incredible Edibles is at 1423 N. Great Neck Road, at Mill Dam Crossing in Virginia Beach. Call 425-5898.
Catch that coyote
The atmosphere was animated last week when the Coyote Cafe took over the territory that most recently was Animation restaurant.
Andy Stein of the latter and Gary Black and Richie Boner of the former have joined forces in this lively new venture. Cowpoke-print cloths cover the tables, and earth tones cover the hot cartoon colors. The walls are ablaze with local art; and in the lounge beside the open kitchen, Stein's collection of animation art is grouped attractively.
Little remains from the California and down-home Southern menu of Animation except some salads and sandwiches and meat loaf (now garnished with Coyote barbecue sauce). The Southwestern-style foods that won a following at Coyote's 22nd Street location in Virginia Beach are likely to find a comfortable home here.
The new Coyote accommodates three times as many patrons. Diners can spread out for generous bowls of mussels with serrano pepper sauce, chicken quesadillas, and tamales with exceptional cornmeal filling dotted with wild boar bacon.
Black anticipates such special events as tequila tastings. John Taylor, chef at Coyote for four years, oversees the kitchen at night, accompanied by Mike Stroud and Jose Rodriguez. Steve Sulecki, formerly of Cafe Society, is lunch chef. Catch this coyote at 972-A Laskin Road in Virginia Beach. Call 425-8705.
Meanwhile, the cozy dining room of the old house at 206 22nd Street, where the Coyote resided for eight years (the tub in the bathroom was an especially homey touch), has been redecorated as Mojo's Voodoo Grill, with a Cuban-Caribbean emphasis. Call 425-6979.
Virginia chefs take N.Y.
If you're in New York City on Tuesday, you can enjoy the talents of four notable Virginia chefs cooking in the same kitchen.
A benefit supporting the James Beard Foundation's honoring of regional American cookery will feature foods prepared by David Everett of The Dining Room at Ford's Colony, Williamsburg; Marcel Desaulniers of The Trellis, Williamsburg; Jay Frank of The Berkeley Hotel, Richmond; and Jimmy Sneed of The Frog and the Redneck, Richmond.
The 7 p.m. dinner, showcasing Virginia products, will be at the James Beard House at 167 W. 12th St. Call (800) 623-BEARD or (212) 627-2308 for information. MEMO: Send restaurant news along with your name, address 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@norfolk.infi.net.
by CNB