THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603060038
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: A LA CARTE
SOURCE: DONNA REISS
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
WARM THE waning nights of winter with wine dinners at local restaurants:
7:15 p.m. today at Bistro! 210 York St., Norfolk (622-3210).
Bistro! welcomes Storybook Vineyards of California, which makes only zinfandels, many of them difficult to find commercially. Winemaker-owner Jerry Sepps will present vineyard designates of estate-bottled zinfandels, including 1993 Eastern Exposure, 1990 Reserve and 1991 Reserve. One course will bubble with Louis Roderer Anderson Valley brut champagne.
Chef-owner Todd Jurich is designing a dinner of seasonal regional foods, such as smoked sturgeon, shad roe, ramps and fresh morels to complement the wines. The tab is about $60, plus tax and gratuity.
7:15 p.m. Monday at Bistro!
It's a trio of California wineries in the Racke Group: Robert Stemmler's pinot noirs; Buena Vista's sauvignon blanc, pinot noir and zinfandel; and Haywood's cabernet and chardonnay. Chef Jurich's team will make a meal to match; about $50, plus tax and gratuity.
6 p.m. March 18 at Bobbywood, 7515 Granby St., Norfolk (440-7515).
Chef-owner Bobby Huber will make merry with Merryvale wines, plus tuna carpaccio with salmon tartare and Meritage; jumbo scallops, prosciutto and rosemary-pepper cream with Starmont Chardonnay; red wine risotto and beef tenderloin with merlot; pepper-crusted venison with Profile red; and creamy cheeses, poached pears, and chocolate-dipped strawberries with soltice. Five courses cost $59, tax and tip included.
7 p.m. March 18 at Ocean Boulevard, Beach Road Three Mile Post, Kitty Hawk, N.C. (919-261-2546).
Three chefs who made Crawdad's the best restaurant on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in the mid-1980s are holding their first kitchen reunion, with part of the proceeds to benefit the James Beard Foundation in New York.
Sam McGann of the Blue Point Grill in Duck and Ocean Boulevard in Kitty Hawk; Keith Korn of Gordon's Restaurant in Chicago (by way of the Four Seasons in Boston and Chicago); and Todd Jurich of Norfolk's Bistro! will whip up an eclectic menu including tuna tartare, seared foie gras with scallops, and guinea hen with mild mushrooms, plus complementary wines. Tax and gratuity are included in the $68 tab.
7 p.m. March 19 at Le Chambord, 324 N. Great Neck Road, Virginia Beach (498-1234).
Clos Du Bois wines from California's Alexander Valley will meet a menu by chef Alain Jacqmin, beginning with Sauvignon Blanc and country salad with crawfish. Salmon Jacqmin with asparagus and brie toast accompanied by barrel-fermented Chardonnay follows. Roasted vegetable Napoleon will be matched with Pinot Noir; duck breast with figs and black mushroom sauce and crouton of foie gras with Marlstone Cabernet Sauvignon. Henrik Ojikutu of the Wine Alliance and Debi Atkins of Broudy Kantor will speak.
The evening will end with vanilla souffle and Callaway Sweet Nancy. $55 per person includes tax and gratuity.
7 p.m. March 25 at Cafe David, 1423 N. Great Neck Road, Virginia Beach, 496-3333.
French wines will join French fare from the kitchen of chef-owner David Watts. Dine on French onion soup with Louis Jadot pouilly fuisse; asparagus-goat cheese strudel with Coufran medoc; boneless quail stuffed with foie gras with Chateau de Marbuzet; tournedos bordelaise with two margaux, Malesscot St. Exupery and Chateau Brane Cantenac; and Cordon Bleu genoise cake (beaucoup chocolat) with Schramsberg Champagne. For five courses including tax and gratuity, the tab is $70.
Reservations are essential for all.
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