THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605070112
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 11 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On The Town
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
One night last week, after working all day, Julie cooked mustard-marinated pork chops and Pork Florentine, flank steak Cordon Bleu, and boneless mesquite-flavored chicken breasts, with side dishes of green beans with almonds and Pecorino Romano macaroni and cheese.
We had teriyaki beef on skewers as an appetizer, and the kids started with honey-stung chicken drumsticks and honey-barbecued wings.
Prep time was zero, But Wonderwoman hadn't done the preparation the evening before. She stopped by The Meal Center at the new Hannaford Food and Drug Superstore at Wards Corner (587-5945, Ext. 123) and picked up ready-to-cook individual items that turned into an extravagant dinner at home.
The new store is located in the former HQ location, next to Hills. Check out the prepared foods, which vary from day to day, and range from the exotic, such as breast of duck or Chinese-style boneless ribs, to side-dish staples.
It's unusual to know what each portion of your meal costs by the pound, unless you're in the food business. The marinated pork chops were $4.09 per pound, and the mesquite chicken breasts were $3.129 per pound. The steak Cordon Bleu, rolled flank stuffed with ham and Provolone cheese and dressed with Dijon mustard, olive oil, fresh garlic, and salt and pepper, was $6.99 per pound, but less than a pound should suffice for two, so rich was this dish.
The teriyaki beef sticks were $3.89 per pound. We shared individual desserts - a slice of lemon chiffon pie, a chocolate square topped with bits of cocoa, graham cracker crumbs, flaked coconut and walnuts, and a peanut pie slice topped with whipped cream and a miniature Reese's Cup - each $1.29.
We fed our family of five a gourmet-style meal for about $32, with a passel of leftovers. Some preparations had cooking instructions, and the folks at the Meal Center provide tips, as well as nutritional information, and both meal and party-planning tips. We did have to wash the dishes, however.
I wouldn't want to be washing the dishes at Bobbywood on Monday night. Chef Bobby Huber will host a five-course meal, featuring the wines of importer Bobby Kacher. It starts at 6 p.m. with Champagne Jacques Selosse, followed by a first course of crawfish, smoked bacon, brie cheese and roasted jalapenos baked in a phyllo dough and served on a honeydew sauce laced with prosciutto and accompanied by Diess Riesling wine.
The second course consists of a crispy sushi roll stuffed with tuna, red and yellow peppers, spinach, carrot pasta and sesame-crusted sweet rice cakes with a wasabi soy cream. The wine will be a Coche Meursault, which according the Chef Huber is a ``great Burgundy wine, full of rich buttery and fruit flavors. It's just a classic French wine.''
Pepper-seared ostrich on creamed leeks with mashed celery root and fried beet chips will be accompanied by glasses of Joblot Givry. Never one to stick my head in the sand when it comes to culinary trend, I asked Huber about ostrich.
``It's a very low-fat meat, with just a trace of marbling to give it flavor,'' he explained. ``The taste is that of red meat, and we slice it almost like roast beef and then sear it off.''
The fourth course is an emince of strip loin, sort of a julienne strip of beef with Roquefort cheese en croute (the beef is baked as if in a pastry) with a wine and balsamic vinegar reduction and shiitake mushrooms. The Brusset Gigondas served with the entree will be a full-bodied red wine.
For dessert lovers, there will be a chocolate cup filed with a fruit compote and cream anglaise on a strong coffee reduction. An Alsatian sparkling wine - Albrecht Cremant De Alsace - which Huber describes as a ``little sweet but a superior bottle of wine done in the true champagne method,'' will be served with the dessert.
I'm told that the cigar room opens at 5 p.m. and that wine expert Wes McCullen also will be on hand to answer questions. Tickets for the Bobbywood wine dinner are $59 per person, all-inclusive and must be purchased in advance at the restaurant (7515 Granby St., 440-7515), or charged by phone and held on a will-call basis.
Mike Cavish of Fellini's (40th & Colley Ave., 625-3000) called to advise me that he will open up Sunday at 11 a.m. for Mother's Day and will serve the regular menu plus some Mom's Day specials, on through till closing. by CNB