THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605160044
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BARBARA MCADEN BETTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
THE GREEK music playing from speakers hidden over the planters and miniature Grecian columns at the entrance of Orapax in Virginia Beach promised a pleasant evening inside.
The menu of this offspring of Norfolk's popular Orapax restaurant, founded by Louis Seretis in 1965, suggested the same.
I've eaten in the Norfolk Orapax frequently, but the atmosphere here seemed quieter and more relaxed. Music from the Greek islands rekindled happy memories. Perhaps another factor was having dinner at the end of the day instead of lunch in the midst of a busy work day.
We began our meal with traditional Greek appetizers. My generous serving of dolmas (grape leaves wrapped around spiced ground beef) was topped with a thick egg-lemon sauce ($4.95). It was almost a mini-meal, rather than an appetite-stimulator, and tasty.
John, my husband, chose kalamaki, tender, small chunks of pork in a Greek marinade, char-broiled on little skewers (two at $1.35 each) and served with wedges of Greek pita topped with margarine and oregano.
The meat was tasty, but the charred side of the pork caused him to wonder aloud to the waitress, ``Is it supposed to be like this?''
``That's usually the way it comes out,'' she answered pleasantly. Served with yiahzki, a creamy cucumber sauce, the skewered pork wasn't harmed by the charring.
Tempting, thick slices of Greek bread, baked fresh on the premises each day, arrived with containers of melted margarine (or butter upon request) for dipping. This bread follows the Seretis family tradition at their Norfolk restaurant.
Small Greek salads, with crisp vegetables and an abundance of feta cheese, were served with a side dressing of olive oil, vinegar and herbs. The salads were good, although I would have liked several Greek black olives, instead of one.
We knew we couldn't begin to finish a pizza and an entree, but it seemed a glaring omission to skip the pizza column at Orapax. So, we succumbed to the new Zorba's pizza, a hearty version that included three kinds of cheese (mozzarella, provolone, feta and sprinkles of Parmesan), black olives, pepperoncinis, tomatoes and herbs.
We each tried a slice of the zesty pizza (not for the timid palate) and had the remainder packaged for friends' office lunches. Our 10-inch pizza was $7.95; the 14-inch is$11.75.
My main course was a delightful dish, kotopita ($5.50), which is an Orapax original. It's basically a baked turnover in a phyllo pastry, filled with minced chicken, vegetables and herbs, and served with rice cooked in a chicken base with a wonderful Milanese sauce on the side. The mild, pleasant sauce was a skillful combination of butter, eggs, milk, flour and a hint of Parmesan cheese. It was surprisingly different and the perfect companion to the kotopita.
John sampled my kotopita and shared my enthusiasm. His entree, kanelloni ($6.50), was a hearty meal, a plump serving of spiced ground beef wrapped in pastry dough and covered with tomato-meat sauce and melted cheese. John said it was something he would likely order again.
Dessert seemed overkill after our dining indulgences, but we met the challenge.
What could be more fitting to conclude a Greek dinner than baklava ($1.50), probably the best-known Grecian dessert in this country? Layers of tissue-thin phyllo pastry were topped with honey, ground nuts and spices. The waitress served mine warm, for easy cutting.
My husband chose the Snickers pie ($2.50), a cream cheese base ktopped with a rich layer made of chocolate and nuts. Good, but maybe not the wisest choice after a hearty meal. Southern pecan carrot cake, usually on the menu, wasn't available the night we were there.
Saturated with good food, we sat back and glanced at the tapestries folded like fans on the mauve walls, looked at the Hellenic paintings and savored the Greek music. The atmosphere was both festive and relaxing.
We'll return again. MEMO: Online reviews: Previous restaurant reviews are available on the Fun
page of Pilot Online at http://www.pilotonline.com/ ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by ROY A.BAHLS
Souvlaki - tender shunks of char-broiled lamb - is a well-known
Greek dish; it is served with salad and Greek bread.
by CNB