THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 30, 1996 TAG: 9605250242
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On The Town
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: 71 lines
MONDAY NIGHT is ABC night at Elliot's.
That's ABC as in ``Anything But Chardonnay.'' The venerable Colley Avenue establishment will be featuring a selection of wines (excluding that pesky white wine), along with a series of food stations, all set up to showcase a new addition to the kitchen, and to introduce JoAnna McGhinnis, the restaurant's new chef.
McGhinnis was executive chef at the Chesapeake location of Grand Affairs for the past three years and prior to that worked as sous chef at the Beach Grand Affairs. Other experience includes a stint as sous chef at Lake Wright.
McGhinnis has cooked professionally for 15 years.
``I consider it 15 years in the school of hard knocks,'' McGhinnis said. ``I started out with some college background in the basics, but between having children and raising a family I ended up learning on the job.''
I asked McGhinnis if she had made any major menu changes since she joined Elliot's April 1.
``We will be changing the menu, but right now we're working on strengthening the line,'' she said, referring to the cooks who work with her.
In the meantime, ``We've been turning out some crazy specials,'' she said.
Those specials include a Portabella mushroom marinated in mesquite, grilled and served over tomato basil fettuccini, with grilled garden vegetables, or grilled tuna, served over a mixed bean salad with a roasted red pepper salsa. The dinner specials are in the $8.95 to $15.95 range.
``We want to create a reputation for our desserts,'' McGhinnis added. ``We're keeping the Works Brownie. It's been around for 18 years, and it's a tradition, but we've added chocolate tacos, a Bourbon Street walnut pie and other specialty desserts. It's the '90s, and people want '90s-style food.''
As for the new kitchen area, it normally will serve as a prep kitchen to support the cooks working the line.
``It's really great,'' McGhinnis said. ``There are skylights built into the roof, and hydroponic fresh herbs growing above us. It's homey back there, and even if you're working 15 hours a day, you can still see the sky.''
On Monday night, the prep work will have to be done elsewhere. The new kitchen will be transformed into a series of wine and food stations. The menu hadn't been set when I talked with McGhinnis, but she promised a variety of hors d'oeuvres and dishes, from poultry and meat to seafood, on which people may graze while they mingle.
It sounds like a typical dinner party at someone's home, with everyone congregating in the kitchen to chat and sip wine. There will be a series of stations featuring wines to complement the food.
Featured red wines will be a '94 Parducci Pinot Noir, a '93 Chateau Souverain Dry Creek Zinfandel, a Beringer Red Mentage, a Meridian Syrah and a Broilio Chianti Classico. White wines will include a '94 Beringer Chenin Blanc, a '93 Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc, a '93 Beringer Knight Valley White Meritage, a '94 Chateau Lauretan Blanc and a '94 Pighin Pinot Grigio.
Tickets for the 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. event are $15 per person in advance (all inclusive), and $20 at the door. For information, call Elliot's (1421 Colley Ave., 625-0259).
Tracy's Clam and Oyster Bar on Pretty Lake Avenue in Ocean View is now known as Chancee's at Bay Point Marina. I spoke briefly with the new management last week and was told that a new menu would be in place by the time you read this, but plans are to continue to feature seafood while expanding the menu.
You may recall that Tracy Anderson, the former cop turned restaurateur who owned Tracy's, suffered a heart attack last fall. He told me last week that he has plans to open a retail operation to market his line of spices and that he will continue his catering operation. I'll have more about Anderson's plans when he opens his shop and will have more about Chancee's in a later column. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
JoAnna McGhinnis joined Elliot's last month. by CNB