THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 11, 1996 TAG: 9607090106
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On The Town
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: 74 lines
A number of special events worthy of note are coming up. Wine expert Jim Gabler, author of ``A Passion for Wine,'' will be on hand Monday at Bobbywood to discuss his book and Prince Michel wines, which will be featured with a special dinner Chef Bobby Huber is cooking up.
The evening begins at 6:30 with a Rapidan River Riesling, followed by a first course of asparagus with ``carrot pasta,'' a crispy rice cake and quail legs steamed over an herbal broth, and accompanied by Prince Michel Chardonnay. That will be followed by jumbo lump crab meat, rolled sushi-style in grilled eggplant, with a fermented black bean curried vinaigrette, and a Barrel-Select Chardonnay.
The third course is a tartar of fresh tuna on a ``stool'' of toasted couscous, baby French beans and yellow tomato with a pinot noir and black soy reduction, served with a pinot noir. Next, pepper-seared ostrich, rare, with mashed celery root, braised leeks and fried beet chips, served with a merlot.
The fifth course will be boneless lamb loin, goat cheese infused with fresh herbs and roasted red pepper, with an essence of spinach puree and a balsamic reduction, accompanied by Le Ducq Meritage wine. Finally, a mango sorbet with bits of pecan-crusted Belgian milk chocolate pate with Sicilian pistachios, will be served, along with an encore of Rapidan Riesling.
The cost of the dinner will be $75 per person, all-inclusive, and will include a signed copy of Gabler's ``A Passion for Wine.'' A word of note: I wrote about a Bobbywood wine dinner some columns back, and Chef Huber was chagrined to notify me that he had to cancel it due to a mix-up with the wines. He sends his apology to those who were disappointed, and assures me that his dinner will take place ``come hell or high water!'' Call Bobbywood (7515 Granby St., 440-7515) for information or reservations.
The Taphouse Grill in Ghent will celebrate its first anniversary on from 1 to 8 p.m. July 20 with a beer festival featuring 40 beers from 20 breweries. Brews to be poured will include Norfolk's own Steamship Ale, and beers produced by Richmond's James River Brewing and Legend Brewing. Other exotic brews will include Crazy Ed's Cave Creek Chili Beer, which comes with a jalapeno pepper in each bottle (wonder if you need a beer chaser?), Dixie Voodoo Blackened Lager, and White Moose, which I've tried at a beer dinner at the Taphouse, and found to taste somewhat like white chocolate, a very unusual taste for a beer.
Taphouse manager Karl Dornemann says it's a way to sample ``not just a wide selection of beer, but interesting beers you might not normally get to taste unless you bought a whole six-pack at a specialty store.''
Members of the Hampton Roads Brewing and Tasting Society will discuss how beer is made, the combination of grain, hops, yeast, and water and how they work to become beer, and promise to present a batch of actively fermenting ``home brew.'' If you think beer is simple, you'll never feel that way again after hearing these brew pros discuss the mysteries of beer.
Chef Nancy Cobb plans to come up with several special ``beer desserts,'' including Guiness Stout ice cream, Fallen Chocolate Decadence and a lemon pudding with blackberry coulis.
Admission to the First Anniversary Beer Festival is free, and patrons can purchase unlimited sampling bracelets for $7 each, or $10 per couple. Call the Taphouse Grill in Ghent (931 W. 21st St., 627-9172) for information.
Who's on First? Those of you who work downtown know by now that J.P.'s Smokehouse, in the Selden Arcade, has closed. You can still find owner John Morris at J.P.'s Waterfront in the Dominion Tower.
Meanwhile, Gus Boubouheropoulos has sold The Colony House in Colley Village to Rosie Esposito, who has operated Martin's Barbecue on Tidewater Drive. Gus tells me that he's opening a new restaurant in mid-July in the Comfort Inn on Newtown Road, to be called The Odyssey (466-8432.) He'll be serving three meals a day, seven days a week, and says he'll include Greek dishes such as lamb chops and roast leg of lamb.
A new executive chef has joined Phillips Waterside Restaurant. David Patrick Tomasits has worked in Ohio at Charley's Crab, and came to Hampton Roads two years ago as chef at Chi Chi's in Hampton. by CNB