THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607160129
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On the Town
TYPE: Restaurant Review
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: 80 lines
PERHAPS THE LAST thing you might think about Nauticus - the controversial downtown attraction - is that it would be a destination for a meal.
In the past, the restaurant was operated solely as a place to feed visitors.
Renamed The Galley at Nauticus (664-1000), and now under the management of the affable Andy Kleeger, who once operated Murphy's Deli in the SMA Building, the eatery offers a vastly improved menu, with freshly made burgers, Caesar and Greek salads, personal pan pizza and a home-style special that Kleeger hopes will draw downtown workers who might be eating lunch at The Waterside or area restaurants.
``The restaurant, the naval museum and the gift shop are open to the public, with no Nauticus admission necessary,'' Kleeger said. ``We welcome our neighbors.''
Kleeger came to town in 1977 to run clubs at Little Creek Amphibious Base, then switched services and went over to Fort Eustis and Fort Story to run Army clubs. At one point he had 70 clubs reporting to him, as director of clubs for the TRADOC command at Fort Monroe.
Back in the civilian sector in 1988, he was Ramada Inn's food and beverage director in Newport News. He seemed content at Murphy's, the whimsical little deli he named after his cat, until HQ ``made him an offer he couldn't refuse,'' he says, to become their director of food service, opening food operations in HQs all over the country.
``I spent 185 nights in hotel rooms in 1994,'' Kleeger said. ``Actually, if I hadn't been downsized, I would have stayed with it. I really liked that job.''
In March, he took over the Nauticus food operation, which had been serviced by the Marriott Catering Division, and was faced with a formidable challenge - how to prepare fresh food for a clientele whose numbers might vary in the hundreds every day, depending on what tour groups are booked.
``I was tasked with designing a new restaurant, new menu and new staff, training them and getting open in one month,'' he recalled. ``And I missed it by two days.
``I priced the menu at comparable levels to downtown restaurants, and walked through the Waterside and thought, `This place looks busy,' so I copied some items and tried to price them 10 percent lower.''
The result is a menu offering salads, such as the Caesar ($2.95), with grilled chicken strips ($3.95) or with steamed shrimp ($4.50); a Greek salad ($2.95); a tuna or chicken salad plate ($4.25), or a shrimp salad plate ($4.50). A soup and Caesar salad combo is $3.79. I had a hearty bowl of New England-style clam chowder ($2.49, with chili priced the same).
Under sandwiches you'll find a 5 1/2-ounce burger ($1.89, add cheese for a quarter), or a fried fish filet ($2.59). The Galley features a homemade crabcake sandwich ($4.95), a grilled chicken breast sandwich ($2.79), barbecue with slaw ($2.50), and a quarter-pound, all-beef hot dog ($1.89).
Seafood includes a basket of fried shrimp with fries ($4.25), a half-pound of steamed shrimp ($4.95), fish and chips with fries ($3.95), and fried clam strips with fries ($2.95). A personal pan-size pizza is $2.95, and you can add extra ingredients for 50 cents per topping.
I tried the daily special, always priced at $4.95, and was served a heaping plate of tender roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and garlic-corn as a side. The plate came with a corn muffin, and was certainly a supper-sized portion. It was extremely good ``comfort food,'' and oddly old-fashioned in such a high-tech surrounding.
The 120-seat Galley offers a home-style special every day, served all day, or at least until it runs out. Specials have included a half-chicken, barbecued, with potato salad, cole slaw and muffin; spaghetti with meatballs, vegetable and garlic bread; vegetarian lasagna; shrimp Creole over rice; even a meatball stew, which Kleeger says made his chef laugh until so many people bought it.
I asked Andy Kleeger what he thought of the ongoing controversy over Nauticus and its value as an attraction.
``As a downtown businessman when Nauticus was being built, I was not a supporter,'' he said. ``Now I've seen what it can do, and does every day, and experienced the level of enthusiasm that exists throughout the building. I've been here four months and haven't seen it all.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
The Galley at Nauticus is managed by Andy Kleeger, who once operated
Murphy's Deli in the SMA Building. by CNB