THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610080165
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: ON THE TOWN
TYPE: RESTAURANT REVIEW
LENGTH: 85 lines
It's a long way from Australia to Maude's House on West Bute Street in downtown Norfolk.
But Heather Whitehead, a quick-witted Aussie, finally has found a home for her food among the cobblestone streets of the historic Freemason Harbor area.
With Maude's House, Whitehead definitely has put her mark on the 1850 carriage house she and her staff moved into last Feb. 29.
The choice of an opening night that occurs only every four years was just another expression of Whitehead's eclectic style. That style is manifested in bright colors - from wall tiles to the electric blue counter of the bar, the individual tea and coffee cups, no two the same pattern. It's also seen in her use of hanging baskets, stuffed with flowers and plants, or lined along the entrance way, full of fresh fruit and produce.
The interior brick walls at Maude's House are painted white, an apt choice for a restaurateur who prides herself on ``clean food with a European flair,'' as she reluctantly describes it.
``I suppose I've always leaned toward the French,'' she adds, ``with their excellent pate and terrines.''
Having come from ``Down Under'' a decade ago, Whitehead paid her dues at Cafe 21 and at Maude's, located in a downtown office tower, which led to the development of a strong lunch and catering business. The new location enabled her to build a loyal dinner clientele, but she still books a great many catering jobs.
The fact that the old building was once a carriage house - and operated as a restaurant under that name for many years - is fitting. Whitehead's clientele, most of whom she knows by name, is what used to be called ``the carriage trade,'' meaning the well-to-do professional class folks who arrived to shop in a carriage.
Dinner at Maude's House is excellent. Soups ($3.95) are served with French bread, and include spinach and feta, and tomato and basil. Appetizers include the likes of chicken liver pate ($5.95); a wonderful pork and veal terrine (or mold) with French bread, sliced tomato and mango chutney ($6.25); and a portabello mushroom with tomato, onion and spinach, sauteed and served with French bread ($7.50).
The menu also offers a Mediterranean salad of roasted chicken, potatoes and peppers, with onions, olives, feta cheese, fresh basil, artichokes and tomatoes ($8.50); a smoked turkey sandwich with havarti cheese, lettuce and tomato, potato salad and fresh fruit ($6.50); and a roasted eggplant sandwich, with roasted peppers and onions, fresh basil and mozzarella cheese, baked and served with fresh fruit ($7.50).
Heartier selections include a pair of pan-baked crab cakes, with mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables and a small salad ($14.95); a rack of lamb, grilled and served with similar sides ($13.95); and a grilled tenderloin ($14.95). I had the tenderloin on my last visit - a juicy and tender steak, done perfectly to order and served with julienne vegetables, mashed potatoes and a small salad ($14.95).
Maude's also offers nightly specials in the $10.95 to $16.95 range, such as lobster in a pesto sauce, rockfish or salmon with a mustard-cream sauce, or Moroccan lamb - lamb in a prune casserole.
For lunch, Maude's House offers a Down Under salad of smoked turkey on a bed of wild rice, tossed with honey-roasted walnuts and garnished with fresh fruit ($5.95); homemade vegetable lasagna (with artichoke, spinach, mushroom and eggplant and a salad, $6.25); and sandwiches such as a hot, open-faced tomato, onion and mozzarella cheese sandwich ($4.25), a cold roast beef with havarti sandwich (served with mashed potatoes, $5.95), and a ham, turkey or buffalo-meat burger. The buffalo burger ($5.50) is juicy and lower in fat than chicken, and no, it doesn't taste like chicken.
As for Maude's House, Heather Whitehead is there so often that it might as well be home.
``It's not an easy trip, mate,'' she says. ``You have to be on-premise all the time. If some of the regulars don't see me they'll walk into the kitchen to find me. Last week I was peeling some rutabagas and looked up and there was a couple who said, `Ah, there you are.' '' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
Heather Whitehead, a quick-witted Australian, has opened Maude's
House in Freemason Harbor.
Graphic
AT A GLANCE
Maude's House: 313 W. Bute St., 622-4990.
Food: soups, salads, sandwiches and steak, seafood, lamb and
poultry entrees and specials; full ABC.
Prices: dinner entrees $6.50-$14.95 range.
Hours: lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.;
dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m. by CNB