THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997 TAG: 9701230026
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Restaurant Review
SOURCE: BY M.F. ONDERDONK RESTAURANT, CRITIC
LENGTH: 109 lines
TALLY HO! It's Hunt season again, old sports. Having saddled up at the turn of the year, the Hunt Room is going into its fourth winter.
Squirreled away beneath the lobby of the historic Cavalier on the Hill in Virginia Beach, this handsome restaurant is open January through March. Its annual post-holiday opening has come, along with southward-pointed chevrons of migratory waterfowl and wet-suited surfers wobbling atop the Atlantic whitecaps.
With a massive fireplace and squire's-shooting-lodge decor (dark beams, wrought-iron chandeliers and idyllic prints of dogs and ponies), this venue makes for a warm, inviting stop on a cold night. For dinner, perhaps. Or a drink. Or several drinks. Or to listen to music. Or to socialize with the local ``in'' set. Or, as on a recent Saturday night, to do ALL of the above. Simultaneously.
Passing down a flight of brick steps at the front of the hotel, one enters the restaurant through a heavy door, half-hoping for an oblong peephole to slide open, speakeasy-style, and for a graveled voice to grant admittance. Rather than a fedora-topped bouncer, a friendly young hostess greeted guests and showed them to their tables.
Smokers get the upper puff for once, claiming the main room with the bar and magnificent fireplace. Casual seating is nearest the hearth, though there is a sweet little table for two off to one side. This is the table to request, provided one can brave the tobacco fumes and bar crowd, both abundant.
A smaller room is furnished with several tables and large booths for non-smokers, who may relish the area's privacy. For, at least in these frigid moments of winter, the bar at the Hunt Room is the weekend place for brewskie-optional hobbing and nobbing. It's a scene reminiscent of an Ivy League fraternity mixer to which a few aging alumni have been invited.
On a recent Saturday night visit, live music began at 9 and by 9:30 the bar crowd was spilling into the dining area. One patron freely set his beer down on the linen cloth of our table. Another asked if he might make off with an unused chair.
Not that our party of two had planned still to be eating when the band broke after its first set. But service, though friendly and attentive, was waylaid by a slow kitchen. Meanwhile, chef Alphonse Bailey circled the room.
Bailey's food, when it got there, did appease - somewhat. Crabmeat Lorenzo was a savory and original appetizer of smoked bacon wrapped around lump crab. But Back River oysters, a promising starter of pan-fried bivalves with smoked hollandaise cream and artichoke biscuit, were trapped in heavy breading incandescent with seasoning - Oriental hot oil, maybe. The biscuit was doughy and bland.
One must, of course, make allowances for a restaurant open only a short time. (With its season set to close by early spring, the Hunt Room couldn't be afforded the usual six-week lead time for a review.) And dinner provided moments for pondering the Hunt Room's virtues.
The wines by the glass, for one. Priced mostly $4-$6 and not listed but recited by the server, these included such labels as the exemplary St. Francis chardonnay and Guenoc's fine cabernet sauvignon. Generously poured - particularly the reds - such selections seem to offer better value than the wines by the bottle.
The Guenoc was also a lovely match with the entrees, a tender rib-eye steak, mesquite-grilled a perfect, smoky rare, and Hunter's chicken, which we snared for the savory appeal of its name. The steak came with a fabulous bearnaise sauce, one of the best we've ever had. Chef Al is herewith forgiven those dining room walks.
As to the chicken, we expected a slow-cooked ``chasseur''-style dish. (``Chasseur'' is French for hunter - in Italian, it's ``cacciatore.'') What arrived was grilled breast filet doused in tarragon and mushroom sauce. The chicken came with angel-hair pasta, the steak alongside lukewarm roasted potatoes.
For starters, the Hunt Room also offers several soups and salads, highlighted by Caesar with grilled lobster. Other main courses include pan-seared lamb chops, veal sauteed with shrimp, roast pork and seafood Creole. And there are a few nightly specials. But the restaurant's hunting theme - it was once a club where sportsmen could hand fish and game over to the chef, knocking back a few whiskeys while the prey was prepped - and general confusion, urge simplicity. Translation? Get the steak.
Several are available, all mesquite-grilled and all with choice of sauteed onions and mushrooms or that exemplary bearnaise.
Desserts are made in-house and include fruit cobbler, bread pudding, lemon chiffon cheesecake and Bailey's chocolate cake. While waiting for the latter confection - quite rich and also good with the Guenoc - we amused ourselves by crowd-watching. After all, some of the par-tygoers were at that point practically sitting with us.
Thus fitted out with a perspective we'll hightail it back again, before winter's end, to the Hunt. MEMO: Reviews are based on a single, unannounced visit by a party of two
or three, unless otherwise noted. The Virginian-Pilot pays for the
reviewer's meal and those of the guests. Previous restaurant reviews are
available on the Fun page of Pilot Online at http://www.pilotonline.com/ ILLUSTRATION: ROY A. BAHLS
Offering include Veal Alfonse, $21.95. The Hunt Room, in Cavalier on
the Hill in Virginia Beach, is open from January through March.
THE HUNT ROOM
Where: The Cavalier on the Hill, Cavalier Drive, Virginia Beach
Phone: 425-8555
Prices: $3.50-$8 for soups, salads and appetizers; $13.50-$21 for
entrees.
Hours: Open for dinner from 5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday,
until 10 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends; through March
29.
Drinks: Full bar, selection of beers, wines by the glass and wine
list.
Payment: All major credit cards; no personal checks.
Reservations: A must on weekends.
Smoking: Separate smoking section.
Handicap accessible: No.