
DATE: Sunday, June 1, 1997                  TAG: 9706030554

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Restaurant review

SOURCE: BY M. F. ONDERDONK, RESTAURANT CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   96 lines

ROCKAFELLER'S OFFERS PRETTY SETTING, BIG MENU, CASUAL BEACH ATMOSPHERE

THE NAME OF this place is Rockafeller's - with an ``a.'' It's a casual spelling for a casual restaurant. A place that's as well known for laid-back ambience as for the spinach-topped oyster appetizer - named after a New Yorker who liked all things green, but money most of all.

When Rockafeller's arose on its pilings on the Rudee Inlet waterfront several years ago, it joined a small set of restaurants whose names also began with ``R'' - River House and Rudee's. River House has since drifted away. (Having closed some time ago, the building has just reopened as Calcutta's.) Meanwhile, the lighthouse tower of

Rudee's stoutly dominates the horizon of this little anchorage, above the new deck built to attract the hot-weather crowd. For times can be challenging on an oceanfront backwater, which is neither tourist destination nor locals-only haven but a cross-channel in which both crowds swim.

Rockafeller's edge is in its pretty setting and big, all-day menu, stuffed with price-friendly items like Caesar salad, pasta dishes, starters and sandwiches. Entrees run a gamut, including fresh fish with options on toppings, fried and steamed seafood, grilled chicken dishes and steaks. The prices are largely reasonable, the portions reasonably large and the service is friendly. All of it chinks up, perhaps allowing regulars and visitors to overlook fare that wouldn't have knocked John Jay's socks off, even if he had already shed his sandals to go beachcombing.

From the kitchen, doorless in a misguided attempt to emulate the vogue of open cookeries, waft fishy aromas and the yelling of someone in authority, angry about a table that's been waiting too long for food.

We were luckier. The baked bivalves for which the restaurant is named (sort of) came fast and proved to be big and tasty, topped with fresh spinach and smoky bacon and parmesan cheese melted into an impromptu sauce. Yum! Clams casino didn't thrill as much, for the little shellfish had been overwhelmed by tomato sauce and a hand especially heavy on the oregano.

Caesar salad, a house specialty, is, at $2.95, a big-enough-to-share bargain. The dressing was garlicky and good, the parmesan fresh-grated and the homemade croutons huge and crisp. The absence of anchovies is mere piffle - this is Virginia Beach, after all. Rusty romaine - such as that encountered on a recent lunch visit - and mushy green beans siding the entrees indicated that the back of the house needed to pay more attention to freshness. Red-skinned potatoes came nicely steamed, if more teen-aged in size than new.

The fried seafood platter (also available broiled) was big enough for two to share, after apps, and bore good butterflied shrimp, reasonably tender scallops, a sizable crabcake and a fresh fillet of mahi-mahi.

Barbecued shrimp - another house specialty, served as starter or entree - proved too chewy. Though agreeably smoky in flavor, the shrimp were also overwhelmed by heavy red sauce. Shrimp fared somewhat better on the fried platter and in the seafood au gratin, which also included good crabmeat and forgettable scallops in a cheese sauce tasting strangely of pizza.

Service was jaunty and attentive - the unfinished platter of barbecued shrimp drew spontaneous concern from one waitress, who said, ``You're not eating - and I'm worried about that.'' Another brought extra pasta for the child in our party, put off by a kid's menu linguine with marinara that he found to be a little on the spicy side.

Among the array of desserts is an eclair cake, made in-house - a simple but irresistible layering of graham cracker crumbs and custard, tinged with Kahlua and topped by chocolate frosting. Key lime pie (like fried calamari and poppers, classic Beach cuisine) was on the fluffy side and so yellow as to startle even those of us who know that Key limes aren't green.

Wines are served by the glass and bottle, and the choices, though limited, are impressive and reasonably priced. There are a number of good selections by the glass. Seafood-friendly labels include Benziger fume blanc and Chateau St. Michelle riesling, and there are cabernet sauvignons by such distinguished wineries as St. Francis and Kenwood. Upscale champagnes like Moet & Chandon White Star and the three-figure Dom Perignon are worthy of anybody's cellar - including a millionaire. MEMO: Reviews are based on a two unannounced visits 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: Color photo

ROY A. BAHLS

Rockafeller's gives diners a great view, overlooking the waterfront

of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach.

Graphic

ROCKAFELLER'S

Address: 308 Mediterranean Ave., Virginia Beach

Phone: 422-5654

Prices: $5 to $8 for appetizers and sandwiches; $10 to $17 for

most entrees; $20 and up for steak and seafood combinations.