
DATE: Sunday, June 15, 1997                 TAG: 9706170556

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Restaurant review

SOURCE: BY M.F. ONDERDONK, RESTAURANT CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:  117 lines

WATERMAN'S IS HANDSOME AND HOT PEAKED AND GABLED OCEANFRONT EATERY FEATURES SPICY FARE FROM CHEF RAOUTI BENALLAL

IT'S LIKE a living emblem of restaurant heraldry - the eatery triumphant, upon a field of blue. How handsome is this place as it stands dwarfed by the forbidding towers of glass and concrete that have erupted from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Gabled and peaked and dressed in a gallant new color scheme, Waterman's Beachfront Grill looks like a fantasy fortress.

Beyond the restaurant's big windows, roller bladers whiz fearlessly along the concrete boardwalk, while sunbathers loll in the sands and heavy blue waters buck beneath the jet-skiing hordes. This is a prime setting, all right, complete with parking lot. Into that lot, on the Atlantic Avenue side of the property, aromas of the grill waft forth, luring one up onto the narrow porch and inside. The look is spacious and golden-lit and it cost the Standing family, who've owned this property for decades, a bundle. The restaurant formerly known as Fogg's rose anew last March as Waterman's, from a two-and-a-half-month rehab in which the interior was not merely redone but reconfigured.

Now, a bi-level dining room affords unbroken ocean views, while nautical artifacts - such as an expensive brace of fishing poles and tackle - drift and bob through the decor. Handsome mahogany booths have been installed, with a cocktail bar to match, providing a front-of-the-house setting for the iced seafood display. The exposed ductwork has been swabbed in shiny, trendy copper tones. Whimsical chandeliers sprout a palm motif.

As well as this fresh, expensive look, Waterman's has also emerged from transformation with a new chef - Raouti Benallal, who honed his culinary edge in the kitchens of Aldo's and Hot Tuna. Note the word ``hot'' - Benallal is of Algerian descent and perhaps it is his North African subconscious that sometimes weighs on his hand when he reaches for the cayenne.

The tourist crowd demands choice and the tourist crowd gets it on the Waterman's menu, overflowing with fun apps, burgers, sandwiches, salads, pastas and gourmet pizzas. Crab, shrimp, fresh fish specials and raw bar items are all available. With dishes such as tabbouleh, couscous primavera, paella and tuna puttanesca, it's evident that the restaurant is also casting for a more ephemeral clientele - sophisticated, higher-spending, possibly local.

Wine list offerings run both to old favorites like Frog's Leap sauvignon blanc and Chateau Souverain cabernet sauvignon, and to such up-and-comers as the excellent Shug and Q.C. Fly pinot noirs. What by-the-glass selections there are - such as Wolf Blass chardonnay for $5 - tend to be on the high side, though bottles are quite reasonably priced.

Meanwhile, the kitchen appears to be making bottom-line hay on the nightly additions. One evening, the waiter tempted us by talking up the jambalaya, with a description that included everything but the price. When the bill came, this dish turned out to be a rather overheated $18.

Still, it's a pleasant stop, as on one sunny Sunday afternoon, when brunch was under way. An appetizer of deep-fried calamari came in a generous tangle of rings and tiny tentacles. If these were a shade light in color and a bit to the chewy side, they got a redeeming lift from their peppery batter and red pepper aioli, a k a hot, pink mayonnaise. Chosen from an array of skillet-served dishes, eggs scrambled with Virginia ham, chives and cream cheese were topped by thick, bland hollandaise - a nice dish, if a little on the sweet side. Alongside came hash browns, strangely airy and flavorless despite their studding of red bell peppers. No bread accompanied the dish, though the waitress was hawking cinnamon rolls as an add-on. A rich crabcake sandwich tasted of curry - an unusual touch, marginally better than Old Bay - with roasted red pepper coulis and french fries in Cajun dusting.

A dinner visit was launched smoothly enough with deep-fried crab balls (no out-of-the-way seasonings this time, just lots of claw meat). Baked house oysters were topped with spinach, artichokes and parmesan, and would have been good had the dish gone under the broiler for a final browning. Come entree hour, the mixed grill bore blackened flounder so highly seasoned it was impossible to take more than a few bites. A soft-shell crab, dressed in a sweet sauce accented by Oriental seasoning, worked better. So did filet of marinated balsamic chicken (also on the regular menu as a stand-alone entree). A scattering of chickpeas and side of tired rosemary potatoes made rather forgettable accompaniments to this platter, truly a mixed affair.

As to the aforementioned jambalaya - conch and chorizo do not a high-end entree make, especially when both are on the chewy side. Again, the dish was so highly seasoned that one's mouth began to pucker and burn about 10 minutes in and finishing it was out of the question. One would be well advised to go for more conservative dishes, such as raw bar fare and perhaps a steak or some ribs off that wonderfully scented grill.

Desserts come grouped and showcased on a display platter, all of them supplied by high-end dessert-doers - a practice not only perfectly acceptable but increasingly frequent on today's restaurant scene. Snickers pie proved to be custard cantilevered on chocolate, marred by too-chewy graham-cracker crust. Cheesecake and chocolate cake, another confection of split personality, was blander, offering less return on the calorie count. And so to the Key lime pie, pale and citrusy, coconut-scented and wonderful, each bite a dream of the lazy tropics in a town where - for 14 short weeks of summer - beachfront fantasy is the hottest commodity around. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

ROY A. BAHLS

Waterman's Beachfront Grill looks like a colorful fantasy fortress.

Photo

ROY A. BAHLS

A bi-level dining room affords unbroken ocean views, while nautical

artifacts drift and bob through the decor.

Graphic

WATERMAN'S BEACHWOOD GRILL

Address: 415 Atlantic Ave., Virginia Beach

Phone: 428-3644

Prices: $2.50-$8 for starters, soups, salads and sandwiches;

$7-$22 for pizzas, pastas and entrees.