
DATE: Thursday, November 13, 1997           TAG: 9711110137

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 02   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: ON THE TOWN 

TYPE: RESTAURANT REVIEW  

SOURCE: Sam Martinette 

                                            LENGTH:   93 lines

HOLLY BALL CELEBRATING 35TH YEAR OF HELPING CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

The Charity Ball season is fully under way, and one the highlights of each December is the annual Holly Festival. A main component of this event is the Holly Ball, set this year for Dec. 6, at the Omni Waterside Hotel.

Sponsored by the thousand-member-plus Norfolk City Union of The King's Daughters to raise funds for the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, the 35th Annual Holly Ball will feature cocktails at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7:30, and dancing from 9:30 on, with music by two bands, Chairmen of the Board and the R & B Allstars. Tickets for the event are $275 per couple, and dress is black tie.

``Our goal this year is to raise $65,000 for the hospital,'' explained chairman Tammie Kotarides. The money will be used for capital improvements, research and treatment of children in need, Kotarides said.

``We expect about 600 people,'' she added, explaining that the crowd is drawn from all over Southside Hampton Roads. ``About half are from Norfolk, and the rest are from Virginia Beach and Chesapeake,'' she said. ``We even have some people who come up from North Carolina.''

Kotarides said that the Norfolk City Union, of which she has been a member for 10 years, actually predates the hospital. While many people who will attend have been coming to the Holly Ball for years, Kotarides said the Ball Committee hopes to see some new faces.

``In a lot of ways, like many organizations, we're in a period of transition. As some of the older members leave, we hope to replace them with new (volunteers).''

The Holly Ball is a followup to the Holly Festival, and the Gala - during which some 50 decorated trees are unveiled and auctioned off - is set for Nov. 22, at the Cavalier on the Hill in Virginia Beach.

``There are usually five grand trees with luxury items that are the hit of the evening,'' Kotarides said. ``People wander about and view them, and then they bid on a tree or trees.''

As for the dinner, executive chef David Lapinski has worked up an extensive menu that begins with butler-passed hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, including a smoked salmon croustade, Boursin cheese with grapes on an endive spear, Beef Wellington with a Ravigota sauce, Santa Fe chicken with salsa, and scallops and bacon with snow peas.

But that's not all: A fixed station will feature red salmon and black and gold caviar set in an ice sculpture, and a farmer's market-style display of seasonal fruits, vegetables and imported cheeses, with French bread and gourmet crackers.

The first course of the dinner will be she crab soup, followed by a jumbo salad of radicchio, Belgian endive and field greens with Parmesan-wafers, pine nuts, julienne vegetables, and a balsamic cranberry vinaigrette.

The entree will consist of roast salmon with endives and Riesling, a petite filet with a beurre rouge sauce, roasted Yukon gold potatoes and a spinach souffle, while dessert will feature a ``viva tiramisu torte'' with zabaglione ribbons and a strawberry fan. Dessert enough, perhaps, but on each table will be chocolate-dipped strawberries, dark chocolate truffle, raspberry truffle, hazelnut truffle, cognac truffle and milk chocolate truffle.

``It's a wonderful evening, and a wonderful dinner,'' Kotarides said. ``It's nice to get so dressed up.''

And the main plan is to raise money for the hospital. ``I came into the Norfolk City Union because I had a very ill child,'' Kotarides, explained. ``We almost lost him, but he's all right now. I'm a great believer in the hospital.'' For information, call 668-7098.

We happened to dine at Magnolia Steak (Princess Anne Road & Colley Avenue, 625-0400) on the day the new booths went up in the dining room, along the wall adjoining the lounge. A half-dozen 6-foot deep by 5-foot tall booths hold six comfortably, increasing the seating in the main dining area.

``They were always the last tables to be seated,'' co-owner David Holmes said. ``People wanted the windows or the center of the room. Now people see the booths and ask if they can change. We're even getting people calling up and asking to reserve a booth.''

Because of their height and privacy, the booths are popular for business lunches, Holmes said. Magnolia Steak serves lunch and dinner weekdays, and dinner only on Saturday and Sunday, and has also added the piano styling of singer-humorist Charlie Wiseman from 8:30 to midnight on Wednesdays and Thursdays. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE

David Holmes, co-owner of Magnolia Steak on Colley Avenue, shows off

the new booths in the dining room.

Graphic

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: 35th Annual Holly Ball

WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 6; cocktails at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7:30

and dancing from 9:30 on, to music by Chairmen of the Board and the

R & B Allstars

WHERE: Omni Waterside Hotel

TICKETS: $275 per couple. Dress is black tie.

INFORMATION: Call 668-7098