Lemony Zest :: Kim Lewandowski

Posts Tagged ‘Norfolk’

I’ve been remiss in posting about my weekly dinners with friends. Last week, we went to the No Frill Grill. During the entire month of April, they’re having a special where, for every appetizer and dessert ordered, they will donate $1 to the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters.

So I went with four friends and we ordered five appetizers and two desserts. It was great, we all got plenty to eat, and did some good for the children’s hospital. The No Frill Grill is always a good value, but especially so this month. Dig in!

Last Wednesday, my dinner group went to the new 21st Street Fish House & Oyster Bar at 123 21st Street in Norfolk. It’s in the space that used to house Cafe Rosso before it burned, and Fellini’s prior to that.

The food was quite good, and the prices were very reasonable for a seafood place – mid to upper teens for a fish dinner, higher for a few specialties. There were 7 or 8 catch-of-the-day options; you could choose one of those and then decide how you wanted it cooked – pan-seared, baked, grilled, blackened or broiled – and select a sauce to be served with it. The dinners are served with a choice of two sides. There were also some specials. Here’s what we chose:

• I had the grouper, pan-seared with lemon beurre blanc sauce. It was excellent, although the fish wasn’t browned as I would have expected from pan-searing.
• Barbara had the special – monk fish topped with lump crab meat and Hollandaise sauce. She enjoyed it very much.
• And Keith also had grouper, but his was grilled and he chose the peach (I think) chutney as a topping. He thoroughly enjoyed his as well.

The only thing I found odd was that the mashed potatoes I selected as a side were served with a red wine-mushroom sauce, which I thought was a bit heavy for a seafood accompaniment. It was good, just not a good companion for fish.

I would definitely recommend the 21st Street Fish House, though. Give it a try

Last Wednesday, Barbara and I had dinner at Fahrenheit, a new restaurant at 437 Granby Street in downtown Norfolk. It was quite good – I had a salad with grilled portobello and a honey-balsamic drizzle and penne with tomato sauce. Barbara had chicken marsala, which was served on mashed potatoes rather than the usual noodles. She enjoyed it.

Oddly, we were the only people in the restaurant. It’s only been open for a few months, so maybe it needs to find a following. The server told us that the chef used to be the chef at Velvet 25. So check it out – it was very good.