Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 11, 1995 TAG: 9510110029
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE TENNIS BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
DATELINE: ABINGDON, VA. LENGTH: Medium
Ten years ago, the former Virginia Intermont College photography and art student opened the Starving Artist Cafe, a quaint and cozy eatery at Depot Square in the heart of this Colonial-era town's vibrant arts community.
Across Wall Street from the cafe stands the town's former freight train station, now called The Arts Depot and home to four resident artists and a regional art gallery. You can see the William King Regional Arts Center on a nearby hill. Just around the corner, stands the historic ``State Theatre of Virginia,'' The Barter Theatre, plus several arts and crafts shops along Main Street.
Barter patrons make up a good bulk of the restaurant's business. So do tourists flocking to see arts and crafts during the town's annual Virginia Highlands Festival in the summer.
For lunch, the Starving Artist specializes in gourmet sandwiches (priced $2.25 to $6.75). Most are so thick you have to eat them with a knife and fork.
``The Pablo Picasso'' is the restaurant's club sandwich, featuring Danish ham, bacon, smoked turkey, Swiss and cheddar cheese piled high on thin whole wheat or white bread and lettuce and tomato. Another, ``The Georgia O'Keeffe,'' is a garden pocket sandwich filled with a medley of fresh vegetables, cheeses, lettuce and tomato and served with house dressing.
``The Sandro Botticelli'' features charbroiled chicken breast topped with fresh tomato basil sauce and melted provolone cheese. ``The Paul Gauguin'' is a marinated chicken breast charbroiled and served on a kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato and a grilled pineapple garnish. ``The Emily Dickenson'' features charbroiled chicken breast topped with Danish ham, Swiss cheese and a white wine sauce with lettuce and tomato on a croissant.
Crookshank and his wife, Kim, didn't use only famous artists for their sandwich names. A basic bologna sandwich, ``The Tedd Blevins,'' is named for Shawn Crookshank's former art teacher at Bristol's Virginia Intermont College. ``The George Chavatel,'' is a grilled cheese sandwich named for a former art professor at another nearby school, Emory & Henry College.
Located in the former site of RC's Restaurant, an old Abingdon honky-tonk, the Starving Artist Cafe is more than a restaurant; it's a gallery. Paintings cover the paneled walls above the restaurant's 36 seats. Each month, the focus shifts to highlight another local artist's work.
Seafood is the cafe's big dinner draw, along with Black Angus beef. Fish and crab are the biggest crowd pleasers. Dinner entrees range $12 to $20.
Shawn Crookshank calls himself a ``self-taught cook, self-trained.'' Growing up in Abingdon, he worked his way up from washing dishes at Abingdon's Hardware Company Restaurant, which is just around the corner from the Starving Artist Cafe's green-painted patio. The 25-chair outdoor seating area - beside a towering, faded brick wall of the former Abingdon Hotel next door - lends a European flair to the setting.
You'll find no pretentiousness at the Starving Artist Cafe. Crookshank, himself a product of the Southwest Virginia countryside, lends a laid-back feel to the eatery. It is best summed up in the sandwich he says he will someday develop and name for himself: Thick slices of homegrown tomatoes, packed between white bread and slathered with mayonnaise.
Starving Artist Cafe
Address: 134 Wall Street, Depot Square, Abingdon. Phone: (540) 628-8445. Specialty: Seafood, Black Angus beef, gourmet sandwiches. Price range: Lunch entrees from $5-$10; Dinner entrees from $12-$20. Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Closed Sundays. Reservations: No. Dress: Casual. Payment: Visa, Mastercard, American Express. Alcohol: Domestic and import beer and wine. Non-smoking section: No. Handicapped accessible: Yes. Additional information: Outdoor patio seating.
\ SALMON CAKES WITH MANGO CHUTNEY
(see microfilm for recipe)
by CNB