THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 12, 1994 TAG: 9406100074
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DONNA REISS, RESTAURANT CRITIC
DATELINE: 940612 LENGTH: Medium
Opened in 1959, its several dining rooms retain their pubby informality of dark wood, local art and family and community memorabilia, including historic views of Norfolk.
{REST} When five of us dropped in on a late spring Sunday for fish from the multipage menu - an overwhelming document full of lore about the Lockhart herb garden, wine cellar and family crest - Johnny Lockhart Sr. greeted us. Wife Kitty and sons, daughter and grandsons all are involved with the business.
We had been lured to the eatery by an ad promising soft crabs and inviting patrons to visit the herb and vegetable garden.
Alas, there were no garden-fresh vegetables yet; the long list of side dishes included primarily packaged items, such as fried okra, stewed tomatoes, creamed corn and pickled beets. Some compensation, however, came in the sizable house salad, with its well-chosen leaf lettuces, scallions and fresh thyme.
Generous portions of seasonal fish have long been the trademark here - we had whole croakers fried crisp by the method the Lockharts have registered as cloud-light frying.
The technique did justice to most items on a fried platter ($23.95). It was best when applied to lightly breaded crisp shrimp and oysters. The soft shell was slightly greasy. We preferred the flounder on the broiled platter to the fried version, but were all pleased with the crabcake, lightly browned around the edges and gently, unobtrusively seasoned.
Another house cooking technique - poach broiling - immerses foods in a vegetable-oil mix labeled vegetron, before it is broiled. The resulting combination ($18.95) didn't taste as greasy as the system would suggest. The flounder on this platter was thick and flavorful. A scoop of lump crab was pleasingly straightforward on the side; oysters, scallops and shrimp were unexceptional.
From the list of flaming hot pots and pot au feu bowls, the gumbo rouge ($10.95) was an ordinary tomato-based stock with decent shellfish and some pieces of fried okra tossed in.
One of the best dishes of our evening was oysters Ghent, which came as a starter ($6.95) or a main course ($15.95). Poached and blended with spinach and a touch of Smithfield ham, these pleasant bivalves were served in a ceramic dish.
A treat with all dinners was the cranberry corn bread - baked, our waitress explained, with cranberry jelly and served with real butter. She brought us several refills when she saw how much we enjoyed it.
Various cakes in orange and green pastels tasted like flavored commercial mixes; a thick sauce sabayon lacked the delicacy of that classical confection of foamy egg yolks and wine.
The wine and beer listings are extensive. So is the menu, with its cross references and numbered items.
Lockhart's is unabashedly old-fashioned. There are no blackening, no mesquite, no tuna, no jalapeno poppers - but you can count on such old favorites as crab Norfolk, shrimp cocktail, deviled crab and calves' liver with onions.
by CNB