THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502210085
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On The Town
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
The crawfish on the new menu at the Bienville Grill may suffer from a touch of jet lag.
That's excusable for a crustacean that has just flown into town from Lafayette, La. - by way of Dallas to Newark to Norfolk - to participate in chef Mike Hall's annual Mardi Gras party.
In fact, you don't have to wait for Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28, to sample the little lobsterlike creatures. Hall has added them to the menu in the form of Crawfish Pasta, consisting of crawfish tails, garlic and mushrooms sauteed in a light sauce over angel hair noodles with sliced andouille sausage ($5.95 for an appetizer portion, $13.95 for the dinner entree.)
You will also find Chicken Evangeline, a grilled chicken breast served over rice with shrimp, crawfish etouffee and vegetables ($13.95); and the popular Louisiana Matrimony, a grilled catfish fillet with potatoes, a sauteed crawfish tail meuniere sauce and vegetables ($13.95.)
If you prefer your crawfish boiled by the pound, you may want to stop by after 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday nights, when a pound is priced at $4.95.
``The crawfish season actually started back in December, but the supply and the quality are inconsistent, and the price is high the first couple of months,'' Hall said. ``Depending on the water level down South, the season ends in June and sometimes as late as August.''
The arrival of the crawly critters coincides with a renovation of the Bienville Grill, which consistently scores with food writers and patrons alike as one of the top eateries in Hampton Roads. Hall has added three wooden booths in the back of the room and has had the side wall bricked over, which gives the place a more urban look. The overhead has been painted a Colonial, dark green, and plans call for a new back bar to be built soon. Also new is a vestibule at the front door, designed to cut the breeze whenever the door opens.
``I just wanted to warm the room up and improve the ambiance,'' Hall explained. ``I've also bought 12 old bar stools that we've refinished and recovered to make sitting at the bar more comfortable. The landlord has renovated the back of the building and is putting up new canopies front and back, so I've done the interior and he's done the exterior thing.''
Other changes include the addition of what Hall calls ``Rush Hour'' specials between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, with cups of red beans, black beans or gumbo for $1, and plump, juicy, Louisiana oysters for a quarter each. There are special libations available as well. The Grill no longer closes between lunch and dinner, as it has in the past.
The Mardi Gras party is set for 8 p.m. till closing this coming Tuesday, with the band ``Against All Odds'' playing New Orleans-style tunes and jazz favorites. There will some dinner specials to match the festive mood, I'm told, and plenty of Mardi Gras doubloons handed out to participants. There is no cover charge to attend.
As for the crawfish, you'll also find a number of entrees featuring them on the lunch menu, alongside such items as a Tequila Lime Salmon salad (a grilled, chilled fillet marinated in tequila lime dressing and served on a bed of lettuce, with onion, egg, capers and cucumber - $7.95), and red beans and rice with smoked sausage ($4.95.)
There's always live jazz at the Bienville Grill on Friday and Saturday evenings, with no cover. Let the good times roll, as they say down South. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
Chef Mike Hall plans a Mardi Gras party at the Bienville Grill,
which was renovated recently.
AT A GLANCE
Bienville Grill: 723 W. 21st St., 625-5427.
Food: Cajun, Creole and regional favorites; full ABC.
Prices: dinner entrees $9.95-$14.95; lunch $5-$9 range.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to
1:30 p.m. on Friday; 5:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Saturday; and 5:30 to
9 p.m. on Sunday.
by CNB