THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 15, 1996 TAG: 9602140021
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: A LA CARTE
SOURCE: Donna Reiss
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
MARDI GRAS, the famous Fat Tuesday festival that signals the beginning of Lent, is a tradition at Norfolk's Bienville Grill.
Chef-owner Mike Hall flies in fresh crawfish, traditional king cake with a good-luck plastic baby baked inside, and catfish to be grilled and topped in the official carnival colors of purple, green and gold (that's cabbage, onions and yellow peppers).
Hall promises ``a ton of beads,'' limbo and costume contests and New Orleans-style music from local band Against All Odds, starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Reservations only for parties of five to eight, but there's usually plenty of room to join the party, at 723 W. 21st St.
For the next few months, the Bienville will serve boiled crawfish dinners, $4.95 a pound, every Wednesday and Thursday night from 5:30. Call 625-5427. In carnival mood
This year, Beach people can carnival, too. At Suddenly Last Summer, 313 Laskin Road, the wait staff will be in costume, but guests can bedeck themselves or not.
Everyone will dine on the food of New Orleans with a prix fixe four-course dinner and a glass of Louisiana beer with every course. Options will include crawfish pie, shrimp-steak-okra gumbo, shrimp and scallop etouffee, jambalaya, red beans and rice, fried green tomatoes, corn macque choux, and for dessert, strawberry crepes or bananas Foster.
Dixie Crimson and Black Voodoo will be among the Louisiana beers. The tab is $29.95, plus tax and tip. For reservations, call 422-5588. Williamsburg weekends
For the fourth year, the award-winning Williamsburg Inn offers Classic Affair weekends of food and wine. Renowned guest chefs and vintners join the Inn's executive chef, Hans Schadler, to offer wine tastings, culinary demonstrations and a gala gourmet dinner in the Regency Dining Room.
For $425 a person, double occupancy, visitors also receive two nights' lodging, admission to historic area museums, a tour of the Williamsburg winery and discounted fees at the Golden Horseshoe golf courses.
Opening this year's events is ``Authentic French Cuisine,'' Feb. 16 to 18, with chef Andre Soltner, retired chef from New York's Lutece, and Alan Tenscher, wine maker from Franciscan Estates. Second in the series will be ``A Taste of European Splendor,'' March 1 to 3, with Gerard Pangaud, chef-owner of Gerard's Place in Washington, and Steve Roeder, wine maker for Kendall-Jackson. Local foods will be highlighted in ``Regional Virginia Seafood Specialties,'' Aug. 2 to 4, with chef-owner Jimmy Sneed of Richmond's The Frog and the Redneck and Merryvale Vineyards' Rene Schlatter. For information and reservations, call (800) HISTORY or (804) 220-7281. Quick bites
Fellini's, 40th Street and Colley Avenue in Norfolk, is famous for its fancy pizzas. Now, the restaurant is dishing up designer burgers. Made with ground chuck, these beef patties come with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes or with smoked bacon and Cheddar. If you've a beef with beef, there are turkey burgers with veggies or nuts for $5.95. Call 625-3000. . . . Brewer's East Inn, 2484 North Landing Road in Virginia Beach, has a new menu with more than 20 choices, many priced from $7 to $10. Chicken piccata or timberland fried shrimp wrapped in bacon come with vegetables and bread for $8.95 each. Call 427-5880. by CNB