DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709120168

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 05   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: ON THE TOWN IN PORTSMOUTH 

TYPE: RESTAURANT REVIEW 

SOURCE: Sam Martinette 

                                            LENGTH:  142 lines

COCK ISLAND DECK A NICE SUPRISE

The new riverfront deck at the Holiday Inn Olde Towne's Cock Island Bar & Grill may be the best-kept secret in Portsmouth. Or so it seemed last week when my wife, Julie, and I stopped in for lunch.

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon with a clear blue sky and sunshine sparkling on the water. Sailboats raced along the river, the Elizabeth River Ferry chugged by and it seemed a perfect day to be outdoors.

We were surprised to be the only people on the deck on such a pretty afternoon. Some diners were partaking of the seafood buffet inside the Island Grill Restaurant, while a couple of people were dining in the former Madeline's. When we asked to be seated outside, it took a moment for the staff to determine whose responsibility it was to serve outdoors, leaving us to wonder why the umbrellas weren't unfurled, and the deck made more inviting to customers.

That said, once seated, the service was rapid and friendly. Rather than try the $5.95 lunch buffet - fried shrimp, baked and fried fish, string beans, fries, soup, etc., and salad bar - we opted for Caribbean-style dishes offered on the menu.

We might have had stuffed jalapeno peppers ($6.25), Buffalo hot wings ($5.25), beer battered onion rings ($2.95 for a half-foot, and $4.95 for a foot-long string), black bean dip with tortilla chips ($4.95), even bacon and cheese fries ($3.95) from the appetizer menu. But the blue sky and our holiday mood called for conch fritters (bits of conch, celery, onions and green peppers, deep-fried and served with cocktail sauce - $4.95), and jerk chicken strips (rubbed with jerk seasoning, marinated, char-grilled, and served with honey-mustard and barbecue sauce - $5.95) to start.

The jerk chicken was spicy and quite good, while the conch fritters were tasty but could have used a bit more conch.

Julie had a Bruschetta - a fresh-baked baguette, brushed with garlic and oil, then topped with chunks of Roma tomatoes, diced red onion, feta cheese and fresh basil ($3.75), which we shared. It was excellent. (She wished for a dash of balsamic vinegar to amplify the flavors.) I had a fried oyster sandwich ($6.95), brimming with oysters, and served on a char-grilled kaiser roll with lettuce and tomatoes. We ate the trimmings separate from the sandwich, wanting to taste the oysters. The char-grilled bread was overly charred, however, and hampered the taste of the bivalves. Once the bread was scraped the true oyster taste came through.

Also on the Cock Island Bar & Grill menu are conch chowder ($2.95) and salads, including a Caesar ($4.95, $5.95 with grilled chicken, $6.95 with grilled tuna or shrimp); the Islander Fruit Boat (fresh seasonal fruit served with sherbert or cottage cheese in a pineapple half - $6.95); and a surf and turf salad of grilled steak, shrimp and corn tostadas, tossed with mixed greens ($7.95).

Steamed clams, oysters, crawfish and shrimp are available by the pound or half-pound, at market prices, and other sandwiches include an Italian sub, with ham, Genoa salami, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and other fixings ($5.75); a Red Chili BBQ Prime Rib Sandwich (chili-rubbed prime rib, grilled and topped with fire-roasted onions and barbecue sauce, served on a sub roll, $6.95).

Burgers include the Onion Caesar (topped with A-1 and an onion sauce, romaine lettuce and shaved Parmesan cheese, then served on an English muffin, $5.75); and the Cock Island burger (a half-pound of sirloin with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a horseradish sauce, $5.50). All sandwiches are served with fries and pickle.

The Cock Island Bar & Grill, named after a section of Portsmouth now long gone, also offers live music on the deck from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, with John Hayslip playing this week, followed by Bruce Todd on the 24th. Hot wings are a quarter each on Thursday, from 5 to 9, free ``roast beast'' from 5 to 7 on Fridays, and other specials are available throughout the week.

The Island Grill offers a separate menu for breakfast and dinner.

The new riverfront deck at the Holiday Inn Olde Towne's Cock Island Bar & Grill may be the best-kept secret in Portsmouth. Or so it seemed last week when my wife, Julie, and I stopped in for lunch.

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon with a clear blue sky and sunshine sparkling on the water. Sailboats raced along the river, the Elizabeth River Ferry chugged by and it seemed a perfect day to be outdoors.

We were surprised to be the only people on the deck on such a pretty afternoon. Some diners were partaking of the seafood buffet inside the Island Grill Restaurant, while a couple of people were dining in the former Madeline's. When we asked to be seated outside, it took a moment for the staff to determine whose responsibility it was to serve outdoors, leaving us to wonder why the umbrellas weren't unfurled, and the deck made more inviting to customers.

That said, once seated, the service was rapid and friendly. Rather than try the $5.95 lunch buffet - fried shrimp, baked and fried fish, string beans, fries, soup, etc., and salad bar - we opted for Caribbean-style dishes offered on the menu.

We might have had stuffed jalapeno peppers ($6.25), Buffalo hot wings ($5.25), beer battered onion rings ($2.95 for a half-foot, and $4.95 for a foot-long string), black bean dip with tortilla chips ($4.95), even bacon and cheese fries ($3.95) from the appetizer menu. But the blue sky and our holiday mood called for conch fritters (bits of conch, celery, onions and green peppers, deep-fried and served with cocktail sauce - $4.95), and jerk chicken strips (rubbed with jerk seasoning, marinated, char-grilled, and served with honey-mustard and barbecue sauce - $5.95) to start.

The jerk chicken was spicy and quite good, while the conch fritters were tasty but could have used a bit more conch.

Julie had a Bruschetta - a fresh-baked baguette, brushed with garlic and oil, then topped with chunks of Roma tomatoes, diced red onion, feta cheese and fresh basil ($3.75), which we shared. It was excellent. (She wished for a dash of balsamic vinegar to amplify the flavors.) I had a fried oyster sandwich ($6.95), brimming with oysters, and served on a char-grilled kaiser roll with lettuce and tomatoes. We ate the trimmings separate from the sandwich, wanting to taste the oysters. The char-grilled bread was overly charred, however, and hampered the taste of the bivalves. Once the bread was scraped the true oyster taste came through.

Also on the Cock Island Bar & Grill menu are conch chowder ($2.95) and salads, including a Caesar ($4.95, $5.95 with grilled chicken, $6.95 with grilled tuna or shrimp); the Islander Fruit Boat (fresh seasonal fruit served with sherbert or cottage cheese in a pineapple half - $6.95); and a surf and turf salad of grilled steak, shrimp and corn tostadas, tossed with mixed greens ($7.95).

Steamed clams, oysters, crawfish and shrimp are available by the pound or half-pound, at market prices, and other sandwiches include an Italian sub, with ham, Genoa salami, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and other fixings ($5.75), and a Red Chili BBQ Prime Rib Sandwich (chili-rubbed prime rib, grilled and topped with fire-roasted onions and barbecue sauce, served on a sub roll, $6.95).

Burgers include the Onion Caesar (topped with A-1 and an onion sauce, romaine lettuce and shaved Parmesan cheese, then served on an English muffin, $5.75); and the Cock Island burger (a half-pound of sirloin with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a horseradish sauce, $5.50). All sandwiches are served with fries and pickle.

The Cock Island Bar & Grill, named after a section of Portsmouth now long gone, also offers live music on the deck from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, with John Hayslip playing this week, followed by Bruce Todd on the 24th. Hot wings are a quarter each on Thursday, from 5 to 9, free ``roast beast'' from 5 to 7 on Fridays, and other specials are available throughout the week.

The Island Grill offers a separate menu for breakfast and dinner. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARINETTE

Tom Farrell, general manager of the Holiday Inn Old Towne, has lunch

on the Cock Island riverfront deck, with Sharon Zaremba, corporate

sales manager. Wanda Cinquegrani takes their order.

Graphic

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Cock Island Bar & Grill

WHERE: Holiday Inn Olde Towne, 8 Crawford Parkway, 393-2573

FOOD: soups, salads, sandwiches and steamed seafood; full ABC

PRICES: mostly in $5-$7 range

HOURS: 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily

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