Town Point is not the kind of place I go very often....but I'd like to. It is one of my favorite places to dine, and has been for the past 9 years. I've seen some changes in that time. It's not quite as formal as it used to be, which has both positives and negatives, but all of which probably needed to occur for economic reasons. The important thing that has not changed is the food service.
We dined there on Saturday, to celebrate my birthday. Since it falls on Valentine's Day weekend, I inevitably get the Valentine's menu. Happens everywhere, all the time. Usually if you have a special event that you announce when making the reservation, you will be seated with a nice pre-printed menu that says "Happy Birthday/Anniversary
I love the lounge at Town Point. I prefer arriving early, starting out with an apéritif, then moving to the dining room for our meal. The lounge interior is cozy, with dark cherry woods and killer views of the water. There is outdoor seating for days that it isn't 20 degrees and windy. Their bartender's are fantastic. Our past two visits we have had the same person. His name slips my mind, but I recall he is originally from Connecticut. Nice guy, makes killer cocktails and nice conversation.
As soon as I saw the menu I knew what I wanted. I love Rockfish. L-O-V-E I-T! When it is in season that is practically all I order when dining out. For starters I ordered the Oysters Rockefeller and Two Hearts Salad. The oysters were a huge disappointment. The topping was just a dry, sandy lump on top of an overcooked oyster. Very sad. My husband ordered the Ravioli which was fabulous. I felt guilty (sort of) trading him one of my oysters for it. He concurred with my oyster description.
The salads were nice and light. I love hearts of palm and artichoke. For me this would have been hard to mess up. My entrée was delicious. Sometimes you order something like this with a sauce and it comes out smothered, completely ruined. This was perfectly proportioned. You were able to distinguish the flavors of the fish, crab and sauce in each bite. It was served on top of cheesy rice, which I found interesting. I had grilled Rockfish at Steinhilbers several weeks ago, and the fish was served on top of macaroni and cheese with crawfish (IT WAS KILLER). Interesting the two locale chefs pair the fish with a cheesed up carb. It is a nice match. I tasted my husband's filet. It was perfection.
The dessert was triple chocolate whammy. Very, very, very rich and yummy. After dinner we headed back to the bar for a digestif. Here's where they get some high marks. My husband ordered a Sambuca but they were out. Upon inquiring about ports and admitting to our naivete, were were presented with a "mini" port tasting to see which one was preferred. Very nice. An excellent way to wrap up another fantastic meal at Town Point.
Town Point Club serves lunch and dinner. On Friday's they serve a grand lunch buffet which truly is grand. They also have a ClubExpress menu with very reasonable pricing which is not exclusive to members only, but open to everyone.
_Laine
Town Point Club
101 West Main Street
Norfolk, VA 23510-1622
(757) 625-6606
1 comment:
Laine helped me start my birthday celebration this year with lunch at Town Point. We have done this the last few years and I always thoroughly enjoy myself. The food is excellent and service is the best, that kind of service that is known for older establishments...translate that into superb service. Our waiter today, Quintin, is famous for suggesting the Pecan Ball dessert, which I had, of course, along with a piece of Italian lemon cake. The Pecan Ball is vanilla ice cream rolled in pecans with HOMEMADE chocolate sauce. Quintin will also tell you his recommendations and his manners are top notch, as are those of all of the other Town Point staffers. Laine and I did eat something besides dessert and the Cajun spinach and cream soup was fantastic. Roasted salmon and catfish were also on the menu. The salad spread has everything you can think of artichoke hearts, fruit, pasta salad and today, an egg salad, which we think had curry - very good. A great birthday and another great lunch with my buddy. Thanks Laine!
~Alex
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