Top 10 Entrees of 2015 in Norfolk (Editors Choice)

Article by Fitz

Photo’s by Fitz unless otherwise credited

On New Year’s Eve night I went to Toast to enjoy their cinnamon and Nutella milk toast. You simply can’t beat a four dollar price tag after tax for some fat boy bliss. As the final seconds of 2015 drew near a slew of millennials fled the bar and hustled outside to the back patio. A few moments later and still inside dunking my brioche in to hazelnut heaven, I could hear the 10 second countdown emanating through the door. However, instead of joining the chant and conjuring up a grandiose New Year’s resolution I found myself counting down the top ten entrees I’d eaten in Norfolk in 2015.

You see I’m old enough now in my 30’s to know damn well that my chances of holding to some wishful life changing proclamation in 2016 is about as likely as there being any Nutella Toast left on my plate by the end of the first minute of the new year. No, my mental flight of fancy enlisted by the arbitrary customs of the holiday would instead be spent on recounting the dishes in Norfolk that brought a smile to my face despite my growingly jaded disposition. I challenge even the most cynical Norfolk resident to try any one of the following entrees and not crack a grin. Here’s to the chefs who crafted the dishes making up the following best of list. You brought moments of pleasure into the lives of many!

10 My Mama’s Kitchen’s Special BBQ SaMich– Chef Motier Stevenson

Special BBQ “SaMich”

In early 2015 I had the pleasure of trying this SaMich as brothers/owners Motier “Mo” Stevenson and Ashanti Mckissic have dubbed it. This open-faced sandwich on Texas toast consists of pulled pork, Swiss cheese, beef brisket and thick cut bacon direct from the slab. It’s one of the most decadent offerings on M.M.K.’s menu. Expect the meat sweats and complete satisfaction!

Chef Mo

M.M.K’s Website

9 Pho 79’s Beef Brisket, Tripe and Round Steak Pho- Assorted Cooks

Pho photo courtesy of Pho 79’s facebook page

At number 9 on the list, this pick is personal to me. Though I can’t tell you the cooks behind this salty bowl of awesome, I simply can’t get enough of this dish. The last six months my obsession with noodle bowls has been insatiable. Pho is fun. Pho 79 is right down the street from where I reside. It is that simple. Recently I’ve been adding tripe to my order of noodles and kinda getting off on the chewy texture of the stomach wall.

Pho 79’s Website

8 The Bakehouse in Chelsea’s Summer Solstice Pizza- Head Baker Jonathan Highfield

Pizza in the Bakehouse’s wood fired brick oven

Carbicide one of my favorite phrases from the movie Bruno- And when it’s a bread fix I crave I’m heading to The Bakehouse in Chelsea. I’m elated that no longer are Fellini’s and Cogan’s the standard bearers of what defines pizza in Norfolk. Jonathan Highfield is a freaking genius and the combination of levain yeast, The Bake House’s wood fired brick ovens and often locally sourced toppings makes their pizza the best in Norfolk- all others be damned!

Head Baker Jonathan Highfield

The Bakehouse in Chelsea’s Website

7 Nouvelle Restaurant’s Chicken Provencal- Chef Rina Estero

Chef Rina Estero

More and more these days when people talk about fried chicken, Handsome Biscuit seems to be the place most heralded. The Hella Fitzgerald recently graced the cover of Distinction magazine after all. Here is the thing though, while Handsome Biscuits fried chicken is good, when it comes to the juiciest, crispiest, not too greasy fried chicken, The Chicken Provencal at Nouvelle is better- and you can often avoid a long line to get one. While Estero and I may have beef (of the not so good variety) she is without question one hell of a chef and her Chicken Provencal is divine.

Nouvelle’s Website

6 Island Krave’s Curry Goat- Chef Dorothy Lovell

Island Krave’s Curry Goat on the stove

The slow cooked, tried and true exploits of Dorothy Lovell set her food apart from the pack in Norfolk. When it comes to BBQ she is at the top of the mill without question. It’s her Curry Goat however that makes me want to kiss her on her constantly smiling cheeks. Her overnight preparation of this entree which is only available on weekends allows the rich marrow from the bones to seep out into the stew. If you have not had Lovell’s Curry Goat stop what you are doing this coming weekend and try it. You can thank me later.

Chef Dorothy Lovell

Island Krave’s Website 

5 Nouvelle Restaurant’s 50/50 Lamb and Beef Burger- Chef Rina Estero

Photo of 50/50 Burger by Alvin L. Tatum

Did I happen to mention a couple picks ago that Estero is one of the best chefs in Norfolk? At number 5 on this best of list, Estero’s take on a big delicious burger looms large. In 2015 Norfolk saw an Artisan Burger Boom emerge with amazing burgers by David Hannah at Press 626, Steve Marsh at Legrand Kitchen, David Hledik at Saint Germain and Estero’s all working there way prominently into the consciousness of passionate diners in Norfolk. This beaut of a burger as SG writer Wade A. Hunter put it, contains a gouda/gruyere cheese mix, caramelized onions, thick cut bacon and tomato atop a monster lamb and beef patty all wedged between a brioche bun. A key thing to mention also is the house made ketchup that truly makes this burger sing- in a meaty baritone voice mind you.

Nouvelle’s Website

4 Saint Germain’s Bar Burger- Chef David Hledik

Saint Germain’s Bar Burger

Of all the great burgers in Norfolk that vied for the crown in 2015 Chef Hledik’s Saint Germain Bar Burger was the best. It’s a primal burger utilizing bone marrow as a condiment and I believe it would bring a tear to the eye of Ted Nugent. Topped with short rib, tomato aioli, aged gouda, and an onion jam- which when paired with the marrow brings forth one hell of a sweet and savory punch- it’s a must have for all serious eaters in the seven cities.

Saint Germain’s Website

3 Alkaline’s Tonkotsu Ramen Bowl- Chef Kevin Ordonez

Alkaline’s Tonkotsu

And I thought I was obsessed with noodle bowls before eating at Alkaline. Every Friday through Monday something very special pops up in Pendulum Fine meats when Chef Ordonez takes over. Alkaline’s Ramen broth simply blows away any other place around here that offers ramen. Always featuring the freshest of meats and vegetables- often locally sourced, Alkaline has become one of my favorite places to eat out. I have had dreams of both the Tonkotsu and the Red Curry Chicken. Honestly both of these bowls deserve to be on this best of list.

Chef Kevin Ordonez

Alkaline’s Website

2 Saint Germain’s Beef Wellington- Chef David Hledik

Saint Germain’s Beef Wellington

If this was a top 10 best chefs of Norfolk list, Hledik would be my pick for the top spot. It was challenging for me to not include more than two of his entrees on this list. Hledik’s cooking is the most progressive in Norfolk and eating at Saint Germain never fails to inspire. On my fifth visit there I had the Beef Wellington and have been lobbying frantically with friends to throw in with me on this communal meal so I can have it again. SG writer Wade A. Hunter described the experience of having this entree in terms of being transformed into a 17th Century aristocrat. The seventeen ounce beef tenderloin is cooked rare and wrapped with local Surryano ham, mushroom duxelles, and a pastry crust. It’s baked to nothing short of golden perfection as Hunter additionally put it. This could just be my death row meal of choice. It’s perfection from a chef at the top of his game.

Chef David Hledik

Saint Germain’s Website  

1 LeGrand Kitchen’s Pork Belly (assorted preparations)- Chef Steve Marsh

Photos of LeGrand’s pork belly entrees courtesy of their facebook

For the record I am NOT copping out by refusing to isolate this down to one preparation of pork belly Chef Steve Marsh has fed me. It would be impossible for me to pick just one. So short of there being four LeGrand pork belly dishes overloading the front of this best of list, I’m grouping them all in the top spot. The first time I had a pork belly plate by Marsh was a banh mi slider preparation with a peanut sauce. Technically an appetizer, it was the best small plate I’ve had in Norfolk… maybe ever. Since then I’ve had 3 different pork belly entrees served to me by Marsh. The most recent one being a Korean buckwheat pancake, ssamjang mayo, fried egg, and Scarlett frill pork belly plate. While Estero at Nouvelle and Hledik at Saint Germain also have mean pork belly dishes in their arsenal, when LeGrand has it on the menu I’m confident there won’t be a better dish served in Norfolk that night. Marsh’s pork belly literally melts in your mouth. His command in preparing both proteins and his often locally sourced vegetables propel him to the top tier among working chefs in Norfolk.

Chef Steve Marsh

LeGrand Kitchen’s Website