Stove, The Restaurant- Rated #1 in Hampton Roads

To see about how to win a free meal at Stove, click here. Hampton Roads is comprised of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Newport News, Chesapeake, Hampton and Suffolk-- all in Southeastern Virginia. In the recent (Jan/Feb '08) Annual Food Issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, Stove was ranked #1 with a near perfect score, quite a coup for Sydney Meers, co-owner and chef. I met Syd in 1989 when he opened The Dumbwaiter in Norfolk. We clicked instantly as we shared a passion for The Pee Wee Herman Show and Southern cooking. He is a true artist, and is enjoying much-deserved success at Stove.

Syd opened Stove last Sunday and put on a deeee-licious luncheon in honor of my father's 70th birthday...here are some photographs of the occasion:



The famous pimento cheese and home made crackers!



Mmmmm rare, ever-so-lightly-smoked tenderloin of beef...



This melted in your mouth- Sydney named the smoked fish Arthur (after my father) and I think I saw it wink!



Potato salad made with purple potatoes, yams and plain old taters. Unique and delicious!



Tender yet firm asparagus, how does he do it?



Syd giving the birthday boy his DIVINE, dense, dark and RICH torte. MMMmmmm. Okay, this party was getting wayyy out of control. I didn't get a photo of the bread, but will tell you that half of the partygoers spent a good deal of time plotting how to sneak a loaf home.

Did I mention there was wine? How did I not get a photo of the lightly marinated and cooked to a T jumbo shrimp? Did I mention Sydney's political folk art? So much more to come. As the afternoon flew by and most of the guests left (with bread), a few of us sat around, drank wine and had a champagne toast. I spent the day chatting with Syd about art, wine, pigs, cows and brie--and loving every second of it. Here I am intently taking notes...

...so that I might share some of his knowledge with you. In the meantime, it was a 70th birthday celebration to remember. Thank you, Kitty-mom for throwing the party and thank you, Syd, for putting so much of yourself into the day, and MANY congratulations on Stove's number one status...and the eggs.