Wednesdays, July 8, July 22, and August 8, 2009

All sets starting at 7:00pm and as always…NO COVER

Julie Clark is well known in the Urban Folk genre.  Clark’s second full-length CD of all-original material, Change Your Mind, is crystal clear – both in terms of Clark’s vivid lyrics and the pristine sonic quality of the recording itself. You can see straight to the bottom of its sparkling pool of widely diverse emotions.

Newest Album Release "Change Your Mind"

From the ebullient hopefulness of the opening track “Change Your Mind” to the raucous fun of “I’d Do ‘Em All (if I could),” Clark’s songwriting addresses a broad range of human experience with surprising honesty and insight. Throughout Change Your Mind, Clark sings of love in its many forms, such as the poignant hope of restoring closeness with a sibling in “Growin’ Up” and an intense longing to be desired romantically in “Jacket.”

We are extremely excited and proud to have such a talent in our home. Please come by and enjoy these scheduled performances.  Our restaurant is elegant yet casual and always smoke free.  A great place to relax and enjoy wonderful live music.

See you there.

We have been lucky enough to get a trio from the local group Fuzzband to perform for us every Monday Night with the first set kicking off at 6pm.

Future schedule is not certain yet, but we hope to make this continues to be a standard event. Colley Avenue simply does not have enough musical options (if any) so we think it’s time to change that. This will be our first run so come and enjoy.

There is NO COVER CHARGE and we run some great specials throughout the night! Our intent is to simply have some fun and go from there.

So take advantage and enjoy some good music this Monday Night. Remember, every Monday first set starts at 6pm.…Cheers!

I know what you’re thinking, but much like quality wine can’t be determined by its label alone, a good place for breakfast can’t be determined simply by its name. The Winehouse is well known for its almost encyclopedic collection of wines, offering varietals from all over the world. I’d eaten dinner twice at the Norfolk restaurant – once at its old location on the corner of Colley Avenue and West Olney Road and again shortly after it reopened in its new location a few doors down from the Naro Expanded Cinema – so I knew the evening offerings were first-rate. I was excited to learn they offered brunch and enthusiastically set out to test The Winehouse’s morning fare.

Accompanied by two friends, we arrived at the restaurant on a warm Sunday morning in March, shortly after its 11 a.m. opening for brunch. As we stepped inside the dark foyer, we were greeted cordially by the hostess who, upon our request, led us back out to sit at a table under the purple awning of the restaurant’s sidewalk veranda.

Winehouse Egg's Sardou

I opted for a lighter beverage from the menu – the Big Red mimosa ($5.50), a mixture of champagne, cranberry juice and a splash of orange liquor. We also ordered a round of coffees ($1.95 each), hoping the caffeine would drive away any residual sleepiness. The clocks had jumped ahead overnight, and the effects of the lost hour and a late night lingered despite the brilliance of the morning sky.

We were still the lone outside diners when the drinks arrived and our earnest waitress had taken our food order: eggs Sardou with bacon, French toast stuffed with the restaurant’s “signature” filling and a side of bacon, and the breakfast burrito with sausage. My friends’ Bloody Marys ($6) were garnished with a lime wedge and green olive on a bamboo skewer. Sneaking a sip from one of the two tomato drinks on the table, we collectively agreed they were good, though not the best we’d ever had. I felt it could use more kick. One friend added a bit more salt to his. But it was made with a generous pour of alcohol and in my friend’s words, “It’ll get you going.”

The Big Red mimosa was more simply presented in a traditional champagne f ute. It was exactly what I’d hoped – cool and refreshing with a touch of sweetness. The strong coffee, continuously filled by the wait staff, lifted our mental fog. Blues played on the Bose speakers overhead, and I lamented the fact that of all the items that were not available that morning, the Winehouse Beignets were it. According to the menu, the Beignets are made in-house and served with a raspberry dipping sauce. I was curious to see how they compared to the deep-fried confection I was introduced to in New Orleans, but our waitress gave me the bad news when I tried to order them for the table.

I felt almost instantaneous food envy when the plates arrived. The French toast dish sat on the table to my right – Texas toast piled angularly like an egg-battered Pikes Peak, dusted with powdered sugar and topped with whipped butter ($6.95). For an additional $1.50, my friend’s slabs of toast were stuffed with the restaurant’s “signature” cream cheese and berry filling. He refrained from using the syrup that came with the dish so he could taste the unadulterated flavor of the toast.

The breakfast burrito was placed diagonally across from me – a hearty portion of scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes and my friend’s choice of Havarti cheese enveloped by a warm tortilla ($8.95). He noted that the roasted tomato salsa accompanying the burrito had just the right amount of onion and a nice smoky quality to it with a hint of chipotle. The burrito eventually provided a bit of a challenge, though. Thanks probably in part to the Bloody Mary, he felt full sooner than he expected.

He wasn’t alone. Later on, we observed a couple having at least half of their breakfast burritos boxed to-go. Clearly they’d faced the same internal wall and knew when to say, “When.” My friend ultimately recruited our help and there was little leftover to bother boxing up. As it turns out, I needn’t have envied my companions’ meals because my Eggs Sardou ($8.95), with its lovely yellow hollandaise crown, was the real star at our table. Though I paused admiringly before breaking the whites of my poached eggs, the dish was more than just a beautiful presentation.

Once released, the egg yolks melted onto a layer of fresh sauteed spinach below, which sat on a foundation of perfectly cooked potatoes, onions and artichoke hearts. Having nibbled a bit from everyone else’s dishes, as they had mine, I feared each layered bite would have to be “the last one.” But I managed to soldier on, finishing the bacon that accompanied my dish and saving my orange slices from the mostly empty plate before it was collected by our waitress.

The three of us sat in contented silence and waited for a round of the house Cava to arrive. Tables had filled up around us, and the rest of Ghent seemed to have stretched its arms to take in the new day. Passersby included men in short sleeves – some in shorts, women in sun dresses with hair casually pulled into loose buns, joggers and couples walking arm-in-arm or hand-in-hand. Some folks strolled along Colley Avenue, others moved purposefully. Everyone was clearly enjoying the spring-like reprieve from the wintry chill that had gripped Hampton Roads less than a week before. And at least a couple stepped around the corner of the outdoor dining area to check out The Winehouse based on the dishes they saw on the tables around us.

The dry Spanish sparking wine known as Cava arrived after a short wait. It was crisp and cool, and cleansed the palate. Never having tried Cava before, it was an inexpensive introduction at $1 a glass for each of us. In lieu of dessert, we opted for another round of drinks. When we finally pushed ourselves away from the table, only crumbs and empty glasses remained as evidence of our time spent there. By then, the veranda was full of mid-day diners, as was the restaurant’s interior, or so it seemed as we walked through to the front door.

One final thought lingered in my mind as my companions and I made our way up Spotswood Avenue to the car: “Guess I’ll be back for those beignets.”

Jennifer Smith, who owns The Winehouse Bar and Bistro with her husband, Brad, said they’ve offered Sunday brunch since the restaurant reopened at its new location in September. The New Orleans native spoke enthusiastically about the relatively new brunch menu which evolved as a result of a brainstorming session with sous-chef, Tim Barker. Dishes such as eggs Sardou and baked eggs were inspired from an old Cajun cookbook, Smith said. The goal was to make the dishes unique, but accessible, presented almost as an introduction to her hometown’s culinary heritage. It’s been so successful, she said, they decided to add a Saturday brunch as well.

Check the Web site for more information,
www.mywinehouse.com.

Here are some other reasons to check out The Winehouse Bar & Bistro

- More than 200 bottled wines to choose from – at least 81 available by the glass.
- Happy Hour from 3:30-6:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday, which features a $5 menu, half-priced house special martinis, and off-menu wine by the glass.
- Wine tasting starting at 3:30 p.m. daily, featuring unfinished bottles of wine from the night before.
- Half-priced bottles of wine Tuesday nights and half-priced entrees Sunday nights.

THE WINEHOUSE BAR AND BISTRO
is at 1517 Colley Ave. in Ghent. Reservations are recommended
on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Call (757) 622-7777, or visit
www.mywinehouse.com/reservations to reserve a table online.

See you then! Cheers.

You can always see pictures of recent events and our restaurant in our image gallery. But, here are a few of our favorites.

	The view of our entrance from Colley Ave.
	No matter the address, we absolutely know how to have good time!
	The new tasting room can be really cozy…

Again, in the image gallery, we have quite a few more posted so feel free to browse. Look for more coming soon.

Claret-colored walls mellow the handsome, hard surfaces in this larger home, where brick-framed booths seem like fireplace hearths. Chef Adam Cleveland offers his dinner menu of small plates and “international comfort food” entrees (Thai shrimp curry, aged beef filet), adding lunch and Sunday brunch.

With a 2,000-count wine vault, owner Jennifer Smith expanded selections, maintaining her emphasis on small producers, and there’s a private tasting room available. Meeting, anyone?

The Winehouse Bar & Bistro, 517 Colley Ave., Norfolk, 622-7777/961-8510, www.mywinehouse.com

Portfolio Magazine
Marisa Marsey
Issue Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2008, Posted On: 10/27/2008

Splash Magazine

“Wine tasting at its finest has come to Norfolk. The Winehouse Bar and Bistro has moved to their new location on Colley Avenue and have settled in nicely. The food is fresh, the location is convenient, the atmosphere is elegant and the wine selection is unbelievable. Every night at 5:00 the Winehouse has a wine tasting which features all the wines that were opened the previous evening.

This is the perfect opportunity to sample wines that you may not otherwise choose and get some great recommendations from the staff. Patrons are seated at the bar and given the choice of either tasting white wines or reds. The full menu is available during the tasting and if you decide to purchase a bottle of wine to go a 30% discount is applied.

During my visit I chose to taste reds and I was allowed to sample five different types of pinot noir, both imported and domestic; three types of zinfandel, three types of cabernet, three types of shiraz, a petit syrah, a merlot and a malbec. The selection was impressive and I wasn’t expecting such a wide range of colors and flavors. I enjoy tasting so much because even though I have my favorites, a tasting will either reinforce what I already believe about those favorites or my mind is changed about something that I never paid too much attention to in the past.

For example, I almost never order Shiraz when I’m out and I very rarely buy it for my home. However, the Shiraz that I sampled during the tasting was delicious. It was a wine with a big flavor. Full and spicy like a shiraz should be. It was so good in fact I had to buy a bottle to take with me. The bottle that I chose was called Playmates which is actually a 2006 Shiraz blend from the Fetish Vines in the Barossa Valley in Australia. It is definitely one of the better wines that I’ve ever tasted.

Since the wines used during the tasting consist of bottles that were opened the previous night, you are guaranteed an interesting variety. The price of the tasting is $15 per person and definitely worth it.”

Cheers!

Michele Matthews

February 2009 Issue
Splash Magazine
© 2002 – 2009 Splash Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

Just Another Picture @The Winehouse

October 1st, 2008 marked a very special day in the history of The Winehouse Bar & Bistro.  After months of extremely hard work and careful planning, we opened our doors to our spacious new location in the heart of the Ghent Business District area of Norfolk.

Now located at 1517 Colley Ave, right next door to the Naro Cinema, we have now become even more accessible to the residents of Norfolk with both street parking and a large parking lot directly in the rear.

In addition to greater accessibility, we now have over 120 seats including a covered Colley Ave. side patio.  We still have a private tasting room that comfortably sits 12-14 and table flexibility able to accommodate 40 or more.

But, of course, maybe what we’re most excited about is our expanded wine vault able to carry over 2000 bottles at full capacity.  Will our new vault we’ve been able to expand both our labels and wine by the glass program.  We now can begin to provide deeper verticals with some of the classics (ie. Opus, Dominus, ..) as well as expand our main focus of unique small batch wines not currently available anywhere in the local market.

We wanted to thank all of our friends who help support our move this past summer.  It was not an easy task, but it was well worth the effort.  We are continuely humbled by the support we’ve recieved from Hampton Roads.  Please come and enjoy the new diggs!

Early American Valentine's Day Card

From the midst of winter, every February brings with it both the anticipation of a long, sweet spring, as well as the distant thought of the inevitable warm summer day. Unfortunately, for most men, it also brings with it the dread and panic of another Valentine’s Day and the laundry list of apologies soon to follow. I will admit, I am part of this very club.

Yes, I have uttered the words, “Valentine’s Day is nothing more than a scam created by greeting card companies, and thus abstain from participation”. Yes, I have, on occasion, let Valentine’s Day pass without a gift, chocolates and even once, the simple card. My wife knows best that I would rather take a straight right cross to the nose, than to read poetry. I’m not exactly Hallmark material.

But, I vowed this year would be different. Not out of a sense of obligation, but because maybe for the first time, I’ve realized just how truly blessed I am to have her.

So exactly what is the origin of Valentine’s Day? Was it bred from a smoke filled room in the under belly of some multi-billion dollar conglomerate? Well, not exactly. Turns out there are some differing accounts of the true nature of Valentine’s Day. The holiday is named after some of the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine; most notably, Valentine of Rome (Roman priest AD 269) and Valentine of Terni (Bishop of modern Terni AD 197). 1

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Until 1969, the Catholic Church recognized eleven separate Saint Valentine days and although martyrdom is certainly not for the faint of heart, it wasn’t until the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 14th century did the day became associated with romantic love.  In the United States, the first mass produced Valentine wasn’t produced until 1847 and the expanded tradition of gifts didn’t occur until the mid twentieth century. As it turns out, the present day tradition is a more recent phenomenon.

So, in searching a little deeper, I came across this simple quote: “I have learned not to worry about love; but to honor its coming with all my heart.” – Alice Walker

And maybe it was this statement that best summed up my thoughts. It was the word “honor” that caught my eye. I hope she knows I tend to speak more with my eyes, than with my pen. And, in knowing this, I hope she sees my undying commitment to her. The honor that I feel in being by her side. The day is not driven by a gift, but rather by the recognition of the other piece that makes you whole. To honor the struggle you often share and to appreciate the sacrifice that is often given.

Even prior to meeting her at the age of fourteen, it seemed our lives were already intertwined. If statistics hold, Lord willing, by the time we pass on, we will have lived almost three quarters of a century in each others presence.  This is truly the gift she has given me. And in return, my gift to her is to understand how truly lucky I am.

But, just in case I’m wrong, I still bought her a card.