I should have written up my notes contemporaneous with our visit to Viv's restaurant. Here is what I recall (things have been jumping ever since).
As some of you may know, I avoid interstates so we can see the real America, its crops, and small family restaurants along the way. As a former personal injury investigator, interstates are death traps as far as I am concerned.
From Va Beach, we went west to 58, down to Suffolk, and then on to Kinston and points south. We have taken this route and its variations several times. The roads have sparse traffic and the small towns interrupt little. The drawls of the locals become more pronounced along the way and these highways are a perfect fit. "Talk slower, drive slower" is a good motto for this neck of the woods.
Kinston is right on the route. We have stopped by the restaurants at least once before. Both were closed then, but we did see Vivian's husband, Ben, going into the Boiler Room. Otherwise, nothing moves much in Kinston. Think south Georgia. a hardware store or two, red brick buildings, and several beauty salons. The new economic impact showed during this visit with new motels and dining establishments. There is definitely a spill over impact.
Earlier in the day, we realized we might make it there at the right time to dine so Sue looked into booking a table. The earliest booking we could get was 10 pm. Needless to say, we scratched that option off our list and didn't think anything more about it until we realized we were rolling through Kinston.
We decided to swing by the restaurant to at least get a view of it. It was about 430 or so. Had we planned to dine, we might have booked a motel so we could gussy up, but otherwise we were in traveling clothes. comfortable and very informal.
Sue wanted to see what it looked like inside so while I waited at the car, she went in. At the last minute, I suggested she ask about a table. Restaurants opening at that hour often do it for set up as much as anything else and people generally book tables from 5:45-6 at the earliest.
Sure enough, they could seat us immediately at a 2-top by the bar. We took them up on it, straightened up, and went in.
The whole restaurant is smaller than I expected, maybe 2 times the size of Blue Water Bay. Just inside the door was the maitre d podium and further in, in the corner was a bar. Our table was behind a railing separating the bar (and us) from the room. I think we were elevated a few steps.
We had a great vantage point of the whole place and could see into the exposed kitchen that had several line cooks busy prepping dishes.
The whole place had an almost helium energy to it. Every customer looks as if they have been escorted into nirvana and all the employees seem eager to share in the glow of the owners and to pass it on to the customers.
Every employee seems fully fluent and engaged in the mission of the restaurant, the compositions of the dishes, and the flavors/ingredients in each. There were no cracks in the veneer, everyone was telling the story and welcoming us there. I recognized some of the staff including the older waitress with the pony tail and one person staffing the front door.
One thing that immediately caught my eye and surprised me inititally were the many modern paintings done in bold colors that were in every part of the restaurant. Against the brick walls and in the dusty atmosphere of Kinston, they stood out boldly and beautifully. I quickly realized that these were husband Ben's paintings. He is a very talented artist and his works stuck with me.
Within ten minutes of our being seated and being served an adult beverage, the restaurant began to steadily fill up. The customers enter the room in a "ga ga" state. All are clearly thrilled to be there and show it. You can see each one having an experience that they have yearned for and each one looks like "I have arrived."
Right now, I can not recall exactly what we ordered, but I do recall bruschetta with a butter bean spread that was first-rate. We had a relatively light supper without dessert that was, just as you would expect, creative-up-town-down-South cooking.
Our service could have been better as the bar tender was taking care of our table. She was having too much fun regaling the already engaged people at the bar and probably thinking they would make her more money than the two of us at our bar-side table. I would recommend being seated more towards the center of the restaurant so you see how the food staff flows and watch the other customers. We hit the window of opportunity for a walk in table and it was clear to me that window was a very narrow one and that we lucked up to be able to dine there at all.
I think we will plan on dining there on each trip through Kinston if at all possible. I think the only way to fully enjoy this place is dine there multiple times to get a sense of the breadth of the daily and seasonal specials.
These things stuck with me:
They clearly have developed a menu and restaurant that fulfills their vision of gourmet food based on local ingredients and cuisines.
They have passed along their mission to their staff so that they convey all parts of the mission willingly, enthusiastically, and articulately. That is no small feat and almost never happens with the consistency that I observed. It nearly always falls off when the boss goes away. Not here.
The customers are excited to be there and soaking up the whole experience. I have never seen this consistent love for dining in a restaurant. It is a love affair between customers and restaurant. An example going in and leaving there are always people being photographed by the front sign. These customers cherish their visits here.
Ben's paintings are superb and the location and his work are a match made in heaven. His works are large and tailor made for the high red brick walls.
As in most restaurants, vegans/vegetarians can find it a challenge. Nevertheless, there are many options on the menu. If one wants to temporarily go astray, the seafood options look marvelous.
That is what I recall. Oh...one thing...we did not see Ben or Vivian.
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