September Rivah Visitor's Guide - The Rappahannock Record

Rivah Fare
Review
The Sandpiper Restaurant
If You Go
850 Rappahannock Drive,
White Stone
435-6176
Open
Serving dinner
Tuesday-Saturday
5 pm until
On the Menu
Seafood, steaks, chicken,
pasta, pork chops, soup,
salad, dessert, full bar
Did you know?
Check out the prices of the
wine by the bottle list. You
can take home what you
don’t finish-it’s a deal/steal!
by Joanna Marcheti
After journeying out
to Heathsville and
Westmoreland for this summer’s
dining reviews, it was
a pleasure to end the streak
just minutes from my home at
White Stone’s beloved Sandpiper
Restaurant owned by
Kelli Sullivan Moss.
Anyone who’s ever driven
by the popular local eatery has
seen patrons lined up at the
door at 5 p.m. sharp, waiting
for their tables, so when my
husband and I ventured out on
a Wednesday, we weren’t at all
surprised to find dinner in full
swing with only a few vacant
tables. We were promptly
shown to one of these tables
and took a moment to observe
the subtle nautical decor of the
interior, as well as the aroma of
our dining neighbors’ entrees
having just arrived.
The menu is a seafood and
land lover’s delight, offerings
include salmon, ahi tuna, haddock,
steamed shrimp, as well
as the customer favorite, beer
battered fried shrimp, certified
black angus steaks-handcut in
house, pasta, chicken and pork
chops.
The specials board in the
lobby boasted creamy homemade
soups and a ribeye with
blue cheese butter and crispy
onion rings. The options were
overwhelming and we didn’t
know where to start. Seafood
versus steak was the big
dilemma, as there were so
many great options in each
department. Recommendations
26
from our server proved very
helpful—several members of
the staff have been there for
over 20 years so don’t hesitate
to ask for advice.
We began our meal with the
most amazing sweet red pepper
soup with lump crabmeat. The
sweet creaminess of the soup
sprinkled with pristine white
lumps of crab had us wishing
we had opted to each get our
own cup. This soup has been a
house specialty for almost 30
years and is offered most evenings.
One of the most memorable
moments of our dining experience
occurred as we were
ordering our entrees. My husband
was engaged in a serious
debate with himself over
whether to order the pork chop
entree or the much talked about
crabcakes. When he asked our
incredible server, a Sandpiper
legend herself—Maxine Carter,
to assist him, she immediately
suggested they do a customized
combination platter for him
which would include one of
each. To say we were impressed
with this accommodating offer
would be a huge understatement.
It came time for me to
make a decision and for the
sake of variety, I went with
the kabobs—a combination of
grilled jumbo shrimp, scallops,
a four-ounce filet mignon and
skewered grilled vegetables.
For side items, I chose mashed
potatoes, my husband ordered
the rice, and both entrees
included a house salad.
After placing our orders, we
each enjoyed a glass of the 14
Hands Cabernet Sauvignon,
chosen off the very reasonably
priced wine list. Kelli says she
takes pride in offering good wine
at a reasonable price. She’ll also
custom order wine if she doesn’t
already carry it so just call.
The salads appeared and we
started in on the crisp radicchio
and spring mix loaded
with fresh, local veggies, topped
with a creamy homemade ranch
dressing. Shortly after finishing
the salad course, our entrees
arrived and we each found ourselves
staring down heaping
plates of surf and turf. My husband’s
dish consisted of a beautifully
cooked center cut pork
chop, cut in-house, a good sized
lump crabcake, rice peppered
with shredded carrots and peas,
and a small side of applesauce. I
didn’t waste any time digging in
to my plate of fresh grilled seafood,
steak cooked to a perfect
medium rare, grilled peppers,
onions, tomatoes, and mushroom,
and chunky Yukon gold
mashed potatoes.
Everything was fabulous and
we enjoyed just enough of our
dinners to preserve a tiny bit of
room for dessert. Despite our
planning we were still pretty
stuffed, but this was my last
dining review of the summer
and I’ve tragically passed on
dessert too many times to do it
again. We were tempted by the
huge old fashioned ice cream
sundaes whizzing by on trays
every few minutes available with
fudge, caramel and butterscotch
sauce, but as soon as I saw it
on the specials board, I knew
the bread pudding with vanilla
sauce had to be mine. And the
velvety sauce drizzled over the
sweet, warm bread with hints of
cinnamon and nutmeg did not
disappoint. This is what Kelli
calls “just a good old fashioned
family recipe.”
Kelli took over Sandpiper in
2009 from her mother Carole,
after her passing. Carole opened
the restaurant in 1982 and Kelli
reminisces about how hard her
mother worked to transform the
former barbecue pit and pool hall
into the steak and seafood house
she envisioned. She’s very hesitant
to take credit for the success
of the restaurant, saying it’s all
owed to her mother, from whom
she inherited this legacy. She
says everything she knows, she
attributes to her. She also credits
her staff as another key ingredient
to the restaurant’s success.
Describing them “like a family,”
it’s easy to understand why there
are three or four employees that
have been with the restaurant for
25+ years.
Her food philosophy is “Some
of the best dishes you’ll ever eat
are simple-and that’s what we
do. We’re all about fresh, traditional,
homemade fare.” Later
when talking to Kelli, I learned
that the kabobs, the crabcakes
and the pork chops have all been
on their menu for as long as the
restaurant’s been open. But sorry
folks, no magic ingredient crabcake
tips here—Kelli says that
like most recipes used at the
restaurant, it’s a top secret recipe
from her mom.
Kelli says she “feels so
blessed for this opportunity and
so grateful to the locals as well as
her staff for their continued loyal
support for The Sandpiper.”