It's in the stars: Landmark Virginia Beach eatery reopens

Diners who have missed Chef Scott Bernheisel's contemporary regional cuisine can thank their lucky stars; the restaurant, which opened more than a decade ago in Bayside, has reopened.

The Lucky Star, which closed its original Pleasure House Road location earlier this year, celebrated a grand reopening June 18 inside the Westin Virginia Beach Town Center. Taza formerly occupied the space.

A number of Bernheisel's signature dishes were passed around during the grand reopening, reminding folks of his penchant for multiple layers of flavor in a single dish and propensity for honoring local food practices.

Sampled at the event: Cajun Fried Oysters, Blackened Scallops & Goat Cheese Ravioli and Mediterranean Grouper. The Lucky Star is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A few updates: Chef Nigel Jenkins, who led the kitchen when the eatery was Taza, is now at the Hilton Garden Inn in north Suffolk. Chef Walter Ellerbe, who was Bernheisel's former business partner and kitchen companion, is working on a restaurant concept to be located in Norfolk's East Beach.

The Lucky Star is inside the Westin Virginia Beach Town Center, 4535 Commerce St. Call 557-0550 or visit www.westinvirginiabeach.com/luckystar.

MANNINO, TIMES TWO

The former location of The Lucky Star won't sit vacant long; early this month, a second location of Mannino's Italian Bistro will open in the Bayside site.

"We are working on getting everything ready now," says Daris Gavin, partner with father-and-son team John R. Mannino and John M. Mannino. The upscale restaurant offers an assortment of Old World-style Italian cuisine.

The new location of Mannino's is at 1608 Pleasure House Road. The current location is at 4402 Princess Anne Road. Call 474-4446 or visit www.manninositalianbistro.com.

LAST DANCE

Rumba! American Bistro, a supper club-style eatery located in the former Taverna (and long ago, Le Chambord) in Chambord Commons, has closed.

The restaurant, open about a year, served upscale contemporary American cuisine from Chef Lyle Brinn and offered a dancing venue on an expansive wooden floor.

It was operated by Tiffany Kidwell and mother Donna Hledik. Kidwell has been involved with a number of other high-profile Hampton Roads restaurants like Club Soda, Havana and Isla.

STEINYWOOD

It's not a reincarnation of Bobbywood, the popular downtown Norfolk eatery that closed late last year (and held reign in Ward's Corner a decade before that), but for fans of Chef Bobby Huber, here is your chance to enjoy his cooking once again.

Huber is now in the kitchen at the classic Beach restaurant Steinhilber's, opened in 1939 by Robert Steinhilber and operated today by his daughter, Jeanne and grandson, Brady.

"I'm really enjoying being at Steinhilber's," Huber says. "It's the same great menu now that it has been for the past 70 years, but I am doing a few of my own things."

That includes fresh, seasonal dishes with ingredients right from the kitchen garden, no doubt with the flair the chef is known for.

Steinhilber's is at 653 Thalia Road. Call 340-1156 or visit www.steinys.com.