Beach Eats: Sub shop is surfacing in Town Center

The lineup of eateries in Town Center will soon include Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, a sub shop with some 975 locations. Gerald S. Divaris of Divaris Real Estate Inc. announced the restaurant has signed a lease for 1,485 square feet of first-floor retail space in the Two Columbus Center building.

This will be the first Virginia Beach location for the eatery, which also operates a Chesapeake location. The company's Web site says Jimmy John's is known for its "obsession with fresh, quality products and high-speed execution."

More information: www.jimmyjohns.com.

A WEEKLY PASTA EXTRAVAGANZA

These days, Swan Terrace executive chef Eric Doarnberger has pasta on his mind - at least on Thursday nights. That's when the fine-dining restaurant inside The Founders Inn & Spa shifts its focus on contemporary American cuisine to Italian. Italian pasta, in fact.

Each Thursday from 5:30 until 9 p.m., the restaurant offers a prix fixe menu of soup, salad, pasta, nonalcoholic beverage and dessert for $15 per person. An expansive chef's table is set up in the exhibition kitchen, with kitchen staff assisting diners in filling bowls with fresh, quality products, including Italian sausage, scallops, grilled chicken, and chopped vegetables - more than two dozen offerings in all.

Once the bowl is filled, the type of pasta is selected, including linguini, angel hair and corkscrew, as well as sauces ranging from marinara to pesto. Transferred to a hot, glistening sauté pan, the meal is cooked to order in front of the diner. Repeat visits to the pasta station, or for starters or desserts, are permitted.

A hallmark of Swan Terrace is the quality coming from chef Doarnberger's kitchen, and although this is set up as a buffet, it is a buffet in name only. Your Beach Eats Chef took note on a recent visit of the quality ingredients and professional execution of the dishes and enjoyed every bite.

Swan Terrace is at The Founders Inn & Spa, 5641 Indian River Road. Call 424-5511 or visit www.foundersinn.com.

PASTA BE HASTA

More from the world of pasta: Burtons Grill will be offering a special healthy gourmet carbo-laden pasta menu March 19 to 21 for Shamrock Marathon runners (or anyone with a noodle fixation). Selections include chicken and wild mushroom ravioli, shrimp and crab pasta, lobster and shrimp pasta, angel hair primavera and vegetable linguini. A special brunch is also offered March 21, the day of the race.

Burtons Grill is at 741 First Colonial Road. Call 422-8970 or visit www.burtonsgrill.com.

BEACH RESTAURANTS TAKE TOP TASTE HONORS

The Taste of Hampton Roads, an annual fundraising event for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, dished up several honors for Beach restaurants in the critics' choice competition. The event was held March 2.

Best Overall went to TradeWinds Restaurant in the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center for executive chef John Maclure's Epigram of Lamb - a braised lamb shoulder served over sweet potato hash and with mint chimichurri.

The Green Onion, located on Great Neck Road (and with a location in Norfolk) took away Most Creative for its pork ribs with fennel and apple slaw. Virginia Beach-based Fresh Events by Farm Fresh won for the best booth, tied to the event's Cirque du Soleil theme.

Patrick Evans-Hylton is a chef, food writer and food educator in Hampton Roads. Ask questions or share your food news or food events with Patrick Evans-Hylton at beacheats@gmail.com.