The food and artwork are simply Syd's

Ron Crow
The Virginian-Pilot

PORTSMOUTH

Nothing about Stove owner Sydney Meers is traditional, except for maybe what he calls his neo-Southern cooking. I've never had anything short of an excellent meal there, and the service is always way above average.

Some of you may know Syd from his past ventures, Cowboy Syd's in Newport News or the Dumbwaiter in Norfolk. He opened Stove on Halloween of 2006. If you're a regular, you know Syd's amusing stories can be just as good as the food.

Syd learned a lot about cooking from his grandmother while growing up in Mississippi. He still makes her pecan pie.

Clark Farm in Western Branch, which has been profiled on this page, is one of Syd's main suppliers. He also grows a lot of his own produce in his yard across from the restaurant.

The restaurant's popular cheese plates include several of Syd's homemade varieties, as well as choices from Virginia and France. He makes some of his own ham and gets the rest from Darden's Farm in Smithfield.

At stoverestaurant.com, you'll find a recipe to try. Featured this quarter is the formula for the U-10 diver scallops on potato, calamata olives and red peppers with a pimento cheese sauce.

The Web site also has information on Stove cooking classes, a wine club and Syd's art. It's a little offbeat but pure Sydney. Much of his art hangs in the restaurant and is for sale.

But back to the main attractions. The "house-aged beef tenderloin" comes with blue cheese and sweet shallots with mixed mushroom demi glaze.

The striper entree is served on a pan roast of squash and turnip with spicy pepper cream and bread sponge batter jumbo gulf shrimp. Are you hungry yet?

New this week at the eatery is an earlybird special on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Diners get a 20 percent discount on their meals and will have a featured wine with a special price to choose from each week.

Ron Crow, ron.crow@pilotonline.com