Grandma doesn't fry her chicken like this

The dish Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Truffle Mac & Cheese and Local Seasonal Vegetables

The cost $10

The eatery Terrapin Restaurant, 3102 Holly Road, 321-6688, www.terrapinvirginiabeach.com

Why I liked it Since 2006, chef/owner Rodney Einhorn has been plating some of the best food in the region - indeed, the country, considering he was in the top 20 restaurants recently featured on ABC-TV's "Nightline" - from his tony North End restaurant, Terrapin.

The Culinary Institute of America graduate dishes out contemporary cuisine with a locavore slant, crafted with classical techniques. Guests dine on white linen-topped tables amid chartreuse-hued walls accented with dark wood. Table service is impeccable.

And, three days a week, prices on many of the plates plummet; the atmosphere remains the same. Terrapin Restaurant's Midweek Lightfare Menu, offered Tuesdays through Thursdays, has a number of items from the regular menu, but in smaller portions and at a reduced price point.

We dined on Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Truffle Mac & Cheese and Local Seasonal Vegetables; the vegetable of the evening was collards. Originally priced at $17, our midweek special cost just $10, reflected only on the guest check and not on the taste buds.

A large, all-white-meat chicken breast (dark meat is available, too) was perfectly seasoned and dredged in flour before sizzling and bubbling away in hot oil to seal in the flavorful juices and encrust the bird in a light, crisp, golden casing. Each bite was textbook perfect.

Perfection was also found in the rich, creamy macaroni and cheese, embellished with bits of shaved truffle, the earthy and mineral taste of the tuber accenting the pasta dish in a way that is best described as otherworldly. The collards were equally spectacular. The Cheap Eats price tag was the proverbial icing on the cake. See Terrapin's menu

- Patrick Evans-Hylton