24 SPRING/SUMMER2009 FOOD+ WINE ByVICTORIABOURNE Photography by BOB ALLEN Pacifi ca in Virginia Beach will sneak up on you. The one-story, nondescript brick building in which the Oceanfront bistro resides is easily overlooked as you turn the corner at 40th Street fromPacific Avenue. Once redirected to its compact parking lot, you knowyou’ve arrived by the reverse ’50s style graphic silhouettes that stand out in relief fromthe restaurant’s tinted windows. The images of people frozen in libational poses lead the way to Pacifica’s front door. Stepping across the threshold ona rainy Top:Jimmy’s signature drink,“Hot& Dirty” Above:The front exteriorofPacifica Fridaynight inMarch, the restaurant is void of customers save for a couple and anolder gentleman at the bar and another small group seated intimatelyonleather couches infront of the restaurant’s large, centrally located fi replace.Animpressively bearded, bespectacled, tattooed man reaches across the bar to shake hands withtwo patrons as theypullout their chairs tosit. “Are you here tomake Jimmy famous?” the older gentleman asks the new arrivals. Jimmy Miller, dressed in a short-sleeved black T-shirt, laughs. One gets the impres- sion that the general manager and head bartender at Pacifi ca is already famous amongst its Thursday through Saturday night regulars. He has an open, easy way about him and greets everyone as a friend. According to Miller, he knows most patrons by name and drink. And when a name eludes him, he’ll defi nitely knowthe person’s drink, he says. Pacifi ca is the “fi rst and last stop” for North End regulars, Miller says. They’ll stop once for cocktails on their way elsewhere and again for a nightcap on their way home. It opened in December 2006 as one of a family of restaurants that include Crackers and Empire inNorfolk, and Six inHampton, all owned byChris and Bob Glover under the company name, LittleBar Bistro. Miller, who has been at Pacifi ca since it opened, started out as a bartender. Tidewater’s Best Is... Cahoon Plantation Golf Club With a new clubhouse, redesigned layout and a dramatic fi nishing hole… Cahoon Plantation Golf Club is the premier golf course in the tidewater area. All Bent Grass tees, fairways and greens will ensure that your day on the links will be one to remember for a lifetime. Call us today at 757-436-2775 to arrange your day on the best conditioned golf course in Tidewater. New Annual Memberships now available. 1501 Cahoon Parkway • Chesapeake, VA23322 • www.cahoonplantation.com • 436-2775
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