The Secret Sauce

By the time we got to De Vines Italian Eatery, the last stop on our Chesapeake adventure, we were already a little beat. AltDaily contributor and Chesapeake resident Jerome Spencer had recommended the place, which should’ve encouraged me a bit. And by this time I’d come to learn better than to underestimate the extraordinary surprises one may find in a strip mall.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t thrilled by the exterior. De Vines is located next to a trifecta of literal fakeness: Paradise Tans, Chic Wigs and Nails First. Not only that, there seem to be five or six similar pizza joints around the Greenbrier, including Cugini’s, another local favorite about which I’ve only now come to learn.

But De Vines on the inside was comfortable, clean and very inviting.

Right away we were practically smitten with our waitress Jessica, 23, who has worked at De Vines for 10 years. (10 years!! The kind of longevity that reflects very well on a restaurant.) Giddy and giggly, she seemed genuinely happy at her job. After we placed our order, Jessica introduced us to Raj Khullar, the owner.

Khullar, we found out, has been serving up Italian food for decades. He learned the cuisine inside and out while cooking at El Porto, a 100-year-old restaurant in Arlington, where Khullar worked for an “old Italian guy named Andres.”

“This is all I know, Ill be honest,” he told us. “It’s been a good ride.”

What’s the secret?

“Homemade sauce,” he said, “and a very local clientele–that’s what’s keeping me alive.”

And it’s easy to see why exactly they keep coming back. Our baked ziti was delicious; a basic but well-made sauce, highlighted by caramelized onions, over just barely al dente pasta. And the stuffed pizza was excellent, as well. In both flavor (semi-sweet from a bit of sugar and basil in the sauce) and texture (nice, crunchy crust with a soft, saucy, gooey inside), you couldn’t ask for more. It’s as close to an authentic Chicago-style pizza as we may ever get around here. Not at all greasy, this was a guilt-free way to follow up our jaunt in the woods.

Longtime De Vines employee Jessica Turner

De Vines-inpired artwork by young customers.

De Vines was another one of the beautiful little surprises I’d by now come to expect of Chesapeake.

And I’ll be honest, I was a little skeptical before we went out on our little weekend trip there. The last time we visited, we were hanging fliers. Of course, we try to seek out cool, local businesses at which we feel like we should represent. And in Chesapeake we had a pretty difficult time finding many.

But on this weekend, I was proven wrong again and again. In the midst of the lush woods, and amongst the cookie-cutter shopping centers, I found myself revising my opinions of the place.

I’ll put it this way:

When Glenda the Good Witch asks Dorothy what she’s learned, Dorothy answers: “If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard.”

Well, Chesapeake is that backyard. It’s a place where you learn, as we did, that culture is sometimes found in the tiniest of corners. And it’s even better, because you had to look for it.

–HS

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