Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Stephen and Linda Foster opened Stephen's Restaurant in 1986 after they moved to Roanoke from Mississippi.

Chef Stephen Foster stresses the freshness of seasonal ingredients, so the menu changes daily.

Since 1986, Stephen's Restaurant has been located in one of Roanoke's most distinctive buildings. According to owner/chef Stephen Foster Sr. and his wife, Linda, the structure was built in the mid-1970s for another restaurant.

My curiosity about the multi-alcove building style led me to research it in the Encyclopedia Britannica. This type of structure adapts the 1914 modular system of European architect Le Corbusier, emphasizing simplicity, inexpensive construction and abstract interior design. This approach drew great attention and was used for some churches and houses in the 1950s, but did not have mass appeal for Americans.

The vibe

The Fosters created comfortable dining areas in the larger rooms and in the alcoves of their restaurant at 2926 Franklin Road SW. The place is charming, with enough space between tables for private conversations. Bright white linens and bud vases of fresh flowers adorn the tables.

Meet the owners

Linda and Stephen Foster Sr. came to Roanoke from Mississippi, in the "deep South" area below Vicksburg. Although he's never been to culinary school, Foster is a talented chef, and his cuisine reflects his affection for the food of his geographic roots -- the New Orleans, Creole and Cajun classics such as gumbos, etouffees, bisques, and bread puddings.

The Fosters developed the restaurant into a family affair, with wife Linda acting as her husband's sous chef in the kitchen and son Steve working as the resident certified wine specialist and general manager. A genuine camaraderie among the servers and family makes this restaurant unique.

The menu

Stephen Foster Sr. stresses freshness of seasonal ingredients, thus the menu changes daily. Trout comes from a farm in Craig County, fresh seafood -- the soft-shell crabs and rockfish -- comes from the East Coast. Foster takes great pride in offering made-from-scratch appetizers, entrees, sides and desserts.

Appetizers embrace the classics: jumbo shrimp and lump crab meat cocktail with remoulade sauce and grits chips ($10.95), fried Virginia oysters topped with bearnaise sauce ($7.95), and a delicate Maine lobster bisque ($5.95).

Mainstays of the menu include fish and seafood items, such as grilled Atlantic redfish, rockfish, scallops and jumbo shrimp. One exemplary entree, grilled Atlantic redfish with either shrimp or scallops Diane ($29.95) topped with shiitake mushrooms and lump crab meat arranged and seasoned in the namesake sauce creates a luxurious composition. A contemporary spin blesses jumbo shrimp with pearl couscous and assorted vegetables dressed with avocado vinaigrette ($27.95).

Ranging from straightforward beef entrees such as filet mignon ($23.95 to $29.95) with vegetables and potato to the embellished filet royale crowned with bacon redeye cream sauce and lump crab meat ($29.95 to $35.95), the menu offers worthy options. The extravagant filet Mardi Gras ($36.95) arrives gilded with a crab meat au gratin-stuffed pastry beignet and bearnaise sauce, plus a broiled 3-ounce lobster tail and grits-crusted potato fries.

A daily Waitstaff's Menu details three entree, salad and chef's vegetable specials for the evening. Ranging in price from $26.95 to $31.95, these dishes typify the chef's creativity for incorporating contemporary seasonings and cooking styles into New Orleans classics with fresh available seafood. One example is the blackened Atlantic redfish with broiled shrimp, enhanced with a lime-chili-ginger-garlic sauce.

The wine list

Every menu lists a selection of wines available by the bottle or 6-ounce glass. Glasses range in price from $5.95 for a Crane Lake California White Zinfandel to $8.95 for a pinot noir from Argentina's Luigi Bosca. The restaurant takes its wine selections seriously, with 80 bottles stored in the cellar. A Wine Spectator rating for each one is included with the offerings of the evening.

What I ate

I began one dinner with sugar toad and bacon "chowder" ($6.95). These sauteed bites of sugar toad, a small Chesapeake white fish -- with applewood smoked bacon, tiny peas and a twirled mound of pasta in a delicate Parmesan cream sauce -- proved a nice blend of simplicity and richness. My entree of sauteed Chesapeake Bay soft-shell crabs on corn maque choux produced delightful contrasts of crispy crab bedded with sweet corn in a creamy sauce. With this meal, I enjoyed a glass of Chilean cabernet sauvignon ($7.95).

My tablemate raved about his seafood gumbo of shrimp, oysters and crab meat ($5.95). He followed this with Parmesan-crusted breast of chicken with tart cider butter sauce ($18.95), a combination that worked well.

On another evening, I started with an entree of sauteed crab cakes with tart cider butter sauce ($26.95). The sauce gave the delicate crab cakes a bit of needed acidity. A lovely field green salad dressed with ginger vinaigrette, as well as a side of assorted vegetables, completed my entree. With my meal, I enjoyed a glass ($6.95) of Columbia crest merlot from Washington state with a Wine Spectator rating of 91. Its assertive qualities did not overpower the crab meat.

My dining partner ordered the classic trout amandine ($26.95), which looked picture-perfect, with sliced, evenly toasted almonds topping pan-fried filets of rainbow trout surrounded by golden lemon brown butter sauce. This dish elicited murmurs of delight as he ate. He finally gave me a petite taste of this fine preparation.

I indulged in dessert, choosing blueberry-blackberry cobbler ($6.95) from the four listed options. Different from most cobblers, this preparation had a thick slice of plain sponge cake in the center, surrounded by the recently cooked sweetened berries, a pool of creme anglaise and a generous scoop of cold vanilla ice cream. Not too sweet -- just very nice, indeed.

The bottom line

It has been a few years since I last dined at Stephen's Restaurant, and these recent dinners reminded me of what I had been missing. Now I once again know of the delectable preparations; gracious, genial service; and pleasing ambiance. Stephen's serves the exemplary regional food I sought during three trips to New Orleans, but found in Roanoke. I highly recommend Stephen's Restaurant.