Herndon's New Stone Cove's Kitbar: One of a Kind

Once inside, you understand why Stone’s Cove Kitbar is so totally different—a kitchen surrounded by a bar (hence the name "kit-bar"). Stone's Cove is much more of an experience in dining than a regular restaurant, and it’s the first restaurant of its type in the nation.

On the site of the former Red Lobster, owners B.J. Stone and Scott Mowrey transformed the interior into a large circular counter, with a huge brick oven in the middle. As you look closer, there are different themes to each of the contiguous-connected, bar-height tables. You can choose seating theme, from the retro "diner" looking bar setup, to the elegant black marble countertop with dark-wood bar-height chairs. 

Upon seating around their "kitchen," a chef-tender eagerly comes to greet you and explain the menu. A one-page menu, half of the menu is drinks (bar specialties plus 10 whites/10 red wines, and 11 different bottled beers across the bottom of the menu) plus five draft beers.

The other half of the menu is Grabbers, Box Lunches and Appetapas (different types of tapas-style appetizers). So far at Stone’s Cove, there aren’t any happy hour features. "Yeah, we have been asked about having Happy Hour features, but so far, this is what we are going with," said one of the chef-tenders, all wearing distinctive hats.

Stone's Cove KitBar is the perfect place to impress a first date or a new acquaintance. The food is kick'n fun and perfect for sampling and sharing with their wide range of inventive mojitos and margaritas.

Appetapas range in price from $6 to $16, and are served in small portions on square white appetizer plates. My favorite was the Shrimp and Grits, a grill-seared marinated shrimp with roasted red pepper cheese grits. (If you sit in the middle of the kitchen you can watch them sear the shrimp on their large Plancha grill.) 

Our cute mini Lobster Cones were served sitting upright in a in a shiny metal holder. They were assembled fresh (as they would easily get soggy in the black sesame cone) and were spicy and creamy, without a lot of lobster-meat taste, but they were fun, festive and the perfect starter food. 

"Wow" is what you'll say after your first bite of the Mackinac Flatbread, crisp flatbread layered with guacamole, melted Vermont sharp cheddar cheese, chopped romaine lettuce, bacon, tomato, honey-jalapeno mayonnaise. The Portobello Flatbread, which is roasted flatbread with Portobello garlic puree and gruyere cheese, was also sensational.

Both flatbreads are called Grabbers ($9 to $15). Yes, most of the portions are smaller, and the plates are small, but that is part of the delight of tapas dining, to taste and share multiple types of food. 

Be sure to order their signature Cuban Panini, with layers of smoked pork carnita, salami, gruyere cheese, dill pickles, and Cuban marinated sauce, served on fluffy toasted Ciabatta bread and served with potato chips ($8). It is large and can be easily shared.

Edibations (Stone Cove’s edible libations) are a unique slurp-able "tastes" with a splash of liquor. We chose the Bloody Mary Shrimp ($9) and were served four small wonton ceramic spoons with tiny bits of chopped steamed spiced shrimp, celery, with lemon, horseradish, Old Bay and vodka. 

"Just slurp it into your mouth and chew for a few times before swallowing" was what our server suggested, to get the full experience. After a slurp, chew, and swallow, we were dazzled with the flavors. There are four different "Edibations" to choose from on their menu, including Caramelized Beef, Tuna Ceviche, and Pineapple Chicken (flavored with rum).

We were offered "tastes" of wines before we selected a glassful (served in a wine tumbler).  Wines are $9 to 13 by the glass, and $27 to $50 by the bottle.

Tootsie-pop shaped frozen single cheesecake balls are rolled in different flavorings for dessert.  Our favorite was the peanut butter cheesecake rolled in chocolate, and the cheesecake ball rolled in key-lime sugar ($2 each). I could have eaten a whole box of them.

It takes a lot of preparation to pull off this concept, plus a lot of training. Each of the chef-tenders had to be knowledgeable about how to assemble the food and plate it properly, as there was no "expo" to check the plates before they are served, so in a sense, each chef-tender had to ensure everything was done properly. (Keep in mind that they are being eyeballed by their customers while they are plating the food.) Service was prompt and quick to answer questions, and to be as "chatty" as you wanted them to be while you were dining.

I wanted to linger and try more cheesecake balls.

As you leave, check out the owner's gleaming Volt plugged into the first parking spot, with its own stylish "gas pump" charger. Being the owner of the nation's first KitBar definitely has its perks.