It's a family affair at Virginia's

Michael Bennett accomplished an impressive feat. He has been able to immortalize his family's recipes.

Mr. Bennett, a partner in Holy City Hospitality, created a restaurant menu that is based around the foods of the Lowcountry and the recipes of his mother, Virginia.

As was the custom of the Bennett family, the family would gather for family dinners on Sunday. Life circumstances required an adjustment to this custom, so the family rescheduled dinners for Thursdays at noon, and Virginia continues to nourish her family and their friends.

A painting displayed at Bennett's restaurant Virginia's On King captures this ritual at the family table.

If you are neither lucky enough nor fortunate to share the Bennetts' table, Virginia's namesake establishment provides a venue to partake in the family recipes and Southern cooking traditions.

The former Uptown: A Finer Diner-space has been tweaked slightly; the exposed brick walls, enhanced windows, lantern lights, high-backed booths and a wall of banquettes provide an almost nautical presence to the room. A communal table adjacent to the bar provides the perfect spot to gather after work and share an ambitious menu of appetizers.

A painting of the marshes is reflected back to the diners from a window in the bar and is so realistic that you would think it is a window.

Upstairs, the space feels more "dining room" appointed, homelike and subdued. An environment more likely to be encountered at Mrs. Bennett's residence, especially as compared to the textural elements of the main floor.

Virginia's On King is part of the stable of already successful Holy City Hospitality endeavors, which include 39 Rue de Jean, Coast Bar and Restaurant, Good Food Catering and now Virginia's.

Executive chef Jason Murphy has worked with Mrs. Bennett's recipes and has delivered the restaurant equivalent of family food.

The Pimento Cheese ($6.99) is rough cut, rich with cheddar cheese and served with benne-seed crackers. The Fried Okra ($5.99) maintains the bright green color of its pod veiled in a crisp shell of batter, releasing a warm stream of "okra-ness" when you bite down. Slather it with the pungent aioli (more rouille than aioli, with its burnt orange color and a pleasant tender of heat). Order a beer and you are in happy hour heaven.

Pulled Pork Sliders ($8.99) are nice in concept, but the sweet potato biscuits turned gummy when topped with barbecue and the house-made barbecue sauce. The Deviled Crab ($8.99) is a great value and when partnered with the Fried Green Tomatoes ($5.99). It presents a nice, simple supper.

Your meal will begin with a cube of Broccoli Corn Bread. It's a cross between a quiche, a bread and a vegetable souffle. It's a nice touch, especially when warm and fresh out of the oven.

Virginia's She-Crab Soup (cup $3.99; bowl $7.99) is one of the better versions I have tasted this year. Not pasty, it's balanced with the flavor of crab and crab meat lumps. The soup's nutty sherry chaser and ample nubbins of roe demonstrates why this is such a popular favorite.

Okra Soup (cup $3.50; bowl $6.99) served up the simple nuances of this well-made dish. The acidity of the tomatoes, the foundation of a long simmered beef stock and firm okra pods floated in a sea of broth.

Lowcountry Oyster Stew ($3.99; $7.99) had us puzzled. Lush with rice, tomatoes, ham bits and oysters, it seemed more jambalaya than the simple combination of oysters, butter, milk and a splash of cream that is normally expected in an oyster stew.

An Oyster and Spinach Salad ($9.99) tossed tender baby spinach leaves in a vinaigrette gently seasoned with horseradish and tempered with maple syrup. The oysters were cornmeal crisp and the grape tomatoes were sweet little rubies tumbled with the green spinach.

Portions are more than generous. We would, however, "86" the Texas Toast. It didn't work well with the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Bisque ($8.99) and made eating the Fried Green Tomato BLT ($7.99) cumbersome.

The variety of "plates" offered for supper is daunting. There are too many good choices. Virginia's Meatloaf ($16.99) reminded me of the current controversy over Jessica Seinfeld's book "Deceptively Delicious" and Missy Lapine's "The Sneaky Chef." Mrs. Bennett evidently always knew how to get vegetables into her children; place the veggies in delicious recipes of comfort foods, serve them with buttery mashed potatoes and gravy, spoon some molasses into the collards and you've got the kids hooked.

The meatloaf is a mosaic of softened bread bits, carrots, celery, onion, sage and thyme. Tastes a little like Thanksgiving and just like turkey-day, you will have leftovers for the next day's lunch.

Southern Fried Chicken ($15.99) appeared as the house favorite. Many orders passed our table at the time of our visit. Brown Sugar Glazed Ham, Catfish, Lowcountry Boil, Shrimp and Grits, and Country Fried Steak are just a few of the Southern staples on the menu at Virginia's.

Virginia's Baked Macaroni and Cheese ($3.99), a "Bennett family favorite," the menu tells you, has the Midas touch of golden, molten cheddar gilding tender, elbow macaroni.

The Butter Beans were tender; their pot likker flavored with ham. Molasses (or maybe sorghum) sweetened the taste of the collards.

The Brown Gravy was too thick and gloppy for our taste, and could benefit by being thinned out.

The Fried Seafood Plate ($18.50) can easily feed three - two large fillets of flounder, a half dozen shrimp along with plump sea scallops and oysters cascade off a platter with collard greens and smashed Idaho potatoes. A heavy hand added salt and pepper to the batter, and the coating itself was a thick barrier to the taste of the seafood.

Desserts are made in house. The $7 Fudge Plate did baffle us on the dessert menu, but the Pecan Pie, Walnut Raisin Bread Pudding, Banana Pudding and Three-Layer Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting come as no surprise. Order the Pineapple Upside Down Cake: a sweet rectangle of airy sponge cake, wearing a mantle of caramelized pineapple, topped with sweetened creme Chantilly and crowned with a Maraschino cherry put the "icing" on the cake.

Service is polite, well-mannered, well-informed and gracious. We would hardly expect less from an establishment groomed by Mrs. Bennett.