Richmond, Food for Thought

Dinner at The Roosevelt

2012-01-16T10:22:00.002-05:00

Friday night, Bob and I ventured to Church Hill to try The Roosevelt. We had reservations (a must in my opinion)and were seated promptly. My first impression was that parking is a beast. I know in theory it shouldn't be a mitigating factor but challenging parking situations stress me out (unfortunately all to common in both downtown and the Fan). Second impression was that it was a very dark restaurant even by restaurant standards. It is a beautiful restaurant though and had a great vibe.

We ordered two glasses of Virginia Fizz ($7/each) to start. It was a nice, dry sparkling to start the meal with. For an appetizer we decided to share the Southern Poutine ($8) with French fries, pimento cheese, and Benton's Ham gravy. The fries were fresh and hot, the pimento cheese tangy and crumbly just like I like it but there was no gravy to be found. For our entrees Bob chose the short ribs with Anson Mills rice grits, slow cooked egg and chili broth ($18) and I ordered the pork cheeks with cheese grits, hominy and mushroom broth ($16). We also ordered a bottle of Vertitas Petit Verdot Reserve ($40). I, for one, will be happy when the soft egg accompaniment falls out of favor. Having said that, Bob loves soft eggs and short ribs and was pleased with his meal. The pork cheeks were tender and the cheese grits very good. Both meals were solid, the wine was solid, but nothing was memorable. Service was outstanding and everyone was very friendly. If I lived in Church Hill, I'd likely be a regular but if I'm driving into the city, there are other places I'll probably go where there is consistently a "wow" factor.

It's a great neighborhood place and a nice addition to the Church Hill dining scene.
http://rooseveltrva.com/

Sedona Taphouse....good place for a cold one and casual meal

2012-01-12T09:04:00.003-05:00

Last night Bob and I ventured out to Sedona Taphouse. Serving 500 craft beers by the bottle and 50 on tap, it's a great addition to the Westchester Commons shopping center just off 288 in Midlothian.

Walking in, the atmosphere was a bit dark and stark (the rainy night didn't help any) but it grew on me after we settled in at the bar. The bar area is set up so you have the option of either being in front of the TVs or not. That's a nice touch.

Our bartender Chris gave us menus and an overview of the beer offerings, which are the star of the show. Each night three of the drafts are on special for $3 during happy hour, which we took advantage of for round one. Bob had a Fat Tire and I had the Abita Purple Haze. We ordered the Goat Cheese and Basil flat bread ($7)as a pre-dinner snack. The flat bread was one of the best I've had. Thin (but not crackery) crust with a robust tomato sauce, Le Chevre goat cheese, mozzarella, parmesan it was baked to perfection and topped with fresh basil. It made me wish they were opened for lunch during the week.

The flat bread was so good we decided to go ahead and have another beer and dinner at the bar. Bob was happy to see Duvel on draft ($9.75) and I let Chris choose a beer for me. He selected one of his favorites, Dogfish Head Palo Santo ($10.50), and it lived up to the hype. It's a robust and flavorful dark beer that went well with our meal and warmed me on a cold, rainy night.

For dinner, Bob started with a bowl of lobster bisque ($6). We each ordered the American 'Kobe Beef' sliders ($7). The two sliders were served with caramelized onions, Vermont cheddar and their house sauce (a homemade thousand island) and served with house made blue potato chips. We also ordered the Blues & Blue appetizer ($2.50) with more blue potato chips served with blue cheese dip. The burgers were outstanding and the blue potato chips were a nice change from regular chips or fries.

Sedona Taphouse is a welcomed addition to our side of Midlothian. Good service, good food, good beer as well as free music on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and located near the Regal Cinemas, I believe it will quickly become a popular place for a casual date, a quick beer before the movie, or a place to hang out and have some good food with friends while listening to some local talent.
http://www.sedonataphouse.com/#!

Time to dust off the blog....a wonderful time at Arcadia.

2012-01-05T12:37:00.004-05:00

It's been nearly 9 months since my last blog post. I haven't been enjoying great food and cheer. I've been lazy.

We went to some great places in 2010 I should have written about...The Inn at Little Washington, Town House in Chilhowie and of course the new Stella's here in town, among many others.

I am back now, for better or for worse.

Bob and I visited John Van Peppen's place, Arcadia, at the end of December. Let me start by stating I have known John for eight years and consider him a friend. While one's first reaction is I may be biased, that isn't the case. I had very high expectations because I know what John is capable of when it comes to making a restaurant work. He loves food and wine, but more importantly (or at least as important), he loves people and appreciates dining is not only about the food. It's about the experience.

Arcadia is in the former Cafe Gutenburg location adjacent to the Farmer's Market on Main. Richmonders know how challenging parking can be in that area. Arcadia has valet parking available daily and we were happy to use it.

We walk in and the atmosphere is sleek, elegant and very comfortable. We were greeted by the hostess and John and decided to have a drink at the bar before dinner.

Arcadia has a solid and very user friendly wine list. With selections of $20/bottles and $30/bottles, one doesn't feel they need a GPS in order to navigate. We started with a bottle of Sharfenberger Brut sparkling ($30) and shared with others around us to toast the new kid in town.

The two bartenders, Mark and Brian, made us feel so welcomed we decided to have dinner at the bar rather than a table. We shared a salad of Shaved Iceberg with
Duck Bacon, Roma Tomatoes, Creamy Shallot & Mustard Dressing that was the perfect start to the meal. The lettuce and tomato cut the richness of the bacon and the shallot and mustard dressing was very flavorful and not heavy. It was one of the best starter salads I've had in some time. For an appetizer, we shared the rock shrimp mac & cheese. Perfectly cooked pasta with an indulgent gouda cheese sauce and topped with the shrimp, it could easily be paired with a salad for a meal. For entrees, Bob had the Pork Osso Bucco with Barley Risotto & Port Wine Reduction. On John and Mark's recommendation I had the John Dory with black lentils and diced pineapple. Bob's meal was rich and comforting and he enjoyed it immensely. My John Dory was off the charts delicious. The fish and the lentils (both cooked perfectly) complemented each other and the small dice of pineapple on top brought a nice sweetness to the dish. Chef Matthew Tlusty knows his way around the kitchen for certain. We had a bottle of Adelsheim Pinor Noir with the meal and ended the meal with a satisfying but not overly rich pear tart.

Not only was it a great meal, but it was a great experience. The staff is charming and welcoming. The other diners all seemed to be enjoying themselves and I cannot wait to go back for another dinner and also to try their lunch and Sunday brunch.

Arcadia accepts reservations via OpenTable and is perfect for dinner with friends and family or date night with your best guy or gal.

Good job John. I knew you could do it.
http://www.arcadiarichmond.com/index.html

A very nice lunch at Lin's Asian Bistro

2011-04-19T12:48:00.003-04:00

As I have stated before, after working in the same area for 15+ years I am always excited to find a new lunch place.

Today I tried Lin's Asian Bistro located just off Hull Street at 13253 Rittenhouse Drive (in the Swift Creek Shopping Center just to the right of Kroger). It was a perfect lunch getaway.

A tasteful, clean decor and relaxing music is quite welcoming as was the hostess and rest of the staff. The menu is extensive with Chinese, Thai and Sushi offerings. I decided to order one of the lunch specials, Red Curry Chicken, for $6.25. The specials are served with plain fried rice and soup. I chose my usual, hot & sour. It was served promptly with a basket of fried wonton wrappers with duck sauce. The soup was very good. It was nicely spiced with a lot of pepper and filled with mushrooms and tofu.

The curry chicken arrived and did not disappoint. The tender white meat chicken with red and green peppers, mushroom, bamboo shoots and slices of baby eggplant in a mildly spiced red curry sauce was light and flavorful. The fried rice was more like brown rice, which was fine with me.

The service was very good and it will definitely be in my regular lunch rotation.
http://www.valinsasian.com/

Another great neighborhood place in Northside....lunch at The Mill on MacArthur

2011-04-06T12:07:00.003-04:00

Whenever I venture over to the Northside, I get "Northside envy". I love the older, beautiful homes, the tree lined streets, and the "real" neighborhood feel it has largely because of the number of restaurants catering to those who are fortunate enough to live and work close by.

Since I am not so fortunate, I took advantage of my trip to pick up Flying Squirrels tickets to have lunch at the newest addition, The Mill on MacArthur.

First impressions were positive. The restaurant is clean, bright and sleek. I was immediately greeted by two cheerful ladies and told to sit where I like. I was promptly brought my menu and water and shortly thereafter iced tea.

I love this menu. It has something for everyone, including you veggie-heads, and each offering appears to have been geared towards the customer with nothing seeming to be a mere afterthought.

After much consideration, I decided on the Oyster Po-Boy. This was made with breaded fried oysters, Virginia country ham, lettuce and tomato on warm ciabatta with remoulade and served with freshly made potato chips. I am one who is very picky about sandwiches...often there is too much bread, an in balance of ingredients, poorly chosen condiments, limp veggies, too cold, too hot, etc. Sandwiches tend to bring out my inner Goldilocks.

This sandwich was perfect. Perfect. And only $8. The bread was lightly toasted (not too soft, not too crunchy). The oysters were crisp with just enough breading, perfectly seasoned and the perfect temperature. The country ham was sliced at the right thickness and there was enough to give a salty contrast to the oysters but not so much as to overwhelm the sandwich. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and crisp. The remoulade was tart and garlicky and the right amount was on the sandwich. With the homemade chips (again the right thickness and just the right amount of seasoning) dipped in ranch rounded out my meal.

This is the type of local business I am excited to support. They are doing good things at The Mill on MacArthur. Please check them out. www.themillrva.com.

After a hiatus, I am back and happy to be posting. Lunch at Cafe Ole

2011-03-03T08:42:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I have written for a number of reasons, but am happy to be back and looking forward to spring.

Yesterday I had lunch in Carytown and tried the new location of Cafe Ole. Upon arriving my first impression was "Man, it's cold in here". Not sure if they had turned off the heat overnight, but it was downright chilly in there. It was also bright and clean and I was immediately greeted by the staff and quickly forgot about the chill in the air.

I have not been to the downtown location, so took a couple of minutes to review the menu and noticed soft corn tacos, which is always a good sign. I do not understand why more places don't offer soft tacos with corn rather than flour tortillas. One of my many pet peeves in life.

In the interest of research, I ordered one vegetarian soft taco (pinto beans, guacamole, lettuce, cheese and salsa), one beef soft taco (beef, salsa, cheese and lettuce) and one chicken soft taco (chicken, salsa, cheese and lettuce), and a Diet Coke. Got my soda and headed to the table and promptly my tacos along with complimentary chips and salsa were brought to me. Each taco was individually wrapped which I liked and the chips consisted of fried corn tortillas along with some fried flour tortilla chips with a nice size cup of fresh salsa. The chips were fresh with the right amount of salt and the medium spiced salsa was fresh and hit the spot. I started with the veggie taco and the beans were cooked perfectly. The taco was prepared with mild cheddar, with the beans on top, salsa, guacamole topped with shredded Romaine lettuce. I like the cheese on the bottom as it has a chance to melt and also keeps the tortilla from getting soggy. Next was the beef taco made with shredded beef. It was very good also as was the shredded chicken in third taco.

I was impressed. The freshness and quality of ingredients, the shredding (rather than dicing) of the meat and a good balance seasoning made for some very good tacos (the soft corn tortillas didn't hurt either). The addition of the flour tortilla chips in the chip basket were a welcomed twist on an old standard.

Another great lunch place in Carytown is always a good thing.

A Wonderful Date Night.....dinner with Bob at Millie's Diner

2010-12-13T13:45:00.003-05:00

Saturday was a date night for Bob and me. He's been incredibly busy at work. I've been busy training our new puppy, Tyrod, and so dinners out have been close to home rather than venturing downtown.

We decided on Millie's and once again so glad we did. It was the perfect meal on a cold night.

We arrived early and had a glass of Graham Beck Sparkling while we reviewed the impressive-as-always menu. We decided to start with a bowl of Smoked Bacon, Potato and Leek Soup ($5) with two spoons. Incredibly creamy and flavorful, the saltiness of the bacon with the sweetness of the leaks made for a delicious soup.

Next we had an appetizer of Baked Local Oysters on the Half Shell ($15) with salsify puree, baby spinach, smoked bacon and parmesan-herb bread crumbs. The oysters were fresh and sweet and the preparation was similar to Oysters Rockefeller but brought up to the next level.

For entrees I chose an appetizer, the Braised Beef Short Ribs with Yukon gold puree, roasted vegetables and natural jus ($13). I am a sucker for short ribs and this was tender, spicy, and rich. The appetizer portion proved to be the perfect size for me. Bob ordered the Braised Lamb Shank ($30) with Andouille sausage and vegetable paella with wilted baby spinach. He gave his dish rave reviews as well. With the meal we had a bottle of Domaine Gachot-Monot Cotes de Nuits Villages, '06 France ($46), which was not too heavy but had plenty of flavor.

Once again Millie's did Richmond proud. And once again it was perfect for date night. www.MilliesDiner.com

My tastebuds were happy at Tastebuds

2010-08-25T08:38:00.002-04:00

A rare venture to the Northside was an opportunity to try Tastebuds on MacArthur Avenue. I have a fondness for Northside and Tastebuds reminded me why. Northside has that true neighborhood feel lacking in many areas of Richmond and has the local businesses to back that up.

When we arrived on a Thursday night, the place was full but we were able to eat at their small, quaint bar. The bartender (who was terrific throughout the evening) suggested a Watermelon beer on draft to start. Neither Bob nor I are fond of fruity beers but we found this California beer refreshing and not too watermelony (okay, that's not a word, but you get my drift).

The menu offers an ideal number of selections and the challenge is that everything sounds so good, making it hard to decide. Apparentally we were in the mood for pork, and started by sharing the appetizer of the Pork Adobo Taco with Mole and Corn and Black Bean salad ($6.50). Two small tacos were served in soft corn tortillas with tender pork and just the right amount of spice. The salad was a nice cool contrast to the warm spicy tacos.

Bob chose one of the specials for his entree, pork tenderloin with blue cheese. I chose the Vietnamese BBQ pork with crepes and jicama and Napa slaw ($13.50). We were both very pleased with our dishes. The BBQ on the pork was not too sweet and the slaw was the perfect accompainment.

We shared a bottle of Cotes du Rhone with the meal ($25) and finished with the bartender's special bellini.

A comfortable atmosphere, great menu, thoughtful service and reasonable prices make Tastebuds a regular place for Northsiders and a place worth driving to for those of us in other parts of the RIC. http://tastebudsamericanbistro.com/

Yeah for authentic Mexican in Richmond...lunch at El Vaquero

2010-07-20T12:00:00.002-04:00

Today I had a great lunch at El Vaquero, located on Midlothian Turnpike at Turner Road in the same shopping center as Marshalls. Having heard good things about the place and it being a reasonable drive from my office, I had to check it out.

I adore tacos in soft corn tortillas and they can be a challenge to find here in Richmond. I saw pork tacos with cilantro and onions and knew what I was going to have for lunch. I ordered a side of rice and a side of beans as well.

The taco was terrific. Two soft corn tortillas filled with diced pork and topped with cilantro and onions, this was even better than I hoped it would be. The pork was well seasoned and tender and the onions very mild and the cilantro fresh. This did not need any salsa or sour cream or any condiment (and I'm a self proclaimed condiment whore). The beans were some of the best I've had...not the bean puree we so often see in Mexican restaurants here, but somewhat chunky with great flavor. The rice was fluffy and well seasoned also. This is not "hot" food but incredibly flavorful. At $6.17 with tax it is also a great value.

They have items such as beef tongue tacos and specials on the weekends such as tamales and a variety of soups.

The atmosphere is simple, but clean and the service was great and my waitress was helpful and friendly. If you want authentic Mexican, it's worth a trip over to the other side of the river.

El Vaquero is open 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Sorry, I have been quiet this summer

2010-07-14T09:10:00.003-04:00

I'm still dining out but something about this summer has made it hard for me to get motivated to blog....it's me, not you. Working in the air conditioning business, we've been inundated during the record breaking heat (thanks to our wonderful customers).

We went to Sensi Friday night and had a great meal. The one downside (and you know I love you Paolo) is the veal chop had been changed and Bob was disappointed. I had the sea bass with capers, red and yellow tomatoes and lemon and it was outstanding. Peyton had the salmon, always a favorite and Mckenzie had first course portions of the gnocchi and the fra diablo. It was a great meal as always.

Last night the four of us had a wonderful meal at Edo's. Fried clams, squid, white beans & arugula, chicken caccatore, carbonara, pasta with crabmeat and veal marsala. So happy you are back from vacation.

We've also been frequenting our local favorites....Azzurro, Flemings, Mediterraneo, and Millie's. I also have been getting to Carytown regularly for the Falafel sandwich at Basilis.

So be patient with me dear readers and forgive my laziness.

Nothing to get excited about...Outer Banks Seafood Company

2010-06-09T08:19:00.002-04:00

I was happy to hear that a seafood place was opening in the former Bottega's location at the Shoppes at Bellgrade in Midlothian at the corner of Robious and Huguenot Roads. Last night Bob and I tried the Outer Banks Seafood Company with high hopes but were ultimately disappointed.

We entered and the interior had been changed a bit, but nothing extreme. Bottega's had a great facility so it didn't need a lot of work, just their personal touches. We decided to eat at the bar. The two bartenders were very friendly and informative and definitely the highlight of the night. Bob stuck to beer. I had a glass of house Pinot Grigio while reviewing the menu.

The menu features most of the usual suspects though I admit to being disappointed there weren't hushpuppies and the only fries were on the children's menu. But that is simply a personal preference from memories of Fass Brothers Fish House on Horsepen as a child.

I decided to get the stuffed shrimp ($22.99) and Bob decided on the crab cake dinner ($21.99). Both entrees came with their heavily promoted "Redneck Risotto" which was described as grits cooked with chicken stock and cream with bacon and Parmesan cheese, and mixed vegetables of carrots and zucchini. After ordering, we were promptly brought warm bread served with a warm artichoke dip topped with diced tomatoes. The bread was the highlight of the meal.

Our entrees arrived and Bob said his crab cakes were just okay and the grits were barely lukewarm. My shrimp stuffed with crab were bland and the crab had a tinny taste as if the crab was canned. The shrimp were perfectly cooked yet under seasoned, even the roasted red pepper cream sauce couldn't save hem. The grits were thick to the point of nearly being solid and also bland with no hint of bacon. The vegetables were cooked fine but also under seasoned.

I want to say that the service was spot on, but in this case great service could not make up for a forgettable dinner. "The place to go for Seafood!"

A great spring time meal at Black Sheep.

2010-05-26T10:27:00.002-04:00

Last night Bob and I headed to Black Sheep for dinner. This is a place we are guilty of not patronizing as much as we should as we are never disappointed. Black Sheep is always tweaking their menu but also give their traditional customer favorites the respect they deserve by keeping them available.

We arrived early and Bob ordered an Abita and I had a glass of Spanish red wine. Bob saw the fried quail and waffle appetizer and I knew immediately he would order that. I had the fire and ice salad with iceberg lettuce and cilantro & chili marinated queso blanco, cucumber, &
a grilled corn & jalapeño vinaigrette. This was light and refreshing with the right amount of spice. Bob's quail was a hit as well....fried crispy and served over two cheddar and jalapeno waffles with pepper jelly it had the right balance of spiciness and sweetness.

For entrees, Bob went with one of our favorites the chicken and dumplings. I had a new addition to the menu, Red, White and Blue Steak. It was an eight ounce filet prepared the requested medium rare served over blue cheese grits. Often blue cheese can overwhelm in such a dish, but in this case it did not...gave it the right about of bite.

For $66 w/tax this was a great meal (with plenty to take home). Service was wonderful as always and Richmonders definitely need to put Black Sheep into their regular rotation The Black Sheep, Richmond, Virginia

I could not wait to write this post.....lunch today at Tandoori Tikka and Kebob

2010-04-20T12:28:00.003-04:00

I had a few errands to run today, which is always an opportunity to have lunch outside of my office circle. I like to use these opportunities to try new places and indulge in cuisines Bob doesn't care for, such as sushi, Indian and Thai.

Today I tried Tandoori Tikka & Kebab for the first time and was so impressed. Located in the Bellgrade Shopping Center at Huguenot and Robious Roads, it's a hidden gem well worth the hunt.

I arrived to an elegant, if quiet, dining room. It is beautifully decorated and you are welcomed by the scent of the many spices being used in the kitchen.

I am typically not a fan of lunch buffets for a number of reasons and was glad to see there was no buffet here.

I read the menu and decided on the lunch special: a combination of chicken curry, vegetable curry and Chana curry served with Paratha, basmati rice pilaf, Raita and Naan for $7.95. The Paratha was nicely seasoned and had a nice crunch. The Naan was flaky and buttery and the curries provided the right balance of spice and heat while the Raita was a cool contrast to all of the dishes. Each curry had it's own distinct seasoning and each complimented the other very well.

The service was outstanding and the waiter explained everything to me very well. It will definitely be on my regular lunch rotation even if it's a bit of a drive. It's some of the best, if not the best, Indian food in Richmond.

Recognizing gems such as Tandoori reminds me of why I started this blog in the first place. I wish them every success. http://www.tandooritikkakebab.com/

Seems last week was Greek week....lunch at Basilis

2010-04-19T10:12:00.002-04:00

It was a sunny day in Richmond and I decided to venture to Carytown for a quick lunch and a bit of shopping. Having heard some good buzz about Basilis, I decided to give it a try.

Basilis is a casual Greek restaurant located in the former Carytown Seafood location and a great addition to the Carytown dining scene.

I arrived shortly before 11:30 and was promptly greeted and told if I had any questions regarding the menu to let them know. It's a nice menu featuring the Greek standards one expects. I decided on the lamb and beef gyro and upgraded to the combination with fries and a drink for a total of $6.95. The gyro arrived full of meat on a grilled pita (some of the best pita I've had)with lettuce, tomato, parsley and red onion and topped with nice cool tzatsiki. The big surprise were the fries. These aren't fancy fries, but simple and classic and done perfectly....the type of fries that are worth every calorie.

I am looking forward to returning and trying many of the other items. Good food, good service, very reasonably priced, it's a great spot for lunch of a casual dinner. www.basilisgr.com

A solid place for weeknight dinner or weekday lunch....Trak's

2010-04-14T09:07:00.003-04:00

At my cousin's bridal shower I discovered one of her friends is a waitress at Trak's and several other friends recommended it recently. Last night while talking to Luke and Marc at Flemings, they recommended it also. Bob and I saw that as a sign we needed to try Trak's. We are glad we did.

Located in a strip mall on Quioccassin just west of Starling, Trak's is a true neighborhood place. We quickly determined we were two of the few non-regulars having dinner last night. It is decorated with lots of small lights, and grapes and silk plants.....just what you want and expect from a Greek-Italian place.

As luck would have it our waitress was my cousin's friend Megan. Bob had a Greek beer and I had a glass of Pinot Grigio while reviewing the extensive menu of Greek and Italian favorites.

We decided on the Spanakopita (spinach pie) served with tzakiti for $7.95. Filled with spinach and dill, they were just as expected and the thick tangy tzakiti was some of the best I've ever had (and yes I took what was left home).

For entrees I went to a favorite of mine, Pastichio, for $14.95 and upgraded to a Greek salad for an additional $1.50. Pasta tubes baked and topped with meat sauce, bechamel and marinara this was very good and the portion large enough that I have plenty for lunch today. The Greek salad was as expected and very fresh with lots of feta and a tangy homemade dressing.

Bob chose the Beef & Lamb Gyro Dinner for $14.95. This was served with a basic rice pilaf and Bob upgraded to the Greek salad as well. I tried a couple of bites of the Gyro and it was very, very good and could easily become a lunchtime standard. With dinner we had a bottle of Demestica Red (Greece) for $29.50. Light and dry, it went well with both dishes.

Megan did a wonderful job of making us feel like a regular while answering our numerous questions. I look forward to my next trip there. http://www.traksrichmond.com/

Perfect place for an afternoon bridal shower....Azzurro

2010-04-12T08:03:00.006-04:00

When I decided to host a bridal shower for my young cousin Michelle, I wanted a place with the right balance of elegant and casual, with a great patio, great food and service. Azzurro was the first place that came to mind and I knew Wes and his staff would take care of us. They did not disappoint.

I gave Wes carte blanche over the menu. His expertise meant he would come up with something better than I would. I was very impressed with the menu he designed as were the guests and the beautiful bride.

For the first course we had a Antipasti of Mozzarella Wrapped Proscuitto, Calamari and Grilled Portabello. You can never go wrong with cheese and pig and this dish never disappoints. The Calamari were tender and served with a nice garlicky marinara. I had never tried the Grilled Portabello at Azzurro and this was terrific and a nice contrast to the richer Mozzarella and Calamari. Served with a light crisp Antinori Orvieto Classico it definitely got the party started.

For the second course we were able to select one from the following: Insalata Pesce (mixed field greens with fresh tuna), Ravioli Fradiavolo (stuffed with ricotta and spinach in garlic and marinara), Chicken and Proscuitto Sandwich (grilled chicken on homemade bread with mayo, lettuce, tomato, proscuitto and mozzarella), Risotto Azzarino (smoked salmon, cream, topped with caviar), Penne Vodka and Margherita Pizza. After debating over the choices, most of us chose the Ravioli Fradiavolo and were glad we did. The ravioli were light and flavorful and the garlic marinara was good not only with the ravioli but the perfect dipping sauce for their homemade bread.

Then came dessert. This called for bubbly and the Cannella Rose fit the bill. Crisp and dry it was a nice accompaniment to the selection of desserts we had to choose from: lemon sorbet, peach sorbet, pineapple sorbet, Mandarin sorbet, and the crowd favorite, Tartufo (hazelnut ice cream surrounded with chocolate mousse, covered in dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts). This was a great way to finish off an outstanding meal.

I cannot say enough good things about Wes and all of the staff at Azzurros. They were gracious and patient and we never waited for a thing. Thank you for making my cousin's shower such a lovely event. Azzurro

Happy Hour at Flemings...it's happy and lasts more than an hour

2010-04-01T09:05:00.002-04:00

I often find that I unintentionally don't give my regular places....namely Flemings, Azzurro and Mediterraneo, the blog recognition they deserve. It's easy to take the places where everyone knows your name for granted.....but without these three places I'd be a lost and hungry soul.

That leads me to the cheeseburger at Flemings. Before 7:00 it is a steal at $6. They have a number of appetizers, cocktails and wine for $6 until 7:00, including one of the best cheeseburgers I've ever had. And it comes with two large onion rings. And it has bacon and your choice of cheese, and I can get it rare. And the Challah bun ties it all together in wonderful indulgent perfection.

Go see Luke, Marc and Melissa...sit at the bar and have a cocktail and a burger. You'll be glad you did.

A great night at Olio

2010-03-10T11:45:00.002-05:00

Last evening we had our first "Richmond Food Bloggers" get together at Olio, located in the Fan at Main and Meadow. I'd like to thank Jason Guard for organizing the gathering and for Jason and the staff at Olio for being so hospitable.

It was great meeting everyone and putting faces with names, names with blogs and getting to know one another. It's my hope that these gatherings become a regular occurrence.

Now, onto the food. I love the menu at Olio. Part market, part antipasto and salad, parts sandwiches, part pizza and a lot in between. The market is full of temptations and if I lived in the Fan, I would be there at least several times a week. For me, I'll have to settle for scheduling trip there and being grateful my hair salon, Imago, is only a few blocks away.

Jason got the party started by ordering a Grazing Goat pizza. A lovely thin crust (with just the right amount of char) topped with fresh Chevre, roasted red peppers, garlic hummus & fresh basil ($12.95) this was near perfection. My contributions were the bruscetta with lemon olive oil, white beans and tomatoes ($8.95) and The Parma antipasto with prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, dolce gorgonzola, assorted olives & grilled breads, drizzled with balsamic ($14.95). Both items were made with the highest quality of ingredients and were rich and flavorful without being heavy. There are so many things I want to try on the menu but it also will be a challenge not to order the same thing again.

Olio is a Fan treasure and worth the drive for a great casual meal or to pick up stuff for home. Thanks again Jason and Jason. And cheers to our food blogging community! www.oliorichmond.com

A great addition to Carytown....dinner at bonvenu

2010-01-25T08:59:00.004-05:00

I had not heard a lot about this new place in Carytown, bonvenu, located at the former Track location, and what I heard had been positive. We were looking forward to checking it out.

Bonvenu did not disappoint. It scored on every level. The atmosphere is welcoming, the menu offers a great selection, service is spot-on and the food lived up to expectations and was reasonably priced.

We made a last minute reservation on Thursday. Upon arrival we quickly noticed that the dark wood of the Track was no more. The interior is contemporary and sleek and very inviting. We were seated in a booth and offered a cocktail. Bob had a Wild Turkey and ginger ($5.50) and I had a glass of Garbel 13 Prosecco ($10). We reviewed the menu and our server Dennis efficiently answered any questions we had.

For appetizers we shared the Beggars Purse with tasso, lump crab and chevre with lemon creme fraiche ($11) and the Manhattan Clam Salad with warm clams, mixed greens carmelized onions, roasted tomatoes and potatoes ($8). The two large crispy "purses" of phyllo were rich but not heavy and each of the ingredients shined and worked together very well. The Clam Salad was a nice change from the ordinary fares usually offered. The warm clams wilted the greens just slightly and blended well with the onions and tomatoes.

For his entree, Bob chose the Peppercorn Crusted Rack of Lamb with potatoes pave and wilted garlic spinach finished with cognac cream ($28). I chose the Stuffed Pork Chop filled with tasso ham, carmelized onions served with mascarpone garlic mashed potatoes and wilted spinach ($20). We also ordered a bottle of Laverjak Sancerre ($43) to go with the meal.

We were both very pleased with our selection. The large rack of lamb Bob was served was prepared to medium and he raved about the potatoes and enjoyed the spinach. My large bone-in chop was also prepared to my prefered medium and was moist and flavorful and the mashed potatoes and spinach were outstanding as well.

Our server, Dennis, did a great job all evening. Welcome bonvenu.

Be sure to check bonvenu out for yourself www.bonvenu.com

And a good time was had by all, dinner at Sensi

2010-01-11T09:25:00.003-05:00

We hear the hype on the newer restaurants in town. We go to them often hopeful and often leave disappointed. I am often baffled by the hype, especially when I have dinner at Sensi. For food, ambiance, service and overall experience no place matches Sensi when it comes to Richmond dining. This place does not get the recognition it deserves and if this humble blog can change that for even a day, I will be happy.

Paolo and staff not only know food and wine, but they also are experts at giving phenomenal customer service in a lovely atmosphere and make every occasion special for their guests.

On Friday night we arrived to meet our daughter and her fiance for dinner. At the bar, I had a glass of Prosecco and Bob and Peyton each had a Bitburger on draft and Mckenzie had a cosmopolitan.

Our table was ready when we were and the bottles of wine (one red, one white which I did not take adequate notes on as I did not partake) Bob ordered were waiting. We each reviewed the menu and the specials and as always everything looked so tempting it was hard to decide. Paolo was kind enough to send out a few appetizers: poached shrimp, fried oysters and proscuitto with tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. These were wonderful.

For dinner Peyton and I chose the King Salmon with "Sicilian" Capers, Limone "Puro", Manakintowne Micro Greens and Roasted Mediterranean Almonds. The large piece of salmon was cooked perfectly, seasoned perfectly and was as good as salmon gets. Mckenzie chose two first course pasta dishes: the Gnocchi with Light Marinara Sauce, Basil, Italian Fennel Sausage , Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Parmigiano Reggiano and the Tagliolini Pasta with Lump Crab, Capers Olive Oil Garlic ,Tomato and Peperoncino. Bob had the risotto special which was served with rosemary crusted lamb. Everyone raved on their dishes. For side we chose green beans, asparagus and red potato saute.

At Sensi, they use the highest quality of ingredients and prepare them wonderfully. The service is outstanding, they take reservations, have convenient free parking and a lovely atmosphere. There is no other place like it in Richmond. For a special night out, you will not be disappointed.
www.sensirestaurant.com.

Zen Asian Bistro. Yeah, it's in my neighborhood!

2009-11-13T09:44:00.002-05:00

Years ago I lived in the small town of Murfreesboro, NC. Pop 3000. Not much to be had in Murfreesboro, but the one Chinese restaurant had the best orange chicken I ever had and no other place in any other town had lived up to it, until Wednesday.

Wednesday night, Bob and I tried Zen Asian Bistro located in the Bellgrade Shopping Center at Robious and Huguenot Roads. I am so glad we did.

We arrived to this small restaurant with a lovely atmosphere and decided to eat at the bar. After reviewing the menu featuring a variety of Asian cuisines, we started with a bowl of Wonton Soup ($3.50) and an order of ribs ($7). A large bowl (plenty for two) was served with the required fried noodles and had a rich broth and tender wontons filled with well seasoned pork. Perfect for a rainy night. The ribs were outstanding as well. They were meaty and tender with a BBQ sauce which was perfectly balanced between savory and sweet. I could easily get these as a meal.

For entrees, Bob ordered the combo lo-mein ($9.95) and I ordered the Orange Chicken ($12). Bob was pleased with his lo-mein but the star of the show was definitely the chicken. White meat, not too heavily breaded and cooked in sauce with the right amount of red pepper, orange, and sweetness, with a touch of soy sauce added it took me back to the little place in Murfreesboro. I had the leftovers for lunch yesterday and am happy to report that the chicken held up very well in the microwave and didn't become something weird.

For a quiet dinner out or great take out, I definitely recommend Zen Asian Bistro. ZEN - Home

There's just something about Millie's.

2009-10-22T09:15:00.003-04:00

Tuesday night we had another fine meal at Millie's Diner. As I have written before, I love the consistency of Millie's but I also love how they constantly surprise me and take the experience of dining to a whole other level.

We arrived early and were greeted by Paul, Lisa and the staff and quickly caught up on happenings while reviewing the menu. We ordered two glasses of Graham Beck sparkling ($7) and as usual the menu had many things which made the short list.

We decided to share two appetizers, the duck ravioli with arugula pesto and sundried tomatoes ($9) and the cornmeal crusted fried oysters with a roasted poblano potato cake, fontina fondue and applewood bacon lardons ($10). Bob had finished his sparkling, so ordered a glass of Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone '07 ($8) to have with the appetizers.

The ravioli were tender and the bite of the arugula was a nice contrast to the meaty duck and to the sweetness of the sundried tomatoes. This was not a saucy ravioli; there was just enough pesto and tomato to compliment and let the ravioli shine. The oysters were plump and lightly breaded and the potato cake, the fondue and the bacon all worked together very well.

For entrees I ordered the pan seared Chilean sea bass with roasted baby carrots, French green lentils, roasted salsify and foie gras hollendaise ($28). Bob ordered the five spice roasted Cornish game hen with soba noodles, carmelized fennel broth, sugar snap peas and apple chicken sausage ($23). We also ordered a bottle of Cono Sur Vision Viognier '07 Chile ($27) to have with the meal.

My bass was perfect. Nice crust on the outside, tender and moist on the inside, it was the best fish I've had in a long time. The green lentils (I love lentils with fish) were tender but not mushy and the carrots provided a nice sweetness. The foie gras hollendaise, which could have easily overpowered the dish, added a nice richness to the lighter fare. Bob could not say enough good things about his dish either and we both cleaned our plates and made room for dessert. Our dessert was an apple strudel with vanilla gelato. Perfect for fall. The crust was buttery and tender, the apples not too tart or too sweet and as one would expect, the vanilla gelato made the dish.

Service was terrific, food was terrific, heck even the weather was terrific. It was a great date night. http://milliesdiner.com/

Balliceaux is so-so

2009-09-23T09:04:00.003-04:00

Balliceaux is the new kid in town and getting all the buzz. We've been there done that numerous times in Richmond. Sometimes the hype is warranted (Black Sheep, Lemaire, Cafe Rustica), other times it's not (Mezzanine, Cirrus, Dogwood Grill).

I wanted to be wowed by Balliceaux. I have been a fan of Russell Cook's dishes for many years and my hopes were high. I was a bit disappointed.

I was not disappointed in the atmosphere. It's a beautiful restaurant.

We arrived and Mckenzie and Peyton were waiting for us at the bar. I had a glass of Villa Appalacchia Pinot Grigio ($9). I am generally not a big fan of Virginia wines but this was very nice.

We were seated, bread with oil and water were served and for appetizers we ordered raw oysters ($12), crab cakes ($13) and the ham and cheese baguette with truffle fries ($9). The oysters were watery and flavorless. The crab cakes were good, but small and the horseradish accompaniment was fresh grated horseradish which was a bit off putting. I think a horseradish sauce would have worked much better in flavor and texture. I did not have any of the ham and cheese but it was well received by everyone and the truffle fries were crisp and flavorful.

For entrees Bob and I ordered the cremini mushroom carbonara with buccatini, smoked tomatoes, ricotta and farm fresh egg ($15). Mckenzie ordered the heritage burger with truffle fries ($10) and Peyton ordered the halibut ($20). The carbonara was fine, but did not seem like carbonara at all. The tomatoes and mushrooms overpowered the dish and the flavor and creaminess of the ricotta was hard to find. Mckenzie enjoyed her burger, which was cooked to the requested medium rare. Peyton had the best entree of the night and declared his halibut to be very good. With the meal we had a bottle of Domaine de Rome '07 Sancerre ($40) and Bob had a glass of d'Alba Dolcetto ($7).

Our server John did a very good job and helpful with input and recommendations.

Overall, our meal was fine but not outstanding. I would go back with friends who wanted to go or if I happened to be in the area. I think the potential is there and I recognize they opened very recently and likely have been overwhelmed by the positive press and popularity of the their place. I wish them all the best and will give them some time and try it again. Balliceaux Restaurant :: 203 N. Lombardy Street, Richmond, VA

A super-terrific experience in Atlanta....dinner at Rathbun's

2009-09-16T10:27:00.004-04:00

This year I was fortunate to celebrate my birthday in Atlanta. It was a great weekend, despite the Hokies losing to Alabama. Dinner at Rathbun's was the culinary highlight.

Chef Kevin Rathbun, along with his brother Kent (who has his own restaurant in Dallas) beat Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America in "Battle Elk"and I was intriqued and took advantage of the opportunity to try one of the Rathbun brothers' restaurants.

Located in the old Stoveworks building, it is spacious and modern with lots of stainless but keeping the feel of being in an older site.

We were early and decided to order a bottle of Gruet Blanc de Noirs ($44) while we were waiting. This is one benefit of taking a cab to dinner. Gruet is one of our standby sparklings...it is dry and crisp and one would never guess it is from New Mexico.

We were seated along an outside wall of numerous tables and while the tables may seem too close together for some, it provided camaraderie throughout the evening and we were fortunate to be seated next to two fun and outgoing parties. I always enjoy making new friends and those who know me know I have never met a stranger.

We reviewed the menu and there were so many things we wanted to try and after consulting with our lovely waitress Shalini, we made our selections.

We started the meal with the Lamb Scaloppini with Pancetta and Goat Gouda ($8.25). The lamb was perfectly cooked and very tender and we were very pleased with the selection. We also shared the Greek Wedge with Cucumbers, Sweet Peppers Feta Cheese & Toasted Oregano Vinaigrette ($6.25) which they were nice enough to split for us. We wanted something flavorful, but not rich and this fit the bill.

For our entrees I chose the Crispy Duck Breast with Thai Risotto and Green Curry Essence ($23.75). Recently I have become increasingly fond of duck and this was one of the best duck breasts I have had. It was prepared medium rare and the Thai risotto had just the right amount of spice and creamy with a touch of coconut milk along with the curry.

Bob chose one of the specials, the 16 oz dry aged New York Strip served with purple bliss potatoes ($41.95) along with a side of Charred Corn & Gouda Cheese ($6.50). Bob deemed this one of the best, if not the best, steaks he's ever had.

Bob had a bottle of Fin du Monde beer ($6.50) with his meal and I had a glass of Chateau Sancerre ($13.50) with mine.

Since it was my birthday, they sent me a complimentary Peanut Butter Creme Brulee for dessert with "Happy Birthday" drizzled around the plate in chocolate and thankfully with no singing. We also ordered one of the Chef's Favorite Four samplings ($11) which included the Creme Brulee, a miniature Red Velvet cake, a Mini Chocolate Cube with Mexican Chocolate Mousse and the Dark Chocolate Orange Cheesecake with Grand Marnier Sabayon. Being extremely festive, Bob had a snifter of Amareto di Sarona ($7.50) and I had a glass of Smith Woodhouse 10 year Port ($8.50).

The evening could not have been better. Outstanding food, phenomenal service, great atmosphere and lots of festive people, including the nice couple from Alabama with whom we shared a cab back to the hotel and made my 45th birthday very special.

If you are in Atlanta, definitely go to Rathbun's
http://www.rathbunsrestaurant.com/cuisine.htm

A birthday feast....Mediteranneo

2009-09-08T15:09:00.003-04:00

For my in town birthday dinner (we were in Atlanta for my actual birthday, post to follow) I chose Mediterraneo located at the corner of Winterfield and Robious in Midlothian. For my birthday dinner, I tend towards the places I feel special, which generally means a neighborhood place that not only makes great food but also ensures a great time.

For me, one of those places is Mediterraneo and since this is my first birthday since they opened, I decided it would be the place.

We sat at our usual place at the bar and had a glass of Albarino and reminisced with Joe about a ravioli dish (chocolate pasta stuffed with pheasant in a butter sauce) he let us try the week before when we had stopped in for a glass of wine. Joe is in the process of tweaking the menu and making some changes for fall and this unique offering should definitely be on there. The pasta was not chocolaty in the traditional sense, instead it brought a savory richness to the dish. I had never had pheasant and found both the texture and the flavor pleasing and the light butter sauce balanced it all out.

Now, on to the birthday dinner. I asked Joe to chose my birthday dinner for me. I am glad I did. Bob decided to have the same thing I did and he's glad he did. Joe started us out with a lovely shrimp salad. Medium shrimp poached to perfection and marinated in olive oil, citrus (not sure if it was lime, lemon or both), lots of fresh herbs, carrots and celery and served over mixed greens. This was a great summer salad and the marinade made a perfect dipping sauce for the homemade bread sticks and Foccacia.

Our entree consisted of tortoloni stuffed with fava beans, prosciutto and mascapone served in a brown butter sage sauce. This was one of the best pasta dishes I've had in a long time. Joe makes all of his own pasta and a dish like this takes full advantage of that fresh pasta. We also shared a bottle of Pinocchio with the meal.

Thank you Joe for making my birthday very special. I can't wait for the new fall menu to come out. .:: Mediterraneo Fine Cuisine ::.

Another good dinner at Millie's Diner

2009-08-13T09:52:00.003-04:00

Tuesday night, Bob and I decided we were due a date night. Millie's always makes the date night short list and with good reason. Consistent but always surprising you...it's both the expected and unexpected.

We arrived and it was early enough not to be swamped and took our place in a booth in the back room and ordered two glasses of Graham Beck Brut ($8/each). This dry, crispy bubbly is a nice way to get the evening started.

We decided to share two appetizers: the fried green tomatoes with roasted red pepper, arugula, hazelnuts and blue cheese vinaigrette ($8) and the stuffed local poblano peppers with chorizo, corn, black beans, rice and white cheddar cheese ($8). The tomatoes were crisp with a corn break crust and this dish was a nice cross between a salad and an appetizer. The peppers were amazingly flavorful without being heavy.

For entrees Bob ordered the roasted pork chop loin stuffed with plantains, pancetta and sage with mascarpone grits and pea shoots (the dish is served with asparagus, but they made the substitution for Bob who doesn't like asparagus) ($26). I ordered the melted leek and asparagus risotto with baby spinach, squash and oven roasted tomatoes ($19). We also ordered a bottle of Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone, '07 France ($29).

Bob was very pleased with his. The pork was slightly overcooked, but the stuffing and grits saved the day. My risotto was outstanding and one of the best risottos and one of the best vegetarian dishes I've had. The vegetables were cooked perfectly and the rice creamy. I look forward to making my leftovers into risotto cakes this weekend.

Millie's is a Richmond standard and with good reason. Paul, Lisa and staff consistently provide good service (a shout out to our server Kendra who did a great job) and wonderfully innovative food in a funky atmosphere. http://milliesdiner.com/

A nice summer dinner at Chez Max

2009-08-05T09:26:00.004-04:00

Chez Max is one of the closest restaurants to us and one we have a tendency to take for granted. Classic French food is often thought of as "old school" but I don't believe that is the case. It's a comforting cuisine that leaves one satisfied without the feeling of overindulgence other comfort foods often bring.

Last Friday, Bob and I had a great meal at Chez Max. One thing I love about Chez Max is they take reservations and even if it's last minute and they are busy, they will do all they can to fit you in.

We arrived and Annie (one of the owners and the hostess) welcomed us with the familiarity of seeing an old friend.

We were seated and each ordered a glass of the house Brut ($8.95) while reviewing the menu. Our server, Rollin, apprised us of the specials and we decided to share a bowl of the She Crab Soup ($7.95) and the Warm Vermont Goat Cheese and Portabello Mushrooms with Shallots and Red Wine Vinaigrette ($9.95). The soup was creamy and full of crab and had a touch of sherry. The goat cheese was tangy and the mushrooms and dressing cut the richness of the cheese to make for a very good appetizer.

For entrees, Bob chose one of favorite dishes, the Veal Tenderloin sautéed with mushrooms served with a Cognac Cream sauce ($26.95). I stepped out of my usual box (I've been doing that a lot lately and it's working well for me) and ordered the Grilled Lamb Chops with garlic, thyme, rosemary served with a Merlot sauce ($28.95). All of the entrees come with a simple but terrific mixed green salad with house dressing and are served with the chef's starch and vegetable (mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans). We also ordered a bottle of Chateau Ferrande 2005 Red Bordeaux ($48) to have with the meal.

Bob's veal was it's usual terrific self....tender and richly flavored. My lamb chops were great. Four lollipop chops, cut thickly, well seasoned and cooked to a perfect medium rare.

As always, Chez Max served a wonderful meal with terrific service in a welcoming atmosphere. Chez Max is located at 10622 Patterson Avenue, just west of Pump Road. They are open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner. http://chezmaxva.com/home.htm.

Please say it isn't so..... is Sensi closed?

2009-08-04T09:34:00.003-04:00

I called Sensi last night and again this morning and the message is the phone has been temporarily disconnected. Does anyone know what is going on? Phone fluke? Or worse, have they closed?

I am very much hoping it's a fluke or something other than them closing. Sensi

Good food, good friends, good times....dinner at Lemaire

2009-07-27T08:52:00.004-04:00

Ever since the date of Lemaire's reopening was made public, I have been anxious for that date to arrive. The former Lemaire was a place Bob and I went to a few times a year for a celebration such as our wedding anniversary or the like and it was with excitement but some trepidation we decided to try it out Friday night.

What I love about the new Lemaire is they have expanded their appeal without sacrificing quality. It verifies change can be good...something Richmonders often do not believe (the fallout from the potential sale of Ukrops verifies that theory). In this case, I believe the changes will be good for Lemaire, The Jefferson Hotel and for Richmond diners.

We arrived on Friday night to meet our friends Don and Chena. There was a nice gathering of people from the after work crowd, a couple of moms-daughters, some friends and a few who were having a date night. The atmosphere, staff and menu all state "welcome" in their own way.

Bob had his usual Beefeater and tonic ($8) while I had a glass of Poully Fuisse ($10). We reviewed the bar menu and agreed it's perfect for those nights when you want to have a number of small plates with friends while enjoying cocktails or simply dinner at the bar. Their signature cocktail list ($10/each) do not consist of your usual suspects, but each item offers new twist on standard favorites.

Don and Chena arrived and we are seated. Bob ordered a bottle of Albarino ($3o) to share while we reviewed the menu. It was a case of wanting to try many things and pleased that since Lemaire is now as much of a Tuesday night place as anniversary treat, chances are we'll be back more often than in the past.

For appetizers, Don requested two orders of the raw oysters for all of us to share ($14). Each order consisted of two Rappahannock oysters, two Mobjack Bay and two Chincoteagues Olde Salts. Fresh and briny, these were excellent. Chena ordered the summer fruit with Camembert, local greens and surryano ham ($10). The saltiness of the ham balanced out the sweetness of the fruit and the cheese was a very good accompaniment. I ordered the fried green tomatoes with gulf shrimp, smoked sausage, sunflower shoots and blue cheese vinaigrette ($9). These were some of the best fried green tomatoes I've ever had. Very crusty, but not heavy with each item bringing something to the dish which pulled it all together. Bob ordered the brandy-peppercorn dusted beef tartare with shaved Parmesan, arugula and horseradish sauce($9). This was very flavorful and a nice contrast to my tomato dish.

For entrees Don ordered the Virginia bison rib eye with summer ratatouille, roasted corn polenta, Maytag blue cheese and garden thyme jus ($30). He seemed very pleased with his selection. Chena ordered the crab cakes with cucumber, grilled onion and tomato relish, baby spinach and garden dill cream ($29). These looked fabulous with lots of lump crab and little filler as Lemaire has been famous for in years past. Bob ordered the roasted chicken with buttermilk-chive potatoes, English peas and horseradish cream ($23). Bob loves a good roasted chicken and adore peas and he was not disappointed. The chicken was cut French style on the bone and prepared perfectly. I stepped out of my usual box and ordered the pork chop with mac and cheese, collards and coca-cola BBQ ($24). This was the single best pork chop I've ever had. Brined for flavor and tenderness, cooked to a perfect medium, it was moist and juicy and everything a pork chop should be. The mac and cheese was very good (and surprisingly light) and the collards represented the South very well. Don ordered a bottle of Babera Enotoria Mendocino '05 ($38) to have with the meal that worked with with our varied items.

And yes, there was room for dessert. Bob and Don shared the cheese platter ($10) consisting of various Virginia cheeses. Chena chose the peach cobbler ($7) with bourbon caramel and candied pecans. I adore panna cotta and chose their buttermilk panna cotta ($7) with Ashland blackberry compote and orange zest. This was the perfect end to a wonderful meal. We left very satisfied and looking forward to our next visit.

I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this evening. Jeff and Jason, our servers, did a terrific job. Chef Walter Bundy is still doing his part to introduce people to great Virginia and Southern fare and the atmosphere is as lovely as it was in years past. We have a new go-to spot and a new place to recommend regardless of the occasion. http://lemairerestaurant.com/

Saturday night in Crozier....dinner at The North Pole

2009-07-22T12:49:00.003-04:00

We are fortunate to live relatively close to The North Pole on Route 6 in Crozier as it is the perfect place when you want a great steak but don't feel like (a) making your own or (b) going to a fancier place, like Flemings or Ruth's Chris.

Dick Rossi is the master of steak. The North Pole is the one place I know my steak will be perfectly trimmed, seasoned and prepared. The North Pole offers a variety of steak options, as well as very good, fresh seafood such as jumbo shrimp stuffed with crab, fried shrimp and crab legs. The North Pole has a number of "red sauce" Italian dishes such as manicotti and baked spaghetti, and while these are good representations, it's the meat and seafood that are worth the trip.

Saturday night Bob and I were in the mood for a great steak, and were not disappointed. Bob ordered the rib-eye ($29.95) with a baked potato and I ordered the filet Mignon ($34.95) with fries. All of the entrees include salad and while the salad itself is fresh but unremarkable, the homemade salad dressings are such that it's worth the indulgence to have the blue cheese...creamy with nice chunks of blue cheese throughout. We also shared an order of the homemade onion rings ($4.95). Bob washed his meal down with a Bass Ale; I chose Guinness.

Our server, Donna, kept everything on track and contributed to the pleasantness of the evening.

If you want a very good meal and it's a lovely evening for a drive into Goochland, I definitely recommend The North Pole.

A nice date night with Bob...dinner at Six Burner

2009-07-20T09:38:00.003-04:00

Since mid-June, we've had one thing after another happen on the home front and most of it not very joyful and I needed a true date night with my husband. While we eat out very often, date nights are still something that have to be consciously worked into the schedule.

Last Wednesday we decided date night would be at Six Burner. I am glad we did. Six Burner takes reservations and when we arrived at our appointed time, we were seated promptly. While reviewing the menu, I had a glass of Pinot Gris, 07, Eola Hills, Willamette Valley, OR ($8) and Bob had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, 07, Unique, Loire Valley, FR ($9).

Since it was date night, we decided to splurge on the Chef's Tasting Menu....five courses selected by the Chef for $45/person. I love tasting menus and the kitchen happily considered Bob's dislike of fin fish, asparagus, Brussels sprouts and beets when determining our dishes.

The first course was a salad of Hanover tomatoes with mixed greens and balsamic dressing. While very simple, this was delicious and a light first course. Second course was braised pork belly served over cheddar cheese grits. This was my favorite dish of the evening and the pork was very tender but not mushy and grits complimented the pork perfectly. Our third course was gnocchi with a parmesan sauce. The sauce was cheesy but not heavy and the gnocchi had a very nice potato flavor and were nice and light. Our fourth course was a large seared scallop over lobster mashed potatoes. Scallop is my least favorite shellfish, but this one was cooked perfectly and very sweet. I love lobster mashed potatoes and these did not disappoint. Our fifth course was seared duck breast over polenta. I am generally not a big fan of duck, but this course converted me. It flavorful but not gamey (as I often find duck to be) and the polenta gave a nice contrast in texture. Our sixth course (hey, look we got an extra course...thanks Chef!) was a trio of sorbets consisting of raspberry, passion fruit and espresso. These were the perfect end to a great meal.

For our wine with dinner we chose a 2007 Patricia Green Pinot Noir ($50) and it went well with nearly every course. Our total after tax but before tip was $175.

Our compliments to the kitchen and also to our server, Thomas, who did a great job. Six Burner is a good place to visit with friends or have a romantic night with that special someone. Six Burner is located at 1627 West Main St., in Richmond's Fan District. Six Burner

A great sandwich in Carytown....lunch at Coppola's Deli

2009-07-16T09:19:00.003-04:00

Regular readers of my blog know I love finding great lunch places. In some ways, lunch is my favorite meal of the day. Finding great sandwiches definitely contributes to my lunch favoritism.

I was in Carytown for lunch yesterday and Coppola's caught my eye. Unassuming on the outside with great Italian deli sandwiches on the inside, Coppola's is a Carytown treasure.

I reviewed the menu and several sandwiches caught my eye, but the Cheese Colombo was the one that made the cut. This unique sandwich consists of Swiss, provolone, NY cheddar, laid over onions and hot & sweet peppers on the grill, after cheese browns & forms crust it is placed on a freshly baked roll with lettuce,tomatoes, and oil and vinegar. It did not disappoint on any level. From the crusty warm bread to the cheese crust to in-season tomatoes, this sandwich hit the spot and is a good deal at $6.50. I selected a Diet Dr. Brown Cream Soda to wash it down.

I definitely will make the lunchtime journey more often to Carytown for lunch at Coppola's. The menu includes deli favorites, but also a number of sandwiches that are truly their own. The high quality of the ingredients used along with the expert staff make Coppola's the go-to sandwich place in Carytown. They are located in Carytown at 2900 West Cary Street. They are open Mon - Wednesday 11am - 8pm, Thursday - Saturday 11am - 9pm, and Sunday 10am - 4 pm.

They also sell a nice selection of Italian foods, as well as meats and cheeses sliced on premise.
http://www.coppolasdeli.com/index.php

We're happy to have you here....Mediterraneo.

2009-06-23T10:44:00.006-04:00

This post is not about one meal or one experience, but recognition of our favorite neighborhood place. Neighborhood restaurants are such a staple to a community bringing a sense of camaraderie along with the good food and service that goes into being a place that knows your name, or at least recognizes your face.

Bob and I watched the progress anxiously when Mediterraneo was being built at the corner of Winterfield and Robious Roads in Midlothian last year. We were so excited that an Italian place was opening just a few minutes from home. Our first night I told Bob I would be heartbroken if the place sucked. My heart was not broken at all.

Mediterraneo has become one of our go-to spots. When we want a good meal, friendly service, a nice glass of wine, or see who is out and about in Midlothian, we know we can count on Joe Lo Presti, his family and staff. Whether it’s a great pizza to-go with their terrific Mediterranean salad full of feta and house roasted red peppers or a comforting plate of fettuccine Alfredo made with their homemade pasta and Parmesan Regianno, we know we’ll be taken care of. The specials are indeed special with selections such as clams sautéed in wine and tomatoes and served with lump crab. This is a perfect dip for their homemade bread and bread sticks. The veal saltimbocca is tender, warm and comforting and often Bob and I will share that along with a side of gnocchi or pasta. The wine list is extensive and thoughtful with a nice selection by the glass as well as the bottle.

For Bob's birthday last month, our daughter Mckenzie and her fiance Peyton hosted a small party for him at Mediterraneo. I cannot say enough wonderful things about how Joe, Chip and their entire staff made this event extraordinary. It was the perfect place to celebrate with family and close friends.

Joe prides himself on using the highest quality of ingredients and making virtually everything in house. This extra effort definitely pays off whether it’s a simple white pizza or a pasta dish filled with a variety of seafood in a lovely red sauce.

Thanks Joe. And welcome to the neighborhood. We are glad to have you here.
.:: Mediterraneo Fine Cuisine ::.

Dinner at Comfort...definitely worth the drive

2009-06-18T09:36:00.002-04:00

Comfort is one of those places Bob and I don’t frequent as much as we would like. In our case, distance is usually the factor as it’s a bit of a haul from our home, but when we make the journey, we are glad we did.

Tuesday night, we had a great dinner with the terrific food and service we’ve come to love and expect from Comfort. Upon arrival, our server Alexis seated us promptly and after reviewing the menu and wine list we ordered a bottle of Floriano Verdicchio ($25) and a basket of fried okra with remoulade ($7) to start. The wine was crisp and dry and the okra fried perfectly and the remoulade made for a great dipping sauce. Alexis also brought us bread and cornbread, which is exactly the way I like my cornbread. It’s not sweet at all, a little dense and bordering on crumbly.

I ordered my usual, fried catfish, and side of braised greens and squash casserole ($16). Bob ordered the roasted chicken, with side of mac and cheese and corn ($17). I just love the catfish and collards doused with their hot pepper vinegar and the squash is a nice contrast. This trio is one of my favorite meals in Richmond. Bob was pleased with his chicken and corn and said the mac and cheese was better than ever.

Comfort is one place we always save room for dessert. The banana pudding crème brulee ($6.50) with a moist crust of vanilla wafer crumbs topped with custard and a crispy sugary crust of sliced bananas is a great way to end a southern meal.

We definitely need to make that drive more often. Comfort is located on Broad, just east of Belvidere at 200 W. Broad St. Comfort - Richmond, VA

Belle Vie...a place with potential, but initially disappointing

2009-06-16T09:13:00.001-04:00

Friday night Bob and I decided to check out the newest restaurant in Midlothian, Belle Vie, located on Alverser Drive in the former Bookbinders Grill location.

Always hopeful when a new place opens, we were anxious to try Belle Vie. According to their website “Belle Vie will be the new sophisticated hotspot for Richmond’s fine diners to come and relax. Although the menu will be European, it will specialize in French and Belgian cuisine - all homemade from fresh, local produce.” That sounded good to me.

We arrived and sat at the bar. The made some changes to the Bookbinders décor which softened the feel of the place. We flagged down one of the two bartenders to get a wine by the glass list. We review it and are disappointed. Overpriced and under-selected with very few offerings from France and heavy on the domestics, we opted instead for a bottle of French white, a Graves for $18/bottle. The wines by the bottle were nearly as disappointing as the wines by the glass. And the beer list, which received a lot of pre-opening press, was not impressive either.

The wine arrives and the bartender tells us it needs to be chilled some as it is 59 degrees. We ask him to open it and give us a taste while it rests in the ice. We have to stop him from pouring the wine to the top of the large wine goblets. Throughout the night, for any service from either bartender, we had to flag them down. We also had to remind them we had the bottle in the ice.

We were meeting friends there and when they arrived, we flag down the bartender to take their order and get a menu for an appetizer and eventually order it. Croquettes de Fromage ($7.99) arrive as two nice sized, deep brown croquettes with a small accompaniment of greens. I did not try them, but Bob and our friends deemed them very good.

We review the menu and I ordered a small Caesar salad ($4.99) and Bob ordered a small green salad ($4.99). I decide on a 8 oz Filet Mignon ($22.99) with a side of au gratin potatoes (the deal of the night at $1.95). Bob chose the Carbonnade à la Flamande ($18.95) which is a traditional Belgian beef stew slow cooked in Belgian ale and an order of white rice ($1.95). He asked for a side of creamed spinach as well ($2.95). The menu indicates the filet comes with a choice of sauces, but I failed to notice and the bartender does not mention it either. He also failed to ask how I wanted the steak prepared so I ask for the steak to be rare to medium rare.

Both of the salads are fine, but not memorable. My steak arrives and is a bit overcooked (closer to medium than medium rare) with a small side of salad greens. The potatoes are very good and the star of the meal. Bob’s stew arrives and while the broth is very good, the meat is tough, dry and flavorless. The rice was standard and he mixed it into the stew. The spinach did not arrive and we finally told the staff not to worry about it, just to make sure we were not charged for it.

For dessert we ordered the Sabayon ($6.95). I was unaware this would be served warm and I prefer it cold, but it was nice and light, if not the best choice.

I believe, especially in these times, many businesses do not succeed due to poor execution of product and/or poor management, rather than the often blamed “bad economy.” This holds true for the largest and smallest of businesses. On Friday night, Belle Vie had a nice crowd of Midlothian locals, but there are significant areas of service and food and wine that need to be addressed for them to succeed. I hope they are willing and able to make those adjustments and achieve great success. Belle Vie About Us

You can go home again.....dinner at Italian Kitchen West

2009-06-15T08:16:00.002-04:00

Few restaurants have been in business Richmond as long as Vinny’s Italian Kitchen West located at 8115 West Broad St. has, 46 years. For me Italian Kitchen is about much more than great Italian food, it’s about my childhood.

During my first visit to Italian Kitchen, I was seated in their “Tom Thumb” booster chair. I was two or three at the time. Today I am 44.

Thursday was my first visit there in nearly twenty years. Why had it been so long? I could make excuses such as it’s too far from home now or the like, but the reality is part of me was afraid of being disappointed. With my fond memories of Friday night dinners with my parents and brother, later years of take out and Mommy-Daughter dinners, pizza with my friends as a teen and my first dinner home when visiting from college, Italian Kitchen is one place which brings back a flood of wonderful memories from a nearly idyllic childhood I took very much for granted at the time.

This year when my brother Bill chose Italian Kitchen for his 57th birthday, I knew it was about more than getting some great pasta, veal or pizza. It was about returning to a place that meant so much to our family.

We arrived to meet Bill and it seemed like many years since I’d been there but then again it seemed like it was just yesterday as well. Memories of my parents who have been gone many years, friends I’ve lost touch with, and comfort food that set my standard for what Italian food should be, rushed through my mind. I was home.

We arrived and aside from the addition of some booths, things were pretty much as I remembered. We are seated and review the menu and decisions are ready to be made. Bob ordered a bottle of Chianti and we ordered an antipasto for the table. This was the dud dish of the night and was not the one filled with salamis, cheeses, olives, pepperocini and the like we remembered, but a lot of iceberg lettuce with very few accompaniments.

Bill ordered the lasagna and said it was great. Bob ordered a combo dish of lasagna, chicken parmesan and stuffed shells. He said everything was fine but that the lasagna was by far the best. I ordered a combo dish of spaghetti with pepperoni, meatballs and sausage. Each were just as I remembered and all of our dishes were covered with that wonderful red sauce Italian Kitchen does so well.

There was no room for dessert. Instead Bill and I each ordered a pizza to go to snack on over the weekend. I love pepperoni pizza and it’s the pizza I judge a pizza place on. This is arguably the best pizza in Richmond and is definitely in the top three and it amazes me how many people in the near West End have no idea that such fabulous pizza is a short drive away. Very thin crust, amble sauce to the edge, great toppings and some of the best mozzarella around make for a great pie. Reheated in a hot, dry skillet it did not suffer from it’s short time in the refrigerator. And while I may not cross the river just for spaghetti, I definitely would for this pie. Italian Kitchen West

There's a new kid in town and they are doing it right....dinner at Coast.

2009-06-04T08:06:00.006-04:00

It's always struck me as odd that Richmond does not have a great, reliable seafood place. Of course we have places that do seafood well, but when one is in the mood for seafood, doesn't want it fried, and not sure what they want, I have been at a loss at where to frequent or recommend.

Now I have a place.....Coast. Coast is located "on the avenues" on Grove near Libbie and is brought to us by the owners of Enoteco Sogno, but it's a completely different menu and vibe.

The small restaurant is cozy but not cramped and the decor is cool and inviting.

We arrived last night and were promptly seated in a corner booth (yeah!) and our server, Mickie (not sure if I am spelling her name correctly), brought us menus and a wine list to get us started. We ordered a couple of glasses to Albarino while we reviewed the small, but very thoughtful menu. I love when a place offers many things I would like to try and Coast fits that bill.

We went with Mickey's recommendation to start and shared the roasted red pepper soup with jumbo lump crab ($8). A large bowl (and two spoons) arrived with a deep red creamy goodness and the bottom filled with the promised jumbo lump crab. This was terrific soup. We also ordered a bottle of an Italian rose' to have with the meal.

We also decided to share an appetizer of mussels poached in white wine, garlic, shallot, parsley and roasted tomato puree (12). These were some of the best mussels I've ever had...large and tender, perfectly poached and the broth was scrumptious and Mickey made certain we did not run out of bread for dipping.

Our entrees arrived and the fun continued. Bob ordered the jumbo lump crab cakes with basil aioli ($28). These were as promised with lots of well seasoned crab and very little filler and pan fried to give them a nice crust on the outside and stay moist on the inside. These were served with fresh tagiatelle pasta and haricot verts...a nice change from the usual suspects.

I ordered the shrimp and grits with oven roasted tomatoes and garlic sherry cream ($20). Eight large, perfectly cooked shrimp were served over the creamiest of cheese grits and the tomatoes and sherry cream brought the dish together beautifully. And a serving of the haricot verts accompanied my dish as well.

The atmosphere, the service and the food were spot on. A great menu, nice wine selection, friendly but not overbearing staff make going to Coast a great way to spend the evening and we now have a new place in our regular rotation. Good job guys. I am looking forward to trying Coast for lunch as well. Coast

Thanks Brandon for the friendly reminder....great tacos at La Milpa

2009-06-03T13:18:00.002-04:00

As usual, I arrived at work this morning thinking about what to have for lunch. As luck would have it, Brandon Fox's review in this week's Style Weekly, reminded me how much I love the tacos at La Milpa.

La Milpa is a combination Mexican restaurant, market, bakery and convenient store. Located at 6925 Hull Street Road, just west of Chippenham Parkway, this is real deal Mexican, not the Americanized version so prevalent in Richmond.

I decided on my usual, three soft tacos al pastor. Tender corn tortillas are filled with marinated and grilled pork and topped with cilantro, onion and a small amount of pineapple. Don't be scared off by the pineapple as it makes the taco. I garnished with a small amount of two of the red salsas offered at the salsa bar and life was good....very good.

I am anxious to try many of La Milpa's other offerings, but it's hard to get away from those tacos.

Just for clarification......

2009-06-01T09:38:00.003-04:00

-I have never been associated with any media in any market. I have never sold advertising nor have I ever worked on commission.

-I work full time managing a business that has nothing to do with the restaurant or food industries.

-I did not start this blog to go after any business or with any other agenda of ill intent.

-My opinions are my own. I do not claim to be an expert and I have no issue with differing opinions. People can decide for themselves how credible my opinions are.

-However, I do take issue with false accusations in regard to me or my character.

One of Richmond's true gems....breakfast at The Black Sheep

2009-05-27T09:37:00.004-04:00

The Black Sheep is one of those places that every time Bob and I go there we tell each other we need to go more often. Not only does it not disappoint, but it constantly surprises us and brings both the expected and the unexpected. Consistent enough to be reliable, but innovative enough to be surprising....a balance many restaurants never achieve. A comfortable setting, eclectically decorated, with friendly service, it is casual but would work for a date as well.

Breakfast last Saturday was terrific. Starting with a couple of cups of their outstanding coffee (arguably one of the best cups of Joe in town), we reviewed the menu. One thing I love about The Black Sheep is while looking over the menu for one meal, you can also review the menus for offerings during the rest of the day.

I knew going in what I wanted....biscuits and gravy. At $4 this is a great deal and price aside is one of the best comfort breakfasts in town. Bob had a more difficult time deciding and chose the Captain frittata ($9) which consisted of shrimp, crab, horseradish, dill, tomato, & green onion. The breakfast sides at $2/each are outstanding. We chose to share the smashed potato and the homemade applesauce (what a nice surprise to see on the menu). The potato is as described a smashed potato crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. The homemade applesauce was a wonderful blast from the past and what came to mind were the memories of my grandmother and aunts who would make their own applesauce back in the day. The sauce was nice and chunky, well spiced and neither too sweet or too tart. I later regretted not getting an order to take home.

Whatever the time of day, if you are in the Marshall Street/ VCU area, The Black Sheep should be on the short list of places to go. They are open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. More information can be found on their website www.theblacksheeprva.com.

So, it's been a year.......

2009-05-20T09:38:00.003-04:00

I started this little blog a year ago today and it's been an adventure.

I wondered if anyone would read it. And yes you have.

I wondered if anyone would comment. And yes you have.

I've learned a lot in the past year...about myself, the Richmond foodie community and Richmonders in general.

Thank you all for your support, your comments and for taking the time to make me part of your day.

Janet

A wonderful date night with Bob....dinner at Millie's

2009-05-12T09:25:00.003-04:00

Millie's Diner is my favorite "date night" place with Bob. Since we go out often it's easy to get in the routine of having dinner with friends, Mckenzie and her fiance Peyton, or grabbing a quick casual dinner at some of our favorite places and neglect a true "date night."

Saturday we had a date. Started with cocktails at Havana 59 (the weather was perfect for this) and then headed to Millie's. We were early enough that we did not have to wait and was thrilled that the lovely Kathryn was our server for the evening.

We had a couple of glasses of Graham Beck sparkling to start while we reviewed the menu and caught up with the staff on how life was treating them.

Bob started with the salad of wild organic greens with sundried tomato and roasted garlic vinaigrette ($6). I had the Caesar salad with marinated Alici anchovies ($7). I love Millie's Caesar salad and it did not disappoint.

We ordered a bottle of Shaps & Roucher-Sarrazin Mersault '04 from France for $60. Dry and crisp it went very well with our dinner.

Bob ordered the herb roasted New Zealand rack of lamb which was served with fingerling potatoes, ratatouille, saffron-tomato nage and Kalamata vinaigrette ($27). I stepped out of the box and ordered the pan seared softshell crabs with horseradish spiked polenta, pancetta, sunflower shoots and rhubarb jam ($24). I had never ordered softshells before (have tasted them from friend's plates in the past) and thought Millie's would be a good place to try them. I was right.

The three softshell crabs were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside (I now get the softshell hoopla) and the polenta had a nice bite from the horseradish which complimented the sweet crab very well.

Bob was very pleased with his perfectly cooked lamb and flavorful ratatouille as evidenced by lamb bones being the only thing left on the plate.

The food and service were great, the weather was great and I could not have asked for a better date night. Their website is milliesdiner.com. They are opened for lunch Tuesday-Friday, Saturday and Sunday brunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.

And suddenly it was the 1970's all over again....lunch at The Dairy Bar

2009-05-06T13:34:00.003-04:00

Some of my fondest childhood memories involve grilled cheese and chocolate malts.....at Mayberry's in the Westland Shopping Center. Lunch with Mom was a weekly event and a memory I very much treasure now that I am a 44 year-old orphan.

Even though my beloved Mayberry's is now a Thai restaurant, yesterday's lunch at The Dairy Bar took me back to that special time and place.

The Dairy Bar is located just off Broad on Roseneath Road. It's in an unassuming building, but is a hidden treasure and a part of Richmond history that is often overlooked.

The interior is simply decorated with a counter and wooden booths throughout. The menu is classic diner....traditional breakfast fare, sandwiches, soups, a few entrees and daily specials, and a wide variety of milkshakes.

Feeling reminiscent and thinking of my Mom this Mother's Day week, I had a grilled cheese on rye with fries and a chocolate malt. The sandwich was simple and flat and melty.....love me a nice flat grilled cheese (the way God intended) with a melty center. Fries were fresh and hot and my guess fried to order. The malt......mmmmmmmmmmm...........made with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, milk and malt it was perfect.

Service was very good, the place is reasonably priced and while not the most gourmet of lunches, it's simple comfort food done well.

The Dairy Bar is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday and brunch on Sundays. The address is 1602 Roseneath Road. The phone number is 804-355-1937. And when you go, be sure to get a shake or malt. You will not regret it.

I'm on a roll...another great place for a quick, inexpensive lunch, Jerusaleum Market and Deli

2009-04-29T08:46:00.004-04:00

I love falafel. I could probably eat falafel every day. Finding falafel near my office (or anywhere in Richmond) has been a challenge.

And then I discovered the Jerusalem Market and Deli at the 360 West Shopping Center on Hull Street just west of Chippenham Parkway. This unassuming place tucked beside Auto Zone is a little gem. The market section has a ton of various items that peak my curiosity and overwhelm me all at the same time, so I head to the deli counter. Lots of Halah meats, hummus, a variety of Mideastern salads and standards and a very helpful gentleman behind the counter.

I order my falafel sandwich and for $4.99 it's a great deal. Freshly made falafel on a housemade 12" pita with lettuce, tomato, green pepper, tahini sauce and spices, this is true comfort food, hearty and satisfying. And I get my falafel fix.

I am anxious to try other of their items, such as the gyro and chicken shawarma sandwich as well as the hummus and grape leaves. But it's hard to get away from that falafel.

Jerusalem Market and Deli is open 7 days a week from 9:30 am - 8:00 p.m. and is definitely worth checking out.

On the other hand, this was a great deal....lunch for $5.95 at Cielito Lindo

2009-04-23T13:01:00.004-04:00

In some ways lunch is my favorite meal of the day. It's all about me. I get what I want, when I want and where I want and I've always found a source of comfort in dining alone, especially for lunch.

Tuesday, I went to Cielito Lindo at 4702 Forest Hill Avenue for lunch. And what a lunch it was. I find I get tired of the heavy, overly sauced, uniformly spiced (or not spiced) Mexican food from most places in the area. Cielito Lindo is a refreshing change on several levels.

It's a neighborhood spot. If I lived in the Westover Hills area, I'd be there several times a week. With a patio out front, it's a great place to eat outside when the weather permits and the interior is charming with high backed booths which lend a nice bit of privacy and minimize noise from adjoining diners.

The menu is not typical of the Richmond Mexican restaurant scene. Several soups and salad, vegetarian dishes not focused solely on beans and cheese and entrees that aren't the standard combos of the same ingredients put together in various ways.

The lunch specials at $5.95 are a deal. I ordered the Cielto special with a beef and cheese chili relleno, a chicken enchilada verde and a side of rice. Other sides include refried beans, black beans and black bean and corn salad. The chips and salsa were terrific. Chips were hot and fresh and the salsa was spicy but not too hot with a hint of chipotle and a nice thick consistency.

My entree arrives and is beautiful (these are the moments I wished I took pictures for this blog). The chili relleno is lightly battered and filled with cheese and beef and topped with a dark red sauce that was flavorful but not overpowering. The most amazing thing was this relleno was not heavy at all, nor was it greasy. The chicken enchilada did not disappoint either. Filled with ground chicken that was nice and moist and well seasoned and topped with some of the best verde sauce I've had in a long time. The two elements were such a contrast that allowed each to shine. The rice was pretty standard, but brought up with the salsa on the table.

I left feeling good and satisfied and not uncomfortable like so often happens after going to most Mexican places.

Cielito Lindo is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner and on Sunday they serve brunch.

The saga of the $21 cheeseburger....dinner at Edible Garden

2009-04-21T08:14:00.004-04:00

Saturday night, Bob and I intended to bring in some take out and stay at home. Since it turned out to be such a perfect day, we decided dinner outside would be a better choice and Edible Garden was the first place that came to mind. Others had the same idea since when I called to get a reservation for an outside table 6:00 was the latest time we could get. I'd eaten a sizable breakfast (made myself a frittata with leftover carbonara from Edo's) and skipped lunch, so that was no big deal.

We arrive and are quickly seated and I order a glass of a dry French Reisling and Bob a glass of Italian white and we review the menu and while everything looked good, it was the cheeseburger that both of us kept going back to. Bob ordered a bowl of potato and watercress bisque and we each ordered the burger.....medium rare for me, Bob told the server to have the chef cook it the way he prefers. Bob also ordered a Bitburger beer to have with the burger.

The soup arrives and is a lovely pale green and Bob seemed to enjoy it. I'm trying not to eat too much of their wonderful bread and butter since I ordered a cheeseburger.

The burgers arrive and it's time to dig in. It's a ½ Pound Beef Burger with Roasted Portobello Mushroom, Swiss Cheese & Fried Onions on a freshly made bun which had been grilled and served with homemade potato chips. Mine is cooked perfectly and it is a great burger. Bob agrees it is a very good burger and the chips are great also.

But the questioned remained, was it worth $21? Probably not. A comparable burger at Can Can (with their fries which are superior to the homemade potato chips) is $12.

Edible Garden uses local, organic ingredients. Not sure where Can Can gets their ingredients but they are of high quality (as best this customer can tell) and they are executed slightly better.

Is the use of local, organic worth an additional $9? In my opinion, no, but perhaps for other it is.

While my burger was very good at Edible Garden (and it was the least expensive entree offered that evening), I can't say it was worth $21.

But we had a lovely evening, a good meal and then headed to Flemings for another glass of wine and so Bob could tell Luke, Marc and Wade about our $21 cheeseburgers and our $80 tab for two burgers, soup, two glasses of wine and a beer.

Edible Garden is located on River Road just west of the Henrico/Goochland line. Their website is ediblegarden.org.

Hands down the most underrated and unrecognized restaurant in Richmond...another wonderful dinner at Sensi

2009-04-07T10:38:00.003-04:00

Sensi is hands down the most forgotten gem in the Richmond restaurant scene. There is no better restaurant experience in our area from ambiance to food to service. It never makes the lists of the "places to go" in Richmond and that has always baffled me. When I see places who fall short on many levels being given a plethora of unearned accolades, it's places like Sensi I think of.....they do it right, do it consistently and for some reason rarely receive the praise it deserves.

Paolo Randazzo is a genius in the kitchen and a heck of a nice guy when he's in the front of the house. One of the many things I love about Sensi they are always kind, accommodating and completely gracious. Our original party of 12 dwindled to a party of 6 and they could not have been nicer about the constant changes.

I wish I had been better about getting the details on the food and wine, but was having such a good time with Bob, Luke, Cathy, Wes and Sarah and was too busy indulging happily to record the details. Wes was in charge of the wine and is a master at selecting something I like, so I have no idea what I drank, but it was good.

Before being seated, we shared a bottle of bubbly at the bar. When we were seated an assortment of appetizers arrived along with an oyster shooter for each of us. The appetizers included calamari, poached shrimp (which are a rare treat and I have not had anything like it anywhere else in Richmond), eggplant bruscetta, crab cakes and a couple of items I have since forgotten. Wes ordered red and white wine and after we finished our appetizers, Dwight (our wonderful server for the evening) served us a small plate or risotto topped with a seared scallop compliments of the chef. The risotto was creamy and the large scallop was cooked to perfection.

Bob and I decided to share an order of penne vodka and a veal chop. The kitchen was kind enough to split the plates for us. I always have pasta in some form at Sensi, but the veal chop is the best in Richmond and is hard to pass up, so sharing works well here. The large, bone in chop was as wonderful as always and the pasta was a great accompainment. We also had sides of assorted vegetables including asparagus, green beans, roasted potatoes and their outstanding twice baked potatoes.

Everyone was pleased and the food and service could not have been better. Sensi is one of those places where I always have a great time and am always anxious to return. Sensi is located at 2222 East Cary Street and has plenty of parking available. Whether you want a great meal and great experience for yourself or looking to impress someone else, Sensi fits the bill.

Daffodils, a major disappointment

2009-04-03T14:03:00.002-04:00

There's a new dessert and sandwich place called Daffodils located in the new shopping center just west of Short Pump Towne Center behind the new Ethan Allen. I heard about this place on Lite 98 and was anxious to check it out.

In this case I took one for the team and you all can thank me later or buy me a drink or at least a cupcake.

I walked in about 11:20 and the place was empty. It's shiny and new but has a sterile feel to it. The case had an assortment of desserts....cookies, parfaits, tiramisu, and some cakes and cupcakes. None of these looked remarkable and the cakes appeared to be directly from a Wilton class. Not dissing on Wilton for the home bunny cake, but I expect more from a professional bakery. The desserts at Krogers and Ukrops have much more eye appeal.

At this point my instincts are telling me to leave. Always listen to your instincts.

I review the ambitious sandwich menu and decide on the Speckfest sandwich. This sandwich is described as a panini with speck, Gruyere and caramelized onions. I am asked by the owner if I know what speck it. I say I know it's a ham similar to proscuitto but have never had it and jokingly comment I like all things pig, so me and speck should be just fine. I order iced tea. The tea machine is broken. Okay, I'll have iced coffee. It appears not to be made so after a few minutes I request a Diet Coke. The kind young man who takes my order is wearing a hair net...odd, especially since his hair is cut to the scalp. This young man also is making my sandwich and I quickly assess that this may be the first sandwich he has ever made and I'm nervous because the owner is helping a nice woman and her daughter with some cupcakes. I hear comments made to him such as "The speck has to be sliced" and "Add more sugar".

The sandwich arrives and is nicely grilled and has approximately 1/2 pound of speck sliced to a medium thickness. I cannot bite through the speck. I take off over half of the speck and now can bite through it and it's a lot like proscuitto and that is fine. I also imagine that speck is pricey and I could see the owner's pained expression as she watched me pull half of it off the sandwich. The Gruyere was mostly melted but the rind had been left on one end and I pulled that off since it did not melt at all. I would describe the onions as candied, not caramelized. These were cloying and sweet and the melted sugar dripped out and had been grilled onto the bread forming a crust much like a brulee would have. Of course being the only patron, my every move is being watched and I feel unusual pressure to appear as if I'm enjoying this more than I am.

When I left, the owner asked me if the sandwich had too much meat and I told her it did. But I didn't not have the heart (or nerve or something) to tell her how dreadful the experience was and I had mixed emotions about writing this review, but in the end decided it was the right thing to do. She also gave me a card for 15% off my next sandwich. :::sigh::

Sadly, I do not recommend Daffodils for lunch. I hope the baked goods are better than the sandwiches.

Greek-4-U, Greek for me

2009-03-31T15:12:00.002-04:00

There a new little Greek place on Patterson at Pump next to Rare Olde Times called Greek-4-U. First order of business is getting past the unfortunate name and give this place a chance. Last Friday night basketball was on the agenda for the evening, so we decided to bring in take out as I do not cook on Friday nights.

We stopped in a couple of weeks ago and got some menus since they have no website and we decided to order the Hummus Platter (hummus, tzatziki, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and feta), the Horiatiki salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, feta and olive oil), Mousakka, Spanakorizo (spinach and rice pilaf with tomatoes and dill) and for dessert baklava, and Ravini (orange cake). The owner, George, was very patient with my butchering of the Greek language while taking my order over the phone.

I arrive for pick up and there's a healthy crowd in the tiny place; patrons mostly for take out and clearly regulars from the bantering between them and George. George asked me if I ordered soup and since I did not, he was kind enough to give me a cup to take home.

I bring the food home and much to my surprise, the food is not heated. At all. This was resolved by putting the Mousakka in the oven for 30 minutes and microwaving the green beans that came with it and the rice pilaf but I found it odd. If this practice is more common than I realize, please let me know and help me to understand.

While waiting for the Mousakka, we tried the Greek Lemon Chicken soup and I found it to be very good and the lemon really lightened it up. The hummus platter was very good and served with pita and I particularly liked that the hummus still had a bit of texture from the chick peas and wasn't completely smooth. The horiatiki salad benefited from the outstanding olive oil and feta.

When the Mousakka was heated, dinner was served. The Mousakka was very flavorful but not too heavy and was very nicely spiced with cinnamon and what I suspect was cardamon. The green beans on the side were very good and the rice was flavorful and moist and rounded out the meal nicely.

The baklava was some of the best I've ever had. And the orange cake was a bit dense but not heavy and not too sweet and was a nice contrast from the sweet baklava.

All in all a great meal and Greek-4-U is now a part of our regular take out rotation.

A comforting meal on a Monday night, dinner at Carena's

2009-03-26T13:05:00.003-04:00

Bob and I stopped at Flemings briefly on Monday night and wanted to stop for dinner before going home but didn't want take out or to head into the Fan or venture downtown. And we weren't in the mood for Italian. Bob suggested Carena's and it fit the bill.

Carena's is one of those places I always enjoy, but I forget about them when I'm thinking about where I want lunch or dinner. My challenge with Carena's is I had the curry chicken the first time I went and have not been able to tear myself from it. My first goal Monday was to order something other than the curry chicken.

We arrive and are promptly greeted and seated and we were disappointed that it wasn't more crowded but it was just after 6 on a Monday night.

Our server, a lovely young woman named Camille, took our drink orders (Red Stripe for Bob, water for me) while we reviewed the menu. The menu is small, but effective....I would like to try everything on it.

Bob ordered a house salad with spicy jerk ranch dressing and the fried chicken with ginger gravy with dark meat. I also ordered the fried chicken, but with white meat (I've got to have a wing).

Bob salad arrives and it's a standard house salad, but the dressing brought it up to the next level. Spicy with just enough heat, it went very well with the crispy cold salad.

Our entrees arrive and we are both pleased. The fried chicken is lightly dusted with seasoned flour and fried so it's not heavily breaded, but it is very crispy and the ginger gravy was flavorful with a nice bite to it from the ginger. Bob was eyeing my wing and I told him to not even think about it. I always love the cabbage as well as the rice and peas. The cabbage is tender but not mushy and is cooked with spices, carrots, peppers and onions in butter. The fluffy rice with the small red peas is always a treat.

Both the service and food were spot on. And we were happy to see them filling up (and the phone ringing happily with take out orders) on our way out. Our check (two Red Stripes, salad and two entrees) came to $36 with tax. A very good deal and the perfect place to go when you want something out of the ordinary. Welcome to Carena's Jamaican Grille - Richmond, VA

Not your ordinary St. Patrick's Day....Schramsberg sparkling wine dinner at Flemings.

2009-03-24T08:13:00.004-04:00

I love wine dinners. I find them a great way to try new food and wine and to have dinner with a different cast of characters from the usual suspects.

Bob was wrapped up in basketball and not very interested in the wine dinner, so I made a date with my friend Melissa and we attended this dinner together. I came prepared with cab fare in hand and the cabbie's number in my iPhone and settled in for the evening. The dinner started at 6:30 and at about 6:15 John gathered all of us strays from the bar and we sat in our appointed places (I have a fondness for place cards) at one of the two large tables set up for the event. As we were seated, our first glass of bubbly for the evening, Schramsberg Blanc De Blancs 2005, was served and was followed by the first course fried oysters with a citrus remoulade and Brie beggar's purse with bing cherry gelee.

Now, I am a sucker for all things sparkling and am a sucker for Fried Oysters and loved this course. I told John they need to put these fried oysters on the menu. Lightly breaded and crispy these were wonderful. The brie and cherries were a nice contrast and both dishes went well with the light bubbly.

Meanwhile the wine representative, Comanche (a lovely blond woman who is the product of hippie parents) explained to us the history of Schramsberg most notably it was the first sparkling produced in the United States. She was outgoing and funny and being from out of town we gave her the 411 on where to go, what to see and what to do during here visit.

The second course was sunburst squash bisque with creme fraiche and candied praline bacon and served with Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs 2005.

Jay (Flemings Chef Partner) had me at 'candied praline bacon ' but the bisque itself was clearly the star and the bacon topped it off perfectly. This bubbly was my favorite of the evening, very rich, not too sweet or too dry and went down very easily.

Our third course was filet tournedos with fois gras butter and lobster and dungeness crab en cocotte served with Schramsberg Brut Rose 2005. This course was incredibly rich and indulgent and well worth every calorie. The filet was perfect medium rare and when I cut through the pastry surrounding the seafood and combined all of the components it was heavenly. The rose was a good pairing for this course and stood up to the richness of the dishes.

Our final course was strawberry mascapone cream filled pistachio tuile. I loved this selection because I prefer non-chocolate desserts as a rule. The tuile (crepe meets cookie) was crispy and light and not too sweet and had a nice crunch from the pistachios also. The filling was creamy and not too heavy and the two together made for a very nice ending to the meal. This was served with a sweet bubbly Schramsberg Cremant 2004. I love a nice dessert wine and generally only have it when someone else chooses it because I know just enough to be dangerous. This was slightly sweet but not cloying at all.

This was a nice evening and well worth the price of $79.95 (plus gratuity and tax). Jay outdid himself with both the selection and execution of the menu. Michelle and John did an outstanding job of setting up the room and coordinating the evening. Wesley kept the wine flowing. Service was top notch.

And Melissa was a fine date also. All in all a very nice grown up St. Patrick's Day.

The back of the house saves the front of the house...dinner at Acacia

2009-03-13T10:13:00.004-04:00

I love the new Acacia and last Tuesday we took my sister-in-law there for her birthday. While the food was very good, several variables kept the evening from being as wonderful as it could have been.

We arrived early and let the hostess know we were there (and acknowledged we were early and let her know we didn't expect to be seated early...we'd have a cocktail at the bar). She said to just let us know when we were ready to be seated.

At the bar I have a glass of Saint Veran, Bob has a gin and tonic and Ellen has a glass of Shiraz. 7:00 nears and I let the hostess know we're ready when she is. About 10 minutes pass (it is now after 7) and we're seated and given the Prix-Fixe menu, the wine list, but no regular menus. The waitress explains they are out of menus. Okay, I am baffled. I would say the dining room was 65-75% full and I would think any restaurant would have menus available based on full capacity plus a couple of extra for good measure. Meanwhile we look at the Prix-Fixe menu, order a bottle of wine (Barboursville Cabernet Franc) and wonder when we're going to get menus. After a few minutes, we get one menu for the three of us. We decide on the Prix-Fixe menu (which is available by the table only and a great deal at $23/person for three courses).

The wine arrives and it is clear our waitress (who was very nice) doesn't know a lot about opening wine and Bob ends up with a bunch of cork in his glass.

Our first course arrives and it is very good. Bob chose the tomato and white bean soup with kale and sausage and Ellen and I each chose the salad with apples, raisins, cashews, blue cheese, and mixed lettuces with celery seed vinaigrette. The salad was nice and light and not as busy as the description might lend one to believe.

For his entree, Bob chose the stuffed quail with chicken and spinach, celery root rosti pancake with a honey balsamic sauce. He was very pleased with his choice. Ellen chose the salmon with parsnip puree and ginger lime sauce and gave it high accolades. Being a creature of habit at times I chose the rockfish with stone ground grits with sausage and a bacon butter sauce. This was terrific and very comforting without being heavy.

We each chose the same dessert, the blackberry clafoutis with vanilla ice cream. This was a nice light end (and not too sweet) end to a very nice meal.

Our meal was great and a great value. There were several awkward moments throughout the dinner which could have been easily avoided. Fortunately, the execution from the kitchen saved the missteps in the front of the house.

Man, I love this place...another fine meal at Acacia

2009-03-03T13:12:00.003-05:00

Friday night Bob and I met Mckenzie and her roommate Ali for dinner at Acacia. This was our second visit and it has quickly moved into our "regular places" rotation.

We got there before the girls and I ordered a glass of Saint Veran ($10) and Bob had a gin and tonic ($6). Acacia uses Fever-Tree,Tonic Water,Gin & Tonic,Slimline Tonic,Best Gin & Tonic and while Bob is devoted to his Schweppes, he welcomed the change to this tonic water from the UK.

The girls arrive and order Ketel One Cosmos ($8) and we sit down and begin discussing what to have. What I love about Acacia's menu is I want to try everything. There are no dud offerings here. We start out with appetizers of seared scallops ($9), Surry sausage and Brie ($8) and fried oysters ($9). I did not have any of the sausage as I negotiated an extra oyster. Acacia does a fine job with everything, but especially the seafood, and the oysters are some of the best I've had.

The girls in anticipation of bikini weather order salads as their meal. Beet and goat cheese ($7) for Ali and tuna ($10)for Mck. Since my bikini days are decades behind me, I ordered the sea bass over zucchini "spaghetti" with a caper and clam sauce($26). Bob orders the veal osso bucco with fingerling potatoes ($31) and couldn't resist ordering a side of mac and cheese for the table ($8).

We also ordered a bottle of Barboursville Cabernet Franc ($39) and while we generally shy away from Virginia wines, this is a pleasant surprise.

Great food, good service, thoughtful wine list, and attention to detail (free valet parking, online reservations, bottles of tap water brought to the table, lovely atmosphere) are what make Acacia the best new restaurant in the fan. Acacia Restaurant, 2601 West Cary Street, Richmond, VA - Dinner, Lunch, Catering & Parties, Reservations, Dining in Richmond

Mediterraneo....it's not just for dinner

2009-02-27T13:26:00.002-05:00

Bob and I love Mediterraneo and are thrilled they have opened in our neighborhood. We go there often for cocktails which often ends with us having dinner at the bar. We bring friends and are doing what we can to get the word out.

But I have been negligent in going there for lunch. It's a little out of my way but not a significant drive on a slow work day.

I had my first lunch today and it won't be my last. I arrived and went to my usual bar stool (third from the left) and chatted with Kevin briefly while deciding what to have for lunch. I wanted to try a panini as I'm a panini freak and it's one of those items I judge a place by.

I ordered the proscuitto and fresh mozzarella panini with basil and olive oil and a club soda (it's tough being on the clock). It arrived warm and melty on homemade Ciabatta which is flavorful with olive and just the right balance of crusty and soft. The homemade potato chips were very good...not too greasy and just the right amount of salt.

I left happy and now have another reason to frequent my favorite new place in town. The setting is nice and spacious and perfect for a group lunch, business lunch for two, girls lunch, lunch with Mom or a treat for yourself. .:: Mediterraneo Fine Cuisine ::.

EatingRichmond.com....a gathering of food blogs

2009-02-26T08:15:00.003-05:00

In Richmond we are blessed with a great blogging community and with a number of food blogs giving a wide variety of perspective on local restaurants as well as recipes and information about the goings on in Richmond about all things food.

Now we have gotten together with the help of Jason, Matt & Bookstore Piet and there is one blog sharing the posts of 15 local food bloggers Eating Richmond. It is in its infancy and all thoughts and suggestions are welcomed. Check it out.

A comforting meal in a warm setting...dinner at Chez Max

2009-02-25T08:26:00.000-05:00

Some nights you want to try something new or a place that is cutting edge, pushing the envelope and surprises you. Other nights, you know what you want and you want some place comforting, consistent and reliable. That is what I wanted last night and Chez Max did not disappoint.

Located just west of Pump Road on Patterson Avenue in a free standing building adjacent to a strip mall, Chez Max is unassuming. People hear it's a French restaurant and sometimes mistakenly believe it is going to be formal or stuffy. Chez Max is both comfortable and elegant, which is a challenge to pull off successfully.

We arrive and are warmly greeted by one of the owners, Annie Lecomte. We stop in at the bar (our table was ready but we weren't quite ready to sit down) and order a bottle of French Chablis. We proceed to the warm and elegant dining room. There is a fire going in the stone fireplace and we are fortunate to get a table next to the fire...perfect on a chilly night. There is a nice crowd on this Tuesday night, and one thing I love about Chez Max is everyone seems happy to be there. It is festive but not loud.

Our server arrives and tells us about the specials, but we go with what we know and what I was craving. Bob orders she crab soup and I order French onion. Our server quickly brings us some nice French bread and butter. I love French onion soup but many places screw it up where it's too salty or too boulliony (I realize that is not a real word). This is French onion soup the way God intended. Flavorful, full of caramelized onions and covered with melted Gruyere. Bob is very pleased with his she crab soup also.

We ordered the same entree, Veal tenderloin sautéed with mushrooms served with a Cognac cream sauce and garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. This is one of my favorite veal dishes in town. The veal is always tender and the Cognac cream sauce is to die for. While our entrees are being prepared, a house salad is served. I love that Chez Max serves a small salad with the meal. It's a simple green salad (the lettuce is a dark butter lettuce as best as I can tell) with their homemade oil and vinegar dressing.

Our entrees arrive and they are just as we knew they would be. The potatoes are piped in the center and topped with their signature crispy potato ring. The beans are a perfect al dente, seasoned well and the veal is tender as always and the cream sauce hit the spot. Our bill with tax but before tip was $127.89. Chez Max is a great place when you want a nice romantic meal, but want to be comfortable as well.

We left satisfied, but not stuffed and look forward to our next visit. Home / Chez Max Restaurant

Our trip to Culpeper, part three, Frost Cafe and the Thyme Market

2009-02-19T09:57:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning we slept in (love sleeping by a fire) a bit and headed across the street to the Frost Cafe for breakfast. The building originally was a drug store with a fountain.. Frost Cafe, Culpeper, VA and now is a lovely cafe/diner. The specials of the day are posted...including fried bologna with eggs and home fries..something you don't see everyday. We find an open booth and the counter is filled with men who are clearly regulars and my guess is most any morning you will find them there.

We get coffee and menus and Bob orders country fried steak with gravy, two eggs over medium, home fries and biscuits. I order sausage gravy and eggs. Everything is solid, not fancy, prepared well and the sausage used in my gravy is most likely local....nice and peppery and spicy. If I could break away from It's About Thyme and Foti's, I would love to try it for lunch sometime.

After breakfast we check out and head to the Thyme Market, next door to the Inn. First on the agenda is their house speciality...Better Cheddar Spread. This spread for crackers is made with sharp white cheddar, butter, garlic, chives and I'm not sure what else, but the stuff is addictive and wonderful. We also pick up some homemade bread, desserts (individual key lime cheesecakes, chocolate torte, limoncello tart, and pear tart), and a couple of jams and jellies.

Bob pulled the car around and we load up the trunk with our wares and waiting for me on the passenger seat is a small box. I open it and it's the blue topaz and diamond earrings I admired at the jewelry store the night before. I am surprised, overwhelmed and very touched. Happy Valentine's Day to me. It was a perfect night away from town. I love Culpeper.

Our adventure in Culpeper...part two...It's About Thyme

2009-02-17T14:47:00.000-05:00

It's About Thyme is one of Virginia's great little treasures. We discovered it years ago when it was simply a restaurant. Mckenzie was horse showing and we were going through horse show hell and It's About Thyme gave us something to look forward to and a place to escape during those long hours of waiting that horse shows bring.

Now, we've all grown up & It's About Thyme is not only a lovely restaurant with terrific food, but an Inn and a gourmet market. Located on Davis Street in Downtown Culpeper, it's convenient to many shops and restaurants (such as Foti's reviewed earlier this week) Culpeper is fortunate enough to call their own.

After our lunch at Foti's, we checked in.....big hugs from one of the owners, Connie, who always remembers us and welcomes us with open arms. Our room is the Thyme room It's About Thyme - Apartments which is reasonably priced at $175/night. This room faces Davis Street and has two small balconies, a fireplace and a lovely bathroom with a jacuzzi tub.

And we can walk...I love a town where I can walk to shops, to restaurants, bakeries (why does Culpeper have a better bakery scene than Richmond?) a diner, and a couple of very nice inns.

After checking in, we walked down Davis Street. We stopped at the wine shop owned by Kim Kelley who used to work for Robbins Cellars and I get some grey salt and a bottle of French rose sparkling. We stop at The Frenchmen's Corner and sample cheeses and pick up some spices, kitchen gadgets and Caesar dressing. The Frenchmen's Corner has an impressive array of chocolates...if I was into chocolate I would have been in heaven..instead I hung around the cheese section since I'm a cheese whore. We then head to The Camelteer and buy possum gloves (which are much nicer than they sound) for Mckenzie and look at their variety of great greeting cards. We venture to a few more places and head back to our room and change for dinner.

We head back out and walk to Foti's for a couple of glasses of wine and to chit-chat with the staff. On the way back to It's About Thyme, Bob wants to stop into the Hazel River Inn. AVOID THE HAZEL RIVER INN AT ALL COSTS. For some reason only known to Bob he always wants to stop in there for a cocktail and the place stinks (literally and figuratively). I have a glass of old white wine and Bob has a Jim Beam and ginger because that is the only bourbon they carry. The place is sad, dirty, the bartender is rude, we don't finish our drinks, I declare we are never returning and head out. Next to It's About Thyme is a jewelry store closing their store and we stop in there and I see a few things I like and they are kind enough to clean my rings and we leave.

Now we're at It's About Thyme for dinner...we are a bit early so our table is not quite ready but are seated after a few short minutes at a lovely window table. They bring out olives to snack on and their homemade foccacia bread and we order wine and review the menu and the specials. Bob orders the pork tenderloin with smoked gouda mac and cheese. I order the NY strip with parmesan and truffle oil French fries. And we order an arugula and goat cheese salad to share (the kitchen was kind enough to divide for us) before our entrees. The arugula was very tender and the goat cheese (local) was creamy and flavorful and not too strong. They keep their dressings simple with high quality olive oil and vinegars.

The entrees arrive and are wonderful and huge...my NY Strip was probably close to 16 oz and cooked perfectly (rare plus) and the fries were to die for and rich with the flavor of the truffle oil. Bob's pork tenderloin (which we think was one entire tenderloin) was cooked perfectly medium, the mac and cheese very good and both entrees came with broccolini, which can be bitter but in this case was not.

John was nice enough to take our remaining wine and glasses upstairs to our room and Connie was kind enough to store our leftovers (which becames quesadillas Sunday night) at the market for us to pick up on our way out Sunday.

We went up and finished our wine enjoying the view of Davis Street (and some college basketball ) and called it a night.

Our lovely overnight getaway to Culpeper...part one...an incredible lunch at Foti's

2009-02-16T11:55:00.001-05:00

Bob and I aren't big into traveling; we enjoy short trips with good food and lodging, close to home but away from it all.

Culpeper is one of our favorite towns in Virginia to visit. A short, pretty drive from home, lots of good food, quaint shops and some lovely inns.

Mckenzie was generous enough to give us a gift certificate to our favorite little inn for Christmas and we decided to use it as a Valentine's Day adventure.

We left home in time for lunch at a true gem... Foti's Restaurant - Fine Dining, European Cuisine, Culpeper, Virginia -. The owners, Frank and Sue Maragos, are former Inn at Little Washington employees and it has served them (and the Culpeper community) well. The place is beautiful and could be intimidating, but they are very welcoming..don't let the white table cloths and elegant interior scare you away for lunch. Plan on a wonderful meal and an unbelievable reasonable price.

We are seated and our waiter Pierre lists the special and the soup of the day....root vegetable. Bob loves soup and orders a cup and I'm thinking "root vegetable...whatever". It arrives and is gorgeous....dark caramel color and garnished with toasted hazelnuts and grated apples. Bob offers me a spoonful and it truly is one of the best soups (and definitely the best root vegetable soup) I've had in many ages. Nicely spiced, creamy, not too thin or too thick. And it cost $3.95.

A bread basket is offered for $1.95. Now before everyone gets up in arms about the charge....it will be the best $2 you have spent in a long time. Crusty outside, holey and light on the inside, creamy butter....this is not a time to skip on the bread.

Our entrees arrive and the fun continues. Bob has the Herb Roasted Chicken Bread (French cut) with an orzo, tomato and feta salad with sauteed vegetables and a tomato citrus sauce($11.95). I have the Pomegranate Glazed Pan Seared Salmon on jasmine rice and roasted acorn squash finished with a pickled ginger and granny smith apple salad ($12.95). Both dishes were cooked perfectly and seasoned well and the quality of ingredients and execution cannot be emphasized enough. With Bob's iced tea our bill came to $36 before tip.....an incredible value.

I believe on our next venture, we will have to try it for dinner.

Happy, happy, joy, joy!! Finally a great little sandwich shop near my office & they make their own bagels to boot!!

2009-02-09T12:04:00.000-05:00

I've been working at this office since January 1996. I have been to virtually everyplace on the Hull Street corridor of Midlothian. And it's been chain after chain after chain with the few independent places often being average at best. And to get a decent sandwich was an exercise in frustration and disappointment.

But that's not the case any longer. Now we have Pirozzo's New York Bagels and Deli on Hull Street just west of Woodlake. Sandwiches :::sigh::::, freshly made authentic bagels :::::sigh:::::. They make their own potato salad and flavored cream cheeses and also serve egg/breakfast sandwiches all day.

I entered the small, quaint shop and was overwhelmed (I still think it's going to take me a couple of more visits not to be overwhelmed by the many temptations they offer). I decided to order a Manhattan....pastrami, Swiss Cheese and cole slaw grilled on rye. Warm and melty with the right meat/cheese/bread ratio THIS is what I've been looking for in lunch offerings for over a decade. Best sandwich I've had in our area since the original New York Deli in Carytown.

I got a few sesame (for Bob) and poppy seed (for me) bagels to go....they offer a wide variety of bagels and make them fresh throughout the day. I also brought back some olive cream cheese and veggie cream cheese. And for those fortunate enough to live close, they deliver bagels on weekend mornings....how cool is that?!?

There also was a dessert case offering a number of items, including cannolis, cookies and crumb cake I look forward to trying also.

If you are out west on Hull Street check it out...you'll be glad you did.

It wasn't the best of times, it wasn't the worst of times...dinner at Stronghill Dining Company

2009-01-26T09:48:00.001-05:00

Last night we decided to check out Stronghill Dining Company with our friends Luke, Cathy and Marc. It wasn't a great experience, but it wasn't a terrible one either.

We arrived shortly after 7 and there is only one other table occupied...I hate when that happens. I like the feel of a bustling place and don't like the ruh-roh feeling one has when arriving to a near empty business. The place has a nice atmosphere with warm colors and clean lines and high ceilings.

We are seated and given menus and information on soup of the day, fish of the day, etc. I have a glass of Albarino and a bottle of red is ordered and the guys started with a beer. The menu looks great...lots of things I'd like to try and no real dud offerings. This is good.

Marc and Luke order the soup of the day, rabbit stew. Bob and I order the Stronghill appetizer sampler and a wedge salad to share. Cathy orders the arugula salad. The stew is a disappointment. It was watery and bland. The appetizer was okay, but not memorable. The salads were fine but not outstanding.

For entrees Luke had the pork chop, Marc and Cathy each venison, Bob had the ribs and I ordered the rib eye. I don't remember the sides on everyone else's dishes, but Bob loved the cabbage slaw with his ribs and said it made the dish. At first he wasn't thrilled with the ribs, but enjoyed them more as the night went on. I had the rib eye with smoked tomato mac & cheese and collard greens. The steak was fine and cooked as requested (rare plus), the greens were the best part of the meal and the smoked tomato mac and cheese was bland with no sign of cheese or much flavor from the tomatoes....slight smokiness was all I got. The venison was deemed okay, but under seasoned. The pork chop was overcooked slightly. The service was good and Tiffany was patient with our various questions regarding the menu.

It was an okay meal (with great company) and I plan on giving it another try. The concept is good, the menu is enticing, but the execution needs some improvement. They are new to the scene and understandably tweaking things a bit. Stronghill definitely has potential, but they will need to step up just a few notches in order to succeed. STRONGHILL DINING COMPANY

Lunch at Kabab Grille...yum, yum, yum

2009-01-23T12:41:00.002-05:00

Lunch rut. Hate being in a lunch rut. I've worked at the same office 13 years, so I've gone to every place imaginable near my office and frankly I am tired of them.

Gas prices are down, the weather is mild and I had errands to run, so I decided to check out Kabab Grille located on West Koger Center Drive next door to a TMobile store in a tiny strip mall.

The place is clean and simply decorated and welcoming with the fragrance of many spices. As expected the menu has a variety of kababs, curries, and a variety of Pakistani offerings I am unfamiliar with, but sure did sound good. Their website has more information and detailed descriptions. http://www.kababgrille.com/index.html

They offer a lunch and dinner buffet, but tend to prefer ordering off the menu, so I chose the boneless chicken kababs. These were chunks of white meat which had been marinated and served with spiced chick peas, basmati rice, naan, salad and raita. At $8.99 this was a deal as it is a lot of food (enough for lunch tomorrow). The meat was tender and flavorful, the chickpeas spiced nicely and great with the rice and I loved the raita. I skipped the salad as it was simple (iceburg, tomatoes) and I was busy enjoying everything else.

I look forward to returning and trying many more items. The service was very good and the food definitely got my out of the lunch rut cycle. It is worth driving from Brandermill to Koger Center for lunch.

Some things are better the second time around....dinner at Acacia Mid-town

2009-01-20T14:03:00.001-05:00

I was never that enamored with the former Acacia. Something about it seemed awkward to me and I tended to get my hopes up and while I never had a bad meal, I somehow left feeling disappointed.

Mckenzie's boyfriend Peyton gave us a very generous Christmas present of a gift certificate to the new Acacia Mid-town located at 2601 West Cary Street. And we were anxious to try it.

We went last night and being the good parents we are invited Mck and Peyton to join us.

First impressions....free valet parking.....BIG points for that. While it was not needed last night, it will be a godsend on the weekends. They take reservations....yeah!!! Always a plus. And they are open on Monday for dinner...yippee!

We walk into a very sleek, contemporary and inviting interior. Lots of warm colors and sleek trappings. Bob and I arrived early, so we sat at the bar and Jenn presented us with a very nice (and reasonably priced) wine list. We order a bottle of Pazo de Senoran Albarino for $44. This was a crispy and light wine, not sweet and a great start to the evening. We are seated promptly after Mck and Peyton arrive and we all love the menu.....a lot of very good looking offerings. Since I am hoarding the white wine, we order a bottle of Ferrand Cotes du Rhone ($37) for the table. We ordered three appetizers of fried oysters with Southern coleslaw and spicy mayo, Surry sausage with Brie and red onion marmalade and crabcakes with cabbage slaw and curry remoulade. The oysters were outstanding....I am loving that Richmond restaurants are embracing this wonderful dish. The sausage was very good and I cannot say enough good things about the red onion marmalade....this stuff would be wonderful on most anything. I did not have the crabcakes but they were very well received.

For our entrees I ordered the jumbo lump crabcakes with local creamy grits, surry sausage, asparagus and blt sauce. This will be hard not to order when we return. The crabcakes were perfect....lots of lump crab, well seasoned with virtually no filler. The corn grits and other accompaniments were delicious and the presentation was beautiful. Bob ordered the roasted duck breast stuffed with apples, wrapped in applewood bacon and served with smoked gouda polenta. Bob is very particular when it comes to duck and he was very pleased with his choice and not just because he got some good polenta out of the deal. Mck and Peyton each ordered the sauteed scallops with homemade gnocchi, spinach and parmesan sauce. The scallops were huge and cooked perfectly and they enjoyed them immensely (and had several to take home) but they were less than thrilled with the gnocchi and wished they had been served with something different.

Our tab was $234 (before tip and credit for Peyton's gift certificate) and it was a great evening.

Acacia has been added to the iPhone & I look forward to returning and bringing friends.

The joys of being first....brunch at Edible Garden

2009-01-19T08:56:00.000-05:00

Edible Garden, on River Road, just over the Goochland line, started serving brunch yesterday. Not only were we there for their first day, we were the first customers. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes it is not. In our case, it was a very good thing.

For me, there are different types of brunches. There is the hangover brunch....heavy, very casual, hair pulled up, no makeup and either sweats or yoga pants. There is the fancy brunch....Sunday best, very quiet, a bit formal, often for a special occasion.

The brunch at Edible Garden falls in between. A lovely setting, quiet atmosphere, but casual enough not to feel stuffy (though you will want to shower and leave the Hokie hat at home). The menu is focused on fresh ingredients and is on the light side and one leaves feeling good and good about what they ate. This is also a nice brunch to take the parents, in-laws or a romantic date.

We arrive at our reservation time (I love that they take reservations for brunch) and are promptly seated and offered some Rostov's coffee...a great way to start the day. Bob orders poached eggs, with sage infused breakfast sausage and sweet potato and onion hash and extra toast. I order the frittata of the day...spinach, tomato and feta served over mixed greens with maple walnut vinaigrette and grilled multi grain toast. Shortly after we order a small bread basket arrives with two mini blueberry muffin, crumb cake and a ginger biscotti. All of these items were very good and I'm a sucker for a good biscotti and anything ginger, so that was my favorite (especially with the Rostov's coffee). Our entrees arrive and Bob was very pleased with his and mine was very good as well. The frittata was cooked through but not dry (as often happens) and the eggs were not overwhelmed by the filling. The maple dressing was not too sweet and a nice contrast to the spinach and feta and the grilled (nice touch) multi grain toast was very good.

Sarah, our waitress, did a very good job as did the rest of the staff. We never had to give anyone "the eye" for refills or the check and they made sure everything was just right without being overbearing.

I can't wait until the weather warms up and enjoy brunch outside. Edible Garden is doing good things with good ingredients. Edible Garden

Need suggestions for a good place to watch the Inauguration next Tuesday.

2009-01-13T07:28:00.000-05:00

Help me out fellow bloggers, readers, and lurkers. I am in the process of deciding where to watch the Inauguration next Tuesday. Looking for a place with a good vibe, Obama-friendly atmosphere and of course tv and good grub. So far nothing I have come up with fits the bill, but I have faith in all of you! Thanks!

Disappointment thy name is Rowland

2009-01-12T10:23:00.000-05:00

Not since the Buckhead's fiasco of 2008 have I been so disappointed in a place. Six of us went to dinner at Rowland on Friday night and both the food and service were substandard and it is now off the list (and out of my iPhone). There are too many places who deserve our business, who do it right and who make an effort that those who clearly aren't interested should be dismissed.

In the past we've had some very good meals at Rowland and while the place has never wowed us, it's always been solid and reliable and well executed with good service.

We arrived at our reservation time of 8:00 and there was only one other party, a couple, having dinner. This was a sign of things to come. The less-than-friendly waitress distributed menus and took drink orders....one menu short was corrected, drinks were less than prompt in arriving, and we had that feeling one gets when you realize you've made a poor choice but hope your instincts are incorrect.

Eventually all drinks and bottles of wine were delivered and we placed our orders. Two of our friends got the soup special of roasted corn soup with a lobster cake and Bob ordered the spring roll of the day (which I cannot remember what it was because it was that forgetful). The soup was good, the lobster cake heavy, greasy and not very good.

Entrees arrive....two rockfish specials, the lamb shank, Coq au Vin and two orders of beef tenderloin. The rockfish (which I got) was salty, overcooked and served on al dente lentils with a red curry coconut sauce and two clams and two shrimp. The only saving grace was the coconut curry sauce....nothing else was pleasant except the two clams which seemed out of place with the meal. Bob's Coq au Vin was in his words "terrible". It was bland, the chicken had not been cooked in the sauce and it was nothing like the dish is supposed to be. One order of beef tenderloin was good, the other had a huge amount of gristle through the middle of it making the entire dish tough. The lamb shank (which the waitress said was their best dish) was tough, but our friend's dog Peanut will have a nice snack. The high points of the meal were the warm bread and the Patricia Green Pinot Noir ($62/bottle).

The entire evening the waitress seemed disinterested and bothered by us. I believe this was in part due to the fact that an 18% tip is included for parties of six or more and the other tables (the original couple, another couple and a party of 4) had no tip included. She had to be reminded of drink orders, additional bottles of wine and we also had to wait an inexcusable amount of time to pay our substantial ($186/couple including the 18% gratuity) tab.

It's the first place off the list in 2009.

Two great salmon lunches....Nordstrom Cafe & Tuckahoe Seafood

2009-01-08T11:17:00.000-05:00

First of the year means I'm trying to eat healthier lunches. We shall see how this pans out.

Yesterday, I had to pick up some jeans from Nordstrom and took the opportunity to have lunch at their Cafe, which I always enjoy. I had the Salmon Nicoise salad...and it was terrific. Mixed greens, romaine, red onions, tomatoes, haricot verts, a few roasted potatoes, Kalamata olives, capers and tomatoes tossed in a balsamic dressing and served with a nice grilled, herb crusted salmon steak on top. This hit the spot. It was light but filling and the quality of each ingredient was outstanding. Nice service also and a break from the usual hustly-bustly lunch places.

On the way back to the office I stopped at Tuckahoe Seafood, my seafood place of choice, to get some shrimp to make creole with tonight and decided to get their smoked salmon as well. They smoke it themselves and I cannot say enough good things about it. It's got the right amount of smoke and is well seasoned, firm but moist and is definitely crave-worthy. Today I tossed some mixed baby greens in balsamic vinegar and olive oil along with capers, mixed olives and sundried tomatoes and flaked the salmon in big hunks on top and gave it a nice squeeze of lemon.

Maybe eating better isn't as dreadful as I anticipated....though I'm sure I'll be falling off the wagon soon enough and get some pizza, Mexican, Five Guys or Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Such is life.

My Year in Review: Dining in Richmond

2009-01-06T08:20:00.000-05:00

2008 was an interesting year for Richmond restaurants and first I want to give a shout out to those places we frequent regularly and are our standbys: Azzurro, Flemings, Chicken Fiesta, Avalon, Six Burner, Edo's Squid and Sensi. You all treat us well and consistently bring us good food and cheer.

A special shout out to our newest regular place: Mediterraneo. We've eaten there once a week since they opened and every dish has been outstanding, the service terrific and they already know our name. This is a great addition to Midlothian and it's only two turns for us to get home.

Speaking of great additions to Midlothian, check out Q Barbeque. Great BBQ served by nice folks. The pulled chicken is the unsung hero and holds it's own against the pig. The corn pudding and mac and cheese are not to be missed either.

Sushi O on Alverser is another great addition to the Midlothian restaurant scene.

My newest regular lunch spot is Cafe Caturra on Midlothian Tpke. Homemade soups, terrific sandwiches and perfect for picking up a bagel and coffee on the way to the office.

Weekend brunch is as good as ever.....Millie's, Lulu's, Can-Can, and Bacchus offer great ways to start the day or recover from the night before. The Black Sheep is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner any day of the week.

For a party, especially in good weather, give Cynthia at Havana 59 a call and she will set you up. Thank you again for making Mckenzie's White Coat Ceremony party such a hit.

We say good-bye to Lemaire....but am looking forward to trying TJ's for dinner. Also looking forward to trying Stronghill Dining Company, Acacia, City Dogs, and Halligan's during 2009.

Places that disappointed......Buckheads on a level like no other. Worst experience of 2008.

The one place I do not get the accolades for, but am keeping an open mind....Mezzanine. I will likely give them a second chance during 2009.

A new neighborhood place, and it's even close to my neighborhood....Mediterraneo

2008-12-15T09:28:00.000-05:00

Saturday night, Bob and I tried Mediterraneo for the first time with our friends, Bob and Marlene. This is the first restaurant to be less than 10 minutes from our home and we were hopeful that it could become a regular place for us. It did not disappoint.

Mediterraneo is located at Winterfield and Robious Road in a "still being developed and built" shopping center. For those located in Salisbury...or even those of us a bit further out, this is a place we've been anticipating for sometime. They offer Italian meat and seafood entrees as well as pasta and pizza (which I am very anxious to try) and offer panini sandwiches during lunch.

We arrived earlier than our reservation time, mainly to check on the bar and the U of R game. We were able to get a seat at the bar and review their extensive (and very thoughtful and affordable) wine list. Throughout the evening (it IS the holidays) we had a number of very good wines, but my favorite was the Santa Margarita Prosecco. I've had their Pinot Grigio many times over many years and this sparkling was a great new find.

Bob and Marlene arrived and we were then seated and reviewed the menu, which had many things we each wanted to try. Our waiter Jeff was great at guiding us along the way and also took us (and our strange humor) in stride. We started with the mussel appetizer special which they were kind enough to substitute with clams since that was our preference. They were very fresh and in a nice white wine and garlic sauce. Marlene and Bob shared a Mediterranean salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, roasted red bell peppers, onions & feta.

Bob and Bob each ordered the lamb shank special, which was served over mashed potatoes and the chef's vegetable of the evening, which was snow peas and carrots. This got a big thumbs up from both of them. I ordered the veal picatta, which was tender and more lemony than buttery (which is how I like it) with plenty of capers. This was served with the snow peas and carrots as well. Marlene had the chicken marsala and we shared an order of rosemary potatoes and we also ordered a side of green beans for the table. We were all pleased.

There are some minor things to be tweaked out (more with the menu than the execution....such as offering a side pasta with the entrees; currently they come with the vegetable but no starch and adding sides runs up a tab quickly) but they are definitely well on their way to being the new Midlothian hot spot. I look forward to having Mediterraneo as part of our regular rotation.
.:: Mediterraneo Fine Cuisine ::.

Last Chance Lemaire...do not miss it.

2008-12-08T08:45:00.000-05:00

Last week Bob and I celebrated our 9th anniversary. And we did it up right by taking advantage of the "Last Chance Lemaire" package The Jefferson Hotel is offering through the end of the year when Lemaire closes permanently.

It was a wonderful night and one hell of a value as well. For $475 the package includes your room, valet parking, 5 course dinner with wine, and room service breakfast the following morning. It also included taxes and gratuities.

I check in and am offered a free upgrade to one of their recently renovated suites. We are starting off on the right foot. Bob had scheduled me an in-room massage and I was very relaxed by the time Bob arrived on the scene.

We get ready and head to TJ's for a cocktail and some pre-dinner people watching as the Home Builders Association was having their Christmas party. The hotel is fully decorated for the holidays and is absolutely stunning and will get you in the holiday spirit if you aren't there already.

We finish our drinks and walk up the staircase to Lemaire and are seated and given the menu for the evening and what a menu it is. Chef Bundy outdid himself with this one. I also want to point out that the kitchen is very accommodating about allergies, preferences, etc. and will change any course accordingly.

We started with Butter Poached Gulf Shrimp & Roaring Forties Blue Cheese with Candied Striped Beets, Poached Seckle Pears, Sunflower Shoots and Balsamic Vinegar. It is served with Bodegas 1+1 = 3 Cava Brut Penedes NV. This is a terrific dish with a nice bite from the cheese which was not overwhelming and the Cava paired with it nicely.

The second course was the star of the evening. Chesapeake Oyster Stew with Forest Mushrooms, Byrd Mills Stoned Ground Grits, Virginia Country Ham, Tomato Concasse & Black Pepper Demi Glace. This was served with Domaine De Rome Sancerre Loire Valley '06. This dish is hard to describe in a manner to serve it justice. Barely poached oysters, hearty ham and grits with just enough broth to moisten but not make it soupy as such. And being a big fan of Sancerre, I was very pleased with the wine choice.

The third course was Pan Seared Jumbo Diver Scallops with Applewood Bacon, Brussels Sprouts, Granny Smith Apples, Roasted Corn Polenta and Mulled Cider Jus. This was served with Michael Shaps Viognier, Monticello, Virginia '07. The scallops were jumbo as promised (about 2-3" thick and cooked perfectly) and the bitterness of the Brussels Sprouts was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the apples and one simply can't go wrong with Roasted Corn Polenta. The wine was crisp and dry and paired well with the dish.

We were given a Mango Sorbet as a palate cleanser....always a nice touch.

At this point we were brought The Jefferson's famous Spoonbread which is impossible to resist. Crispy on top, moist inside.

The fourth course was Center Cut Angus Filet Mignon with Toasted Almonds, Caramelized Shallots, Baby Carrots, Sweet Potato Mousse and Foie Gras Emulsion. This was served with Flora Springs Merlot, Napa Valley '05. This was outstanding. The steak was cooked rare plus as I requested and the mousse, which I was concerned may be too sweet, wasn't too sweet at all. And, once again, the wine selection was spot-on.

Our final course was Pumpkin Cheesecake served with Montevina Zinfandel Port Amador County NV. This dish was the only one that could be considered average or anything other than outstanding. It almost seemed to be an afterthought, but the port was smooth and sweet and was a nice ending to a fabulous meal.

You can also get the dinner with wine for $100/person, a great deal, but I definitely recommend staying the night or getting a cab home.

Lemaire, you will be missed. You are definitely going out on a high note.

We asked about future plans and were told Chef Bundy will be staying and it will be more business casual with a focus on seafood (hopefully this means the crab cakes aren't gone forever). They plan to reopen in April.

Writer's block....or just plain lazy

2008-12-08T08:41:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging much...no specific reason, just haven't been in the mood.

Without going into much detail, we've had some very good meals (Bookbinder's Grill in Christiansburg, Mrs. Rowe's in Staunton, Six Burner, Azzurro, Flemings and Chez Max) and a very disappointing Thanksgiving at The County Seat in Powhatan (processed turkey, anyone?).

I'm hoping to get back in full swing and am appreciative of those who take time to read.

Happy holidays to all! Cheers to you!

Message to Westhampton Pastry Shop: Please open earlier

2008-11-20T08:47:00.000-05:00

Good donuts are scarce in Richmond. And even more scarce south of the river. Last night I left my car at Bob's office and therefore was looking forward to a donut for breakfast from the self-proclaimed "Donut Squad Headquarters", Westhampton Pastry Shop on Patterson at Libbie.

I pull up at 7:00 only to discover they don't open until 8:30......what's up with that? How does any self-respecting donut shop not open for early morning commuters?

I settled for a biscuit with sausage gravy from Joe's Market.

Gas prices are down and life is good...head to The County Seat in Powhatan

2008-11-03T09:54:00.000-05:00

Living in Powhatan, The County Seat isn't a far drive for us, but for those closer to town, it was a haul back when gas was $4/gallon. Now, there is no excuse not to head to Powhatan and discover one of our area's best kept secrets.

The County Seat is located across from the Powhatan Courthouse. Drawing a regular crowd of locals of all sorts, it's definitely a treasure that Powhatan residents do not take for granted.

This is good 'ole home cooking done right. Whether it's for a hearty breakfast, comforting lunch or a casual dinner, you will not be disappointed in the food, service or the tab.

Bob and I went there yesterday for their Sunday breakfast buffet. This is not to be missed. This isn't a sad, tired buffet. This is a feast. They had many of the expected selections...bacon, country ham, scrambled eggs, cheese grits, home fries and sausage gravy and biscuits...and some welcomed surprises such as sausage, apple and cheddar quiche, homemade sweet rolls, sweet apple casserole, French toast and silver dollar pancakes. For $9.95/person ($5.95 during the week) you will not only leave full but satisfied. Everything is homemade with high quality ingredients and well executed.

Check out their website for their other menus, and the nights they have music featured. Head out of town for some good food from good people. I also want to give a shout out to their homemade desserts....the caramel cake is my personal favorite but you won't go wrong with any of their offerings. County Seat Restaurant Food & Gathering Place - Home

My favorite weekday lunch spot...Cafe Caturra

2008-10-30T11:48:00.000-04:00

With concerns over the economy and the election during these uncertain times, I am finding I am being more thoughtful and conscientious about when and where I spend my dollars. Lunch is an easy place for me to cut back because it's feasible to bring leftovers to the office or even make something here as I have a toaster oven and microwave. But there are days I cannot look at one more leftover and I want to get out of the office and see the world and on those occasions I want lunch to be something to look forward to and not just a way to fill my belly.

Cafe Caturra is a place I always look forward to visiting. This is a business doing it right. Thoughtful menu, trained and polite staff, and great food served in a lovely and relaxing atmosphere. They have a great selection of paninis, sandwiches, wraps and salads along with several soups and a selection of baked goods (I highly recommend stopping there for a bagel on the way to work....a perfect way to start the day). All of the sandwiches and salads (except for the wraps) can be ordered as a half serving and half a sandwich with a cup of soup is my idea of the perfect lunch.

Tuesday I had the Cuban Pork Panini....ham, pickles, pork, provolone and spicy mustard with a cup of the vegetarian black bean chili. The chili was filled with black beans and corn and had the right amount of spiciness and the sandwich was crispy on the outside and warm and melty on the inside and the pulled pork had a very nice bite to it.

Cafe Caturra is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Go there for any meal and you will not be disappointed.

A nice dinner at Bistro R.

2008-10-29T12:33:00.000-04:00

Last night Bob and I went to Bistro R, located on West Broad just west of Gaskins Rd, for dinner. This is one of those good 'ole reliable Richmond places which doesn't get the recognition it deserves. And I'm as guilty of neglecting it as anyone.

It's quaint and a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Broad St. Service is good. The atmosphere is romantic without being stuffy. The menu has solid offerings....interesting without being pretentious.

We were quickly seated and ordered an appetizer of steamed mussels with garlic, wine and rosemary sauce. They were a bit too garlicky (and I'm a garlic lover) and the sauce wasn't very saucy....needed more liquid, which probably would have helped to balance out the garlic. Also two of the mussels did not open while being prepared and should have been discarded in the kitchen.

Bob ordered an appetizer as his entree and this ended up not being the way to go, but no fault of the chef. He ordered the seafood casserole with crab and shrimp and it was more dip like (and a good dip) than he thought it would be. He also ordered a side of mashed potatoes and was pleased with them.

I won the ordering competition handily with the salmon served with caramelized onion risotto. This was a home run. The salmon was well seasoned and cooked perfectly and the risotto was divine.

With dinner we had a bottle of French Burgundy which was a good value at $36.

Bistro R is a lovely place with good food, solid service and moderately priced. Next time you want lunch or dinner in the West End, give it a try. Menus at Bistro R Restaurant

Finally got to try CousCous...hooray!!

2008-10-22T08:33:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to try CousCous on Franklin for some time as it's gotten a lot of good press.

Bob and I finally made it there last night for dinner and I just loved it.

They have some parking available (always a nice touch when navigating parking near VCU) and I was please to see that early (6:30 ish) on a Tuesday night they had a nice crowd for dinner and/or drinks at the bar.

We arrived and were promptly seated and ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio for me and Savignon Blanc for Bob. The menu offered so many tempting items that is was hard to form a short list, but we managed.

We shared the spinach and manchego salad with Mediterranean dressing and it was fresh and light and also very tasty. A nice start to the meal. We also ordered the crispy eggplant with apricot marmalade and pine nuts. This was also very good...the eggplant were as promised hot and crispy. I found the marmalade a bit too sweet, but I am overly sensitive to sweet things very often, so I blame it on my taste buds rather than the dish.

For our final courses, Bob ordered the lamb shank with white beans and I had the Kefka and an order of the curry fries. GET THE FRIES!!! The Kefka was very good and spicy but the fries were outstanding and spicy and hot and I cannot say enough good things about them.

Also with dinner we had a bottle of Rioja that went perfectly with the meal and was reasonably priced (as is the entire menu). Service was terrific and a good time was had by all. I am looking forward to returning and trying more items and definitely will be getting the fries!

Good food, good wine, good friends, good times...the IGT wine dinner at Azzurro

2008-10-14T09:29:00.000-04:00

Last night Azzurro held a wine dinner celebrating the IGT wines from Italy. This is one of four classifications given to wines by the Italian government and IGT wines are Super Tuscans and labeled with the locality of their creation.

We were greeted with a lovely Rose' Prosecco to get the evening started along with smoked salmon and caviar white pizza while we mingled with friends and did our best not to bring up politics, but had no problem toasting the firing of Tommy Bowden from Clemson.

Dinner consisted of 5 courses, paired with wines, which were explained to us by Jeff Albright from The Robins Cellars. The first course was a risotto with onion, champagne cream, peaches and pancetta and was paired with Jermann Pinot Grigio. I am a big fan of Pinot Grigios and risotto and both of these were lovely and complimented one another.

The second course was linguini cooked in sage, butter and white wine served with shrimp wrapped in proscuitto. The wine served with this course was Teruzzi and Puthod Terre di Tufi, a blend of Vernaccia, Chardonnay, Malvasia and Vermentino. The wine was more still than I prefer but very good and went well with the linguini, which was delicious.

The third course was scallops vodka with tomato cream paired with Promessa Rosso Salento, Apulia which was full of flavor and "big" but not heavy.

A lovely mixed green salad was served and then we had the fourth course, Veal Parmesan with scalloped potatoes and spinach paired with Terrabianca Campaccio, a blend of Cabernet Savignon and Sangiovese. This was my second favorite course next to the risotto. I love the veal with the potatoes as opposed to the usual pasta and the wine was wonderful also.

The last course was a lovely Italian Cream Cake with Lemon Mascarpone served with Moscato d'Asti dessert wine. I love a nice dessert wine but never know enough to order one without a lot of guidance. The cake was light and the perfect end to a very good meal.

Thank you Wes and Jeff and all the staff at Azzurro for the opportunity for a much needed evening with friends, food and wine.

A wonderful night....celebrating at Havana 59

2008-10-04T14:18:00.000-04:00

In our family, we love being us. We're fun, we're funny, we're dinner and a show. We annoy each other, love each other, and are proud of each other. Each of us brings different strengths and weaknesses and we do our best to be supportive of one another. That doesn't make us unique, of course, but yesterday was one of those days I was exceptionally proud.

Our daughter is in her second year of dental school. And yesterday was the White Coat Ceremony for the D2011 Class. This ceremony is a tradition where the student dentists are welcomed into the dental and medical community and begin the practicing of dentistry on the clinical level. This was a cause for celebration.

Havana 59 fit the bill. A perfectly beautiful night, roof top venue, Hannah the bartender keeping our thirst quench and an assortment of tasty offerings could not have been better. The mojitos were flowing as we feasted crudites of assorted veggies with dip, roasted red pepper and goat cheese spread with bruscetta, black bean hummus and crackers, mushrooms stuffed with bacon and manchego, beef tenderloin on skewers, Cuban pork sandwiches and flatbread pizzas with cheese and bacon. Everything was delicious and a great time was had by all. A special shout out to our dear friend Cynthia for making our celebration a night to remember and a shout out to Hannah and the staff at Havana for keeping us happy and well fed.

Havana 59 is doing good things and is a wonderful place to spend a fall evening, even if it's not a special occasion. We will be back. Havana 59...a revolution in food

Mezzanine...good food, in need of tweaking if it's going to succeed.

2008-09-29T08:11:00.000-04:00

I'm passionate about food, and I am passionate about restaurants. I want them to succeed, especially when they are doing their best. I hate to see a great place fail because of things they cannot control or issues which are particularly challenging. When I see a place with potential and is seemingly intentionally making the experience difficult for their customers, I get annoyed and frustrated and begin to wonder if they truly want my business.

Last night we had dinner for the first time at Mezzanine with Mck and Peyton. Mck is in second year dental school hell, Peyton works for an investment company, Bob and I have had renovation work at home for nearly a month......in other words, it had been a stressful week and a nice, relaxing dinner was in order.

Mezzanine could have fit the bill, but it did not. And this was no fault of the staff (the hostess and waitress both did their parts very well) but of the restaurant itself...the higher ups, so to speak.

We arrive for our reservation and the hostess indicates a large chalkboard that is the menu. The only menu. And because we are being seated upstairs, we have to examine the menu at the hostess station. We are told there are smaller chalkboards that can be brought to the table, but they don't give details of the dishes, only the main item of the dish (Rib-eye, Lamb Chops, Thai Chicken, etc.) and they do not include first courses or the salads. This is extremely awkward and frustrating and could easily be avoided with a cheap printer.

We go upstairs and are given a wine list with a nice variety of wines and many by the glass....kuddos for that. We are all looking at each other as we have no menus. Our waitress arrives and gives us the specials and then recites the menu posted downstairs. This is clearly inefficient for us and for her. While it was not busy at the time, I can't imagine a waiter or waitress with a full station having to go through this with every table. And we found ourselves asking her to repeat, explain, etc. because we had nothing to refer back to.

We ordered wine and Mck ordered the she crab soup and roasted chicken stuffed with goat cheese and roasted red peppers. Peyton ordered the tuna appetizer and fried green tomatoes and a cup of the soup. Bob ordered the grilled salad (which the waitress forgot to mention had anchovies, but I remembered seeing them listed downstairs so I let Bob know to ask for them to be left off) and the roasted chicken. I ordered the Thai Chicken with Green Curry sauce and the waitress gave me the heads up that it was very spicy.

Peyton's tuna dish was very good and nicely presented. The soup and salad both got high accolades. The rest of the meal arrives and everything is good but not outstanding and the roasted red pepper and goat cheese stuffing was left out of Bob's chicken. My Thai Chicken was nice and spicy but a small portion for the price. We shared a dessert of banana spring rolls that were easy to share and a nice ending to the meal.

Mezzanine serves good food, but I can't say anything was special or crave-worthy. The menu issue is enough to keep me from going back for dinner and from recommending it to others or bringing friends. While other places (such as Millie's and Edo's) also post menus, they are easily accessible from any table in the restaurant and in the case of Millie's you are given a paper menu with the night's selections as well and Edo's gives you a pasta, appetizer and wine menu. In this case, the lack of menus affects the entire experience.

Will I stop in for a glass of wine and maybe some raw oysters if I am in the neighborhood? Yes. But if they want us back for dinner, I'll need access to a menu. Mezzanine 3433 - Restaurant

A night out on the dark side :::errr:::: Short Pump. A fine dinner at DD33

2008-09-18T08:59:00.000-04:00

When venturing out for dinner, we tend to stay on the wrong side of the river or head into the city. Sometimes we will go to Goochland, but rarely do we eat in the West End.

After a busy summer, we were able to nail down a date with our friends Bob and Ann and decided to try a place we have not been to, DD33 on Cox Road.

This place is a gem. The interior is beautiful and sleek and they have a lovely outside patio with a small water fountain that helps you to forget you are in Short Pump. Since it was such a lovely evening, we decided to have cocktails on the patio before dinner even though our table was ready, but the staff and owner assured us we could take our time.

We are seated when we're ready and the menu is overwhelming in a good way. There was literally not one dish listed I did not want to try. Decisions, decisions. Our waitress Nicole patiently answered any questions we had and we decided on four appetizers to share...the special which was a scallop served on top of greens with duck confit and seared pork belly, the
crispy tuna sashimi roll, steamed Vietnamese clams with coconut milk (served with grilled bread the way God intended) and the panko oysters. All of the seafood was very fresh and each dish prepared with unique and wonderful spices and beautifully presented. And there was much debate on which was the best, but no debating the fact they were all terrific.

For entrees, our friends each chose the pan seared jumbo sea scallops & clams with spicy black bean sauce and truffled cauliflower puree. They also ordered a side of fried polenta cakes to share. Both raved on the dish. Bob ordered the braised Korean style short ribs with crispy polenta cakes and substituted succotash for the asparagus served with the entree. He enjoyed his meal as well. I ordered the broiled Alaskan sablefish with miso honey glaze with wasabi whipped potatoes and shiitake & Shanghai tips (baby bok choy). Disclaimer: I am a sucker for wasabi mashed potatoes and these did not disappoint. The fish was mild and cooked perfectly and the glaze was just sweet enough and the baby bok choy was an unexpected treat. For wine we had a bottle of Chanson Viré Clessé.

We could not resist the temptation of dessert and also ordered a liqueur that the bartender made of oranges and coffee. Very rich and a little too sweet for me, but a very nice after dinner drink. Desserts were outstanding. We shared fried churros served with chocolate ganache and the bananas foster.

And we left satisfied and happy and are looking forward to a return trip. DD33 is one of Richmond's unsung heroes, with very good food, a beautiful atmosphere and outstanding service. Dd33::asian bistro::

Why regular places are regular places...Tuesday night at Flemings

2008-09-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

Bob and I dine out a lot (in case you haven't figured that out). We are also fans of having a regular watering hole and Flemings is ours. It is often said if you are looking for us, first place to look is Flemings. Luke, Wade and Melissa keep the bar in check. John and Kenny keep the front of the house in order. Michelle is there to guide you if you want to have a party and some of the best waitstaff in Richmond....Nancy, Carlos, Steve, Melissa, Joey, Jackie, Ashley, Monica, Jamison, Meagan, Thad (can't forget Thad) and Preston (please forgive if I've left anyone out...I love all of you guys) make sure you are happy and well fed. Of course we cannot forget to mention Jay who is the Executive Chef and his staff who prepare all the wonderful eats.

Being in Blacksburg the past two weekends has meant we have not gotten to Flemings as often as usual and last night I was very happy to be there with Bob and our friends Jeff and Tracy. It was a beautiful evening in Richmond, fall is in the air, and a good steak fit the bill. After cocktails and wine at the bar...Melissa and Nancy gave us great service for dinner in the dining room. The steaks were terrific and the chipotle mac and cheese, Parmesan mashed potatoes and colossal onion rings rounded at the meal and we also ordered creamed spinach whose job was to make it look like we were eating at least one green vegetable as Mom taught us to do.

It was a wonderful evening with good food, good friends and good cheer. There's no place like home.

Birthday week redux...Part 3, Blacksburg

2008-09-08T09:48:00.000-04:00

Birthday week wrapped up in Blacksburg and thankfully our Hokies won this weekend and Hannah was nice enough to stay east and not rain on our parade. Friday night kicked off with mojitos for me and Abita beer for Bob at Blacksburg Boudreauxs.com at their rooftop bar. We then headed to Christiansburg for dinner at Bookbinder's Grill Contact & Directions. This Bookbinders is better than the one here.....Jamie keeps things running smoothly and Abe makes sure everyone at the bar is happy and the food, service and wine list are several steps up from the location in Midlothian and it is by far the best restaurant in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg area. We started with Oysters Rockefeller and Bob had the Crab Imperial and I had the Blackened Tuna special and both items were terrific as was the Savignon Blanc we had with the meal. A lovely dinner from start to finish.

Saturday was my birthday and Bob got me a cake from our favorite bakery in Blacksburg, Our Daily Bread (they also have some kickass chicken salad we regularly get for the tailgate as well). Chocolate with raspberry filling, milk chocolate icing and absolutely delicious. And we had enough to share with adjacent tailgaters as well...spreading the love and all of that.

After the Hokie win, we went to Big Al's to watch ECU beat the stuffing out of WVU which was the perfect end to my birthday week.

Birthday week redux....part 2....local festivities

2008-09-08T09:42:00.001-04:00

Mid-week celebrations included Bob making me his famous carbonara and us having a great evening with some great wine...one of my favorite Pinot Noirs, Patricia Green.

Thursday night we went to Azzurro with Mckenzie, Peyton, Monica, Jeremy and Bob and Marlene. And Wes being Wes took extremely good care of us with wonderful wine, bubbly, appetizers, and sorbet to go with the cake Mck brought me from Jean Jacques. It was a wonderful and festive evening and everyone from Bob to Wes to everyone in between made it a great evening. I called Wes the next day to thank him again and he said "I just wanted my friend to have a great time for her birthday." and I did. Thank you again.

Birthday week redux......Janet turns 44...Part 1, Charlotte

2008-09-08T09:18:00.000-04:00

In our family we have a tradition known as birthday week. It's all about you for a minimum of seven days (but has been known to go on much longer, especially for me because I'm into my birthday).

This year my birthday week kicked off in Charlotte. Bob and I were there with our friends Steve and Luke for the Hokie opening game against East Carolina University. Since this is a festive post, we'll skip over the fact that the Hokies lost and that it was approximately a gazillion degrees in the stadium.

Festivities started with a cocktail at Bentley's...a very elegant place and one of the most beautiful restaurants I've ever been to Welcome to Bentley's on 27 - A Visionary Dining Experience. Any place with good bubbly by the glass is a-okay with me and I'd love to have dinner there sometime.

Dinner was at The Capital Grille Restaurant, which has a great location and atmosphere but the food did not live up to our hopes. It wasn't dreadful or anything but we had high hopes and it ended up being "eh". The service was very good though as was the wine....a 1999 French Margeaux that was so good, we had two. After dinner we headed across the street (love that you can walk around downtown Charlotte and go from place to place) to an Irish pub, Ri Ra, and had a wonderful pint of Guinness before heading back to the hotel.

Saturday was Game Day and nothing starts the day like biscuits with LARD :-) Love that Bojangles are seemingly everywhere once you cross the line into North Carolina. Friends came up to our suite before the game and afterward we got pizza and wings from Fuel Pizza across from the hotel. All of the pizzas were good, but the stars of the show were the white pizza and the wings.

Sunday we ended our trip with a terrific soul food brunch at Mert's Heart and Soul Restaurant Charlotte NC Merts Official Site......fried chicken, fried catfish, collards and Charleston red rice with some of the best dang cornbread ever was the perfect end to the weekend.

Another fine dinner at Black Sheep

2008-08-20T12:20:00.000-04:00

We headed down to Black Sheep for dinner last night as they were closed this past weekend, so no breakfast for us.

There were a few tables open when we arrived, so we were seated promptly and happy to say the remaining tables filled in short order.

We elected to have iced tea as we had just left Flemings where we had a couple of glasses of wine.

For appetizers we shared the gumbo and a Spice Trade salad. The gumbo was nice and hearty and spicy and the salad was a refreshing change from the same 'ole, same 'ole. Frisee lettuce was served with pears and avocado with a light but very nicely spiced dressing. While seemingly simple, it was much more than the sum of its parts.

Bob ordered his usual chicken and dumplings and I ordered the fish tacos which I have been very anxious to try. He was very pleased with his dish and especially loved the light, fluffy, biscuity dumplings. He also was pleased with his side of bread and butter veggies.

The fish tacos were so, so good. I'm generally not a big fan of mahi-mahi (often it is overcooked and over seasoned) but this was grilled to perfection and seasoned enough to let the flavor of the fish come through. The taco shells are fried there and somewhat free form and you build your own taco with the guacamole (very good!) and salsa. This is served with some terrific rice and beans.

Sadly, we did not have room for dessert.....that means we'll be back very soon.

I love a rainy night....dinner at Edible Garden

2008-08-16T08:14:00.000-04:00

Last night Bob and I met at Flemings for a cocktail and since it was just the two of us, a rarity on a Friday night, we decided to go to Edible Garden. The weather was iffy but at that moment perfectly pleasant and when I called to make a reservation I was told they were seating people outside but prepared to move parties inside if the weather demanded it. We arrive and it's warm and breezy, perfect for outdoor dining. The outdoor seating adjacent to their garden is arguably the best in town.

We ordered a bottle of Frattina 2007 Pinot Grigio and it is brought promptly along with some terrific whole grain bread and butter. At this point a slight drizzle starts and within minutes turns into a shower but is not unpleasant. Of the half dozen tables outside, everyone except us and another couple elected to move inside. Their tables and umbrellas are such that we did not get wet and we asked the waitress if she would mine if we stayed outside and she said that was fine.

She brought our appetizer of Garden Fresh Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil topped with Italian Sausage and Fennel Ragout. This was a hot and cold dish and was a great way to take the Caprese salad and bump it up several notches. The warm and spicy sausage was a nice balance to the creamy mozzarella and sweet tomato.

Entrees were just as impressive. Bob had the French Cut Chicken Breast topped with Tomato, Onion and Fresh Basil Salad. The chicken was a deep golden brown with a nice crusty outside and the salad complimented it well. Bob was very pleased with his choice and said he definitely would get it again. Because no one can ever eat too much pig, I ordered the Grilled Chipotle Spiked Center Cut Pork Chop with Chorizo Sausage with a Roasted Tomatillo, Garlic and Cilantro Salsa. This was a fabulous dish and the menu description did not do it justice as it included baby lima beans, corn and some of the best darn mashed potatoes I've had in a long time. Bob tasted them and then continued snitching off my plate.

It was so lovely and the pacing of everything so nice, we decided to stay for dessert. Bob had a slice of pear tart with vanilla ice cream and I had the chocolate peanut butter mousse torte. We were both pleased and mine was so rich, I brought half of it home for a treat later in the weekend.

Last night's dinner was the perfect blend of good company, wonderful food, great ambiance and terrific service. And it's one of those "we need to come here more often" places, especially since it's the closest restaurant to home. If you want a nice, relaxing way to start off a weekend with your special someone or a few friends, dinner at Edible Garden fits the bill. They are open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday 11-2 and dinner Thursday through Saturday 5-9.

Wednesday night out with the girls...and Bob

2008-08-14T14:44:00.000-04:00

It's been a tough of a week at home. We bought a new TV last week and this week consisted of the week in DirectTV hell. I spent all day and evening at home waiting for them (and they never showed) and yesterday they finally came but could not do all of the work required, so they came back out today (the good news is I am cautiously optimistic it's the last we'll see of the DirectTV techs for a while).

Last night I was ready to go out and have some casual fun. Met Bob and Flemings for a drink and to catch up with the gang and Mckenzie called and we decided to meet up with her and Allison for dinner at Six Burner.

Six Burner is one of those places we should frequent more than we do. We are guilty of getting into a groove and not adding places into our regular rotation as we should. We arrive are seated promptly (kuddos to Six Burner for taking reservations for small parties) and order a bottle of white and one of red (the girls benefit from this by getting to take whatever is left home). We decided on appetizers of risotto with mushrooms, bacon and mascarpone and chilled lobster, avocado, cucumber and lobster oil. The risotto is creamy and delicious with just the right amount of bacon. The lobster was presented beautifully and was fresh and light and hit the spot on a warm night in the Fan.

Bob ordered the pork shank with lima beans and bacon. Mck ordered the crab cakes with jalapeno cheese grits and lemon herb sauce. Ali ordered the chicken breast with garlic mashed potatoes and sherry wine sauce and I ordered the skate with polenta, fennel, citrus and tomato salad with pistachios and pistachio oil. I didn't taste anyone else's but am convinced I hit a home run with this dish. Skate is thin and easy to overcook and this was perfectly tender and moist and the polenta, salad and pistachios complimented it perfectly. Bob was very pleased with his dish and it was while enjoying it he exclaimed that we should go more often. Ali's chicken was French cut on the bone and got two thumbs up from her. Mck liked her crab cakes but I believe was experience some regret on not getting the gnocchi and she wished the grits had been spicier.

Service was terrific and I also want to give Six Burner a big shout out for a thoughtful menu where the side dishes aren't an afterthought and are as well planned and executed as the entrees themselves. Good job. Welcome to Six Burner Restaurant & Bar

A beautiful weekend in the RIC

2008-08-11T09:07:00.000-04:00

We could not have ordered up a more beautiful weekend here. And we made good use of it. Friday night had cocktails with Mckenzie and Peyton at Havana 59 and then a lovely dinner at Sensi. Good drink, good food, good weather made for a perfect night.

Saturday we went to Millie's for brunch and discovered they are closed for renovations (scheduled to reopen 8/12) and headed to Lulu's instead. Bob had the poached eggs and corned beef hash, I had the huevos rancheros, service was great and it was the perfect way to start the day. We then headed to La Diff to pick up a new TV stand for our new TV.

Had friends over for dinner which included pulled pork from Benny's BBQ....good stuff. Smoked, sauce on the side, it's perfect for snitching and dipping into sauce or for a sandwich with their creamy coleslaw. Hushpuppies to go didn't hold up as well as we hoped but made for good on the road snacks for the journey back home. Bob made his famous ribs for dinner, I made some decadent mac and cheese and corn and butter beans filled the veggie quota and a wonderful French Apple Pie from Westhampton Pastry Shop rounded out the meal.

Yesterday we hung around waiting for delivery of our new TV from Best Buy. In the meantime our satellite died (good thing we have an appointment for Tuesday to get the new TV hooked up) and the only working TV was the tiniest, oldest one in the computer room, so a Sunday night trip to Flemings was in order. Melissa was behind the bar and set up the golf for Bob and we shared their Sunday night prime rib special ($32.95 for prime rib, salad, side and dessert...a good deal) and a bottle of Petite Syrah.

Aside from the TV issues.....a nearly perfect weekend!

A weekend full of good food....and don't under estimate what great dining companions bring to the table

2008-08-04T09:07:00.000-04:00

We had a weekend full of food and friends and were reminded of how who you dine with is as important as where you choose to dine.

Friday night we met friends at Flemings, as is usually the case. After discussing our options, we decided on Avalon. Neither of the other two couple we were having dinner with had been to Avalon nor did they have any concept or experience as to what tapas dining is like and they did not have a cooperative spirit . We love Avalon and go often with Mckenzie and Peyton and it's always a good experience. Friday night was much like trying to herd and train cats. Avalon held up their end of the deal with good food and service and we look forward to going back...but with a different group.

Last night at Edo's was a completely different experience, largely because of the group we were with. It's nice to go to a place with people who love it and appreciate it as much as you do. Our group included Wes and Sarah (from Azzurro), Luke (from Flemings), Monica (also from Flemings and my stepdaughter from the marriage to my Ex-husband) and her boyfriend Jeremy and Bob and me.

Over the years we have come up with a strategy for group dining at Edo's (for parties of five or more they serve family style and it's great). We make our reservation several days ahead of time and confirm with our party the day before to make sure our head count is accurate. We also find out what everyone likes and dislikes and what their "must haves" are. Bob and I arrive 15-30 minutes early and make a list of what we want for apps and entrees based on every one's preferences and touch base with whoever will be waiting on us and order a bottle of white and red to get things started. This works out very well.

Last night's dinner was a home run.....apps included fried oysters, squid, white beans and arugula, squash salad and braised fennel. We also tried a small juice glass of their chilled cantaloupe soup. Entrees were veal marsala, eggplant Parmesan, Branzino, spaghetti carbonara and side pasta with marinara and garlic and olive oil. For dessert we had Amaretto gelato, espresso gelato, cannoli and tiramisu. The wine flowed (Venica Pinot Grigio, Allegrini, and later a Zinfandel) throughout the evening and a good time was had by all. When you have good food, good service and good company it makes for a perfect evening and a good way to start the week.

Support our local businesses....Belmont Butchery & Cavanna Pasta

2008-07-24T09:19:00.000-04:00

I believe during these times it's more important than ever to try to spend wisely and to support local small businesses whenever feasible. Richmonders have complained for years about the lack of specialty foods, namely a good butcher, and thankfully we have Belmont Butchery who delivers on many levels.

Sunday we hosted a brunch at the house to watch the last round of the British Open. With 17 in attendance and a shortage of sausage at Fresh Market, we headed to Belmont Butchery late Friday. We were a bit overwhelmed at the selection of their homemade sausages, but were skillfully guided by Tanya and her staff and selected a South African sausage made with beef, pork and bacon (how can one go wrong with that) and a Sicilian sausage. Everyone was very impressed and there was not a link left by mid-day.

Yesterday, I met Mckenzie for lunch in the West End and took advantage of the opportunity to pick up some pasta and sauce from Cavanna Pasta for a quick, but very satisfying dinner. Last night's dinner consisted of tagliatelle and Sugo Rustico sauce, a simple sauce of chopped tomatoes, peppers and olive oil. I also bought an individual Panne Cotta for myself and a Cream Carmel for Bob. With some crusty bread and an arugula, goat cheese and roasted red pepper salad it was a great meal.

I also picked up some pansoti and meat sauce for the weekend and am looking forward to trying it. Belmont Butchery - Richmond's Best Custom Butcher Cavanna Pasta.

I encourage everyone to frequent these and other local shops. You will not be disappointed.

Another great evening at Sensi

2008-07-19T12:25:00.001-04:00

Last night we had dinner at Sensi with Mckenzie, Peyton and Peyton's Dad and Stepmom, Dick and Barbara. I always welcome the opportunity to have dinner at Sensi, but even more the opportunity to introduce others to this restaurant which I believe deserves much more recognition than it gets.

We arrived before the rest of our party and Bob met briefly with our waiter, Matty, to arrange for an assortment of appetizers, side dishes and desserts to accompany the meal as well as review the wine list.

We were seated after everyone arrived and the wine was served. The white was Piropan Soave and the red Sartori Amarone. We ordered our entrees after much deliberation and the appetizers were served. They consisted of miniature crab cakes, Hanover tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella, cold shrimp with a cognac cream sauce, bruscetta and fried calamari. All of it was very good and my personal favorite were the cold shrimp. They were refreshing and the cream sauce worked well and wasn't too heavy.

Entrees were served and everyone was very pleased. Bob and Dick each got the special which was a Karabuto pork chop. Karabuto pork comes from Japan and it's forefather was a black hog given to the Emperor of Japan in the early 1800's. It's the pork equivalent of Kobe beef. And it did not disappoint. Served on the bone, it was tender and flavorful and declared to be the best pork chop either of them ever had. Peyton and Barbara each had the filet mignon and were pleased with their selection (though I think Peyton was coveting the pork chop). Mck had her usual crab and lobster ravioli and I had the salmon. The side vegetables were spinach, green beans, asparagus, roasted potatoes and their version of a baked mashed potato with cheese (they have a fancy name for it and my description does not do it justice). Everything was prepared perfectly and had that special touch that comes when the chef and staff take pride with attention to details. The quality of each ingredient is definitely showcased.

For dessert, we each had the dessert trio....three miniature desserts. My favorite is the goat cheese custard.

Once again, I cannot say enough good things about Sensi. The staff is well informed, professional, friendly and definitely add to the experience. The food is consistently top notch, innovative and worth the price. The atmosphere is relaxing and inviting and I always leave happy and ready to go back. Is it pricey? Yes, but I believe it is a better value than most places in town.

The Black Sheep....this time for dinner

2008-07-19T07:46:00.001-04:00

Thursday evening Bob and I chose to have dinner at The Black Sheep since we had such a good breakfast there on Saturday. Once again, we were not disappointed.

We arrived and were quickly seated at one of the two available tables. I ordered a glass of a white wine and Bob ordered a Red Stripe. We decided to share the Gumbo Z (a vegetarian...and perhaps vegan soup)and the Goat's Head salad (a wedge style salad with iceberg, goat cheese, grapes, apples, celery and a honey mustard vinaigrette). The soup was a flavorful bowl of green and herbs and rice. The salad was fresh but nothing special and I found the dressing to be a bit bland.

Bob had the chicken and dumplings with a side of dirty rice. This was full of pulled chicken with light fluffy biscuit style dumplings in a creamy chicken gravy. Bob was very pleased. The dirty rice was good and had a nice spice to it. I had the blue ribbon pork, a pork cutlet fried and topped with country ham and Swiss cheese and served on over buttered egg noodles with peas and carrots. The pork was tender, the noodles al dente and the peas and carrots were fresh and cooked to the perfect doneness. For my side, I chose the bread and butter vegetables and they were wonderful and obviously homemade.

With his meal, Bob had a New Orleans beer suggested by our waitress and it was so good he got a six pack to bring home.

Bob said for me to choose a dessert to share and I selected the peanut butter pie. It was light and fluffy and not too sweet and was the perfect end to a very good meal.

The Black Sheep is the new kid in town and they are doing a good job. After they get solidly on their feet, I'd like to see some specials worked into the rotation and perhaps the choices of side dishes to be tweaked a bit. A simple house salad as an offered side would be nice.

All is right with the world...Edo's Squid has reopened from their vacation

2008-07-16T09:24:00.001-04:00

We love Edo's. We go to Edo's roughly every 7-10 days. We always leave Edo's happy.

The first two weeks of July are a sad time for us as Edo's is closed for vacation. The upside is not having our Edo's fix for over two weeks gives one more appreciation for what a gem Edo's is.

We had dinner there last night with Mckenzie and Peyton. Bob ordered our usual bottle of red and we shared appetizers of squid, white beans and arugula and roasted red peppers and mozzarella. Bob had his usual veal marsala, Mck had the carbonara, Peyton had the pasta with crab meat and I had the pasta al’amatriciana. And all was once again right with the world.

We also ordered some gazpacho and potatoes, beans and pesto salad to-go to have with our dinner tonight at home. Life is good.

Tenjinmura...some fine sushi in Midlothian

2008-07-16T09:04:00.000-04:00

Sushi used to be a once a week lunch treat. Now due to gas prices, the economy, and higher all around costs it's more of a once or twice a month lunch treat. So, when I decide to treat myself to a $20 lunch of sushi, I want it to be some damn good sushi and Tenjinmura did not disappoint.

Tenjinmura is located on Hull Street just west of Clover Hill High School and in a strip mall behind Wawa. The outside it unassuming, but the inside is elegant and serene and an escape from the daily grind and the Hull Street traffic.

The menu is solid and easy to navigate with the usual offerings and some surprises. I ordered the Alaskan rolls (salmon and avocado), spicy tuna rolls and Oshinko (Japanese pickle) rolls. The waiter brought my plate and it was gorgeous (they also have great lighting which showcases the beauty of sushi) and the waiter pointed out each roll, which was a nice touch. The rolls are small in diameter, which makes a chop stick novice like me happy and also makes them easier to savor in one bite. The fish was fresh, the avocado perfectly ripe and the constrast of textures and attention to detail made it so much more than just some rolls on a plate.

I left satisfied, refreshed and ready to face an afternoon back at the office. If you are in the area and need a sushi fix, Tenjinmura is the place to go. Tenjinmura: Sushi and Hibachi

Sometimes I do cook....beef stroganoff

2008-07-15T10:12:00.000-04:00

I'm a better than average cook IMO, but I don't love cooking as much as I wish I did. I enjoy it most on the weekends when I have plenty of time, and have an appreciative audience and when I know it's something I do well. Nothing I hate more than spending a lot on ingredients and taking a lot of time for a dish that is simply "okay". In my repertoire I have some signature dishes....my go-to items if you will and one of them is my beef stroganoff. We had this for dinner last night with some crusty French bread and organic peas since I had some leftover tenderloin in the freezer. This amount served Bob and me with enough left for two days worth of lunch.

8-10 ounces of beef tenderloin or filet (this is a great use of leftover beef tenderloin). If using
fresh beef, season and brown at high heat to very rare. Let cool and slice into 1" x 1/2"x 1/2"
slices
2 T butter
1/2 medium onion, diced
8 oz button mushroom, sliced thickly or halved or left whole if small
salt and pepper
1 t Spice Hunter Steak Seasoning (if you do not have this and don't want to buy it, use 1/2 t dry mustard, 1/2 t lemon pepper and about 1/4 t of allspice)
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock (I use the small red box from Kitchen Basics...if you make you own, even better)
1 1/2 T corn starch
1/2- 2/3 c sour cream (I like a lot of sour cream in my stroganoff)
8 oz hearty, wide egg noodles

Get the water started for the egg noodles...and salt well when it comes to a boil.

Melt the butter in a medium but deep skillet. Add onion and salt and pepper to taste. After about 5 minutes add mushrooms, seasonings and more salt and pepper. Let saute for about 7 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce and let simmer about 7 minutes or so until reduced to about half of what you started with. Meanwhile mix the corn starch in a bowl with about 2 T of unheated stock and dissolved. Add remaining stock to pan, bring to a boil and stir in the corn starch/broth mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let thicken. Meanwhile cook egg noodles to slightly underdone (I usually cook about 7 minutes as the noodles I use call for 9-11 minutes) and drain and set aside. Add sour cream to pan (keep heat low to med-low), add beef and when warmed through add egg noodles and cover and keep over medium low heat (you want them to continue cooking but not boil) for at least 5 minutes.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as we do.

A good place to be on Saturday night....Avalon

2008-07-13T08:39:00.000-04:00

Last night Bob and I met our daughter at Avalon for dinner. This is one of her favorite places and one of mine also. I enjoy the tapas style of dining, especially with family and close friends.

We arrive and are seated promptly and we order a bottle of Italian red for the table. Our tapas ordering style is two per person plus one extra for the table. The seven tapas we chose were tuna gnocchi, hummus, beef short ribs, fried green tomatoes, tomato risotto, duck pizza, and chili corn on the cob <--this one is difficult to share except with your family or very, very close friends. We tried cutting it off the cob without success.

Everything tasted great, the menu offers a terrific variety of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes, and our waitress did a very good job of timing when each tapas would be served. The tapas run from $4-$14 and most are in the $8 range and I find them to be a good value. I still wish they had the chicken with pimento cheese sauce, but that's another post for another day.

The Black Sheep....a shout out for the new guy in town

2008-07-12T13:17:00.000-04:00

The Black Sheep had at least three favorable reviews from local critics this week. Often I disagree with those who review places for Style, the Times-Dispatch and Richmond.com, but this time they were right. The Black Sheep is wonderful.

This morning Bob and I decided to give it a try for breakfast. We arrived in anticipation of a wait due all of the buzz, but it was a short one and the staff kept us apprised of how much longer it would be and how many parties were ahead of us. They also have menus printed and available outside for look at while waiting and they include breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We are seated and order coffee and what fine coffee it is. They offer bold, medium and decaf. Since Bob and I both drink it black, we chose the medium roast. I would like to try the bold when the day comes that I try the French Toast.

Bob orders the biscuits and sausage gravy with a side of scrambled eggs and their smashbrown potatoes. I order the pork with cheese grits

Man oh man.....good stuff here. The pork was pounded thin and lightly breaded and fried and served over top of the creamy cheesy grits and topped off with a lovely brown gravy that was accented with diced tomatoes and I believe a squeeze of lemon (which cut the richness of the pork and grits perfectly). Bob's sausage gravy and biscuits were among the best I've ever had. Full of spicy sausage, the gravy was hearty and the biscuits were fluffy and didn't need the gravy in order to make them sing. The smashed potatoes were made with Yukon golds and fresh herbs and a far cry from those awful potatoes we had last night at Buckhead's.

With tax the total was $21......a great value. Now, I am ready to try lunch and dinner there. And the staff could not have been any nicer or more welcoming.

I had high hopes going in this morning and The Black Sheep exceeded my expectations. Good job! The Black Sheep, Richmond, Virginia

Buckhead's....will.not.be.back.

2008-07-12T08:26:00.000-04:00

On Friday nights we usually go to dinner with friends. We have our usual places, but last night I decided to step out of the box and I think I fell off instead. It was one of those decisions I regret (live and learn and all of that).

We arrived a little before 8:00 and there were a few people at the bar and I would guess the dining area was about half full. Buckhead's allows smoking at the bar and "that one guy" was there smoking a cigar and stinking up the joint. Moving to the right side of the bar alleviated this issue. But this was the first sign of things to come. We had a glass of bubbly and were seated at our table shortly. We had a round table in a corner which worked well for the six of us.

We get menus and the famed wine list and Bob and Bob decide to order a bottle of white and red to get things started. This turned into the typical Buckhead's fiasco..."We have the largest wine list in Richmond. We just don't stock most of it." After being told several selections weren't in stock, we hit pay dirt, or so we thought. The white was Connundrum, one of our regulars, so no surprises there other than it being served unchilled. The red (which I only had a small taste of from a friend's glass and never saw the list so I don't have the specifics) was dreadful. It had not gone bad, it simply was bad. It was beyond spicy and reminiscent of eating a bunch of cloves. We asked the waiter to take it away and for the list back. He came back and said the manager tasted it and agreed it was not good wine and would remove it from the bill. I give them credit for that. After several more tries, another red was selected and it was fine.

We order entrees and salads and a few people got the lobster bisque. I tasted a friend's bisque and it had a slight burnt taste to it, almost as if a roux had gotten burnt along the way. The Caesar salad was okay, but nothing special. Three of us got crab cakes, including me, and they were "okay" but at over $30 they should have been outstanding and they should not have been as small as they were. They were slightly dry and the crabmeat was bland rather than having that crab sweetness crab lovers crave. The side of the hashbrown cake was dry and flavorless. My Bob had the lamb chop and it tasted like paper and he stated "I don't know how you screw up a lamb chop that badly." He also had the dreaded hash brown cake. Our friend Bob had the rockfish special and said it was good. Our friend Tommy had the fried shrimp, which were large and fried beautifully. Another thing I noted is that nothing is served in a particularly attractive manner. The plating is "Wednesday night at home" ordinary and for what they charge, that just shouldn't be the case.

The one thing I will say is the entire staff was very nice. Our waiter did a good job, as did the rest of the staff. It's a shame the food and wine does not live up to the prices or reputation. When dinner in Richmond is $150 for two people, they should leave satisfied, not with the declaration that they will never go back.

To our regular Friday night places....we won't cheat on you again.

A lovely evening at Millie's

2008-07-10T10:20:00.000-04:00

It is no secret I am a big fan of Millie's anytime of the day or night. Of course going there at 8:00 Friday night is a tougher decision than going Tuesday evening at 6:30 which is what Bob and I did this week.

We arrived and found parking easily and could be seated immediately but elected to have a glass of Graham Beck bubbly at the bar beforehand.

Once seated we ordered the house salad of the day with a tomato based dressing and an appetizer of scallops with ratatouille. For entrees Bob selected the chicken and I ordered the steak. The salad arrived and was fresh with just the right amount of dressing and was more than plenty for two to share. After we finished, Bob ordered a bottle of Albarino (yes, we took plenty of it home) and I had a glass of Medoc. The scallops arrived nice and browned on the outside and moist on the inside and the ratatouille was the perfect accompaniment.

The entrees arrive and my hangar steak with chili-peanut mashed potatoes (don't knock them until you try them)was cooked perfectly (I requested between rare and medium rare), delicious, tender and satisfied my steak craving perfectly. Bob's roasted chicken was served over quinoa with corn and edamame succotash and he deemed it very good.

The experience was a good reminder why Millie's was named Richmond's Restaurant of the Year. Always different, always thinking outside the box, constantly surprising us but comfortably dependable and prepared and served by a terrific staff, it is definitely a Richmond cornerstone. As usual, I am looking forward to my next trip already.

A good way to kick off a holiday weekend....dinner at Pescados

2008-07-07T08:24:00.000-04:00

Thursday night we wanted a festive dinner but without the drive to the city as such. Pescados fit the bill. We have been negligent in going to Pescados in recent years and I'm not sure why.

We arrive and are promptly seated and the chips and salsa were arrived immediately. Pescados has terrific chips...blue corn, topped with both salt and sugar, they are the perfect balance of salty and sweet and the homemade spicy-but-not-too-hot salsa goes very well with them.

Bob and our friend Marlene ordered drinks, I ordered my water as I was driving, and we ordered a plate of crab nachos....one of my favorite items in Richmond. Made with the salty-sweet corn chips as a base, they are topped with king crab, shredded cabbage, jack cheese, a light cream sauce, salsa and guacamole. They are so good I ate way too many of them and was unable to put a sizable dent into my entree.

Speaking of entrees, Bob ordered the pork tenderloin with sweet potato fries. Marlene had the filet mignon with potato cakes, blue cheese and a red wine reduction. I had the tilapia tacos with salsa, guacamole, coconut black beans and rice. I always get seafood there and I always make sure that the coconut black beans are an offered side...they are great and creamy and so comforting.

We were all very pleased with our meals. And our waitress did a great job the entire evening. Marlene won best entree but both of our meals were very good as well. Pescados is innovative and the chef pushes the envelope far but not too far and we always leave satisfied (and happy to have a short drive home).

It was nice and crowded that night. Especially happy to see the independent guys doing well during these tough economic times.