Richmond Dining-Out scene

[Icetera]

Here is a list of nominees for Elby awards this Sunday night at The Leslie Cheek Theatre:

 

From Richmond dot com:

 

http://richmondmagazine.com/?pageID=0c56e6392b37f855eff9e48e7ab3f384

 

I am disappointed to not see 525 Berry Burke nominated.

[burt]

RVANews sends Valentine Day wishes to all.

 

Click Valentine's Day Dining Deals for a list of menus.  And you may find it interesting to click the websites provided for each.

 

The gallery pictures of HAVANA 59 in Shockoe Bottom show how the original owner succeeded in portraying a sleezy back-street cafe in the Cuban Capital.  It's a work of restaurant design art, IMO. 

 

The food is pretty good, too.  And they offer salsa dancing on certain nights.

 

http://rvanews.com/tag/valentines-day

[burt]

My partner and I dined at Dutch and Company last night and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We ran into one of our regular servers from Aziza's the other day who told us she was now working also at Dutch and Co and said we should come in. We did the prix fixe menu (28 bucks for 3 courses). We felt it was a great value and plenty of food. I can't remember what my partner had, but I had the Rillette, hanger steak, and a chocolate desert kind of like a small dark chocolate dense brownie with hints of citrus and salt. It was all very good. I would think if you like Roosevelt, you will like this as well.

Thanks for the review, gg.  Does DUTCH & CO at 27th and Mashall Streets in Church Hill have a full bar and good wine list?

[burt]

The Elby Awards were presented last night at The Leslie Cheek Theatre in The Virginia Museum of  Fine Arts.

 

Among the winners was Dale Reitzer of ACADIA who won as Chef of The Year. 

 

Also among the nominees for that category was Peter Chang, and while he lost out to Reitzer, his Richmond restaurant is rated #4 among the 22 Best Chinese Restaurants in the Country in the current Travel and Leisure Magazine.

 

From Richmond Biz Sense:

 

http://www.richmondbizsense.com/2013/02/11/and-the-elby-goes-to/

 

From Travel & Leisure Magazine --  click the 'Next" and 'Back' arrows to see all of the Chinese Restaurants:

 

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/best-chinese-restaurants-in-the-us/4

 

 

Edited February 11, 2013 by burt

[burt]

Here is more coverage of The Elby Awards from RVANews with a number of photos.  Unfortunately the people in the pictures are not identified. 

 

http://rvanews.com/features/the-2013-elbys/83493

 

PS:  The word 'restaurateur' is correctly spelled without the 'n' after the second 'a'.

[burt]

Molly Ringwald is in town with her accompanist for 4 cabaret style performances in the intimate Rhythm Hall at Richmond CenterStage.

 

They had dinner last night at PASTURE.

 

From today's Richmond dot com:

(click photo to enlarge.)

 

http://www.richmond.com/food-drink/dish/article_caa7a01e-7539-11e2-b069-0019bb30f31a.html:

 

 

Edited February 12, 2013 by burt

[burt]

Molly Ringwald is in town with her accompanist for 4 cabaret style performances in the intimate Rhythm Hall at Richmond CenterStage.

 

They had dinner last night at PASTURE.

 

From today's Richmond dot com:

(click photo to enlarge.)

 

http://www.richmond.com/food-drink/dish/article_caa7a01e-7539-11e2-b069-0019bb30f31a.html:

Here is the cabaret performance schedule for Ringwald:

 

http://send.email2contacts.com/t/ViewEmail/r/D7BDA25A889CFEAD/4E594C99644031EFC67FD2F38AC4859C

[burt]

It wasn't that the former DeLux was losing money.  In fact, the glitzy bar was bringing in top dollar.  It's just that Michelle Williams and partners grew weary of the operation.

 

DeLux was stripped of its elegant look and will open as a rather plain looking PEARL RAW BAR later this month.  It is on the corner of West Main and Strawberry Streets in The Fan.

 

Deveron Timberlake has other news in her Short Order column this week, and one of the items puzzles me.  PIZZA 111 is about ready to open in the old Southern RR Deli space on 14th between Canal Street and the canal turning basin but its address is 111 Virginia Street which is also the address of MORTON'S STEAK HOUSE.   

 

From today's Style Weekly:

 

http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/short-order/Content?oid=1826589

[burt]

A publication called AFAR Travel Guide has a lot of nice things to say and pictures to see of Richmond's historic attractions as well as a tribute to the city's restaurants which are described as a 'destination for food pilgrims.'

 

We can thank Karri Peifer of Richmond dot com for bringing it to our attention.

 

The site is difficult to navigate but if you scroll around and click here and there you'll have a good time.  KUBA KUBA, CAN CAN, PASTURE and ROOSEVELT are among restaurants mentioned and pictured. 

 

http://www.afar.com/travelers/afar/wanderlists/eat-here-now-6-great-picks

Edited February 13, 2013 by burt

[jbjust]

Sadly, I was able to experience first-hand tonight exactly what's holding East Grace Street back.  We left Pasture (after a pretty disappointing experience) and decided to maybe walk down to poke our heads into Rappahannock.  We decided against it, though, as we walked past a vagrant urinating against the wall not 20 feet from Pasture.  As we walked back toward the Carpenter Center, we were followed by an extremely loud group of "youths" that had just gotten off the bus and were yelling at us as we walked down the street. 

 

I don't know what one can do about it, but it needs to change if East Grace Street is going to come back to its former glory. 

 

525 Berry Burke seemed to be hopping and it's location seems to avoid the worst parts of what I just described. 

 

This was at 8:15 p.m. on Valentine's Day, btw.

Edited February 15, 2013 by jbjust

[Icetera]

Sadly, I was able to experience first-hand tonight exactly what's holding East Grace Street back.  We left Pasture (after a pretty disappointing experience) and decided to maybe walk down to poke our heads into Rappahannock.  We decided against it, though, as we walked past a vagrant urinating against the wall not 20 feet from Pasture.  As we walked back toward the Carpenter Center, we were followed by an extremely loud group of "youths" that had just gotten off the bus and were yelling at us as we walked down the street. 

 

I don't know what one can do about it, but it needs to change if East Grace Street is going to come back to its former glory. 

 

525 Berry Burke seemed to be hopping and it's location seems to avoid the worst parts of what I just described. 

 

This was at 8:15 p.m. on Valentine's Day, btw.

 

Thankfully, I had the usual great experience at 525 Berry Burke (left about an hour before you came through).  I still need to try Rappahannock.

[540_804]

I'm certainly not excusing the 'vagrant' for urinating in public, but the fact of the matter is that most simply don't have a choice. There simply aren't any public restrooms in that area. Zero.

None of the business owners in that area allow for public use of their restrooms (especially for individuals that look homeless). Subway (around the corner) allows use of their restroom but I've heard the manager there tell people they had to spend at least $3 in the store in order to use the restroom; no homeless person can afford that.

 

The closest public restroom would be at the Library Main Branch, several blocks away or all the way in Monroe Park. Walking all the way to Monroe Park to use the restroom just isn't feasible for most people.

 

The next closest thing they have to a publicly accessible restroom is McDonalds and Starbucks (which is why homeless people tend to linger around those restaurants in the city).

 

This isn't just a problem for Richmond; it's a problem faced by most bigger cities (There's a 2011 NYT article that explorese this problem in NYC and a quick Google search shows articles from almost every major city).

[Annie]

Le Crepes officially opened February 18th 2013. Everyone should try their Crepes

Le Crepes officially opened Feb 18th 2013

[jbjust]

Ah, I stopped by last Friday and it was still closed -- just missed it.

 

I did have a very tasty crepe du Normande at La Parisienne yesterday.

[Brent]

Hey new blood!

Welcome Annie!

[joanpone]

I am sad to report that Burt died this week. A late comer to the computer world, he loved these forums and reveled in all his friends and followers. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, my friend.

[georgeglass]

I had been wondering what was happening with this. I do know that Sette is in the process of taking over the space he was considering that fronts Main St. I ate there on Tuesday and confirmed with our server that the patio is currently closed for the expansion and it should be done in about 90 days.

Good luck to Malcom in Jackson Ward. It sounds like there could still be changes before it finally opens.

http://www.richmond.com/food-drink/article_817beef0-9018-11e2-bd8f-0019bb30f31a.html

[georgeglass]

Looks like there is new life again for the building that most recently housed Fanhouse in the fan... It seems like the menu should be very familiar to Richmonders.

http://www.richmond.com/food-drink/dish/article_c5d2654a-8cfb-11e2-829b-001a4bcf6878.html

[georgeglass]

New Asian/ Sushi restaurant to open soon in the former Sensi space. I was sad when that place closed, but this should be a good addition to the area.

http://www.richmond.com/food-drink/dish/article_8772bd98-8a82-11e2-b911-001a4bcf6878.html

[georgeglass]

Cous Cous closing

This makes me sad. I only got to eat there once, but it was one of my favorite dining experiences in Richmond in my 2 plus years here. I hope something great takes over the space, but doesn't change the feel of the interior too much.

http://www.richmond.com/food-drink/article_871676ce-8d92-11e2-af98-001a4bcf6878.html

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

TAZZA KITCHEN-- The name of the new restaurant in the works for the Cafe Caturra space in Short Pump that is about to close.

 

It will be of Mediterranean style inspired by an owners trip to Baja California....

 

From today's BizSense:

 

http://www.richmondbizsense.com/2013/04/08/new-restaurants-concept-simple-and-small/

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

Legend is in the Washington Post Beer Madness final against an ale in Maryland! 

 

Vote, vote, vote! We're down several HUNDREDS of votes.....

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/beer-madness

 

 

http://hillsandheights.org/2013/04/19/legend-pilsner-in-beer-madness-final/

[JSI]

Ran by the Waffle House on Broad near VCU this morning. It's open (not sure how long).

[Culpeper Hokie]

Apparently, Andrew Zimmern of Travel Channel's "Bizzare Foods America" greatly enjoyed his weekend sojourn here in Richmond. He had raves for Pasture, Rappahannock and Peter Chang's and Twittered his praises copiously...

http://www.richmond.com/food-drink/dish/article_5bae3d20-ed58-11e2-9f74-001a4bcf6878.html

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

And RVANews has released an updated master list of the new restaurants opened and upcoming in 2013 in the River City.

 

http://rvanews.com/features/restaurants-new-in-2013/81255

 

They forgot Thirst & Fifth though