Richmond Dining-Out scene

[TimJH]

OK, Tim. Both checkplease and nhughes recommend PESCADOS for South of the Border seafood -- nh from word of mouth and cp from actual experience. It is at 13126 Midlothian Tpk (US 60 west of Richmond.) Tel. 804/379-7121. No web site.

There are two excellent Brazilian churrascarias, both in Richmond's West End. One is an operation out of Dallas called TEXAS DE BRAZIL in Regency Square Shopping Center, 1420 Parham Road, tel. 804/750-2003. http://www.texasdebrazil.com

I believe it is a flat $50 per person charge but apparently is very popular and offers an extraordinarily varied salad bar as well as every kind of meat served by gauchos at your table.

The other churrascaria is IPANEMA GRILL, locally owned, at 3641 Cox Road (between West Broad Street and Three Chopt Road), tel. 804/346-5554. http://www.ipanemagrill.net It, too, has meats served tableside and both restaurants use colored flip cards to let the servers know "more please" or "stop already".

I'm sure other will chime in with more suggestions.

You're lucky you have a sister in Chester who, I'm sure, will be able to locate these places.

Thanks Burt. I need more help though. I thought (always get in trouble when I try that) my original post was to this thread. But obviously it wasn't and you stumbled on it somewhere else. I can't even find it now. So how am I gonna find these restaurants?

I ate last year at a small Thai place right in Carytown last year. Forget the name but it was on the right side facing downtown and had a small porch with maybe three two top tables outside. it was good.

i was a Snead fan back in the F and R days though I see there are those here not as enamored. Get down your way every year or two but just stumbled on this thread and it seems like a great possible resource . So thanks again (And in in advance for more suggestions). BBQ? Fine Dining?

The Brazillian sounds very promising.

Cheers, Tim

[wrldcoupe4]

Buzz and Ned's BBQ on the Boulevard is good...

Anyone have a favorable opinion of Beauregard's Thai Room downtown? The outdoor garden/patio is beautiful.

For really good Italian, I'd suggest Mama Zu's or Edo's Squid. Can Can Brasserie in Carytown is neat.

Fine Dining...

If the sky's the limit for price range, check out the 5-Star Lemaire Restaurant at the Jefferson Hotel:

http://jeffersonhotel.com/dining_lemaire.aspx

Others worth suggesting (IMO)

Old Original Bookbinders - http://www.bookbinders.biz/richmond/menu.php

The Tobacco Company - http://www.thetobaccocompany.com/

Bank Restaurant - http://www.bankandvault.com

Mexican... if you'll be staying in Chester, check out Don Jose on Rt 10 just east of I-95 on the left side. It's not fine dining cuisine but IMO it's great Mexican and the staff is really nice. Pablo, the guy that runs the place is a genuinely good guy.

I'll try to make other suggestions later!

[nhughes]

Thanks Burt. I need more help though. I thought (always get in trouble when I try that) my original post was to this thread. But obviously it wasn't and you stumbled on it somewhere else. I can't even find it now. So how am I gonna find these restaurants?

I ate last year at a small Thai place right in Carytown last year. Forget the name but it was on the right side facing downtown and had a small porch with maybe three two top tables outside. it was good.

i was a Snead fan back in the F and R days though I see there are those here not as enamored. Get down your way every year or two but just stumbled on this thread and it seems like a great possible resource . So thanks again (And in in advance for more suggestions). BBQ? Fine Dining?

The Brazillian sounds very promising.

Cheers, Tim

Jimmy Snead and the FROG AND THE REDNECK has been gone for quite some time. I know he was featured in Style or Richmond magazine recently, but I don't remember the content of the article. (bad nhughes!)

You were probably dining at GINGER, from the description you gave. I've never eaten there, so I can't speak to the experience at all. You can't go too wrong down in Carytown, though.

I saw that wrldcoupe4 suggested BUZZ & NED'S and DON JOSE, which were a couple I had in mind. I would like to add EXTRA BILLY'S BARBEQUE, and you can visit the one on West Broad Street near Willow Lawn, or I know they have one somewhere on Southside where they have a microbrewery, too.

And if you like Brazilian, and you're looking for casual, I would suggest...geez, I don't even know the name of it. (I'll post this in the "Name that restaurant thread", so that maybe someone can help with it.) BUT, there is a small Brazilian market on Quioccassin Road, right across from MEDITERRANEAN MARKET & DELI near Regency Square. Cheap and simple, but GOOOD!

[nhughes]

Anyone have a favorable opinion of Beauregard's Thai Room downtown? The outdoor garden/patio is beautiful.

For really good Italian, I'd suggest Mama Zu's or Edo's Squid. Can Can Brasserie in Carytown is neat.

I don't know anything about BEAUREGARD'S THAI ROOM, except what you just said about the indoor garden. But, my principal broker is the guy who originally built it out and opened it in the 70's as POOR RICHARD'S.

As another suggestion for great Italian, try ANGELA'S at the intersection of Forest Ave and North Ridge Road in the West End. I know a lot of people (including me) that rave about the food and atmosphere.

[jbjust]

Does anybody know more about Thai Curry House's new ownership?

[nhughes]

Does anybody know more about Thai Curry House's new ownership?

Sorry, that was the other posting I wanted to reply on. The new owners are going to do a Cajun/Asian mix. I'm not sure of any other details.

[burt]

Every once in a while it's nice to get out and do things I only do when relatives and friends come to visit me in Manhattan.

Today is so beautiful, a friend and I decided to go to one of our favorite seafood spots for lunch. It's called MARY'S SEAFOOD CAMP at the corner of W. 4th and Charles in The Village. Unpretentious but soooo good. Joan had lobster roll -- mmmmmm -- and I had fried oysters and clams with a baby lettuce salad. Tab for two, including ice tea tax and tip -- $68 .

Then we strolled to the Hudson River and boarded the Water Taxi at the foot of Christopher Street (it begins at West 44th Street on the Hudson). The sky was blue, the breeze refreshing and the swells enough to make you hang on for life atop the open-air upper deck. First stop; Financial Center (near old World Trade); then Battery Park. Great views of Jersey City's skyline, which gets more dense by the year, and Miss Liberty in the harbor and of course the maginficent Manhattan skyline. Then past the ferry slips and up the East River to South Street Seaport; after a brief stop, directly across the river to River Cafe and Barge Music under the Brooklyn Bridge, then express to the end of the line at East 35th Street near 1st Avenue and 8 blocks from United Nations Headquarters. Tab: $10 for each of us. Day tours can be purchased for $20 allowing chances to visit at any or all stops and continue on a later water taxi.

Couldn't resist talking about it and hope I didn't bore anyone.

Edited July 25, 2007 by burt

[wrldcoupe4]

Water Taxis could be in Richmond's future.

[jbjust]

ARRRGHHH! Thai Curry House had the best pad thai in the whole city -- I took that home for dinner at least once a week. I've tried everything else except Elephant Thai - has anybody eaten there?

[burt]

There's no restaurant review in Style this week, but Deveron is quite impressed with KARSEN'S, the new Carytown bistro that is packing them in.

Says Deveron, "What was a fairly forgettable boutique at 3411 W. Cary St. is now a series of cozy, fashionable rooms with a long concrete bar just beyond a dining patio fringed with flowers. It's an appealing destination that opened last week for nightly dinner and drinks."

This is the baby of former ZEUS GALLERY CAFE personnel. Jeanne Strong is the owner backed up by Laura Foster and Executive Chef Mac McCrowell.

Menu items include grilled duck breast for $24, appetizers from $8, and a grilled organic NY strip accompanied by braised beef short ribs, pancetta, watercress and gorgonzola in a red wine sauce; a dish rich in content as well as price -- $41.

KARSEN'S

3411 W. Cary Street

tel. 804/353-5277

Edited July 25, 2007 by burt

[burt]

Style's Deveron reports that NORTHSIDE GRILLE, packing in a crowd of regulars, is pleasing most of them with a no-smoking policy. Open 7 days with a comfort food munu, offering lunch and dinner nightly and Sunday brunch.

NORTHSIDE GRILLE

215 Bellevue Ave.

Tel. 804/266-4403.

[burt]

There's no restaurant review in Style this week, but Deveron is quite impressed with KARSEN'S, the new Carytown bistro that is packing them in.

Says Deveron, "What was a fairly forgettable boutique at 3411 W. Cary St. is now a series of cozy, fashionable rooms with a long concrete bar just beyond a dining patio fringed with flowers. It's an appealing destination that opened last week for nightly dinner and drinks."

This is the baby of former ZEUS GALLERY CAFE personnel. Jeanne Strong is the owner backed up by Laura Foster and Executive Chef Mac McCrowell.

Menu items include grilled duck breast for $24, appetizers from $8, and a grilled organic NY strip accompanied by braised beef short ribs, pancetta, watercress and gorgonzola in a red wine sauce; a dish rich in content as well as price -- $41.

KARSEN'S

3411 W. Cary Street

tel. 804/353-5277

After just reading Karri Peifer's comments on Richmond dot com about KARSEN'S, it should be noted the new hip restaurant with a European-style patio is heavy on seafood -- tuna, scallops, lobster and crabcakes.

Sounds great to me and I hope for a chance to try it out in early August on my upcoming visit.

[journiyin]

After just reading Karri Peifer's comments on Richmond dot com about KARSEN'S, it should be noted the new hip restaurant with a European-style patio is heavy on seafood -- tuna, scallops, lobster and crabcakes.

Sounds great to me and I hope for a chance to try it out in early August on my upcoming visit.

burt I might also recommend a stop into the downtown capital ale house. The outdoor patio is now open and coupled with the stage area, it is quite the nice spot.

[burt]

burt I might also recommend a stop into the downtown capital ale house. The outdoor patio is now open and coupled with the stage area, it is quite the nice spot.

Thanks, journi. I definitely will drop in to take a look. Is there a rathskella in the basement? I read that's to be part of the expansion plan.

Wonder how their Music Hall is doing?

[burt]

Dana forgoes luxury dining for some down home eatin' in this week's Times Dispatch review.

PARADISE DINER in Stratford Hills Shopping Center at 2845 Hathaway Road (tel. 804/320-1611) has an extraordinarily friendly staff serving up omelets, grits, pan cakes, French toast and assorted sides. Junior Joseph, one of the greeters, may also be the owner if I read the review correctly. He was formerly at KAREN'S on West Broad near the Science Museum. I thought I had heard that KAREN herself was going to open a place across the James.

Anyway, PARADISE DINER serves daily from 6AM 'til 3PM.

Tab for two: $15.

[journiyin]

Thanks, journi. I definitely will drop in to take a look. Is there a rathskella in the basement? I read that's to be part of the expansion plan.

Wonder how their Music Hall is doing?

For the first month the numbers have been good. They have been using the extra space for regular dining, and it is almost always full... it has eliminated most of the wait. As far as ticketed shows.. it will take a little longer to know how that is paning out, but the owners didnt sound dissappointed. Ill see how blues and brews is going tonight as I am going to dinner there.

[wrldcoupe4]

I can't wait to have a chance to check out some blues at Capital Ale.. actually a band I used to like, Jimmie's Chicken Shack, is playing there for almost nothing and I might try to check that out as well.

[burt]

It may seem odd to put this story in the Dining Out thread, but I think it proves that Richmond has a lot of appeal for upwardly mobile young people. The video shows BLACKFINN in a positive light and gives an idea why the restaurant scene is healthy in Richmond.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/cva/ric/news....07-28-0101.html

Edited July 28, 2007 by burt

[BGW]

Dana forgoes luxury dining for some down home eatin' in this week's Times Dispatch review.

PARADISE DINER in Stratford Hills Shopping Center at 2845 Hathaway Road (tel. 804/320-1611) has an extraordinarily friendly staff serving up omelets, grits, pan cakes, French toast and assorted sides. Junior Joseph, one of the greeters, may also be the owner if I read the review correctly. He was formerly at KAREN'S on West Broad near the Science Museum. I thought I had heard that KAREN herself was going to open a place across the James.

Anyway, PARADISE DINER serves daily from 6AM 'til 3PM.

Tab for two: $15.

I eat breakfast there frequently on the weekends. And, apparently, so does most of the Forest Hill corridor.

The couple who owned Karen's Diner sold that business to another family member and opened Paradise, bringing a fair number of staff and patrons with them.

[TimJH]

Burt (or anyone):

The price at TexasDeBrazil is roughly twice the cost of Ipanema. We want to try one of them tomorrow. Being a famous cheapskate, to whom good food is important, I'm wondering to what extent the difference in price is a direct reflection of a difference in food quality as opposed to differences in the many other variables. For example if Ipenema were similar in quality but offering simply a less elaborate salad and side dish table I would lean towards Ipanima. I also observe that texas appears to offer some higher end cuts such as filets, but if Ipenma's meats were well executed sirloins or rib-eye instead, well that's probably fine as well. If on the other hand, TDB's food is better than Ipanema's, is it only marginally better or is it actually twice as good?

I guess my rambling drift is clear enough - The bottomline Q is the age old one - value for money.

Thanks,

Cheers, Tim

Edited July 29, 2007 by TimJH

[burt]

Tim, I defer to those who actually know from personal experience the difference between the two churrascarias.

Edited July 29, 2007 by burt

[jonbeattie]

Burt (or anyone):

The price at TexasDeBrazil is roughly twice the cost of Ipanema. We want to try one of them tomorrow. Being a famous cheapskate, to whom good food is important, I'm wondering to what extent the difference in price is a direct reflection of a difference in food quality as opposed to differences in the many other variables. For example if Ipenema were similar in quality but offering simply a less elaborate salad and side dish table I would lean towards Ipanima. I also observe that texas appears to offer some higher end cuts such as filets, but if Ipenma's meats were well executed sirloins or rib-eye instead, well that's probably fine as well. If on the other hand, TDB's food is better than Ipanema's, is it only marginally better or is it actually twice as good?

I guess my rambling drift is clear enough - The bottomline Q is the age old one - value for money.

Thanks,

Cheers, Tim

Well heres my 2 cent,

TDB : Hard to beat it, we've been 4 times and it was Great on all the visits. The look the feel the food, all good. Interesting selections on the "salad Bar". Its no the shoney's bar so be aware there may be some things that you don't normally see. Nice cured meats nice mixed salads, olives, tuna ect. Meats were wonderful and plentiful.

NOTE: several friends have gone and its better with more folks not a couples night out. I think I agree but we've only gone with 6 or more.

Ipanema:

Well the place is nice. The price is very fair however the 2 times I've gone the service was not the best. We needed to ask for everything including meats. ( Both times we were lucky enough to sit next to large tables and the goucho's do the large table and any thing left on the skewer is offered to others. ) While I'm normally a quiet guy IN the restaurant I paid the bill both times and spoke with the owner before leaving he was nice and said he would speak to the staff. I think it could be again what we noted from TDB a larger group is better and the service better as well.

While I LOVE food, I try not to be a snob, Food at TDB is Superior! and of course you pay for that. Food At ipanema is good and flavorful and I enjoyed what I got alot, there just wasn't much of it...... Then again I was full when I left?

[jonbeattie]

If the sky's the limit for price range, check out the 5-Star Lemaire Restaurant at the Jefferson Hotel:

Hey Man nice short chat the other day.

I'll try to check Monday but we were told Lemaire was closed for remod ?? till Late summer.

I've been lame and havn't checked it out....

Edited July 30, 2007 by jonbeattie

[burt]

Where've you been, Jon? We've missed you. I was just looking thru the Buttermilk & Molasses link (you'll find it in the Richmond Development thread about the recent charrette) and in one of its links (First Fridays) there are a few pix of Renaissance.

I'll be around this coming First Friday (Aug. 5th) with some friends and rels. Quick five-day trip to get my Richmond fix.

[ShadyGrove]

Hi folks,

Just wanted to put in a plug for the new and improved Capital Ale House. We went down friday night for a happy hour and had so much fun we stayed for dinner. The expansion is beautiful, and I was very happy to see that the front was opened to the street, allowing the music and ambiance to roll out down Main. The band sounded great from the bar area (it was actually too packed to get a seat in where they were). If you go, make sure to check out the downstairs and the new patio area (where we ate). Very classy and laid back with a sort of "European" vibe. Great service, both our bartender and our waitress were very knowledgable about the beers on tap - it goes without saying that they've got the best selection in town. Everyone I was with (including some west-enders) agreed the new space put the venue solidly ahead of their Innsbrook location...

Keep 'em coming Richmond!