Richmond Restaurant Week 2012

Photo from Bistro Bobette

I have been wearing loose fitting clothing all week in honor of Richmond Restaurant Week. I convinced myself that all calories consumed are null because I am eating in the name of charity. It works like a charm, even though I currently cannot button anything that I own.

In the grand scheme of things the money going to charity is nominal. It is $2.12 per every three course meal ordered at a price of $25.12. This is not a lot per person, but it does add up to a lot when over 30 restaurants are collecting all week long. Evan would prefer that we just write a check for $20 and eat a whole cake from Shindigz. The caloric intake and charitable contribution is about the same.

Because there are over 30 restaurants participating, it is just about impossible to narrow down where to go. I decided that I would only go to restaurants that start with the letter B to make the decision process easier. It might sound silly, but it has made for some excellent dining this week. It pretty much proves that I have genius problem solving skills and people should hire me to make their decisions for an hourly fee or a fee per decision based on what kind of decision they need help with.

I also decided to be clever and only drink Bubbly at every place (because that also starts with B). I got totally nerdy about it and switched it up by picking bubbles from a different region of the world at each restaurant. I might be over thinking it.

Here is where I have been:

Bistro Bobette (1209 E Cary St)

What I ate: Iceberg Salad, Marinated Beef Stew in red wine topped with mac and cheese (I don't know how anyone could order anything else), Honey Chocolate Mouse

What I drank: Cremant (French Sparkling Wine, not to be confused with Champagne, they are really sensitive about that, you know how the French can be)

Fun Fact: In the ladies room, they have pictures of the Chef when he was young, shirtless driving a boat. I really wanted to check the men’s room to see if they had topless pictures of the owner when she was young. Only fair, right?

Bistro 27 (27 W Broad St)

What I ate: Butternut Squash Spiced Soup with Gorgonzola Fritter, Moroccan Chicken Couscous with zuchinni and squash, Mini Cheesecake with mixed berries

What I drank: Prosecco (Italian Sparkling Wine)

Fun Fact: The first time I ever went to Bistro 27 I slipped on a spot on the floor and almost face planted in the dining room. We were seated at a table right next to this famous spot during our Restaurant Week dinner. Ah, memories….

Bonvenu (2915 W Cary Street)

What I ate: Smoked Salmon Scallopini over brown butter spaghetti squash with citrus butter, Braised Pork Roast with carrots, celery, onion and peach schnapps with mashed potatoes and peach thyme glaze, Chocolate Pate with fresh berries

What I drank: Cava (Spanish Sparkling Wine)

Fun Fact: The name “Bonvenu” translates to “welcome” in Esperanto. WTF is Esperanto, you ask? According to their website, it is a made up language blended from all the languages of Europe. I guess it is kind of like Pig Latin?

It is a good thing that I have committed to 30 days of spinning because as you can see, I have not been holding back and many a dessert has been licked off a plate, in the name of charitable giving, of course.