the tobacco company restaurant

For my second Richmond Restaurant Week adventure, I organized a small group of strangers to join me for dinner at The Tobacco Company Restaurant (1201 E Cary St).

Full Disclosure: I work here as the Director of Marketing, so I played a role in the restaurant becoming a participant in Richmond Restaurant Week and had previewed some of the menu items before having the dinner.

That being said, this dinner was an experience like no other. It was a dinner with a random group of people that turned out to be some of the most interesting folks I have ever met. My guests were a recently registered nurse who had done many many things before settling on that occupation, a tenured English professor at VCU and a political research analyst from Texas. The dinner conversation was not lacking in the least.

I had the coconut curry soup, the Wagyu burger and a mini butter cake. All but the butter cake, I had never had before. I planned it that way so that I would be as new to the food as the diners I was with. Part of the fun of Restaurant Week is trying something you have never tried before or going somewhere you have never been. It was important to try to at least keep a little of that in mind when dining at the place that I work.

Side note: I have no idea why the Wagyu burger is not on the menu and will be lobbying for it extensively. For those who do not know what Wagyu is (which was me a few months ago) it is the American version of Kobe beef. Kobe is like Champagne meaning that you cannot call Wagyu cattle raised outside of the Kobe region of Japan, Kobe beef, it must be called Wagyu or Kobe Style.

One of the other diners in my party had the burger and agreed that it was amazing. All of my guests were not the type to tell a person what they want to hear and seemed to really enjoy their dinner. The barbecue shrimp and crawfish were a big hit as well as the beet risotto.

It was my second dinner of Spring 2012 Richmond Restaurant Week and my second time being more than satisfied at the end of a great meal.

helen's

I hadn’t been to Helen’s (2527 W Main St) in over 5 years. I remember loving the meal I had the first time and am so glad that I picked this restaurant to kick off Richmond Restaurant Week. The meal set the tone perfectly for a week of completely gorging amazing food.

Evan and I made a deal to order different things so we could share, but not much sharing went on. We both had favorite dishes that were more than memorable and went home so full that it was almost painful.

My favorite course was my entrée of skillet fried chicken with garlic and chive mashed potatoes and pan roasted brussels sprouts. I am no fried chicken connoisseur, but have been told by a Southern friend of mine that fried chicken isn’t really Southern fried chicken unless it is fried in a skillet. Helen’s did not disappoint.

Evan’s favorite course was his starter, a half-pound of steamed mussels in a broth with crispy string potatoes on top. I tasted a mussel and was completely won over by the garlic in the broth. I would have enjoyed dipping an entire loaf of French bread in that broth.

The rest of our dinner consisted of sweet and spicy corn soup, coffee spiced pork tenderloin, lavender crème brulee and chocolate Chambord mousse.

I am so glad that Helen’s opened up on a Monday in order to serve Restaurant Week groupies. One - down and three to go…

richmond restaurant week - spring 2012

This week is Richmond Restaurant Week!  This is the week that I give myself complete freedom to eat whatever I want. My plan for the week is to hit some restaurants where I have never been and some that I have been meaning to go back to. So far I have four reservations and hope to squeeze in fifth.

If you are new to restaurant week I recommend reading this article on Richmond.com. The most important things to know are that each restaurant serves a 3 course meal for $25.12 with $2.12 going to Feedmore. This price does not include tax or gratuity. 

Happy eating!

s@mple

We loved everything we ordered at s@mple (1 N Morris St). I don’t know why, but I was surprised. Not that I went there with the thought that I wouldn’t like it, but I wasn’t prepared to enjoy it as much as I did.

 

Evan and I shared three small plates, the Grilled Shrimp Kebab, Fraternal Twin Burgers and the Dark Chocolate Sunday for dessert. The shrimp came with a chimichurri sauce that made me wish for more things to dip in it, the burger with onion rings and a fried egg was decadent and the Sunday came with burnt marshmallows that made me wish I was sitting by a fire pit. Each dish had a unique and memorable ingredient that made the dish go from good to great.

 

My cocktail was another perfect example of this. I had a blueberry mojito with real muddled blueberries. It was a great twist on a classic drink.

 

 

Sadly, I don’t know that other people have learned enough about this place to put it on their radar. I think marketing it as an internet café is almost a hindrance. The food was so good that I can’t imagine eating it while surfing on my laptop. They would be better off encouraging groups to come and share a small plate which is not something you think to do at a techie place. Food this good deserves your undivided attention.

Q barbeque

Last year, Evan and I went on a barbeque bus tour. We sampled barbeque at five of Richmond’s best barbeque spots and were very very full. Every place we visited was good, but one was our clear favorite. That place was Q Barbeque (1070 Virginia Center Pkwy, Glen Allen).

With family from a Northern state visiting, we were in the market for a casual eatery, affordably priced, that would impress our Yankee guests. Q was it.

I think that I am literally addicted to their hushpuppies. They are heavy on onion flavor and perfectly fried, crispy on the outside and cake-like on the inside. I could eat a plate of these by themselves if I wasn’t worried about offending the barbeque.

I had pulled pork and the rest of my crew had ribs. I got a gold star for being the cleanest at the end of the meal. I know that I don’t need an excuse to eat good barbeque, but it is always a little more fun when you get to be the one who takes people to a place like Q. It wins you big points!

Fun fact: If you have the time and creativity, you may want to enter their t-shirt slogan contest. Simply finish this sentence and you could end up with your line on their t-shirts and their website. “Barbeque so good that…..” Enter here.

food truck court

When I was in college, my regular breakfast consisted of a Philly Soft Pretzel and a can of diet coke that I would buy for $2 from a food truck that was in between my metro stop and my first class.

I realize that food truck fare has come a long way from hot pretzels and sodas, so I was genuinely excited to learn about the new FoodTruck Court happening at the Virginia Historical Society (428 N Boulevard) on Tuesday Nights.

Here are 6 things that I learned at the Food Truck Court:

1. Bring Cash. – I of course did not think that they accepted credit cards at the truck court, but I didn’t realize was how much a dinner from a truck would cost. I thought maybe $7-$8 per person, but that wasn’t the case. Expect to pay more like $10-$15.

2. Learn to love tacos. – The longest lines were in front of the not one, not two, but four taco trucks. I have had Boka Takos and am a big fan. They seem to be the most popular in the Food Court.

3. Don’t go if you are too hungry. – I know this sounds like a silly statement, but there are some really long lines at the Food Truck Court. If you are too hungry, you get cranky and that is no fun for anyone.

5. A short line means it is not worth the wait. – If you think you are being smarter than the masses by getting in the short line, think again. There is a reason there are no lines and some trucks and long lines at others. Some food truck fare is better than others.

6. Trucks are better for lunch. – This of course is my opinion. When I go out for dinner, I want a cocktail which obviously cannot be served in a parking lot. If you want to sit on the ground and eat a taco for dinner, this is the place for you.

Obviously, everyone’s experience at the Food Truck Court is different. I would prefer to catch up with these trucks in their natural habitat on the corners downtown during lunch time.

bev’s ice cream

That is right folks. I had ice cream for dinner. Bev’s Ice Cream (2911 W Cary St) raspberry chocolate chip in a waffle cone and it was worth every calorie.

Evan and I hit Carytown on one of the beautiful days that we had last week. We decided to skip dinner and go straight to dessert. We each got a cone with single scoops for a stroll up and down the block. I cannot think of a better way to end that day.

I was a little surprised that two ice cream cones costs us $8 and some change. The price of a little family fun has sure increased in the past few years. I guess that would explain why there was no one under the age of 25 in the ice cream parlor.

You may be noticing a theme in my recent posts. A week of junk food, it has been. Looking back at my last few posts, it has been French fries, pizza and now ice cream. I would like to tell you that I am going to be eating healthy from now on, but that wouldn’t be the truth.

the mint

When I am looking for a happy hour spot, I prefer to sit at a bar that is just the right amount of crowded, preferably in between where I work and where I live. There are a number of options that fit these requirements and I am excited to add a new one to my list.

The Mint (2501 W Main St), is the newest spot from Amy Cabaniss, owner of Julep’s Southern Cuisine in Shockoe Bottom. It was the perfect spot for after work drinks on a day that cocktails were indeed a necessity.

Typically at happy hour I will have a glass of wine or a beer because that is usually what is on special. The Mint hasn’t been open long enough to establish drink specials. But even if they had, this particular day, was a cocktail kind of day. 

It was very refreshing, so I had more than one. And then my worries of the day melted away…

superstars pizza

Ever since I found these instructions on how to roast garlic in the toaster oven, I have been roasting whole heads of garlic like it was my job. With lots of whole cloves of roasted garlic lying around, I am on the lookout for other ways to eat it (other than just popping in my mouth and then breathing on my husband for fun).

Superstars Pizza (5700 Patterson Ave) is the perfect way to get rid of some garlic cloves and whatever other random veggies (or other edible things) are lying around. Superstars is a take-and-bake pizza place just down the road from my house. They can fully load your pizza with toppings at their location if you want full service, but they are also a great place to get an oven ready pizza with the basics if you prefer to load your own.

We got a 12 inch pizza with mozzarella, red sauce and sliced tomatoes for $10. We took it home and used it as a base to clean out our fridge, a little spinach, an obscene amount of roasted garlic, you get the idea. It cooked in 12 minutes and dinner was served.

burger bach

I have instituted a new eating rule: If you walk more than one mile to dinner, you can eat whatever you want!

Burger Bach (10 S Thompson St) pronounced “Burger Batch” is about 2 miles from my house. Do you see how this works out perfectly?

I know the first thing you want to know about Burger Bach is “how was the burger?”

Sorry, folks. I cannot tell you.

What I can tell you is that if you order the fries with bacon, bleu cheese and garlic aioli, make sure you have someone hungry with you to share them. And make sure you prepare for the deliciousness that you will experience. That is what we decided on for a starter and were so full that we had to pass on ordering a burger.

That is correct. My Friday night dinner consisted of French fries and Hardywood Park Singel(s). I love my life.