RVANews

Go Do This: Toy’s Home

Holly Gordon — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 15:50:06 +0000

Actress Paola Compostella in Toy's Home. Photo by Francesca Palla.

What it is

A play about a bomb. Well, that's a metaphor--something the play is full of.

Katia, a businesswoman at the beginning of her career, returns to her childhood home to try to save it from foreclosure while reconciling with her overbearing mother and estranged brother.

Toy's Home is written and directed by Italian artists Jacopo Squizzato and performed by Katia Mirabella, Paola Compostella, and Squizzato himself.

We are promised a circus of dancing lights and shadows, a decaying home, and promises unfulfilled. According to Squizzato, it's as if a light bomb has exploded, and every object, every memory, is exploded on the set, on the costumes, on the actors. The home is important in Italian culture, and the set itself is made to reference spirit, to be organic. "It is not like an apartment, apart from society."

Oh, and the entire thing is performed in Italian.

"We go down to the particular to get to the universal," he says, noting that if he just wrote about his own personal experiences, the audience might not be able to relate, but "if you dig deeper, you can arrive at something universal."

Writer and director Jacopo Squizzato (left) and Katia Mirabella. Photo by Francesco Palla.

Who's behind it

Firehouse Theatre, under the new artistic leadership of Joel Bassin, who moved here from New York about a year ago.

This play will be performed in Italian with three artists and a technical director from Need Teatro in Verona, Italy. Their mission is to create original performance works that reflect on and critique fundamental characteristics of Italian culture including family, tradition, generational change, and economic inequality.

How did they end up in Richmond for just a three-day run? A cold email--that Bassin returned. "Why not?" he thought, mentioning that some of his best ideas have resulted from just going with a feeling. "I can't think of that ever not having turned out well."

How did the Verona group even hear of Firehouse? Recalls Bassin, "Jacopo said, 'We were attracted to you because of your dedication to new dramaturgy.'" Firehouse's artistic director describes his experience of hosting the Italian company: "To feel like you're part of a bigger picture...is a humbling thing...when you meet a kindred spirit from another part of the world."

This is a part of Firehouse's FRINGE series.

Where it is

Firehouse Theatre, 1609 W. Broad Street, in a one-time fire station.

Set and costumes are key, as Mirabella and Squizatto spent considerable time showing me their drawings and set pieces still in construction when I visited. They brought their set to the U.S. in suitcases. There's a lot of play from light and shadows, silhouette, and empty frames.

"It is incomplete, like the life of the character," notes Squizzato. Each object has a spirit, and actors will be taking objects on and off, moving in and out of the space, creating a contamination of the space.

Parking is free across the street at Lowe's. You're just down the street from the Camel, and around the corner from dozens of Fan joints, which you'll need for discussing after, as writer and director Squizzato confides "I do to you a material, and after, you can put it together."

When it is

Friday, March 18th at 8:00 PM, Saturday, March 19th at 8:00 PM, and Sunday, March 20th at 3:00 PM.

How much it costs

For the general public: $18. For students: $10. Buy tickets online or call the box office at 804.355.2001.

Parking is free across the street at Lowe's.

Other things to note

Yes, there will be English subtitles--perhaps against Bassin's better judgment, who notes that audiences sometimes spend the whole time reading instead of watching the play. So don't do that. "I don't think people go to opera to pay attention to the individual spoken lines," he suggests. "It's the musicality of the language." Need Teatro will do a special question and answer after the play if the audience desires.

If you don't go do this, you will...

Miss out on the "individual impulse to experience something in a new way," which is what Firehouse hopes to do this year with the 2015-2016 theme of RADICAL CHANGE. Richmond is on the cusp of change. Be with it this weekend with a troupe that came an awful long way to show it to you.

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Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection

Holly Gordon — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 13:03:55 +0000

Living in Richmond, history is all around you. But the stories of some Virginians are not always told, or easy to find, especially those of African Americans from the 17th through 19th centuries. People like:

Hester Jane Carr, a free African American who was tricked into leaving her home in New York City and sold as a slave in Petersburg. Or Dennis Holt, a free African American living in Campbell County who petitioned to be re-enslaved so that he could remain with his enslaved wife.

A new digital collection of records from the Library of Virginia tells these stories and those of other pre-Civil War African Americans in Virginia. Taken directly from primary source materials, Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection, is a never-before-seen grouping. In the making for two years, it brings together related documents in one place and tells us something new about history. "This is a narrative that has been ignored by the mainstream community," says Sonya Coleman, Digital Collections Specialist at the Library of Virginia. "There are no better people to tell it then those who were there."

Types of documents include coroners' inquisitions, deeds of emancipation, petitions to remain in the commonwealth, petitions for re-enslavement, and freedom suits. In the latter, if a person could prove they were descended from a free or wrongfully enslaved person, they might be able to gain their own freedom through the courts. In one such story in 1820, Rachel Findley won freedom for herself and more than 35 of her descendants in a Powhatan County court in a lawsuit dating back to 1773 by proving she had a Native American ancestor of the Catawba Nation.

The goal is to unearth African American stories and history and make them visible and accessible in ways they have never been before. These types of reconstructions can help genealogists, who have a tough time researching African American ancestry. "They hit a road block at the Civil War," notes Coleman. "These documents just don't exist anywhere else." Now, everyday researchers and historians alike can find names, towns, ancestors, and more.

Several record types found in Virginia Untold have been added through the Library of Virginia's crowd-sourcing project Making History: Transcribe. By reading documents and turning them into electronic form, the public makes that data accessible online: searchable, and in full-text. As this new grouping expands, it will complement and connect to the other digital collections already available--helping to connect the dots of history. The library is hoping to accept public feedback on the project as well--how people are using it, what's missing, and how to make it function better.

The public can help transcribe even more documents that will be added to Virginia Untold and their other collections. The library holds a public volunteer project monthly through HandsOn Greater Richmond on the last Saturday of the month. If you can't wait to get started, you can transcribe at home as well. Find others who are doing this work with the hashtag #VaUntold.

The Library of Virginia is hosting a special transcribe-a-thon for Virginia Untold this week, if reading, learning, and typing what you read and learn are your thing.

Library of Virginia's Transcribe-a-thon of Documents from the African American Narrative

Tuesday, February 16th, 2016 • 3:00 - 4:30 PM
John Tyler Community College, Midlothian Campus, 800 Charter Colony Parkway, Midlothian (Hamel Hall, Library, H202K)
Free and open to the public. No registration necessary.

— ∮∮∮ —

Learn more about what how you can use the Library of Virginia to your advantage (with their blessing!) by reading "Who you are and where you came from: The Library of Virginia knows!".

Juice on the loose: The business of squishing produce

Holly Gordon — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 16:34:59 +0000

Photo by: The Travelling Bum

With the New Year comes health resolutions, or at the very least, an effort to consume something that does not consist entirely of cheese, chocolate, or alcohol. Enter juicing--the seemingly benign trend that has blown up the last few years, but not without some debate.

Something as simple and healthy as fruit and vegetables in liquid form--who can argue with that? But nutritionists are mixed on just how much better, if any, cold-pressed juices are for you. Better than a danish? Sure. But some juicing fanatics can get carried away, and good marketing will sell most people, especially those of us feeling guilty from a season of overeating.

When renovating their café, local organic market Ellwood Thompson's included a juice corner alongside the normal cappuccinos. Café Manager Laurie Peterson, exceedingly cheery even while I asked her questions in the middle of several complicated recipes on a busy Saturday morning rush, weighs in. "With juice, your body doesn't have to work to process all the ingredients," she says.

"It's hard to ignore the benefits when you see [happy] customers every day." She offers me a Whole Body Detox, 16 ounces, $6.99, made of strawberries, pineapple, cilantro, celery, and lemon. It tastes like, well, a combo of those ingredients, all of which I like. It's good, though murky, and surprisingly room-temperature, which I can't tell if that's on purpose or if I'm allowed to chill it (which I do with the rest later and finish in one sip). I can see how this can become an expensive habit.

In New York and LA, $12 and up is the norm for a bottle of cold-pressed juice. Luckily, our prices haven't reached that range yet. Lumi Juice out of Charlottesville sells a 16-ounce bottle for $7.99 and Richmonders can order through Relay Foods or their online subscription service. Ginger Juice in Richmond has 16-ounce bottles for $8.99, with cute names like Glamour, Glitzy, and Glee. Their new retail and production space at the Village Shopping Center opened last fall at 7019 E. Three Chopt Road and includes freshly prepared meals from Goatocado. Ginger Juice does sell cleanses, with two levels, varying lengths, and a branded, insulated tote. They also offer a one-day cleanse, which, for that short of a time, really seems like just a day of drinking juice. Though, I suppose if you replace doughnuts and takeout with organic vegetables and fruit, that's still a better health choice.

I press Peterson back at Ellwoods about the use of juice in a cleanse and she tactfully responds with "I'm a big fan of time and place. It's nice to relax the system every once in a while." They use the centrifuge method--which first smashes the veggies and fruit into pulp and then they're spun in a regular blender. This works fine if you drink it right away, but if it's going to bottle, it will need some way to fight off bacteria. Raw foodies tout the cold-press method, used by Ginger Juice and Lumi. Both use high pressure processing (HPP), which applies extreme water pressure to eliminate microorganisms. This extends the shelf life, and for a product with no preservatives, that's already pretty short. According to Hillary Lewis, owner of Lumi, HPP has been around since 1890 and was founded at the University of West Virginia. She says the first commercial food processing application of it started in the late 1980s.

Says Lewis, "Personally, I did a cleanse to truly understand the market, and it completely changed my metabolism--not in a good way. Cleanses are not one size fits all--everyone's body is unique. I believe in a combination of food and juice diets that utilize raw, unprocessed foods to give your digestive system a break. If you are going to do a completely juice diet, I encourage you to do so under the guidance of a registered dietitian or doctor who understands what your body needs."

Even without added sugars, nutritionists caution against the amount of naturally occurring sugar in fruit, and thus in juice. Lewis stresses that consumers should read the label, and fewer, natural ingredients are better. Many heat-pasteurized juices that are bottled add flavoring after processing. Since her juices are never heated, she says the sugars are allowed to be more naturally occurring, not caramelized. Still, she tends to make juices that are heavier in the greens and lower in the fruit for optimal energy. "My favorites are Lumi's three nutrition shots and our ten-ounce sizes," she offers.

For Ginger Juice owner Erin Powell, she started juicing for her son, who wouldn't eat vegetables but would deign to drink them. She has a new nutrition group that started in January that meets periodically to discuss healthy choices, begin juice cleanses, and discuss grocery shopping and food choices under the guidance of a Nutrition Coach.

All of this to say, it may be a good reason to do your basic homework and not worry too much about the latest trend or machine. Stick to the basics: fruit and vegetables are good for you (although your emphasis should be on the latter). Eat them. Drink them, too. Listen to your body. You don't necessarily have to spend hundreds of dollars on new technology or squished-just-for-you health foods. Perhaps we just remember Peterson's adage: "Don't knock it 'til you try it." After you consult a medical professional, of course.

Giving back, holiday-style: Volunteer opps for you and yours

Holly Gordon — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 17:41:22 +0000

Photo by: c_nilsen

So many people want to volunteer during the holidays. This outpouring of generosity is wonderful but can sometimes be a challenge, as volunteer openings fill quickly--often months in advance--or nonprofits aren't open on certain days since staff, who have been helping great causes year-round also want some time off to spend with their loved ones.

Good news: there is a lot of need, and you're ready to help. But you want to do it the good way. (Read this first to find out how not to give: Seven Worst Ways to Give to Charity During the Holidays.

OK, ready to find your best giving back opportunity? Proceed:

I LOVE A PARTY

Add something original to that tacky-sweater-holiday-cookie party. Let's face it--when bad mall stores are selling tacky sweaters, the idea has jumped the shark. Make your holiday fête have special meaning by including a charitable giving contest. You could pick three causes close to your family's hearts, print out info cards and create a photo or video slideshow about each, and have kids make shoebox voting boxes. Charge some amount to get in, and have everyone vote on their favorite. Kids can serve guests, campaign for the cause they want, and count votes. The cause with the most votes wins the money, and your guests go home inspired.

MY KID WON'T GET OFF THE COMPUTER LONG ENOUGH TO DO ANYTHING

Play service games online with your kids to learn about causes.

EcoKids has games on waste reduction and recycling
DisasterMaster readies kids for emergency preparedness
EnergyStar has hidden object, coloring, and word search with The Lorax--and sneaks in energy learning throughout

I WANT TO CREATE IT MYSELF

Want to make something truly yours? Visit the Create the Good projects library for step by step guides on how to create a service project together. With many causes, each person in your friend or family group can find something for them. There's one about trash cleanup in rivers (and with this warm weather, totally possible right now). GenerationOn has tons of toolkits, fact sheets, and guides on self-mobilization geared towards kids and teens.

HURRY UP AND WAIT

The charitable community can get overwhelmed this time of year. You and yours could wait until January and use the New Year to kick off community service resolutions. Food pantries get thin, donations and gifts dry up, and the need is still there, year round. What if you made a plan to do something as a family regularly in 2016? Plot it all out now. Between school, lessons, and trips, you know that calendar will get full quickly if you don't.

I LIKE SHOPPING

Ask your favorite cause for a wish list. Here are two to get you started:

CARITAS is well respected in Richmond for tackling homelessness and addiction issues. Setting up a new home can be quite expensive and overwhelming. Help a woman escaping domestic violence, or a refugee family new to the area find items to make their new house a home. Their furniture bank is the only one of its kind in Central Virginia. Express interest.

At The Doorways, patients and families have traveled far from home to receive medical treatment and a simple trip to the store can feel like a hurdle. The little necessities of home can help. They're asking for donations of shampoo, soap, razors, tooth brushes, ground coffee and non-dairy creamer, liquid laundry detergent and more. Find out how to give.

WE CAN'T ALL LEAVE THE HOUSE AT ONCE

Do one of HandsOn's¹ Featured DIY projects that you can make at home, take to HandsOn, and let them deliver en masse to the nonprofit recipient (the holiday one's already full--see, I told you).
* Medical Respite Care Packages for The Daily Planet
* Cancer Awareness Ribbons for Massey Cancer Center
* Mental Health Awareness Ribbons for NAMI Central Virginia

I STILL WANT MORE IDEAS

Download a guide on Alternative Ways to Volunteer this holiday or search all the options on www.handsonrva.org/holidayvolunteering.

Or you could just recreate this Christmas Gift Experiment from Britain. Invite me to come film it.

Disclaimer: Holly works for HandsOn Greater Richmond, which is exactly the reason we thought she would know exactly what to suggest for this article. ↩

A town of many markets

Holly Gordon — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:53:16 +0000

As I’ve written before, it boggles my mind how many farmers' markets Richmond sustains. Also surprising is how many vendors sell at several or nearly all of them. If the idea of a Starbucks on every corner in a major city doesn’t cannibalize the business, does it work the same way for local produce and wares?

Richmonders’ curious reluctance to cross the river might actually be a benefit here. Many of the markets serve a distinct neighborhood, with an individual identity. Some are clearly doing better than others. Because so many are grassroots efforts of the best kind, it can be hard to determine what defines success. Does it have to be profitable? Packed each week? Have lots of vendors? A good web presence? Some have established non profits or churches at their back, others seem like they are struggling to hold on.

The Byrd House Market began as a sleeper hit. Founded in 2007, a part of the William Byrd Community House (WBCH), it is one of multiple programs running hand-in-hand designed to “provide living laboratories for learning nutrition, ecology and economics.”

The Market is not only an income stream for the nonprofit, in operation since 1923, but provides the community a place to come together over a common interest, and showcases the final product of many local artisans and farmers to the children that William Byrd serves. Market manager, Ana Edwards, tells us how the kids learn the whole process: planting, watering, harvesting, composting, selling, and cooking. Both families and the general public are invited to their unique cooking class series called “Cooking as a Second Language” where dishes from a particular region in the world are featured and taught by previous residents of that country, sometimes in their native language.

WBCH also provides food to the children in their early childhood education and after school programs through their Grace Arents Community Garden and Byrd House Farmlet. The recent addition of a beehive has been a unique (and sometimes terrifying/fun) learning experience for the kids. Right off the Downtown Expressway, and serving a mostly minority, urban population, the programs are an extraordinary experiment in urban gardening.

Byrd House Market runs every Tuesday, 3:30-7pm, May thru October at Cherry and Idlewood Avenues. Local restaurant chefs are welcome to have first crack at the produce from 3-3:30pm. The first Tuesday of the month (June 7) will host Byrd Cellars Winery in the Mulberry Tree Cafe. The market is currently recruiting musicians, poets, jugglers, or other performers. Email byrdhousemarket@gmail.com or call (804) 643-2717.

Two of the areas’ markets are tied to local churches, one with more success than the other.

Monument Market is run by Fan institution, First Baptist Church, at the corner of Monument and Robinson every Saturday, 8am - Noon. You’d hardly know the church was involved though; you have to scroll to the bottom of their homepage and hunt for the tiny link to the Market page. Despite local food bloggers advocating for it, Monument seems to struggle the most. A lack of water and electrical access makes it difficult for prepared food and drink vendors. With only a handful of tents in a large space, Monument feels like a ghost town. It’s a chicken-and-egg argument about what is needed to make it work: more vendors, or more visitors. As one of the newest markets pulling from the same set of vendors, it may be the bursting of the market bubble, though five new vendors are newly listed, all crafts/retail. Perhaps that could be their niche.

Children are encouraged to vend their own wares and actually have a dedicated Children’s Market the second Saturday of each month, selling everything from drinks, cookies, jewelry, plants, and crafts, not unlike the adults. Their site encourages budding entrepreneurs to apply for a spot online.

On the other hand, the second largest market in town with about 51 vendors each Saturday is the St. Stephen’s Market at Grove and Three Chopt. Probably the second most popular, they even have their own merchandise. The church website prominently displays their market in the top navigation tabs. They have an intentional statement linking the market to their church:

The Farmers Market at St. Stephen's seeks to connect our choices about the foods we buy and eat to our call to be stewards of God's creation, as we build community and support local farmers.

The area’s largest and most popular market, South of the James, at 42nd and New Kent Avenues near Forest Hill Park, seems to be the thing Richmonders are most willing to cross the river and pay a toll for. I’m a huge fan of any place where I can get tacos, fresh basil, and local coffee, run into friends and coworkers alike, looking a little grungy, sometimes hungover and usually sweaty, all while dodging strollers and dogs.

Even with multiple growers and CSA’s though, it seems most of the market offerings are all pretty much the same, which is partially related to growing season. South of the James (SOTJ) offers a handy chart on their site of what grows each month.

The SOTJ is run by the Market Umbrella, which is owned and operated by Karen Atkinson, along with an operations committee comprised of vendors with marketing, accounting, sales, and computer experience. They also have a shiny new website. Previously, Atkinson was market manager of the William Byrd Community House Market (two degrees of separation in Richmond, I tell you!). Notoriously hard to get a hold of, you’ll likely find her on Saturdays roaming, watching over her vendors.

Starting in June, all Market Umbrella markets will accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) cards. Previously known as food stamps, the debit card program is used by those who receive governmental food assistance. Retailers must apply to be a recipient. The little pink tent in the center of the market on Saturdays will swipe cards and give tokens that can be used to purchase food from individual vendors.

The market is offering other special events like a free market walk with natural foods and healing educator, Elli Sparks. On Saturday, June 11 from 8-9am, visitors will discuss grass-fed and pasture-raised animals, and sustainable agriculture.

With 84 vendors, SOTJ has more to see this year than ever before, and things are selling out earlier. Both Blanchard’s Coffee and Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream have gone through a dozen or more gallons of milk and iced coffee before 10 am--and even more ice. Nate’s Taco Truck often sells out of his popular chicken and beef tacos.

Attendees have started arriving even earlier than the 8 am start date to get their fresh farm eggs and meat before their fellow shoppers. I’ve got to start getting up earlier so I might actually find some basil. Rumor has it that Mamma Zu’s owner Ed Vasaio sends out his team at the crack-of-market opening to buy up all the basil for his restaurants. Though the market is slated to close at noon, because there’s still so much traffic, the vendors have been staying later too.

All the usual suspects are there, but one vendor, Adventures in T-Shirt Land caught my attention with their graphic, silk screened Richmond-centric tops. As I got closer, I noticed one with an unusual slogan,

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
A pretty o.k. place

While I was standing there wondering what that meant exactly, I overheard the same inquiry from the person next to me. The female vendor behind the table explained how she and her partner had been stuck in Richmond and how they don’t really care for it and had been trying to leave, and so she figured she’d make a shirt about it.

The woman who asked seemed taken aback, and so did I. That was the worst pitch I could think of anyone giving at a place that was so clearly pro-Richmond and full of folks who loved the city and supporting local products.

No matter what your preference, there’s a farmers market out there for most neighborhoods. It seems the area can sustain multiple and nearly identical markets for now. Those that are successful have done so by carving out a niche, either by offering a place for children, being open on a different day, or reaching out to a broader audience. Either way, paying attention to where our food comes from, supporting local business, and sharing in community are all good things, and something that other sectors of the city could take a cue from.

Spring 2011 Markets

Drawing out anaphylaxis: a local woman’s stride to make life with food allergies better

Holly Gordon — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:25:57 +0000

Many children’s first birthday parties end in fistfuls of cake, melted ice cream, and lots of photos. For one local Richmonder, her child’s first birthday ended with an ambulance. He had eaten a cupcake, had a severe allergic reaction and she didn’t know what was happening. Luckily one of her girlfriends was a nurse, recognized the signs, and called 911.

That visit ended with sedation, an IV, and a declaration of a life-threatening allergy. For Tiffany Glass Ferreira’s son, the answer: no eggs, wheat, milk, soy, or nuts. “At 1 year old! And he didn't even have any teeth!” she exclaims. So Ferreira launched a campaign to educate herself, her family, and others.

An estimated 72,000 children and 241,000 adults in Virginia are affected by food allergies, and hundreds of Americans die each year from food induced anaphylaxis (an extreme allergic reaction).

Affecting 3% of children under the age of 18 years and about 4% percent of adults in the United States, anaphylaxis can be difficult for those who don’t have allergies to understand the severity. “Even our family said, ‘you’re just overprotective,’ and ‘you’re making it worse by not giving it [allergens] to him.’,” she says. Both an artist and teacher, Tiffany naturally turned to art to express her frustration and anger.

“That's when I started drawing cartoons,” she says. She won’t say just how much is a direct reflection of what her friends and family members say to her, but says, “Hey, this is a really crazy thing you said, and when you see it in a cartoon it's kind of funny.”

She started drawing the food allergy-themed cartoons about six months ago. She begins on paper and takes a photo with her iPhone, which is about as high tech as she has time for. You can view more on her site, www.foodallergyfun.blogspot.com

Her son is four now. He’s seen four pediatricians and three allergists, and has participated in elimination diets, blood tests, and multiple follow ups. “It's a moving target,” reiterates Ferreira. Now he is only allergic to eggs, milk, and tree nuts, specifically cashews, which are most often packaged in factories that make other nuts. Peanuts are different, however, since they are legumes.

He goes to school with an EpiPen (an epinephrine autoinjector) and a note saying that, if he comes into contact with nuts, teachers must call 911 immediately and that his mother will meet him at the hospital. “It’s like a 10 minute window,” explains Ferreira of the response window for a severe reaction

It can be somewhat isolating. Her son didn't go trick or treating; didn't go to any kind of party last year or even any kind of celebration. Naturally, small children are inclined to go after any yummy-looking treats, and why would her son be different? The risk just wasn’t worth it. Over time, he’s become more aware of his allergies, because he's had such a dramatic reaction. “If someone gives him a cookie, he'll ask, ‘What are the ingredients? I’m allergic to nuts’,” says Ferreira.

There’s an overall health and cost angle here too. “Recently I got an ironic (and too common) ‘Awww, poor kid.’ response from a well meaning person when I pulled out my son's packed lunch. Meanwhile, their kid was having 12oz of orange soda, chips dripping with nacho "cheese" and Dippin Dots.” That kid’s lunch cost? $12.

She tells us about Yummy Lunch Ideas, a website with photos of healthy and colorful packed lunches. The boxes are geared mainly towards kids, but darn if they don’t look appetizing and fun for adults, too. Over 100 ideas are there, not one with Day-glo cheese.

Ferreira’s been commissioned to draw her comics for special events as well. She recently collaborated with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for a no-candy Easter Egg Hunt this spring, which was covered in several local press outlets. After months of talking, planning, and okaying eggs, trying to make it safe for everyone, she went to two different egg hunts that week: the allergy awareness one and a regular one where she just brought her own eggs. She made sure her children brought her all the eggs they found before opening them, and she just swapped them out with her own at the end. Turns out, that was probably easier, she admits.

Lewis Ginter and Maymont have contacted her about having food allergy safe events, but Ferreira cautions that most allergies are very specific, so there’s often no possible way to make it safe for everybody. It’s good to be aware so that parents can get the information they need to make better decisions, but there might not be an answer for all or most. The VMFA actually saved money, too. She’d love to get to the day where when she calls and asks, “What’s in the eggs?” that she’s not considered annoying.

A new initiative may help, at least for eating out. AllergyEats.com is an aggregator of restaurants that include user-posted ratings for allergy safety. It’s a burgeoning website, and not all the restaurants listed are rated yet, but Ferreira was heartened to see Belvidere at Broad at the top of the list.

She hopes that in 10 years when her children are older and the family wants to go out together there will be places to go that have an allergy-sympathetic chef. Most allergies aren’t expected to be outgrown. Currently, she brings food with her whenever she has to go someplace with her children. It’s hard for her to trust a restaurant. “I waited a lot of tables. I know how busy it is, and how many hands are on the food. It doesn't seem reliable when it's life threatening.”

For that reason, she’s excited about the Allergy Eats site. “It's just the tip of the iceberg. If there are 25 restaurants on there now...” she trails off, her silence intimating her hope for the future.

“If a person with a food allergy comes in to the restaurant, and they feel safe, and they get what they want, it's an instant loyal customer. Or the opposite, that's the tipping point where the restaurant becomes unsafe. It's the ultimate bad press for that entire audience,” she points out. Another local woman, Loralyn Mears, recently launched her own business, Clear Allergy Labels, making creative and clear allergy holders and inserts. Not a mom, but a woman with her own individual dietary limitations, she also saw the struggles of her niece and nephew. Mears was inspired after her own injury when people were bringing her casseroles, and she couldn’t eat any of them.

“For a lot of us, it's such a completely different lifestyle, but not an optional lifestyle. Eating out in restaurants is such an optional thing,” offers Ferreira. She feels a little helpless at the speed in which allergy awareness is moving. Just recently, on a visit to the Pediatrician for a wellness visit, her son’s doctor asked her about The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act, a 50-page document that was signed into law by President Obama in January of this year. “Have you read it?” she asks me. “This is the conversation I’m having with my Pediatrician, who has a medical degree. That’s what’s frustrating.”

— ∮∮∮ —

May 8-14 was the 14th Annual Food Allergy Awareness Week. 30 states issued proclamations or resolutions of food allergy awareness. Here’s Virginia’s

For more information: The Food Allergy Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), located in Fairfax, VA.

Moonlight Magic for Massey

Holly Gordon — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:18:36 +0000

I’ve been meaning to get to James River Cellars for awhile now. They have their popular Fridays on the Patio with live music, tastings, and food. The Massey Alliance, the young professionals group of the Massey Cancer Society, just gave me a great reason. They’re throwing the 9th annual Moonlight Magic benefit there on Friday, June 10 presented by Gilbane.

The event is from 6.30 - 10pm, rain or shine. Wine tastings are provided by James River Cellars (controversially, there’s been some debate in the food community about whether grapes can truly grow well in the Richmond region), and attendees can enjoy a variety of local and craft beers, food, dessert, and live music by Flat Elvis.

Catered by Champagne Taste, who also did the program last year, the menu is below. Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe will provide cupcakes for dessert.

Sweet and Sour Asian Meatballs
Hot Parmesan Crab Dip and Hot Florentine Dip with Artichokes and Water Chestnuts Served with Croustades and Crackers
Petite Curry Chicken Salad Sandwiches on Parker House Rolls and Miniature Pulled Pork Sandwiches on Potato Rolls
Vegetable Crudités Display with Dips
Assorted Domestic Cheeses with Fresh Fruit
Tuscan Pasta Primavera Salad
Baby Spinach and Cheese Ravioli with Olive Oil and Fresh Parmesan

Tickets are $40 until June 9 and $50 at the door and include food and wine tasting and two drinks. Complimentary transportation will be provided from 6pm to 10pm by The To the Bottom and Back Bus from City Limit (7007 Three Chopt Road).

Butchers, Bakers & Beyond Food

Holly Gordon — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:40:17 +0000

The Real Richmond Food Tours have been selling out left and right so get your tickets for this Saturday’s walking tour now. Each tour features a particular part of town and samples of restaurants along the way. May 28th will feature Carytown and the Museum District. Based on the name this month, I can conjecture which places you’ll stop, and clearly the VMFA will be featured, but the exact locations are left a little mysterious until the tour actually begins. Tapas and Southern classics are also mentioned.

The group starts at 2pm at Chop Suey Books, 2913 W. Cary Street and goes until about 4 pm, rain or shine. Wear comfortable walking shoes. Tickets are $39 and can be purchased online.

If you don’t get in to this month’s walk, June’s is entitled “Alternative Eats” and features some of my own favorites in the Fan and VCU. Heavy on the vegetarian friendly and local, Black Sheep, Ipanema, Sprout, and the Nile are some of the intended stops on Saturday, June 11, 2011, also from 2 - 430pm.

Cancer prevention through healthy eating

Holly Gordon — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:29:46 +0000

The young professionals' board of the Massey Cancer Center has launched a new initiative to educate other young professionals and the community about cancer prevention through nutrition and healthy living. Volunteers from the Massey Alliance will be staffing tables at the 17th Street Farmers Market on the first Saturday of the month through September 3. From 9am-4pm, you can learn about super foods and information on how healthy eating can help prevent cancer. "Because Massey is research-based, it's hard to boil down [our message] to our peers. These workshops give people a role in their own health,” says Stephane Jenks, Assistant Director of Special Events at Massey Cancer Center. They hope to encourage more people to come to the Market.

In partnership with Richmond Balance, they'll also provide weekly Saturday community exercise classes, starting at 10am at the Market. Free and open to the public, the classes will rotate topics, from cardio, yoga, core, boot camp, and Pilates. Topics will be announced every Thursday on the Massey Alliance Facebook Page. Bring your own mat. If it rains, the class moves indoors one block away to Richmond Balance.

Happy birthday Secco!

Holly Gordon — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:23:52 +0000

Carytown’s favorite wine bar is turning one this week. To celebrate, they’re offering glass pours of different wines from their reserve list and daily trivia questions on Facebook with gift cards as prizes. Yesterday I was THISCLOSE to winning one of them (though I did have to go back to my original article to double check a fact). Did you know that owner Julia Battaglini signed the lease on the space and paid rent for nearly two and a half years before they were able to open to the public?

2933 W. Cary St
www.seccowinebar.com
353-0670

Secco: better than your neighborhood bar

Anniversaries, farm events, and fundraisers

Holly Gordon — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:23:16 +0000

Have a cocktail for a cause this Thursday, May 19 at Blackfinn. From 7 - 10pm, happy hour proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

Once Upon a Vine celebrates their 7th anniversary this Saturday, May 21, with food, drinks (of course) and music, from 1-5pm.

Tricycle Gardens’ farm stand opened just last week at their headquarters at 2107 Jefferson Ave. Open every Tuesday and Thursday from 4-6pm, the stand features fresh veggies, seedlings to plant, and sustainability products for sale (like rain barrels). The opening featured baby goats and hand-embroidered, Mexican shirts for sale as well. Lamplighter’s freshly roasted coffee beans, drip and ice coffee, iced tea and Country Style Donuts will be available, as will goat’s milk soap and chicken eggs for sale from Huguenot Hundred Acres.

Tricycle is also having a Farm Open House and Potluck on Thursday, June 16, from 5-9pm. Bring a dish or a drink and chat with fellow urban gardeners. Free. 9th and Bainbridge Streets. The non profit has undergone a lot of staff transition lately, so let’s hope the events are still a go.

The 2nd Annual Secret Garden Party

Holly Gordon — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:03:57 +0000

I was giddy as a child to attend the first incarnation of the Secret Garden Party last year, and it lived up to my expectations. The progressive cocktail party, featuring five downtown historic sites and their gardens, happens again this Thursday, May 12, from 5.30pm – 8.30pm. I saw a lot of familiar faces, met some new folks, drank historic beverages, and nibbled on Southern favorites while enjoying the sometimes surprising lush greenery within our fair city.

Bring a date. Seriously -- it's one of the most unique and romantic date occasions you could ask for. Picture it: walking hand-in-hand from site-to-site, sipping on Champagne underneath a giant dogwood tree, stealing away to historic corners, to perch upon bits of stone where ghosts of loves-past once lingered. Sigh. Call that person who you've had your eye on. It worked for me. Now the secret garden party has become a personal anniversary of sorts.

Get there on time -- there's a lot to see and with travel time the night gets away from you. The sites are absolutely walkable, so wear comfortable shoes. A free shuttle is available, but I never once saw it last year. It's probably faster just to walk. Park at the VCU Hospital Deck at Leigh & 12th streets, the VA Department of Transportation lot at E. Broad and College Streets, or anywhere on the street (what I did). Very limited parking also is available at the Valentine Richmond History Center lot.

You have until 5pm today to get tickets ($30/single, $50/couple). After that, the price at the door goes up to $35/single, $60/couple. The price includes one drink ticket and food at each site and admission to the historic sites themselves.

You can start at any site you wish, but I recommend the order below, both for ease of progression, and also flow of atmosphere.

John Marshall House Garden,

818 E. Marshall Street
Madeira and colonial strawberry shrub drink, paired with ice cream and other delicious desserts
Live colonial dancers and music from the Federal era
Quoits set up for play in the garden
1st floor of the Marshall House open for tours

Wickham House Garden

Valentine Richmond History Center, 1015 East Clay Street
Ham biscuits, vegetables and seasonal fruit
Rum & Cokes
Live music by the Dean Christesen Jazz Quartet
Exhibition galleries and Wickham House open

This picturesque, private green space is nestled among high brick walls and magnolia trees and extends from the portico of the historic Wickham House, an early 19th century home built by prominent attorney John Wickham, who raised 17 children on the property.

Sally Archer Anderson Garden

The White House of the Confederacy, 1201 E. Clay Street
Virginia Wines
BBQ and cobbler from Double T's BBQ
Live music by Wayside
White House and museum galleries open

The Museum of the Confederacy contains the largest collection of Confederate artifacts in the world. The historic White House of the Confederacy, located next door, has been meticulously restored and displays personal belongings of the Davis family, which lived in the home from 1861-1865.

VCU Massey Cancer Center, 401 College Street
Cancer fighting foods
Red wine and iced green tea
Classical guitar by Leah Kruszewski
Researchers will discuss the relationship between nutrition and cancer

This beautiful and restorative space was designed to heal the mind and spirit and to support Massey Cancer Center's mission of total nurturing care.

Betty Moore Garden

Monumental Church, Historic Richmond Foundation, 1224 E. Broad Street
Virginia wine tasting, featuring Grayhaven Winery and Byrd Cellars
Food by Very Richmond Indeed, Inc.
Live music
Tours of the historic church

Historic Richmond Foundation (HRF) is the conscience of the built environment for the City of Richmond. As the oldest preservation organization in the city, HRF operates a revolving fund under which it currently owns and maintains five historic properties, including Monumental Church, a National Historic Landmark.

Mainstream closes

Holly Gordon — Tue, 10 May 2011 19:48:21 +0000

Parking out front on my way to the Main Street galleries last Friday evening, I noticed Mainstream restaurant appears closed and the building for sale. Blinds are drawn, the awning is gone, and a "No Trespassing" sign is in the window next to the "For Sale By Owner" sign. A call to their number went to an unnamed voicemail.

We covered its opening just five months ago here but I can't say I'm surprised. Aiming at the middle-of-the road in every aspect of their business seemed to mean they retained no one. With mainstream beer and too-safe food choices, it needed more to survive in that neighborhood.

Spring 2011 Market Openings!

Holly Gordon — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:00:17 +0000

The first weekend in May means local veggies, fresh roasted coffee, tacos in the AM, jewelers, bakers, socializing, strollers, dogs, and sunshine. I'm excited just writing about it. It's MARKET TIME!

Richmond has a surprising number of farmers' markets in the metro area (11 and counting). While a few markets opened in April, the rest all open this Saturday. Kicking it off tonight is the regular Market at First Fridays Artwalk, from 7-10 pm, next to Quirk Gallery.

Six more open this Saturday: The Farmers Market at St. Stephen's, Ashland Market, the newest addition: My Manakin Market (formerly Goochland), 17th Street Farmers' Market, Monument Market, and the most well-known, South of the James Market (SOTJ).

Already open and running is the Souther of the James Market, set up, somewhat haphazardly, though lovingly, in the field next to the now-closed Blockbuster on Forest Hill Avenue at Westover Hills Blvd. One of the few to operate year round, the current schedule is Wednesdays from 3-8pm. Wear flat shoes and don't park in the deceptively rocky grass field next door (if you value your car tires).

Arguably the most popular market of them all, the SOTJ has become the go-to place for quality, affordable, local products, and a great social atmosphere. New this year, all vendors must sell only handmade, homemade, or homegrown products that they themselves made in Virginia. Another unique addition is their ability to accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) EBT cards (commonly known as food stamps). The Virginia Farmers Market Electronic Benefit Transfer Program will offer SOTJ a wireless point-of-sale device that will process the cards. Market organizers hope the service will help make local produce and products more accessible to low-income families.

Also new this year to the Northside is "Lakeside Farmers' Market too,” an indoor option next door to the existing outdoor pavilion. And at one of America's longest running markets, the 17th Street Farmer's Market downtown, Mayor Dwight C Jones will appear at 10am for the official Saturday market opening and ribbon cutting ceremony with a free community exercise class.

Most markets are still taking vendors. Full list below.

Byrd House Market

S. Linden St & Idlewood Ave, behind the William Byrd Community House
Tuesdays, 3:30-7pm
more »

The Farmers Market at St. Stephen's

6000 Grove Avenue
Saturdays, 8am-noon
more »

Market at First Fridays

Next to Quirk Gallery-311 W. Broad Street
1st Friday of each month (except January) 7-10pm
more »

South of the James Market

Forest Hill Ave & 42nd Street (Forest Hill Park)
Saturdays, 8am-noon
more »

Monument Market

First Baptist Church, Corner of Monument Avenue & North Robinson Street
Saturdays, 8am-12pm
more »

Ashland Farmers' Market

101 Thompson St, Ashland (on Duncan Street behind Town Hall)
Saturdays, 9am-noon
more »

My Manakin Market

68 Broad Street, Manakin-Sabot (behind the Bank of Essex)
Saturdays, 8am-noon
more »

Souther of the James Market

4910 Forest Hill Ave (next to old Blockbuster)
Wednesdays, 3-8pm
more »

Lakeside Farmers' Market and Lakeside Too

6110 Lakeside Ave
Wednesdays, 8am-noon and 3-7pm and Saturdays, 8am-noon
more »

West End Market

12450 Gayton Road at the intersection of Ridgefield Parkway and Gayton Road
Wednesdays, 3-6:30pm and Saturdays 8am-noon
more »

17th Street Farmers' Market

100 N 17th Street
Thursday Growers' Market, 10am-7pm
Friday Red, White, & Brew Market, 5-9pm
Saturday Growers' Market, 10am-4pm
Sunday Vintage Market, 9am-4pm
more »

Biodynamic Wine Dinner

Holly Gordon — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:24:48 +0000

This Friday, May 6 is the next installment of Olio's First Friday Wine Dinner Series. This one will investigate the current state of environmentally responsible viticulture. Dinner begins at 6pm, and you can reserve your seat by calling with any major credit card. $30 includes food, wine & tax, but not tip. Their happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 5 - 9pm, so stop in an hour earlier for 15% off all beverages to get a jump start on your evening.

Course 1

Paul Dolan Chardonnay paired with scallop & corn chowder topped with cherrywood bacon and parsley.

Course 2

Paul Dolan Mendicino Zinfandel paired with balsamic poached plums with French Fourme d' Ambert blue cheese over grilled hearts of romaine.

Course 3

Paul Dolan Pinot Noir paired with grilled mahi kebabs over porcini truffle quinoa.

Course 4

Paul Dolan Cabernet Sauvignon paired with fresh berry truffle with white chocolate ganache.

2011 ½ W. Main Street • 804.355.5182
oliorichmond.com

Patios: an exhaustive listing

Holly Gordon — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:31:17 +0000

The earth has once again reached the point in its circular journey around the sun where Richmond is blessed/cursed with warmth. I'm sure as summer wanes the air will be filled with both sweat and the riotous sounds of Richmonders complaining about the humidity. Until then, you'll probably need this list of patios upon which to drink beers (you'll be drinking on the patios, not on the list).

For a list of some of our favorite patios check out this piece we ran, hilariously entitled Patios, brah!. -- Ed.

Fan & Museum District

3 Monkeys
Baja Bean
Barcode (rear patio)
Best Cafe (at VMFA)
The Black Sheep (only for drinks)
Bogart's
Buddy's
Buzz & Ned's
Caliente
Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream VCU
Curbside Cafe
DeLux (patio in the back)
The Empress (coming mid April)
Fresca on Addison
F.W. Sullivans
Home Team Grill
Ipanema
Lamplighter Roasting Company
Mulligan's (rooftop)
Rowland Fine Dining
Sahara
Saigon (on Grace Street in VCU area)
Star-Lite

Downtown

Beauregard's Thai Room (gorgeous patio)
Blackfinn
Bottom's Up
Cafe Gutenberg
Capital Ale House Downtown (downstairs in the back)
Cha Cha's Cantina
Ettamae's Cafe
Fish Bowl
Globehopper (patio in the back)
Havanna '59 (has big windows that open onto the street, rooftop deck)
Lift Coffee Shop & Cafe
Sette (interior courtyard)
Sine
T Miller's Sports Bar & Grill
Urban Farmhouse (not a patio, but floor-to-ceiling windows open all the way)
Valentine Richmond History Center interior courtyard, featuring Sally Bell's

Southside

Capital Ale House Midlothian
Celito Lindo (Forest Hill)
Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream Forest Hill
Legend Brewery
Mexico (Forest Hill)
Wild Ginger (Midlothian)

West End

Bar Louie
Bocca Toscana
Cafe Caturra (at Libbie/Grove)
Capital Ale House Innsbrook
Coast
Mosaic Cafe & Catering
Palani Drive
Phil's Continental Lounge

Carytown

Babe's
Baker's Crust Carytown
Betsy's @ Bin 22
Can Can
Capital Coffee & Desserts (two tables out front)
Carytown Burgers and Fries
Coppola's Deli (few tables outside)
Double T's BBQ
Ellwood's Cafe
Ellwood Thompson's Local Market (few tables overlooking the parking lot)
Ginger Thai
Mezzanine
Mom Siam
Moshi Moshi
Nacho Mama's
New York Deli (in the back)
Viva Mexico
Water Grill
Weezie's Kitchen
Xtras Cafe

Northside

Kitchen 64
Northside Grille

Last modified April 19, 2011

Vino Tango

Holly Gordon — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:50:30 +0000

The middle of the week just got more interesting. C'est Le Vin brings Tango Lessons and Wine tonight, April 27, and continues on Wednesdays over the next six weeks.

Newbies to Tango will appreciate the free tasting at 7pm to kick off the event. Randy from Andes Importers will be sampling Argetine Torrentes and Malbec and Chilean Pinot Noir. Beginners class is from 8 – 9pm. No experience or partner is necessary, though for equal pairing, men are especially encouraged. A traditional Argentine Milonga (social dance) will follow until 10pm. RSVP to hold your spot.

C'est Le Vin
15th N. 17th Street
804.649.9463

New spring lunch menu at Six Burner

Holly Gordon — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:29:41 +0000

Six Burner has just rolled out a new lunch menu. The focus is on lighter fare, like the salad with Manakintowne mixed greens, citrus segments, Parmesan, avocado, cherry tomatoes, lemon garlic vinaigrette for $8. Sandwiches include a ¼ pound beef burger on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, and onion for $10 or a tempura fried softshell crab sandwich with Asian slaw, fresh Thai basil, sprouts, and spicy ginger aioli for $14.

A 90-degree day in April is a good time to stop by for their gazpacho or ice cream sandwich.

Six Burner also offers a daily entree special, and a $25 weekday prix fixe of three courses -- Monday through Thursday, from opening until 7pm.

1627 West Main Street
804.353.5060
sixburner.net

Final Lunch Porter wine dinner returns to Chef’s roots

Holly Gordon — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:30:18 +0000

This weekend is your last chance to savor the Lunch Porter's wine and food pairings before the closing of the Manchester restaurant at the end of this month. Chef Ellie Basch started the wine dinners two years ago this April with sommelier Carol Colby with the goal to "create a wine dining experience that's affordable, fun, educational, and downright delicious." Surprisingly, the pair never literally tested the food/wine pairings, trusting each other's judgment in their respective areas of expertise.

Remembers Basch, "I'd send Carol my menu ideas and describe the taste, spices, herbs, texture of each dish and Carol would pair the most exquisite wines to highlight or contrast with each dish. Or, if Carol decided she wanted to feature wines of a certain region, she would email me the ‘wine notes' describing the nose, palate, body of the wines and then it's my turn to dream up dishes to play off of the wines."

The chef honors her native Indonesia this weekend with a wine dinner aptly named, "A Journey Back Home." Two chances to taste are offered: Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23 at 6.30pm. Basch reminisces about the time her mother came to help in the cafe last year, and recalled an early food-memory from her childhood:

Feeding a gaggle of 5 hungry kids, with little money, Mom used to get a day-old loaf of bread from her brother's bakery (bread is expensive in Indonesia since it's not our staple food), then she would slather margarine (butter is not the norm, either) and put chocolate sprinkles on them. Those were after-school snacks when Mom had extra money. Even then, we're told not to gorge ourselves, limited to 2 slices each, to "remember the starving children in Ethiopia."
She was pleased to hear I'm making Indonesian food for this last wine dinner. Always a Mom, she managed to slip in some advice on how I should remember this critical step and that necessary important move. When I said, "Mom, I know that!" she said, "Just making sure. You messed it up a few times when I taught you last year."

I can assure you that from my last experience at her wine dinner, you won't have anything to worry about, just tasty food, quality wine, and friendly service. Plenty of seats are still available at $45/person and Basch requests RSVPs by Tuesday 4/19 (today).

Lemongrass Fish Cake with jicama slaw • Paired with Remy Pannier Vouvray, 2009, Loire Valley
Ginger Sweet Potato Soup • Paired with Columbia Crest 2 Vines Gewurztraminer, 2009, Columbia Valley, WA
Mom's Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and pickled cucumber-carrot salad • Paired with Paul Dolan Sauvignon Blanc, 2009, Mendocino, CA
Indonesian Beef Rendang (slow braised beef in dozens of spices and coconut milk
sauce), served with jasmine rice and bak choy • Paired with Root 1 Carmenere, 2009, Colchagua Valley, Chile
Fresh mango shortcake • Paired with M. Chiarlo Moscato d'Asti, 2010, Italy

The Lunch Porter
201 West 7th Street (inside the Corrugated Box Building)
804-527-2867
www.thelunchporter.com

Taza Coffee & Creme to offer lunch

Holly Gordon — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:16:35 +0000

Hidden, Forest Hill coffee shop, Taza Coffee & Creme, will begin serving lunch from 11am-2pm this week. Customers can choose from roast beef, veggie, chicken, or ham on any of their current Cupertino’s bagels with a side of chips and a pickle.

Currently brewing Blanchard’s coffee, they also feature puff pastries from La Sabrosita Bakery and ice cream bars from La Michoacana. Special Easter goodies, like butter cream eggs, chocolate bunnies, and Easter baskets can now be found by Chocolates by Kelly.

5047 Forest Hill Ave (entrance in Alley behind CVS)
804.233.TOGO
Monday – Saturday: 6.30am – 6pm • Sunday: 9am – 3pm
@TazaCnC

The Empress to celebrate 1 year anniversary, open patio

Holly Gordon — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:00:32 +0000

April is shaping up to be a great month for The Empress. They’ve just launched a new breakfast and coffee program, it’s the one year anniversary of the restaurant and co-owner Melissa Barlow’s birthday, and they’ll be opening a patio.

They’ve been open for breakfast at 6:30am all along, but this new menu will include not only the fresh, homemade meals they’re known for, but also a new "five minute menu" for those who need to get in and out on their way to work or school. Turns out, there is quite a lot of traffic on Broad Street at that hour. "They deserve breakfast too," says head chef and co-owner Carly Herring.

There’s no where else in that part of town where you can get a "good, hot, decent meal" that early, says Herring. Patrons will also now find Blanchard’s coffee and a full espresso menu. The Empress is hoping to be an early-morning alternative to Starbucks, where there is coffee, of course, but not really hearty breakfast food. You can even call ahead to The Empress to place an order for a cappuccino or a food item, and have it ready for when you arrive. Bottomless cups of coffee are an option if you stay in and order food. WiFi is free, and there are cozy banquettes and tables with room for laptops. Developing a special for VCU students and dabbling in social media like Foursquare will also help them attract a different crowd.

Breakfast, like everything on their menu, is made from scratch. No pre-packaged muffins here. The spinach, feta, and rosemary scone is a nice savory alternative to the typically sweet morning pastry as is the smoked Gouda and salami scone. The loaded breakfast crepe is Chef Herring’s favorite. "Everyone was telling us how fresh and different the brunch menu was. We approach everything with a totally blank slate. We’re so busy we don’t know what anyone else in town is doing," added Barlow.

A major new change will be the front patio, hopefully to open by mid-April, which will add 20 new seats to the sidewalk out front. Tables will be cocktail height, to "bring [patrons] up off of Broad Street, to avoid dust and headlights." Barlow is hoping to also add an outdoor counter for single diners and more casual gatherings. Once the weather warms up, their weekly Tuesday wine tastings and food pairing will be held on the patio. The approval from the city of Richmond, normally notoriously difficult to get, went smoothly, she says. "The neighborhood wanted it," she mused.

Dinner seems to be the area where The Empress has been most acclaimed, but that’s also where the owners pushed for business first. "We wanted to establish as a full restaurant before people mistook us for a cafe or a wine shop," Barlow explains. "We’ve experienced dinner to a point where we were as busy as we could be, and then pushed lunch, and now breakfast." Items like the pun-ny "green eggs and lamb," made with a green marbled Sage Derby cheese, show they aren’t afraid to take themselves too seriously, a trait that comes across in the couple’s warm smiles and easy-going manner. "If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing," chimes in Herring.

Barlow's 14 years in the business is clear in her precise responses and her evaluation of their recent success. She tells me how the time between Christmas and tax day is typically a dead zone in the restaurant world, since people hoard their money after big gift giving until their refund. In her talks with other Richmond industry folks, several have found this year to be the exception. Barlow tells me that December was their best month of sales since they opened, January broke that record, and

February smashed that.

They also have a small retail section for coffee, wine, and baked goods. One of the few places in town to offer such a large gluten-free menu, their gluten-free bread loves are one of their biggest retail sellers. They also hope to offer rarer cheeses for sale as well. "We take a lot of customer feedback into consideration," says Herring.

A new spring menu is coming soon, or at least once it actually stays warm. "People are still wanting those hearty, warm meals," notes Barlow. Right now they operate with just an 8 person staff, including themselves, but will need to expand their kitchen help with the patio expansion.

Dinner starts at 5 pm daily and goes until about 10pm on weekdays and 11pm on Friday/Saturday. If the patio business goes well, they’ll consider staying open for late night desserts on weekends. Catering season is also just beginning. Barlow and Herring create a new menu individually for any catering event using their same all organic, local, and made-from-scratch ingredients. "[We’ve been] catering for five years now, so it’s really easy for us," says Barlow. As busy as they’ve been, they haven’t had time to plan an anniversary party, but may end up doing something when the patio is up.

Happy hour features $2 off all drinks, which makes Yuengling and Miller Lite just $1, M-F, 4-7pm. They also offer a Sunday brunch happy hour from 2-5pm. Morning people watching, real breakfast foods and coffee, seasonal menus, and a new patio are all good reasons to visit in April. A photography show now hangs by David Byrd. Breakfast and lunch are available until 5pm so you can pick up your midday meal with your morning cup of coffee.

2043 West Broad St
804.592.4000
Breakfast and lunch: Mon – Fri 6.30am – 5pm
Dinner: Sun – Thu 5 – 10pm. Fri – Sat 5 – 11pm
Sunday Brunch: 10am – 5pm

Midnight Munchies

Holly Gordon — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:43:41 +0000

The term "midnight munchies" brings me back to exam week at college. Our dining hall would open late on certain nights for hard-studying students to take a break, offering themes and special food items and giveaways.

New to the food scene in Carytown, Jaks Bagels & Deli will be featuring this type of late-night event this Friday and Saturday, April 8th and 9th, from midnight to 3 am. They’re offering an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, featuring their homemade, New York style bagels, cream cheese, bacon, eggs, sausage, corned beef hash, Rostov’s or Land of 1000 Hills coffee, and soda. When asked why they decided to run such a unique event, for a product normally considered a breakfast staple, they responded, "We saw an opportunity to fill a need in the market."

Jaks got into the NCAA spirit recently with UR and VCU named sandwiches. Only open a little over a month, their normal offerings include breakfast and lunch sandwiches, seasonal scones, apple turnovers, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and cookies.

3166 West Cary Street
(804) 355-9330

Olio wants to recycle! Plus, First Friday wine dinner

Holly Gordon — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:03:09 +0000

Olio has signed up to participate in a new recycling program spearheaded by The Richmond Recycling Cooperative, which was created to help Richmond area businesses obtain "green" services and "green" products at affordable prices. The Richmond Recycling Cooperative is run by RVA Green Management Services, a local consulting group, that acts as a broker to service providers and vendors in an effort to provide services and products that might not otherwise be attainable.

The City of Richmond does not collect commercial recycling. The only alternative for years has been to pay a third party hundreds of dollars per month to collect recyclables, and even then they had to be separated, which was quite time-intensive for a restaurant.

For the program to work, they need 60 businesses to sign up and pay for the first three months of service, which is less than $30/month, with no need to separate items.

In other Olio related news their First Friday Wine Dinner Series returns April 1st from 6pm – 7.30pm, where they’ll explore four traditional Italian wines. Francine Kahng, Import Manager for DC/VA at Palm Bay International, a leading importer of Italian wine to the US market, will present the wines. Palm Bay's portfolio is comprehensive and boutique-focused, with representative wines from nearly every Italian wine-making region. Francine has traveled to Italy extensively and will share her experiences from the birthplace of wine, Oenotria. Call 355-5182 with any major credit card to purchase your ticket for $30.

Course One

Mandra Rossa Pinot Grigio from Sicily paired with crab, scallop & saffron risotto

Course Two

Bertani Valpolicella from Veneto paired with garbanzo gazpacho with spicy mascarpone and avocado drizzle

Course Three

Sella Mosca Terrare from Sardinia paired with piccata penne with Tuscan olives & fresh parsley

Course Four

Feudi d San Gregoria Primitivo from Campania paired with a selection of Italian fruits and cheeses

Olio has also recently added a happy hour, Monday thru Friday from 5pm 9pm, where all beverages are 15% off.

FETCH a Cure’s progressive dinner

Holly Gordon — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:44:56 +0000

Enjoy a progressive dinner and support both people and pets at this Saturday, April 2nd’s FETCH a Cure's Progressive Evening benefitting Pixie's Pen Pals. The evening starts at 6pm with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 4010 Hermitage Road and progresses through homes in the Bellevue Area for dinner and dessert until 10 pm. A ticket donation of $50.00 per person includes all food and drink and the opportunity to learn more about the program. All proceeds go to Pixie's Pen Pals. Please email kathryn@fetchacure.com, call 804-525-2193 or visit www.fetchacure.com for more details.

Through this unique program, inmate dog handlers at various Virginia correctional centers socialize and train rescue dogs. The program not only lowers the rate of euthanasia in Virginia’s public shelters, but also provides life skills to inmates. It promotes inmate rehabilitation while improving the adoption opportunities for the dogs through socialization and behavior training.

Eat for art

Holly Gordon — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:35:57 +0000

ART 180, is offering two food-related chances to support their cause this month. The nonprofit creates and provides art-related programs for young people living in challenging circumstances, to encourage personal and community change through self-expression.

This Friday, March 25 is the Fourth Fridays art openings in Manchester from 6.30-11pm, with an ART 180 benefit at the Plant Zero Cafe (3 E. 3rd Street) from 7-9 p.m. Brother-sister musical duo Erin and Basil Frye will perform and 15% of Cafe sales go to ART 180. New art exhibitions will also be featured inside at Artworks and Artspace.

Next Monday, March 28, Six Burner (1627 W Main Street) hosts a 10% night for ART 180. Heralded for its food by Style Weekly, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and named one of Richmond Magazine’s 25 Best Restaurants, they serve dinner from 5:30-9:30 pm.

RSVP on Facebook.

Ettamae’s Cafe to open for dinner

Holly Gordon — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:00:18 +0000

Small and charming Jackson Ward favorite, Ettamae’s Cafe, will begin serving dinner April 1. From their press release:

After several requests from Ettamae’s regulars who range from students to City Council members, owners Matthew Morand and Laura Morand Bailey felt confident that the time was right. "Our daily special entrees were becoming such a big hit," says Morand Bailey..."Our dinner menu will change frequently," says Chef Morand. "I like to keep things fresh, both literally and metaphorically, so having the flexibility to change out dishes appeals to me." Some of the types of dishes planned for dinner are homemade pizzas, slow-roasted meats, seafood, pasta, seasonal greens.

With the anticipated opening of the Hippodrome theater right next door, the restaurant is primed for extended hours. They are also quite close to several other downtown theaters, including The National, CenterStage, and Theater IV. The intimate, second-floor balcony was a favorite for brunch and now with the recent addition of microbrews and wine, will be a great place for drinks at the First Fridays Art Walk. The restaurant will be doing away with their weekday breakfast, but will soon add a Sunday brunch (and Richmond really is a brunch town, isn’t it?) Now, I hope they can just get their grill venting issues under control.

New Hours

Tuesday – Friday 11am – 3pm
Saturday 10am – 3pm and 5pm – 10pm
Sunday 10am – 3pm

804.888.8058
522 N. 2nd Street
www.ettamaescafe.com

Virginia Wine Week!

Holly Gordon — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:00:16 +0000

Virginia Wine Week is March 18-27, 2011. Did you know that there are 15 wine regions in Virginia and nearly 150 wineries? That Virginia grows seven types of white, six types of red, and multiple others (rosé, sparkling, mead, and other fruit wines)? This year’s theme is "Love by the Glass" and surely Virginia has a lot to love. Tons of events are happening across the state to celebrate Wine Week.

The spring equinox was Sunday and along with it, consistently warm weather (hopefully), which would make for a good day trip to any of the sites. Events like grape pruning, musicians, kite flying, tastings, wine dinners, art, and poetry readings start this week and continue well into the spring. You can read all about them here or follow them on Twitter @VAWine.

Here are a few highlights:

Jefferson Vineyards

Saturday, March 26th the Jefferson Vineyard will host their annual Barrel Select Dinner. The menu will be provided by Keswick Hall.

Reservations are required. $85/person.

1353 Thomas Jefferson Parkway
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
434.977.3042

Potomac Poin Winery

Thursday, March 24 at 7 pm is a Greek themed winemaker's dinner at Potomac Point Winery.

The dinner features wine paired with:

Wild mushroom baklava with goat cheese and honey thyme gastrique
Monkfish poached in olive oil and herbs with capers and fava beans
Crisp eggplant and oven dried tomato Napoleon with skordalia and wild greens
Braised lamb shanks with abby fennel and mint gremolatta
Honey pistachio blanc mange with date and fig puree in crispy phyllo

Reservations are required. $75/person.

275 Decatur Road
Stafford, Virginia 22554
540.446.2107
www.potomacpointwinery.com

C'est Le Vin

Friday, March 25, Love by the Glass tasting at C'est Le Vin. They’ve recently expanded their retail wine and cheese business to include an honest-to-goodness wine bar in the art gallery side of their space -- complete with a menu of tapas/light fare. The space is large, with mismatched tables, chairs, and a few couches that give it an informal feel. Rotating artists are featured, mostly in a modern style. Track lighting bounces nicely off the metal ceiling, creating a sparkling effect in the room.

10pm is listed as their closing time on weekend evenings, but on a recent Friday visit my group and a few others inside were allowed to linger past that, nursing their remaining bottles, not feeling rushed at all. Owners Genet Semere and Ghermay Worldeab offer wine tastings every Friday and Saturday and are quick with a hello and a warm smile.

This will feature tastings from Prince Michel and Barboursville wineries. Virginia wine artist Christopher Mize will also talk about his wine-themed paintings and have them available for sale.

15 N. 17th Street, across from the Farmers Market
804.649.9463
http://cestlevin.com

La Bella Primavera at The Lunch Porter

Holly Gordon — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:43:44 +0000

The Lunch Porter may be closing in April but is still offering two more of their popular wine dinners before they do. This month’s was inspired by spring and the “wild lemony yellow tentacles of Forsythia lining I-195” that owner/chef Ellie Basch passed on her way to work each day.

I was fortunate to be invited to their last wine dinner by Republic National staffer and former RVANews writer Genevelyn Steele which featured the wines of the Rhone Valley. The dinner was full, and the staff did a wonderful job keeping up with water refills and wine pours. Attendees were diverse in age -- from fashionable twenty-something’s to seasoned empty nesters. The room was abuzz with conversation and a convivial spirit. I sat next to two charming couples who made for lovely dining companions.

The vegetarian parts of Basch’s February menu really shone. The first course -- potato cake with leeks -- was a great starter, and the second course -- onion soup -- was tastier than I expected. Everyone at my table marveled at how surprisingly creamy the soup was and how that really made all the difference. It was paired with a rosé which began tart but mellowed out with more tasting. The bean and lamb sausage cassoulet was not the main course but stood out with its heartiness and flavor. Concluding the meal was a dessert wine from a grower that Steele informed us was the “Chanel of wines in Europe,” and difficult to find in the United States. Dried fruit notes in the wine tasted completely different alone than with both the pear tart course and the dark chocolate Hershey kisses sprinkled on the table.

Join the Lunch Porter on Friday, March 25 at 6.30pm for “La Bella Primavera-a spring wine dinner.” Sommelier Carol Colby will feature crisp, spring wines, which are great on their own for sipping and are food friendly as well. $45 per person. RSVP by Tuesday, March 22.

When calling, please indicate your preference for Friday or Saturday. If at least 30 people per night reserve, they will host both Friday and Saturday. RSVP’s will be tallied by Tuesday of that week, and attendees will be notified by Wednesday morning with the final confirmation of dinner on Friday, Saturday or both.

Springtime cardamom pea soup with parmesan crouton (with a Sauvignon Blanc)
Seared scallop with tarragon-carrot jus (Ceretto Arneis Blanghe, Italy)
Spring vegetable paella, with or without Sausage Craft's chorizo (Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir, OR)
Your Own Personal Pizza, with grilled steak / caramelized onion and mushroom (Flying Fish Merlot, WA)
Rhubarb custard tart (with a Muscat)

March tastings & dinners: hold on to your tongues

Holly Gordon — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:00:08 +0000

Once Upon a Vine

Highland Black Mocha Stout, Highland Oatmeal Porter, Highland Kashmir I.P.A, and Highland Gaelic ale will be available for tasting this Friday, March 11, from 5 – 8pm at Once Upon a Vine.

4009 MacArthur Avenue
804.726.9463

J. Emerson Fine Wines and Cheese

J. Emerson Fine Wines and Cheese welcomes Jay Latham for a tasting of Copain wines on Monday, March 14, from 5.30 7.30pm, with discounts on all wines tasted. They’re also featuring two one-hour “short sips” classes on Syrah from Australia, the Rhone, and the U.S on March 25 & 26 from 5.30 6.30pm. The classes are held in their fine tasting room, and are limited to eight seats each day, so call to reserve your space.

5716 Grove Avenue
804.285.8011

Wine and Beer Westpark

Kolsch, Dry Hop APA, Coffee Stout, Triple, Quad, Reserve Barleywine, and Reserve Stout are some of the Schlafly beers you’ll find at the Wine and Beer Westpark tasting on Wednesday, March 16 from 6 – 7pm.

9631 West Broad Street
804.965.9100

Olio

Olio is having a free wine tasting this Friday, March 11 from 5.30 – 7.30pm of four bottles of Argentinean Malbec.

They continue next Wednesday, March 16 at 6.30pm with a lecture/tasting with Bob Stashak, a winemaker with 38 years of experience. The tasting is $20 and includes samples and snacks. Tickets can be purchased by calling with any major credit card.

2001 ½ West Main Street
804.355.5182

Can Can Brassiere

Can Can Brassiere’s popular sommelier Bob Talcott shows off the Burgundies next week at their Thursday, March 17 wine dinner. This is one of their more popular ones and seats often sell out -- so get your tickets now. The evening starts at 6.30pm with hors d’oeuvres followed by three courses, including: frogs legs, chicken breast, and braised short rib, all paired with wine. Tickets are $49.98.

3120 West Cary Street
804.358.7274

Cafe Caturra

Cafe Caturra in Short Pump Crossing will be hosting a Girls' Night Out on Monday, March 21 at 5pm. The night includes hors d' oeuvres, a glass of boutique wine, choice of any sandwich or panini with a side, and a dessert mini or a cookie à la mode. A local vendor market will feature handcrafted jewelry by Leann Butler, Willow House with Elizabeth, Chained Stories handmade jewelry, and treats from The Sweet Spot. $20 per person. To make a reservation, please call 804-360-3377.

3332 Pump Road
804.360.3377

Ellwood's Cafe

On Monday, March 25, 2011, at 6pm, Ellwood’s Cafe is offering a three-course wine dinner featuring the flavors of Virginia and surrounding areas for $35. Tickets can be purchased at Ellwood Thompson’s or online and space is limited.

Course 1: Cite pate with pickled fennel, pine nuts and watercress.
Course 2: Wild-caught (North Carolina) pecan crusted rockfish with sweet corn sauce and lump crabmeat salad.
Course 3: Bell & Evan’s all-natural, free-range pan seared chicken breast with lentil du puy cassoulet and house-smoked ham.

10. S. Thompson Street
804.612.1827

Empress wine tasting tonight!

Holly Gordon — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:04:46 +0000

The Empress (2043 W. Broad Street) holds their Tuesday wine tasting on March 8, 2011. Genevelyn Steele from Republic National will feature Syrah, Petite Sirah, and two Shiraz. Come voice your opinion on which ones will go on the new Spring menu. $15 is for four courses of wine with food pairing and education. 7 – 8.30pm. $15.