Food News: Uni, Bon Air teamups, power, and Swayze’s finest film
An unforgettable meal courtesy of Sub Rosa and Metzger, the beauty of Deep Run Roadhouse, the shock of Hibachi Box finally opening, and the gentle assistance of Olio, who wants you to hang on to summer until your hands have frozen stiff.
Photo by 2015 Power List this week. What exactly is the Power List? Style Weekly editor Jason Roop says, “The Power List, as always, is a snapshot in time, an effort to answer such questions as: What’s driving the local economy? Who’s shaping Richmond’s cultural identity? And who’s in a prime position to drive debate and shape the city’s future?” The list covers four areas–politics, economy, arts & culture, and the food industry.
This year’s list includes restaurateurs and chefs like the Giavos family, Kendra Feather, Travis Croxton, Lee Gregory, and Joe Sparatta. These are the business owners that have set the tone for the dining community, raising the standards of what we can expect to find on the plate when we go out for a meal. It also includes brewers and a beer distributor, both of whom are shaping the landscape of the big business of beer in our state. And, thankfully, a few nonprofit figures make the list as well: FeedMore CEO Doug Pick, GrowRVA founder Karen Atkinson, and Renew Richmond director of community engagement Duron Chavis are all recognized for their contributions to the food system.
#RVADINE, THE NEW CLASS(ICS)
Let’s be honest: We have some darlings in the Richmond culinary scene, restaurateurs and chefs who seem to garner praise at every turn. You know who they are–their names are probably already coming to mind. Perhaps a few of them are on the aforementioned Power List. They’re great, and we know it, and if we had our way, everyone on the planet would know it. But, our own Maat Free sees a place for some new culinary classics to emerge, and she sings for the yet unsung heroes of Richmond dining, including a food truck, soul food, and good old rotisserie chicken.
FINALLY, A SEQUEL TO ROADHOUSE!
I learned a few things when writing this blurb. Primarily, I learned that there is already a sequel to Roadhouse and that it looks unspeakably bad. As in, worse than Roadhouse, which is bad but also wonderful. No Patrick Swayze, no Sam Elliott, and none of the brilliance of director (and this is his real name) Rowdy Herrington. So, let’s just pretend that there was not previously a sequel to Roadhouse because there really shouldn’t be.
There should, however, be a second Deep Run Roadhouse, the Gayton Road barbecue spot owned by former Alamo owner and BBQ pro Paul Hubbard, and now, according to The Richmond Times Dispatch, there will be. Hubbard plans to open his newest Deep Run Roadhouse location at 309 N. Laurel Street, bringing a new menu of sandwiches and affordably-priced lunch options to the hungry VCU crowd.
BON AIR BON TEMPS
This Friday, Perk! Coffee and Lunchbox will team up with neighbor Buford Pharmacy for a fun-filled customer appreciation event. Sample new menu items and revisit favorites while enjoying a day full of activities for the whole family. Here’s the schedule of events. Plan accordingly:
- 10:00 AM-12:00 PM–Artann’s will be sampling their hummus and pita.
- 12:00-2:00 PM–Broadfork Farm will promote their new CSA pick up location with a farmstand, featuring their Certified Naturally Grown produce selection.
- 3:00-4:00 PM–Pete the Cat will be stopping by to read books and give furry high fives in the kids corner!
- 3:00-5:00 PM–Redbird’s Food Truck will be selling their new southern classics in the parking lot. Bring them home for dinner, and save yourself from another Friday of the “what are we having for dinner?” blues.
QUICK BITES
Another Jackdaw pop-up is scheduled for this upcoming Monday, August 31st at Torrero Tapas Bar & Grill, and you should probably go to it. There will be house-made “hot and numbing pastrami” on rye steamed buns. I rest my case. Email thejackdawrva@gmail.com for reservations.
The ramen gods have answered our prayers: Shoryuken is opening for lunch next week! If that doesn’t make you want to throw a triumphant rising dragon fist to the sky, nothing will.
Love teppanyaki-style food but fear a fate similar to Tori Spelling’s? Richmond Magazine’s Bird
Cox reports that Hibachi Box will soon have you covered (in food and not in burns).
Bid farewell to Campus Cookies, but console yourself with Red Eye Cookie Co. treats. The latter cookie maker will take over the former’s location by mid-September.
A new restaurant is headed for the Hill. The trio behind the popular Northside spot The Mill on Macarthur plan to open a neighborhood-oriented restaurant in the East End Theater apartment building located at 418 N. 25th Street sometime around the beginning of 2016.
FROM ELSEWHERE…
New Orleans is one of America’s best food cities, duh.
SIP: SUMMER WINES
It pains me to see summer slipping away–counting down the last few baseball games and angrily pushing my cart past Halloween displays at the store (IT IS TOO SOON, PEOPLE). Drown your sorrows and sip summer away with a wine tasting this Friday from 5:00-8:00 PM at Olio, where crisp whites and cool rosés will remind you of June, blessed June. Olio will offer a 3 for $27 sale on selected rosés and whites, so if you plan well, you might not have to say goodbye to summer until at least November.
BITE: TAGLIATELLE WITH UNI
This past Monday, Sub Rosa hosted a Sicilian Feast with their friends at Metzger Bar & Butchery. The Church Hill bakery was packed to the gills with lucky diners on a culinary tour of Sicily, from brilliant antipasti, including a delightful crispy arancini; to a just-slaughtered-the-day-before-and-then-spit-roasted lamb; to, finally, a traditional Sicilian cassata, a type of layered cake with creamy ricotta, bright citrus, and an unbelievable pistachio marzipan from Metzger pastry chef Olivia Wilson.
But for me, the star of the show was Sub Rosa co-owner Evrim Dogu’s tagliatelle with uni. The pasta, made from flour milled by the man himself, had a perfect springy bite. The uni slicked the noodles in a creamy but not too creamy way, and little shreds of garlic kept each and every bite complex and lively. It was hard to leave a single bite on my plate for the sake of leaving room for the upcoming courses, a move I have regretted ever since.
GRAM: @SWEETFIX
Sweet Fix is coming! Sweet Fix is coming! (And they’ve got a sweet hashtag contest to give away this charming powder blue Kitchen Aid mixer at their grand opening on September 12th. May the best rainbow win!)
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Stephanie Ganz
Stephanie Ganz thought there would be pizza.
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