Food News: Brunswick stew, autumn brews, cookies on campus, and coffeehouse growler fills

This week: Fire, Flour & Fork starts today and tickets are still available to a few events, there’s fresh competition in the cookie delivery scene, and The Roosevelt hires some familiar help. Plus, the dish on weekend events involving stew, brews, and gumbo.

October 30, 2014; 9:49 AM • by Trevor Dickerson

While many have sold out, tickets remain for a few of the many events tied to Fire, Flour, & Fork, the weekend-long culinary event, which kicks off today and aims to show off the best that Richmond’s food scene has to offer. It’s comprised of lunch and dinner dining events and demonstrations, and talks from food producers, cookbook authors, visiting chefs with Virginia ties, filmmakers, poets, playwrights, culinary historians, craft spirit makers, tableware designers, and more. Check out the event website to see the full lineup and purchase tickets.

— ∮∮∮ —

A Richmond native is returning home with plans to bake up some fresh competition for Red Eye Cookie Company, Richmond’s first late-night cookie delivery service. Campus Cookies owner Scott Davidson will launch a location targeting VCU on November 6th. The Richmond location will be the fifth for Davidson, who started the company out of his apartment in 2007 while attending JMU. He later expanded service to Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and East Carolina University. While I’m rooting for our local guys, Campus Cookies admittedly eclipses Red Eye’s offerings by quite a bit, offering cookie cakes, ice cream, and even full-fledged care packages, in addition to their cookie lineup.

— ∮∮∮ —

It’s forecasted to be around 55 ºF and drizzly on Saturday–the perfect weather for some warm, hearty Brunswick stew, if you ask me! The 15th annual Brunswick Stew Festival takes place at the 17th Street Farmers Market from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM. 12 stewmasters from Brunswick, Virginia and beyond will serve up samples of 15 different beef, chicken, and pork stews for just $1 per sample. There’ll also be arts, crafts, beer, and music from Harley Boone and The Slack Family Bluegrass Band all afternoon.

— ∮∮∮ —

The 17th Street Farmers Market action continues Sunday with the Autumn Bottom Brews Festival, another opportunity for sampling. Samples of craft beer from 18 different Virginia breweries will be available for $2; $6 gets you a full pour. If you need some great food to balance out all that beer, The Halligan Bar & Grill, The Savory Grain, River City Wood Fire Pizza, and The Boardwalk have you covered. Weezer cover group The Sweater Band takes the stage at noon, followed by Andrew Alli at 3:00 PM, as far as music goes.

— ∮∮∮ —

A neighborhood grocer that closed in September following a fire is finally set to reopen. Little House Green Grocery opens Saturday in the Northside. Owners were forced to make extensive repairs, but were aided by the generosity of the community and several fundraisers, including the first Pizza 2000 popup at Sub Rosa Bakery in Church Hill, which paid it forward after its own restaurant burned last April, prompting community support. Little House management is planning a grand re-opening celebration for November 9th.

— ∮∮∮ —

Fans of Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream will have one more reason to love the quaint Forest Hill coffee shop now that they can fill growlers on-site and take them, as well as bottles of beer and wine, home. Crossroads just obtained its ABC Off license, allowing for beer to be filled and taken from the location. Co-owner Will Herring celebrated the occasion by posting a selfie on the Crossroads Facebook page, kissing his ABC license, saying, “Dreams do come true!! Crossroads is now your neighborhood growler fill up station!!”

— ∮∮∮ —

Lady N’awlins Cajun Café is bringing a taste of NOLA to RVA this weekend with their first annual Voodoo Street Fest. S. Stafford Avenue will be closed at W. Main Street as the bar serves up bowls of its gumbo streetside, along with a bevy of Abita beer and live music. The party kicks off at 3:00 PM and runs through 10:00 PM, with six different local and regional bands performing on stage.

— ∮∮∮ —

Richmond.com’s Karri Peifer likes to joke that my weekly column is a summary of her work. And while that’s not exactly true, she’s been on fire this week. Here’s a roundup of what the queen of #rvadine has uncovered in recent days:

Piccola’s, the mainstay VCU-area eatery, is splitting into three separate concepts. But don’t fret–the original location will remain unchanged.
Pane e Vino, the restaurant that took over the former Julian’s space on West Broad Street earlier this year, is no more. Karri has more info on what will take its place.
Johnny & Katrina Giavos are on the move–but just across the street. The couple is opening Stella’s Grocery across from Stella’s in the Near West End.

— ∮∮∮ —

As The Roosevelt chef Lee Gregory prepares to open new southside eatery Southbound with Heritage chef Joe Sparatta, he’s understandably looking for a little more help in the kitchen. Gregory has tapped Secco Wine Bar chef Mike Braune, with whom he worked back in the day at Six Burner (which once called Heritage’s space home).

— ∮∮∮ —

If you find yourself out in the Far West End tonight, the restaurants of West Broad Village are hosting a Halloween-themed bar crawl. Aloft Hotel, Burger Bach, Dave & Buster’s, Kona Grill, and The Wine Loft will all offer an appetizer and drink special. Patrons who visit four out of the six and collect a sticker can get a free T-shirt. A little campy perhaps, but sounds like something fun to do on a Thursday night in Short Pump.

Photo: Henry Stern/Flickr