Ask Lauren: grab-and-go lunch, post-pool munchies, and a Richmond staple
Forgotten favorites, post-pool dinner with the family, and grab-and-go lunch spots Downtown, all on this week’s Ask Lauren.
Now, through the magic of the internet, you too can ask Lauren your myriad food-related questions. Well, technically, you can leave your questions in the comments below, I’ll ask Lauren, and then I’ll let you know what she says. It’s like the three-legged stool of restaurant recommendations.
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I work Downtown, and I feel like there aren’t a ton of grab-and-go lunch options. Where’s a good, quick, and local spot to get lunch and take it back to my desk?
If you don’t mind driving a quick sec, head up 25th, take a right, and walk into one of the top-two1 most charming pie shops in Church Hill. Proper Pie Co. is a fantastic place to get a quick lunch, and it couldn’t be more grab-and-go: they hand you your adorable pie in an equally adorable little paper bag.
Bonus points: eschew the office and eat your pie on a park bench in the nearby Patrick Henry Park.
Another quick note: Proper Pie will be closed August 1st – September 4th. If you absolutely need a proper pie, better get it done in the next couple of weeks.
During the summer, my family and I frequently seem to find ourselves starving and disheveled after a long day at the pool in Woodlake. We want to go somewhere where flip flops are fine and the food’s not fussy.
Lucky for you, one of the area’s best barbecue joints is right around the corner. Tuffy Stone’s Q Barbeque has four locations scattered around Richmond’s perimeter (Midlothian, deep Midlothian, out by Virginia Center Commons, and in the West End), and they’re all super casual! The BBQ is great, the sides are awesome, and they’ve even got a nice selection of local beers in bottles, if that’s your thing.
I’m feeling nostalgic, what’s a Richmond staple that offers something a little out of the box?
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget about the wonderful restaurant gems that opened their doors a couple decades ago. But, usually, if a spot’s been open that long, it’s for a reason. For the past 15 or so years, Fan denizens have crammed Kuba Kuba’s famous Cuban delicacies (fried plantains! tres leche cake!) into their faces with abandon. If you haven’t already, you should totally join them!
PS. The spinach and ricotta empanadillas are cheap, delicious, and meat-free!
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Footnotes
- The other being WPA Bakery, of course. ↩
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Ross Catrow
Founder and publisher of RVANews.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
Richmond On Broad Cafe is another excellent grab and go breakfast and lunch spot at the corner of 7th and Broad
For those of us that live downtown, there are far better options for lunch than driving (they said they wanted a quick lunch) to Church Hill.
Thai Cabin has a good lunch truck outside of the Suntrust Building during lunch-
The Boka Truck is parked in the parking lot on East Cary and 9th Streets-
Citizen, a kinda boutique foodie lunch place, is in the basement of the old office building next to the Suntrust building- entrance is on 9th Street-
Cafe Ole is a good taco place, only open for lunch, at 6th and East Main-
JoJo’s Pizza has the best NY-style pizza slices in Richmond, across from the Bank of America Building on 12th street.
Finally, A2 (A squared) is on East Main across from the Bank of America building has good Asian-enfused hot dogs-
Seriously, sending someone to drive to Church Hill for lunch? I don’t know what kind of lunch break you’ve got, but we got to work people- Grab and go!
Two more grab and goes near Thai Cabin, Big Herms and Estes Barbecue.
Hey Lauren! Long time reader. My cousin is coming in town with her two kids, ages 3 and 1 around breakfast time tomorrow. They want to somewhere that is “yummy and kid friendly”. Where can I take them that is both those things and also classic Richmond, preferably in the Fan area?
Hey Paul, great question! I would suggest going to Joe’s Inn for breakfast. They open at 8am, are very kid friendly with a kids menu available, and are located right in the heart of the Fan. If that doesn’t fit the bill some other options would include Kuba Kuba, 821 Cafe, Lamplighter, or Sugar Shack donuts. Hope that helps!
@Paul – Perly’s on Grace Street downtown is a pretty neat place to go. I see kids in there all the time.