Food News: Chef announcements, restaurant transformations, more national praise, and Virginia Peach Month

Everything is changing so fast! New things, old things, evolving things, and a whole lot of other stuff up in this peach.

August 6, 2015; 8:47 AM • by Stephanie Ganz

Photo by: Michael Bentley

DOETZER AT THE HELM

Pizza Tonight announced this week that the restaurant will welcome Randall Doetzer as Executive Chef. The announcement in Richmond Magazine covers a lot of ground–from the genesis of owner Victoria Deroche and Chef Doetzer’s relationship to their plans for the menu, which includes whole-animal cooking and plenty of locally-sourced ingredients. The article also touches on the renovation plans for the space, including a mood shift and extended bar. The countdown to “some time in October” is ON!

“WHAT’S HE BUILDING IN THERE: BALLICEAUX EDITION”

When Balliceaux announced they would be taking most of this summer off, there were some worried voices in the crowd. Would this be like the time you and your college boyfriend Greg decided to “take some time apart,” and then Greg started dating that anthropology student and not returning your calls? Was it…the end? Turns out, it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, Balliceaux was finding itself all over again, according to Style Weekly, and it plans to pick you up at the airport with flowers and a big, dramatic kiss…and by that, I mean reopen as scheduled with an Indochine-focused menu and brand new chef on September 1st.

HELLO, HALO-HALO

Embrace the culture and the food of the Phillipines this Friday and Saturday at the 10th Annual Filipino Festival at Our Lady of Lourdes. The festival kicks off Friday night and offers a full day of traditional Filipino culture on Saturday. You can sip your fruity, slushy halo-halo while being serenaded with Filipino folk songs. Or get familiar with léchon, a whole roasted pig, while watching Igorot dancers do their thing. While you’re at it, see how many of these Filipino foods you can cross off your culinary bucket list.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO SOUTHBOUND

Bon Appetit named Southbound to their prestigious list of 50 nominees for the Hot 10, the magazine’s list of the ten hottest restaurants to have opened in the past year. This confirms everything we already knew about the joint venture of chefs Joe Sparatta and Lee Gregory, so we can all tune in on August 18th when they are, inevitably, inducted into the Hot 10.

WHISKSTARTER

In more East Main Street news, Whisk Bakery has launched a Kickstarter campaign to purchase equipment for their new space (in the former Globehopper). The rewards are pretty darn good. (Full disclosure: My company advised owner Morgan Botwinick on her launch and this very Kickstarter campaign!) They include catering for your office (or maybe just you if you’re self-employed and really hungry!?), free coffee for a year, and a private baking class for you and three of your BFF’s.

ONCE YOU POP…

It seems as though things are going well for the Belle & James pop-up series, so much so that the team has added another date to their tour–August 11th, chef Michael Crowley will again flex his culinary muscle, this time at the Cask Cafe, where, according to their event page, classics like hand-cut beef tartare and croque monsieur will be the focus. How did they know that beef tartare and croque monsieur are my exact idea of dinner? IDK, but cool!

FROM ELSEWHERE…

Try to read this article without imagining dozens of French motorists shouting “sacré bleu.” I could not.

In “No press is bad press for roast beef barons” news…

This is clearly people.

SIP: (VIRGINIA) PEACHES IN LILLET

August is Virginia Peach month, and no wonder: peaches are bustin’ out all over at every farmers market in the state. Whether you get yours from Saunders Brothers or Agriberry, make sure you’re buying VA peaches, and then soak those babies in Lillet, a dangerously easy-drinking floral fortified wine. This recipe can be made the night before your backyard cookout, and if you do plan on making/serving it for your next get-together, holler at your girl.

BITE: ALICE MEDRICH’S PEACHES AND SOUR CREAM ICE CREAM

We’ve all heard about Peaches ‘n’ Cream, but what about peaches and sour cream ice cream? Sounds weird, right? Well, turns out it’s delicious. I recommend eating a double scoop of it while listening to Snoop, and ideally, rollerskating. Trust me.

‘GRAM: @LUCKYPEACH

I love to work a theme.

@carolynbahar is making the most of this sweltering Saturday with a chocolate chip cookie cone at @amplehills.

A photo posted by Lucky Peach (@luckypeach) on Aug 1, 2015 at 1:48pm PDT

August 6, 2015 8:47 AM · in Fan of the Fan, Hills and Heights, and more 0