Little darlins, I feel that ice is slowly melting. Let's embrace spring, even if it's oh-so-slowly approaching, with a new crop of restaurants, more national recognition and a look ahead at some dining events in the warmer months to come.
- As if last week's James Beard semifinalist news wasn't exciting enough, the Beard Foundation just announced that Richmond's own Sally Bell's Kitchen is the recipient of one of only five James Beard Foundation 2015 America’s Classics Awards. Celebrate with a boxed lunch and watch this Pared Pictures minidoc on the restaurant while you eat. (Richmond.com/Richmond Times Dispatch)
- More national attention: Congratulations to Sub Rosa, which was just featured in Bon Appétit's March issue! The bakery got a mention for its sesame rye loaf, which gave the BA team "a whole new appreciation for rye bread." The piece isn't online yet, but you can find Sub Rosa on page 17. (Bon Appétit)
- In neighborhood news, Jackson Ward's food scene just keeps getting better. New Korean late-night and delivery spot JKOGI opens this Sunday, March 1, at 11 a.m. with bulgogi bowls, kimchi fried rice, chefs' specials and kimbap (a Korean take on sushi)! We'll see you there. (Richmond magazine)
- And opening next Friday, March 6, in Jackson Ward is The Cultured Swine's first brick and mortar. Expect Carolina-style barbecue as well as tamales, Jamaican jerk chicken tacos and pork belly bánh mì. We've got meat sweats already. (Richmond magazine)
- Over in the Westhampton neighborhood, Wagyu beef burgers are coming our way when Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint opens on Grove Avenue sometime in March. (Style Weekly)
- Over Fan-ways, the owner of Off the Hookah and Southern Railway Taphouse is set to turn the old Martini Kitchen and Bubble Bar space into another bar of some kind with a focus on craft beer. (Richmond BizSense)
- Did you know that Tuesday was World Bartender Appreciation Day? No? Well the folks at RVA Mag did, and they celebrated with a great piece on some of the city's most beloved bartenders. A++/I loved this so much. Go check it out. (RVA Magazine)
- And perhaps you heard, but there's been a whole lot of wine news of late. Here at Richmond mag, we've been imbibing with the 30 gold medal winners from this year's Governor's Cup and learning all about South African and Virginia wine at The Virginia Wine Expo. Let's not forget how we've been fulfilling our chocolate cravings of late: with Gearharts Chocolates' new Pod & Vine assortment box, which includes truffle-like morsels filled with Virginia wine ganache, and just launched last weekend. (Richmond magazine)
- In more beverage news, Saison Market just launched Growler Happy Hour with specials on 32-ounce and 64-ounce growler fills, plus $2 off small plates on Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. (Saison Market)
- And Saison seems to be on a roll this week because the restaurant's Jay Bayer just contributed a cocktail recipe (perfectly titled "Beets by Jay") to The Local Palate. (The Local Palate)
- It's never too early to plan your meals, even if they're in September. The Underground Kitchen and its new offshoot, Pop Up Revolution, is offering nine (nine!) whole nights of gastronomical goodness to coincide with the 2015 UCI Road World Championships. Underground Kitchen members get first dibs on the dining event tickets that'll be released in May, so if you've been considering signing up for their mailing list, now might be a good time to do it. (The Underground Kitchen)
Ready for some events? Let's dive right into 'em:
- Art and food and community intersect tonight at a Feast RVA happy hour, where you can learn a bit more about Feast's quarterly dinners and food events that help fund new artists and projects! Head to Joe Smith Co. from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for mingling, bites and a cash bar, and weigh in on which projects you'd like to fund through excellent dining. Nothing not to love. (Feast RVA)
- Blue Bee Cider's Saturday tasting and discussion about cider and slavery is sold out, but I'm including it here anyway to raise awareness and also plead with Blue Bee to offer a similar (or even second run of this) event soon. (Please?) (Blue Bee Cider)
- And if you're looking for something a bit kid-friendly, head to the Mozart Festival on Sunday in Carytown where children can construct musical instruments out of food. Aside: I'm hoping adults can get in on this action too, because how sweet would it be to make a xylophone out of some hollow gourds or something? (Mozart Festival)
- And next Wednesday, March 4, you can catch the second RVANews LIVE at Gather for an evening of discussions on food, music and film! Stephanie Ganz, the site's lovely food ambassador, will be leading a panel on the Richmond food scene with guests from Shoryuken Ramen, Lockhart Family Farm and the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission. (RVANews)
And now for a few (inter)national links:
- Some crazy news that rocked the food world this week: Police searched a Maraschino Cherry warehouse, finding drugs, hundreds of thousands of dollars and luxury cars. The owner of this company, which supplied cherries to Chik fil A, Red Lobster and other major dining chains, killed himself during the investigation. (Foodbeast)
- Restaurant & Drink Editor Andrew Knowlton always wanted to work in a Waffle House, so he finally did. For 24 hours. (Bon Appétit)
- Meanwhile, in China, archaeologists just discovered a cheese that's older than Jesus. (Popular Science)
- So long, minibar. It's now all about the mini juice bar. Apparently the next big hotel food trend is serving up fresh-squeezed and cold-pressed juice, which we're OK with, but could we maybe find a way to combine the booze with the juice? No? That defeats the healthy purpose? Fine. (Travel + Leisure)
'Til next time, go sample some aged cheese, but maybe not the kind that's roughly 2,000 years old.
