Imagine a Peter Chang restaurant but with a focus on dumplings and noodles. Wait, there's one on the way. Now that's some visualization/actualization. More, below. (Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo this weekend, stop by the city's newest restaurant or drool over the thought of a Peter Chang noodle house. (We'll be doing all three, naturally.) All the tools you need to do it are in this week's Food News, and so is a great wine giveaway:
- If you've ever thought, "Give me liberty or give me brunch," have I found the restaurant for you. Church Hill's Liberty Public House, now open in the former East End Theater space, lives and brunches by that motto and is ready to serve you seven days a week at 418 N. 25th St. with brunch beginning at 9 a.m. on weekends. (Early brunch! Get at it, early risers!) Bring your little ones, bring your sports fans, bring your popcorn enthusiasts, because this spot's got something for all of them and more. Looking for a bit more on the new restaurant? Want to take a look around? Right this way... (Richmond magazine)
- In Great Things to Come News, chef Peter Chang is opening a new restaurant at 11408 W. Broad St., just near his popular Peter Chang China Café in Short Pump. The former Bella's space will transform into Chang's new restaurant, offering dumplings and noodles sometime after the chef's new Scott's Addition restaurant opens its doors. (Richmond BizSense)
- Over in Shockoe Bottom, Pizza Tonight Restaurant & Bar is changing things up. Come early June, the restaurant and branding formerly known as Pizza Tonight will become Nota Bene, a Latin phrase that translates roughly to "take note." Owner Victoria DeRoche says she hopes this will draw attention to the restaurant's Italian dishes beyond what comes out of that gorgeous pizza oven of theirs. To read more about the name change and revamp, we've got you covered, here.
- Looking for a few Mother's Day ideas? Grab brunch at any of these fine locations (special menus and prices included here), or perhaps take mom on a picnic, or pick up a great gift. This handy RVANews round-up can help with all of that! (Richmond Times-Dispatch / RVANews)
- Before you pass that empty plate/bowl/mug back to your server, take a closer look; there's a chance you're at one of the area restaurants using local potters, woodworkers and other artists to make your dining experience all the more stunning and memorable. Richmond chefs and restaurateurs are seeking out handcrafted plates and other tableware, and in the current issue of the mag, I speak to these chefs and artists to learn a bit about the movement and how it benefits both the restaurant and arts communities. Go behind the scenes with Heritage server and resident potter Mary Triplett and watch her in action right over here.
- And in market news, the Fulton Hill Farm Stand is now open for the season, offering locally grown beets, greens, herbs and more at the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton Hill, every Thursday from now until Thanksgiving from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. (Church Hill People's News)
- Hot ticket alert: Off Broad Appetit, the dine-around dinner event that brings in great chefs for an evening of delicious cuisine the night before Broad Appetit, just announced this year's line-up: Be sure to catch Christine Flynne aka the Instagram-famous Chef Jacques La Merde, Michael Scelfo of Alden & Harlow, Rob Newton of Nightingale Nine, Thomas Pizzica of Belly Burgers, Andrew Hueston Mack of Mouton Noir Wine, Stephen Gerike of the National Pork Board and King Phojanakong of Umi Nom and Richmond's own Jason Alley, all at Pasture on June 4 from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Get yer tickets right over here!
- On the lookout for some homestyle Southern cooking? Our April review is now online, so you can read up on Talley's Meat & Three without having to worry about paper cuts. (We recommend the wings and fried shrimp, among a few other choice items. Go forth.)
- BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Would you and a friend like to attend the 11th annual Central Virginia Wine Festival? Would you like to taste some of the finest wines in the state? If the answer is “yes” (and it absolutely should be “yes”), we’ve got a pair of tickets for you so that you may swill your way to serenity on Saturday, May 14, from noon to 6 p.m. at the Innsbrook Pavilion. To win, shoot an email to stephanieb@richmag.com with the subject line “Wine’s Fine” and tell me why you love Virginia wine. It’s as simple as that! The winners will be chosen and notified by Wednesday, May 11. Go, go, go! And may Bacchus be ever in your favor.
Drinks and bagels and Latin American food and all other things good. Great events, all right here:
- Get your gullet ready; WhistlePig Rye Whiskey is coming, and it's coming to The Rogue Gentlemen tonight. Starting at 7 p.m., you'll find master distiller Dave Pickerell talking shop, and the bar offering specials and maybe a surprise or two. (The Rogue Gentlemen)
- Then on Saturday, stop by Blachard's Coffee Roasting Co.'s airy Scott's Addition roastery for a coffee and bagel tasting from 10 a.m. to noon. Coffee and bagels! What's not to love? (Blanchard's Coffee Roasting Co.)
- Once you've had your morning meal on Saturday, make your way downtown to the ¿Qué Pasa? Festival, which will add some spice to your life with Latin American culture (AND SO MUCH FOOD)! 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. along the Canal Walk. I know that Cinco de Mayo is today, but let's keep the celebration rolling. (¿Qué Pasa? Festival of Virginia)
And now for a few (inter)national links:
- Do you remember The Ultimate Wine Heist, wherein some mysterious bandits with discerning taste stole hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of wine from The French Laundry in 2014? Police think they've finally found the culprits, and they've made the arrests. (Food Republic)
- Are you there, Cheese Gods? It's us, America. We're here to thank you. Our nation has an enormous cheese surplus. It's our patriotic duty to eat our way through it. (Bloomberg)
'Til next time, blessed are the cheesemakers.
