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Photo by Piet E. Jones
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Sometimes all it takes is a bite.
A restaurant pre-opening party is an interesting thing. In these more casual times, it’s an event where people still get dressed up. It's a place where glimpses can be caught of local celebrities, from city politicians to newscasters to the people you see pictured on billboards driving down the highway. The booze, of course, flows freely.
Red Salt Chophouse & Sushi (12221 W. Broad St.) had such an occasion this past weekend. A glitzy affair to show off their very sleek and well-appointed dining room in a new Short Pump shopping development still very much under construction. The evening went off without a hitch, as may be expected from EAT Restaurant Partners, the people who have already brought Richmond the restaurants Foo Dog, Fat Dragon and Beijing on Grove, to name but a few.
Getting a sense of food at such an event, when it’s broken down into bite-size nibbles on platters carried around the room by very cheery staff, can be a challenge. You get a sense of what the cuisine is going to be like, but it’s more of a tease than anything else.
Take the steaks: A single bite skewered on a cocktail fork will tell you it’s a decent cut and grilled nicely, but it’s nothing like sitting down to the full experience of eating a fine cut of beef. You do, however, experience the combinations on offer in a surprising way. The wife discovered she really liked the coffee rub with the sherry cream on her steak, while I, not usually a fan, discovered I do like chimichurri, especially when it has a little wasabi in it.
Some items might not even be on the menu, just there to showcase the talent from the kitchen and how they might use ingredients not always available — in this case, some wild-caught red snapper. For me, it was a showstopper. A wonderfully clean and refreshing lime ponzu ceviche with red onion and scallion plus just enough jalapeno to give it a little heat. If Sushi Chef Hai Truoung churns out all his dishes like this one, Richmond may very well have a sushi destination to brag about.
Opening today, July 31, for both lunch and dinner, Red Salt may take a few weeks to be firing on all cylinders. All restaurants need a little time to work out all the kinks, but this looks to be the kind of place that could actually compel city dwellers to travel west and brave the traffic of Short Pump.
