Michele Jones of Pasture at the Elbys in January. ABC News recently interviewed her about her "Case for Hope" project. (Photo by Jay Paul)
What a week, everybody. Richmond has been busy making itself known on heavy-hitter lists, making award-winning beer and making us cry and swell with pride. Maybe a culinary training camp would have been a better city investment.
Saveur co-founder Colman Andrews calls Richmond “The Next Great Food City” in Departures magazine; joyful noises ensue. And a few quiet but insistent rounds of “yeah, we know” (Departures). This is a bit of déjà vu for us — our January 2013 look at the local restaurant scene by contributor Chris Dovi quoted Andrews, who in turn quoted Dovi in his piece. (Richmond magazine)
Pasture’s front-of-house magician Michele Jones reps the beautiful “Case for Hope” project on ABC World News — a project for which she collected hundreds of suitcases over the course of two events at the restaurant. Michele. Is. The. Best. (ABC News)
Further booyahs in the national list realm: Comfort, Heritage and The Roosevelt made Southern Living’s 100 Best Restaurants in the South list. (Southern Living)
Richmond chefs, bartenders and products will be featured at the Human Rights Campaign’s Chefs for Equality event in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23. Can bartenders here serve a Tim Gunn-inspired cocktail that night for all of us who can’t attend? The Smoking Gunn, a whiskey and dry ice concoction? Just spitballin’. (Richmond magazine)
RVA breweries bring home a slew of medals from the Virginia Craft Brewers Cup: (RVANews)
Meanwhile, the newest destination for beer lovers, The Answer Brewpub, held a media soft opening last night, and our contributor Megan Marconyak stopped by to check it out. The Answer is Mekong “chief beer officer” An Bui’s new spot for serving his own creations, 36 taps from other breweries, and a menu of Vietnamese snacks and sandwiches. It officially opens Tuesday. (Richmond magazine)
Rappahannock chef Dylan Fultineer will be heading back to New York AGAIN to cook at the James Beard House’s Virginia Rising Stars event on Sept. 9. Another score for a killer chef, as well as for the Virginia oyster: He’s serving Olde Salt Oysters with Crenshaw Melon Granité. (James Beard Foundation)
The Dog and Pig Show is coming! A small part of you might wish it’s actually a tiny circus of beagles and potbellies, but don’t worry: chef James Eckrosh’s offerings will assuage those feelings. The Dog and Pig Show’s new iteration, a breakfast/lunch café, will be installed in Church Hill by mid-October. (Richmond magazine)
More baba ghanouj! Nora: A Taste of Lebanon’s grand opening happens on Friday. (Richmond BizSense). Check back with us tomorrow for more on that.
Black Heath Meadery’s officially going for their ABC license. Brew us up something new, Altamont Avenue! (Times-Dispatch)
And beyond our fair city…
Are you boring? Stop eating junk food. (Time)
But continue to pass the salt. (Fortune)
Goodbye for now. Look for more delicious tidbits next week!
