Richmond Food News: Week of June 29-July 3

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Food News & Trends

It's time to celebrate America, America, so let's make this quick. Read this, use some of these recipes and tips, go eat some food and try not to get a sunburn. OK, NOW DIG IN:

  • A pre-holiday PSA: If you enjoy getting Richmond Food News as an e-newsletter, I'd also like to recommend subscribing to the latest e-newsletter in the Rmag family. This Sunday, News Editor Tina Griego launches Sunday Story, her weekly column that will introduce you to Richmonders of all walks of life, and the city's latest news that affects us all. Each installment will be well-written and incredibly thoughtful - I cannot recommend it enough. Click here to subscribe and say you got Sunday Story before it was "a thing." 
  • On to food news. It's almost July Fourth! (USA! USA!) Before you bury your face in a pile of potato salad (no shame in that game), ask yourself: Did I forget the burgers/steaks/sausages/whatever? If the answer is an oh-dear-God-what-have-I-done "yes," don't sweat it; we've got you covered with this roundup of the best butchers and spots for supplies — these shops will even be open on Saturday, slackers. (Richmond magazine)
  • ...Might we interest you in the King of Pops salted watermelon pop recipe to cool you down this weekend? (Of course we might.) BONUS: melon facts. (Richmond magazine)
  • If you're not in the mood to cook, let #RVAdine do it for ya. Here's a handy list of spots around town that will be open on the Fourth, and another list of some spots that won't. Don't say we didn't warn you. (Richmond.com/Richmond Times Dispatch)
  • On to new restaurants: Ciao Capri, from the owners of Little Venice, is now open in the Glen Eagles Shopping Center at10478 Ridgefield Parkway. Expect filet mignon, pesce puttanesca, grilled veal, Pecorino-and-marjoram-filled ravioli and more items ranging from $9 to $24. (news release) 
  • Oh hey, Perly's! Your new deli/grab-and-go market is lookin' fresh. Kohlmann's Market opened this week at 109 E. Grace St. and offers sides, pastries and home goods, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Hoping they'll carry one of your Perly's faves? Let 'em know! They're open to suggestions. (RVANews)
  • Sadly, VCU-area Moo Burgers is now closed. The burger joint opened less than one year ago, located on what seems to be a cursed block. (Remember Little Mexico, Nile Ethiopian's brick and mortar, and The Pizza Place? R.I.P. Little Mexico, but at least there's still Mexico, and at least you can still get your Nile fix over at its residency in Portrait House. The pizza place, well, fare thee well.) Though owners say they may reopen the Moo Burgers concept if they can't find another tenant by the fall, they're looking for someone with a bit more beer and wine to offer. (Richmond BizSense)
  • Perk! Coffee + Lunchbox has a bit of fun news for early risers this week: The Bon Air bakery and cafe just launched morning happy hours, available every weekday throughout July from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Go get some free coffee with any purchase! (We're partial to those Orange Ricotta scones.) The morning happy hour kicks off their earlier hours, too: 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, from here on out. Perk! is also switching over to homemade bread over the next few weeks, which means that almost all goodies there are made and/or baked from scratch, including pastries and Greek yogurt. (news release) 
  • Looking to open or bolster a business in Church Hill? SEED grant applications are now open through Aug. 29 and have helped fund some of your favorite Hill restaurants (Union Market, WPA Bakery, Metzger Bar & Butchery), plus helped launch some up-and-comers (And Dim Sum and Pudding Please, we're lookin' at you). (Church Hill People's News)
  • And oh, hey, did you know you can find the recipe for Southbound's collard greens and kale pesto in the latest issue of Bon Appetit? (It's now online, too.) If you didn't know, now you do, so now you can, so get to it. (Bon Appetit)

And if you're sticking around town this weekend, have we got the events for you:

  • Start your weekend tomorrow at ZZQ's summer pop-up at Ardent Craft Ales, where you can get in the grillin' spirit with ZZQ's brisket and short ribs, plus sides, plus beer, plus a lovely patio from 5 p.m. until they sell out. (ZZQ)
  • And let's not forget about Pasture's yacht rock party, also happening tomorrow (Friday).
  • Get a taste of forthcoming restaurant Belle & James this weekend at the July 4th Pig Roast with Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery. Two whole Virginia hogs, braised in Three Chopt Tripel and roasting before your eyes! Sides like jalapeno smoked Gouda mac n cheese! Bacon and purple corn cornbread! Apple-fennel slaw! (Help me, I am now so hungry.) There will also be live music! Tickets are $15 a pop and include admission and food; beer is sold separately. 4100 Knolls Point Drive, noon to 6 p.m. (RVANews)
  • Hardywood will of course be the bastion of beer, live music and food trucks it often is, and this Saturday you'll find the release of Float Beer; cider on draft; White Laces and a few other choice bands. Choose from 14 food trucks and food carts when it comes time to sate those cookout cravings. (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)
  • If you were thinking, "I'd like a Fourth of July party that's also sort of a carnival and also a frat party," look no further! Isley Brewing Co.'s 2nd Annual Red, White & Brew Block Party will have a dunk tank, oversized beer pong, DJs, cornhole and a light-up dance floor, in addition to beer and food trucks. Noon to 10 p.m. (Isley Brewing Co.) 
  • Happening next weekend but giving you enough time to throw together your perfect recipe, I wanted to be sure to mention July 10's Tomato Un-Cookoff in Hanover County from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Expect live music and a whole lot of tomatoes at Pole Green Park. If you'd like to participate in the "un-cookoff," you can find registration right over here. 

And now for a few (inter)national links:

'Til next time, we'll be running around singing this all weekend.