Richmond Food News: Week of Nov. 16-20

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Good golly, there are some good things ahead. From oyster trails and elaborate dinners to moonshine and "secret" sandwiches, we've got some great dining on the horizon. Italian Thanksgiving? You've got it. Local ice cream brought straight to your door? We're on it. 

  • Thanksgiving is almost upon us! Settle on into the holiday spirit and help out the community while you're at it. Certainly, you could just go about your merry way and eat to your heart's content, but should you also feel a need to help others next week, there are a number of local restaurants and organizations setting up feasts and events in need of volunteers. Here's a spotlight on some of the city's annual Thanksgiving community meals, plus how you can help. Feel all warm and fuzzy from lending a hand before you feel all full and lethargic from eating too much which, as we all know, is bound to happen. There's no avoiding it. Let it welcome you like an old friend. (Richmond magazine)
  • In some very exciting news, The Nile, which currently resides in Carytown's soon-to-shutter Portrait House, has found its own permanent home in Church Hill. The Ethiopian restaurant hopes to open in the new location as early as next March, using 306 N. 29th St. as both a hub for its prepared foods and catering operation, and a neighborhood take-out joint. (Church Hill People's News)
  • Hardywood Park Craft Brewery just broke ground on Hardywood West, the brewery's new Goochland facility, and RVANews got the photos to prove it! Take a peek at last Friday's celebration of the forthcoming 60,000-square-foot brewery/taproom/amphitheater/food truck plaza set to open beginning in the spring of 2017.
  • More great groundbreaking, albeit the metaphorical kind: Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Virginia Tourism Corp. just launched the Virginia Oyster Trail to help connect tourists and locals alike to the state's oyster farms, restaurants and events. The new initiative highlights the state's seven distinct oyster regions with recommended stops throughout Virginia to learn how our oysters grow and find their way to you. "The Virginia Oyster Trail is a great new way to leverage all of the benefits Virginia oysters bring to local communities and our efforts to build a new Virginia economy," McAuliffe says in a news release. "Virginia oysters help foster tourism, community development, agriculture, environmental stewardship, entrepreneurial growth and cultural integration of Virginia's distinctive coastal way of life. Virginia produces the best oysters in the world, and as the oyster industry continues to grow, we want it to be known that Virginia is the Oyster Capital of the East Coast."
  • And in exciting downtown/sandwich news, a new burger and sandwich restaurant is set to open at 501 E. Grace St. next summer. Secret Sandwich Society comes by way of West Virginia, and serves craft beer, to boot. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
  • THIS IS NOT A DRILL: Get local, seasonal, small-batch ice cream delivered to your door thanks to Salty's Ice Cream, which now offers delivery service! Check out our profile on the new company, plus some info about its exotic-flavor lineup, right over here. (Also, how good does that goat cheese ice cream sound?) (Richmond magazine)
  • Speaking of delivery, starting sometime this month you'll be able to get your hands on/around a breakfast sandwich brought straight to your door via new breakfast delivery service STAXrva. Red Eye Cookie Co.'s owner, Brayden Pleasants, teamed up with former Red Eye manager Kristen Cannon to start the new company, which will operate out of Red Eye. Sadly you can't get all-day breakfast (hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily), but it's certainly better than no breakfast sandwich, and I, personally, can't wait to try it. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
  • Looking to add some spice to your regular rotation of RVA restaurants? Our review of Cheng Du is now online for all your authentic-Sichuan needs. (See also: HOT POT.) (Richmond magazine)
  • And in a Hot Ticket announcement, Dover Hall just announced its latest Fireside Dinner Series event: Metzger Bar & Butchery's Brittanny Anderson will be serving an elaborate five-course meal with wine pairings at Dover Hall on Sunday, Dec. 6. Reservations are a must; a $125 ticket includes an interactive dinner, wine pairings, tax and gratuity, and will ensure your Sunday meal will include pheasant and foie gras terrine, roasted rack of venison, wild boar with polenta and more. (If I were you, I would grab a ticket quickly, then pretend I'm on Game of Thrones during each course of that delicious-sounding game-full menu.) (news release)

Will it be warm this weekend? Will it be cold? Who knows! Here are some events to enjoy regardless:

  • Tonight, Nov. 19, dive headfirst into fall without actually diving headfirst into a pile of apples and sit down for a five-course meal at Deco Ristorante's Fall Harvest dinner. This family-style feast puts an Italian spin on Thanksgiving and offers up turkey roll with sweet and sour pumpkin and braised greens; pasta with butternut squash and pancetta; and more, with seatings at 6 and 8 p.m. $39 per person, and 5 percent of proceeds benefit FeedMore. Quick! Call 804-342-4278 to reserve your spot before the feasting begins. (Deco)
  • ... Or head to Amour Wine Bistro this evening for a Cru Beaujolais wine dinner featuring four courses paired with Cru Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau wine. $59 with wine pairings, $35 without. Also of note: Amour is offering gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options tonight as well, throughout the evening. Call 353-4020 for reservations and check out the full menu here. (news release)
  • And oh hey, Cider Week Virginia is still a-happening! Tonight you can catch Potter's Cider and Blue Bee Cider paired with Sausage Craft sausages at Cask Cafe, as well as cider flights paired with cake at Shyndigz! (Cider Week VA)
  • Tomorrow, Friday, catch the final ZZQ pop-up at Ardent. Get you some brisket! The fun starts at 5 p.m., but who are we kidding? Get there even earlier to stake out your spot in line. (ZZQ)
  • On Saturday, pick up a copy of that new local cookbook, 804ork, Vol. 2: Back for Seconds, and get it signed at The Shops at 5807 from noon to 2 p.m. But wait, there's more: Each volume will be available for purchase at a cost of $40, but you can buy both on Saturday for a total of $65. Score. (news release)
  • Maybe do all things like book signings before you head to the Virginia Moonshine Festival, which hits Richmond International Raceway like a bolt of (white) lightning from noon to 7 p.m. Tastings, live music and barbecue galore, for $35 to $49 (but designated drivers get in for $10). (Virginia Moonshine Festival)
  • Then on Sunday, don't miss the Latke Cook-Off at the Weinstein JCC from 5 to 7 p.m. $10 per person entry fee, or $20 for the whole family. Sample potato pancakes both sweet and savory? Don't mind if I do. RSVP to Fran Broeder at 794-5757 or brookroadsouth@yahoo.com. (news release)
  • Or circle back to Cider Week for the last Richmond event: a Blue Bee Cider and Camden's Dogtown Market dinner from 6:30 to 9:30 at Camden's, $45 per person. Reservations are required, so email camdensdogtown@gmail.com to claim your seat. (Cider Week VA)

And now for a few (inter)national links:

  • WELCOME, WINTER. And thusly, welcome, winter squash. Here's a great guide to some gorgeous gourds, plus what to cook with each of them. Handy! (Food 52)
  • In GMO news, like it or hate it, the FDA just approved a genetically modified salmon. The fish grows twice as quickly as natural salmon, thanks to growth hormones, and is now the first FDA-approved GMO animal grown for consumption. Pro-GMO labeling? Unfortunately, you won't find any signifiers on this fish's package. (First We Feast)
  • Take a peek into "La Peech," the Provence home of Julia Child. (I dare you not to wish you were living there right this very second.) And oh hey, it's for sale. Does anyone want to give me $880,000? No? Maybe just some beef bourguignon? (The New York Times)

'Til next time, we'll be whipping up some coq au vin with or without that house.