Richmond Food News: Week of Oct. 19-23

by

Greetings! This week's Food News is full, and you will be, too, once you try these new restaurants and hit up the weekend's many (many!) events. We've got local restaurateurs doing great things, excellent new spots on the horizon, how to pair Halloween candy with wine, and more:

  • When the door to one restaurant closes, sometime the same, literal door opens but leads to an entirely new concept. Such is the case in Carytown, where  the space that once housed Mezzanine, RVA fine-dining stalwart, is soon to become Home Sweet Home. The new bar and restaurant will focus on mixed drinks and a food menu that's partial to gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and a few daily specials. Check out the full details — plus the preliminary menu — right over here and prepare for gooey culinary goodness. (Richmond magazine)
  • Meanwhile, over in Scott's Addition, there's new word on the restaurant opening at 1300 N. Boulevard, across the street from Bow Tie Cinemas. The new concept from EAT Restaurant Partners will be called Boulevard Burgers & Brew and offer — you guessed it — burgers and beer, plus hot dogs, fries, alcohol-optional milkshakes and more, with a focus on local and organic meat. Look for the new restaurant, and its patio and 24-beer selection, in January. (Richmond.com/Richmond Times Dispatch)
  • Remember Whisk, that new Shockoe bakery we told you about? Well, ready thyselves for buttery layers of flaky pastry galore because IT'S OPEN. (Richmond magazine)
  • Remember Belle & James, the French-American downtown restaurant with an extensive beverage menu? Turns out, it's opening Thursday, Oct. 29! Next week, they'll begin serving lunch, happy hour and dinner, and you can now make your reservations online. (Belle & James)
  • In some Local Chefs Doing Important Things news, a handful of restaurateurs, small-business owners and farmers headed to D.C. this week to speak with members of the Senate, petitioning for the labeling of GMOs. Chefs Joe Sparatta (Heritage, Southbound), Lee Gregory (The Roosevelt, Southbound) Jason Alley (Pasture, Comfort) and others met with Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and talked food transparency, which they believe to be threatened by a new bill that will come before the Senate at some point in the future. For more on the conversation, and the bill, get all the details here. (If you need a small refresher course on how a bill becomes a law, may I interest you in this?) (Richmond magazine)
  • In more Local Chefs Doing Important Things news, Johnny Maher of The Rogue Gentlemen also trekked up to D.C. this week, and represented RVA at the annual Chefs for Equality dinner! (The Rogue Gentlemen) 
  • COOL EVENT ALERT: Next week, Fire, Flour & Fork — the city's enormous food festival/symposium/dining event — kicks off, bringing dozens of acclaimed chefs and food authorities to the city for demos, classes, dinners, tours and more. It's a bit overwhelming, sure, so here's a handy, super helpful guide (by personality type!) to all of the fun you can find from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1. BONUS: We caught up with Katie Button, one of Fire, Flour & Fork's talented visiting chefs, about her upcoming dinner with Metzger's Brittanny Anderson, plus her science roots and her new work-life balance. Check it out. (RVANews / Richmond magazine)
  • ANOTHER COOL EVENT ALERT: The annual Beeristoric Tour is Nov. 8 and tickets just went on sale yesterday. Head to Strangeways Brewing A.S.A.P. to secure your spot for the excellent afternoon of beer, history and bites throughout town. I went last year and learned SO MUCH. Tickets are $65 and first come, first served. (Richmond Beermeister / Richmond magazine)
  • An upcoming restaurant played the name game and finally settled on what we can now call the homey, comfort-food Church Hill concept from the owners of The Mill on MacArthur. Liberty Public House, the winning name, was just one of 1,200 submissions in the restaurant's public naming contest. Winner June Heesen gets a $100 gift card to the new restaurant, plus an invitation to the soft opening in January. Give us tasty food or give us death, etc. (Richmond BizSense)
  • Not sure what food to order for your next Netflix and chill session? Feeling tired and simply over cooking? You can always call Dine In 2Nite, a local meal delivery service. Here's a bit more about the team behind it and their offering $10 meals with no delivery fee. (Style Weekly)
  • Lastly, if you would like to try your hand at dinner, I suggest this recipe for raspberry-cider mussels, via Torero Tapas Bar & Grill from our October issue. (Richmond magazine)

It's the freakin' weekend, baby, we're about to have us some fun:

  • That's the spirit(s)! Head to the John Marshall Ballroom tomorrow (Friday) evening for the inaugural Richmond Whiskey & Fine Spirits, from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $100, but as of typing this, the tickets are two for one! Score! (RVA Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival)
  • Tomorrow also kicks off HALLOWEEK 2015 from Hardywood and RVA Mag, and it's basically nine days/night packed with spooky foods and events and shows and things like zombie walks, and who can argue with any of those things? Tomorrow is the big kickoff event, Brews and Burlesque, and it can be found at Strangeways and The Camel. See the full schedule here. (RVA Magazine)
  • Then on Saturday, don't forget about the 13th Annual Powhatan Festival of the Grape, featuring wine from 30 different wineries, plus craft beer, live music, local fare and more! The $25 tickets ($30 at the gate) include wine tasting and a complementary wine glass! Kids 12 and under are free! There will be shopping and dining from more than 100 vendors and restaurants! Nothing not to love. Historic Courthouse Square, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Festival of the Grape)
  • Possibly a little closer to your home is Saturday's Eat Oysters! Drink Beer! event at Union Market, which offers Anderson's Neck oysters, Devils Backbone beer and local vendors. Free, with food and beverage available for purchase. The fun starts at 4 p.m. (Union Market)
  • Sunday morning catch another meal with Feast RVA, the event series that crowdfunds local startups and businesses, all while feeding you! Sunday's event is brunch-themed, with food from Tarrant's Cafe and mimosas at Candela's Books + Gallery. A $15 ticket includes brunch and the screening of the film "DOPE," plus the community discussion on which startup will get the funding dolla dolla billz. 11 a.m. (Feast RVA)
  • On Sunday night, bid adieu to Metzger's week of Oktoberfest festivities at the Devils Backbone Brewing Co./Metzger Oktoberfest beer dinner. Available all night, the $60 prixe-fixe menu includes items such as short rib sauerbraten with spaetzle, zweigelt and gingersnap, and Nuremburg stuffed Napa cabbage and goulash. Call 804-325-3147 to make your reservation. (Metzger Bar & Butchery)

And now for a few (inter)national links:

  • HALLOWEEN REQUIRED READING: How to pair wine with Halloween candy. You. Are. All. Welcome. (Food 52)
  • That's not a knife; that's a knife (that just raised more than $1 million on Kickstarter). I want one. (FoodBeast)
  • If you thought you knew how to whip up a great carne asada taco, think again; this fun piece showcases the mad culinary skills of Mexican Street vendors, and now I feel totally embarrassed by my own cooking skills and wish I were the person to hold the "Fastest Taco Maker in the World" title. (First We Feast)

'Til next time, we'll be at the salsa bar.