Thanks to National Oyster on the Half Shell Day on Sunday, March 31, there's an excuse to throw back some briny bivalves. The Boathouse is celebrating with $1 raw oysters all day at all locations. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Elbys Tickets
Tickets to the eighth annual Elbys have officially rolled out for sale! We’re heading west on Sunday, April 28, for an evening celebrating RVADine's libation leaders, rising chefs, food trucks, restaurant of the year and more. Hardywood West Creek will host the festivities, themed “Reading the Future of Food” and benefiting Tricycle Gardens. Tickets are $55 (plus a $5 processing fee), and attendees will have the option to travel to the event via a chartered coach bus (only available at time of purchase, through April 11 only) or use a special Lyft promo code. (Richmond magazine)
Get Gnarly With It
Vegan and gluten-free may sound like a double dose of restrictions, but Kayla Serene of Gnarly Girls Baking Co. is breaking misconceptions, one Gnarly Tart at a time. The lifelong vegetarian and ex-Sub Rosa pastry chef is well-acquainted with plant-based cooking (the focus of our latest issue of Dine, heading to newsstands now), and with flavors like mango mimosa and lemon-lavender, you'll want to ditch Kellogg’s Pop-tarts to get gnarly at her next pastry pop-up, Saturday, March 30, at The Butterbean. (Richmond magazine)
Ducks in a Row
The Shaved Duck in Midlothian has been open for about a year and a half, but with a fresh face in the kitchen, we decided to pay the Westchester Commons bistro a visit. With previous stints at Can Can and Amour Wine Bistro, Chef Patrick Wrenn brings brasserie flair to the duck-heavy menu — check out the confit — while Pastry Chef Chelsea Mitt gives each meal a sweet finish. (Richmond magazine)
Beasley of Brunch
General Manager and Beverage Director Jaclyn Beasley of Brunch is a culinary tour de force. The 31-year-old has worn all the industry hats between front and back of house, and her chef game is as strong as her bar skills. The Harley rider and former “Chopped” contestant is bringing the cool factor, all while elevating the craft cocktail scene at Rueger Restaurant Group’s newest outpost. (Richmond magazine)
Sammy, Is That You?
Breakfast. A meal sometimes overlooked in the midst of the morning grind or passed over for the comforts of bed. Writer Genevelyn Steele gives a shout-out to five indulgent breakfast sandwiches worthy of a morning holla, including a colossal club at Moore Street Cafe in Scott’s Addition and a buttery doughnut melt at Hot Diggity Donuts in Manchester. (Richmond magazine)
A Community Connection
In honor of Women's History Month, we've highlighted a handful of community-driven women restaurant owners in RVA who are advocating for a cause beyond the business. In Church Hill at the corner of 29th and R streets lies Soul n’ Vinegar, where owner Michelle Parrish strives to dish out meals that are both affordable and approachable. The New England native makes a bangin’ pimento cheese, is awaiting EBT approval at her eatery and works to feed her neighbors in an area deemed a food desert. (Richmond magazine)
Limitless Libations
I can’t help but hum Sublime when thinking of Garden Grove Brewing & Urban Winery, and just like the band that blends genres to create an original sound, Carytown’s first brewery diverges from the ordinary. Don’t expect to hop aboard the hazy IPA train or find Oreos in the brews at GG; they focus on weirdly sensational sips ranging from wine to cider, beer, honey wine and creative hybrids. (Richmond magazine)
Get Crunchy
If you’re like Fruitfinity Granola founder Shannon Ovadia, you’re all about the crunch. Tired of reaching for granola in an effort to be healthy and checking the nutrition facts only to find sugar-packed clusters, Ovadia decided to make her own. Available at Ellwood Thompson’s and local farmers markets, the organic snacks just say no to sugar and additives. (Richmond magazine)
A Dodgy Conclusion
On Sunday, March 24, 18 teams from the dining community channeled their inner Ben Stillers (no, literally, they strutted onto the court to hand-selected songs and rocked custom uniforms) during the first-ever Autumn Olive Farms On the Fly Dodgeball Tournament, which raised over $7,000 for the Holli Fund. Smack-talking commenced, competition was cutthroat, and guests crushed Cobra Burgers and brews from The Veil, all for the sake of charity. Speaking of The Veil, they took home the Stanley Cup-esque champion's trophy, and the Perch team rocked coconut bikini tops and luau skirts to be awarded Best Costume. (Richmond magazine)
The Veil Brewing Co. won the first-ever Autumn Olive Farms On the Fly Dodgeball Tournament benefiting the Holli Fund. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Bartenderness
It was a busy week for area bartenders, who showed up to rep the River City in two separate competitions. On Monday, two bartenders from Brenner Pass, Rachel Boxley and Elby nominee and Fire, Flour & Fork Dabney Cup winner Shannon Hood participated in Speed Rack, a women-led cocktail competition and charity event to raise money for breast cancer held in Washington, D.C. Hood hustled hard, losing by a mere tenth of a second, but won the wild card vote, determined by public polling. She will head to Chicago for the national competition in early May, making her the first Richmond bartender to compete. On Monday, Perch hosted the 2019 Woodford Reserve Regional Competition, where Sophia Kim from Saison advanced and will now head to Louisville for the semifinals at the end of April.
ICYMI
Congratulations to Three Crosses Distilling, a Powhatan-based husband-and-wife distillery not even a year old, recently awarded a bronze medal in the Vodka - Residual Base Character category during the Craft Spirits Awards for its Black Chevron Vodka. (News release)
An Israeli restaurant chain, Burgerim, known for miniature-sized patties ranging from traditional beef to falafel, is heading to Short Pump where they will make their Richmond debut. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Richmond Restaurant Week announced the participating restaurants for its spring 2019 edition, April 22-28, with three-course prix-fixe meals for $29.19, $4.19 of which goes to Feed More. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Oh, Blue Bell. We sought you out for cool, creamy comfort, and after getting us hooked you left us high and dry in 2015. Now, after three years without the jumbo-sized golden tubs of ice cream, they’ve returned to local freezer aisles. (CBS 6)
RVA Love
Our very own writer Stephanie Ganz has landed in the pages of national publication Bon Appetit. In the April issue on newsstands now, Ganz offers the inside scoop on our charming city, declaring Alewife, Pomona, Africanne on Main and Proper Pie Co., among others, vital stops on the Richmond gastronomic bucket list.
Richmond's Fire, Flour & Fork, the annual four-day food extravaganza, beat out festival veterans and heavyweights including Charleston Wine + Food and Taste of Chicago to land in the top three for USA Today’s Best General Food Festival. Over five years the event has boasted an all-star lineup of chefs, journalists, purveyors and restaurateurs from across the country for a thought-provoking exploration of food and the history, politics and community that surround it. Congrats!
Upcoming Events
- Shine Launch Party, Studio Two Three (March 29): Meet the female duo behind one of the area’s newest organic farms.
- Four-Year Anniversary, Black Heath Meadery (March 29-31): Richmond’s first meadery celebrates with releases including a bourbon barrel-aged sour cherry with vanilla.
- Cultural Crawl RVA, various locations (March 30): Hop around Jackson Ward and downtown restaurants and bars during the daylong exploratory event highlighting art, featuring specials, live music and more.
- Ice Cream Pop-up, Union Market (March 30): Spotty Dog Ice Cream Co. returns to dish out new flavors and crowd favorites.
- Girl Scout Cookie & Beer Pairing, Strangeways Brewing (March 31): Playful pairings like the Sleeps With Angles Chocolate Stout and Thin Mints to satisfy your snack and suds cravings
- Five-Year Anniversary, Foo Dog (March 31): Ring in five years in the Fan with brews, food specials, an all-day happy hour and DJ Billy Crystal Fingers.
- Surf’s Up, The Jasper (April 1): Debut of the spring menu with coastal-themed cocktails, Hawaiian ’za and Spam musubi
- Real Local RVA’s April Meeting, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (April 1): Discussion of “Local Foods, Climate Change and the Green New Deal” with a special guest speaker
- Rosé Season Kickoff Event, Richmond Wine Station (April 2): Eight rosé taps along with complimentary tastings
- Pottery Night With Full Pocket Farm, Vasen Brewing (April 3): An interactive pottery class made better with beer
- Grand Opening of the New Food Truck, Happy Empanada (April 4): Rolling out a new truck at their brick-and-mortar location; the first 100 guests get a free empanada with purchase.
In Other Food News …
- This crossed my Facebook feed recently, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. As an avid bagel fan (no, seriously, a top food group for me), I was disturbed, my feathers were ruffled, and I couldn’t believe the irreverent defiance — bagels being sliced like bread. Not on my watch, friends. It seems I am not alone in finding this so outrageous. (Mashable)
