Warm and sweet
A gingerbread croissant with eggnog-infused cream and coffee are new offerings at Idle Hands Bread Company. (Photo courtesy Idle Hands Bread Company)
New restaurant announcements, winter-themed menu changes (eggnog-cream-filled croissants have arrived!), an incubator kitchen on the horizon at Main Street Station and thoughtful films mark the news this week.
The Best at This Moment
Richmond magazine’s Best Restaurants 2017 package gives delicious entree into Richmond’s dining standouts from Short Pump to Scott's Addition. And Sarah Geroux introduces readers to three artisans casting culinary magic in Richmond’s best restaurants. Todd Kliman urges Richmonders to count their blessings in his frank article on the area’s food scene.
Kitchen at the Station
Small, food-oriented business entrepreneurs should take note of the city's plan to develop a commercial kitchen that will serve as an incubation kitchen at Main Street Station in 2018. Project Development Manager Jeannie Welliver says the city's Department of Economic and Community Development is developing an RFP for an entity to run classes and mentoring out of that kitchen for food entrepreneurs, who, in turn, could become vendors at an indoor market on the first floor of the train shed and at the 17th Street Market, which is currently under renovation.
You Scream
Scoop ice cream shop will open in The Fan at 403 Strawberry St. in spring 2018. Whisk house of treats owner Morgan Botwinick says she will offer ice cream by the scoop, customized ice cream sandwiches, seasonal sundaes and pints to go in a variety of signature ice cream flavors. Creative seasonal flavors will include Sweet Potato Marshmallow in the fall and Sweet Corn & Blackberry in the summer. All ice cream, waffle cones, sauces and cookies will be made in-house, and a few Whisk favorites will be for sale at Scoop. The menu will also include gluten-free and dairy-free options. The shop's proximity to Fox Elementary might make this a popular after-school stop.
Gingerbread and Joe
Idle Hands Bread Company has rolled out a new coffee and tea program at their 407 Strawberry St. location, offering lattes to macchiato and chai, with coffee from Roastology in Chesterfield. December also means a new gingerbread pastry at the bakery: A recently posted image of a gingerbread croissant stuffed with eggnog-infused cream, dusted with powdered sugar got plenty of love from hungry followers. The bakery’s Brook Road location is currently closed for repairs.
Straying From the Herd
The Black Sheep restaurant, a winner of the Travel Channel’s "Best Sandwich in America" endorsed by Alton Brown, announced its recent closing on Instagram by thanking “all that passed through our doors and entered our lives 04/15/08-11/26/17." This writer joins many others hoping the establishment will come back in another location.
Children, Belly Up
Laura Lee’s at 3410 Semmes Ave. has started a Kids' Happy Hour where children 14 and under get one free item from the kids' menu with any adult entree or sandwich ordered. This special is only for dine-in customers, Monday through Thursday only, with orders into the kitchen before 6 p.m.
No Red Herring
A Virginia version of a fish restaurant is how Chef Lee Gregory describes Alewife, his first solo project, slated to open in early February at 3120 E. Marshall St. in Church Hill. Gregory is co-owner of The Roosevelt and Southbound and a three-time James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Shuffleboard Social Club
On hearing the name, you may think that the proposed Tang and Biscuit shuffleboard club will serve versions of those two nostalgic favorites, but that is not the case. The zingy title has to do with games. Shuffleboard can be played in singles or doubles using paddle-like sticks (called tangs) to push the pucks (called biscuits). The 18,000-square-foot warehouse at 3406 W. Moore St. turned game center featuring pizza, gourmet sandwiches and bar will open by early summer. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Moving On
Brandon Fox announced via a Facebook post this week that she is leaving her position as Food and Drink Editor at Style Weekly Dec. 8. As a newcomer to Richmond, I enjoyed Fox's account of her experiences with integration in the Richmond Public Schools during the 1970s, a piece that she wrote while working as an editor with our publications.
Mark That Calendar
To Market
At the Saturday, Dec. 2, Manakin Market Holiday Farm & Craft Market at 68 W. Broad St. in Manakin, Goochland Southern States will give out seeds through RVAgriculture with a voluntary donation at the RVAg booth. Other food vendors at the market include Mary Ruth Kipps baked goods, Kipps Grapes, pork vendor Harlow Ridge Farm and Great Harvest Bread Co.
Get to know a South of the James Market regular, Wild Earth Farms, a purveyor of fermented foods that plans to harvest produce from their new city farmstead. Numerous farmers markets continue through the winter in Richmond, including Birdhouse Farmers Market, the Farmers Market at St. Stephen’s and the South of the James market.
Meat Skills
On Sunday, Dec. 3, Belmont Butchery, Slow Food RVA, and Branch & Vine are hosting meat maven Meredith Leigh, author of "The Ethical Meat Handbook" and the recently released "Pure Charcuterie." Leigh will lead a charcuterie-making demo, tasting and social hour starting at 4 p.m. with her books for sale. The event is followed by a dinner at 6:30 p.m. prepared by Belmont Butchery's staff. Tickets are available in advance. For more information, contact Tanya or Molly at Belmont Butchery at 804-422-8519
The Seal of Approval
Local Richmond residents and purveyors of the DIP-a-di-do-da stylish dip jars, Myrf Bowry and Leah Dodge, have been chosen by Good Housekeeping and HSN Home Shopping Network as one of five finalists from hundreds of submissions in their search to find America’s “next great entrepreneur and game-changing consumer product.” The product will appear in the December issue of the magazine and live on HSN on Monday, Dec. 4, from 6 to 7 p.m.
Food Films
The film "At the Common Table: Food, People and Place in the American South," screening at the Library of Virginia on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at noon, features a talk by filmmaker Jamie S. Ross. The film “explores the creativity and ingenuity of those at the bottom rung of Southern society — enslaved Africans, dispossessed Native Americans and landless European laborers.” The talk complements the exhibition "Virginia’s Forgotten Canneries," which runs through Dec. 30, in the Library’s second-floor reading rooms.
"Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry," screening Thursday, Dec. 7, at 6 p.m. at The Martin Agency, 1 Shockoe Plaza, tells the story of the award-winning writer, environmentalist and farmer who promotes traditional farming and conservation. Proceeds from the $20 tickets benefit Tricycle Urban Gardens and Real Local RVA.
Never Too Much Pizza
Blaze Pizza comes to Glen Allen at 4101 Dominion Blvd. with an opening event Friday, Dec. 8, and Pies & Pints is hiring more than 60 staffers for its 2035 W. Broad St. location, which will offer handmade pizzas, salads and sandwiches. A peek inside this week revealed a contemporary, industrial feel to the space that is still under construction.
Havana In Henrico
Havana '59, a Cuban restaurant and cigar bar located in Shockoe Bottom, will celebrate its new location at 8902 W. Broad St. with a grand opening on Friday, Dec. 8. The new location will be open for weekend brunch, lunch and dinner with salsa dancing on Wednesday night. The menu will feature old favorites including paella and new entrees such as the lamb albondigas (meatballs) and house-smoked beef short ribs.
