A Taste of Tradition
This weekend, Richmond's Armenian Food Festival, a celebration of culture and cuisine, returns for its 61st year at St. James Armenian Church. Writer Emily Carter explores the vast preparations that go into the annual event, including the baking of countless khourabia, shortbread-like cookies prepared by members of the church's Women’s Guild. (Richmond magazine)
To Market, to Market
In the debut installment of our Shopping With Chefs video series, we hit the South of the James Market with Megan Fitzroy Phelan, co-owner at pastry chef at Longoven, one bright and very warm Saturday morning. Does she navigate the sea of strollers and dogs like a market champ? 100%. Take a look to see the unique fruit she grabbed to make a summertime dessert for the restaurant, cleaning out one vendor's entire stock. (Richmond magazine)
Call It a Classic
When I think of catered food for musicians, images of bowls filled with a single color of M&M’s or wildly specific drinks like Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke come to mind. But in Richmond during the '80s and '90s, visiting musicians and their crew members typically had only one request: Classics Sandwiches & Subs. The Sandston institution is approaching 40 years in business, and though times have changed, their tales of feeding stars from B.B. King to ZZ Top live on. (Richmond magazine)
Later, Gluten
The term gluten-free can evoke major side-eye (as a firm believer that bagels are a primary food group, I understand), but culinary innovations have made it so that dietary restrictions don't have to mean restrictions in flavor. Writer Genevelyn Steele has the scoop on bites that prove being gluten-free doesn’t mean saying goodbye to comfort foods. We're looking at you, guava and cheese roll at Cafe & Sabor. (Richmond magazine)
School of Hops
Going to school to learn about beer sounds too good to be true, but colleges across the state are adding to their course offerings as the boom in the beer market has created a boom in beer-centric jobs. Four-year and community colleges now offer certificate programs and courses for hop-heads and beer nerds to get schooled in suds and take their passion to the next level. (Richmond magazine)
New, Notable Nosh
Writer Piet E. Jones has returned with a trio of eateries around the region that deserve some undivided attention. From authentic pho and durian shin to in Glen Allen to a revived barbecue pit in Varina and flaky, affordable Jamaican meat patties on Nine Mile Road, your restaurants-to-try list is about to grow. (Richmond magazine)
A Helping Hand
A few weeks ago we shared that, just a week shy of its first anniversary, Ita’s Food Truck was involved in a crash that left many of the items inside unsalvageable. Not only was a GoFundMe page launched following the accident, the event has sparked efforts within the food truck community to help Ita’s get back on the road and in business. On Sept. 8 from noon to 6 p.m., over a dozen food trucks are hosting a fundraiser at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, where a portion of food and beer sales will go toward efforts to assist Ita’s. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Weezie’s Kitchen, the 12-year-old Carytown eatery, will remain closed until further notice following a dumpster fire that spread to the restaurant's walk-in cooler on the morning of Sept. 1. A GoFundMe page has been launched to help with repairs and replacing inventory. Bar Manager Vanna Hemm has also asked for any restaurants with shifts for servers, bartenders and back-of-house staff to please reach out.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
The former Jackson’s Beer Garden & Smokehouse space at 119 E. Leigh St. in Jackson Ward will soon undergo a smoky reboot and open under new ownership as Stump’s Pig & Pint. (Richmond BizSense)
Emilio’s on Broad Street, known for its tapas and tunes, bid its name farewell last week, introducing The RIchmonder Public House. The new concept features a hodgepodge of nosh from empanadas to angel hair and meatballs and buffalo chicken mac and cheese. Don't worry, the jazz nights will live on.
ICYMI
After four years in business, traditional and vegan fried chicken purveyors Mean Bird threw the RVADine community a curveball and announced plans to shutter the business. The Main Street restaurant will remain open for a couple more weeks, and the black, bright rooster-adorned truck will make its final appearance at the Richmond VegFest Sept. 14.
A certain spiky-haired food celebrity is in town this week. What's on his itinerary? (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
The first-ever Soul Vegan Block Party, aimed at diversifying the plant-based community, happens this Saturday, Sept. 7, at Chimborazo Park. (Richmond magazine)
Shockoe Bottom recently welcomed Soul Taco when a second location opened at 1215 E. Main St. last week. Shrimp and grits chile relleno, anyone?
Premier coffee producers from across the country will be heading to Richmond to take part in the U.S. Coffee Championships preliminaries hosted by Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co. from Sept. 6-8. (Richmond magazine)
RVA Love
Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema recently made a return visit to Richmond, and based on his resulting love letter to a handful of the city’s gems, I would say he’ll be back. While he shouts out the Basque escape Adarra and the Laotian-tinged Temple, read on to find out which spots are crowned as the “two new enchanting reasons to drive and dine” to Richmond.
Upcoming Events
- Friday Night Cocktails, Bombolini Pasta (Sept. 6): Cocktails made from the products of Bombolini’s distillery, Trial & Error
- Crab Feast, Hanover Vegetable Farm (Sept. 7): Savor the end of summer with an all-you-can-eat crab fest featuring live tunes and libations.
- Breaking Bread: Course Three, Front Porch Cafe (Sept. 7): An exploration, demo and tasting of Congolese cooking
- Red Beans and Rice Roadshow, Alewife (Sept. 8): Chef and writer Pableaux Johnson returns to Richmond to share the New Orleans tradition of red beans and rice.
- Canadian Summer, Brenner Pass (Sept. 8): Guest bartenders bring Canadian flair to cocktails, plus an appearance by Cobra Burger.
- Gather for Grace Pop-up Dinner, The Broken Tulip (Sept. 9): Chef Jessica Wilson of the forthcoming restaurant Grace prepares a late-summer a la carte menu.
- Real Local RVA's September Meeting, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (Sept. 9): The Croxtons of Rappahannock restaurant and oyster company discuss their family business.
- Screening: "The Biggest Little Farm," Ellwood Thompson’s (Sept. 9): View a documentary that follows a couple who trade city life for farming.
- Garden to Glass: Artisan Vodka, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (Sept. 10): Get schooled in how to make cocktails with RVA’s Cirrus Vodka.
- Seven Eleven, Lemaire (Sept. 11): Savor the end of summer with a selection of seven rosés available for samples or pours.
- Science on Tap: Septembrewfest, Science Museum of Virginia (Sept. 12): Adults-only event featuring brews, food and an exploration of the science behind alcoholic beverages
- Gourmet Hemp Foods Pop-up, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery Tasting Room Shockoe Bottom (Sept. 12): Chef Tye Hall presents a trio of plates featuring food made with hemp.
- Date Night: A Middle Eastern Feast, Mise en Place (Sept. 12): Grab a companion and explore the exotic flavors of the Middle East.
In Other Food News …
- Surely we're all familiar with the phrase Taco Tuesday, but did you know it was actually trademarked by the Taco John's franchise in 1989? The New York Times delves into the history surrounding the trademark and reveals what staff and customers at Los Angeles taco joints think about L.A. Laker Lebron James' recent efforts to stake his own claim to the phrase.
