Richmond Food News: Week of Sept. 4-8

Back-to-school week means bagels, brawn, brunch and the best pita bread you’ve ever had. And — wait for it — gin-flavored yogurt, perfect for parents at the bus stop.

by

Yo, Adrian

If you’ve not checked out lunch at The Paulie (200 W. Broad St.), Jason Alley’s Rocky-themed pop-up featuring Philadelphia-inspired sandwiches at Comfort, fear not. The limited-run pop-up has been held over indefinitely.

Speaking of Rocky … [Cue Music]

A month ago, Alley and a dozen other overworked and out-of-shape industry types got their behinds into the gym and on bikes. Find out how they are faring, trying to fit in something called fitness between early mornings at the bus stop and late nights in the kitchen. Sound familiar?

Bagels and Joy

The RVADine merry-go-round took a couple furious spins this week. Chef Mike Ledesma scored the landmark Joy Garden space and its neon sign; Richmond BizSense reports that Nate Matthews announced his nomadic bagel business was settling down with a brick-and-mortar space (19 S. Allen Ave.); and Joe Kiatsuranon is firming up the rebranding of Fan Noodle Bar into Pik Nik with a small-plate-heavy menu featuring duck and fresh seafood slated to debut sometime in mid-October.

Get Your Brunch On

Collaborative pop-ups are all the rage these days. A fun one to check out is the Brunch Market. Hosted by Lunch/Supper (1213 Summit Ave.) this Sunday, this dog-friendly brunch is serving up biscuits and a live DJ along with Mimosa Gose from Three Notch’d Brewing (2930 W. Broad St.). They’ll be serving up this sour beer in three flavors — blackberry, mango and grapefruit. (Come say hi to Richmond magazine. We’ll be there!)

Restaurant Week Season Ramps Up

Yes, the fall season of restaurant weeks is nearly upon us. The first is the week of Oct. 7 in Henrico County, with dining specials, some offering lunch as well as dinner, benefiting Henrico’s Christmas Mother. Announced participants include old favorites such India K’Raja and The Grapevine as well as some newer hotspots like Natalie’s Taste of Lebanon. If you’ve not tried Natalie’s pita bread, baked in-house, this is your chance. It is out-of-this-world good.

National Bourbon Heritage Month Continues to Go Down Smoothly

Check out what Chef Matt Crowley at Patina created to complement Frank Oley’s Apple-Smoked Old-Fashioned, or dip into The Crossings at The Westin Richmond for its Raspberry Manhattan paired with beef tenderloin and bourbon bearnaise. Order one of these Woodford Reserve-inspired pairings or cocktails, and $1 will go toward FeedMore this month.

You Know It’s Going to Rain

Another event to mark on your calendar is the start of Richmond’s rainy season, otherwise known as the State Fair of Virginia (13111 Dawn Blvd., Doswell). Opening on Sept. 29, the fair will offer those once-a-year oddities including Porky’s pork parfaits — layers of pulled pork and mashed potatoes and gravy in an ice cream sundae cup. New to the fair this year is the Blue Ribbon Craft Beer Fest, Oct. 6-8. More than 30 Virginia craft breweries are expected to compete. $15 in advance/$20 at the gate, in addition to normal fair admission, gets you a glass and unlimited tastings. Best plan on getting an Uber to take you home.

It’s Not Going to Rain

This weekend, anyway. Which is good news for the Armenian Food Festival (834 Pepper Ave.), serving it up today through Sunday. Live music, beer and wine, and lots of amazing foods including shish kabobs, stuffed phyllo triangles and some deliciously sweet kataif.

News From Beyond

You Had One Job

Obviously, someone wasn’t paying attention to the failures of others. A few weeks ago, there was a near riot when a cheese festival ran out of cheese. Now we have a taco festival in Portland, Oregon, that ran out of tacos. This one was so bad they had to cancel the second day. SMH.

Starting the Day Right

I love gin. It’s an amazing beverage suitable for most any occasion — even, now, breakfast. Yep, some crafty marketer has rolled out a gin-flavored yogurt to help put a little pep in your step to begin the day. OK, the alcohol content is only .25 percent, so it would take quite a bit of the yogurt to get a buzz, but some of us do like a challenge.