Read Drink & Be Merry

In the space that used to house an old favourite of ours, Pomegranate, a new eatery has appeared, Bouchon.  Well, not real new, they’ve been there a while, but it has taken us a while for it to get there.  Not sure why, I’ve seen the menus, heard the buzz, all very intriguing, just never made it till now.  The result, not too bad – actually quite good.  May have to add them to our short list of to-go places.

The menu is what you would expect for a French bistro and reflective of Richmond’s increasingly desire for sophisticated food.  For appetizers I glanced at the foie gras, but at $19 it was a bit much for the combination of bad economy and a first visit to a restaurant.  Instead I went for the Veal Sweetbreads, sauteed in a verjus demi with shallots, ginger and thyme.  The easiest way to describe the dish would be creamy sweetbreads in a sauce of sweet and sour but that would be a bit misleading.  When I think sweet and sour, images of cloyingly sweet syrupy sauce with little sour come to mind.  No, this was sweet but just, and the sour tang complimented the creamy sweetbreads perfectly.  Sadly, I lost a good portion of my appetizer to Finn who, if he keeps up his love of interesting foods, is going to be an expensive teenager.

M went for the Caramelized Onion Tart, more of a flatbread topped with crispy onions.  Very tasty and enjoyed especially by little Elias.  Quick word about the bread that came out with the appetizers.  Bread is a good way to make a quick assessment of a restaurant.  The sliced baguette was oven crisp, perfectly full of air pockets and served with rich butter shavings.  Bread service the way you want it.  Perfect.

Bouchon offers an array of sides to order, not necessary as the entrees come with sides, but as nice additions.  For us, we used it as a kids menu.  The french fries were some of the best I’ve had in Richmond, rivaling my favourite – Can-Can, crisp and clean served piping hot.  We asked for some mayo on the side, the aioli that came out had a slight tint to it.  Couldn’t identify the flavouring, and forgot to ask, but enjoyed it none the less.  The Truffled Man-N-Cheese was also nice, not quite so overboard as some of the other offerings around town, but simple mac-n-cheese with a very identifiable truffle flavour.  The kids were very happy.

For entrees M went with Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Duck Confit.  Basically, a meat lovers dream.  They managed the trick of cooking the bacon wrapped tenderloin properly to pink, rather than well done, leaving a lean and wonderfully basted piece of meat.  The smoky duck confit countered the pork perfectly and left M very happy.

Me?  I chose the Monkfish.  Slightly crispy pieces of fish, moist and flaky inside.  Cous-cous and a harrisa boullion complimented the fish perfectly for the cool spring evening.  If you closed your eyes you might think you were eating lobster.  Not really.  Monkfish and lobster can, under some circumstances, taste similar but not here and lobster is much more stringy.  This was simply an outstanding dish cooked perfectly.

The service….  Meh.  It wasn’t bad but it was a little casual considering the formality of the dining room and the seriousness of the food.  Nothing truly wrong but more what I would expect at lunch rather then dinner.

We would have stayed for dessert but Elias, not quite the trooper at dinner as Finn was at that age, hit his expiration and let out a rather obnoxious sound.  M took him outside and I settled the bill.  Two martinis, one bottle of wine, two entrees, two apps, two sides for the kids – $150.  Not too bad and considering the food, it was worth it.  I think we’ll have to return – and try the foie next time.

I was recently asked to help out at Richmond Magazine with their Top 25 Restaurants issue that just hit the stands a few days ago.  Tina E did a great job as my editor, taking my rather lengthy thoughts and condensing them down to a more reasonable length for the feature.  You should rush out a get a copy and read it – if that leaves you wanting a bit more then here is the full piece on Can-Can……

If I didn’t have a kitchen, Can-Can could easily provide me with all my meals.  Really, I mean it.

Except for Sundays – when Can-Can serves an excellent brunch – they don’t actually have a breakfast menu but what they do have is, in a way, much better.  Opening at 7:00 AM they serve a rotating array of pastries, croissant and fresh breads with jams – all baked in-house.  Sample a Pecan Madeleine or their amazing Almond Croissant and you’ll stop here rather than a fast food drive through any day of the week.  Pair that with a pot of fresh coffee, tea or hot chocolate and you’ll get up a few minutes early, bring your newspaper (or laptop – they do have wi-fi) and have a relaxing start to your day with someone else doing the clean-up.

Skip out of the office for lunch and get recharged with happy taste buds for the remainder of the day.  While some dishes are available year-round, Croque Monsieur or add an egg for the Madame, the menu rotates to take advantage of seasonal items and desires.  Cold winter days are made less nasty after a Braised Lamb Sandwich or a Fried Oyster BLT and if you’re under the weather try the Butternut Squash Soup, the creamy goodness won’t cure you but you will feel much better.

Don’t be concerned if you are running a bit late for lunch.  Can-Can does continuous service and has an afternoon café menu.  The burger is one of the best in town, with a difficulty bonus for being able to serve them rare or medium rare perfectly and without complaint, and the pommes frites are second to none.  If you’re looking for something else then try the Moules Frites, mussels and fries.  While the traditional white wine and garlic is excellent try the mustard, tarragon and pancetta.  The creamy flavor combination of the mustard sauce and mussels will bring conversation to a halt.

Dinner takes Can-Can’s French Bistro theme to its height.  From Escargot to Beouf Tartar for starters (most available in half orders so you can sample more) to Sole Meuniere or Grilled Hanger Steak Bordelaise for entrees you will forget you are in Richmond.  The French wine list can be a bit intimidating but have no fear, just flag down the beverage manager, Bob Talbot, who has probably forgotten more about wine then I currently know.  Starting in January they will also offer a prix fixe menu – entrée and soup or salad for $20 – a nice option in these tough economic times.

One can even swing by after a movie.  Can-Can doesn’t close till 1:00 AM (2:00 on Friday and Saturday) making it the perfect place to stop for a dessert (all, including sorbets and ice creams, made in-house) a cheese plate or an after-dinner drink.

What is possibly the most amazing thing is that Can-Can does all this and does it so well.  Most restaurants that try to do too much lose consistency and simply become mediocre.  Yep, I could eat all my meals here.

Sometimes you really want to like a restaurant.  Sometimes you don’t get what you want.

Walking into The Fat Goat you can almost forget you are in Richmond.  It has a very Northern California kind of feel.  Quirky organic space.  Jack of all trade staff that might be serving one minute and working the stove the next.  You get the impression that you could easily spend a lot of time here.  Pity it falls apart at the food.

1st Course – High Hopes – I love scallops.  You have to really mess up for me to not like them (Gibson’s Grill managed that…).  The idea of a Smoked Scallop Slider was intriguing…  A smoked scallop can be tricky.  Very easy for it to come out tough or with a funky flavour.  The scallops were actually very well done.  Smoked just enough to add flavour and colour but not tough or stringy.  Sadly, the bun was cold and a little hard while the tomato aioli may as well have been generic bottled mayo.  The total lack of depth and flavour was disappointing.

2nd Course – Still Hopeful – A rainy November night just screams for a good soup.  Lentil Soup with Curry easily catches the eye.  Presentation was perfect.  Large bowl, lentils fully cooked but still intact and not mushed, triangle of flat bread, dollop of sour cream.  Taste?  Exceptionally bland.  The curry was only the hint of an aftertaste.  Unfortunate, since when I could detect the curry it tasted wonderful.  Other than that I may as well have been eating, well, unflavoured boiled lentils.  Some bacon, or bacon fat would have been a really nice addition but I would have just settled for some salt.

I was ordering the next course while I was eating the one before.  I had fully intended for the next course to be an entree.  After this shaky start I couldn’t justify the price of the entrees and decided to hit another appetizer…

3rd Course – Losing Hope – Crab Cake with Wasabi Aioli.  I’m sure I’ve had this dish elsewhere and liked it.  I was also willing to endure another lecture from Brandon Fox on the sustainability of crab and some of it’s less then reputable sources.  I just wanted something good.  The crab cake was fine.  Basically all crab, no noticeable filler except for binder, no fishy flavour, no real flavour….  Sigh.  I’m starting to notice a trend.  If the aioli had any relationship with wasabi it was a bad one-night stand that ended with a handshake.  On the side of the plate was tomato and cucumber pearls.  A real fancy piece of molecular gastronomy.  Done right these should explode with flavour in your mouth.  They didn’t.

4th Course – Grasping At Straws – Gnocchi with Grilled Fennel, Spinach, Roasted Red Peppers, Parmesan and Garlic Sauce.  Surely this must have flavour.  Nope.  I appreciate subtle and delicate flavours.  This was just lacking.  The sauce was a brown broth-like liquid lacking in flavour and the promised garlic.  The Parmesan was forgotten.  The gnocchi was tough and over-cooked on the outside and nearly raw on the inside.  ‘Nuff said.

It’s a shame.  The space, a horribly difficult space to work with, is nicely done and appointed.  The staff is interesting and quirky.  Sean, the waiter (organic vegetable farmer by day, waiter by night) reminded of me of Jeff Spicoli – but in a good way.  Short of high-end formal dining he could be a great waiter anywhere – casual, caring and genuine.  The rest of the staff stood out from many RVA eateries by working together as a team.  If they could just embrace the quirky base they have built perhaps they could make the menu just a bit more interesting and if they could embrace some ****ing salt perhaps it might even taste good.

Being from the Pacific Northwest I am always on the hunt for a good raw bar.  For years we had Awful Arthur’s here in Richmond.  Nothing fancy, just cheap raw (and steamed) bar that only occasionally laid you low.  Since they closed things have been pretty limited.  The Hard Shell and Can-Can both do it well but can be a bit spendy – especially when you start including alcohol.  So, you can imagine,  I was quite intrigued when I heard that the Water Grill, the newest creation from Michelle Williams in Karsen’s abandoned space in Carytown, was going to have raw bar.  The fact that they were advertising 1/2 price from 4 to 6 during the week sealed the deal.  We were going to stop by.

Advertised hours for restaurants can be squishy at best.  Many places close earlier then advertised when business is slow and the opening hours can sometimes be simply prep time for the staff (Any place that does continuous service gets extra points in my book.  I’m always hunting for a place to get a quiet cocktail and something good to nosh on in the middle of the afternoon.).  With this in mind I wondered what kind of reaction I would get to a 4:15 arrival on a Thursday.  Sure enough, caught them off guard.  The bar was strewn with piles of napkins and the staff looked more like a bunch of kids out for drinks.  To give them credit they reacted fast.  The bar was cleaned off and the group scattered, although conversations about staffing, schedules and in-house gossip continued in very loud tones for quite a while.  Settling into the bar I asked the bartender a number of questions.  As I have found at many of Michelle Williams’ places the bartender was professional and knowledgeable.  A couple of things she needed to refer to one of managers and, well, as usual they ducked the questions.  Something about Michelle’s restaurants.  Too many managers not accomplishing very much and often spending more time being the staff’s social manager rather then managing the restaurant.

Martini in hand we started ordering.  First out was a dozen clams.  Each one perfect and sweet.  Not a skunky one in the bunch.  Rather then cocktail sauce I asked for the mignonette.  Meh.  It seemed to be solely sherry vinegar.  No herbs or spices.  I considered walking across the street to Penzy’s to pick up some of their mignonette spice packs but thought that might be considered rude.  It really wasn’t bad, it just seemed lazy and not very special.  A pity considering how good the clams were.

The wife decided on a half pound of spiced shrimp.  The shrimp came out warm but not hot.  Not sure if it was intentional for the steamed shrimp to come that way but it did make it easier to eat quickly without burning your fingers.  The shrimp were larger then you usually find and very tasty.  The seasonings were perfect and you could actually taste the shrimp, a nice change from so many spiced shrimp dishes that you get where it turns out the shrimp are simply a vehicle for eating mass quantities of Old Bay seasonings.

House cut french fries and homemade potato chips rounded out our order.  The fries were good, a big step up from the frozen ones served at deLux, and may very well challenge Can-Can’s outstanding fries.  The chips were a big surprise.  Often these have such a short shelf life and are nor worth eating once they cool to room temperature.  Not here, these were crispy and delicious from first chip to last.  Water Grill, however, falls short on the sauce again.  The ancho ranch dressing served with both tasted as if it came from a jar rather then house made and just didn’t live up to what it was served with.

Before wrapping it all up I decided to squeeze in one last dish.  A little talk with the bartender and her recommendation led me to try the Steamed Mussels with Lemongrass and Curried Coconut Milk.  There is nothing subtle about this dish.  The coconut milk is strong.  The curry is strong.  The lemongrass is strong.  Paired with an equally strong Tanqueray 10 martini it all worked wonderfully.  The mussels, from PEI, varied wildly in size but held up to all this.  For me it is one of those dishes that will bring you back to a restaurant – that the broth was perfect for sopping bread didn’t hurt either.

While the mussels ended the meal right the bill helped keep the mood right.  Half prices on the raw bar items were nice, especially since they were not all that inflated to begin with.  The big surprise was the martini prices.  At $9 for premium top shelf martini (Tanqueray 10) Water Grill is three to five dollars cheaper then most comparable places – nice to know in these tough economic times.  All in all not bad for a relatively new restaurant.  Dinner may be in the cards at some point but raw bar happy hour, especially out on the patio when weather permits, will be added to my dance card.

When a new restaurant opens it helps to have buzz.  Balliceaux certainly got it by coming into existence by killing off local music hotspot, Bogart’s.  OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. The people who owned the building had every right to not to renew the lease and Bogart’s has found itself a spiffy new home.  The people of Richmond, however, can be a tad resistant to change so there was more then a bit of horror at the fact that a ‘landmark’ was being displaced – mostly by people who probably hadn’t even been to Bogart’s in years.  Well, Bogart’s has survived the move and now we have a new eatery.  Time to move on.

The renovated space is great.  Period.

While I am all for historical authenticity too many of the restaurants in the Fan all look the same (deLux being the exception but not necessarily in a good way) – same ceilings, walls and even booths.  Balliceaux has been rebuilt using reclaimed wood and materials (much from the old space) to create a modernistic Zen space.  You now what?  It works.  It’s not really out of place, like deLux, and is visually interesting.  The music was a bit odd, and noticeable off the hard surfaces, but wasn’t offensive.  Just one of those bumps that a new place has to work out over time.

The lunch menu is full of interesting items but a little difficult to read.  It’s visually pleasing but is not very clear – just needs refinement that comes over time.  Simply an issue of style overriding function.

Both Marinara and myself started with soup.  He had the Golden Gazpacho – he enjoyed it and my taste of it was very nice – fresh golden tomatoes with herbs and spices.  It was not suffering from tasting like salsa as I had heard elsewhere.  I had the Chicken Tortilla – huge chunks of chicken (I had to cut one piece into three smaller pieces) with onion and carrots in a beautiful broth with hints flavours tasting more Asian then Mexican to me.  Elias, at 7 months and trying chicken broth for the first time, approved.  The soup was not as hot as I would normally like, somewhere between warm and tepid.  On a warm September afternoon it wasn’t a real issue but had it been a cold day in January I probably would have sent it back.  Hopefully, just a bit more of new restaurant adjustments.

For an lunch entree I tried the Crab Cakes.  This is a tough one.  The crab cakes were excellent and nearly all crab.  The golden horseradish with it was the perfect blend of spicy and creamy without overpowering the crab.  The issue was the size.  Two two-ounce cakes are not really enough for lunch.    The $12 price really wasn’t out of line, for a cake that is crab and not filler with crab flavouring, I guess it was the lack of a side.  Had I not ordered some soup to start this would not have been enough for lunch for me – think dinner appetizer not lunch entree.  Still, it was really very, very good.

Marinara ordered the Cider Braised Pork.  Both of us are on low-card diets so he asked if he could have something other than the red beans and rice.  The answer was ‘no’.  I do not disagree with the answer.  Menus are not ‘pick and choose’ and when people create their own dishes it plays havoc with food cost and is disruptive to the kitchen.  On the other hand, people do have dietary restrictions.  Once it was clear he would simply buy a different side the issue became moot.  The pork dish was the opposite of mine, I would not have been able to finish it.  Six slices of pork braised to perfection.  I was able to get one slice for myself, as well as some of the garlic greens that he had chosen for his side.  Another winner.

While not all the buzz about Balliceaux before it opened was good, it got people talking and ultimately helped to spur interest in the place.  Several weeks after opening we arrived for a late lunch, at around 1:30, on a Tuesday and had to wait for a table – that’s a good sign for a new restaurant.  While there I heard no complaints from other guests and even ran into other friends dining there (RVA Foodie) -  another good sign.  Sure, they need a few tweaks.  Any new place does.  The food was good, the service competent, the space inviting.  I’ll be back for dinner.

Overheard by a friend dining out at Si the other night…

Customer – What beers do you have?

Waiter – Heineken, Corona, Sam Adams.  Let me know quickly which you would like, we only have two of each.

WTF!  OK, I probably got the beers wrong but the point is if you can’t stock your bar anymore then you are in serious trouble.  Of course my track record is mediocre when it comes to declaring the death of a restaurant.  Sensi, thankfully, is still chugging along and I hear they are still living up to and exceeding expectations for delivering great food.  Bookbinder’s is slightly changed.  The Taxin’s fired the management (no great loss) and are trying to keep it going.

Boys night out is an age old tradition.  The wife and kids go to visit a sister in a far away town leaving the husband to fend for himself, alone, at home.  Calls go out to friends to see who wants to hit the town and have some fun.  Matt Marinara is in, another Matt is a maybe, RVA Foodie on the other hand seems more interested in some female wrestling event and selects to spend the evening in the basement of his house. So, with the people picked the next question is ‘Where?’

Dance clubs are out.  The evening starts too late and spouses tend to frown upon that.  Sports bars hold no interest for me nor would karaoke.  Good drinks and decent things to sample are more my speed.  The other key would be lots of places to choose from in a small area so we’re not tempted to drive.  Shokoe Bottom seems to fit the bill.

The first place we decided to hit was Morton’s.  Martinis at the bar and perhaps a little cold shellfish seemed to be a good way to start the evening.  The martinis were good and cold as was the lobster and crab.  The bartender, Chettie (of Chettie’s Cow & Clam back in the day), was polished and professional.  The bar… meh.  It’s dark and cozy but is awfully tiny.  Waiters yelling through the service window were a little disruptive but when the twelve strong bachelorette party the noise level bouncing off the walls of the tiny wood paneled room grew to an unbearable point.  One drink and gone.

The next stop was Cha-Cha’s.  Loud, boys and girls on the prowl, a whole flock of girls circling Jack like vultures around carrion. Probably would have loved this place when I was younger.  Now, everything I touched felt dirty and sticky.  The guys loud and oafish, the girls just one shot away from staring in a ‘Girls Gone Wild’ video.  Time to walk briskly away.

The rest of our walk through the Bottom was interesting but more of the same.  Loud music, very drunk kids (a couple of them passed out on the sidewalk in their own puke.), full sensory overload.  In the midst of all this chaos there was a little of corner of darkness, Julep’s, closed for the evening.  Or was it….  A few feet away from the main door is a very odd door, one with no handle.  We approached and dialed a number on my cell.  Moments later the door opened and we slipped in.

It seems, after the restaurant has finished serving and the shutters on the windows closed, they re-open, but very discretely around 11 on the weekends.  In the spirit of an old speakeasy they are open but only if you know how to get in.  After the noise, the August heat and the stumbling drunks it was nice to go inside to the cool and quiet peace.  Soft music was playing.  The darkness broken by candle lit tables with people relaxing comfortably.  We pulled up to the bar and made ourselves at home.

A cocktail list was offered with an array of interesting concoctions.  Of course there was a mint julep, possible the best one in town and served in a pewter cup.  I selected a nice Hendrick’s Cocktail.  The small batch gin muddled with cucumber is a wonderful combination.  Sadly my diet required me to have the simple syrup replaced with Splenda but it was good none the less.

While the dinner service was over they still offered appetizers.  Pickled Shrimp served with a tangy cream and a trout pate fit the bill wonderfully.  Compared to the bar food being served at our other stops this seemed like returning to civilization after a long slog in the wilderness.  Don’t get me wrong, the other places we wandered through that evening were fun and I would have been barhopping with the best them in my younger days.  I can still drink most of them under a table but as an adult my tastes have become more refined.  Spending an evening down in the Bottom and all the drunken kiddies was made enjoyable thanks to this little oasis.

I’d tell you the secret number but then I would have to kill you….
Oh, OK – 651-8621 – I’ve programmed it into my cell.
Read more…

After nearly 3 years here we will be closing our Richmond store tomorrow, Saturday, March 1st, at 7:30. Do not despair as we will be rising again in a few days time in a new and improved (or at least bigger) space. Any brave souls wishing to help us move ~27,000 books on Sunday all of 50 feet will be welcome!

more to follow as it becomes available…

Seems Sen Barack Obama has won the Danish Democratic primary held on Tuesday with 70.5% of the vote. Turn out was light due to the complete lack of campaign appearances on the part of the candidates. No word on when, or if, the Republicans will be voting.

http://www.cphpost.dk/get/105476.html

Maya is our newest member at The Book Room in Charlottesville. She joined us last Fall and, while she is new to working here, she has been a loyal customer for years. To date she has already made a positive impact on the store and it’s customers.

Saturday night she left the store and upon arriving home found her town home on fire. Sunday it was confirmed that her husband, Gregory, had been trapped inside.

Our hearts and thoughts go out to Maya and her children at this difficult time.