Read Drink & Be Merry

Thanks to Matt Marinara I managed to score a prime-time Saturday reservation to the soft opening weekend of RVA’s newest pizza joint, Stuzzi’s.  Here a few thoughts….

The bad – let’s just get it out of the way…  It was hot.  Meltingly so.  They enlarged the 1N Belmont dining room, raised the ceiling and added a wood fueled pizza oven to the middle of the space – then kept the same AC unit that had been used by Fritz.  Add maybe three times the number of people that used to occupy the old space and it became harder to tell if it was hotter inside or out – and this last weekend in Richmond was set to braise.  Of course, if I had a nickel for every time a Richmond restaurant open only to realize their AC unit was insufficient I would have at least a couple of bucks.  To their credit they realized the problem early on, added some ceiling fans before service on Saturday and told me they are getting a larger unit this week.  With a little luck, and hopefully minimal interference from the City, this should be a short term issue.

The not so bad….  Opening weekends can be chaotic for service.  I’ve opened several restaurants and it really doesn’t matter how experienced the staff or how much you trained – the best you can really hope for is it not to be a disaster.  Considering the circumstances – this staff did all right.  Between the heat, a packed dining room and bar plus a line out the door the wait staff kept things moving under trying circumstances and managed to remain gracious through-out.  Food and drink were served quickly, nothing had to be asked for twice, and when a couple of minor things went wrong they looked sufficiently horrified.  Service-wise, a good start under difficult conditions.

The good…  The food.  Only a limited menu was available and, due to the crowd and the heat, we really didn’t have a long drawn out dinner.  What we did have was quite good.  A basic caprese to start then pizza and pasta.  Finn selected the mussels over fettucini with red sauce – and then did what only a 5 year old can – sucked it all down.  He proclaimed it good with a big thumbs up and a huge pile of empty shells.

M and I ordered two of the pizzas.  A Margherita – basil, buffalo mozzarella and sauce – and a Sopresatta – the same but with thin slices of cured meat.  The crust, fire baked on lava rock from Mt Vesuvius, was perfect – simple, crusty and really unlike anything else served in Richmond today.  The sauce was equally simple – little more than crushed tomato and best described as ‘bright’ in flavour.  A real triumph of basic ingredients speaking for themselves.  Little Elias liked the sopresatta so much we asked for a couple of extra slices of the meat for him to chew on.  The only difficulty, if it can be called that, was, due to the intense heat, the pizza never really cooled down to set and remained a bit of a gooey, runny mess.  Regardless, it was quite good and will be worth many return visits.

All in all, a good opening and a valiant effort.  Looks like we have a new pizza player in the Fan and maybe, as this is their goal, a mention of Richmond as a pizza destination on the Eastern seaboard.

What did you do on this beautiful Sunday afternoon?

We took the afternoon and marched on the Capitol.  Seems our new Governor thinks that Virginia doesn’t need to ensure the future viability of our workforce and has slashed public school budgets – with an emphasis on programs targeted at the poor and disadvantaged.  A few of the parents, Kirsten Grey most notably, took it upon themselves to create a little Facebook page to bring people together and inform them of this hobbling of our public schools.  What started from there quickly spread, got notice outside Richmond in other affected communities and even a little media interest.

With the rumblings of a protest a hearing for HB30 was identified and, between the FB page and a few school phone trees, the word went out.  Sunday the place to be was in front of the Capitol to show our displeasure with the mortgaging of our children and their futures.  It started small at a little after 12 with the first couple of dozen people but soon swelled to nearly 500 – hard to tell since so many of the protesters were small children and they take up much less space.  Signs appeared and chants went up.  Cars drove by honking in support and more then a few legislators drove by giving us the thumbs up.

Beyond the media cameras there was  definite feeling of being watched.  We were.  A small contingent of Capitol Police were watching us from behind their dark glasses.  The did not look pleased.  Each attempt to move closer to the Capitol, to gain access to our elected representatives was greeted with their presence and demands that we disperse.  Really?  A disorganized group of Soccer Moms and Dads, having arrived in a fleet of minivans loaded with mostly elementary school children were somehow a threat to the security of the Capitol.  Dozens of West-End tweens walking together and chanting ‘Save Our Schools’ were causing men in paramilitary garb and automatic weapons to fear for the stability of the Commonwealth?  Please, this was not a crowd of tattooed anarchist (although a few arrived about half-way through the protest), these people and their kids were wearing Brook Brothers and the latest Paul Frank from Nordstroms.  Not exactly the beginnings of a riot.

Eventually, a few of us were allowed to go upstairs to wait outside the hearing room where the legislators discussing the fate of our children were sequestered.  The hallway was crowded, the kids allowed up were quickly cranky and thirsty in the claustrophobic environment.  A half dozen heavily armed police patrolled us, ensuring our representatives safety from this mob of parents and kids.  The legislative assistants, waiting for the written results of the hearing were disdainful of us – referring to us as ‘amateurs’, failing to recognize the reason for their work – the people.  A few were happy to see us.  Glad that people were standing up for something we disagreed with and whispered they wished this happened more often.

In the end, I couldn’t wait to look our legislators in their eyes and ask ‘why’.  Finn was falling asleep and Elias had been waiting outside, cooped up in a stroller for far too long.  As we left the crowd was still large.  Police had been escorting legislators through the unruly crowd of soccer moms and children – protecting them from their constituents.  I wondered if they listened.

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 Edo’s Squid……

Most people have a list of restaurants that they go to frequently.  Within that list is usually a place or two that you head for whenever family or friends show up from out of town.  One of those places for us is Edo’s Squid.

First, the space is very interesting.  The narrow staircase is scary at best and may make one wonder about the quality of the food at the top.  Once at there is a simple open space of wood floors and bare brick walls.  Also, something unusual in Richmond, a bit of a view – beyond just the drunk VCU students wander the street below.  The space can get loud when busy and it is nearly always busy.  Even with a reservation you can have a bit of a wait at times but the food really is worth it.

Ordering Calamari for an appetizer is almost de rigueur.  Obviously fresh and expertly fried you know you’re in the right place when you sample the most excellent marinara sauce that accompanies the squid.  For something else special there is the Braised Fennel, simple yet full of flavor or my person favorite – Chopped Liver.  Cooked to perfection, without a hint of dryness, and combined with hard-boiled eggs the result is soft textures and creaminess that causes a rush of knives to get the last bits.  If liver isn’t your style try the Conch Insalata – slices of conch marinated in olive oil and vinegar with garlic.  A wonderful balance of flavors, textures and acids that will wake you up and smile.

The main menu is split into two parts.  The pasta combinations are on the printed menu and then white sheets on the wall with all the fresh meats and fishes.  Creamy and salty Carbonara is a winner for both kids and adults but for a truly sublime experience get the Clams in White Sauce.  Big, full clams tossed in spaghetti with olive oil, white wine and garlic.  Of the many variations I have tried of this dish over the years this is hands down the best.  Not on the menu, but always available, is White Pizza – a bit of a tradition at one of Ed’s other restaurants, Mama ‘Zu.

The handwritten items on the wall allow availability of the freshest items.  Some of the fishes may be served roasted whole but if you like robust flavors try any item that they have listed as ‘fra diavlo’.  Edo’s manages to walk the fine line between spicy heat while still tasting the main ingredients.  Most recently they had monkfish served this way and I can say I was a bit unwilling to share.  Oddly, Edo’s also serves one of the best steaks in town.  Their Grilled Hanger Steak is always perfectly cooked for us with a crispy crust and a juicy interior.  Like so many of the entrées this one is really large enough for two and they do encourage (actually insist if the party is over 4) that everything is served family style.

Edo’s has got a bit of a bad rap for service.  Most of that is myth and Richmonder’s propensity for a shared experience to complain about.  What it actually is, is competent verging on brusque.  Is that a problem?  Not really.  Sit at the bar on a Saturday night and watch the staff.  They are constantly moving.  No standing around gossiping, no hanging out in the wait station sipping a cup of coffee/wine, everyone is in motion keeping everyone fed.  I’ve actually seen a table cleared, reset and people being taken toward it before the previous diners have left the restaurant.

Something else to remember here is the cost.  It is pretty reasonable.  If you stick to pastas you can get out real cheap and when you consider that most entrées are nearly big enough for two the per person prices drops even more.  The Italian heavy wine list will not gouge you either.  Also, they do continuous service all day long – a good way to beat the crowds to enjoy an app or two with a glass of wine in the piece of the afternoon.

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 Coast……

It’s always sad to see a favorite restaurant close.  Especially when one closes abruptly, like Enoteca Sogna did on November 28^th, not due to a lack of business but over landlord issues and an overly boisterous new neighbor.  The good news is that owner/chef Gary York has a new restaurant over on Grove & Libbie in the old Du Jour space called Coast.  The question is, does Coast live up to the high expectations one would have after dining at Enoteca?  In a word, yes.

At first glance the restaurant feels familiar.  Muted wall colors and sparse décor, much like Enoteca.  The food, however, is completely different.  Instead of Italian classics the emphasis is on seafood.  Starters for dinner include such inventive dishes as Fried Oysters with a Tarragon Remoulade or my personal favorite, Seared Sea Scallops in Chive Butter with Serrano Ham.   The perfectly crusted scallops remain moist in the center while the richness of the chive butter and the saltiness of the ham make every bite enjoyable.

Two of the entrées are real standouts.  Normally, I am not a fan of grits (Why, yes, I am not from the South).  The Shrimp and Grits, however, may make me re-think that stance.  Stone-ground, the grits add texture and become the perfect vehicle for enjoying the rich sherry and garlic cream sauce with the tasty shrimp.  The signature dish for Coast is their Crab Cakes.  Made with Jumbo Lump Crab, no fillers and just enough binder to hold it together the taste and textures of the crab shine through.  The sauce the last time I was in sounded a bit pedestrian at first, tartar sauce, but the homemade taste with just enough sweetness was memorable enough for me to turn my noise up at any jar tartar sauce that I may be offered in the future.

Lunch tends successfully towards the decadent.  Kobe Burger with White Vermont Cheddar and Caramelized Onions?  Got it.  How about a BLT with locally made bacon and topped with a fried egg?  Even a simple Ham & Cheese gets stepped up a notch when served with Fontina cheese and on brioche.  If it’s cold, or just because they are good, don’t skip the soups.  Seasonal favorites like Butternut Squash are full of creamy goodness can be had for the soup du jour or you can go a little spicier with the Roasted Red Pepper with Jumbo Lump Crab.  There are even lunch portions of the Shrimp & Grits or the Crab Cake as a sandwich – a nice way to sample before taking the big plunge for dinner.

Like Enoteca, it’s all about the food.  Since they use only the freshest ingredients the menu is short to avoid items sitting too long or needing to be frozen.  The restaurant is also small so get there early or make a reservation to ensure you can get seated.  Applications are in to cover the patio so it can be used year round – assuming the city cooperates.  And if you are missing Enoteca, never fear, they are close to signing a lease on a new space and hope to be re-opened sometime in the first half of 2010.  Here’s to hoping Gary is successful.

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.

Last year the city was abuzz with the impending, and oft delayed, arrival of Gibson’s Grill.  Attached to The National, Richmond’s hot new music venue, it was billed as a showcase of good food for before and after the shows.  Speculation and anticipation was rampant as the owners had a reputation that made the hype more than just a bit believable.  Initial reports from various sources who attended the soft opening and the early months were mostly positive – both for the service and the food.  Sadly, we were not able to partake in all this as M was pregnant with Elias and the collapse of the economy last Fall caused us to become a bit more frugal.  Gibson’s was still on our hit list to visit and when a friend’s band, Three Sheets To The Wind, played The National we decided to take advantage of the evening at give Gibson’s a try….

The upstairs is quite nice and inviting.  It looks like the place you want to hang out at before a show.  Sadly, we were seated downstairs with wobbly tables, lounging staff and a very loud kitchen.  When the waitress finally realized she had a table to deal with she came to talk to us.  Inquiries about the types of gin were met with a blank look and a very long trip to find out what they had.  Turns out pretty basic stuff, nothing interesting or even what is being served at some of the mid-range restaurants in town.  Later, as we were leaving and I glanced at the bar stock, I found out she hadn’t really even bothered to tell me all of the offerings.  Note to waiters – you cannot drive up a check average it you do not even know what you have so you can make suggestions.  Note to managers – those expensive bottles you stock will not sell unless you educate and test your wait staff.  Had I been able to sample some of the Hendrick’s Gin I might have been a little happier.

Appetizers were the next disappointment.  The nachos were no better or worse then any casual dining chain, except for the slightly soggy chips from the puddle of liquid on the plate.  The salads looked to have been prepped during the afternoon and the dressing came in little plastic cups – how very Applebee’s.  My order of Panko Fried Scallops were the worst.  The first clue was being able to smell them before they even reached the table.  The wet-pack scallops made the fried panko soggy and the scallops themselves alternated between raw and cooked to the point of rubber.  I haven’t had scallops this bad since the 80’s at some coastal dive in a ‘basket’.

Entrees fared little better.  M and a friend both had the Steak Wrap.  Mediocre would be kind.  The chopped steak tasted as if it had been made in batches once every few days and returned each night to a steam table.  Either that or microwaved.  L had the French Dip.  What came out was enormous, at least five inches tall.  That was impressive till you looked at the interior of the two halves of the sandwich and realized it was all bread and a half inch of meat.  The only bright spot of the meal was my entree, which was actually off the appetizer menu, Mini Lamb Burgers.  The taste was excellent and the yogurt fennel sauce blended well with the lamb.  They would have been really memorable if they hadn’t been grilled past well done.

For a restaurant that was hyped as a showcase to compliment The National this was truly disappointing.  Hopefully visiting acts will seek their food elsewhere. Perhaps the owner’s other very good restaurants – Kuba Kuba and Kitchen 64 – and not what seems to be a complete afterthought from them.

OK, so Foodie and Jack have dueling blog posts about the minefield that is tipping in America. On one hand you have Jack who would be happy if you tipped at 150% of what you ordered after having multiple items disapear from the check and on the other you have Foodie who would thinks it’s all a racket and will have every dollar pried from his cold, dead hand. Tiny exageration, but then you have the prevailing notion provided a while back by a local ‘artiste’ who said waiting tables was a job that could be done by monkeys. Of course this is the same guy who longs to return to an earlier era of civility and priviledge so he could live a life of cultured leisure provided by the sweat of others.

Sad but true. There are a lot of people out there that think waiting tables, or tending bar, is a job that could be done by our simian cousins. Actually, if a waiter has done his or her job right it should seem that way. You shouldn’t be aware of all the work and chaos that has to occur to get that drink and plate of food to your table. It should all be seamless.

You’ll never know about the arrival 2-3 hours before opening to polish silver and glass ware. To fill the sugar caddies and salt and pepper shakers. Coffee stations set up and ice tea brewed. A couple hundred napkins must be folded for various purposes, lemons cut for fish and menus checked for stains. In some places the front of house staff is required to double as prep cooks. Cutting veg, soup and salad stations and the joy that is raw bar. Live lobsters unpacked or garlic butter made. All for an amazing federally mandated wage of 2/3 of minimum. Except that was 2/3 back in the early 80’s. As the minimum wage has increased restaurants have gotten exclusion waivers and the wage has remained at $2.13. As the cost of Latin American immigrants has gone up many of their duties have been foisted off on the lowest paid people on staff, the waiters.

I’ve heard often how people wish they worked in a restaurant so they could eat the wonderful food everyday. Bullshit. The staff is fed whatever is left over from a special that has been running for the better part of a week or ‘bribe food’ provided gratis by food suppliers vying for the chefs business. More likely you get a plate of frozen prepared chicken wings, pasta with a sauce that expired yesterday, or a ’stew’ of tough meat that has been marinated in vinegar to cover the flavour it acquired after being forgotten in the back of the walk-in. For his trouble the owner pockets a $10 deduction per staff member.
Note – I have worked in a couple of family restaurants where, while we did not eat food from the menu, we actually ate exceptionally good and interesting food.

You won’t know the careful dance that is played with the dingbat hostess so the waiter get’s a fair share of decent tables and doesn’t sit empty till the height of the rush when she ‘remembers’ you exist and seats your entire station at once leaving you spinning in circles.

You’ll miss the fun of trying to get to the crowded bar and get the bartenders attention to get your cocktails (that you’ve ordered one at a time because it’s too much trouble for everyone at the table to make a decision at once). No offense to Jack, but if it’s busy the bartender makes more off the customers at the bar then the herd of waiters clamoring between the brass rails. The smart waiters bribe the bartenders not with cash but pilfered food. Since a bartender often misses or has to rush through the daily ‘meal’ to take care of the early birds they tend to appreciate this.

With drinks in hand you will now interrogate the waiter on the details of the menu. A good waiter will know how each sauce is made, all the details of each plate. A mediocre one will at least be able to bluff. And while every waiter can be stumped on a detail they will at least try to make you feel like that is an important question that must be answered.

Once you have placed your order, with all the dish changes and substitutions, you will never know what is about to happen to your poor server. For some odd reason the chefs will always think that all these changes to their dishes were made, not at the request of the diner, but at the waiters behest. You will never know the string of obscenities and insults hurled at the waiter so that you can have something that isn’t even remotely on the menu. That’s OK, that what the waiter is for.

If at anytime during the meal something does go wrong you should never know about the waiter begging the dessert chef for something under the table for you or trying to get the manager, who is more interested in hitting on the 18-year-old hostess, to at least get involved and make things right.

You should never know any of these things. You are there for dinner. The waiter is there to make that a relaxing and comfortable evening. And when you are gone you won’t know about the extra hour or two cleaning up the messes left behind so that the place will be ready for another day.

For all this, and more, you leave them a tip. Please don’t think, however, that they keep all of it. If you leave a tip by credit card the house may keep up to 5% of the tip, or even more, to cover credit card costs (even though it’s less then 2%). Food runners, bus boys, bartenders, bar backs, even the occasional manager takes a share of that tip. If you leave a substandard tip who do think has their tip cut? The waiter. Everyone gets their share regardless. It is actually possible for a waiter to lose money on a table – not a happy prospect. Then there are the state and federal governments. They base your income estimate based on sales percentages. Got stiffed? Tough titty. You still get to pay taxes on the table.

So, how do I tip. I start at 20% and work from there. Somebody order ice tea and asked for lots of refills? That’s worth more than 20% of 2 bucks so I’ll add to the tip. Special requests or making the waiter run back and forth? Couple of more bucks. Waiter standing around chatting when I’ve got hot food but no silver? Subtract a couple. Rarely have I tipped less than 15% and I’ve only stiffed two waiters in my life. Usually it comes out to more than 20% and I don’t subtract for the sales tax. That’s just chintzy and I assume that part is going to all the support staff. Hey, I’ve even given Jack a bad tip and he gave me a free drink. Of course I was low on cash, told him I owed him a drink or two and provide him with a free book every now and then.

In Europe waiters make a living wage, and have benefits. People tip but the waiters do not rely on that to live. Could that work here? I doubt it. The current system is too entrenched and the odds of the owners paying professional waiters their worth is slim. RVA Foodie may hate pretentious waiters but I can only imagine his reaction to dropping a couple of bills in a nice eatery while being served by an ex-McDonald’s counter girl who is snapping her gum and rolling her eyes.

I loved waiting tables. It was controlled chaos at it’s best and my job was to ensure that you were blissfully unaware of all the work, politics, and just plain bullshit that went on to provide you with a nice an relaxing meal. I think everyone should be required to work a year in a restaurant – preferably one in a tourist resort – before they are allowed to eat in them. Sure, some aspects of the job a monkey or even Meade could do, but you really wouldn’t like the result.

Kind of. Since I won’t post this till I’m finished it’s more of hit by hit series of thoughts on the new ‘hot’ spot in RVA.

Cold, windy night. Finn went to his first dentist appoint today and as a treat got McDonald’s. M did as well. She said she would cook whatever I wanted when I got home or I could just pick something up. Wasn’t really in the mood for fast food and restaurant food doesn’t always travel well, especially on a night like tonight. So, I decided to stop at Stronghill since it was on the way home and find out what all the fuss was about.

The restaurant is full of nice soft woods and exposed brick-work. It reminds me of establishments in the Pacific Northwest rather than Richmond. For such a cold and rainy night they had a pretty good crowd. Between the brick and the wood the acoustics are nice. Just loud enough to know your not alone but not the din of Can-Can. I would describe the place as warm and relaxed.

For a cocktail I ordered a Hendick’s and Tonic. The bartender poured the drink and excused himself to go see if they had any cucumber for the drink. Nice touch knowing that cucumber goes better with Hendrick’s then lime.

Just ordered an appetizer…. Fried Frog Legs (from the special board).

Served on a grilled pineapple with a jicama salsa on top. The smell is fabulous. The legs are juicy and tender. They would be perfect except they seem to be a bit bland. A little seasoning or salt would have made them perfect.

For a wine I ordered a bottle of Layer Cake Primitivo. Very nice.

Notes on the staff. They all seem very professional (career people not college students making some drinking money) and it looks like they frequent the establishment across the street quite often.

Dinner ordered…. Pan Seared Venison Medallions – the perfect dish for a cold wet night…

The wife, at home, and I are IM’ing as I eat. See…. I’m not a lonely diner…

Went to use the rest room. Nice back of house. Quiet professional sounding kitchen. Someone really thought this design through.

Entree arrived. Wow! The venison is more like twin fillets rather than medallions but cooked a perfect medium rare. Sitting on a bed of navy bean puree with onion and garlic with rosemary is a nice departure from the usual berry based sauce for venison. To top it off is one of the most amazing side I have ever had…..

Okra and tomato with bacon. The okra is not overcooked to the point of a Campbell’s soup veggie, the tomato gives colour and a little bit of flavour, the bacon crispy and smoky. The venison was good but I would eat a bowl of this.

For my very, very, very, very pregnant wife at home I order a slice of the chocolate peanut butter pie…. She’ll have to give you feedback on that.

Bottom line… We are going to try to squeeze one more dinner into the schedule before the new baby arrives… I think we’ll be coming back here.