Read Drink & Be Merry

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…

Both RVA Foodie and In Vino Veritas recently recommended that I try Sumo San. Since I follow instructions so well we ended up at Sumo San’s offspring in Carytown, Moshi-Moshi.

I was a little concerned upon arrival as the place was completely empty. Typically one does not want to eat sushi in a slow sushi restaurant where the fish turnover is not, shall we say, optimum. The evening, however, was cold and damp with ice in the forecast so we just ran on the assumption that everyone else was busy buying milk and bread at Ukrop’s. We were seated quickly at the fishbowl table in the window and surveyed the menu.

Concern arose again as I read and noted the whimsy of the descriptions and the less than traditional items. I enjoy Sticky Rice for what it is, but do we need two of them? We decided to stick with our ‘traditional’ order of dining for Japanese restaurants. Hot apps for all, rolls for M and Finn, sashimi for me, finished with miso soup.

Three appetizers caught our eye.

Crispy Calamari with Mango Salsa. The calamari was not crispy but the batter was good and the calamari was tender. I am actually glad it wasn’t crispy and fried to within an inch of the texture of tire rubber. We were unable to identify the white sauce that came for dipping but it was excellent, creamy with a hint of heat.

Tartar Filet Mignon. Chunks of filet that had received only a passing acquaintance with an extremely hot heat source. Tender and simply seasoned with a bit of pepper and oil with a ginger soy sauce for dipping. I was tempted to order a second plate. The chunks of meat were served on a bed of shoestring taro fries that were a disappointment. Couldn’t tell if they were made in house or not. Basically resembled what you find at the very bottom of a bag of chips, all tiny pieces and crumbs.

Shrimp Tempura (10 pieces!). Excellent! The batter didn’t seem to be a traditional tempura, almost like it had been augmented with panko. Finn devoured theses, tails and all.

M went conservative and ordered a couple of California Rolls for dinner. She raved about them. Finn kept stealing them off her plate. We seemed to be on a ‘roll’…

Typically I order 5 to 8 different kinds of sashimi for my dinner. Moshi-Moshi has a slightly different take on sushi and sashimi. Most of the items for a $5 for sushi and then $11 for sashimi. I questioned the waiter and while you get 2 pieces for sushi, you get 6 for sashimi. No half orders and no platters. I like sashimi to enjoy the range of flavours and prefer not to get filled up on balls of rice (white rice not compliant with the South Beach diet I am on anyway…).

I narrowed my selections down to 3 and placed my order. The waiter returned saying the chef had decided the fatty tuna wasn’t up to snuff for sashimi so I replaced it with tuna to go with the salmon and freshwater eel. I know, pretty boring, but when you have to narrow it down the more exotic items fall to the wayside – do you really want 6 pieces of Uni?

All the sashimi was top notch. The tuna was a deep rich colour. The salmon, while well marbled, had none of the fatty taste that can sometimes overpower the creaminess of the raw salmon (I even convinced M to taste!). The eel was as you would expect it in a thousand other sushi places but just, somehow, better.

Finn is funny about sushi. Sometimes he won’t touch it, other times he can’t get enough. Pieces of California Roll kept migrating to his plate but he wouldn’t try the salmon or the tuna this time. The eel, once I explained it was ’snake’ (3 year old logic), got a nibble and then requests for more. Our little foodie to be!

To finish we all had a bowl of miso although Finn requires a straw for his. Pretty basic although they had included bonita shavings in it. I’m not sure, based on the texture, if they had been allowed to steep long enough of if they intended them to be a little crunchy. I kind of liked it, M remained neutral…

Service was efficient and pleasant. No problems there.

While not truly traditional, Moshi-Moshi is a place worth dining at. We’ll be back.

I am noticing a trend among restaurant spin offs, or at least the one’s I’ve been eating at. LuLu’s, Moshi-Moshi. What will happen if Can-Can reproduces?….

It’s been a very quiet morning here at the bookstore so I decided to hit the Internet. Checking my blog I noted an extremely, at least for me, high level of traffic. What gives? Let’s go check my sitemeter….

Multiple hits, multiple page views. One fun little piece of functionality is that while I can’t tell who you are I can see; operating system, city, and…. server. The majority of my traffic this morning? Seems to be coming from a server in DC that just happens to be owned by the Marriott. One person has hit most of the pages on my sad little blog. Doubt I will hear a response from them but I am sure I have caused at least a ‘pull-up’ and a call to Richmond…

It’s one thing to have friends and strangers read your thoughts. It’s a little unnerving to realize that you are under the scrutiny of a very large corporation.

Last week, on our way to the circus, we stopped by the Marriott for a quick bevvie. We had arrived a bit early for the circus and decided thirty or forty minutes in line would be a little too much for Finn. Off we went in search of a place for a sit down.

First stop was the food court of the 6th Street Market Place. Can’t quite recall the last time I walked into a food court and had the feeling I might be mugged. Dark. Ugly. Not someplace you would want to eat. I was speaking with Paul Hammond and he added that it’s telling when you have 5 or 10 thousand people a few feet away and they would rather pay the jacked up prices in the coliseum than venture a few feet for cheaper eats. We didn’t eat there either.

On the other side of the food court is what can only be described as a concrete wasteland. Vast. Sterile. No signs of life. Paul Hammond has a good quote from the man who runs the convention center but, in the spirit of RVA Foodies quest for comments, I’ll let him add that if he so chooses… Our search continued.

Finally we landed at the Marriott, saddled up to the bar, started to order, and all hell broke loose! The entire staff descended upon us and told us that ABC regs prohibited children from sitting at the bar. I questioned the existence of such a regulation, questioned why Finn was welcome at every other bar in town, what was different here? A manager arrived and quoted the same ‘rule’. I pushed him for specifics and why they seemed to be the only bar in town who was aware or enforced this rule and…. he mumbled something and left never to return.

The next day we did a bit of research and M found an interesting quote:

“There is no ABC law [in Virginia] that prohibits a person under-age from sitting at a bar,” said Special Agent Philip Disharoon with the Bureau of Law Enforcement for Alcoholic Beverage Control.

So, what gives. I would understand if the Marriott wanted to keep the hotel bar from being overrun with children thus driving away their ‘thriving’ flow of businessmen downing martinis but the place was empty. The only businessmen were hunched around pads of paper at the table and drinking coffee. It seems, rather than defend a questionable corporate policy, they hid behind a non-existent ABC regulation.

I called and spoke with a couple of people who claimed to be managers of some sort but was left with the feeling that the dishonesty they treated us with while there continued with empty empathy and a complaint filed in the trash.

They’ve spiffied up the ‘ugly red and yellow building.’ Don’t know if they still own it but it’s now Popkins Tavern – no furniture salesmen in sight. We had popped our head inside a couple of weeks ago for First Friday when our group got separated and the place was packed. We didn’t get anything then but decided it might be the place to stop on the way to the circus as it seemed an unlikely Valentine’s Day destination (except perhaps for the unattached later in the evening…).

Arriving a little before 5 the place was empty except for a few solitary souls at the bar. We ordered drinks and perused the menu. Basic bar grub. Exactly what we were looking for. The food came out in a fairly reasonable amount of time after ordering, kind of. M and Finn’s came, the third dish seemed to belong to another table and the waitress scurried off to hunt for my food.

For Finn we selected the chicken quesidilla – sans peppers. Very simple, too simple. No sour cream, no tomato, no salsa, just a very sad piece of lettuce that had sat too near the heat lamp. It must have sat there for a while as the quesidilla was cool to the touch. If it had been mine I would have sent it back. As Finn prefers his food tepid – no harm, no foul. It actually tasted pretty good. Crisp tortilla, moist chicken, just enough cheese for taste but not so much it’s oozing all over and their ‘cilantro pesto’ which seems to be on every third menu item. Finn was happy.
M selected the Chicken Parm Sandwich. This came ‘basket style’ with Popkins hand cut french fries. The fries were excellent. Crispy with a moist interior and perfectly spiced. The chicken parm was moist and not drowning in sauce. M was happy.

Soon the mystery of my missing meal was solved. Or at least it showed up. It was hot and steaming so if it had been misdirected it had at least been recooked. In a pique of bravery I had selected the Rockfish & Chips. The presentation was simple. Four medium sized fillets of beer battered rockfish on a bed of their most excellent fries. On the side: dish of tartar sauce, dish of garlic aioli (for Finn & I to dip the fries in), malt vinegar.

The fried fillets were surprisingly good. Just enough batter to coat and not greasy at all. Crispy outside, moist in (they must have a very skilled deep fry cook…). If these were not made in-house I want to know who carries these in their frozen food section. I was happy.

The sauces were a bit of disappointment. The tartar sauce tasted jarred. One bite of the aioli would clear your sinuses with the garlic and the next would be completely lacking. Sad to do so much right and then come up short.

Service was bar standard. A little more attention and another round of drinks would have been squeezed in. Regardless, we’ll be back.

Next stop was to cross the PETA picket lines and hit the circus. Actually PETA was a bit of as disappointment. Never saw any protesters and someone said there was one someplace but we never found the picketer. Actually would have liked to have found the person. Would have liked to see their literature on their beef with the circus. It wouldn’t have stopped us from going in but I would have liked to have read up on the issues.

What do you say about a circus… Finn really enjoyed the elephants and the clowns. Too many things going on, though, and he seemed to end up focusing on the light show on the screen above us. Having seen Cirque de Soleil twice I thought it a pale shadow of what can truly be done to amaze and entertain you.

Finn burned out just before intermission and I, not being used to being around the hoi polloi, concurred. Home we went for a quick shower and bed.

From the ashes of Chettie’s Cow & Clam, Richmond’s brunch leader, Millie’s, has spun off to create LuLu’s. At least that’s what M thinks. Her memories of a misspent youth as a fixture at Chettie’s are hazy at best…

Arriving on a blustery and rainy Tuesday evening we were surprised to see how busy it was. The decor was nice. A little industrial, open kitchen, nicely lit. Especially enjoyed the Socialist Worker’s Paradise style artwork. Warmed the cockles of my lefty heart. We sat in a booth along the wall. Bit of a mistake. Not a lot of space between the chair and table. The thin piece of wood between me and the next table rattled and vibrated with every movement of myself or the people next to us. Finn assumed the knocking was an invitation for him to knock back. I think we owe someone an apology. There was also a speaker mounted right over the table. The music alternated between very loud Elton John and reggae and barely audible jazz. It was like an iPod on random for both the music and the volume. An unneeded distraction.

We started with beverages. Stella for M, Yalumba Shiraz for myself. The wine came in a rocks tumbler that is the trend but also seems a bit overused by new eateries. The temperature of the glass indicated that it had recently gone through the dishwasher. Warm glasses are ok for cognac, not for wine.

For apps M and I tried the Lobster & Crab Fritter with Mango Salsa and ordered the Shrimp & Grits special for little Finn.

The Shrimp & Grits were very nice (this coming from me, a non-fan of grits). Finn thought it a bit too spicy so I ate most of it. The shrimp were nice and firm, not overcooked albeit a tad oily. The grits were almost done like a version of a potato pancake. The reduced moisture firmed them up and they soaked up the spices of the dish. Very nice.

M and Finn liked the Lobster & Crab Fritter. Me, not so much. A better description would have been a hush puppy with essence of lobster & crab. The shellfish were completely lost in the amount of filler used. Crispy outside but too gummy inside. The mango salsa was sweet to the point of preserves.

Entrees were next. I had………

****LOCAL CELEBRITY ALERT***** Disbarred Commonwealth Attorney and new Delegate Joe Morrisey stuck his head in the door looked around and walked out. Remind me to tell you what he says about Richmond when he’s had a couple of drinks….

……ordered the High-Falootin Mac & Cheese W/ Grilled Asparagus & Shrimp. Presentation – 8.5 Functionality – 1….. The dish was very pretty in a high sided bowl was penne pasta in a white cream sauce covered with chives and shredded cheeses. Topped with grilled shrimp and asparagus the bright pink and green over the white mac and cheese made for a great visual. Now, not forgetting the high sides of the bowl, try to cut the crisp asparagus of remove the tail of the firm shrimp on top of the pasta and melted cheeses. Disaster lurked at every bite. Oh, the taste? Very nice. The Mac & Cheese was rich and heavy but perfect for such a nasty day. The asparagus was cooked to perfection. The shrimp were outstanding. Firm and spiced just enough to really let the flavour of the shrimp shine.

M ordered the Beef Stroganoff with Red Wine Cream. Red wine and cream scares me sometimes. It’s either a separation event waiting to happen or it can get very easily unbalanced. It was served over penne pasta and, like mine, was in a high sided bowl. Unlike mine, everything was cut into bite size pieces so the dish was much easier to work with. The meat was fine but the sauce, while balanced, was way too soupy. You shouldn’t need a spoon for stroganoff. The dish was also thrown off by too few mushrooms and too many onions.

Service was minimal (except for constant water refills by random staff). My first impression was that one server had called out or that they had understaffed. As the dining room emptied and the staff stood around talking the service level didn’t improve. Don’t get me wrong. The service wasn’t bad, it was just enough to get by.

For a relatively new restaurant they are showing the experience of having a good pedigree and I think they will do well. A few tweaks could make it better but identifying those takes time. It was interesting to see that while LuLu’s was busy there were a number of restaurants that we walked by were completely empty both before and after dinner. I guess it’s too easy to forget all those great places own in the bottom.

As we left I think we noted the person Delegate Joe was looking for. Silver Mercedes with Delegate plates. Possibly inebriated driver repeatedly trying to parallel park but only accomplishing removing the finish of his hub caps of his very expensive car on the cobblestone curbs of the Bottom….

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

I’ve been watching the public debate on John Wade, Style Weekly, and the Environmental Film Festival with great interest. The imprisonment of my cousin, Joshua Harper (of SHAC 7 fame), has also caused a bit of debate in my family.

Josh, it seems, is a bit of an extremist. A vegan, he has ties to ALF, ELF, and a number of other causes described by many as either extremist or terroristic. He has thrown smoke bombs and sprayed chemicals at whalers. He has advocated the collapse of civilization as we know it. Must be great fun at a party…

I, on the other hand, feel a day is not complete without some sort of meat product. My car seats and favourite jacket are leather. I think fur jackets are in poor taste but have a wonderful pair of fur lined gloves that are very effective against Scandinavian winters. Our cats have been declawed.

What do I think of Josh?

I admire his single mindedness. It must be fulfilling to believe so deeply in a cause you are willing to risk life and limb and make it your life’s work.

His politics, getting luke warm here. Animals are used and abused. But they feed us and help us provide medical advances. Land is raped. But as another blogger (Paul) said, ‘I do want the lights to come on when I flip the switch’, so do I. Urban sprawl is bad. But it’s the other guys house, not mine, that is causing it…

His tactics, not so much. It’s all fine and dandy to make a big splash to get on the news and get people talking. Just not so big on destruction of property and people getting hurt.

Should he be in prison? Not so sure. As far as I can tell he was convicted under the Patriot Act for advocating what some could call terrorist acts. That worries me. He was just talking (his lecture audience turned out to contain members of the FBI). Not planning. Not scheming. Just talking.

Many people cheer when an Islamic cleric is jailed for advocating violence. Could not the same argument be made for Christian preachers who ‘pray’ for the destruction of abortion clinics or that harm comes to the physicians who work there? I think we are walking on very shaky ground when we discard the 1st Amendment. Liberals do not like Bush having that power. I am sure Conservatives would not like that power in the hands of another Clinton.

People are going to continue to eat meat. Animal experiments will go on. Habitat loss and urban sprawl won’t stop anytime soon. Perhaps we need people like Josh to make us think twice before we drain another pond or carve the top off a mountain. Or give thanks for the animal that feeds us. Or the medical sacrifice so you can see your children grow a little older. To appreciate what we have and what the cost of that happiness is. If that is his impact on my life then I will say ‘Thanks, Josh.’

I suppose it was a bit of karma at work. A number of years ago we experienced a bit of an ice storm on Super Bowl Sunday. The crowd at my house started very small but grew throughout the evening as people called to ask if we still had cable service (we did). We all huddled around my big screen, warmed by the fireplace and by drink.

During half-time I got up to stretch and walked out into the stairwell. From the window by the landing the flashing of lights caught my attention. Investigating further the entire block was back to back fire trucks. Poking my head back into the den I said – ‘I think the house across the street is burning down’.

We all filed down the stairs and from the relative safety, and dryness, of my front porch spent the half-time show watching a house burn to the ground. Cy(pre-n-Ide) went back in first as St Louis was playing. We found out later that an electrical fire had started inside one of the walls. By the time they noticed it was too late. Fortunately no one was hurt.

When the game was over we discovered no one could leave. The fire trucks were blocking everyone in and no one really felt like asking them to move… HBO had timed the Sopranos premiere to start after the game so we settled back in and watched that. By 1:30 in the morning all the fire trucks were gone and we slid everyones cars to the end of the block. The spray from the fire hoses had created the most amazing sheet of ice on the street.

The people who lived there left and never came back. At that time my neighbourhood was still a bit scary. Drug dealers and shootings and all. The people who lived in that house were part of the less desirable culture of the ‘hood at that time. They managed to squander the insurance money and the city seized the property and one of the rehab agencies in town built a very nice house there.

Over time this story gets re-told every year during our Super Bowl gathering along with callous jokes about ‘urban renewal’ and all. As terrible as that sounds the fire did start an overhaul of our block. Every house is now occupied and if it hasn’t been fully rehabbed is well on it’s way. Only two ‘bad’ houses remain and it’s only a matter of time before the police seize them for drugs or some other event turns the places over.

Fast forward to Super Bowl 2008 – All is going well until Cy(n-Ide/with bun is home feeling unwell) finds me downstairs to tell me they smell smoke upstairs. I go to investigate. The fireplace is cracking nicely and does not seem to be blowing smoke back into the house. The smell is in the upstairs hallway.

My first concern is electrical. Many older homes in Richmond have really old wires. The first floor of our house was rewired last year but the second floor still has the original wiring from 1927. Pull down the ladder to the attic but all is fine there too. I’m worried, more so that I can’t find the danger but am sure something is going on. M gets upstairs and we step into the bathroom to talk.

She’s concerned. I’m perplexed. The smell of smoke is strong. Something had to have happened. M looks at the sink (which she had cleaned earlier today)….

‘Why is this sink stained?’

‘Why are ashes floating around in here?’, I ask.

‘What is she holding?’, she says pointing to a nine-year-old girl walking away in the hall.

Behind her back was a lighter. Warm to the touch. Parents were summoned. The ashes were pieces of toilet paper she had been burning in the sink. No idea where the lighter came from. Thank (insert personal deity/savior/demon or expletive here) no one was hurt and the house was undamaged. Finn was happily oblivious to it all. I went to get another drink and contemplate getting a couple of extra fire extinguishers…

In a few hours our house will be filled with an array of people. TV’s have been rearranged. Shopping has been done. Food prep has commenced. Speculation has started on who will hook up… No really. One marriage and a current engagement have come from our Super Bowl parties.

The food for our Super Bowl parties is usually very basic. Not nearly as ambitious as our dinner parties are. One of the big players this year will be pigs-in-blanket. Traditional recipe, M prepped them last night.

I’ll be making the traditional Super Bowl Spackle -

Massive amount of Velveeta
Cooked Hot Sausage (Crumbled)
Additional Spices Based on Mood or Availability
1000 mg Lipitor (kidding… but think of the market for a statin infused cheese..)

Place all that (except the Lipitor) in a crock pot 45 minutes prior to the start of the game. Add a cup or so of milk to adjust thickness. Have lots of bowls on hand and serve with white tortilla chips. Left overs are suitable for fixing cracks in old Richmond plaster…

Now I’ve got to go research if there is any benefit to doubling up on my statin dose for a day. Have a safe day!