Some changes noticed around campus - Nara Sushi is no more. Replaced by City Dogs (which also has a place in Shockoe). Not a big loss but there is now no sushi place within walking distance of campus.

The Common Cup on Main Street is now under new management and called Rev it Up. Visited there a couple of weeks ago for lunch. They have really spruced up the place but it is still quite inviting. Need some more data points.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin opīniō, opīniōn-, from opīnārī, to think.]

This was a somewhat interesting column I read a little while ago:
http://www.richmondmagazine.com/?articleID=69cce3f2b5b17c701d9e346b585107d3

While I appreciate the general sentiment of the article and the associated caution(s), I'm not so sure I quite agree about the (implied) power of reading either an "effusive" review or a negative review, especially on a blog.

Online anonymity does give a forum for people to express opinions rather "freely". I would rather read them just to get an idea of what the place is about and/or what someone somewhere felt when they ate there. I sort of draw a parallel (rather humbly) to teaching evaluations, which are also anonymous. I have had vile comments on some and some truly wonderful comments on others. Many of the former have been largely unsubstantiated so I take them with a healthy dose of salt (I like the word ad hominem that I've especially seen in several grant proposal reviews as well). Some of the other critical comments have helped me tweak my general approach. Similarly the positive comments help one know what they are doing right.

Chefs and restaurants obviously have much more at stake and a larger and diverse audience with wildly different palates to satisfy, but the principle is the same. A perusal of just about anything online shows a diversity of opinions. People love things, hate things or otherwise straddle the middle. I freely spew my opinions on different fora, this blog included. Similarly I read other opinions on other places. It is almost up to the reader to take what they will from a general review. To be a bit nerdy, it is about the ability to gauge the statistical significance of a review and note if it is an outlier (in either direction).

What I do agree with is the philosophy that this article also mentions that many of my favorite food critics follow (which is one of the things that separates a opinion from an informed opinion). Multiple visits on different occasions and trying different things and writing a comprehensive review that encompasses this overall view (in mathematical terms, higher n and corresponding standard deviation).

Now I guess I must visit Balliceaux and see what the fuss is all about :)

Checking off a couple more places from my backlog - A couple of very decent sushi experiences - Osaka Sushi near River Road - I thought the interior was very cool (a nice date spot if so inclined), good sushi, aside from the usual sushi staples, the power roll was interesting.

Momotaro sushi in Carytown - The benefit of talking to the sushi chef and having him make some special rolls, made the dinner more interesting than it probably would have been. A sparse and casual interior and a bit less of a college crowd than Sticky Rice.

A recent re-visit to Ginger Thai in Carytown also made me reconsider my previous low grade I had assigned. The Tom Yum soup this time was much more "potent" and the dishes more aligned to a Thai taste than a generic east Asian one. I still prefer Elephant Thai !

Korean food

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the Midlothian arm of the city lies a small unregarded Korean restaurant that I had the pleasure of visiting at the recent recommendation of a Korean student.
Young bin Kwan - hidden in a strip mall out in parts of the city I rarely visit, is an excellent alternative to driving all the way out to the Annandale area in NoVa. It had been sometime since I had my fix of dolsot (stone pot) bibimbap... and this one did not disappoint.
The service was very friendly and they took time to explain the dishes and the different banchan. I think that is one of my favorite aspects of Korean (and Japanese) food. They are such visual treats. I loved the kimchi and the other banchan.
Korean food does tend to be quite spicy and the taste is that of the "raw" chili peppers, unfettered by other spices (as in Indian food for instance). My companion, who was entirely new to Korean food had the bean curd stew and couldnt finish it because it was too hot. We ended up feeling a bit bad after because they were so apologetic about it. But them being so nice added to our overall pleasant experience. It is probably a better idea to get it mild and add the chili paste to taste. Our dinner for two (perfect for the snowy and miserable day) came to less than $30 (w/ t&t).

While not adventurous enough to try the table-top barbecueing, next up is the Yook gae Jong....

Young Bin Restaurant - map

Cafe rustica

It has been a few weeks since I visited Cafe Rustica and while I havent been there on separate occasions, my sample size on my one visit was large enough to wonder why this place isnt talked about much. The food was great, the interior (while small) was quite cozy and the prices reasonable.
Billing itself as a bit of an old Europe sytle restaurant, the dishes werent flashy or winning any points for presentation, but well made and simple. Portion sizes were perfect. Uncharacteristically (for me), I was able to eat a finish a 3 course meal of soup, an entree and a pretty rich dessert...I guess I will skip specifics but none of the dishes on the table disappointed.
The service was ok but then again, the restaurant wasnt packed for a weekday dinner. Waits in getting water refills possibly portend some chaos when the restaurant is busier....One of the only things we noted was the wine list wasnt too exhaustive (especially if you want wines by the glass).
Overall, I was quite impressed and will be visiting again. A rather expansive 3-course dinner for 3 came to around $150 (w/ t&t and three drinks each), so I definitely wasnt repeating my earlier price rant :)....

Cafe Rustica is kind of hidden away in a part of town that doesnt appear to be well (foot) trafficked (Penny lane is around the corner though) - but well worth a visit.

Helen's

Since I've made my second visit to Helen's, albeit after a period of about a year, I thought I should write a bit about this place...chalk one up for another somewhat unremarkable dinner. I have read so many glowing reviews of Helen's but I am now beginning to doubt myself after being a bit unsatisfied again.
It was not that the experience was flawed (although our clothes smelled of "kitchen smoke" for some time after - aside: wonder what the term is for the smell that seems to emanate from some kitchens that just clings to you.. :))??.... or that the food was bad. I had a fairly dull salad and a decent soup on two occasions but that was followed by some excellent pork tenderloins with sweet potatoes the one time and the (not so excellent) shrimp and grits another time (this dish, both my companion and I thought had a rancid aftertaste to it that shouldnt have been there). But it was still ok. The pork was, I must say, perfectly done and excellent with the sides. The service was friendly and the confines dimly lit (interchangeably with romantic) enough. It was rather empty for dinner on a Friday night. This was well before the arrival of the late night crowd, but thats a different story.

Not to belabor it but the bottomline is that the food in Helen's is pretty decent, but if there is a choice, its no different from any of around a dozen or so Richmond restaurants that offer very similar offerings at the same price point.

At the risk of being boringly repetitive, I thought this restaurant was again on the pricier side. One dinner for two with a shared appetizer, an entree each and no dessert and one drink came to $90 (w/ t&t) !! This should be the subject of another rant but there appears to be this set of restaurants in RVA. They all have fairly decent to good food, although extremely generic and often rather unimaginative (tartare or seared scallops or panna cotta?). The menus are basically interchangeable and the dinners end up around $80-$120 for two, which I consider pricey. I bemoan the lack of a decent, non-chain place in the midrange.

In contrast, a visit the following weekend to one of my DC favorites - Zaytinya; we had a perfectly fabulous dinner with (yes, not a direct comparison) a bunch of shared mezze and dessert and a drink each for around $70 (w/ t&t). I generally rave about all Jose Andres' restaurants but there is something to be said about a nice ambience, creative, well presented food that tastes great and an experience that leaves the palate satisfied, a full stomach and a wallet not so empty !!

100 things

An series of articles that has attracted a lot of attention. Given the terrible levels of service in many restaurants, I think quite a few restauranteurs (or restaurateurs more accurately) in Richmond should distribute these to their staff.

rules (1-50):
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/one-hundred-things-restaurant-staffers-should-never-do-part-one/

and the part two (rules 51-100):
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/one-hundred-things-restaurant-staffers-should-never-do-part-2/

while 100 rules seem a bit "excessive" (quite a few are not applicable to many places), I appreciate the general principle of the matter.
I disagree with some of the commenters about it being over prescriptive; Its not like following a strict edict, its just about a philosophy - providing a generally good experience that complements the food. And of course, it does come down to the quality of the food but many have been the place where superlative or even decent food has been woefully let down by shoddy service.

New digs...

Somewhat sad to have moved away from downtown and a couple of my favorites but a new phase begins and I now I have a new neighborhood. As I settle in....Plenty of places within walking distance and plenty of places to explore. And the best plus of course is the easy walk to Carytown.
Now all I need to do is find the time and the pelf....

More prix fixe adventures

I guess this is the recession special or the usual way to get diners in during the weekdays, but after musing about the $23 prix fixe weekday dinners at Acacia, I found an identical deal at a recent dinner at Six Burner (@ $24 Mon-Thu). I guess I am violating my general principle of not reviewing the restaurant till (at least) a second visit, but I must continue my rant (from below) that menus need some more imagination (let us forego a discussion on cost at this point because valid arguments may be made on both sides).
This was a practically yawn worthy set of offerings at 6B - a rather tasteless potato soup, an awfully generic beet, arugula salad, 2 fish choices - salmon and scallops, 1 steak and 1 chicken option (again no vegetarian options) and alas...the ubiquitous panna cotta for dessert. After dropping close to $90 for a dinner for two (A glass of wine each + t&t), my tastebuds were barely stimulated and my stomach wasnt full either. I did like their bread though.
I will have to probably try the full menu on another visit (certain options did look intriguing), but I am so disappointed by this visit that I wonder if I should in these days of fiscal discipline. I guess I think that these prix fixe meals should be a bit like an "grande amuse bouche" to tempt one to revisit and order off the full menu. My bouche wasnt amuseed.

back....

What a long hiatus this has been... as I return to the semester, I hope there will be more frequent posts to the blog. A largely uneventful summer - felt good to see the state of the plate especially via out of Richmond dining experiences.

One bright spot in the Richmond dining firmament has to be a recent dinner at Acacia midtown. I'd never been to its earlier incarnation (always thought that a restaurant sharing the same quarters as a hair salon was a bit strange) but a couple of visits in to this "new" location have established it as a favorite.

The first thing that struck me (and my dining companions) was that the decor at Acacia seemed very "un-Richmond". Hard to qualify this statement, but we all agreed that it was true !! With a pretty sleek modern look, it was hopping even on a weekday (this doesnt bode well for the noise level though) and the crowd gradually morphed from an older set to a younger set as the hours wore on . This may have been courtesy of what has to be one of the best deals in the city - a Mon to Thu prix fixe meal by the table for $23. This is absolutely worth it ! While somewhat limited compared to the main menu (obviously), they did have have decent choices (4 to choose from). The one 'beef' (pun unintended) with the entree options was the lack of a vegetarian selection but it really didnt detract from the experience because they were accomodating on that day. We tried different items on both my visits (they do have a somewhat varying menu) and everyone of them was excellent. Portion sizes were appropriate and the dessert while a bit generic (its time to move beyond the obligatory sorbet assortments and panna cotta :)) were quite satisfactory to round off an excellent meal. They have an excellent wine selection too. On a hot summer evening, the wines were chilled to the right temperature and were a terrific accompaniment to our dinners. It was good to note that they didnt subscribe to the philosophy (in so many places here) that result in most red wines being served at room temperature.
Service was ok. On one visit, our server completely messed up one entree and was quite hard to flag down...but...they kept the glasses full (always useful), folded napkins (at times !) when we left for the restrooms and generally provided a pleasant atmosphere.
I must admit that my visits have largely taken advantage of this "promotion" but I am sure that a dinner selected off the menu would be equally good, albeit a bit more expensive. But if you're not counting, acacia is worth a visit on any front.


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