Any hope for a bon vivant in Richmond?

Leafing through Richmond magazine prior to my move, I was bothered by the shocking proliferation of a number of chain restaurants in the "Best of.." categories. Best Italian - #2 Maggiano's Little Italy. Best Chinese - #2 P.F.Chang. Even more troubling - Best Restaurant for a Splurge -#1 Ruths Chris Steakhouse and #2 Melting Pot !!!
Really??

This wasnt even Favorite but Best reflecting what exactly ? Or is this just a reflection of the views/readership of this particular magazine.
To be fair, I do think that a few chains are wonderful (viz. Lebanese Taverna) and quite a few of them have 'good to very good' food (and possibly a high T/P ratio - Taste/Price), but there is absolutely no place for any chain in a city's best of list, especially one that hopefully showcases the culinary options thereof.
This does not bode well for any food loving individual (however amateur). Surely a place only a short drive away from such excellent dining options in NOVA (lets not even talk DC) is better than this.
The second troubling note was the rather conspicuous absence of "best ethnic" cuisine. This, perhaps not so surprising, could be a reflection of the tastes of the general populace and obviously does not reflect the lack of such restaurants but simply omission from their list.

Thus begins my quest to discover places to eat and to chronicle my dining adventures in Richmond, VA.
I hope for the sake of my taste buds that this will be an interesting trip.