Central Michel Richard

yes, the backlog et al. and this restaurant is not even in the RVA area and hence doesnt rightfully belong here. But another visit to the city up north reminded me of why my search for good food in Richmond has a ways to go.
Lacking the PP to go to Citronelle, I have been waiting to visit Michel Richard's other baby - Central for a while now. 2 reservations earlier had to be cancelled and finally my much anticipated trip to Central came to fruition.
The food was very good. Not sublime or terrific but very good. Echoing my earlier rant about price ranges and the food quality in those brackets, this place delivered. Unlike Citronelle, Central has a rather hmmm....interesting menu. Hints to its French pedigree abound although the food is best described as modern American. Who'd think of a Michel Richard restaurant with hamburger, lobster burger, rotisserie chicken etc on the menu?
The decor was, oddly enough, like something out of the 80s. Rather sparse and very "orange". It was like looking at the world through yellow glasses (which is quite literally true of the partitions). Visible kitchen - love 'em.

For the appetizer, we ended up getting the charcuterie tower which is indeed a 3-tiered tower of salami, proscuitto, duck rilettes, faux gras terrine (with the faux gras atypically from a chicken) and a delicious salad with marinated pearl onions and cherry tomatoes. A terrific start to the dinner although there was definitely more than could be eaten by two people. It is quite an appropriate starter for 3-4 people. We ended up getting almost half of the "tower" to go (which our waitress very efficiently packed in separate containers for each element. Good).
For the entrees, I felt I should have tried the pied de cochon (pig's feet) but I wasnt feeling that adventurous. Or even the burgers. Next time....
Instead we ended up getting (rather traditionally I'm afraid) a wonderful braised rabbit with spaetzle and sauteed scallops with tagliatelle. Halfway through the meal, we decided that each of our choices suited the other one's palate and switched. I simply loved the tagliatelle with its little beans and tomatoes. The sauce for the rabbit was rich. Portions initially looked quite large but turned out to be just right.
The desert of pear tart with marzipan and sorbet wrapped up the meal quite well. It must be said that the desert menu was also a bit "standard" - kit kat bar, fruit plate, sorbet assortment and the like.
Service was decent. No dawdling around empty glasses of water for one ! The check came to a little over $100 (no drinks). Money well spent.
Bottomline: B+