The804.com–Richmond VA Real Estate Blog

Deep in the heart of the East End (Creighton and Laburnum) lies the real Comfort Food capital of Richmond (with all due respect to downtown Comfort).  On Wednesday night, I had the pleasure to have dinner at Lucille’s Restaurant.  With all the economic turmoil news this week, I really needed a food pick-me up…I needed the comfort of fried chicken, mac n cheese and cornbread.  Usually Sugar n Spice on Mechanicsville Trpk is my go-to soul food restaurant, but I’ve been hearing some positive buzz lately about Lucille’s (see Urban Views and Style…

sidebar: Style Weekly Food Review Pet Peeve #1: Ever notice how Style Weekly sometimes lumps together multiple reviews of “ethnic” restaurants.  They do it with Thai restaurants, Sushi restaurants, soul food restaurants, etc; as if minority-owned restaurants don’t warrant a solo, independent review (imagine if they lumped the genre-similar DeLux, Lulu’s, and Kitchen 64 as one review?!).  My God, Lucille’s could very well become our town’s version of Mary Mac’s Tea Room (ie, the signature soul food kitchen where Presidential and Gubernatorial candidates visit for a photo-op).  Hey Style, Lucille’s freakin deserves a standalone review…sigh.

Anyways, back to my solo-review, after learning the fried chicken would take a while to cook, I opted for the baked version instead.  According to the waitress, it was a good choice since baked chicken is Lucille’s “thing.” And it was indeed a good choice as the gravy-smothered chicken was fall of the bone tender-yummy.  Sides were solid, though the cornbread was a B- (a little dry, could use more butteriness).  Yeast rolls get an A, however.

The real star of the show was the crab cake.  Crab cakes were available as an add-on for $10+.  I was hesitant at first as I thought that was a little high for a standalone crab cake…until it arrived…Ooooh, I’ve been looking all over town for this kind of crab cake, the true Baltimore style.  Yes, Bawlmer crab cakes are loaded with the crab meat, but they also utilize a thin coat of batter for crispiness.  For some reason, most Richmond restaurants go with the Crab Imperial approach forgetting the “cake” part (ie, the batter).  I actually visit Baltimore quite a bit, and Lucille’s version hangs with the best of them.  The seasoning is just right, and the $10 is easily justified by the generous and moist crab portions.  Best crab cake in Richmond???  Hmmmm, probably…

Lucille’s
1241 N Laburnum Ave
Richmond, VA 23223
(804) 644-1646

I was in Short Pump this afternoon to see if Jimmy Johns had opened.  I would have also checked out Whole Foods for my weekly groceries.  I was actually in the fancy Yorkville Whole Foods in Toronto last weekend trying to get rid of my Canadian money (didn’t take long) before returning to Buffalo (Wegmans rules), so my WF standards are very high right now.   Anyways, JJ’s was still “coming soon,” and the WF parking lot was a mess.  So I opted for good ole Ukrops (I’m reminded of Chris Rock’s bit about old versus new, ahem, you know, like Naughty by Nature once sang).  I also made a quick stop to Ollie’s (read expiration dates!) for adventurous shopping.  I actually like buying groceries/playing botulism Russian Roulette at places like Big Lots, Tuesday Morning, and, even, Salvage Barn, primarily, because they carry brands you’ve never heard of for the cheap…I like trying new stuff just for the sake of trying new stuff (I remember Big Lots was carrying Potato Chips featuring hip hop stars on the bag.  Hell, it might have been Naughty by Nature..really strange).

I digress.  So I went to that hidden Ukrop’s on John Rolfe Parkway.  Very nice, uncrowded, and, as always, the kids still take your groceries to your car.  For a lazy dude like me, that is such a nice touch (cool anomaly like Full Service gasoline).  As long as they keep doing that, I will be a loyal CLP card carrying customer.  If grocery shopping is like polygamy, then Ukrops will always be my first wife…Whole Foods, probably, the fourth (Trader Joes and Tom Leonards 2, 3, respectively…the aforementioned outlet centers are more like goomars). 

On a sidenote, I will be curious to see how much each of these establishments give back to the community (another reason to stay loyal to the first).

**Post note: When I re-read this post, I was thinking I watch too much HBO and read too much Jack Goes Forth.

Jiminy Cricket , I have not seen this much heat on a local restaurant since Lulu’s or the Phoenician (see first quarter).  Despite its “off the beaten path” location, The Black Sheep is packing the people in driven by positive reviews of MSM, “self-important” blogs , and the subsequent word of mouth…and that’s during the summer when VCU has been out. Proof, yet again, that excellence and value (presumably from the reviews) always trumps location and mediocre food.   I think the key term is value.  Richmonders (including myself) love getting bang for their buck (Comfort, Mama Zu’s, the Johnny Giavos and Michelle Williams “chains”, etc).  We’re not going to fall for expensive dishes for the sake of being expensive dishes.  If an entree is $30+, there better be a reason ($’s in the plate) or there better be a sh*tload of food so we can convert it into next day’s lunch.  Black Sheep is being creative with ingredients without adding the creative surcharge (chef dishes at Denny’s prices).  I think that’s why folks are gravitating towards it.

So I haven’t been yet (I would go for their over-sized sub), primarily, because I am dead set on my current Italian sub rotation of 8 1/2-Rudino’s-Coppola’s-Jersey Mike’s (shut up, there is a time and place for chain subs…I’m actually looking forward to Jimmy John’s arrival).  I’ll end up there at some point and promise a review in the future.  In the mean time, See All Black Sheep reviews…

…And while, we’re on this topic, I recently updated the Richmond Good Life “search engine.”  I basically added all of the local food websites (including restaurant websites and restaurant review blogs) for the spider to index.  The results are pretty cool.  Take the search term “Black Sheep”, for example:

Google Results:

• Black Sheep IMDB movie…Chris Farley, we miss ya!
• Black Sheep Official movie site
• Albino Blacksheep Software
• Black Sheep Bags - Knitting Patterns 
• Black sheep Wikipedia definition
• Black Sheep (hip hop group) Wikipedia definition
• Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours Remember that song?…you can get with this or you can get with that
• MySpace.com - BLACK SHEEP Rap group’s Myspace

Richmond Good Life Enhanced Google Results:

• ‘Black Sheep: Quaint and Tasty’ Richmond.com review
• Black Sheep fuses Cajun and Creole with down-home goodness Times Dispatch review
• Carver & Jackson Ward News » Style gets to The Black Sheep CJWN review
• Style Weekly : Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture and …Style review (guys, update your page titling logic)
• Carver & Jackson Ward News » Black Sheep Another CJWN review
• River City Food and Wine: The Black Sheep - Good and Plenty Blog review
• ‘The Richmond.com Poll’ in Viewpoints Richmond.com poll results (best new restaurant)
• Carver & Jackson Ward News » more gold stars for Black Sheep Another CJWN review (Google loves your pagerank, CJWN)
• ‘Dish’ in Restaurants & Dining Richmond.com news
• The Black Sheep, Richmond, Virginia FINALLY, official website (don’t worry, you guys will float to the top…you’re just too new and not recognized by the algorithm yet)

In terms of the search engine, Restaurants, bars, and coffee shops are one thing, but right now, I’m trying to figure out whether there is any value in further spidering other local Richmond businesses like plumbers or car dealerships.  Right now, I’m leaning towards not going there; instead, opting to index good meta-directories (like trade associations) for these kinds of vendors.  I would still be adding unique stores/retailers (like the kind you see in an Austin Independent Business Alliance…sure wish ShopRVA was better) to the inclusion list (ie, the Plan 9’s, Chop Suey’s, and La Diff’s of the world)…

So I was in this part of town checking out the new Barnes and Noble (supposedly, the BIGGEST in Richmond)…Meh…(btw, the best B&N in the country is the Baltimore Power Plant…harbor views…fish tanks…three floors but I digress)

OK, since I was in the heart of Midlothian, I decided to scout out some new restaurants.  Next stop was Cafe Caturra which I’ve been meaning to try (as you may know, I sort of have a coffee shop fetish…I’m always looking for the perfect coffee shop).

Well, on the way, a new place caught my eye, The Piano Cafe (13211 Midlothian Tpke (804) 897-8288).  Well, of course, the curious glutton had to check it out (I don’t think it’s been written up yet in the local big pubs).  Nice cozy place serving coffee, pastries, and even gelato.  The centerpiece of the location is one of those self-playing grand pianos (according to the sign, live performances every Friday).  Yeah, the sound is so much nicer on those things (compared to a cd)…real piano hammers hitting real strings gave the place a nice aural environment.  After further research (as I needed to update my coffee shop list), I learned that the cafe is owned by the piano store in the back, hence its passionate focus on music….I’ll try Cafe Caturra next time (looked crowded as I drove by)… 

Last stop on my Midlothian staycation: AN.Y. Slice (get it?)…I’ve eaten there before (real Italian ownership….Serie A on the TVs)…I also remember when it was Al Dente (sister restaurant of Pescados).

Some recent feedback that I got from a reader was championing it hard, so I decided to give it another try.  Again, like before, I thought it was nothing spectacular but a solid, solid NY style slice.  Candela’s btw is another place in this area that does a good job with ‘za. 

Look I like Popeye’s as much as the next guy (That’s my Atlanta Airport Go-To…Remember when Lee’s was the OG Popeye’s?..That’s my Red Dawn question in case we ever get invaded by the commies and I need to determine whether you are a Russian spy or Richmonder but I digress…) 

…But Bojangle’s is the real jank. With their biscuits n breakfast, they’re at a whole other level, man.  Anytime I visit North Carolina, it makes me happy to be in the land of Bo’s.  I’ve always been perplexed that they have never been able to make it here in Richmond (the home of the original Bojangles).  There was a store on Patterson Avenue that folded.  The last one we had (I think) was on Broad Street near Hooters.

Anyways, buried deep in this Petersburg Progress article about commercial development is the little nugget that Bojangle’s is making its majestic return to metro Richmond (Dinwidde Avenue in Hopwell).  OK, Hopewell is a hike for most Richmonders, but it’s a start. Even with $4 gas, I’m making the pilgrimage when it’s ready! Let’s hope,  Bojangle’s makes it across the river soon.

In commemoration of this news, I give you the Richmond Good Life’s Best Take Out Fried Chicken list.  BTW, feel free to comment or recommend another place if you disagree (I’ll add it to the Good Life article)

I always feel “special” when I’m the first to break a major story to the world…Well, this news is huge…Are you ready?…Pierce’s Bar-B-Que just updated their menu! (on the 4th of July)

Just got back from the beach…Any self-respecting Richmonder knows that Pierce’s is a mandatory stop when traveling to VA Beach or the Outer Banks.  They might as well re-name Lightfoot to the Pierce’s Exit.  So I get there and to my surprise they added an awesome wrinkle to their menu.  First, a little known fact: Pierce’s has the moistest rack of ribs this side of the Missouri River.   It is often overlooked because the BBQ sandwich is so good.  Historically, this has made my personal decision tree very difficult.  It’s always JC Special versus the half rack of Ribs.  Of course, ordering both is just too damn much food (and expensive as the ribs are $9.99). 

Pierce’s has made the world a better place by adding Ribs as an add-on to the menu for a very reasonable $2.99 extra (granted a quarter rack but that’s just perfect to go along with the BBQ dinner).   So here is your new game plan: 

BBQ Dinner (includes fries, hush puppies, and slaw): $9.99 + Addon Ribs ($2.99) + Addon Roll (.$49) = THE BEST MEAL IN VIRGINIA UNDER $15.

I need to keep up with my lists, or I will lose any street cred as a hack food “reviewer.”  I had to update a couple this past week.

• Hamburger list: First off, Carena’s got rid of their fantastic hamburger, which I understand.  They shouldn’t be so food schizo and focus on what they do best, which is, of course, Jamaican.  On the other hand, does this also mean, Jimmy Sneed’s “part of the menu” is getting downplayed?…  Also, I got rid of my #1 hamburger, totally off the list (I won’t name the place out of respect…but I ain’t referring to them anymore).  I was so, so disappointed.  Same high price, but they totally downgraded this burger (even the bread wasn’t fresh….CARDINAL SIN NUMERO UNO).  Cheaper, punier, funny-tasting bacon.  Presentation was even off (generic plate…no meat board and condiment presentation).  They don’t even cook the burgers anymore on their open kitchen grill. I have gotten better burgers at the chains.  Shame on this place.  I had to profusely apologize to my guest as I was raving about them beforehand.  Goddamit, did I mention, the bread wasn’t even fresh?  Only redeeming thing, the fries were still awesome.  If I construct a best french fry list, theirs would be at the top….  BTW, Anthony and George’s, that lil underdog by Amtrak, has snuck into my first place ranking.  The freshness and charbroiled cooking style of this burger is so evident (juicy not greasy), and the fries accompanying are so goood.  Great value, too…Though I’ve been to Delux several times, I’m still working through their blue plate specials, and haven’t been in the mood to try their $15 Kobe burger yet.  Soon.  Soon…. Finally, on the other end of the spectrum, I’ve noticed a fantastic new trend in Richmond: the cheap burger night (see my burger list).   In these recessionary times, I love that I can still buy a good burger for the price of a gallon of gasoline.
• While we’re on this topic: Peter Luger’s in Brooklyn (yeah, there’s actually a Long Island version, too)…They have the best burgers (lunch only) in the world, without a doubt.  I was just there a couple of weeks ago without reservations (I would highly recommend calling for one if it’s a weekend…I just got lucky, and it helps I’m a charming SOB.).  Burger comes with their world famous fries and beefsteak tomato (worth getting salmonella poisoning for).  And you must add the bacon.  Trust me.  Add the bacon.
• Pizza list: Tarrantino’s is totally IN…They get the “crust” thing: charred n chewy, and the staff back there are super friendly.  Right now, they are the best in town for the elusive New York style.  The bloggerati agrees.
• If I were to create an obscure list for best hush puppies in town, Infuzion would win this award hands down.  Think funnel cake. 
• UMI Sushi Bistro’s Teriyaki Chicken is one of the best in town.  At first turned off by the high price of the plate, they make it up by giving out a ton of chicken (two sliced up breasts as opposed to the industry standard of one).  Very tender for chicken, and the sauce is delicate.
• I recently discovered the charming as hell Western Hanover Grocery Store in Montpelier.  Wrangler jeans, cowboy hats, local farm produce, Grape bottle Nehi, cooking ingredients, and a very nice deli and ice cream shop.  Straight out of a Garrison Keillor novel  (Read More about them).
• I gave the new Citrine (7515 Brook Road, the old Celebrity Room) a try.  Too early to gauge, obviously.  The menu did seem all over the place (ie, trying to appease the wide variation demographics of this part of town).  I went straight for the kebobs, the litmus test of any Mediterranean restaurant (like Pho in Vietnamese, Soon Dooboo in Korean, etc).  I was pleasantly surprised.  Nice marination-spices, juicy, and the rice n Naan sides were solid.  This is a restaurant to keep an eye on…it’s just one of those “cursed” locations though.

Petersburg is Williamsburg (Brooklyn) to Richmond’s Manhattan.  I was pleasantly surprised and supremely jealous to discover Java Mio Coffeehouse (322 N Sycamore St Petersburg, VA 23803 (804) 861-2700) in Old Towne.  I was in the Pete conducting some business, and I needed a spot to cool down and check email.  I remember driving by Java Mio many a time and finally, decided to check it out. 

Wow!  This is a very unique space.  Probably, taking advantage of cheap Petersburg real estate, the location has huge square footage (twice as big as, say, an average Starbucks).  They also take their coffee seriously, roasting fresh beans on premise (roaster was in the back).  My cup of joe was very, very nice. 

But, again, the standout feature of this coffee shop is its size and layout.  The mashup furniture is very eclectic-cozy (a mix of bars, high tables, low tables, and a Friendsesque sofa).  The magnificent centerpiece of the location, however, is their “Secret Garden” outdoor courtyard in the back (think Beuregard Thai Room).  That must be the “it spot” for Petersburg denizens (when it’s not 100 degrees). 

They have an extensive food menu serving beer and wine (No scouting report on the food as I had already eaten).  Anyways, I was so impressed with Java Mio that I actually had to update my Top Coffee Shop list on the Good Life.  This could very well be the perfect coffee house.  Sure wish we could magically transport it to Richmond.

You know, Jon Baliles is right when he calls “eating,” Richmond’s only professional sport.  Fresh off the wildly successful heels of the Lebanese Food Festival and Broad Appetit (did you see the writeup in TIME magazine…hell yeah, national story!), the Greek Food Festival  made its glorious return this weekend, bigger and badder (including a stage fit for a rock show.  The rows and rows of grills were most impressive.).

My quick summary: Got there fairly early after work. The crowds were heavy, so our strategy was to start drinking and wait out the lines.  Big mistake, sort of.  We start off with a bottle of the red ($20, “premium” version).  It was a decent Shiraz mix that was going down smooth as we listened to the BAND. You know the one.  Those guys probably deserve a statue on Monument Avenue.  Watched the adult dancers and kid dancers for a while….early on, they were taking it easy to conserve energy (the Oopa! show-off moves would happen towards the end).  On to the second bottle.  Just to give it a Pepsi challenge, we downgraded to the $12 house wine.  Not bad, no appreciable quality difference IMHO.  If you are going today, save the 8 bucks and buy some pastries or something.

So another one of our friends shows up, and we decide to wait it out some more as both food lines were actually increasing (45 minute wait).  More wine.  Switched to white to accommodate our new party.  Repeated the whole Pepsi challenge.  4 bottles, no food.  Yep, a good buzz was setting in (btw, I can’t really comment on the qualitative differences between the premium and house whites. You could have given me Boone’s for the fourth bottle, and I would have been good to go).

Finally, at the end (9ish), the lines got short.  PILED up the food (both kinds of kabobs, chicken and pork, rice, Greek lasagna, etc, etc).  Wow, this was the best meal I’ve had in a while, I think.

Postscript: Check out Tobacoo Avenue’s really funny post about Tips for Attending: Friday Cheers.  RULE #1 is universal and can be said of any big Richmond event, including Greek Fest….

Understand going into it that you will see your ex. If the breakup was bad, whisper “whore” or “asshole” under your breath as they walk by. However, should you encounter them and yours was an amicable separation, whisper “whore” or “asshole” under your breath as they walk by.

Before heading out, go ahead and download your map and battleplan (pdf).  After chowing down on some fantastic Lebanese yesterday,  this’ll be a weekend of earthly delights to rememeber.

In addition to being known for their food, the folks at LuLu’s can take the crown as the city’s most reviewed restaurant in the past 6 months or so.

This recent quote off a River District News article is almost true (I think The Phoenician would actually get the award) and got me to thinking of other restaurants in this category of “most reviewed in 2008.”  From my cataloging activities, here are the Top 5 (links will take you to all the reviews):

• DeLux
• Lulu’s
• Phoenician
• Verbena
• Cafe Rustica (since they don’t have a restaurant website, I’m not organizing their reviews at this time)

Some other restaurants with serious recent buzz include Zed’s, Umi Sushi Bistro, Tarrant’s, Six Burner, Edible Garden

The River City Fan Festival is this weekend (Sat, May 10, 2 PM) @ Banditos (2905 Patterson Ave x Colonial…ok, technically, that’s not “Fan” but who’s nitpicking):  

Live music from five bands, vendors and and attempt to get in the Guiness Book of World Records for the Largest Serving of Nachos Ever. That’s over 3000 lbs. of cheesy goodness! 

According to Richmond.com, “a $2 donation at the door goes to Cullather Brain Tumor Quality of Life Center at Bon Secours.” (ironic as 3,000 ilbs of nachos and Velveeta could probably cause a stomach tumor).

In this cruel world of counterprogramming, the CitySlickers Bluegrass Festival (w Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys along with Special Ed and The Short Bus and Jackass Flats) is happening at the same time and not too far away (The Fan’s Science Museum).

Maybe, you can do both.