Ploafmaster General

Val and I just returned from dining at deLux, located on the corner of Main and Addison. This restaurant replaced Southern Culture which, unfortunately, closed permanently after a fire several years ago.

Thankfully, deLux is a fantastic replacement. The moment we walked in the door we were struck by the slick contemporary decor. The stair case leading to our table on the second floor had glass side panels, dark wood floors on floating steps framed by black-painted steel. Upstairs was a second bar and lounge area with cement tiles fashioned (very well) to look like thin grey bricks. The seating was a mixture of leather-clad dining chairs and high-backed comfortable arm chairs. Valerie made the astute observation that these arm chairs should appeal to folks of our generation who are more used to eating on their sofas in front of the television.

Service was prompt and appropriately spaced throughout the meal, and our waitress provided just the right level of useful information about the menu and specials - especially that the soft shell crab dinner would be served over rice instead of fried plantains (deal breaker!). Valerie ate a crab cake sandwich cleverly seated on an English muffin - not too much bread, and sturdy enough to hold up through every bite. My entree was the lobster macaroni and cheese - elbow macaroni in a Vermont white cheddar sauce topped with a generous portion of freshly cooked bacon and lobster meat on top. And the lobster! It wasn't simply the typical shredded meat. There were chunks of leg and claw (my favorite parts) as well as tail meat. We finished the meal by sharing an deLux's unique dessert: pancake fritters. This consisted of lightly sweet pancake batter dropped into hot oil, with the result (resembling darker hush puppies on the outside) plated with ice cream and a citrus sauce. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS.

The bartender (at least upstairs) was aces, too. I had the deLux martini, consisting of an expert mix of Ketel One Citron, Grand Marnier, sour mix, and pomegranate juice. Val had the Strawberry Street - Stoli Strawberry, Cointreau, and a splash of Sprite. With dinner, Val put down another cocktail - the raspberry mojito - which tasted JUST LIKE a red Swedish Fish. No joke. It was quite tasty.

deLux is a classy restaurant and lounge with a menu that's both extensive and coherent. It may be easy for a first timer to feel overwhelmed at the selection, but a little time to peruse is sure to provide any diner with something to his or her taste. I was also impressed by the fairly wide price range. You could eat a standard Fan restaurant burger for $8, or splurge on crab-stuffed filet mignon for $27.

I certainly plan on returning to explore the menu further, hopefully with friends in tow.

Having just returned from tonight's show, I'm blown away both by the musicianship I witnessed and the venue in which it took place. This was my first show at The National Theater as well as my first Leo Kottke concert, and now I wish I'd seen both sooner.

Now I've heard plenty of Kottke's music before - both from friends/relatives, and on Radioparadise - but witnessing his handwork (both on the fretboard and picking) was a sight to behold. The stage was set nearly blank with a leather chair and his bare essential equipment. When he came on stage, he fumbled awkwardly with the microphone before starting, and moved right into his incredible music. The performance was peppered throughout with anecdotes ranging from snowbanks to early girlfriends and even ants with oddly-placed eyes. I found Kottke equally funny as he was musically brilliant, and his stories carried the audience from one beautiful song to the next.

The National Theater itself is a wonderful concert hall with a nice clear sound system and spot-on lighting. It was large enough to accommodate a crowd while still retaining a moderately intimate feeling (at least at ground level where my seat was located). I'd sum up the decor as a more subdued version of the Byrd Theater(yes, that's really the official site...) - more muted colors, but equally ornate and beautiful.

I think it's about time I finally purchase some of Kottke's albums, and with Weird Al coming in July, it's possible I may return to The National soon, too.

While Richmond's music scene appears to be heating up, it's kinda sad for me to see a city institution grow tepid. Maybe it's just me, but this year's lineup for Friday Cheers looks a little weak-sauce. Sure, you have perennial favorites Carbon Leaf, but the rest? Largely no-thanks. If you enjoy swilling overpriced beer and primping Fratsters® past and present, you're welcome to it. I think I'd rather use my beer money for tickets and cover charges to see more worthwhile acts.

The North Richmond News reports that Richmond's government is considering a change to the intersection of Laburnum and Hermitage. While said crossing is currently managed by traffic lights, officials are looking at changing the traffic pattern to a two lane circle similar to the Lee Circle at Allen and Monument.

Part of me thinks this is useful - after all, this could actually lead to fewer accidents and a better flow of traffic - but part of me is pissed off. I don't care what benefits traffic circles may bring because driving through them annoys the crap out of me :-)

Holy crap, Richmond has a new spice store!

Penzeys is a chain based Wisconsin that's just opened their 26th location in Carytown, and the store is full of a spectacular selection of whole and ground spices as well as herbs and spice mixes. There are at least three different curry powders, for example, and at least as many chili powders!

I purchased a tube of three whole Mexican vanilla beans, and I look forward to exploring the shelves at Penzeys in the future.
(via Brandon Eats)

(image via Adam Currell on Flickr)


Tonight Valerie wanted to try something new for dinner, so we skipped our usual haunts and drove to Dot's Back Inn on MacArthur Ave., in the Bellevue area.

This place typifies the neighborhood hangout restaurant with its low roar of patrons, low lighting, and low prices for food. The requisite tin ceiling so prevalent in Richmond eateries was there, too, along with a well chosen and balanced selection of kitschy decorations. Since Dot's seemed to be a "regular place" I decided to try some "regular food": the steak and cheese sub plus an extra fifty cents to eat fries instead of potato chips.

I was well rewarded.

The steak was indeed steak - sirloin pounded thin and tender with real cheese melted over it on a lightly toasted sub roll. It was one of the tastiest steak sandwiches I've eaten in ages. And the fries! They were a fine surprise. These were no sticks-o-starch. No, these were thin slices of potato cut in half before deep frying. Crispy, tasty, and clearly made today. I finished off my dining with a slice of homemade (from a nearby bakery, I'm guessing) chocolate pie. Capital!

This is just the sort of restaurant that makes me happy to live and eat in Richmond.

So this morning I hopped in the car and started driving up Seminary Ave. on my typical route to work. I was almost to Brookland Park Boulevard when I noticed a tall, lanky fellow standing by his car on the side of the street. A feeling of recognition hit me, and as I started passing by, I realized it was my friend Isaac from when I was in high school! He recognized me, too, so I parked and jumped out.

It turns out that he just purchased a house three blocks up the street from Valerie and myself. So now I have one of my old pals living in the same neighborhood. Rock, rock on.

Shortly after Valerie arrived home yesterday evening around 6, she started relaying information from one of her co-workers about a butcher shop in Richmond. My ears instantly perked up - you see, I'd been looking for an honest-to-goodness full service butcher shop for years, and I gave up some time ago. But now I pressed Valerie rapidly for the name, if she could recall it. "Butcher...B-b-b-Belmont? Butcher of Belmont?"

I rushed up the stairs and searched for "butcher" and "belmont" on Google and found a link to the Belmont Butchery. Seeing they were open until 7pm on week nights, I raced downstairs and told Valerie to put her shoes back on.

We were taking a fast ride to the butcher shop.

Located on Belmont Avenue between Ellwood and Floyd, Belmont Butchery greeted me with its fresh meat case and its smaller charcuterie case. Therein were contained every conceivable cut of beef, pork, lamb, etc. Homemade sausages and pancetta, duck confit, lardo...this was foodie heaven.

Proprietress (she prefers "proprietrix") Tanya Cauthen (formerly a rather serious chef) was more than happy to answer any and all questions, and to share her reasons for getting into the business. Here is a butcher with whom I can build a rapport, asking for advice on good cuts, cooking methods, and other recommendations.

I purchased a rather gorgeous flat iron steak for tonight's dinner and returned this morning for a spot of pancetta (for spaghetti alla carbonara). I couldn't help myself, though - I also bought a single link of their fresh made garlic sausage which I decided to eat for lunch today. This was the best piece of sausage I have eaten in my entire life. Seriously. I can't wait to see how the steak tastes this evening.

You can keep your candy store - I feel like a kid in the butcher shop.

(architect's rendering, I believe)

If you live in Richmond or simply love the River City as much as I do, you ought to check out the Richmond Downtown Master Plan. Jake tipped me off to this recently, and after checking it out I have to say I'm optimistic. I'm particularly glad to see the focus on mixed-use space and more so on increasing pedestrian traffic. Having read (and slowly still reading!) some of Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities, I'm encouraged to see some of these principals paid the attention they deserve in the course of urban revitalization.

The City Planning Commission is holding a public hearing for comments and such next Tuesday, the 15th. I plan to be there, and if you care about where you live (and that place is Richmond) I recommend you check it out, too.

Those of you who know me well know that I despise 99% of modern radio stations. I hate that Clear Channel and Cox own nearly every radio station in Richmond (or elsewhere), and largely the same set of schlock rock plays on 102.1 and 101.1 FM.

In fact, I really only listened to NPR when I'm driving. Until, of course, my home-slice Jake introduced me to 103.1 FM. This frequency is the Richmond transmission of 91.9, WNRN FM in Charlottesville, VA. WNRN is a listener supported radio station - not NPR, but much the same model. They play largely rock music, but their programming page spells out their typical schedule which includes some hip hop, mash-ups, bluegrass, etc.

The broadcast can be a little spotty around Richmond (and nearly dead around Glenside for some reason), but it's generally clear enough to enjoy. Here's a sample of what's played recently:

Lips Like Sugar...Echo and The Bunnymen
No I in Threesome...Interpol
Some Surprise...The Cake Sale
Youre the World to Me...David Gray
Regret (Album Version)...New Order
Lets Call It Off...Peter, Bjorn and John

I hope their support grows sufficiently that their Richmond broadcast gains strength and clarity. Rock out with your...um...smock out.

Well well well...the spawn of L. Ron Hubbard have invaded Carytown here in Richmond, VA with a little outpost for the "church" of Scientology. They're located right on Cary Street in the building in front of Carytown Burgers and Fries.

Today is Valerie's 26th birthday (happy birthday again, babe!), so her mom came to town and took us out to dinner. My wife chose to eat at comfort. - a restaurant in Downtown Richmond, right on Broad Street.

And. It. Was. Awesome.

The atmosphere was everything I expect from a typical Richmond eatery from the tin ceiling to the artwork on the walls. The lighting was perfect for the time of day, and while the place filled up nicely during our meal it never felt crowded to me. Service was prompt and friendly, and the drinks came shortly after we ordered them. Bonus points for the Dominion Lager. Double bonus points for including corn bread in the bread basket. Mmmmmm...

My dinner was the pork tenderloin - lightly smoked and deliciously glazed. You pick two sides from an impressive list (or three for a little extra), and I selected scalloped potatoes as well as macaroni and cheese. What struck me was just how good such a classic American meal can taste when everything is made fresh. I typically pay careful attention to my main course (I cook a pretty mean pork tenderloin myself), my sides are often an afterthought - extra filler to complete the meal. I may put some more intentionality into my accompaniments from now on.

While it was by no means the best food I'd eaten in Richmond, tonight's was a dinner to remember. When a dining experience changes the way I think about preparing my own food at home, it's an experience not to be taken lightly.

I look forward to returning in the (hopefully near) future.

While Valerie slumbers upstairs a bit earlier than usual, I feel like it's safe to write about our anniversary dinner.

I've eaten at Cabo's Corner Bistro before; once when I was a college freshman with my Dad and brothers, and again for Valerie and my wedding rehearsal dinner three years ago. I remember clearly enjoying the food both times, and tonight was no exception.

We were treated to a complimentary appetizer for our anniversary (they asked if it was a special occasion when I made the reservation), and I don't mean simply nice bread or grilled portobello mushrooms, either. Our dish was seared ostrich loin, sliced thin and served chilled over a small bed of sprouts with three sauces artfully spread on the plate. Let me tell you, ostrich is one of my favorite new meats. The chef expertly seasoned the cut, and there was a distinct pastrami-like characteristic that set off my taste buds.

Valerie's entrée was Chilean sea bass with Parmesan gnocchi (nyo-kee), wilted spinach, and diced tomatoes all in a fresh lemon sauce. The gnocchi were the perfect texture - pillowy soft on the pallet without falling apart, but not gummy at all. The bass was tender and delicious as well.

My dinner was the beef tenderloin special - cooked almost rare with demi-glace, roasted young carrots and cauliflower, and garlic mashed potatoes. My steak was juicy, perfectly seared, and intense beefy flavor. The mashed potatoes were my preferred consistency - creamy with some discernable pieces of the tuber. Also worth noting were the portions for both of our meals. There was just the right amount - enough to satisfy, but nowhere near the heaping modern American meal sizes.

For dessert Valerie chose the frozen chocolate mousse topped with toasted pistachios. The plate was decorated with a thick strawberry sauce, and garnished with fresh strawberries and tiny Champagne grapes (probably pinot noir). My confection was vanilla bean crème brulée with a veritable fruit basket on top: fresh raspberries, golden delicious apple slices, blackberries, strawberries, and some Champagne grapes of my own. Both treats were amazing.

Certainly a dinner like this doesn't happen often, but for those special occasions such as Valentine's Day and our anniversaries, a meal such as tonight's is well worth it. Having dined at Cabo's now thrice, I'm still impressed. This is one of the finest restaurants in the city of Richmond boasting an incredibly creative chef.

To be stated in a severe baritone:

"Excuse me...but I'm looking for Rick Laszlo...PRIVATE EYE."



Ever since I first drove by this door just off Broad Street, I felt that sort of phantom nostalgia for the era of film noir detective cinema. I think this mental connection is heightened by the side door entrance to the second floor office in a shabby building, and capped off by the seemingly unattended mail box with post overflowing. I've wanted to take a picture of this for a long time before all the paint wore off, and I'm glad I finally captured it, even though it's far from a picture I'm happy with.

UPDATE: I just realized another reason why it just seems so reminiscent of classic movies...Humphrey Bogart's character in the noir classic Casablanca is named Rick, and the Czech resistance leader is named Victor Laszlo. Perhaps the PI chose a pseudonym?

I never thought I'd ever do this. Call it peer pressure, call it a moment of weakness. Call it whatever.

After a modest meal at Galaxy Diner in Carytown, I shared some Deep Fried Oreos with some compatriots.

And they were totally worth it.

I'm continually amazed with Man's desire to have his cake and eat it, too.

I hate urban sprawl - absolutely. I hate seeing perfectly good land get swallowed up by shopping malls, townhouse developments, car dealerships, and tepidly unoriginal chain restaurants. It saddens me to see Midlothian and Richmond's West End turn into miniature versions of Northern Virginia, locked in horrible traffic and a suburban staleness which characterizes such rapid commercial development.

Recent figures put Virginia's population growth rate around 5.4% - that's about 380,000 people a year! Even if we cut that in half we're talking about a huge net increase in population in my home state. Where do most of these new people go? Urban centers like the DC metropolitan area, the 757 area code, and of course, Richmond, VA.

Unfortunately, this burgeoning collection of new residents doesn't want to live in the urban centers where they seek jobs. The native Virginians don't want to either. "Too much crime!" they cry. "Too much noise! Too filthy! To expensive!"

So those who can afford it move outside of the city. This actually hurts in two ways. First (and so huge a topic on it's own that I'll not address it here in depth), the city itself starts to decay. Land values drop because more people sell than buy. The two-fold decrease in property taxes (fewer residents and lower values collected) causes city budget issues which harm city schools and infrastructure. Thankfully, my fair city of Richmond is in a state of gradual renewal with increasing numbers of young people preferring the character of the city to the vanilla suburbs.

Of course, the more sinister effect of this urban exodus is the so-called urban sprawl. These city workers who want nice yards and picket fences now have to drive a further distance to their place of employ. That's more pollution, folks, especially since the "rugged individualism" fostered so strongly by our culture keeps us from being comfortable in a good-old-fashioned car pool. And don't forget that these suburbanites don't want to drive more than five minutes to do their shopping! So smart retail executives build shops of all sorts in the suburbs. Pretty soon the service industry moves out to the suburbs as well, and you know what? Business in general starts to add to the sprawl. What was once a nice green space is now a densely-populated traffic hell with more petty crime and even a few run-down strip malls closer to the city where the growth started. Suddenly, people in these "suburbs" start looking for more open space and move further out...

And so on.

New construction and development in the city is an easy prospect in my mind (though not necessarily cheap). People expect commercial development, and when you're in the city, you don't typically worry about bulldozing farmland to make way for an apartment building or a sky scraper. I don't mind this sort of development so long as you're not pushing people out (which is yet another topic). In fact, I love seeing dilapidated structures and districts replaced with vibrant new areas to explore.

But then we have the suburbs. Even in such a crowded, bland, sub-divided wasteland as Western Henrico County, people would sooner build characterless town house developments a little further out instead of building a single condo or apartment building that's over four stories tall in an existing developed area. A lot of the people who decry the building of tall structures in these "suburban" areas mischaracterize the concept of urban sprawl when they try to keep the city from coming to them.

Well I say stop building further from the city. I say shut up about tall buildings and denser building plans in these areas. I say build up, not out.

A good example of what I'm talking about is the forthcoming West Broad Village development in Short Pump. Sure this is an upscale, exclusive, corporately planned (by the warm and friendly sounding Unicorp, no less) venture, but they get lots of things right about this such as mixed use space, more densely contained living arrangements (more like the Fan than Brandermill), and a design based on a walkable community. They also plan to have a few towers over 10 stories to house a hotel and office space. Yes, the old farm land that use to sit between West Broad Street and Three Chopt Road is now a collection of berms and dirt, but a series of taller office and apartment buildings clustered in the middle of an already heavily developed section of town will help stem the tide of further suburban spread - not add to it. Imagine how much smaller Innsbrook would be if the buildings were all 10 stories or more!

But no. The citizens of Henrico County don't want tall buildings in their collective back yard. So what if the immediately surrounding area consists of office buildings, car dealerships, highway ramps, and retail space as far as the eye can see. It's too "urban." Well thankfully, plans are moving forward anyway.

Will developments like this solve the problem of urban sprawl? Of course not. But it's my hope that people will stop crying for the loss of their view or the loss of a few acres of grass in the middle of suburbia, and start building up. Otherwise, we'll be weeping for the loss of a few million acres as the population continues its spread out into the surround farmland of the Old Dominion state.

I just returned from a fine evening at Penny Lane Pub with my wife. Terry O'Neill's fine establishment is a Richmond landmark in my book, and represents the closest thing to a genuine English pub in our fair city (and indeed, one of a few real pubs in the area in general).

I've loved this place since I was old enough to drink and it was located on 8th street between Grace and Broad. Now, on East Franklin, Penny Lane is an easy stand-by when I want a tall pint or a well mixed drink in an environment that allows me to sit and hear myself think. While I wouldn't quite recommend the place for dinner (other than the tasty Cornish pasties), the drinks are more than reasonable, even from the top shelf. Best of all, the atmosphere is benign enough that even when Val and I have little ones running around we can still frequent the place; the traditional pub environment is open to families as well as tipplers.

Tonight I dined at Akida in the Fan district of Richmond. Some awesome sushi indeed.

This place was TINY. Maybe 20 people could comfortably eat here, but it'd be cramped and noisy if that happened. Luckily, showing up at 6 pm on a Thursday night meant we were finishing up just as business started to pick up. But you don't care about the crowd, I suppose.

The food...wow. I supped with my hombres Dave and Nate. Dave had ordered an appetizer of steamed dumplings which appeared to be filled with a mixture of chicken and at least scallions, I believe. They were surprisingly light, and while I wasn't a fan of the accompanying dipping sauce, the fellas seemed to enjoy it. Nate ordered the seafood udon which turned out to be a gigantic bowl filled with a colorful and appetizing mixture of broth, noodles, vegetables and sundry types of seafood ranging from clams to salmon. I believe there was even a whole egg that'd been dropped in, poached by the soup itself.

Dave and I each ordered two rolls. We both ordered one of the specials off the board called a Dragon Phoenix Roll which consisted of a California-roll style (rice on the outside) maki roll with spicy salmon inside, spicy tuna on top, and crispy tempura flake on top of it all. This roll had that delightful sort of spiciness that I enjoy so much where it builds slowly on your tongue without overwhelming the taste buds, and was easily my favorite roll of the evening. My second roll was the spider roll - a traditional maki roll containing tempura-fried soft shell crab and a little cucumber, topped with some eel sauce. Each piece actually had a note of sweetness at first, balanced by the saline eel sauce. Quite good. Dave's second roll was the eel roll, containing eel, cucumber, and topped of course with eel sauce. This was also good and quite mild.

I finished off my meal with a piece of tuna nigiri. The fish was delicious and fresh - perhaps a bit too thickly-sliced, and a little too much rice, but still quite tasty.

The restaurant itself, while small, was just my kind of place. A bit dive-ish on the outside, but cozy inside with high ceilings and the expected Japanese decor. The table service was quite nice, actually, consisting of more substantial chopsticks instead of the cheap bamboo snap-apart variety. Pretty dishes for the soy sauce, appetizers, and sushi complemented the excellently presented food.

Ultimately I was glad to find a good sushi place so close to my house. This location is the original of two Akida restaurants in Richmond, and is situated on Robinson between Grace and Broad Streets.

Today Val and I are heading to the Lebanese Food Festival at a Maronite Catholic Church in the West End.

I hope to have more details afterwards, and I sure as heck hope the food is good :-)

UPDATE:
Meh. It was alright - if you're a big fan of Mediterranean food other than the Italian variety, you'd probably really dig the food. Standard fare like shwarma, kabob, falafel, etc. was present, and the desserts as well. Those tasty pastries were pretty good, though - especially the macaroon and baklava.

A couple of months ago I joined up with the Central Virginia Ruby Enthusiasts Group - CVREG for short. This is a small but excited group of fellas who seem genuinely to want the use of the Ruby programming language to advance in the Richmond area.

Last night I went to my second meeting - a "code jam" - aimed at getting newer users involved. I'd have to say it was quite excellent. There was camaraderie, good work time, effective networking between IT professionals, and plenty of helpfulness from the experts in the room. These were not th "RTFM" crowd. These guys, rather, are the type who prefer to see questions answered, even if somebody else asked them.

While I suppose it may be a little too early to call it more than a club, I certainly plan on continued participation in the future.

As I got off the interstate this morning on my way to work, I pulled up behind, then beside a city bus covered in an ad graphic. Nothing peculiar about that in general, except this bus was wrapped to look as if it was driving in the opposite direction. The back of the bus was made to look as if there was a front windshield with the driver and a marquee that read, "Life comes at you fast", and along the side, you could see "windows" with terrified or at least worried passengers staring out. Below the windows you could see the Nationwide logo.

Pretty clever, boys. Pretty clever.

Ahhh...it's a fine thing to rouse yourself from a groggy Saturday morning slump with the fine cappuccino of Cafe Gutenberg.

I'm sitting here this morning, quarter-to-nine, having just finished a breakfast panini, and I can't help but love this coffee/book shop even more in the AM. It's quiet, and the few patrons here are dicussing books, the past week, or what-have-you, their muted voices comingling with the hiss of the espresso machine and the traditional jazz on the speakers.

It's a fine continuation of my weekend, too - last night I witnessed some of the finest musicians of my young life: John Winn, Robbie Sinclair, and Daniel Clarke of the John Winntet, and formerly of VCU as well. These fellas know jazz like they know breathing, and the seven dollar cover left me feeling like I was cheating them out of something.

As if the music itself wasn't fantastic, I was treated to the comfortable atmosphere of Bogart's back room lounge for - amazingly, in my nearly four years since turning 21 - the first time. I plan on returning frequently.

Now I turn from my laptop to my second cappuccino, and after that an espresso :-)

Ciao!

If you live in the R-I-C and haven't been to the Canal Walk recently, you ought to go. Besides the unexpectedly temperate weather of late, there is a new feature worth checking out: A large, working, interactive model of a canal's lock system. Said model is constructed of large slabs of cut stone and bronze. There are two locks - each with their own pair of doors. A subterranean pump keeps the water flowing, and simple, out-of-sight mechanical systems adjust the water levels depending on which way the switches are thrown.

Sadly, the upper lock is already broken, but the model seems otherwise rugged. I hope somebody fixes it soon!

On a more pleasant note...do check out The Beacon Hill Project to see me hangin' out with the rest of the squad and Mars Ill at a recent concert here in the R-I-C. I'm the bloke in the very middle, with Manchild to the far left, and Dust to the far right.

Yo.