Richmond Folk Festival 2012

Greetings all. You may or may not have missed me. Hubby and I have been gallivanting up and down the east coast on vacation with a few local festivals in between. Since I take a ton of photos, I've been busy editing and uploading all manner of visual stimulation.

My favorite RVA festival, hands-down, is the Richmond Folk Festival. We managed to attend all three days. The weather was wonderful. We like to mix it up a bit by listening to some wonderful performances and then enjoying dinner at one of the restaurants nearby.

On Friday before the festival began, we enjoyed a cocktail at Bistro 27 along with Fried Calamari at the bar.

While we there, Phil Wiggins arrived at the bar for a beer and the Beef Carpaccio.

At the festival we began on a Celtic note with the Liz Carroll Trio and some mighty fine Cape Breton and Irish fiddling.

We ended up at Chez Foushee for dinner. The Steak with Bordelaise Sauce and Truffle Salt Fries and Duck Confit with Candied Orange Peel Gastrique ended up being very satisfying choices. The orange sauce in the duck dish was subtle and gave the rice a slightly sweet and slightly tannic edge. A Milbrandt Vineyards Cab complemented both dishes.

On Saturday, we arrived around noon and enjoyed a wonderful Jambalaya from Gail's Gumbo House. Gail is local and the "better half" of Big Daddy's BBQ. You can also find Gail dishing up BBQ and Gumbo at the South of the James Market most Saturdays.

We experienced wonderful musical performances including Forro Pe De Serra All Stars and Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-chas.

Everyone rocked the Dominion Dance Pavilion. As usual, what a fun time.

We drifted over to the Community Stage to catch the American Indian Music and Dance Show as well as James "Super Chikan" Johnson and the Fighting Cocks. Super Chikan turned out to be my favorite act. These guys were so good and I appreciated the fact that all of the "Fighting Cocks" were women. If you get a chance make sure you catch a performance somewhere. I loved Lala on the keyboards and Heather on the bass was always cool and in the groove sporting bared feet.

After we revived from our blues-kicking experience we wandered over to Bistro Bobette to see if they had any tables available. We had not dined here in a very long time. Not because we didn't want to; it just did not happen. The sign of an incredible place is when they still recognize you and treat you as an old friend. Olivier, the bartender, greeted us enthusiastically and set us up with a nice table despite our t-shirts and somewhat dusty jeans. One of the owners also welcomed us warmly. We really felt like we had returned home. Hubby ordered the Arctic Char with a white wine pesto. He thoroughly enjoyed it. I could not resist ordering the Veal Tenderloin with a garlic, rosemary, and red pepper sauce. Most excellent. The touch of red pepper was a special treat along with a few sprigs of fresh oregano. We enjoyed a lovely and silky Burgundy with the meal.

Our aim on Sunday was to attend the Blues House Party with Nathan Williams, James Johnson, Phil Wiggins, and John Dee Holeman among others. What a great jam session. This was the best performance of the festival (at least for us).

John Dee Holeman

Phil Wiggins

One last bit and it was an unexpected delight. The folkways exhibits featured Fried Apple Pies. My Grandma used to make these half-moon shaped desserts for every family gathering and I loved them. She used dried apples and lots of spices and rolled out her own dough. I never got her recipe (she passed away before I became interested in cooking). I have run across fried apple pies in different places, but none of them had dried apples. Well, Frances Davis gave me a sweet taste of nostalgia on the final day of the Folk Festival. The dough was slightly different, but after one taste I knew it would be the closest I would get to my favorite childhood dessert.

The booth handed out recipes and I am including it here.

For the Pie Crust

4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Take out 2/3's of this mixture and mix with 1/2 cup milk to form a paste. Add the shortening to remaining flour and blend until pieces are the size of small peas. Add flour paste to shortening flour mixture. Mix well until dough comes together and can be shaped into a ball. Roll out crust 1/8 inch thick. Make five pie crusts. Use more liquid if you desire softer dough.

For the Pie Filling

6 cups dried apples
3 teaspoons allspice
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon salt

Mix all ingredients together in a large sauce pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thick. Cool overnight before making pies.

This is the end of the recipe. I assume the next steps are to place the apples onto the pie crust, fold over, crimp, and fry in hot oil. In any case, a delicious taste of the past.

If you have never attended the Richmond Folk Festival, you are missing out on one of the best things that RVA has to offer. First of all, it's FREE!!! and they provide shuttle buses if you are not interested in finding parking downtown (also free). The wide variety of music is phenomenal and all of the performers are incredible. A great way to enjoy a weekend and discover new music and cultures.

Whining Over a Lack of Wine at Bistro Twenty Seven

On Friday we went to Bistro Twenty Seven early to grab dinner before going to the ArtWorks reception (I have a photograph showing in the All Media Show! It's called Koln Reflection and is tucked into a corner of the All Media room). We were seated in a nice warm spot on a quite chilly evening.

Our waiter served us admirably. He checked up on us as expected and was very pleasant.

We enjoyed delicious food. For me: Ravioli di Manzo e Fontina ($15) Homemade ravioli of beef, Fontina cheese, and herbs in a tomato cream sauce. Very tasty. The tomato cream sauce was long on tomato and light on the cream, which suited my palate. For my hubby: Bœuf à Minute ($21) Beef sirloin accented with cabernet shallot butter,served with French and sweet potato fries. The fries mounded the plate and covered the delectable beef underneath, thus, there was a bit of trepidation on what we would discover, but all was good. A good cut of beef, medium rare, with a delicious compound butter to glaze the meat.

We had great service. We praised the food. So, why were we not quite happy? Any of you who read my blog regularly will notice the absence of wine. The absence was not our choice. And not a choice of our doctor. Rather, it was the establishment itself than led to our dissatisfaction.

Bistro Twenty Seven offers several wines for $27. We ordered the Cote du Rhone listed on the menu. We had imbibed this particular producer at Bistro Twenty Seven in the past and knew it to be appealing. Our waiter arrived with the bottle and it was not the Cote du Rhone. It was not a Cote du Rhone at all but another French region that began with an "R." Our waiter had to go back to the bar to discover this and then told us that this bottle was replacing the Cote du Rhone and that it was even better. Maybe it would have been, but this waiter really did not know and the management and bar staff failed to give him adequate information. Okay, no matter, we ordered a Barbera d"Alba instead, which was listed on the $27 menu. Alas, our embarrassed waiter came back empty-handed. This wine was not available either. We ended up drinking water.

The sign in front of Bistro Twenty Seven proudly invited us to enjoy their new menu. Why couldn't they also update the wine list? This was a Friday night and two of the four $27 reds were not available. Very disappointing. And, in the long run, disappointing for the waitstaff who received less tip ($40 vs. $70 check) and the restaurant bottom line.

I give restaurants two chances to deliver the wine that is listed on the menu. After the first try, if the server can not tell me what the establishment is out of and my second wine choice is out of stock, I stick to water. Occasionally, I have left the restaurant for somewhere else with a better wine offering.

I give kudos to our waiter. Even though he knew our bill would not be as large as it could have been, he treated us with the same amount of attention and professionalism. I want to thank him for ensuring that we still had a good experience.

2 Items of Note for January

First up is a Patricia Green Wine Dinner at Wild Ginger. Alas, I can not attend, but maybe you can take advantage of this scrumptious opportunity:

To start the New Year properly, we would like to invite you to our first wine dinner of 2010, featuring the fantastic wines of Patricia Green Cellars. We will be serving Patty Green's Sauvignon Blanc, her Four Winds Chardonnay, the Patricia Green Estate Pinot Noir, and the Four Winds Pinot Noir, each paired with an appropriately delicious item from our kitchen and sushi bar. This event will be held on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, at 6:00 PM. The price is $60.00 before tax and gratuity. There are only 22 seats available so please make your reservation now at 804-378-4988. We look forward to serving you.

Sincerely,

Michael Hinerman and the Team at Wild Ginger


This announcement does not show up on their website but was emailed to newsletter subscribers. Go to their website to sign up to receive their newsletter.

And Bistro 27 is featuring 4 courses for $27 util Jan. 15. The options are mouth-watering:

First Course
Choice of one of our homemade pastas
proportioned for an appetizer

Fettuccine with Tomato Sauce
or
Ravioli di Manzo e Fontina
Homemade ravioli of beef, Fontina cheese, in a tomato cream sauce

Second course

Venti Sette Salad
Mixed greens tossed with our house balsamic vinaigrette
or
Classic Caesar Salad

Third Course

Filleto di Maiale
Roasted pork loin with Bosc pears
served with a brandy reduction
or
Saumon à l’orange
Pan-seared fresh salmon with fresh orange segments
and pink peppercorns in a balsamic vinegar
reduction and beurre blanc
or
Chicken Carciofi
Pan-seared chicken breast with
artichoke hearts in a lemon sauce
or
Qualie Ripiene
Pan-roasted quail stuffed with Italian sausage
and shiitake mushrooms in a sage sauce

Fourth Course

Chocolate Tart with Hazelnut Crust
or
Monterosa Italian Cheese Cake

You can join their email list as well.

Happy Eating and Drinking in 2010!

A Welcome New Year's Announcement - A Smoke-Free Bistro Twenty Seven

I just discovered that Bistro Twenty Seven will officially become smoke-free on Jan. 1. Hats off to everyone at the corner of Broad and Adams for enabling all to enjoy their wonderful fare in an atmosphere that showcases the skills and aromas of the kitchen.

Bistro 27 We Came For The Food

On Friday my husband and I ate at Bistro 27 before dodging rain drops during First Fridays. We had dined here over a year ago with mixed feelings. This time we could rave a bit more. Although there were a couple of flubs. I still have no idea if this place is non-smoking or not, but for the couple of hours when we were there, no one lit up. I continue to admire the two story ceilings and the huge windows.

We ordered wine - a 2005 Pont de Crillon Cotes du Rhone from the $27 and under wine list. Unfortunately, a 2006 arrived. After some discussion, we decided to stick with it (is it too hard to print out a new list?). We liked the wine, but the 2006 traded in the heartiness of the 2005 for more of a spiciness. My other gripe was that the $27 and under wine menu did not reveal any prices. Were there any below $27? How much below? The menu featured one of my favorite Argentinian Malbecs, but if it was $27 a bottle, that would be almost three times retail.

But we didn't come just for the wine. We came for the food, too. And the food turned out to be the highlight.

For starters:

Rillettes of Duck - $10 Pulled pork and duck slowly roasted served with toasted bread, cornichons, and mustard This could have been a meal. I had a generous amount of succulent pork and duck (mostly pork). Spinach in a light vinaigrette accompanied the plate.

Classic Caesar Salad - $6 Sounded simple enough, but my hubby raved about it. He thought it was the best Caesar he had ever consumed. He really liked the generous portion of shaved Parmesan that topped the greens.

Entrees:

Ravioli di Manzo e Fontina - $14 Homemade ravioli of beef, fontina cheese, and herbs in a tomato cream sauce The beef was so tender and the ravioli so light. A deceptively rich and very delicious dish. "Mmmm" and "Oh my God" regularly entered my vocabulary.

Misto Fritti - $21 Fried prawn, flounder, scallops, and calamari served with parsley aioli and fried zucchini Generous portions in a light batter. My husband enjoyed the scallops the most. The shrimp were large and sweet (yes I begged for a taste).

We were too stuffed for dessert.

We would definitely return for the food.

After dinner we strolled Broad Street to enjoy the art festivities.

Artini 2008

While the square pink flyers did not specify that Bistro Twenty Seven was participating in Artini 2008, they did feature a special martini for First Fridays Art Walk - Vodka, Bacardi Limon, Triple Sec and Mint. More than enough to thumb our nose at Hanna.

The official Artini 2008 restaurant list includes:

Avenue 805
Cabo's Corner Bistro
Can Can
Down Under Restaurant and Lounge
Helen's
The White Dog
Julep's
Lucky Buddha
Kitchen 64
Nile Ethiopian Restaurant
Rendezvous Restaurant and Lounge

From now until September 27 $1 from the sales of each of these restaurants' special concoctions will go to benefit First Fridays.

I will drink to that!

Bistro Twenty Seven

On Friday my husband and I headed downtown to First Fridays. We decided to eat early somewhere before the crowd set in. With a little trepidation we entered Bistro Twenty Seven. This restaurant with large floor to ceiling windows and an airy atmosphere had garnered somewhat mixed reviews in the past. In particular a very smoky bar that infiltrated the non-smoking dining room. I was pleased that upon entering we were greeted with breathable air. Of course, this may have been because we were very early. And we needed to be early (6 PM). Any later and reservations would have been required. The hostess was very upbeat. Channel 12 had just been by featuring the restaurant and the restoration shop across the street for First Fridays. We were seated in at a wonderful people watching table with the air conditioner going full force (probably another reason why the dining area was truly smoke free).

Katy, our waitress, cheerfully greeted us and was very attentive. The wine list was divided into wines $27 and under and wines over $27 (more in the $40-$70 range). We could not resist a 2003 Cotes du Rhone. However, that bottle was able to resist us – it was not available. (A word to the wise – snap up the 2003 Cotes du Rhones now – they are playing hard to get.) We settled for a 2005 Rioja ($27) – more fruit than body, but adequate.

While we sipped our wine we were presented with fresh bread with a Portobello mushroom tapenade. I liked the bread, but the tapenade did not have a lot of flavor.

One of the appetizer specials was a fennel and radicchio salad with balsamic vinaigrette, dried figs, and grilled shrimp ($12). We requested to split the appetizer and we were gracefully accommodated and presented with two plates. This was a fantastic salad! The dried figs toned down the bitterness of the radicchio with the vinaigrette serving as a flavor bridge. The shrimp were large, sweet, and succulent. Bistro Twenty Seven should consider putting this on the regular menu offerings.

For entrees my husband selected the Paella ($18) with chorizo, squid, clams, mussels, fish, chicken, shrimp, and short grained rice in a tomato broth. This dish had the hold on spiciness. The chorizo was almost too overpowering, but the squid were small and very tasty. He was not a fan of the brothiness of the dish. He generally likes his paella somewhat drier.

I chose Filete de Cerdo ($18) - Roasted pork tenderloin served with bosc pears and Calvados brandy along with mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley. I had chosen well. The pork was extremely tender. The pears were sautéed like I would cook apples at home. The Calvados sauce was sweet and paired well with the pork and pear. While the mashed potatoes were a bit plain, the rest of the dish constantly delighted the tongue and mouth. And I had so much pork, that I was pleased to be able to take home leftovers.

Katy was one of a select few Richmond waitresses (or waiters, for that matter) to continue to pour our wine until the bottle was empty. I raise a glass to her!

While we still may be reluctant to give Bistro Twenty Seven a whirl on a cold day due to the possibility of a smoky atmosphere, we would definitely go again when it’s hot outside and the air conditioner is circulating cold air.