Bar and Art

Ah Friday. The end of the work week. We took advantage of the most excellent weather and headed for downtown. We parked in the vicinity of the Jefferson and leisurely strolled to Bistro Bobette for drinks and eats.

Although small, the bar at Bobette is truly the best place to be. I like arriving early. Olivier, the bartender, and John, one of the waiters always greets me and my hubby warmly. We talk about food, other area restaurants, cocktails, and wine. They are always genuine and treat other new arrivals with enthusiasm as well. No wonder they have so many regulars. If they were in walking distance, I would be tempted to pop in practically every night.

For this night I started with a refreshing rose from Provence.

We followed up with a bottle of Syrah from the Rhone. Very spicy red; although the spice went away while we were eating and promptly returned after the meal.

We then ordered steak frites from the bar menu.

The beef was the perfect medium rare and very tender. The frites, lovely.

We were tempted by dessert and gave into the urge. I had a chocolate hazelnut croustillant - a lucious cake with a crispy layer adding texture and crunch to this delicious concoction.

Hubby got the cherry sorbet. Rich, ripe, summer decadence that was very refreshing. The colorful presentation also delighted us.

After a wonderful dinner we headed up Broad for the First Fridays Art Walk. Lots of folks were out and about. Gallery 5 featured Skull Appreciation as well as bass vibes from Todd Matthews. Studio 8 West gave us art and models. Ghostprint presented a juried show. And we saw many other delights. A few pics are below:

This type of evening makes Richmond a fun and special place, at least for me.

Anthony and George's

This past week I attended a Richmond Photography Meetup mingle at Anthony and George's Steakhouse on Staples Mill Rd.

A Mom and Pop survivor from the '60's or '70's. These were the type of places my family ate at on a Friday night way back when. The decor can now be characterized as retro.

The menu was quite extensive with different specials every evening. I ordered one of the nightly specials, lasagna which was accompanied by a tossed salad with house dressing (a nod to Greek-style dressing) and butter-garlic bread.

While nothing fancy, the lasagna was tasty and enormous. With over 30 meetup members in attendance spread out over numerous tables, the service was surprisingly good. And everyone was pleasant.

No wine. The only option was Corbet Canyon. Not going down that road. But cocktails were generally under $5.

On a photography note: The Richmond Photography Meetup Group would love to have new members and is made up of folks with a variety of photographic skills and interests. Please consider joining us. On August 6 at First Fridays, Art6 Gallery will be showing photographs from the group.

Marshall Street Cafe and First Fridays

We finally made it to Marshall Street Cafe for dinner. We had always been intrigued by the corner spot and were thrilled that it was non-smoking. The space was much tinier than expected - a nice looking bar, a few tables, and a corner band set up for jazz later in the evening (another reason to return).

The menu offered appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and entrees with price ranges from $7 - $15. The wine list was hand-written and small and we had to ask for a list by the bottle. But we did find a 2006 Gouguenheim Cabernet for $18.

We ordered Philly cheese steaks with fries - one with onions and peppers (for me), one without the veggies (for hubby). The food was basic, yet nicely prepared and completely satisfying.

As we ate, others wandered in to grab seats for the jazz (every Friday beginning at 9 PM). We liked the neighborhood atmosphere and the vibe. And dinner with a bottle of wine and tip was less than $50. Oh, yes!

And then we strolled Broad to gaze at art and listen to music. On the art side we liked Scott Phillips at the Schindler Satellite Gallery as well as The After Life: A Skull Exhibition at Quirk Gallery. The music front featured Hazeltone (Marshall Tucker meets The Rolling Stones) in front of Metro Sound and Music. What fun. I'll leave you with a few night snaps...

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!