The First Week of April in Richmond

This year April has been a perfect month for residing in Richmond. Hubby and I have done quite a bit and eaten even more. I wanted to share some of our local adventures with you for the first week in April.

Right at the beginning of the month we attended the Homestyle Brunch at Six Burner hosted by Chef Philip Denny and The Marinara. I got to take photos! Check them out here. We had three flavors of sous vide fried chicken (Thai iced tea, tandoori spiced, and Korean spiced) along with greens and waffles and kimchi. All yummy.

The Virginia Historical Society invited all of Richmond to the inaugural Food Truck Court. Lots of excitement was generated and lots of people and lines. We ended up getting dessert first at Mister Softee (chocolate milkshake).

Mister Softee

We then wandered over to Caliente to enjoy burgers (half price on Tuesday nights).

With the burgers we enjoyed a Petite Syrah from Foppiano. We had heard earlier that day that old man Foppiano had recently passed away at the ripe old age of 101. We toasted the venerable vintner.

Santa Fe Burger with Roasted Peppers and Avocado

Lot 96 Petite Sirah from Foppiano. 

On the the first Friday in April we went to the VMFA to view the silent ode to Communism - Battleship Potemkin. What really made this special was the band Goldrush. The super talented musicians performed live while the movie ran. So cool.



And afterwards we headed over to Carytown for a lovely dinner at Amour Wine Bistro. After taking a little bit of time figuring out the menu options and eventually getting a wine list to peruse (everyone wanted to suggest wines by the glass and I wanted to know what they had by the bottle and the price range), we decided on the 3 Course Prix Fixe Menu and a bottle of 2008 Chateau Lyonnat Bordeaux.

A Lovely Bordeaux

The amuse bouche was a grilled ramp on crostini. Such a nice ode to early Spring.

The Season for Ramps

We proceeded to enjoy a garlic and leek soup and grilled beef tenderloin. Dessert was chocolate creme brulee with caramel and sea salt. What a delight!

Incredible Dessert!

The  South of the James Winter Market is still going strong and Ault's Family Farm had a fresh chicken waiting for us. Yeah! Spring onions, greens, and asparagus are now available. Of course, the pooches are also out in full force.

Time for Spring

Onion Variety

Oh Joy!

For Easter we had brunch at the Empress and enjoyed a pitcher of mimosas.

Mmmm...Mimosas

The pulled pork and eggs were outstanding. The biscuits with the eggs benedict were most excellent. But I think it was just a wee bit early for the kitchen. One of my eggs was missing and the seasoned potatoes were almost not done. Breakfast potatoes need to be cooked until extremely tender. Maybe if we had wound up there after Easter on Parade we would have hit the kitchen in its stride?

One-eyed Benedict

  In any case make sure to see the mural on the side of the building by Lelo. Bright and colorful.

Isn't this cool?

Easter on Parade is always fun. Bunnies, eggs, a yarn bomb, bonnets, dogs. And this year the Art 180 project. I'm glad that residents found front yard homes for these young artists' works after Easter.

Art, entertainment, and FOOD! Go out and enjoy Richmond in April!

Six Burner Experience

We visited Six Burner this past week. To our delight Carol Covell greeted us with her lovely jazz vocals. We occupied the last available table and settled in to eat at one of our favorite spots. We chose our wine - Cabernet, 06, Wall Cellars, Napa, CA, $32. Full-bodied and lovely to drink. We then ordered a $3 snack of Shrimp Hushpuppies. These were extremely dense, lacking either salt or sugar, and not a shrimp was in sight. A bit disappointing compared to the food generally served. We will not order these again.

For entrees we ordered jumbo lump crab cakes, creamy polenta, pickled slaw, corn sauce, $25 and rockfish, salsify puree, baby bok choy, trumpet mushrooms, miso broth, $23. Once again the crab cakes seemed a bit bland, but the polenta and the pickled slaw were fantastic. These items were meant to be eaten together - the sum turned out to be definitely more than just the addition of the parts. Let's call it food synergy and leave it at that. The rockfish had an incredibly flavorful and crispy pan sear. The bok choy and salsify increased the dining satisfaction.

We finished with Rostov's coffee. Mmmm!

Richmond Restaurant Week - Where Will You Be Eating?

Richmond.com has the low down on all of the participating restaurants, plus menus for most of them.

I will be at Six Burner on Wednesday. They have duck confit. Yummmmm!

3 courses for $25.08 with $2.08 going to the Central Virginia Food Bank. Happening now through Nov. 2.

So...where are you eating?

Where Is The Joy In A Crunchy Bean?

On Wednesday evening we tootled over to Six Burner. It was nice to see them busy. We took advantage of their $10 carafe of red special. On this night we enjoyed a Powers Cabernet Sauvignon. A yummy bargain, indeed. My husband ordered the fried oyster appetizer and the heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad to arrive at the same time. Six Burner served up a generous portion of the seafood. The salad was good, too with shaved (possibly aged?) mozzarella. I had the pork shank which was oh-so-tender and moist. It was served with sautéed Swiss chard and applewood smoked bacon lardons and an apple cider vinegar sauce. I usually detest Swiss chard, but the bacon and sauce did not let any bitter green taste touch my tongue. I was pleased until I encountered the lima beans. These beans looked fantastic – pale, plump, enticing. Alas, every single one of those suckers was crunchy. What I would consider raw with no opportunity to soak up any of the mouth-watering sauce. I have to give our waiter high praise. When he stopped by to inquire about our dinner, I had to confess that I simply could not eat the beans. He sympathized and said that was how the chef intended to serve them. But he also offered a side of garlic mashed potatoes or polenta as a substitute. I asked for the potatoes and was quite comforted. We finished our meal with illy coffee which we love to drink, but haven’t made the monetary commitment to serve at home.

So, now on to my rant. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the South, but, in my opinion, any bean – lima bean, butter bean, navy bean, pinto bean, October bean, black bean, cannellini bean, great northern bean, kidney bean, cranberry bean, or for that matter black-eyed peas needs to be COOKED! Crunch has no place in the above line up (please note, I did not include green beans in this bean roll call). The beans can be firm, but the tooth jarring simply hardness must disappear. I’ve been to a couple of places where the waiter insisted that this was the intention of the chef. To my mind it just seems like the kitchen was slacking. Where is the joy in a crunchy bean?

Six Burner Sustenance

Last week we managed to squeeze in a trip to Six Burner (located at 1627 West Main St.) to support Benefit Thyme. Monday – Thursday the restaurant features a 3-course prix fixe menu for $19.95 per person. On Wednesdays it is also $10 carafe night. We happened to stop by on a Wednesday (how serendipitous!). The interior featured both white-clothed tables and booths. Brass accents gleamed at the bar. Thankfully, no one was smoking at the bar (the place is really too small for smoking at the bar). We went for the carafe of red. Bottles were actually opened to pour into the liter-sized carafe. The wine was not spectacular, but it wasn’t rotgut either. I believe the wine was a Solar Tempranillo, but I have not been able to find a wine label to confirm. In any case a bargain. We also chose the prix fixe menu, with both of us ordering the Corn Soup with Truffle Oil and the Hanger Steak with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Red Wine Sauce. We changed it up for dessert. I had the Cinnamon Panna Cotta; the hubby went for the Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Mousse.

When I mentally envision corn soup, invariably I think of corn chowder. This soup was not chowder. It was a pureed version of fresh creamed corn with a hint of corn meal on the finish. The truffle oil was more like truffle foam. Overall, an unexpected, but very tasty surprise. The hanger steak was tenderer than expected with a subtle sauce to accompany it. The potatoes could have had more garlic, but they were decent. My panna cotta had a very creamy, silky texture. The cinnamon was a little too strong for my taste, but for most, this would be a superb dessert. My husband’s dessert was knock your socks off. The peanut butter cake was an extremely moist pound cake bursting with flavor. The chocolate mousse was dark and intense with the chocolate flavor lingering long after swallowing. We decided to have coffee ($1.50) after our meal. Six Burner serves Illy. We had not had coffee this good since we were last in Paris. And this was a basic cup of coffee with cream and sugar. None of the frou-frou cappuccino stuff.

We will definitely return. The menu changes frequently, and the regular wine offerings list options from $19 - $60 a bottle.