Cafe Rustica: Richmond Bucket List #7*

Do you ever walk into a place and feel completely at home there? That is how I feel about Cafe Rustica. It is at once rustic and elegant, blue collar bar and fine food establishment. Sit at the amply-proportioned bar if there are no tables available (or even if they are), and bartender/sommeliere/co-owner Michelle will take good care of you.

The dish to die for here is the Mediterranean Shortstack: shrimp, scallop and crabmeat cakes. Loosely bound -- which means that there is very little filler -- these are packed full of fresh seafood, and only minimally seasoned.

Chris ordered them as an appetizer (they can also be ordered as a main course) and offered me a bite.

This was a mistake. Any thoughts of saving the second cake to take home were torn to shreds as I dug fork after fork into that mound of deliciousness, unable to stop. At which point, Chris gleefully joined in, until the platter was clean and we waited expectantly for the next course.

Cafe Rustica is a place that keeps you looking forward -- to the next course, to the next time. Retro-forward food at its comfy-dynamic best.

*As a result of "On Fumes Alone", Chris created a bucket list of Richmond restaurants for us to visit. This is the seventh of such visits. For a full list of visits, click here.

Chez Foushee: Richmond Bucket List #6*

Every now and again, I come across a dish in a restaurant that I absolutely want to make at home. Such was the case with Chez Foushee's Chicken Thigh Fricasee with Dried Cherries and Wild Mushrooms. Weeks passed, and I could not get that dish out of my mind. Eventually I wrote to Chez Foushee, and requested the recipe, promising to steer my dinner guests to this gem of a restaurant in Richmond.

Perhaps it is not surprising that I got no response. So I turned to Plan B: figure out how to replicate it myself. To do so, I noodled around the web, getting ideas here and there, but ended up relying most on Marcella Hazan's approach to fricasseed chicken in Marcella Cucina**. The result was pretty darn close to the homey but festive dish I had at Chez Foushee:

Antoinette Ego's Chicken Thigh Fricasee with Dried Cherries and Wild Mushrooms

Serves 4

4 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick joined)
Flour for coating the chicken
1 cup mixed dried wild mushrooms
1 handful dried cherries
1 cup sweet vermouth
2 tbs olive oil
salt and black pepper
3 tbs chopped onion

1. Soak the mushrooms in barely hot water for at least 30 minutes. Lift out the mushrooms by hand, squeezing out as much water as possible. Set aside.
2. Filter the mushroom water through a strainer lined with single-ply paper towelling. Collect in a pouring cup and set aside.
3. Plump cherries in warmed vermouth.
4. Wash and dry chicken; spread flour on a plate and turn the chicken in it.
5. Choose a skillet that can accommodate all the chicken pieces in a single layer without overlapping (you may need to use two skillets). Put in oil and turn heat to medium-hi.
6. When the oil is heated, slip in the chicken and brown on one side.
7. When brown, add salt, black pepper and the chopped onion and turn over.
8. When the chicken is brown all over and the onion is golden, add 2-3 tbs vermouth from the cherry mixture. Turn the chicken over, cover the pan and turn heat to medium-low.
9. Cook chicken at a slow but regular simmer, replenishing with the liquid with filtered mushroom water as needed.
10. Turn the chicken over every once in a while. After 30-40 minutes, add the mushrooms and cherries.
11. Continue cooking until it looks like the meat would easily fall off the bone, about 50 minutes to an hour.
12. Can be served at once, or made several hours in advance and reheated.

Served with tri-colored couscous

Even though I have shared this recipe, I still want to encourage people to visit Chez Foushee. This is an  elegant and inviting restaurant, and one where I would have liked to have spent more time. Although it is close the the Carpenter Theatre, where we were headed, it is a shame to go here as a pre-theater option when you will inevitably be pre-occupied with leaving rather than lingering.

*As a result of "On Fumes Alone", Chris created a bucket list of Richmond restaurants for us to visit. This is the sixth of such visits. For a full list of visits, click here.

**Main differences from Marcella's recipe: I added the cherries and substituted sweet vermouth for marsala. I also preferred to leave the mushrooms whole rather than chopped fine, and to put them in the pan half way through the cooking process rather than at the beginning, so that they remain recognizable.

Lehja: Richmond Bucket List #5*

I am going to get right to the point here: I should not have liked Lehja, but I did. I thought it was the best Indian food I had ever had in an Indian restaurant in the U.S.

Without spending too much time on it, here are a few reasons why I was predisposed to dislike Lehja:

• I am an Indian food snob. It began in graduate school, when an Indian house-mate's mother moved in with us for three months and took over the kitchen. Once I started travelling to India and discovering the food there, the bar was raised forever.
• Lehja is in a mall. Enough said.
• Descriptions of  Lehja's "updated and reinvented Indian food" -- reminded me of Rasika in DC. While Rasika can be good, in general I find their food overwrought and overpriced.

On top of everything, the day we went to Lehja, the brutal August heatwave suddenly chose to subside. As a result, the airconditioning inside felt too cold, while a raspy wind made sitting outside uncomfortable. We opted for the outdoor seating, placed our orders and sat there, enduring.

Now, if there is one thing that Chris and I are good at, it's turning a bad situation into a good one. When plans go awry, we usually find some fun way to save the situation. This time, we decided to get our food to go, and have a picnic in the car. The restaurant staff were quite obliging given this change of plan. Soon, we were on our way, big brown bags in hand.

Then, something happened.  Before we could make it to the car, a table magically sprang up in front of us, set into a sheltered patio. It was unoccupied, and had two chairs, waiting just for us. It seemed obvious that we should sit there to eat our dinner.**

And so, covered now in pixie dust, we did: I had the Market Vegetable Kozhambu: Zesty Vegetable Curry in a Tamil Nadu State Inspired Sauce. I was surprised at how good it was. Then I tried Chris' Chicken Tikka Masala. And this is what really amazed me. Don't be fooled by the ordinary sounding name: the flavors were just like they would taste in India -- fresh spices popping out at you separately and together at the same time, hitting different taste buds in a progression of sensations. I couldn't quite believe it, and after a few minutes, sheepishly asked if I could have a second bite, just to make sure. And another and another. So there you have it -- this is good stuff. The menu  is chock full of things I would want to try. Only, a mall is so the wrong place for this restaurant. Come on, Lehja, you deserve a location that will let our imaginations soar!

Outdoor seating at Lehja. In the winter, the reflecting pond is reportedly replaced by a fire pit. Too bad it was not in service the evening we were there!

*As a result of "On Fumes Alone", Chris created a bucket list of Richmond restaurants for us to visit. This is the fifth of such visits. For a full list of visits, click here.

**In reality, the sheltered nook we found was part of the Comedy Club, but to us, it seemed fantastical: we had just been wishing for a table in a protected space, and there it was before us. Nobody seemed to mind us sitting down to dinner there. So, thanks, Comedy Club, for indulging us.

Mom's Siam: Richmond Bucket List #4*

What makes Mom's Siam stand out from other Thai restaurants is its condiments. If Thai food is not already hot enough for you, you can choose from two kinds of chili pepper relishes and a fiery red chili powder. Apparently these are brought from Thailand through the kitchen's own sources. Chris was skeptical of this story. "They probably just got it from Penzey's down the street," she said.

It's an ongoing sore point between us. Chris is a big fan of global consumerism -- by which I mean, she delights in buying products from around the world from big box stores, rejoicing that they are available to her here in America. But for me, this sort of ready availability seems a little flat. Penzey's is a marvelous resource to be sure, offering spices with exotic names from every country you can imagine. But if the spices of the world are compressed into a card catalog of identical containers, aren't they drained of the hills and dips of local context? So who is more romantic: Chris, for believing that cultural finds can be had in a mass produced market? Or me, for believing that there really is a Mom behind Mom's Siam, sending little spice packets from Thailand?

Best dish: Siam Dumpling -- minced pork, shrimp, water chestnut, onion, scallion, shitake wrapped in wonton skin and served with soy sauce.

Siam Dumpling. You can see the condiment tray in the background.

*Note: As a result of "On Fumes Alone", Chris created a bucket list of Richmond restaurants for us to visit. This is the fourth of such visits. For a full list of visits, click here.

Burger Bookends – a burger to die for and one to die from

Guest Post by Chris

Imagine, if you will, an Iron Chef-like bacon cheeseburger challenge. The ingredients: beef, cheese, onion, bacon, greens and tomatoes. The unknowing challengers: Bistro Bethem of Fredericksburg, VA and Cine Bistro of Richmond, VA. One is a good hour drive from my house and the other only 10 minutes. I will gladly drive the hour to have another burger at Bistro Bethem; the trip to Cine Bistro is not worth the gas.

Bethem’s creation was the most beautiful and greatest tasting burger EVER!!!! (and I’ve eaten QUITE a few). Their burger was made with Painted Hills Ranch all natural American Kobe beef, asiago, caramelized onions, bacon aioli, pea shoots, tomato and shoestring potatoes, all piled as high as a Jenga tower. The burger was thick, juicy and hot, the onions perfectly caramelized, the cheese not too soft and not too melted, the bun (aaah, the bun) toasted and branded on top with a “B”, nice touch. But what was a most wonderful surprise was the fresh crisp crunch of the pea shoots piled high on the burger complemented nicely by the crispy shoestring potatoes. YUM!

!

Words don’t exist to describe this burger. Which is why after pretty much every bite (with my mouth full) I mumbled “oh my god this is the best burger I’ve ever tasted”. By the fifth bite Davida said I either had to write a post about it or shut up. You can see how that ended.

Cine Bistro, a new take in the dining-while-watching-a-movie concept, is another story. I eagerly placed my order for their Double Feature Burger – Black Angus Beef, Smithfield bacon, cheddar cheese, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and special sauce. What a perfect night this was going to be – a movie, a great burger, a Red Stripe and thick cozy chairs to sink into.

Moments after our order arrived, we discovered that there is something inherently wrong with the way they run their food operation. The overcooked burger appeared to have been pre-cooked and heated up prior to being served. The special sauce was non-existent. I requested ketchup and mustard because a burger as dry as this one needed something to make it edible (and the Red Stripe alone wasn’t going to cut it). I then waited, and waited, and waited. Then I asked a different waiter. And got to wait some more. By the time the condiments finally arrived, most diners had finished their meals and my burger was cold, the bun soggy and the cheese a limp gelatinous piece of rubber. At this point not even the condiments were going to save it. It should also be noted that this burger was so bad that I don’t even remember what movie we saw that night. The burger disaster far overshadowed the film.

They were both dealt the same hands, but for a mere 3 dollars more, Bistro Bethem’s $16 burger was hands down the winner.

Overall comments about the bistros:

Bistro Bethem: Bistro Bethem has never disappointed.  Their ever-changing menu is always original and when coupled with perfect preparation and presentation, is a guaranteed palate pleaser.

Cine Bistro: I now understand why patrons must pay their tab including 17% gratuity BEFORE being served.  It’s so when you realize that it’s the worst service ever, you have no recourse.

  

Buz and Ned's Real Barbeque: Richmond Bucket List #3*

Buz and Ned's is a must-go place in Richmond, a local place that came to national attention when Buz beat Bobby Flay in a Throwdown back in Season 2. (I thought this was a bigger deal until I found out that Flay loses more throwdowns than he wins. This makes sense given that he challenges chefs on their home turf on their signature dishes. A New Yorker, his record against southern chefs is particularly poor. ) The episode loops endlessly on a wall-mounted tv screen, beside which are autographed photos of Buz and Bobby and a sample "Flay Slayer" t-shirt. 


But all this hype is unnecessary. The food speaks for itself, as do the customers who line up to order at the counter even during off-hours. I mean this last bit literally. I had forgotten my reading glasses that day, and Chris was reading the menu to me as we stood in line at around 2pm on a Saturday afternoon. The guy in front of us, impatient with my indecisiveness about whether to choose pork, beef, or chicken barbeque, turned around to face us and said one word: "pork".   Okay, I was up for taking a local's advice. Then I further exasperated him by dithering over which pork ribs to get: spare ribs or baby back. "Baby back," he pronounced, now almost pitying my ignorance. Alrighty, then. Chris, a local herself, was not cowed (pigged?) so easily. She opted for the hand pulled bbq pork sandwich. Between us, we got fries, hush puppies, cole slaw, and cinnamon bourbon apples as sides.

Our order placed, we settled in at a booth to wait. "This is not fast-food," a sign at the counter had warned. Since it was a rainy day, we opted for the indoor seating, which is somewhere between a dive and a diner, a cozy place that we were happy to relax in for the fifteen minutes or so until our name was called.

My first surprise was that my ribs did not come with sauce, though it was readily provided upon request. In retrospect, I understand that Buz and Ned's prefers not to smother the flavor that they have worked so hard to get just right, which is what inevitably happens when you pour on generous amounts of red sauce. I learned that, for some, good barbecue is determined by how much the flavor of the meat is allowed to shine through the preparation. But at the time, I had recently come to the conclusion that I do not like vinegar-based North Carolina bbq, and I was hankering for the red stuff. Next time, I will give the ribs "desnuda" a chance, but this time, I thoroughly enjoyed them  "vestida".

Baby back ribs "desnuda" (without sauce)

Baby back ribs "vestida" (with sauce)

Hand pulled BBQ pork sandwich with sides

My second surprise was that the sides were pretty mediocre, though Chris disagreed. Our opinons split especially over the hush puppies. Not that it mattered very much; my half rack was keeping me thoroughly busy and satisfied -- the kind of satisfied where you don't talk much -- and even ignoring the side dishes, I could not finish the whole plate. 

My belly full and my face and hands in need of a wet-nap, I was surprised for a third time: no wet naps here. Buz and Ned's insists on a sustainable supply chain, and all of the products they use are compostable or biodegradable. Meaning, if a product cannot be broken down naturally by microrganisms, or if a managed process cannot produce compost from it in about 180 days, they will not carry it. So far, there are no wet-naps that meet these criteria. (Unlike the flatware that is made from potato flour, the cups that are made from corn and the to-go containers that are made from sugar cane, for example). So, if you need to wash up, you must go to the rest room and use (presumably biodegradable) soap and water. Quite civilized, I thought.

Is Buz and Ned's the best bbq in Richmond, as claimed?  Well, I enjoyed my meal, and I will happily go again, but I have a ways to go eating my way through all the contenders. Famous Dave's is definitely up there, though it is a chain. Alamo has been highly recommended. Bill's BBQ is ruled out (they do the North Carolina, vinegary, kind, but even so, the food there has a processed, inconsequential feel to it). Where else should I go?

*Note: As a result of "On Fumes Alone", Chris created a bucket list of Richmond restaurants for us to visit. This is the third of such visits. For a full list of visits, click here.


Photo credits: Chris Svoboda

Parting Gestures

The little things are important, food bloggers have been saying lately. They can make a good meal great, a great meal sublime, or sometimes they are just notable in their own right. This post is dedicated to two restaurants where the parting gestures were the most memorable aspects of the experience: Can Can Brasserie in Richmond, VA, and Corduroy in Washington, DC.

Pay them a visit; Orbitz promotional codes are available if you are out of state.

Can Can Brasserie

After seeing the movie Julie and Julia, which I happened to see in Richmond, I proceeded directly to dine at Can Can Brasserie. I could think of no better place to prolong the illusion of being in 1920's Paris. Can Can, after all, is all about illusion: it is a copy of Balthazar in New York, which in turn is a replica of countless Parisian brasseries. In the heart of the simulacrum, I could pretend that I was in a world in which dining was a significant cultural event, and in which the highest culinary standards were maintained. Can Can recreates the setting so well that it is hard to claim that the food is mediocre and overpriced. Under the spell of Meryl Streep's Julia, I was unable to do so, but after a second, more clear-eyed, visit, that was my regrettable conclusion.

Yet there was one unusual standard that was maintained. I had once been told that the mark of a superior restaurant was that if a diner requested that left-overs be packed up to take home, a "doggy bag" should not be delivered directly to the table. This would force the diners to contend with an inelegant plastic bag while they were trying to enjoy their coffee and dessert. Even the by now hackneyed silverfoil swan is considered to be an intrusion on the procession of the meal. Rather, diners should be given their to-go bag once the meal is concluded, the check paid, and they are ready to depart the restaurant.  Since hearing of this standard, however, I had only ever found one restaurant which upheld it, and that was Babbo's in New York. So I was surprised and impressed when I found that Can Can, too, eschewed the doggy-bag for a discreet claim check, to be presented to the hostess on the way out. If appearance is everything, then Can Can takes this very seriously indeed.

Corduroy

I visited Corduroy in the dog days of summer, a time when the D.C. political class empties out for vacation, the traffic calms down, and restaurant reservations are unnecessary. The good part about this lull is that we year-round residents finally have the place to ourselves, including easy access to usually brimming restaurants. But is it worth it if the top chefs similarly decamp? This is what I found myself wondering at Corduroy, which on that August evening seemed sleepily formal and lacking in verve. I don't know for a fact that the kitchen had been handed over to the farm team, but  the signature cuisine that has been praised as exciting yet simple never materialized. Like the elderly clientele, the food was well turned out but subdued.

On the other hand, the waitstaff was as attentive and knowledgable as could be. And at the end of the evening, the edge was taken off our disappointment about the food when our waitperson escorted us to the street, hailed a cab, and gently saw us into the waiting vehicle. Apparantly this cradle-to-grave attention is a routine part of the service: Tom Sietsema reports that a waiter insisted on escorting one in his party to the restroom. While that seems a little stifling to me, the cab service was a nice touch, a parting gesture that sent us on our way on a sweet rather than sour note.

Mamma 'Zu: Richmond Bucket List #2*

Mamma 'Zu and Svomama's Mamma

Sometimes, I can get irrational. On one of our weekends apart, Chris called me from Richmond to say: "You'll never guess where mom wants to go eat -- Mamma 'Zu!"  For those of you following this blog, you'll know that I have been working on Chris for us to go out to eat when we are in Richmond. Mamma 'Zu is one of those places I have been dying to try, and so the idea that Chris'  mother would get there before me induced a fit of pique.

Once I had recovered my senses, I suggested that all three of us go the next time I was down for the weekend. And so we did: me, and Svomama (aka Chris) and Svomama's mamma. It was good to have her along, too. Of the three of us, Svomama's mamma was the most animated by the crush of people inside the restaurant, and did not mind having a drink or two at the bar while waiting to be seated. "It's a happening," she said, enjoying the fact that the dim lighting and lack of windows made the place seem like a night spot, even though it was only 6 pm.

 

Not everyone feels the same about the cheek by jowl intimacy in this tiny dining room.  We were lucky enough to get seats at the bar, but behind us were three layers of people jammed between the barstools and the tables. Our friend Lynn refuses to go to Mamma Zu's. "I had an ass on my table," she exclaimed, describing her experience there. "Really, is this what goes down here, I said to myself, an ass on my table?"

What about the food? I was pleasantly surprised by the fried oysters, fried so lightly that the bivalves inside retained their moist brininess. Mamma 'Zu's sister restaurant, Edo's Squid, uses a similar technique for their fried sugar toads (blow fish), which have also surprised me with their flavorful flakiness inside a delicate casing. But otherwise, the meal was disappointing. Someone in the kitchen had gone wild with the pepper pot that night.

But I will give Mamma Zu's a pass, and try again another time. After all...

...can this many people AND Ruth Reichl be wrong?

To Die For: Reputation

*Note: As a result of "On Fumes Alone", Chris created a "Bucket List" of Richmond restaurants for us to visit. This is the second of such visits. For a full list of visits, click here

Edo's Squid: Richmond Bucket List #1*

Dish To Die For: pasta

Something happened to me when I went to Edo's Squid that had never happened to me before. When the pasta arrived, I stuck my fork in, put my head down like a horse into a feeder bag, and didn't lift it up again until the bowl was empty. I kept twirling and savoring, twirling and savoring. All around me, the table was littered with other dishes to sample, but none of them mattered. I simply could not stop eating that pasta. It's not that the marinara sauce was that great -- in fact I helped it along by adding some garlic from a nearby side of greens -- but it was the perfect texture of the spaghetti and the just-right way the sauce clung to it that blinded me to the rest of the offerings.

Perhaps I was just escaping from a fraught evening. Between Lynn talking up the place for months, and Chris dragging her feet about coming ("It's not an environment in which I enjoy eating," she primly announced), I really did not know what to expect. What was wrong with this picture? Why would the normally good natured Chris be so bad-tempered about this place, and the more opinionated Lynn claim it was the best restaurant in Richmond?

Here is my theory: Edo's once was a very good restaurant, with a charming ambience and a creative and carefully executed menu. But it has not been able to cope with the resultant popularity. From the chaotic milling of people (with or without reservations)  waiting for tables, to the frantic slapping down of plates by the waitstaff, whatever delights are proferred by the kitchen are overshadowed by anxiety. And one senses that the kitchen is overwrought as well. True, the pasta was perfect, and I also want to give a shout out to the sugar toads. But you could tell by the other dishes that the kitchen was losing its grip back there.

Edo's has its long time customer base, but I believe that these loyalists are fuelled by nostalgia for a restaurant that is not quite as it used to be. Bluntly speaking: it is past its peak. Perhaps its former glory can be regained by better management of reservations, which will both take the anxiety out of being seated and take the pressure off the kitchen and waitstaff. I hope so. Otherwise, it is going to be difficult to persuade Chris to go back. And I so want more of that divine pasta...

*Note: As a result of "On Fumes Alone", Chris created a "Bucket List" of Richmond restaurants for us to visit. This is the first of such visits. For a full list of visits click here.







 

On Fumes Alone

8 1/2
401 Strawberry St., Richmond, VA, 23220
(804) 358-8505

I never thought I would post about an aroma. But this time, fumes is all I've got to go on. The downside of Chris being a great cook and having a cozy hideaway in Richmond is that we seldom go out to eat when we are there. But on New Year's day, we took a walk in the Fan with our friend Lynn, and I discovered a whole new world of tiny restaurants and independent stores tucked in between the houses of this historic neighborhood.

One of these was 8 1/2, the take-out place for two of Richmond's most beloved restaurants: Edo's Squid and Mama Zu's --both creations of Ed Vasio. After three years of visiting Richmond, I have yet to dine in either of these. (Humphh!)  

So for now, all I have to go on is the divine smell emanating from 8 1/2. An aroma so distinct that, without even asking, I can tell it was red pizza sauce with toppings of anchovies, capers, onion and olives. Yum! (I assume). I am hoping that I'll get to do more than window shopping some time early in 2011.  :)

Happy new year everyone, and here's to new food discoveries in the coming year.

Update: as a result of this post, we have now begun to visit Richmond's restaurants with more frequency!
For a full list of Richmond visits, click here