dklee

many times, i have gone to locally owned places, only to be disappointed. There are also those that can't be touched. Comforts, Millie's, even maybe hard shell? I can't image a chain doing the same thing they do. But is mama zu's all that good? if you add in the wait time, the atmosphere, and the crappy service? I frequent Thai Diner over Tara Thai 100% of the time. But i have not found a place that can do Friday's Jack Daniel's at 11 at night...

went there a few days ago and no matter what i order, they are awesome. did something different this time and ordered their squid small plate. it was yummy. My friend was from out of town, and before we went, i explained to her what mamma zu's was like and she was excited. when we got there, it was a 45 minute wait, but after 20 minutes, we were able to find some seating at the bar and decided to eat there. glad we did. we saw some awesome stuff come of the kitchen and was able to chat away with some nice folks. great place. i hope they don't change a thing. well, maybe make the blackboard a little easier to read. many of the dishes i wanted ended up being marked as being out, bu you couldn't really tell.

thats correct. moshi moshi is the japanese way of saying hello.. side note. I visited Cafe Guttenburg yesterday for dinner and i have to admit, the food is pretty good. after speaking to the manager, it is my understanding that a partner is pulling out, not because of economics, and that point is reinforced by today's article on cafe guttenburg in the RTD. If i had 300k, i would consider being a partner. how about we raise the 300k here and we can all be partners...

I have heard, from a very reliable inside source inside Acapella's that the management was skimming off the top, and did not make the necessary payments to the landlord and thus, the place was padlocked. They showed up for work one day, and couldn't get in.

speaking of chicken places in georgia. anyone been to price's chicken coop in Hotlanta? People told me it was awesome, i went, and i think i lost 5 years off my life. i felt myself getting fat... how is it called a sandwich when you put a drumstick and a wing between two slices of bread????? but i guess it is popular, since the place was packed. anyone else crave bojangles???

a good place for authentic chinese food is China Star, down on Cox Rd. by the Henrico water tower. it's close to Innsbrook. Next to El Paso. It has a separate menu full of delicious Authentic dishes. My favorite is what they call the juicy 3 delicacies noodle soup. it is enough to feed you twice over.

regarding restaurant week. My date and i went to Six Burner for RW. The was wait extremely long. Mostly due to two large parties. BTW, does anyone know of the red hat group? they took up the most space.. and from what i hear, they are lousy tippers. Back to the meal. I had the pork and date had the salmon. Her dish was good. I enjoyed my dish very much. It is extremely rare to find a restaurant that serves pork medium rare.. So that was enjoyable. Overall a good meal. The gripe? let see, two 25.07 meals, one $8 glass of wine, one sprite, total tab including tip?? $80 bucks... WTH???

Someone told me that BluePoint in short pump has finally decided to stop the bleeding and close. But what is news is that a new bar has opened?? has anyone checked it out? i haven't had time to drive back to catch a name, but someone told me that it is a national chain of sports video bar?

as much as i love the people working at blackfinn, and what it is bringing to DT richmond, I agree with everything Dana mentioned. My previous assessment of blackfinn on their opening weekend is basically the same thing Dana experienced nearly 3 months later. I have been back only once for dinner since that time, and though it wasn't as bad as Dana's experience, the food was as bad, if not worse than if i had gone to Olive Gardens or Applebees. I wonder if the food is as bad at the other locations? Maybe it is the training here? after 3 months, you would have expected some turnover, the bad people leaving, and things getting routine. sadly, poor quality might be the routine they are getting accustomed to doing. Hopefully it will not turn into a Bar first, restaurant second type place.

Has anyone mentioned Sushi Go-Around, opened about 3 weeks ago in the Shoppes at Innsbrook. It took over the space China Pearl use to occupy. Very New Yorkerish with the sushi making it's rounds on a conveyor belt . pretty fresh and the chefs know how to make some yummy selections. If you need to try one item, it is the seared salmon. very fatty, but delicious.

thanks Burt... Parking was via the garage next door for 3 bucks or valet for 7. I saw plenty of people walking from who knows where, so i am sure they have ample parking around. The place was surrounded by tons of plasmas... you get a personal one in a booth. They had a DJ that started playing music. We left before the place got extremely loud but i am sure they will have live bands soon.

BlackFinn of Richmond Blackfinn Website A group of us went to Blackfinn saturday night to celebrate my birthday. I managed to contact the promotions manager a head of time to make reservations and Toni, took care of everything. No line, no waiting, the table was ready when we arrived. We did not have the typical wait that other restaurants would do. We received free appetizers and discounts off drinks. They also gave me a free shot. The place was crowded and by the time we left at 11, the placed was packed. If anyone is looking for a new place to hang out, to drink, to watch sports, this is the place. That being said, this is the dining out thread, so i have to make a few "food" comments. Hopefully it was just the opening weekend jitters because out of the 11 people there, 10 of us did not like the food. I ordered the signature blackfinn strip steak. Medium rare. It came medium well, flavorless. I should have guessed when i saw a bottle of A1 sauce sitting on the table. Other people ordered various items such as the blacken chicken sandwich, chicken creole, chicken Balsamica, philly cheesesteak, and everyone felt that the food was ok, not great and had no flavor. The only one that enjoyed their food was the one who ordered the grilled veggie wrap. So hopefully, you all can visit them, see if they improve the food quality and taste.

*******UPDATE******** So yesterday, she receives a phone call from Lisa, who is the assistant manager/top waitress stating she wanted to verify her address so she can be mailed her paycheck, and to discuss some discrepancies in the till box at the bar. A claim she certainly disputes. She was given the box to put in any cash for the bar, for the wedding. When the entire situation happened, she was so distraught she just left. So what happened to that is unknown. So today, we both went there to have it settled. First, we went to the front door, no answer, so we went in the way she usually does for work, by the back door/kitchen. We go to the front and a server was there to go get Lisa. He comes down and escorts us outside and tells us to wait there. Basically kicking us out of the place. After a few minutes, Lisa comes out. Ali starts by saying, i tried to call you yesterday but no answer. Lisa says, oh really? we didn't get a call. Ali states that she called, it rang and rang, nothing. In a nutshell, Lisa states that she is not welcomed back because she walked out on her shift sunday. As you know, Ali walked out cause she was touched. So, now the situation changes, she was touched, walked out, gets accused for taking money, and fired for walking out.. but in reality, she got fired cause she caused a scene because she was touched.

Well, a few people have come at me stating that in order for sexual harassment to be taken to court, it has to be a case where something happened once, you tell him to stop, and it continues. It is the lack of stopping that makes it harassment. If it happens once, it is simple assault or battery. So since she is not planning on going back to work, she won't give him to chance to do it again. The question is, should she go back? she needs to go back to collect her 1 week of pay. i'm planning on going with her so she can feel safe. but what should she do? should she go back, him possibly apologize, and everything ok? what if he doesn't? what if he forgot what he did or doesn't remember? is it worth it? She has said, if she can't hurt him by suing him, she wants to ruin his reputation. Should she do that? would people even listen? If it happened, say, the owner of your favorite restaurant did that to someone you know, would you still go? what if it happened to a total stranger you don't know, would that be any different? I actually told her, i probably would still go, the chef's skills in the kitchen to me has no bearing on what he does outside the kitchen, so for her to do anything, people will hear about it, say, he was bad, and forget about it a few weeks later when they are making reservations. what do you think?

i'll give you a quarter if you guess correctly.

From my understanding of the story is that the owner tends to get drunk every night. She doesn't flirt with management. nor staff. When she came back, she wasn't wearing anything that was revealing so it wasn't like she was a stripper or a bartender that was trying to get more tips. when he was confronted, he didn't deny what he did, just that she was not as fun as everyone else, and that what he did was ok, she just needs to lighten up.

LOOKING FOR A LAWYER!!!!!!!! I don't know where to post, but since this is Off Topic, might as well post here and give it a shot. I have a friend who works for a small family owned restaurant. don't want to mention any names, but it is a really successful place, receiving many good reviews. So basically, she started working for them wednesday. Sunday, the boss, who apparently gets drunk every night, or at least tipsy, calls her over, and pours his drink down her shirt. not, woops, but takes his straw, fills it with the drink, and sticks the straw down her shirt and between her breasts. He walks away laughing. Later, she confronts him with another server, and he basically said, i'm sorry you are so uptight, and can't take a joke. we are a family here, everyone laughs at my jokes, you need to lighten up... yada yada yada... and.... he tells her. My resume is so much better than your's. you are nothing compared to me. you will never be like me... she gets so mad, she walks out... She was banking on this job to provide her nicely. They paid really well, hourly, plus some tips. now, she can't move to her own apartment, she was saving up for school.. and now.. no job she wants to go to. does she have a case? is it worth suing?

where is it exactly? i want to see if i can go there and take pics with a model.

KOBE is actually owned by the people who opened Kabuto's. Sam is the owner for both.

WOW.. that is huge news. my co-worker has been dreaming of opening one up in the western part of richmond, so i guess that dream is no more since i would think the ones that got open south of the city would have franchise rights to the entire city... I went to the very first Sonics on Robious and Huguenot back in the early 90's and it sucked. i am sure it is nothing like the new and improved Sonics... i might have to venture there and take a look

Well, basically modeling shots. I hate taking pictures of the typical studio photos, and i like to include nature, and even historic themes to my photos. I rather have a rundown fire truck instead of a stool..

i have been taking pictures of a model friend, and we are trying to find various locations around Richmond that will be interesting to capture on camera. Things like the old city locks, terminal, agecroft, jefferson park, maymount park, byrd park, canal walk, belle isle, st johns i have down on my list. anything hidden, out of the way, that is interesting?

i guess i did make it sound like cracker barrell was the same as comforts... woops... I suppose what i was saying is that if you want to experience pretty good comfort style cusine, CB is not a bad place to go.

if you do go to the New Cracker Barrell for lunch, be prepared to wait for a long time during the weekends and during dinner time pretty much any other day. that place is packed. and i don't think anyone is a travelers, all locals... that being said, the place is wonderful. 2 can dine for less than 20 bucks. the comfort food gives Comforts a run for the money. though the Cream Spinach is still my favorite at Comforts.

I love Dana Craig's review regarding Texas De Brazil Forgive me, dear readers, for I have sinned. I've succumbed to the carnivorous nectar of a chain restaurant. And I liked it. A lot. All I can say is Texas de Brazil isn't any chain. It's the Magic Kingdom of chains, where every culinary wish is granted as long as your stomach (and wallet) can withstand the never-ending onslaught of comestible temptations. An upscale and highly choreographed version of the traditional South American churrascaria, Texas de Brazil blends churrasco (skewered meats grilled over an open flame) with rodizio (prix fixe dining where sword-carrying "gauchos" carve said meat directly onto diners' plates until they beg for mercy). Mercy comes in the form of a color-coded disc -- red side meaning "Not now," green meaning "Bring it on." An endless meat parade of spicy Brazilian sausage, tender lamb, filet mignon, beef and pork ribs, succulent lamp chops, and chicken wrapped in bacon or encrusted with Parmesan ensues. As if this isn't enough, there's a 40-plus-item "salad bar" overflowing with tender grilled asparagus, artichoke bottoms, fried provolone, manchego, hearts of palm, black beans, lobster bisque . . . and delicately seared tuna, shrimp bathed in tangy, pepper-studded cocktail sauce, smoked salmon and crisp, thick-cut bacon. Dizzying, I know. However, this celebration of excess does get carried away. Can someone explain why I'd want to ingest potato salad, sushi and goat cheese simultaneously? Limitless options don't come cheap. Dinner costs $42.99 per person; the salad bar only is $29.99. Jazzy advertisements on the beeper and the menu's first page encourage adding a la carte items -- shrimp cocktail ($9.99), Australian lobster tail (market price, $23.50) -- for a more fulfilling tab, er, dining experience. Despite its unique concept, Texas de Brazil can't hide its chainness, albeit upscale chainness. The restaurant is at Regency Square, and its fa