Richmond Dining-Out scene

[Shakman]

For those who are sushi lovers, go to Mushi Mushi in Carytown and try the Eye of Tiger rolls . Mushi Mushi is fairly new and across the street from the former Storehouse furniture store. I think the address is 3321 W. Cary. It is easy to miss while driving.

[checkplease]

For those who are sushi lovers, go to Mushi Mushi in Carytown and try the Eye of Tiger rolls . Mushi Mushi is fairly new and across the street from the former Storehouse furniture store. I think the address is 3321 W. Cary. It is easy to miss while driving.

I believe it's called Moshi Moshi. Either way, I'm sure it's good since it's brought to us by the owner of Sumo San.

[wrldcoupe4]

Anyone heard anything more about the rumored "Aurora" going in at 4th and Grace? I first read about it on Urban Richmond

[dklee]

I believe it's called Moshi Moshi. Either way, I'm sure it's good since it's brought to us by the owner of Sumo San.

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...

[JSI]

It appears that the "Rendezvous" signs on Broad St. a few doors down from Twenty Seven have been removed.

Also, as mentioned in Style Weekly today Hollywood Grill has closed. Rumor is that it might become a seafood restaurant/store. If the seafood is fresh I think this would be a great addition to Oregon Hill.

[D_C]

If i had 300k, i would consider being a partner. how about we raise the 300k here and we can all be partners...

How about pooling together and making an offer on the old Julian's building? I seriously doubt that the owner of Velvet will be able to pull this off at this point.

Just a plug for Mamma Zu's as well. My wife and I went to dinner the other night and this place NEVER let's you down!! We started off with a red table wine (my wife always picks the wine as I am a beer and liquor guy) from Lebanon (Bekka Valley) and ordered a small, white pizza while we sat at the bar to wait for a table. Their white pizza is the best in the world in my opinion. Once seated, I ordered Rockfish and my wife had the Eggplant Parmesian. Both plates were excellent!! I hear a lot of folks complain about the decor, location, blah, blah. But as far as I am concerned, it adds to the whole Mamma Zu experience. This place is my favorite place to eat and enjoy my food.

[Shakman]

The Nation's first ice bar is set to open in Richmond, VA. Please see link to inrich article:

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/entertainmen...02-28-0164.html

Edited February 28, 2008 by Shakman

[cityhopper]

River City Diner - Parham Rd

I found myself walking into RCD unplanned as a service call on my vehicle was going to take a while. The crowd was not heavy around mid morning when I walked in. I was greeted immedidately and sat down at a table just as quickly. My waitress acknowledged me as I browsed the menu and she attended to other guests in her area. After I found my desired item, I felt maybe she tried to squeeze to many tasks in during that time frame before reapproaching me. Once she arrived I was delighted to order soup & salad until I was devestated to find out that the chili is WITH beans. This led me once again to choosing another option but it was actually great. She then left again and I had pretty quickly found a second option and I had to wait for her to make a few rounds to get my order. My choice for that morning was omelets and home fries.

The food came pretty quickly and boy was the serving HUGE. The omelet had to weigh a pound. It looked delicious and the taste and price matched it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was determined to finish that mammoth size omelet down to the scrappings. As I enjoyed my meal I was both delighed and pissed to find out I only lived a few blocks away from another one of their locations.

Well I have another 8 weeks to enjoy them until I am boding farewell to Richmond. I will certainly make sure to make rounds at RCD in the future. This is an EXCELLENT DINER. Service, Food and prices.

I am dying to taste that Baked Diner Spaghetti soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[additions] This location had a few TVs located around the restaurant. I noticed they were more likely to seat larger parties by the TVs as opposed to single parties. I think the reverse would be a little more sensible.[/addition]

They get TWO THUMBS Up and I wish I could take them with me to Atlanta

Edited March 2, 2008 by cityhopper

[NYCJSW]

Nice review. I live off of Robious Road so I'm not too far from the Bellegrade RCD. They always deliver by offering consistency, value and great food!

[dklee]

Just a plug for Mamma Zu's as well. My wife and I went to dinner the other night and this place NEVER let's you down!! We started off with a red table wine (my wife always picks the wine as I am a beer and liquor guy) from Lebanon (Bekka Valley) and ordered a small, white pizza while we sat at the bar to wait for a table. Their white pizza is the best in the world in my opinion. Once seated, I ordered Rockfish and my wife had the Eggplant Parmesian. Both plates were excellent!! I hear a lot of folks complain about the decor, location, blah, blah. But as far as I am concerned, it adds to the whole Mamma Zu experience. This place is my favorite place to eat and enjoy my food.

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.

[ric75]

Some excellent news I just found from the blog Veronica's Test Kitchen... Acacia will be reopening at 2601 West Cary which is one of the nice looking but long vacant/neglected buildings just a block or two East of the Boulevard. With such a high profile place moving there surely the neighboring buildings will get tenants soon. Great news for Carytown east

[wrldcoupe4]

Yeah the goal eventually is to see Carytown extend to Robinson.... which would be great as a redevelopment of the GTRC site will eventually anchor the eastern boundary.

[jbjust]

Is there any news on the GRTC redevelopment? Presumably, Acacia thinks that it isn't far off.

[jasonb]

Is there any news on the GRTC redevelopment? Presumably, Acacia thinks that it isn't far off.

An even bigger question is "how is the construction of the new GRTC headquarters on Belt Blvd. going?" I cannot say I have read anything about it even though the project started in August 2007. It isn't scheduled to be completed until late 2009 or early 2010. So I imagine redeveloping the land near Robinson & Cary would be done by 2012-2013 depending on what they do...

[nhughes]

From the Style Weekly website: "Style Weekly restaurant critic Brandon Fox talks food with radio host Doc Thompson on WRVA 1140-AM. Tune into the show for more on our State of the Plate Thursday, March 20, at 4 p.m."

I'm not sure I'll be able to tune in, but I'm going to try. I thought the Richmond restaurant enthusiasts here may be interested, too.

[CommRE]

Starbucks is opening April 14th in the Omni. They have finished the interior and baristas were in training when I walked by.

[ric75]

I got to take a peek inside Sheba, the new Ethiopian restaurant opening on 17th Street in Shockoe Bottom. I have to say the place looks great and sooo much better than it did when it was Wildcats. The guy that was working on the place that let us take a quick look thinks it will be open in the matter of a week or two. Can't wait to try out the food!

Also in Bottom news, there's a new Thai restaurant on 17th. Haven't had a chance to sample it yet though we did look at the menu. None of the regular menu items were over $10 so if you're looking for a deal that seems to be a good spot to try.

Anyone have word on the Papa Ningo expansion? I looked inside there a while back and it seemed to be progressing well but haven't heard any news.

[nhughes]

I got to take a peek inside Sheba, the new Ethiopian restaurant opening on 17th Street in Shockoe Bottom. I have to say the place looks great and sooo much better than it did when it was Wildcats. The guy that was working on the place that let us take a quick look thinks it will be open in the matter of a week or two. Can't wait to try out the food!

Also in Bottom news, there's a new Thai restaurant on 17th. Haven't had a chance to sample it yet though we did look at the menu. None of the regular menu items were over $10 so if you're looking for a deal that seems to be a good spot to try.

Anyone have word on the Papa Ningo expansion? I looked inside there a while back and it seemed to be progressing well but haven't heard any news.

I believe the name of the Thai restaurant is ALEX'S THAI. I have a couple of co-workers that live very close by and they've eaten there a few times already. They've been raving about the food.

I don't have any word on PAPA NINGO's expansion, but I'll check the next time I talk with the owner.

Good to hear that SHEBA is coming along. I hope it's another great addition to the 17th Street restaurant corridor!

[wrldcoupe4]

Ahh Papa Ningo is great... it's been a while since I've been there so thanks for reminding me! Glad to hear the storefronts on 17th are filling in!

[D_C]

For any of you who have not yet made it to the Phoenician on West Broad Street, you owe it to yourself to go. We went last night and it was, by far, one of the best dining experiences I have had. Excellent staff, very nice decor, fantastic food that stimulated all of the senses, great wines, Lebanese beer and even the music was very cool. For those of you who like Kebbe the old country way, (uncooked and spiced) you need to call in advance so they can make sure they have it available, as this dish isn't something that they can keep on hand.

I would recommend the Mezza. A $50 price tag may scare you, but when the plates start rolling to your table, it makes an excellent round of starters for 4 or more. Every item on this dish was beyond my expectations. The kabobs were excellent, lamb chops were tender and very flavorful. The 2 different types of baklava were excellent and the Tiramisu was so good that I could have eaten a pound of it even after stuffing myself already. The kicker was the Lebanese coffee that we ordered with our desserts. This high-test espresso-type cup was excellent. I usually have my coffee with lots of sugar and cream, but this delicacy had to be consumed as-is.

Overall, the flavor orgy that we experienced as well as the friendly advice and knowledgeable staff made this one very fine dining experience. Richmond really has a jewell here.

[wrldcoupe4]

Speaking of Lebanese food, the festival yesterday was fantastic... couldn't have asked for a better day to gorge on some Lebanese food.

DC - funny you describe the Kibbeh in the "old country way" as my great grandfather was Lebanese and my great grandmother (German background) used to always tell me how he would eat raw ground beef and she thought it was the strangest thing... she never made the connection in her stories that it was a popular Lebanese dish! I was tempted to try the Kibbeh at the festival yesterday but decided I had to eat those awesome donut hole type things instead.

I've been really meaning to check out the Phoenician as I've heard nothing but good things about it.

And today, it's Broad Appetit!

[Shakman]

Dining tid-bits from richmond.com:

http://www.richmond.com/restaurants-dining/24311

[Henry]

There's a new restaurant coming to journiyin's neighborhood. Wish I could say more at this time....

[journiyin]

There's a new restaurant coming to journiyin's neighborhood. Wish I could say more at this time....

by neighborhood i hope you mean 'building'

[wrldcoupe4]

Wasn't it mentioned that a restaurant could be in the works there?