Bamboo Cafe

12/1/12:

After the parade the traffic was insane. No kidding, as there were an estimated 100,00 people in attendance. That's right, I didn't stutter. 100,00 people. So, there was a lot of traffic leaving. Since it was a beautiful day out JK, MK and myself decided to head towards Carytown to find us some lunch. As we pondered our options, I remembered that I had heard good things about the Bamboo Cafe on Yelp and suggested me try that.  They both seemed satisfied with that suggestion and we set out hoping to reach it before the crowd.

Bamboo Cafe (Bamboo Cafe) is located on the corner of South Mulberry and West Main St. which means that I have passed it on my way to other bars plenty of times. Each time I pass it I say I want to stop in, but had failed to do so until now. It's hard to miss due to the big red awning with the name on it. We had the boys and their GIANT stroller with us, but thankfully there was a place to lock it up outside. Granted, we could have brought it in with us as the waitress and bartender were very accommodating, but why struggle with it. There were tables available when we came in so we sat in the front. As I said, the waitress was great and helped us pull some tables together so we had a place to set-up the boys chairs and still have room for the 3 adults.

Once we were settled the waitress provided us with menus, indicated the specials board and swooned over the boys. We ordered our drinks and got down to studying the menu. The specials board is located on the back wall by the bathrooms and is thus hard to see, if not impossible, from the front. I took a quick walk back there and brought the info back to the table for digestion and discussion. In the mean time, the boys got fed a solid meal of chopped up turkey and cheese, fruit and some classic PB & J. They were also super well behaved so kudos to them and their parents.

The menu at the Bamboo Cafe is very basic, which I really liked. You aren't flipping through 8 pages of options hoping to spy one that strikes your fancy. They lay it out in 1 piece of paper folded in half. Perfect. And the prices are just silly low. It got MK and I reminiscing about the sausage and cheese bagels from high school, but that's neither here nor there. JK and MK decided to split a burger with potato salad and some wings. I went off my usual path and got a roast beef au jus with coleslaw. That was a bold choice for me and I was praying I wouldn't end-up longing for something else with buyers remorse.

Our food came out decently quick, which is key when dining with 1 year olds. Apparently, they have no self control when bored. Thankfully, ours remained amused the entire meal. The burger looked great and was cooked perfectly. Even after splitting it in half, both JK and MK had generous portions. And the boys got to enjoy some potato salad as well. The wings were meaty and not overly spicy, of which MK was very grateful. Overall, they were both very pleased with their split meal.

When my sandwich arrived I was still a little fearful. As soon as the plate was placed in front of me I could feel the fear beginning to ease. The sandwich looked fantastic. The bowl of au jus was steaming and the smell wafting out of it was fantastic. I quickly grabbed a half of the sandwich and dipped it in. What a delightful first bite. The sandwich was meaty and the au jus had deep rich flavor. Just a perfect blend. I confidently plunged forward, my worries from before forgotten. I would be hard-pressed to believe the coleslaw was house-made, but it wasn't bad. And for $6.95 I was very satisfied.

Bamboo Cafe endeared itself to me very quickly on this day. The friendly and helpful service, the good food and the local bar feel all combined to encourage me to return here in the future. I have also heard that their drinks are generous, so maybe a late night visit is in store. Either way, if you are looking for good food in an unpretentious atmosphere, give Bamboo Cafe a try.

The Halligan Bar

11/30/12:

I will tell you right now that this post is a mash-up. It contains photos from both Halligan Bar locations. I just wasn't able to get enough photos at both. So, sorry about it, but them's the breaks. Now on to our regularly scheduled program.

LG, JK and I went to The Halligan Bar (The Halligan Bar) in Short Pump for dinner and some beers on Friday night. LG and I had been to the one in Shockoe Bottom earlier in the week with some police officer friends of ours. I will discuss both here.

First, let's start with Halligan Shockoe Bottom. I have been here a couple of times with LG, but only for drinks. It's a great quiet little bar during the week. By little, I mean 5 or 6 tables. Really a nice place for a drink and some dinner. I haven't been here on a Friday or Saturday night, but the bartender says it's bumping. The weeknight bartender is a really nice guy. He is knowledgeable about both his bar and the surrounding area. The decor is exactly what you expect for a firemen themed bar. There is half a full-sized fire truck along one wall. All of the taps come out of the side. The lights over the bar all sit inside old fire helmets. They are really cool and something I would like to do in my own home if I had a bar. The appetizers I have had here are very tasty and a good sized portion. If you work in downtown, I suggest you get some co-workers and stop in one night.

Now on to The Halligan Bar in Short Pump. This is their second location and a much much bigger one. There are a ton of tables here, bigger staff and a full sized fire truck. The bar goes 3/4ths of the way around the truck which adds to the seating. There is even seating on top of the fire truck with some taps up there. We were advised to call ahead to make reservations for the top of the truck. We ate a full meal here and drank as well.

They have plenty of good beers on tap, like Legend Brown Ale, which is made at a local brewery here in Richmond. They also have a "house beer" here called Smoke Eater. Here is my only complaint about not only The Halligan Bar, but all Richmond bars. This "house beer" is actually Genesee Cream Ale. Being from NY and knowing this beer in my early years I can honestly say one thing, it's nasty. The servers always try to convince you it's good. It's not. It's cheap, but that doesn't mean good. Thankfully, like I said, they have plenty of good beer to balance it out.

The Halligan Bar menu is pretty much BBQ with a touch of lighter fare thrown in there. They have it down right, let me tell you. They have a wide range of platters, plates & sandwiches to choose from along with a plethora of tasty sides. LG went with the bacon cheese fries, a platter big enough to fill her up and leave plenty for JK & I to pick at. The fries were still crispy even after being baked with cheese and bacon on top. There was a nice thick layer of cheese and crumbled bacon, so no bite was ever lacking. What I also liked was that they were served with a giant vat of ranch dressing so as to ensure you never needed a refill. They made a great appetizer and there is plenty for the group to share.

JK was torn between a sandwich and the wings. It's our NY dilemma that we face in every restaurant. Wings are in our blood. It's what we do. So, he went with the wings. Then our debate was how hot. As we discussed the potential merits of heat vs. taste, the time to order arose. JK went with "5 Alarm", the hottest flavor available. When the basket arrived we could see that the wings were of decent size. Certainly not the biggest we've seen, but certainly enough to make a meal. As we extolled upon the positives and negatives about charging for celery, blue cheese & ranch dressing, JK dived into his wings. "They start out sweet and mellow. The heat doesn't seem to creep in until a little later. But when it creeps in, boy does it creep in." is how JK described the flavor. I gave one a try and that was pretty spot on. The heat hits you, but it was delayed. I'm a fan of that because it doesn't rob the eater of the flavor before the heat kicks in. Flavor-wise, JK and I agreed these wings are pretty good. 

I went with the Memphis Style Chicken Sandwich. It's smoked chicken with Halligan sauce (their signature sauce) and cheese on a roll. I got it with slaw, a house-made pickle and a side of chipolte mac & cheese. The meat didn't have a real smokey flavor, but the Halligan sauce gave it good taste. The roll was decent. It held the sandwich together nicely without distracting from the sandwich. The house-made pickle was excellent. It was tangy and crunchy. I could have eaten a half dozen more. The mac & cheese was also good, but not very chipotley. I also would have preferred a smaller pasta then a ziti noodle. but now I'm just being picky. Over all it was a very tasty meal, one I would order again.

Service left a touch to be desired. Our waitress would leave us for long periods of time without checking in. Granted, it was busy, but I would like to have seen her check on us a bit more. Especially when we were ready for our check. We sat for a fairly long period of time before we could even catch our servers eye to get our check. Having worked in food service before, that just frustrates me.

The Halligan Bar is a great place to go after work or with the family for dinner. They have good food and some excellent specials. Give it a chance next time you are looking for
some decent BBQ.

Dominion Christmas Parade

12/1/12:

I first heard about the Dominion Christmas Parade (Dominion Christmas Parade) from a lady on-line. She had attended for a couple years (back when it was the Ukrops Christmas Parade) and she raved about it. She said it was the "greatest local parade" she's ever seen. "A scaled down Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade," she exclaimed. Well, now I had to do a little more research on this parade. I found the official webpage and I was hooked. A 2 hour parade down West Broad St. with balloons, floats and bands? Sign me up! So, I put out an email, rounded up a group and we planned to go to the parade.

The day before we go I had dinner with LG and JK at The Halligan Bar (see The Halligan Bar post for my review) to firm up plans. Thankfully we did because I learned a very important piece of information: GET THERE EARLY!!! I was planning to be there about 9ish. Apparently that isn't early enough. LG said her co-worker suggested you be there way earlier. Between 7:30 and 8 to be exact. So, I agreed to be there at 8 and stake out our spot. Good choice on my end.

I got to Broad St. right about 8am. I posted up right across the street from the Arbys, right in front of the giant DMV building. There weren't many people on the street by this point, so I began to think that being here so early was foolish. I spread out my blanket, had an orange and waited. Slowly people began to fill the street. People began spreading out blankets, laying out chairs and taping off sections of the road. Once the lady busted out the caution tape, I knew this was serious. JK, MK and the boys showed up around 9:30. By that point, the street was pretty packed. People were stacking up behind those of us who had curb-side seating. LG and KW showed up about 9:45 with homemade muffins and mimosas. Well done girls. Quick side note, the DMV building and Arbys were both open for the public to use the bathrooms. We all got settled and waited for the 10am kick-off. Be prepared for the rest of this post to be photo heavy.

The parade was excellent. This years Master of Ceremonies was the Grinch. Unfortunately I didn't get a good photo of him. That disappoints me, but I suppose all my other photos make up for it. Next up came the giant Rudolph balloon. I heard he had a small leak last year, but he was good as new this year. He floated big and proud this year. I love that they have to gently ease each balloon under all of the traffic lights.

There were, of course, plenty of bands in the parade. Most of them were high school bands. Some were military. Then there were your random community organization band. All of them were great. They all played and sounded great. They were well organized and well trained. Kudos to all of them.

 There were firemen, police and EMS, which is standard in every parade. Nice to see our service people representing. Sorry I only have firemen photos. They came out the best. The sun was not in my favor in regards to taking photos.

Oh hey, a naked version of Mighty Mouse... Or so I assume...

I think that my favorite part of the parade were the dance groups. I'm not talking about your Jimmy Dean School of dance kinda groups, granted there were a few of those and they were good. I'm talking about the Native American and Mexican dancers. Both groups were fascinating and had great great music. KW noted that "it's sad that Americans only bump and grind. We have no grace and class to our dance like these people do."

The Renaissance Fair people were in attendance. As was what is apparently a local Star Wars fan club. Even the Flying Squirrels baseball team mascot was spotted running around.

The parade wrap's up with the arrival of Santa. He came rolling in on his sled pulled by a slew of his reindeer. The kids all around us got super excited as he went past which is of course the reaction you want. Makes you feel good about the holiday season.

I highly recommend making this parade part of your families future Christmas tradition. It's about 2 hours long and packed with plenty of cool stuff. Remember to get there early and bring chairs as the ground gets uncomfortable after awhile. I also suggest a small cooler full of snacks. If you want to have some mimosas or maybe some Irish coffee I recommend pre-mixing and bringing them with. Take your time getting back to your car after. Traffic is kinda rough, so there is no need to rush. Go, enjoy yourself and thank me later.