Stars: 4.7 out of 5.0
Pros: Meet People, Fun, Dish Sampling
Cons:
When I first moved to Richmond, I saw an ad for a position with a company called Dishcrawl as an Ambassador. I chose to ignore it for a month or two until it hit me that it didn't hurt to apply. Too late!! Position was already filled. Later, the opportunity to do an article on Dishcrawl for Richmond.com arose and I jumped at it. I got to meet the current Dishcrawl Richmond Ambassador, Melanie. I talked with her for just over an hour and by the end I knew I needed to be on her first crawl event. JT, BN and I all bought tickets, gussied up and hit Carytown for Dishcrawl Richmonds first official Crawl of Carytown.
Dishcrawl (Dishcrawl Richmond) has a very simple concept that they execute very well. They work with four local restaurants in one section of town to put together 4 different taste experiences. Each restaurant features little tapas sized dishes of some of their menu items for everyone to try. While you are sitting there you also get to hear from either the head chef or the owner. They tell you a little about what they are serving and the restaurant itself. It's a great concept that really lets you get out and experience some different places that you may not have gone to on your own.
We bought our tickets online and were sent an email telling us to meet at Mezzanine (Mezzanine) at 7pm. It also highly recommended we wear comfortable shoes as there would be walking and standing involved. I recommend you follow this bit of advice. I'm directing this to the ladies especially. Find that pair of shoes that are both fashionable AND functional. When we got to Mezzanine we were directed upstairs to meet the group. Melanie greeted us right away. She joked about our late ticket purchases (sorry miss), then handed us blank name tags and sharpies. Once we were officially labeled we found a seat at an empty table. We were soon joined by more people and began an excellent table conversation. I'm pretty sure it revolved around why people must insist on telling tall people they are tall. It started because this dude was TALL!! There was an excellent crowd of people at the event. Rough guess would say there were about 25 or 30 of us. As the night progressed we chatted with most of them. Everyone was very pleasant. Dishcrawl is a great place to meet people with a like interest in food. It's also an older crowd, like 30-50. It's a nice change from the bar scene.
Mezzanine offered us the first taste and it was an excellent start. On the plate was a one-bite spoon of Carolina Shrimp n' Grits. I'm not a grits man, but this was a good bite. It had nice flavor, but a spoonful was enough for me. The plate also had a Hanover Tomato Stack which was local Hanover county tomatoes layered with goat cheese & basil then drizzled with balsamic vinegar. While I have always merely preached the wonders of a fresh locally grown tomato, this stack is Mezzanine and Hanover County's joint manifesto that expounds the true greatness of local produce. The flavor of the tomato alone is phenomenal. Add to it the creamy tangy goat cheese and the sharp bite of the balsamic vinegar and you have an appetizer that will invoke taste memories for years to come. The final piece to this plate was a tempura avocado taco. This taco was without question one of the best ways I have ever seen avocado done. Battered in a light tempura batter and gently fried. It was crunch yet smooth. It lay on a wonderful little soft taco shell with cabbage and salsa. Truly a genius preparation. The entire plate was well executed and wonderful. Before we ate we heard from the owner/chef Todd Johnson. He spoke about his love of local ingredients and it showed in his food. Well done.
We all finished up and grouped up outside to move on to the next place like a herd of hungry grazers going from field to field. The next stop was Xtra's Cafe (Xtra's Cafe). This place is deceptively large. When you glance from the outside it doesn't seem like much, but there is quite a decent sized old-school restaurant at the top of those stairs. The staff had set out a little buffet of several selections for our group. There were some peel and eat Old Bay shrimp, bruschetta and spring rolls with a pineapple sauce. I found the shrimp were of a wonderful size and had great flavor, but they were a touch unwieldy. There wasn't a ton of seating so several of us stood holding our plates. It is hard to peel shrimp and hold your plate level at the same time. Still, they were wonderfully seasoned. The bruschetta was topped with onions, capers, tomatoes and mozzarella. There was a drizzle of balsamic on it as well. I like that the toppings had a chance to blend their flavors. That really added to the whole bite. The star for me was the spring rolls. They were crisp and warm with wonderful filling. The pineapple dipping sauce was fruity and bright. It played well with the spring roll. I could use that sauce on a ton of stuff. As we mingled in groups the owner, Xtra Moore came by and talked to us all. She was a wonderfully peppy woman with a deep love for what she does.
After finishing off our drinks we tangoed our way to our next destination, Nacho Mama's (Nacho Mama's). The exciting colors and upbeat energy of the place hits you as soon as you open the front door. You can't help but feel excited and ready to nosh immediately. We were led upstairs where we found ourselves in the back room. All of the tables were set with baskets of chips and each spot had an individual cup of house-made queso and house-made salsa. As we snacked on these we learned about Nacho Mama's roots and it's passion for helping the community. I appreciate a restaurant that helps out the community that supports it. We then received a nice taste of their watermelon margarita and their Mama's Mexican Pizza. This hearty creation is layers of tortilla, beans and (in this case) chicken. It's topped with jalapenos, olives, salsa, onions and cheese. It was baked so that the tortillas are crispy and the cheese has a wonderful melt to it. It was a hearty plate and one that I would certainly order again. Nacho Mama's also has an impressive margarita list that I must come back and sample...
Filling up quickly we all shuffled down the street to our dessert course at the Water Coastal Kitchen (Water Coastal Kitchen). We were again led upstairs to a private back room where we all found our seats for the last time of the evening. As we all reminisced about the food we had already eaten the servers brought out the dessert. We were each presented with a quaint little slice of key lime pie. It was set in a crumbly (in a good way) delicious graham cracker crust and adorned with whipped cream and berries. It was tart, as good key lime pie should be, with an enjoyable sweetness from the crust. It was a tremendous ending to the tour.
We slowly began to break-up and go our separate ways. Some went out for more drinks while some of us went to work for 9 hours. But we all left the night knowing we had spent 3 pleasant hours sampling a small sliver of the restaurant scene that is Richmond. Sure, we spent $45 to do so, but we all met new people and had an experience like few others that week would enjoy. Dishcrawl is the real deal doing food crawls the right way. Keep an eye on their website and follow them on Twitter (@dishcrawlrva). My thanks to Melanie for organizing a great night. I look forward to seeing more of these from you in the future. I hope my readers take the time to try it out for themselves.
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