821 Cafe

9/15/13:

Stars: 4.8 out of 5.0

Pros: Ample Seating, Friendly Staff, Beer, Quality Food

Cons: 

     I hate working night shift. I have done it for quite awhile now and it's beginning to wear me out. Working night shift at my job generally means I work weekends and never get to see my friends or indulge in breakfast without great effort. But, with a day or so heads up I'm willing to forgo sleep in favor of breakfast with friends. And MC is one of those people that loves a fine Sunday breakfast meet-up. So, when she invited me to join her and a few others at 821 Cafe (821 Cafe) I packed up from work, blew my date with my pillow off and met them.

     I had driven by 821 Cafe dozens of times but had never really thought to stop there. It's a wonderful brick building with ample front windows that give you a sweeping view of the inside seating area. When I arrived there was a plethora of bikes out front which indicated to me that this was a place favored by the locals. I'm always a fan of that. There was no wait when I got there and MC & company already had a table. But when we left there was a small congregation of folks outside waiting for a table. Another good sign.

     What really surprised me when I walked into 821 Cafe was the seating. There are a lot of tables (for a building that size) in their dining room not to mention the bar seating. You have plenty of choices between booths, tables or bar. Near the big front windows or back along the wall. Table for 2 or table for 10. It's all available there. And most of the seats were taken when I arrived. I figured that would make conversation difficult, but it was merely a dull buzz. It was very nice.

     MC & group had waited for me to order (very kind of them). I quickly browsed the menu so as not to keep the group waiting. The waitress was very patient and very friendly. She fully supported me getting a beer as I had worked all night so this was my dinner... technically, I guess.  I settled on an omelet, english muffin, glass of milk and a beer. 821 Cafe has a very nice beer selection. I went with an Oktoberfest as I am trying to get into the season. There were plenty of other choices too. There were easily 10 different varieties, styles and brands listed on their board. I may have to get in on their happy hour one of these days.

     The waitress brought me my beer and my milk while we chatted. I know that may gross people out, but my stomach handles it just fine. We chatted and joked while we waited for our food. For the amount of people there, the kitchen worked pretty quickly. After I made everyone wait while I took pictures, we dug in. My food was excellent. I appreciated the side of fruit. It's one of those things I never really order on my own, but very much enjoy when I get it. Except grapes... foul little objects. The english muffin was nicely toasted. I know that's a weird thing to comment on, but think back to the last time you got one. Places tend to rush the toasting process. You tend to get an english muffin or hard roll with a toast so light that you can't even be sure it's there. Not at 821 Cafe. It was toasted and it was toasted right. The side of potatoes was pretty decent. I'm still slowly working my way to being a fan of potatoes, but these helped. They were crisp with a nice rosemary coating. My omelet was big and stuffed. It was filled with meat, cheese and veggies. I couldn't have asked for better. It was one of the better (and most filling) omelets I have had in awhile. I almost didn't finish.

     Everyone else seemed to enjoy their food as we all scarfed it down during a lively debate about grits (not a fan. Unless we are talking about Girls Raised In The South... then I love grits). I blame my NY roots as we don't eat grits up there. Biscuits either (which was another discussion). We are a bagel people and we don't apologize for it. MC took part of her meal home for later, but the rest of us did some fine work cleaning plates.

     821 Cafe is one of those places that I have overlooked for far far to long. They have an excellent breakfast served by a personable staff. They offer vegetarian and vegan dishes as well. They attract a diverse local crowd with their fresh-made offerings. So, stop driving by and stop in some morning for breakfast and a beer. You may end up making it a regular haunt.

Don't Look Back Taco Bar Revisited

9/10/13:

Stars: 4.4 out of 5.0

Pros: Mug Night, Beer Selection, Food

Cons:

     Not long ago, while sitting at New York Deli (New York Deli), BN and I were introduced to mug night. Plop down $5 and you get a mug that is good at three different bars on three different nights of the week. The premise is you pay for one 16oz. beer and they fill up your 32oz. mug. Wunderbar!! Well, Tuesday night is Mug Night at Don't Look Back Taco Bar (Don't Look Back) and we just happened to be in the area WITH our mugs. Time for a beer and a snack...

     I have been to Don't Look Back Taco Bar before (Visit 1) and enjoyed it. So I knew this trip was already off to a good start. We easily found seats at the bar and were promptly greeted by the bartender. He told us which beers were exempt from mug night and then took our order. He made sure our glasses were filled to the brim before leaving us with some menus to figure out our next move.

     Mug Night is a wonderful concept. You recoup your $5 up front cost after you order 2 beers, which is quickly in our case. And you are paying a cheap price for quality beers. Each location that hosts it has a wonderful beer selection. Actually I'm getting a craving for some beer just typing this paragraph. And sure, there are a few restrictions, but they are small and a non-factor in the overall scheme of things. I highly recommend you jump on this gravy train. And each place has a wonderful beer selection. It's a lot of craft beers including locals. I am a big fan of locals so I'm glad to see them on tap. I chose a 32oz. cup of Founders and settled in to look at the menu.

     BN and I each settled on 2 tacos. It just seemed a very smart move when we were drinking that much wonderful booze. The menu has wonderful choices that sparked much debate between the 2 of us. Which tacos are best? What style would be better? Should there be 2 separate tacos with 2 different styles or stay uniform across the board? So much to argue. I decided on a shredded beef and a chorizo, both gringo style. They came out quickly and they were wonderful. Lots of flavor and I really really like the flour tortillas. They are soft and tasty. Yet again, Don't Look Back comes through with a solid meal.

     Don't Look Back Taco Bar yet again comes up big. Mug Night and a solid selection of tacos really sealed up this win without question. So, when you find yourself peckish and thirsty on a Tuesday night after 7pm, go wrap your fingers around a mug & a taco. Tuesday is complete!!

   

Kitchen 64 Revisit - Breakfast

9/1/13:

 Stars: 4.7 out of 5.0

Pros: Waitstaff, Selection, Speed, Quality

Cons: To Go

     My friend CB and his girlfriend LB just moved to Richmond! It's a very exciting time. I wish all my friends would move here, but that's probably won't happen. Anyway, the weekend that they moved down we had the chance to do breakfast. CB, his father and I met up at Kitchen 64 (Kitchen 64) as I had never tried their breakfast. I have been here twice before for dinner (Visit 1) (Visit 2) with mixed results. But I am stubborn and refuse to give up on a place so quickly, especially when there are eggs involved.

     We arrived and were promptly greeted & seated in the front room by a very pleasant hostess. There were quite a few open tables but the place was fairly busy when we left. Our waitress came over soon after we sat down. She welcomed us and engaged in a slight bit of chit chat, which was very nice. She gave us menus, answered our questions about take out and then left us to study the menu.

     The breakfast menu has a very nice variety of selections on it, but it's not overwhelming. You should be able to find something you enjoy. I have never been one who craves Eggs Benedict, but Kitchen 64 has the potential to change that with their selection of different "Bennies". It wouldn't be today though. CB and his dad focused on the french toast with the fruit on the side & a side of bacon while I went with huevos rancheros. I pondered a $12 pitcher of mimosas, but I felt that would maybe make it look like I had a drinking problem. So, I went with milk. We also placed a to go order of pancakes for CB's mother to come out at the end of our meal.

     We placed our order and began chatting about the move. I, never having rented a moving company, was surprised at the cost. Granted, I know moving isn't cheap as I have done it a bunch of times. And I've always wanted to hire movers, but damn... I can't afford that. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. We weren't chatting long before our food was brought to the table. I know breakfast is considerably quicker to cook, but kudos to the Kitchen 64 back-of-house staff on being super speedy.

     The french toast was quite the plateful. It looked very good to the point where I always feel a touch of buyers remorse for not getting it. I always feel that way AFTER seeing french toast. And to use the word side when describing the mound of bacon on the plate seems to wimpy. It would almost be better to say a plate of bacon with a side of french toast... And the bacon was good, I had a taste. Some was chewy (which I love) while others were crispy. A nice fair mix. Now, onto my huevos rancheros. This was a big bowl of eggs, peppers, onions, avocado and chorizo all over salsa and beans draped with a cheese quesadilla topped off with a little sour cream. It's almost 2 meals in one. The edges of my bowl were neatly drizzled with Siracha, which was a wonderful addition. I set about immediately to breaking my over-easy eggs and mixing everything together. This was a killer breakfast! All the flavors blended nicely and everything was cooked wonderfully. I could have eaten a second bowl (figuratively, not literally as I was stuffed). I would recommend this dish to anyone who ever asks me for a breakfast that will leave you stuffed in Richmond.

     After we were done the waitress brought us our check, but not our to go meal. When we mentioned this, she acknowledged that she had completely forgotten to put the order in. She was quick to rectify this mistake and she willingly coped to it so I only removed .03 stars. I appreciate that she fixed it as quickly as possible. It also gave us a chance to discuss the Flying Squirrels season, their purposed new stadium and their attendance statistics so it wasn't a truly devastating mistake.

     My third visit to Kitchen 64 has swung me back in to their positive fan-camp. I was very impressed with my visit this time, in no short part due to the food. Kitchen 64 certainly has a wonderful breakfast going on. If nothing else, I will be back to sample more breakfast items (especially that mimosa pitcher). Next time you find yourself in Northside around breakfast time, swing in and fill your belly.