New Site Has Launched

     It has finally happened! After just over a year of stalling, humming and hawing I have finally decided to make GoingOutInRichmond.com a reality!! The site is up and running. It looks a little different then what you are used to seeing here, but the content is just the same (sorry, I can't improve EVERYTHING at once).

     I will stop adding full length posts here starting very soon. Instead, I will add a small preview of the post and a connecting link to the new site. It should take you right where you want to go. Trust me, it will be wonderful.

     Also look for Going Out In Richmond to start to dabble in some new things. Shirts might be making an appearance soon. A podcast with Marcella Lee of Broad Appetite is also in the works. I will soon be doing some work as editor/writer for RVA Live starting very shortly. I will also hopefully be taking part in growing Richmond's newest group of food writers, The Richmond Food Coalition (RVAFC for short). Look for us to start doing some big things. And finally I will be taking any and all freelance writing jobs I can get my hands on.

     As you can see, I have taken big steps since I started this thing. I want to thank you, my loyal readers, for your constant support. It's really been a huge source of encouragement. I also want to thank those who help me be the best I can, be it as editors or idea sources or sounding boards or even critics. I'm in debt to you all.

     As we journey on here at Going Out In Richmond, I hope you stick with us. It only get better from here.

Dash: Kitchen + Carry

4/6/14:

Stars: 4.75 out of 5.0

Pros: Bright Space, Unique Décor, Well Priced, Fast Friendly Service, Great Food

Cons: 

     I couldn't have been more excited when I found out Jessica & Josh Bufford, owners of Toast & Estilo in the Village Shopping Center, were opening a new joint near VCU. When I had the opportunity to talk to Jessica about it a month or so ago her excitement was palatable and contagious. So when she sent me a Tweet inviting me to come give Dash a test run prior to their scheduled 5pm opening on 4/7, I couldn't resist. I picked up SB, and off we went for a late dinner.

     Dash (Dash Kitchen+Carry Facebook) has moved into the former home of The Well and Cous Cous on VCU's campus. It's not a massive restaurant space, being decidedly smaller than both Toast and Estilo, but it seats roughly 65-70 people. Also note that seating around the perimeter of the dining area has little storage cubbies underneath, perfect for stuffing all those book bags & computers hauled around by folks from VCU, one of Jessica & Josh’s target clienteles. It has massive amounts of windows which will make it bright and cheery during the day. To those who were familiar with Cous Cous, in contrast, at night Dash is nicely lit thanks in part to a floor to ceiling lighted wall dividing the ordering counter from the seating area that Josh made himself. Jessica explained to SB & I that back in school she and Josh were both theater kids (I was one myself). Josh specialized in lighting design and has carried that passion to each of their restaurants. This center divider is a great example.

     The concept of Dash is that you order from the counter, get a number and find a table. A server brings you your food and will occasionally be around to ask if you want refills or condiments. The concept is a beautiful fit on a college campus if you think about it. College students usually take lunch to accomplish one of two things: study or socialize. The laissez faire-esque approach of Dash is perfect for both activities as it eliminates the hovering server from the picture. Jessica also expressed her hope that this will be more than just a college hot spot. She told me there have been plenty of times when she and her mom would come down to the Altria Theater to see a show after getting of work around 5pm. If the show is at 6 or 6:30, that didn't give much time for a full sit down meal. That makes a place like Dash ideal because you can be in and out quickly while still enjoying a quality meal. I love this idea and hope to get the chance to utilize Dash for this purpose.

     SB and I took a moment to review the menu. It's not very big consisting of burgers, salads and sandwiches. What amazed me is that for such a small menu, the variety in choices was huge. And the prices were super reasonable. You can build your own burgers with an amazing amount of toppings starting at just $6. Granted, that doesn't come with a side, but $6 for a burger is a steal. After eyeballing the menu for a few moments, we decided to split a Fire Roasted Caesar Salad. SB also ordered the Costa Rican Chicken Salad sandwich and I went with the Estilo's Cubano. The employee behind the counter gave us a number to put on our table and we sat down.

     Our food came out very quickly; faster then I expected really. When we were talking with Josh later on he said the kitchen aims to have most of the dishes out in 7 to 10 minutes tops. That right there is speedy folks. The server who brought us our food also walked around the seating area keeping up on people’s drinks and clearing away the dishes. All of the staff was wonderfully friendly and helpful. Even on a night where they were still getting down the gist of the system they were great.

     The Fire Roasted Caesar Salad was excellent. SB asked what made it fire roasted, as the romaine itself isn't. It turns out the cherry tomatoes chopped up (SB & I both agreed that we loved the chopped tomato as opposed to whole ones) in the salad are garlic infused and fire roasted. They aren't overpoweringly garlicky either, which was pleasing to me. The Caesar dressing that is on the salad is nice as well because it’s a vinaigrette which means it's not as thick as regular Caesar dressing. The portion was perfect for 2 people to split or a solid meal for a single person.

     SB's Costa Rican Chicken Salad was spot-on wonderful. It is essentially two split top rolls packed with chicken salad and topped with arugula. We both could have used a little more of the arugula, but the chicken salad itself was all that chicken salad should be. It wasn't too dry or sopping wet. It had a little crunch from the cashews and a bite of tangy heat from the lizano sauce. SB got sweet potato tots as a side, which I'm usually not a fan of. She loved them! They were very good (I did try one) but sweet potato is not my bag of oats. She said she could eat them as a side every time so they must be good.

     I wanted to try something new, I really did. But when I saw that Estilo’s Cubano staring up at me from the menu, I caved. Pork, ham and salami with mustard and pickles makes for a complete and happy sandwich. I loved everything about this Cuban. I would venture a guess and say that it wasn’t pressed in a typical Panini press, but perhaps a waffle iron. I only say this due to the uniform criss-crossed press pattern. The bread was amazingly soft on the inside with a beautiful crust on the outside. And the meats were wonderful. The pork was beautifully marinated and cooked. I could have eaten just that as a sandwich and been very pleased. The mustard added a tang to cut the saltiness of the meat. This sandwich did not disappoint. I also went with the hand cut fries as my side. I would have liked a little more salt, but otherwise these are delicious. They have great crisp to the outside. Dip them in the house made ketchup that comes along with it and you have a delectable combination.

     Dash Kitchen + Carry certainly impressed both SB and I with their décor, service and food. The concept is wonderful. Their execution looks to be spot on. VCU students, faculty and staff are in for a real treat having this in their yard. I look forward to my return trip, maybe after SB and I see Wicked later this month. There is a custom made burger with my name on it.

Burger Blast

2/21/14:

Stars: 4.5 out of 5.0

Pros: Lots of Restaurants, Lots of Breweries, Excellent Food

Cons: Super Crowded, Some Places Out of Food

     I have a deep affection for burgers. Something about patties of meat with toppings on a bun just gets me going. When my new boss offered to take me to Burger Blast, an all you can eat & drink event, I was an immediate yes. So, we all headed down to the Richmond Convention Center, got a tasting glass and walked into a room filled with greatness.

     Burger Blast (Burger Blast) is held the night before the VA Wine Expo. It is basically an event that brings in 15 different chefs/restaurants who will each create a slider-size burger with all sorts of different ingredients and toppings. You can eat as many as you want and are free to try all 15 locations. There was also over 25 VA craft beers and various VA wines for sampling. You could try all of those as well. It's pretty much heaven in a room.

     I will say right off the bat that this event draws a crowd. They sold out of tickets and the room was packed. There were lines and groups of people every way you turned. It made negotiating with full hands very difficult. It also meant that some burger lines were super long. It also meant you would start out in one beer line and randomly end up at another tap. I wasn't such a huge fan of the crowd.

     As soon as we got through the door, we got some beer. I started out with Lickinghole Creek's Magic Beaver. It was excellent. With a full beer in hand, it was time to focus on burgers. We jumped in the closest line, which turned out to be Mezzanine's line. They were serving up what was easily top 2 non-beef burger I tried. It was ground chicken & avocado with a red onion pineapple relish. The chunks of avocado mixed into the ground chicken gave it a fresh taste. The relish was citrusy and bright. It accented the earthy taste of the burger well. My boss went back for a second later in the night. I can't blame her.

     We started to make our way around the room. We stopped at the Brew booth. The burger was beef laced with pepperoni, onion & garlic. It was topped with mozzarella, goat cheese & marinara spread. It was very good. I'm a big fan of goat cheese so adding that is always a winner for me.

     We also grabbed a burger from Reynolds Community College. This group of culinary students put together bison & short ribs with a VA dark lager/bacon glaze on a house made bun topped with cherry tomato jam, smoked Muenster cheese, pickled red onion and watercress salad all finished off with a grainy mustard. This burger had a lot of things going on. It was richly flavored with all of the flavors blending nicely. I was very impressed because I thought it was going to be to busy. Kudos to the culinary students.

     Next up was Toast with the other of the top 2 non-beef burger I tried. It was a salmon burger topped with dill cream cheese, poached shallot and a Cabernet Franc wine reduction. First off... WHOA! This burger was a phenom. The salmon was fresh and fantastic. I love love LOVE dill and I think it's hard to have salmon sans dill. Add it with cream cheese and you have a luscious topping. The shallots added that light onion flavor while the wine added a little tang. I wanted to sit at the Toast booth and eat these salmon burgers till I died. Nicely done.

     In the midst of filling my glass and wandering around, I stumbled upon Carytown Burgers & Fries offering. It was a chopped sirloin burger with mushrooms, peppers, onions, lettuce, tomato, mayo, Italian dressing and provolone cheese. It was a basic burger in my book. And one thing Carytown Burgers & Fries can do is a basic burger. It was perfect. This is just one more reason they are one of Richmond's top 5 burgers in my book.

     In all I ate 9 sliders that night. That is roughly 3 lbs. of meat over the course of 2 hours. I wanted to hit all 15 places, but some ran out of burgers. Granted, they could only prepare so much food and bring so much product with them, but damn it!!! I wanted all of the burgers! Next year I guess I'll just have to get there earlier.

     Burger Blast is every carnivore booze-hounds dream. I know for a fact that I will be going back next year. It's worth every penny of admission. It's well laid out, well organized and I was well fed. High fives to everyone involved!