i have been remiss. i just received probably my tenth email on this and i have posted nada. 

so here it is. 

if you or a loved one are on a restricted or doctor-mandated diet, where might you get your meals? 

 where are there places (in richmond) that provide a meal service to individuals that may be too busy (i.e. hectic job) to cook or make healthy nutritional decisions?

please comment away with suggestions.

this is *by no means* a response to restaurant week. i love the food bank (if one can love a food bank) and think that everyone should pay 25.09 to donate 2.09 to the local food bank. EVERYONE. and they should bring a can.  

jk, jk. restaurant week is a great way for peeps to check out a restaurant they wouldn’t normally and for a good cause. 

BUT, here are a few other ways and the food bank takes donations all year. 

richmond specials ALL the time 

it’s in pink which makes me see unicorns and rainbows. 
 *certainly if anyone has others – feel free to comment away.

wednesday is as good as any day for food porn. so here you are – a few good pictures of some yum in the last few months. those cupcakes are veron’s AND my, oh my, they taste as good as they look.

this directly from the o.g. ED. 

you heard it  from him first. (well, technically…..)

why do i hear..black VELVET…

i happened to stumble on this AND think you should as well.

where is the “indian food”?

nice, VERY nice. read and comment, people.

the first couple of times i have eaten at the bass pro shop (wha?) – everything has been kosher. with the curiosity of the restaurant being out of odd items; potatoes on one occasion, the vegetable of the day on another, all signs pointed to (FOR BEING ATTACHED TO a store with many mounted items) good food, ok atmosphere.  (this is where everyone asks themselves why we would be at a hunting/fishing/outdoor activity shop on multiple occasions – no worries, we are having the same conversation now.) 

this last visit could be only described as a latent disaster. upon arrival, it never seems to fail that the wait is always massive.  AND we waited while almost every table in the plastic animal-covered place had emptied and apparently, their best servers left as well. a good hour of wait led us to an abandoned table in an almost empty room. 

ordering simply “we will all have water”, we immediately went for the appetizer that has not been available on previous visits: the “famous” in-house-made chips (consisting of that elusive potato – this same vegetable that just manages to be out of commission whenever we pull into the fish house parking lot).

it is to be so this time and we are served a heaping platter of thinly sliced potatoes fried crispy and slathered with all the toppings of a loaded baker. had there been football, baseball …err soccer ball on a nearby television, beer would have been consumed in ridiculously large quantities and someone would have located a tv remote just to hold. these babies are the only redeemable food item that graced any plate near me all night. 

our next step was to peruse the menu for  an entree. knowing my last visit had afforded me a damn good fish and chip, i was prepared to go down that road willingly again. our server returns and begins to take our order. surprisingly, they are yet again out of their vegetable of the day AND this time, catfish. the very same fish they use to MAKE their “famous” fish and chips. a couple of things i probably should mention: it is the weekend, this is a fish house, AND this is what they tout as “famous” (we plan on saying famous a lot more times in this post, so if it has become annoying for you – stop reading).  curious, i ask how a seafood restaurant could run out of such a  thing, especially since it is their most “famous” entree. 

AND HERE WAS MY ANSWER: 

“we had two very large tables. they all (or mostly all) ordered catfish. i guess we were just ill-prepared. we did go to the local food lion and buy all they had but it just didn’t last. our special is wall-eye. “

(if you want.. you can take the same three minutes i did and digest that bunk.)

none of us had any idea what to do. we all order other things. i have the wall-eye. it IS pathetically NOT famous. i order it grilled – it comes blackened. it needed to be blackened as i think it came in with the last order of “famous” catfish. my companion has the salmon (cooked medium- it comes to her, well, well done.) and a salad which doesn’t appear to the end of the meal and only then, after a reminder to our waitress. 

other items that failed miserably: an undercooked baked potato drowned in what could have been a half pound of butter and a overcooked shrimp cocktail.  

i really hope they get in some more catfish. 

*the kid’s chicken tender meal is 3.99 and is a really great deal if you have a small that likes to run around pretending to drive things and staring at live/dead animals and fish. so there’s that.

both thai diner and thai diner too are hole-in-the-wall-  thai diner too, a bit more pronounced in its carytown location.  the original thai diner is sandwiched between a super king buffet (150 rando food items for 9.95) and a greek nondescript eatery. it is easy to miss. it seems a bit like an afterthought. oddly set up in the inside with fake fish and turquoise accents, the place views as a tad crazy.

the food (and i have eaten there A BUNCH) ranges from pretty good to downright decent. while you may not write your mother about their pad thai or drunken noodle, you will take the leftover home to reheat for lunch/dinner AND enjoy it. on a recent visit, however, i came across a seasonal dish that will make you get out your pen.

served only in the fall months and made with “asian pumpkin” (my server said this- SHE did not say kabocha), this is the master class in thai curry. this red pumpkin curry dish had me singing through out the day. fresh vegetable stir-fried lightly with the addition of huge chunks of pumpkin mixed with coconut milk and curry, the dish comes across almost stewy. i substituted noodles for my rice and was glad i did. rice would break the dish, somehow separating the mesh of flavor that the curry, milk and pumpkin produce so spendidly. 

though you can add as much meat to the dish as you feel necessary, my suggestion is to rock it vegetarian.  

it IS a romantic curl up- to-go type dish – so tip tip – in the same weird shopping center, you can pick up a bottle of wine. go forth and eat squash.

looks like things went south. ….http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/62420252.html.

other peeps have stated monetary issues, but don’t know if that has any validity.

on a concert-ous night this past thursday, we stopped by the old pomegranate to see what the “soft opening” of bouchon might look like. it looked busy. well frankly, it was hoppin’. the owner of la grotta (apparently, quite buddy-buddy with the bouchon owner) was holding court at the bar while several couple-y tables made up the entirety of the tiny restaurant. buzzing with servers, we were greeted immediately by the owner’s wife who promptly told us her and his (the chef) life stories, gave up tips on the specials, lamented about running out of mussels and seemed truly surprised by the amount of diners on the particular evening.

with insider news about the night’s dishes, we dove into the menu emerging with very little cooked fare. we are always searching for the perfect cheese plate so it was a no brainer to begin with the five french cheeses. add to that the charcuterie plate, the foie gras, tuna tartar and a tart (everyone is talking about them – AND for good reason), we were ready for some serious french chow. 

on the cheese plate, five (on the smaller side) wedges of french cheese accompanied by figs, walnuts, and other nuts: a brie, camembert, a semi-soft, a blue cheese, and a goat cheese.  background on your fromage? – brie and camembert are both made in france specifically and are protected by very distinct french guidelines (similar to champagne, kinda). the camembert and brie names, however are not protected and can be used on a myriad of cheeses that do not necessarily measure up to the guidelines that are imposed on the three “regions” that produce the real deal. camembert is typically made of raw milk and alas, we state peeps just aren’t down with the non-pasteurization thing just yet.  

none of the cheeses served to us were particularly notable. this is not to say they were bad, by any means. they were good mundane french cheese.

on the other hand, the charcuterie was a myriad of meat fireworks. served with a tamarind fig “sauce”, a out-of-this world tapenade and a spicy hot mustard, there was duck sausage, rabbit sausage and three different hams. the sausages were outstanding – i am, however having trouble locating rabbit sausage in french cuisine. perhaps someone has insight?

the hams were decadent. it looked (and this is by my very untrained ham-spotting eye) as if we had one of these. without being too much help, and i am sorry – know they were fantastic and definitely a do-over.  after munching on these meats, i attempted to glean more information from the owner and our waitress….. and to no avail as they were not parting with where they get their meats from. while strong-arming to get the most minute of details regarding purveyors (like that -6lus6?) that are used, we were sent an odd amuse bouche of chorizo? strange and somewhat incongruous coming from a french chef, we still took the opportunity to enjoy a latin fresh and fatty chopped pork and pork fat. 

as for our foie gras and tuna, stellar. the foie gras is served with roast figs in lovely cast iron dishes that enhance the sear adding no less done-ness to the liver but a wonderful caramelization of flavors between the fig and goose.  quite decadent and almost dessert. 

the tuna was also outstanding. paired with very salty capers and salmon roe, the texture of the tuna and the roe create a sweet yet salty, crunchy and soft delight. my only complaint is there wasn’t enough. 

while the above are reasons alone to sample bouchon, do not leave without trying a tart (a mini pizza, if you will) and the potato au gratin. the tart we sampled was an elevation in “pizza”. topped with caramelized onions, creme fraiche and speck (another oddity for french cuisine) it was amazing. bubbly bread made at the restaurant (slightly sweet) was a perfect base for the small pie. interestingly enough, the salad of mache, frisee and other bitter lettuces served as a garnish/accompaniment gave the already delicious personal an even better flavor. definitely put the two together for a few well-balanced bites. 

au gratin , a term often taken to mean with cheese is a common french dish that can been classified to be anything browned and served in the dish in which it was cooked. the gratin served at bouchon is a culinary masterpiece. i could have eaten four of them. the “creme” wedged in between the delicate slices of potato should bottled and marketed as love or all things good or orgasmic or something equally similar. so what i really am saying is “oh goodness, it was good.” 

bouchon  can be defined as a type of restaurant that serves pork, sausage and pates(meat centric). funny thing is originating in lyon, these restaurants are not known for fancy-schmancy meals. according to many sources, they are fun and neighborly with many patrons having personal connections to the owner.  if this is the case -after just a few weeks, the richmond bouchon shows potential to be the essence of that  particular definition.