Out and About

One of the things that nobody mentions about restaurant reviewing is that you really need to love doing stuff. That sounds obvious and dumb, I know. But what I mean is this: If you are the kind of person who, at the end of the day, just wants to plop in front of the TV to decompress for two to twelve hours, it is not the job for you. You've gotta like going out - even when it's raining.

Fortunately, I do like it. A lot. Which is why it's not even bothering me that I have gone out five of the past seven nights. And hosted people at our house for the sixth. On the seventh day (which happened to be Monday, so it was actually in the middle), I did, in fact, rest.

In between the reviews and the Halloween festivities, this week included two collaborative dinners - one in Richmond and one in Baltimore. Both were just awesome. 

The menus, for your viewing pleasure:

Both dinners were packed full of special stuff - including duck. So much duck. And it was all so good. I'm not sure I can pick an absolute favorite, though I will say that the most exciting dish of all was the first course at Fork and Cork - scallop crudo from Zack Mills. It was paired with a Riesling, which is not usually my bag, but in this case, it was really lovely and right.

But really, both evenings were wonderful. From candy to crudo, we have had a hell of a week of eating. And crazily enough, I'm ready for more tomorrow.

Upcoming Eating

It's Halloween weekend, which means that I, along with most of America, am going to eat an unnatural number of tiny candy bars and then, for the next week, I'm going to find their little wrappers all over my house (courtesy of both Dixon and  Cooper).

But candy is not all I'll eat over the next few days - I also have a couple seriously amazing dinners lined up.

Today, I'm heading to Richmond, just for the night, where I will get to spend some QT with my new-ish niece, Virginia Catherine (she was born in July) - and where I will eat. Erin and Cail and I are going to a Fire, Flour and Fork dinner at Southbound tonight.

Fire, Flour and Fork is a multi-day food-oriented event that includes a bunch of lectures and tours, plus tons of collaborative dinners that bring together chefs from all over the place. The Southbound dinner, called Beardbound, includes four awesome chefs: Travis Grimes (the Exec Chef at Husk in Charleston), Justin Carlisle (the chef/owner of Ardent in Milwaukee, WI), Lee Gregory (owner of The Roosevelt in Richmond) and Joe Sparatta (owner of Heritage in Richmond). The Roosevelt and Heritage are two of Cail's favorite restaurants in Richmond and - overall - this dinner is sure to be incredible.

Speaking of collaborative efforts, one of my very favorite things about the Baltimore restaurant scene is how our chefs can't get enough of each other. I'm not sure if this happens in other cities, but the number of collaborative projects happening at all times in Baltimore makes me smile.

On Tuesday, we're going to the final Fork and Cork dinner. The series is a collaboration between Fleet Street Kitchen (where this one is held), Aggio and Wit + Wisdom. The chefs at all three (Chris Becker, Bryan Voltaggio and Zack Mills), along with their sommeliers (Tim Riley, Chris Coker and Julie Dalton) get together to put out serious meals, and serious pairings. We couldn't make the first two for logistical reasons and I am beyond excited to get to this one.

When chefs collaborate - whether they're from across the country or across the city - everybody really does win. In this case, I feel like I'm the biggest winner of all.

Food for the Cure LLS Fundraising Dinner

My sister-in-law, Cail, is frequently mentioned here on M&G, since she is a serious food-lover.

Right now, she's combining her love of food with fundraising efforts for Virginia's Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Cail has organized a dinner at Heritage in Richmond featuring a bunch of local chefs - the people in the kitchen at Acacia, The Magpie, The Roosevelt, Julep's, Secco, Mint and, of course, Heritage.

The prix-fixe dinner (not including alcohol) is $75 per person - all of which goes directly to LLS. In addition,70% of alcohol sales will also go to LLS.

All of the chefs are donating their time and several Virginia food producers are donating product, including Border Springs Farm, Autumn Olive Farms, Sam Rust Seafood and Cabbage Hill Farms.

I can't tell you how much I wish I lived in Richmond! If you're in the area, go - and report back to me!

The dinner takes place on April 15th. For more information, click here, and to make a reservation, call Heritage at 804.353.4060.

Trendy Monday: Random Observations

We spent the weekend in Richmond, mostly to go to an engagement party for Tom and Cail. Richmond, as a city, is getting some foodie love these days - often, it seems, thanks to the newish Belmont Butchery, a favorite stop of Cail's. We didn't make it there during this trip, but I hope to at some point.

I tend to think of Richmond as a lot like Baltimore. Both are very small town-y - they're the kind of city where everybody knows everybody, no matter what. Because of that similarity, I sometimes forget that Richmond is so, so southern while Baltimore is, well, Baltimore. And that bow ties, which turn heads here, are de rigeur.

But I digress. This post is really just about two quick observations I made while at the party. First, Hendricks seems to be the hot gin of choice these days and that is something I can fully support. From the first time I read a description of the drink, I knew I'd like it. I wasn't wrong. In fact, I drank a lukewarm gin and club soda, sans lime, and it still tasted great.

And second, I reaffirmed that everyone, everywhere, loves mimolette. It's a total crowd-pleaser, no matter who the crowd includes.

Gin, cheese and bow ties. They make for a nice weekend.

Not-So-Trendy Monday: Homecoming (also Restaurant Review: The Ironhorse)

Is there anything less hipstery and "cool" than spending a rainy Saturday celebrating Homecoming listening to a cover band in a KA house in the middle of Virginia?

Probably not, but I've spent a lot of weekend days under similar circumstances, including this past Saturday. This year was Cooper's 10-year reunion at Randolph Macon, so we drove down on Saturday morning and hung out at the (really humid, kind of miserable) reunion tent during the game, and at KA for a little while afterwards. Tom and Cail drove up from Richmond to meet us (making Tom probably the only Hampden-Sydney alum in the reunion tent).

It wasn't an ideal day for a football game - it rained all day - but at least it wasn't cold. In any event, the rain didn't ruin Dixon's day. Not only did Cail take him outside the tent to watch "the real Thomas" (a giant CSX train), he also got to show off his dance moves at KA, and roll around in a mud puddle (not on my watch). Also not on my watch, he managed to convince Cooper to feed him the following:

- a keg cup full of water mixed with Old Bay (I know, so disgusting, right?)
- a giant cup of red Kool-Aid (mostly ended up on his white shirt)
- cookies
- Hershey bars (OK, I was complicit in this one, too)

Not surprisingly, after that much sugar, plus the dancing and some extra, sugar-induced jumping, all of the Kool-Aid ended up back on his shirt. I think he was the first "drank too much" casualty of the party.

After all of the excitement of the afternoon, Dixon settled into a really nicely timed, outrageously late nap - he slept from 6 to 8 while Cooper and Tom and Cail and I had dinner at the Ironhorse Restaurant.

The restaurant is practically on campus, so Cooper had eaten there a number of times in college. It's probably the nicest place in Ashland - white tablecloths, a pretty bar, seasonally changing menus, good service. We were all a little damp and scraggly from a day in the rain, but I think our waitress understood (by the time we left, half of Cooper's pledge class was in the bar).

The food itself was really very good, too. We started with the shrimp and grits, plus the chevre plate and a plate of roasted garlic knobs and blue cheese. The cheeses were excellent and though I like my roasted garlic a little more done, it was still delicious.

For dinner, Tom and I both had the braised lamb shank, which came with sweet and sour kale (and, yes, several "sweet and sour Cail" jokes were made) and mashed potatoes. The lamb was literally fall-off-the-bone tender and had great flavor. My only complaint was that there was way too much of it.

Cails scallops looked great, too, and she was really happy with how perfectly they were cooked. And Cooper's Brazilian strip steak was topped with a really fantastic and fresh chimichurri.

The wine list was nice, too, and we had a very good, but not expensive bottle of Pinot Noir (Hob Nob). Overall, dinner was fantastic and it was a nice way to relax after the craziness of the afternoon (also nice to get to talk to Tom and Cail without a band in the background. Not that I don't love a band, especially one playing covers from my high school and college years.)

Of course, then we had to get back in the car and drive home to Baltimore, which was exhausting. And I got up yesterday morning for brunch with my high school girl friends at Garry's Grill in Severna Park, and then I went sailing with my dad. It was beautiful out, but I was so tired by the time I got home that I could've gone to sleep around 5.

So that was it - my highly un-trendy weekend. And now we're on to Halloween week which, apparently, is going to be an exciting one in our house.

Updates on My Life and a Semi-Restaurant Review: Verbena

For the two or so of you who are interested in what's going on in the life of your humble blogger...this week has been a big one. At 6:30 this morning, Cooper and Dixon and I finally returned home, after nearly a week in exile while our floor were finished. They look nice, though they have a little more of an olive undertone than I'd like - I'm not sure how I feel about them with the cherry cabinets, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Whatever the color, we're just happy to be home. Especially Dixon. He took a nap about 4 hours earlier than usual today, and I think it was just because he was psyched to be in his own crib.

For the past few days we've been flitting in between my parents' and Cooper's parents' houses, with a quick trip to Richmond (sans Dixon) thrown in. Tom and Cail (aka my brother and his girlfriend) live in Richmond and we don't get down there to see him nearly as much as I'd like to. It's only a couple of hours, but planning-wise, it might as well require a day-long flight. It's hard to coordinate.

Richmond was fun, though, and we ate well while we were there. As soon as we arrived, we headed to Tom and Cail's local, Can Can, for drinks and a snack. Mussels for Cooper and Cail and me, and quiche for Tom. And frites all around. Delicious, crispy, hot frites.

A few hours later, we met some friends for dinner at a new place called Verbena. It's only been open since the first of February, but Tom and Cail had been a few times already and one of the friends we met for dinner is tight with the owner (I think Tom's friend is the owner's lawyer), so we had high hopes, despite the newness of the spot.

The space was very cool - simply decorated, a fantastic and shiny copper (?) ceiling and cool little alcoves in the walls displaying wine bottles. It was a touch on the loud side, and it seems that they may not have worked out all of their scheduling issues (we didn't wait, but we ran into some people who had to wait for over an hour, despite their reservation), but on the whole it was a fun meal, the food was good and the wine list was both solid and reasonably priced. I had quail with brussels sprouts and wild rice and enjoyed the whole mess of it (though I do wish the sprouts had come whole or halved, instead of flaked).

However, for those who like drama with their meals, we had some. After dinner, we were lingering in front of the restaurant, saying goodbye to the friends who were heading home and coordinating our next stop with everybody else. The manager came out, looking concerned, and asked if everything was OK. Seems that, despite the note on the menu saying that parties of six or more will be charged an 18% gratuity, our server didn't add one to our bill...and we didn't notice. We'd left some tip, but not that much.

Everyone felt badly (partly for not paying attention more - apparently you could bill us for anything and we wouldn't notice) and we took care of the oversight. Yesterday, Tom forwarded me an email he got from the owner, just making sure that the experience was OK and apologizing for any confusion. Nice, I thought, and smart from a business standpoint, too. Tom and Cail eat out all the time and during dinner, we ran into two or three of their friends, plus one of Cooper's friends from college...Richmond is a small town and I would imagine that word of mouth really matters.

After the drama, we wrapped up the evening back at the bar at Can Can (where I drank a thousand pom fizzes - just pomegranate liqueur and champagne - a delicious headache), then back at Tom and Cail's. Words can't describe how tired I was during our drive home on Sunday morning, even after our obligatory stop at Waffle House and our quick drive through Cooper's alma mater.

Really, I'm glad to be home.