Mediterranean Bakery [75]
Last week’s trip reminded us of another grocery/cafe that we’ve been meaning to get to. Mediterranean Bakery is a Middle Eastern grocer and eatery. Brightly lit and bustling, the dining experience order and the counter and retreat with your food to nearby tables nestled in the grocery aisles. There are a lot of choices and we had to narrow our scope for this lunch. For example, there’s a whole rack of baked deserts that we didn’t get a chance to try this day.
Mediterranean Bakery offers several combos and we both ordered #3 because it seemed to be the most efficient way to get kibbeh (spelled “kibbie” on their menu). Prior to last year’s Lebanese Food Festival, I had never tried kibbeh, a baked Middle Eastern dish made of burghul (a wheat cereal), minced onions and ground red meat. Kibbeh was a surprise and a delight for me last year and the LFF and I was excited to have it again this day. We both supplemented our combos with a fatayer (stuffed pastry), Spinach and Feta for Adam, Ground Beef for me. We probably shouldn’t have, because we left the counter with very heavy plates and didn’t finish our food.
I’d like to say we didn’t finish our plates because they were so laden that we left stuffed, but the truth is we were disappointed. MedBake isn’t a new place for either of us, and our expectations weren’t met by reality. The mujadara (lentils with grains and onions) and stuffed grape leaves were fine. The taziki had good flavor but seemed an odd pairing to me. It was the headliners that didn’t thrill me. The kibbeh was drier than I would have hoped and the fatayer seemed to a little old. I was expecting a hot and rigid pastry, and instead received a room temperature pie with spongy dough.
This was a tough review for us because we’ve been pleased with MedBake in the past. I was left with the impression that timing is everything and fresher food would have been so much better. Sad that a place like this can be hit-or-miss and it happened to miss this day.
Lunch topics: Grading Mass Effect 3 on story vs gameplay, work, Witcher 2 and idiots talking about fantasy tropes, Trials EVO, the Lebanese Food Festival, neighbors
Bodega Latina [74]
“Restaurant” is occasionally a loose term around these parts. It doesn’t always mean waitresses or even locations whose primary purpose is serving prepared food. In the case of Bodega Latina, from the outside and in, it appears to be a exactly as billed. Scratch the surface though and there is a delectable lunch time treat inside.
Nestled beyond the rows of dried peppers, fresh produce and international calling card advertisements sits a cafe. Raised above the convenience store proper by a few feet and lit a few watts dimmer. Approaching felt awkward, like we had never ordered food before. The menus (two of them) were in Spanish only and the lady taking our order spoke enough English, but not English. When our orders were finally placed, I found a seat and watched as Ethan danced back and forth trying to deduce when we should pay. Finally settling on “after” we sat and waited for our meals as the cafe filled to near capacity.
Ethan had ordered 3 pork tacos and a side of pupusas. What arrived was 3 pork tacos (seen above) sans pupusas. For me it was steak fajitas with extra beans, no rice. It came with beans and rice (not the end of the world). Normally I’d chalk this up to shoddy service and go on to tell you all the others reasons you should avoid this place. Not today friend. You should go to Bodega Latina despite the difficulty in communicating your order. Throw out what you would like or want. For us we got close enough and it was amazing. The best Latin American cuisine I’ve had in Richmond hands down. Barely squeaking by Habanero and miles apart from the standard Tex-Mex that dominate the river city.
Lunch topics: Diablo 3
Kabab Grille [73]
We didn’t intend it this way, but our visit to Kabab Grille was an immediate and satisfying contrast with the last Indian buffet we tried two weeks ago. Kabob Grille is located in that low-trafficked shopping area northwest of Short Pump Town Center, where Adam had previously discovered Emilio’s.
We’re up-to-date on our clichés, so we certainly know better than to judge a book by its cover. We definitely did not walk in to this brightly-lit and lively space, hear the sounds of an active kicthen, accept the greeting of a smiling and courteous server and decide that this was a better destination than Malabar. Okay, that’s all a lie. We were sold literally before we sat down. It’s amazing what being handed a menu can do for your dining experience.
To be fair, we can’t judge a restaurant on whether it’s better than a bad experience. But the sum of the parts of dining at Kabab Grille worked for us. Service was great, with two different servers checking on us repeatedly, which isn’t always the case for a buffet lunch where customers can sometimes be seat-and-forget. My water glass was never below half-full. I didn’t catch the names of all the dishes (the danger of eating a buffet and writing the review later), but I’m sure we had the Chicken Tikka Masala and Channa Masala (chickpeas) and went back for seconds. Still no samosas, but the naan was plentiful. The food was good and we were full and happy. With a buffet, you’re trading a chef’s personal touch for flexibility and value. It was a good trade-off this day.
Lunch topics: Game of Thrones, Fear Agent, CycleNC.
King Chicken Drive In [72]
Last week was a short work week for us. North Carolina sung its siren song Thursday, bidding six of us down to Cycle NC. A long weekend of cycling, camping and an opportunity to visit King Chicken. The King has been a topic of conversation surrounding Cycle NC for a while now.
We arrived Thursday and it was the first place we hit in town. From the outside it is the epitome of the word unassuming. Flanked by an old and cracked parking lot, the brick building it resides in is from another era. You could drive past it 100 times and never once think to stop in. In fact Ethan and company did just that the year they discovered it. The only tell for them then were the constant flow of customers in the lot. If that many people are going there, they must be doing something right and they are.
Over the course of four days in Washington we ate two breakfasts and one lunch at the King. Every meal tastier than the last. Be it hangover cure or the energy we needed to total 150 miles on our bikes, the food treated us right. The options were plentiful and super tasty. Having tasted the variety and found his niche Ethan went with an egg, cheese and country fried steak combo that absolutely killed it every time. For me it was more journey of discovery.
Day one was fried chicken pulled from the bone and then combined with lettuce, tomato and mayo on a bun. It was amazing and then I watched as others in our party got their ”sandwiches”. Three pieces of bone in fried chicken on a bun. Not really a sandwich per se, but the bun served as a tasty wrapper for their protein. Day two was an early pre-ride breakfast. Cheese baked right into a crumbly biscuit and fried chicken sandwiched in between. Throw an unnecessary and filling cinnamon bun in the mix and I was stuffed. Yum. Our final meal was breakfast on our last day. Following Ethan’s wisdom I partook in the egg and country fried steak combo. All on the same cheese/biscuit combo. The tastiest dish yet. Heaven. Arguably the best breakfast sandwich I have ever eaten.
Lunch topics: What happens at CNC stays at CNC.
Malabar Indian Restaurant [71]
It’s a good idea to know what you’re getting into when you go to Malabar. In fact, it may be a requirement.
Adam and I were only slightly familiar with Malabar. Adam passes it every day but had never tried it, and my family ordered takeout from it once years ago. That meal seemed bland at the time, but my wife had purposefully selected non-spicy items to be family-friendly. We had heard it compared favorably to 52L-favorite Anokha. So more-or-less blind, we gave it a shot this day. It was an odd and disappointing experience.
We were directed to a table for two… then ignored. The centerpiece of the restaurant must be the buffet, because we were not offered menus. Nor were we encouraged to start with the buffet. After about five minutes, we decided the the buffet must be the default option, so we grabbed some plates and filled them. The offerings were of varying quality.
We really liked the Vegetable Pakoras (fried vegetable fritters). We also both enjoyed the Butter Chicken (chicken in tomato cream sauce). The Paneer Tikka Masala (homemade cheese in tomato sauce) was okay, but the Chana Saag (chickpeas in spinach) bland and forgettable. We both enjoy naan, but none was available on the buffet. After flagging down a server, we were given a basket of disappointing naan (was more like flat bread) and some dosas which were probably good when fresh, but alas. There were no samosas. There was a dessert but neither of us tried it. In all, the selection on the buffet felt limited.
At the end, we had to chase down our bill, $19 for lunch and waters for two. A Hamilton a head is standard for a West End lunch, but that same $10 will get you better food at Anokha or any of the other Indian restaurants we have tried.
Lunch Topics: Work, Comics, the iPad, Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut, sharing PCs at home
Q Barbeque [70]
The days of the West End being barren wasteland of barbeque choices are nearly over. As the masses waited and keep waiting for the second coming of Buz and Ned’s other establishments have come in to fill the void. Hogshead made the wait a bit pointless and Halligan’s is nothing to sneeze at either. One can never have too many quality barbeque joints.
It was with this in mind that we traveled off the beaten lunch path and over to route one and Q Barbeque. From the outside one might assume that Q is a national franchise. A shop on the corner of every major city. The branding is that strong. The interior reflects the same message, almost Chipotle-esqe, the very definition of fast casual design. Q is not that though. They have three locations and the owner has been a Richmond based catering staple for more than a decade. The fact that it looks ready to franchise is neither here nor there. The food is the true test.
One gets BBQ at a BBQ place so we did just that. Two plates of pork with a slew of sides to choose from. Beans for both of us, onion rings for Ethan and slaw (needed something else) for me. The drinks were standard fountain fare, but of note for me was fountain Cheerwine or Northern Carolina candy of the Gods. The actual BBQ was good, not too dry, not too wet and plenty of flavor on it’s on. The sauces on the table left a little to be desired, but maybe that’s because I prefer a Carolina vinegar based sauce. They weren’t bad, they were in fact good, but the one I wanted was missing.
Brass tacks on Q-BBQ. It is a great place to get BBQ, but comes in a very close 3rd to Hogshead and B&N. That said I would not drive past it to go to either place. If you are in town near Q, you can’t go wrong with a pork plate and tall glass of Cheerwine. Treat your self to a slice of pie while you’re at it. You deserve it.
Lunch topics: off season NFL, work, iPad the 3rd, The Hunger Games
Tokyo Not Your Average Joe [69]
We’re both fans of Western-style sushi and have sampled a few places over the past year and a half. In fact, our first lunch in our pre-blog days was to a local favorite. We’ve had some hits and misses but nothing has approached Adam’s favorite, Sticky Rice. (52L will get there someday). This week we were lucky to try a new place, Tokyo Not Your Average Joe. Lucky, indeed.
We learned a long time ago to be careful about judging a restuarant at lunchtime by how full it is. Sometimes it’s for a reason, but often it’s just that the West End professionals don’t stray far for their meal break. So we didn’t think anything of it that TokyoNYAJoe was empty. What we do notice is when an empty place serves fantastic food. You can probably see where this review is going.
This is our new favorite West End sushi place. Before we ordered, the server brought a complimentary Sweet Potato Roll appetizer which was very good. Adam ordered a New York Roll (Spicy crab and cucumber topped with fresh tuna and avocado) and I selected a Starburst Roll (tuna, salmon and avocado crispy fried with sauce). It was tough for both of us to choose because there were so many appealing options. We also enjoyed the playfulness of the menu. For example: the “Viagra and Cialis Rolled into One”, an oyster tempura roll with very small print reading, “eat at own risk, not responsible for after effects”). Looking forward to the comment spam on this entry.
We couldn’t try everything, but what we had was beautiful and delicious. Superior presentation with flavors to match. Adam mentioned at the end that TNYAJ was easily in the same league as Sticky Rice and we’d have to be back soon.
Lunch Topics: The many disappointments of Mass Effect 3.
Peter Chang’s China Cafe [68]
Richmond proper tends to beat the West End on all fronts when it comes to food culture. The trade off being the comforts of the suburban life for the what feels like the authenticity of urban life. So it is a real treat when a foodie famous chef shows up in a strip mall in Short Pump. Apparently Peter Chang is a bit of a rolling stone, but a stone that creates fantastic food where ever he lands. Something we did not understand the full gravity of prior to our trip there last week.
With sixty eight reviews under our collective belt, we are still mostly foodie layman. We did not hear about Chang coming to Richmond prior to his arrival, nor read the plentiful write ups post grand opening. We heard about it via word of mouth. In less than a week we had three recommendations to go. When we finally did the journey felt the same as most of our West End excursions. Park in the same parking lot as a Walmart and walk up to an unassuming space between a hair supply store and a GameStop. The interior felt just like any other Chinese eatery. Nothing about the location screamed life changing restaurant experience.
Showing up at 11:30a to a 10 minute wait did though. Peter Chang’s was packed, which is usually a good sign (see: Hogshead Cafe). When we were seated we went right to the lunch specials. An occasional bad habit we have formed over the past year. I quickly picked the curried chicken, snow peas and enoki mushrooms (L14.) and Ethan the stir-fried shredded smoked chicken (L17.). While sipping water and waiting for our meals we started to see all sorts of delights pass by our table. Pillow shaped fried things and steaming metal plates of lamb. When we had seen enough Ethan finally asked a waitress what we were looking at. The pillows were scallion pancakes for future reference.
When our lunch arrived it felt a bit pedestrian by comparison. They certainly looked appetizing (see the picture above), but they were not the three ring circus that had gone zooming past. Thankfully both meals were fantastic. Breaking the mold of the standard flavors I’ve come to expect from Chinese food in Richmond. They were not heavy or overly salted. The chicken and vegetables in each dish tasted fresh and were seasoned to near perfection. The bar was not very high in the first place, but Chang’s food leapt it with ease and raised to monumental heights going forward. Go to Peter Chang’s, get there early and you won’t be disappointed.
Lunch topics: Mass Effect 3
Pho City [67]
Pho City is easy to get to but not so easy to find, located interior to the same shopping center with the West Tower Cinema and 52L favorite Gelati Celesti. You can’t see it from Broad and we only knew about it from taking our families for ice cream. One day I popped my head in to grab a menu and was impressed with the clean decor and enticing smells. Knowing that we can always find time for good Vietnamese, I knew it would be in our rotation soon.
Regular readers know that Adam and I are big fans of Broken Rice dishes. It’s a favorite and a typical litmus test for us when we try new Vietnamese. But this week Adam was under the weather with a head cold, so he substituted phở bò (Pho with beef) while I stuck with Cơm tấmm Thịt Nướng (broken rice with grilled pork). We both started with Chả giò (crispy spring roll) which was crazy hot. And it was all good. Adam was still talking about his Pho an hour later, being just what he needed for his continued recovery. My broken rice was great, too. Pho City handled these staples with ease.
Lunch Topics: Work, Hunger Games, 10k training, House chores, Darksiders, Starcraft 2, lice, Windows 8, WoW, TOR
Vietnam Garden [66]
This week we hit yet another Vietnamese spot. In what has now become a quest of sorts, we are bound to try every broken rice variation in Richmond. That wiki link is getting some heavy use around these parts. This one too, but I digress. With stiff competition in our wake, we made our way to Vietnam Garden.
In what feels like a game of pan Asian musical chairs. Vietnam Garden used to occupy the space that King of Szechuan now calls home. VG moved into a location that used to be a Chinese restaurant my family frequented. They renovated it pretty heavily and it is now a pleasant bamboo themed eatery. Inviting and spacious, but not empty.
On to the food. Ethan had the Heo Xào Hành (Spicy Pork and Onion). A dish of sliced pork, onions and green pepper, bathed in a delicious spicy sauce. I had the Cơm Tấm Tứ Vị or the Four Delights Broken Rice. In this case the delights consisted of shrimp, beef, chicken and pork. Both dishes were seasoned to near perfection, priced reasonably and offered tender proteins. Thumbs up all around. Nothing that made it stand out against said prior competition, but you could not go wrong with a visit to Vietnam Garden.
Lunch topics: Work, Agile, Richmond snow panic, bicycle commuting, mountain biking, Starcraft, Skyrim, facebook, training for a long bicycle ride, The Black Mirror.
