Tag Archives: food

Pickles Get Their Time To Brine Saturday At Center Of The Universe

Pickled Fermented COTUCalling all pickle lovers! Get yourself over to Center of the Universe Brewing this Saturday May 14th for the Pickled & Fermented festival.

The festival will also feature a pickle themed beer: Pickle Gose Ale, COTU’s first foray into sour beer.

Pickle Lovers Unite! The Artisan Pickle Club is hosting Pickled & Fermented – a celebration of all things pickled and fermented! We’re talking more than pickled cucumbers here – we don’t discriminate when it comes to pickled things. Pickled fruit, pickled veggies, hot sauce, kimchi, BEER, Kombucha… if it’s pickled or fermented, we’re celebrating it!

Join us at Center of the Universe Brewing Company for a day of pickle tastings, live music from Ashland’s Buckeville Hootenany, a pickle themed beer and loads of pickle shenanigans! We will also be hosting the very first Best Pickle Competitions. We will be taking entries from Richmond Restaurants as well as home picklers for two pickle competitions:

Richmond’s Best Pickle Competition
The Artisan Pickle Club is soliciting entries from any restaurant in the Richmond Region to compete for best pickle.

Best Pickler Competition
If you love to pickle at home, this competition is for you! In addition to naming the best local pickle, they will be naming the best local pickler.

Categories for both include:
Savory Pickles
Sweet Pickles
Cabbage (Sauerkraut, Kimchi)
Drinkable Ferments (non-alcoholic)
Sourdough Bread

Center of the Universe Brewing
11293 Air Park Rd
Ashland, VA 23005

Ardent’s Swine & Brine Returns For Year Two This Friday

Ardent Swine & Brine

Ardent Craft Ales’ hit outdoor festival Swine & Brine returns for its second year this Friday April 22nd starting at 4pm. Returning to the festival this year are restaurant favorites  The Roosevelt, Metzger Bar and Butchery, Saison and ZZQ. Newcomers to the festival, Sabai and Amuse join in on the  cooking, smoking, and grilling a bevy of pork dishes and homemade sides. Rappahannock River Oysters will also join the festivities with crab cakes and their delicious oysters raw, steamed, and roasted. Take a look at the menu and beer list.

Menu
Amuse — Carnitas Tacos with Onion, Cilantro, & Lime
Metzger — Pork Meatball Sliders with Spicy Tomato Sauce, Fontina & Arugula Pistou
Rappahannock Oyster — Raw Oysters and Crab Cakes
The Roosevelt — Smoked Pork Sausage with Field Pea Salad
Sabai — Pork Skewers + Pork Riblettes
Saison — Pastrami Ribs + Pickled Red Cabbage
ZZQ — Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Bone-in Pork Belly

Beer List
Saison
Virginia Common
New England IPA
IPA Batch #9
IPA Batch #18
IPA Batch #19
IPA Batch #20
IPL
Robust Porter
Batch 100
Lawnmower Golden Ale
Earl Grey Brown Ale
Altbier
Szechuan Peppercorn Saison
Oyster Porter Cask

Tickets are $20/person and include two tickets redeemable for food or beer as well as a limited edition Ardent Craft Ales bandanna.

All beers and food items will cost one ticket ($5) with the exception of a few larger portions. Guests will be given two tickets as part of their admission, and can purchase additional tickets via cash or credit card at check-in or once inside the event. Free water will be provided at stations around the festival.

Check out the Facebook event for more details and updates. Go ahead get your tickets here.

Ardent Craft Ales
3200 W Leigh St
Richmond, VA 23230

brb…San Diego! Richmond, Here Are Your Assignments.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/california-san-diego-at-night-royalty-free-image/537000917

In just a few hours, I’ll be hopping on a plane to head out to sunny San Diego, California for ten days of fun that will end at the National Homebrewers Conference. Part of me hates that the timing of this trip because there are so many cool events I will miss.

Thursday June 4th

Ardent’s Honey Ginger Retruns at Mellow Mushroom — 6PM

Honey Ginger returns starting with a tap release at Mellow Mushroom tonight!

RVA Playlist 5th Birthday Party at The Broadberry — 7PM

This is the event it kills me the most to miss. Andrew Cothern, RVA Playlist, is one of my best friends, and I have no idea how he covers as much local music as he does day in day out. All the bands he has selected to play his 5th year shindig at The Broadberry are personal favorites of mine that I might not have heard of if not for him. Check out his spotlights on Goldrush, Jonathan Vassar & the Badlands, and No BS! Brass then get your tickets here.

RVAPlaylist 5th Bday

Saturday June 6th

Cover to Cover Presents: BACK TO BLACK at Hardywood — 6:30PM

This is the second music entry in this post. RVA Playlist, does this officially make me a music blogger?

If you haven’t experienced Spin, Spit, & Swear’s Cover to Cover band, then you really need to. I fell in love with them when they performed Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours.” I have no doubt (Hmmm…maybe an idea for their next project) their performance of Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” will be anything less than stellar.

Cover to Cover Back to Black at Hardywood 060615

OFF Broad Appetit at Pasture — 6:30PM

Off Broad Appetit 2015I’ve had the pleasure of attending this the past two years. It’s a shame I will miss this year as the money goes to a great cause. Get your tickets here.

Join Richmond magazine and the National Pork Board on Saturday, June 6th for a Broad Appetit kick-off feast at Pasture on Grace! Here you will discover five amazing chefs (and one kick-ass winemaker) all representing true farm to table cuisine. These famed chefs will present amazing dishes featuring local food producers from across Virginia, all done with the flair that has made them famous. Virginia wines, brews and ingredients will be featured throughout the evening. Our chef line-up includes:

Rob Newton
Chef & Owner of Seersucker in Brooklyn, NY will be serving

Brad Farmerie
Executive Chef at Public in New York City

Chad Colby
Chef at chi SPACCA in Los Angeles

Stephen Gerike
Director of Food Service Marketing, National Pork Board

Jason Alley
Chef at Comfort & Pasture Restaurants in RVA

Jose Enrique
Chef and owner of Capital and Miel in San Juan, Puerto Rico

David Varley
Chef at RN74/the Mina Group in Seattle, WA

Bryan Voltagio
Executive Chef at VOLT in Frederick, MD

André Hueston Mack
Owner and Winemaker at Mouton Noir, NY

Full Menu Coming Soon!

Bar snacks:  pimento cheese, tons of pickles, pork rinds with home-made hot sauce, and crab spiced boiled peanut dip

Esteemed local beverages being served include:
Foggy Ridge Cider

Only 125 tickets are available.
Tickets to this incredible event are $125 per person. Net proceeds benefit FeedMore.

Support provided by National Pork Board, Richmond magazine, Brown Distributing/Taste the Local, Pasture, Hilton Garden Inn, & Duke’s Mayonnaise/CF Sauer and Echelon Event Management.

Sunday June 7th

Broad Appetit on W Broad St Between Henry & Adams — 11AM – 6PM

Find a new favorite restaurant through $3 plates from some of the best Richmond has to offer.

Saturday June 13th

Ardent Craft Ales Year One Anniversary Block Party — 1PM

Ardent 1yr Anniv 061315This one really stings. I love these guys and really wanted to be here to celebrate with them. Please raise several glasses for me.

One year down. Wow. To celebrate, come out Saturday, June 13 to officially mark exactly 365 days (no joke) since we opened and joined the incredible Richmond beer community! We are hosting a massive block party at the brewery from 1 to 8 p.m. that will feature our biggest line-up of beer, local food, live music, and outdoor fun. On this day only, we will offer more than a dozen of our own brews including:

1 / Honey Ginger
2 / Session India Pale Ale
3 / Diamond Pale Ale
4 / Virginia Common
5 / IPA Batch #12
6 / IPA Batch #13
7 / IPA Batch #14
8 / Saison
9 / “Defenestrator” Dopplebock
10 / Touchstone Wheat Ale
11 / Berliner Braunbier
12 / Szechaun Peppercorn Saison
13 / Earl Grey Brown Ale
14 / Dark Rye
15+ / Casks: No fewer than two casks, to be announced next week!

Beyond our own beers, we will have local cider and several guest brews from nearby brewery friends on tap for the day. In addition, we will release a special anniversary beer just available for the day in 750 mL bottles and to be announced a few days before the party.

There will a long line of food trucks running along West Leigh Street including some of Richmond’s finest: KavaKava gourmet , The Return of the Mac, Goatocado, Bonbontruck, Happy Empanada, River City Wood Fire Pizza, Hungry Turtle Food Truck, Station 2, and King Of Pops – Richmond. No one is going hungry.

Finally, we’ve invited some incredible regional bands to perform throughout the day, as follows:

2 – 3pm / Peace Beast
3 – 4pm / Clair Morgan
4 – 5pm / The Milkstains
5 – 6pm / Christi
6 – 7pm / NO BS! Brass Band

Event is free to enter with beverage and food tickets for sale at the door and inside the event with cash or credit. One ticket = $1. Attendees must be 21 and over and present valid ID to consume alcohol. Event is rain or shine.

Want to volunteer at this event? If you are interested, please visit: http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/06417988010

Hardywood Vinalia Urbana Release w. Lady God, The Ar-Kaics & Dave Watkins — 2PM

Hardywood Vinalia UrbanaThis sounds like it will be delicious. Please save me some.

Named after the Roman festival held to bless and sample the wine of the previous season, Vinalia Urbana, a Belgian-style strong golden ale, is aged for months in freshly emptied Sauvignon Blanc barrels. This maturation process lends some light vinous notes and a hint of oak that blend beautifully with the subtle fruit and light spicy character imparted by the Belgian yeast. Vinalia Urbana is delightfully dry and delicate on the palate with lingering white grape and stone fruit undertones. 9.0 % ABV

Hardywood Vinalia Urbana will be available at 2:00pm on draft and in 750mL bottles. King Of Pops – Richmond, BoDillaz, Slideways Mobile Bistro, Cheezilla’s Grilled Cheese on site through the day.

Live music with:

Dave Watkins
minimalist appalachian math rock live looping sound explosion
www.davewatkinsmusic.com

The Ar-Kaics
…play troglodyte teenbeat 60s-style punk.
www.thearkaics.bandcamp.com

Lady God
Bristling surf guitar, webby bass lines, and sneering dual vocals compose an oddly satisfying vintage rock n’ roll salad we call “Slink.”
www.meetladygod.bandcamp.com

Sunday June 14th

3rd Annual Richmond Bacon Festival at 17th St Farmers Market — 11AM

Bacon dishes and Devils Backbone beer! What more could you need? Ok. How about a couple food photos?

Fat Dragon Chinese Kitchen and Bar will be bringing back their Bacon & Shrimp Ramen.

Fat Dragon Chinese Kitchen and Bar will be bringing back their Bacon & Shrimp Ramen.

 

Rare Olde Times Public House will be serving up mouth watering Bacon Covered Scotch Eggs.

Rare Olde Times Public House will be serving up mouth watering Bacon Covered Scotch Eggs.

Ardent And Southbound Present: Cuatro de Mayo Beer Dinner

Get ready for a dinner out on one of the best patios in Richmond as Ardent Craft Ales and Southbound team up to present a “Cuatro de Mayo” Beer Dinner Monday May 4th starting at 6pm.  This festive 5 course dinner will be Ardent’s first collaborative dinner served at the brewery.  Take a look at the menu.

Ardent Southbound dinner 050415-2

All inclusive tickets for the dinner are $70/person and can be purchased here. If Monday’s forecast holds and I really hope it does, it will be a beautiful day for dinner outside. The dinner will be moved inside the brewery in the event of rain.

Ardent Craft Ales
3200 West Leigh St
Richmond, VA 23230

Birthday Beer Dinner Dilemmas: Lickinghole Creek At The Betty On Davis Or Strangeways At Fat Dragon

Embed from Getty Images

My birthday is coming up this Monday and I know what I’m doing that day: Brown Distributing’s trade show! I’m mean how could I not. But what about a special dinner? That’s where my dilemma comes in. Of course, I could go anywhere that night but why not wait until Tuesday April 28th when I could choose between two beer dinners?

Lickinghole Creek at The Betty On Davis — 6PM

LCCB and Betty on Davis have teamed up for a dinner to raise money for the Richmond SPCA. Take a look at Chef Trevor Knotts’ menu.

MENU

Poached Pear Crostini with Goat cheese, candied almond cardamom, sesame, cracked pepper, lemon zest
Sunset IPA

House Made Sausage with Roasted peppers, onions and fennel, Polenta crouton, Nugget Nectar gastrique
Nuclear Nugget Imperial IPA

Bitter Lettuces, watermelon, orange, pomegranate, pumpkin seed
Short Pump Saison

Goochland Belgian Quad Braised Pork Butt, risotto, ramps and figs
Goochland Belgian Quad

Buratta, heirloom tomatoes, balsamic, basil granita and micro basil
Magic Beaver Belgian Pale

Chocolate Stout Pudding, shortbread, and cocoa nibs
Virginia Black Bear Imperial Stout

Tickets for the dinner are $75.15/person and include a 10% donation to the SPCA. You can purchase your tickets online here.

The Betty on Davis
805 N Davis Ave
Richmond, VA 23220

Strangeways at Fat Dragon — 6PM

Chef Zhao will be cooking up five courses of Strangeways. Check out this menu.

MENU

Crispy Hawaii Roll
Martian Spring Biere de mars

Chicken & Corn Westlake soup
Cruel Summer Banana Runts Sour

Braised Short Ribs
Vatos Muertos Tequila Barrel Aged Stout with Ghost Peppers

Sesame Glazed Shrimp & Scallops
GWAR Blood Red Ale

Szechuan Pepper Rubbed Crispy Fish
Legalize It Tosh.OG IPA

The cost for the dinner is $50/person plus tax and gratuity. Reserve your spot by calling the restaurant at 804-354-9888 or emailing Pedro@eatrestaurantpartners.com.

Fat Dragon Chinese Kitchen & Bar
1200 N Boulevard
Richmond, VA 23230

What do you guys think of these choices? What would you do?

Hardywood Wild Game Dinner At Mosaic This Friday

Mosaic Restaurant is once again teaming up with Hardywood to present a five course wild game dinner this Friday January 16th starting at 7pm.  Each course will be paired with a hand selected Hardywood brew.  Check out the menu.

PAIRING MENU

Amuse

Wild Game Charcuterie & Cheese
 rabbit galantine, duck ham, glazed cherries, Marcona almonds,
Billy Bread crostini, farmhouse cheddar, Maytag bleu
— Paired with Hardywood Pils —

SECOND

Venison Stroganoff
Wild mushrooms, papperdalle
— Paired with Hardywood Barleywine —

THIRD

Blood Orange Granita
— Paired with Hardywood Hull Melon Saison —

FOURTH

Olive Oil Poached Wild Boar Rack
Chestnut foie gras pate, smoke polenta cake, baby arugula,
Reservoir Bourbon & orange macerated cherries
— Paired with Hardywood Bourbon Barrel Double IPA —

FINAL

PB&J
Raspberry pate de fruit, peanut butter truffles,
vanilla nitro cake, chantilly foam
— Paired with Hardywood Raspberry Stout —

The cost for the dinner is $49/person excluding tax and tip.  Reserve your seat by calling the restaurant at (804) 288-7482. Dinner seating starts at 6:30.

MOSAIC Restaurant
River Road Shopping Center
6229-A River Road
Richmond, VA 23229
(804) 288-7482

Enter The Forbidden Dragon Dinner With Hardywood At Fat Dragon Next Tuesday

Check out the menu for the Hardywood Beer Dinner at Fat Dragon coming next Tuesday October 21st at 6:30pm.  Guests will take home a special edition 375ml bottle of Forbidden, Hardywood’s collaboration with Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Hardywood Forbidden Dragon Dinner Fat Dragon 102114

The cost for the dinner is $50/person plus tax and tip.  Reserve your spot by calling the restaurant at (804) 354-9888 or emailing katrina.mitchell@eatrestaurantpartners.com.

Fat Dragon
1200 North Boulevard
Richmond, VA 23230
(804) 354-9888

Stepping Outside Richmond Dining For Fire, Flour, & Fork: Saturday

Fire Flour Fork 2014

Ever since Fire, Flour, & Fork was announced, I have been struggling to choose a schedule from the culinary and cultural tracks.  With so many great choices, the task of narrowing down each time slot to a single talk became very overwhelming. If you look at my printout of the schedule, there are several check marks all over the place.

Last week I took you through my Friday picks for Fire, Flour, & Fork culinary tracks. We will look at Saturday next but first let’s review my selection rules:

  1. As much as I love our local dining talent, I will look for speakers coming from out of town.
  2. The topic needs to be of personal interest to me, in that maybe I could learn techniques to put into practice in my own kitchen.
  3. No beer. Yep, I said it. Yes, I could listen to our local breweries talk about beer all day long and sometimes I do.

Now on to Saturday, November 1st.

10AM

My Pick
Flavor Flours — Flour is essential to baking but what happens when the flour is not your typical wheat base? Maybe Alice Medrich can educate this amateur baker.

Runner-up
Fork Over The Hanover Tomato — If you love tomatoes, surely you’ve heard of the Hanover tomato.

11:15AM

My Pick
The Tao of Bark — Texas barbecue in Virginia?! Sign me up!

Runner-up
DamGoodSweets — I hear they’re…well, I think you can see where I’m going.

2PM

My Pick
Fork In The Road — I love mushrooms and would love to some day try and grow them myself.  Until then, I’ll just eat Dave and Dee Scherr’s mushrooms.

Runners-up

  • Apple Stack Cake — I bet you were thinking apples only went in pies. Travis Milton will teach you about different heirloom apple varieties and how he uses them.
  • Smoked and Charred Cocktails — T Leggett’s cocktails. Nuff said.

3:15PM

My Pick
Burning Desire — I will have my chocolate! If you’re lucky, I’ll save you some Gearhart’s. Maybe.

Runners-up

  • On a Roll — I first had Drew Thomasson’s baking at D’lish in Chester, VA. To say I miss having that lunch option is an understatement.  I’m happy to see Drew put his bread stamp on Richmond.
  • The Three Sisters — Someone put a beer in my pumpkin. Someone put pumpkin in my beer! It’s the fall how could you not indulge.

There you have it; that’s one possible plan for navigating Fire, Flour & Fork. Use my plan or make your own rules and pick out a schedule.  Tickets are $70 for one-day Friday or Saturday tracks or $130 for both Friday and Saturday tracks. Get your tickets here.

Stepping Outside Richmond Dining For Fire, Flour, & Fork Culinary Tracks: Friday

Fire Flour Fork 2014

Ever since Fire, Flour, & Fork was announced, I have been struggling to choose a schedule from the culinary and cultural tracks.  With so many great choices, the task of narrowing down each time slot to a single talk became very overwhelming.  If you look at my printout of the schedule, there are several check marks all over the place.  Finally, I came up with a selection method that I thought would work that would satisfy my desire to learn new stuff and be in line with the goals of the event.

First I needed some rules:

  1. As much as I love our local dining talent, I will look for speakers coming from out of town.
  2. The topic needs to be of personal interest to me, in that maybe I could learn techniques to put into practice in my own kitchen.
  3. No beer. Yep, I said it. Yes, I could listen to our local breweries talk about beer all day long and sometimes I do.

Today, we will look to navigate a schedule for Friday October 31st.

10AM

My Pick
Relish Fork — I’ve always wanted to learn more about pickling and possibly get into canning so I thought this demo from Paul Virant of Vie would be a great choice.

Runner-up
Budino with Bereika — Do you have any idea how much I hate choosing against learning from Tim Bereika?!

11:15AM

My Pick
Pie for Breakfast — Um…I like pie! I like making them and eating them.  Maybe Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar will share her secrets for making Crack Pie. I hear it’s addictive.

Runners-up

  • Chocolate Packing Heat — Yes, I could eat chocolate all day but somehow pies won out.  Maybe because my favorite pie is a Kentucky Pecan Pie with chocolate and bourbon.
  • Meat Fork — Jason Alley will teach you how ham is made. Have you had the ham cured ribs at Pasture? Delicious!

2PM

My Pick
Professor Pitmaster — I have been working on my barbecue skills but still have a long way to go before I’m ready for competition.  Help me Tuffy Stone, you’re my only hope.

Runners-up

  • Rise of Richmond Brewing — Did you really think beer wouldn’t be mentioned here? Mike Gorman will make you love the history behind our growing beer town.
  • Oyster Fork —  Did you hear about the Virginia Oyster Trail? Now is the time to fall in love with them.
  • Pickle Fork — Who knew you could pickle things other than cucumbers?  David Schulz of Pickled Silly, that’s who.

3:15PM

My Pick
From Farm to Fork — Ok, I might be breaking rule #1 with this one. Nicole Lang is local but Craig Rogers of Border Springs Farm is not. Lamb is also one of my favorite things to cook.

Runners-up

  • Charred Ordinary — Yes, Richmond has a local cidery!
  • Fork Tender — Kendra Bailey Morris will change your perception of the slow cooker.  I have used my slow cooker a lot more since buying her book.

That’s one possible plan for get through Friday’s culinary tracks for Fire, Flour & Fork. Use my plan or make your own rules then pick out a schedule.  Tickets are $70 for one-day Friday or Saturday tracks or $130 for both Friday and Saturday tracks. Get your tickets here.

Come back later this week to see what I pick for Saturday.

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