Sedona Taphouse

Rating: 4 stars

Shout out to the Southsiders!

It is often incorrectly stated by those who live within the city limits that there are no good places to go in the Southside. Luckily, those of us who live south of the river know better, and I am happy to state that Sedona Taphouse is one of the best new additions to an area that already has several great options such as Cafe Caturra, Crab Louie's, and Capital Ale House.

Located in the newer development of Westchester Commons off of Midlothian Turnpike, Sedona Taphouse stands out among other Southside newcomers as an upscale bar/restaurant that provides a hip "city" feel, minus the thirty minute drive. Boasting over 500 craft beers (one of the largest selections on the East Coast according to the website), Sedona attempts to rival Capital Ale House. While it may not quite succeed, it definitely provides an excellent option for beer lovers, and may even be good enough to make city dwellers cross the river every once and a while.

Photo accredited to Richmond Times Dispatch

Walking into the restaurant you are immediately taken with the tall warehouse ceilings and the impressiveness of the bar, which has been full all three times I have visited. A warm glow emits from the area, and a stately stone wall produces a dramatic effect that draws your attention to the numerous taps and rows upon rows of bottled beers located there. Dark tables and a concrete floor serve to match the hip but still inviting vibe of the establishment. While it is well put together there are some minor complaints about the atmosphere. The tables are a little tightly packed together, and the tall, unfinished ceiling doesn't dampen noise well. So, when it's packed, the restaurant is fairly loud and takes on a definite bar feeling, rather than that of an upscale restaurant. But it is a taphouse right?

Sweet bar!  Photo accredited to Sedona Taphouse's Facebook page. 

Speaking of the bar atmosphere, Sedona Taphouse has some great happy hour offerings till 6:30 on weeknights, with select $3 beers and wines, and $5 martinis. They also feature specialty nights like $5 steak night on Mondays for charity, Wine Down Wednesdays, and live music on Friday evenings. Beer flights are also offered for those who may want to try out a few options, and I am guessing with 500 beers available that is a popular selection.

I must say the beer list is impressive, but my only complaint is that it is a bit overwhelming. Unlike Capital Ale House, which gives a detailed description of what their draft beers taste like, so you have something to go by when ordering, Sedona only lists the name, location, and type of beer (IPA, Lager, etc.). That is not really much help when there are tons of beers to choose from. While the servers are knowledgeable and can assist by providing more info, it would be much easier if you could just peruse the descriptions on your own. That is probably my biggest recommendation for Sedona, and I think both the servers and customers would find things running more smoothly if this improvement was added.

So many choices! Photo accredited to Sedona Taphouse's Facebook page.

To be honest, there have been a few other complaints over my several outings to Sedona Taphouse. During my first visit, only a few weeks after the place opened,  we sat at long skinny tall tables (a la BlowToad) near the front windows of the restaurant beside the bar. While we were only there for drinks, the size and placement of the tables caused us to have to squeeze together and sit with strangers. I was glad to see by my third visit in June that they had replaced the skinny tables with the normal four seater size, granting easier access to that section and allowing it to double as both a food and bar area.

Another issue that had been remedied after our original outing was the addition of liquor to the restaurant. (Yes, they had started out with just beer and wine.) Seriously ... you can have all the beer in the world, but if you are going to make it as a full scale restaurant with a big bar atmosphere, an ABC license is pretty essential. I was also happy to see specialty martinis added to the menu, again contributing to the upscale feel of the place.

Check out the hip urban style. Photo accredited to Style Weekly.

Ok, enough about the alcohol, now on to the food! During our first outing to Sedona Taphouse the menu consisted of mainly appetizers and small plates with very few full entrees. I was disappointed, but I figured they were really pushing the bar feeling and wanted to limit having to focus too much on the food. That's fine ...  a ton of places in Richmond do that ... but it definitely shapes your clientele.  That's why I was super excited on my second visit to find a much lengthier list of dinner items including multiple seafood, chicken, and steak options. They still offer their signature small plates like grilled flatbreads, sliders, and tacos  if you're interested in lighter fare or a late night snack, but the expansion of the menu was certainly a welcome change.

$5 steak night on Mondays - Photo accredited to the Westchester Commons website.

So far I have had the chance to sample the BBQ sliders, the crab cake, and my friends have had the fish tacos. I thought that the BBQ was ok as far as BBQ goes, but the "blues," Sedona's signature thick cut chips, were great. My friends had no problem scarfing down their fish tacos (I didn't even get offered a bite!). Though they did think they were a little overpriced at $6.50 a piece. As far the crab cake, I thought it was wonderful, along with the tasty redskin mashed potatoes and broccoli. It was mostly lump crab meat and was nicely pan seared. A simple dish thankfully not overdone with too many add-ons. The price was also right, at only $14 for a delicious and well proportioned meal.

Sorry, no pic of the crab cake, but here are the crab cake sliders!
Photo accredited to Stephanie from foodspotting.com

As you can see, living in the Southside I have had the opportunity to visit this restaurant a few times over the course of its short life, and have gotten to enjoy watching the owners grow and enhance their business. Each time I have seen new adjustments made as they attempt to correct problems and expand options in an effort to create an establishment that truly makes people want to come back. It's refreshing to see a place that is continually trying to improve. Every time I have been to Sedona, whether it was for drinks, a nice dinner with my mom, or girls' night out, I have had a wonderful experience. I am proud to have another great restaurant in the Southside, and I look forward to seeing what Sedona does next!

Photos accredited to Cassandra B. from foursquare.com.

Check out the Sedona Taphouse website at: www.sedonataphouse.com
See their Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/Sedonataphouse


Be real.
~Samantha

Stella's

Rating: 4 stars

Do you like Greek food? Wait, do you just like food? Then you need to go to Stella's!

I must admit I had never heard of Stella's until recently when one of the girls in our Restaurant Club suggested it, and then I could not stop hearing about it. Apparently this place has a long standing tradition in Richmond, and if you check it out on the Internet you will find nothing but praise. And I would say I have to agree with all those reviews!

I myself enjoy Greek food when I do eat it, but I can't say I have ever really gone to a Greek restaurant, and have mostly only experienced Greek food in bits and pieces and at the annual Greek Festival. So there are some dishes that I have had several times, and some that I have never heard of or tasted. Either way, if you're interested in trying new things or just enjoying your regular favorites, Stella's is a great option.

Nestled in the Near West End, just over the highway from the Museum District is this charming little gem. It is a small place (so reservations are recommended) but the decor is lovely. Bright and airy, with a sweet yet classy feeling. And they even have a projector in the back screening black and white films on the wall, which just adds to the ambiance. This would be a great date place.

Luckily I went here with Restaurant Club and we decided to split two bottles of wine and a couple of appetizers, as well as each get an entree, so I definitely got to try alot of food. Our waitress was extremely helpful and friendly, explaining what menu items were like and making recommendations. It was very refreshing.

For starters we got the grilled octopus, the hummus & tabouli ("Stella's famous"), and the spanakopita, a must have at any Greek place. Even if you think you don't like Greek food you will like spanakopita. The only part I wasn't much impressed with was the octopus, it was chewy (though I guess it is supposed to be, hehe) and you mainly just tasted the char grilling. But the spanakopita was delicious, and oh my god, the pita bread for the hummus was AMAZING. It was soft and warm, right out of the oven. It didn't need any hummus. In fact I could have just eaten pita bread for my entire meal. If you go here PLEASE get this appetizer, you will not be disappointed!

After analyzing the large menu several times, I finally settled on the artichoke moussaka as my entree. I have had regular moussaka before at the Greek festival, and if you don't know what it is, it's very similar to lasagna, but has a more "spiced" taste. I figured I would go for something I knew, but with a twist. It was good but I wish I had realized that it didn't have meat in it. It was similar to a creamy vegetarian lasagna, and I am much more of a red sauce and ground beef kind of girl. One of the other girls got the regular moussaka and I definitely preferred that dish. I guess it's just all in what you like!

Our other friends had the pastichio (like moussaka but with fat pasta noddles instead of layers), the pikelia which was a tasting of all the standard Greek dishes (including tzatziki, which was raved about at our table) and the No. 5 Pasta (another Stella's famous), a huge mound of baked spaghetti with fat noodles. They were all very yummy. I think if I went back, I would get the moussaka if I wanted to go traditional Greek, and the No. 5 Pasta if I just wanted something delicious.

Stella's famous No. 5 Pasta ... wow!

The menu also includes several more meat based entrees like leg of lamb, new york strip, pork, and even salmon (which came highly recommended by the waitress). There is no lack of options here. The menu is expansive, and you can choose to do one big entree or pair together several smaller plates, allowing you to try out more, which is a great option to have, especially if you are not a Greek food aficionado.

They also have several desert options which I believe they change daily. We were extremely stuffed but really wanted to try the deserts, so we each got one to go. I got the chocolate baklava which was very good! I only wish that they carried regular baklava at all times. I would have preferred the original taste, as opposed to it being more chocolate focused. But let's just say I managed to get it down ;)

I must admit to you that this was our most expensive Restaurant Club outing to date. But we did get three appetizers to share, two bottles of wine, 5 entrees, and 5 desserts, all for around $45 a piece. You can definitely eat here for much cheaper, and I did not feel like the menu was overpriced at all for the size of the portions and the quality of the food, which has not been the case at several of the restaurants we have tried. I think the food and atmosphere was so good we just went a little overboard this time!

Everyone in Restaurant Club really enjoyed Stella's. It is a cool place to go that is out of the way, and it's much more relaxed than alot of places in the Fan or Carytown. It just seemed more homey and welcoming. Here's a great example: Stella's has a long communal table in the middle of the restaurant where they sit random groups together side by side, no space in between, just like at Burger Bach. At Burger Bach I found this annoying and pretentious ... at Stella's I found it enchanting. If that feeling speaks to you, you should definitely give Stella's a try.

Check out the Stella's website at: http://stellasrichmond.com/


Be Real.
~Samantha

The Blue Goat

Rating = 4 stars

In our most recent Restaurant Club outing we ventured over to The Blue Goat, a fairly new restaurant spot in the Shops at Libbie and Grove area. Interestingly enough this was actually my first time visiting this neighborhood, despite having lived in Richmond all my life. Very cute, and I will have to go shopping there once it gets warm.

The Restaurant itself declares it is an "urban gastropub" = a place in the city that serves high quality food. They use mostly fresh local ingredients and even list the farms where they have gotten the food they are using in their dishes for the week.

Also, they use a "nose to tail" concept, meaning they serve alot of pieces of animals that you would not normally see in most restaurants. Let's just say this really scared me about trying this place. I like trying new things but am pretty against anything too weird.

I was wrong to be worried, and luckily I had some more adventuresome people with me. The food is served in a family style concept so the waiters encourage you to order things together and plan to share dishes, as the food is brought out as soon as it is ready. ***Note: do not think family style means large portions, as that is definitely not the case here.*** But it does allow you to taste many different dishes, which is a blessing since everything was very good!

The menu is split into what you would think is plate size, but it really isn't so don't be fooled by that either. It's more about the substance on the plates, so something more hearty will be in the "Feed" section even if it actually amounts to less food than something in the "Nibble" section, which unfortunately was somewhat disappointing.

Our group opted for one dish from each section and two from the large plates. We had a good mix, a salad, some french fries, goat stuffed ravioli, a meat pasta dish, and braised pork cheeks (the actual cheek area of a pig). So nothing too crazy, and the crazy stuff was the best part!

The salad and fries were fine, but I would recommend skipping those and going for something more interesting, since you can get them anywhere. And the pasta dish was nothing special, probably our least favorite part of the meal (we wished we had ordered something more daring in its place). But the goat stuffed ravioli was wonderful, just too few pieces of it as mentioned before (only four I think, so sad), and the pork cheeks were delicious, tasting much like a pot roast, but so tender and juicy. Again there were only four small pieces to share between five people, but that is the only thing I can complain about.

In addition to the food the atmosphere was lovely, bright wooden tables, brick walls, an industrial ceiling, full wine racks, and a cozy looking bar with a couple of big screens. We were there on a weeknight around 6:15 and there were several people at the bar enjoying happy hour specials (mostly older people who probably live in the area), but it picked up quickly on the restaurant side.

There is an expansive yet expensive wine list, and the waiters are knowledgeable and helpful in making decisions. The walls host several fanciful paintings. Oh and the deserts, they were very good as well, though again lacking in size. We tried three different options and none of them disappointed.

Cost wise, for five people we split a bottle of wine, five "plates", and three deserts for around $30 a person, which is really not bad considering how much food we were able to try. Some of my friends still felt they could eat more but I was pretty satisfied.

All in all I would highly recommend trying out The Blue Goat as an adventure, and I think you will find you will want to add it to your normal dining out list, especially if looking to go somewhere a little fancy (and a little crazy) but still relaxed and unpretentious.

http://www.bluegoatva.com/

Be Real.
~Samantha

Tripps

Rating: 4.5 stars

Although Tripps is a chain restaurant, in my opinion it is the best non-overpriced steak in town.

If you like good food at a decent price (a little more expensive than your normal family restaurant), this is the place to go. There are locations on Midlothian and West Broad St. so it is accessible to everyone.

My family has visited Tripps many many times (my father being an avid steak eater, and also not the adventurous type) but this past weekend we went here for my aunt's birthday, so that has prompted me to write this review.

The restaurant is very warm and cozy, with an upper class elegant feel, but not intimidating.  They offer a large wine selection with cheaper and more expensive choices, and do take reservations, a great advantage that many restaurants no longer offer. The service is excellent, and the diner menu allows for alot of options, from steak (!), to seafood and pasta, as well as burgers, along with a few daily specials.

The bread they serve with their olive oil dipping concoction is heaven (I always eat about two pieces too many) and most meals come with a large salad that is excellent.

99% of the time I order the Ribeye (14oz for $20) and am never disappointed. The steak is cooked perfectly to your order. It's marinated all day in a delectable seasoning, and is pan seared, giving it that crispy goodness on the outside and tender deliciousness on the inside. No steak sauce needed here!

They have baked and mashed potatoes. I only wish the mashed potatoes were of the garlic variety, then the meal would not be able to be topped.

They also have a wonderful prime rib, and my mom usually gets the filet mignon with crab meat added on top. I often want to try new dishes but just cannot make myself pass on the ribeye. And the cheesecake is amazing!

The meals are just good, nothing too fancy, just well cooked food and ample amounts of it. I always walk away stuffed and never feel that I overpaid for the food or experience. So if you haven't made it out to this chain restaurant yet, pick a special occassion (or not), and go!

Be Real.
~Samantha