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

Richmond SPCA Supper Club

Hey everyone, please go out to eat and support the Richmond SPCA! All you have to do is go out to a nice restaurant!!!

Tonight's dining location is Zeus Gallery Cafe, which I have heard is awesome, still need to go there to check it out.

15% of all proceeds from the night go to the SPCA, so get down there and eat!

Check out the rest of the dates for the Richmond SPCA Supper Club here:
http://www.richmondspca.org/supperclub?erid=2321065&trid=e576a16e-9762-453d-84e9-dd6995ada04d

Burger Bach

Rating: 2.5 stars

I'm sorry but no cheeseburger and french fries is worth $12.

So Burger Bach (pronounced "batch", apparently it's a New Zealand thing), is the new restaurant that is occupying the former Ellwood Thompson Cafe. I have never been to the Cafe so I can't compare the two, but let's just say I wasn't that impressed.

Burger Bach states it is a European Gastropub (ala Blue Goat), except that they specialize in what I guess are supposed to be "gourmet" burgers (if there is such a thing). Sorry, but I feel like if you are going to have all farm raised/natural foods you could come up with a little better specialization than burgers, which we all know taste best when they are made from the cheapest meat.

So I ate there tonight for the first time. The interior is fine, small, but accommodating, with a fairly large bar. There are 4 large screen TVs, but do not mistake this place for a sports bar because it is not. We were trying to watch the VCU tournament game (GO RAMS!) but no sound, and there is only one wall of TVs, so if you are facing the opposite way you have to turn away from your party to see them. It's a rather small place to have so many TVs at the bar anyway, the could totally get away with one.

But the colors are nice and it is pretty peaceful if you are there just to eat, a very modern feel going on. Though I really do not get this trend of having one really long table that you seat multiple parties at (Stella's has the same thing). It is just not functional and causes alot of issues. Personally I do not want to have to sit right next to a person that I don't know (maybe I am just anti-social). They would be better off having several two seater tables that they could push together if needed.

Anyway, on to the food. So yeah, it's $10 for a burger (which is their MO), which comes with, guess what...an all leaf salad! That goes perfect with a burger right??? It's an extra $2 for a small side of fries, which are cooked Five Guys style, fried in peanut oil. I don't know about you but if I am going to order a burger (and fries) I want my fries to be as greasy and as bad for you as possible, because that is the way they taste best. I am not hoping that my fries are healthy for me. If you want healthy you should not be ordering a burger and fries in the first place! Which is why the salad thing does not work at all!!!

I had the bacon cheddar cheese burger (as all good burgers should include bacon and cheese). It was good, but the bun was way too soft and the thing kept falling apart on me. Also it comes with thousand island dressing (ala the Big Mac's special sauce) and I prefer the good old fashioned mayo. But guess what...no substitutions allowed! Really??? On a burger??? Are they that spectacular that the "chef" absolutely cannot take off lettuce or add mustard??? I don't know about that. If I am paying $10 for a burger I better "have it my way."

Speaking of prices, they have a fairly limited beer list for Richmond (although the wine list looked quite extensive... so if you like wine with your burger you are good ;) ), and the only domestic beer they have is Miller Lite in the bottle, which costs $4!!! That is the same price as all of their craft beers on tap. And FYI this is NOT listed on their menu. I had to ask if they even had any domestic beers, and I thought I would be getting a deal with the Miller Lite (which I am not a fan of), but nope, when the check came I realized I could have been getting a craft beer for the same price. Let's just say I was not happy and recommended that that really needed to be changed ASAP, and if not, then it at least needed to be listed on the menu. Also, this place could benefit from some happy hour specials. Oh, and no free refills on tea or soda because they serve those by the "chilled" bottle, because it's the "real" sugar kind.

On a side note, my friends liked the Reggae music they were playing, but kept complaining of some kind of smell, which I just chalked up to fries, burgers, and onions (didn't really notice it myself).

I guess I am just not a fan of paying way too much for what should be cheap beer and essentially a cheap meal, no matter what kind of cow it came from. In my opinion you can get the same tasting burger at Hometeam Grill, Red Robin, Capital Ale, etc, for ALOT cheaper, and they already come with fries!!!

Let's just say that the taste nor the atmosphere was enough to make me want to go back. Their menu specifically asks that you let them know how they are doing and if they have "gotten it right". Sadly, I'd have to say no.

Be Real.
~Samantha

BlowToad

Rating = 2.5 stars

Let's talk about BlowToad.

This was one of the most anticipated restaurant openings I have heard about in Richmond for a while. My guess is because: 1. It is located in Carytown right across from The Byrd Theater, and 2. because of it's name.

One comment on the name. While this probably gets alot of people curious about what your restaurant is all about, it is also very weird and kind of nasty sounding...so not sure which way you want to go.

The name actually comes from a type of fish, pictured below, alive, and cooked.

Photo credited to Kendra Morris - http://fatbackandfoiegras.blogspot.com/

BlowToad serves this gorgeous fish as an appetizer, which we of course had to try, since obviously it is delicious enough to name a restaurant after. Unfortunately after tasting it, it wasn't that obvious to me... It was pretty bland, the batter was kind of greasy, and you have to eat it like a drumstick. I don't know, I guess I just expected more.

Now, to be fair to this place, we went here on the second night they were officially open, on a Saturday, with a group of 7. Note: Do not ever do this...anywhere. A friend suggested we go and if I had known they had just opened, I would have argued against it, so I feel this review has been somewhat colored by those circumstances.

So we walk in a little before 8 to, of course, a packed house. And in reality this place is not very big, especially the way they have chosen to set it up. The bar is right up front, so anyone waiting is going to be standing in this area, which makes it a little overwhelming at first, and you have to walk through the bar to get to the hostess stand. Adjacent to the bar are two tall, yet very skinny bar tables, luckily we were able to eventually grab one of these to sit at while we waited out our 45 minutes to get a table. The bar tables are good looking but it would be very difficult for a group to actually eat at them, as there is definitely not enough room for every one's food, so sadly, I feel like there is some wasted space there. Also, there are two large screen TVs playing ESPN at the bar, definitely causing you to feel you are not in a really upscale or posh atmosphere. The main dining room is thankfully separated from the bar by a wall, so though we did not get to sit over there, I assume it is much quieter, calmer, and more spread out than the bar area.

About the 45 minutes, that is totally expected of a new place on a Saturday with a group of 7. Unfortunately it turned into more like an hour and a half, while we watched one large table be cleared and have no one seated at it for 20 minutes, and then watched our actual table sit empty and uncleared for another 20 minutes before anyone noticed and came to clean it up for us... Let's be nice though and chalk that up to it being just opened and working out the kinks. We got some wine from the bar and were able to chat for a while, so it was nice...right?

When we did finally get seated, I asked the table next to us what they thought of the pizza they had ordered, because, unlike what you would assume due to the name, this place is really a wood fired pizza grill (surprised?). They said the pizza was good, but was too salty. I said ok thank you and turned back to my table, but apparently it was really really too salty because they brought it up to me twice more before they departed, so, yeah.

Ok, time for dinner, finally. We ordered another bottle of wine, and then tried the blow toads (see above). Then it came time to order the meal. Apparently this place is trying very hard to be tech savvy. The waiters actually use iPads instead of paper pads to take your order. Cool right? And I assume this shoots your order right back to the kitchen, which saves on time right? Not so much. Our waiter had to wait several seconds for his iPad to unfreeze to take the order, and then of course it takes longer to punch buttons and such than write things down in short hand. And then, just as our final person ordered he got a message on his iPad that they only had 6 chicken wings left in the kitchen. Well we had two people ordering 6 wings. In the time it took to decide who would take them, another table ordered them with their waiter's handy dandy iPad, so booyah, no chicken wings! I don't know, I just see this causing alot more trouble in the future. Oh, they also let you know your table is ready by calling your cell phone, so make sure you bring one of those with you.

The menu is not very extensive I must say, which I was surprised by since it is not really upper scale food. And two of our friends were very disappointed that there was copy in the menu about a cheeseburger which come to find out that is only available at lunch. I would highly recommend that the burger be added to the dinner menu as well. After finally getting everything ordered we started to enjoy ourselves now that we were more comfortably seated. We were also close enough to the next table (very close) to be able to enjoy a conversation with them as well, so that is good, if you like that sort of thing.

Eventually the dinners came out, luckily the time waiting for food was not bad at all. I must say, my pepperoni pizza was very good,  I did not find it too salty, and it was a generous size, though I am not sure $13-15 is that great of a price. (In my opinion Bellytimber's is better and cheaper) It appeared that everyone else also enjoyed their dishes. I did not hear many complaints. We chose not opt for desert since it was now almost 10:30 and instead opted for the check. But unfortunately we got someone else's, and once that was fixed we were informed they couldn't run but so many credit cards per table (5 or 6 was the limit I believe) so that added another 15 minutes to our evening at BlowToad. Can someone explain to me why you can call my cell phone to tell me my table is ready, and can use an iPad to take my order, but can't run 7 credit cards? So on that pleasant note we made our departure.

Honestly, I am not really sure what to tell you about BlowToad. I guess it was so hyped up I was rather disappointed, just by what it ended up being and the overall experience. I am sure they will work out the service kinks in time, but I am not sure the limited menu and confusing atmosphere will get any better. When we were there my friend made the comment "I am not really sure what this place is trying to be, is it a sports bar or a posh restaurant?" I am right there with him. Let me know if you figure it out.

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

A Fresh Start

Welcome to 2012!


Well, almost exactly a year after our last group post I am taking on the task of starting this blog over again, from just one person's view this time. I will be expanding the restaurant options, so they won't all be fancy I am sure, but hopefully the reading will be interesting.

And I am on twitter now, so my 9 followers can read my blog, hehe.

Be Real.
~Samantha

Millie's Diner (Brunch)

Rating: 3.5 stars

So I guess we were not very affected by this restaurant since it is has taken almost a week for any of us to write our review on it!

Our Restaurant Club choice for the month was brunch at Millie's Diner in Church Hill (the first brunch experience for our little group), which is reported to be one of the best if not THE best brunch in Richmond. The evidence for that was clear considering we got there at 10am and still had to wait a full hour before getting seated. So make sure you are not starving when you get there or you will be in trouble. I considered running across the street to the gas station for a snack several times! The place is rather small, so it seems more packed than it is, but the bar area was slammed and you had to struggle to get through to the bathroom or your seat.

The best thing about having to wait an hour is that you can go ahead and get your drink right away as soon as you put your name down, and somehow they keep track of all that! Mimosas, Bloody Marys, and Evil Keevils (? apparently rum punches) are the specials. Almost everyone waiting had a drink in their hand, which I am sure makes the time pass a little easier. I myself only ended up getting orange juice with the food (being slightly hungover from the night before), and it tasted fresh squeezed, though I can't be sure, but for $3.50 I hope it was!

The restaurant is very cute despite its size, with an interesting and scattered decor. Meghan described the staff as "hipster," and the kitchen is a tiny little area right in the front window (which makes it very hard when you are hungry and have to watch them make everything right in front of you while you are waiting outside!). But I must say the service was impeccable. Despite the crowd everyone was very on top of their game, the food came quickly and everyone was extremely friendly. While checking out the chalk board menu at the bar for a considerable amount of time (yes another chalk board!) both the bartender and one of the cooks commented that they had the same green t-shirt for their dodge ball team that I was wearing ;)

Now to the food. Definitely a Mexican themed breakfast menu, lots of beans, tortillas, and spicy stuff. It is not your typical IHOP breakfast! Before I review the food, I must confess I am not a huge breakfast person, so my view is probably a little skewed. It was very hard for me to choose what to get, but having heard from a friend that I had to get a "Mess" I opted for the Cajun Mess, which was pretty much eggs scrambled with a bunch of stuff in them. Sadly the waitress informed me they were out of the crawfish meat that usually goes in it, but I went for it anyway. I would have thought that a meal titled Cajun would have been a little more spicy but it was not too bad, so don't be scared of trying it. The cheese melted on top was very good and it was an adequate breakfast, but for me nothing to write home about.

The best part of the meal was the HOME FRIES! I could have ate an entire plate of just those. They were delicious! If I go back again I am getting an extra order of them, let's just get that out of the way now. Apparently the meals also come with whole grain toast, but all of us were too chicken to ask if it was free or not, so we passed. Looking a the menu online now it seems that it is free, hehe, oh well.
And the prices were not bad, $14 being the most expensive for steak and eggs, though the drinks are where they get you, $6.50 for each alcoholic one.

All in all it was a fun experience, and if I were over in that area during the brunch hour one weekend I would strongly consider dropping by and trying out another dish, but having to wait an hour for breakfast might possibly deter me away unfortunately. Perhaps I will make it a point to eat a little beforehand so I can mingle happily in the bar area for a little while.

But I think unless you love this place, or are very dedicated to trying it out, my guess is you wouldn't be frequenting it very often...but considering the number of people waiting around outside for an hour on a slightly rainy Sunday, I guess alot of people love it!

Be Real.
~Samantha