mighty quinn

everona also got a nice write up in the April "Virginia Wine and Food Society Newsletter." just happens that the author of the article in the owner of feast in c-ville. i've also found some nice chevre called "LaDoVel" from a cheese maker in Fork Union, VA. he's pretty creative with some herbage (hmmm-what a GOOD idea!) i stumbled upon heidi (is that really her real name?) the rappahannock goat lady a few summers ago. she was selling to some local wineries for consumption in the tasting rooms. i had a taste of her chevre at Farfelu vineyards and knew that i had to find her. she's suspicious of city slickers and very protective of her cheese. and has a three-legged herding dog.

definitely agree with ralph's in roanoke rapids/weldon. but after you sit in traffic in nova for 1+ hours you'll prbably need sustainance before the n.c. line. try buz n' ned's "real" bbq in richmond va. take i-95 into town and exit at the "boulevard" exit. go toward broad street. the restaurant will be on your left after the baseball stadium. different from eastern n.c. style bbq, but yummy just the same.

personally i'm going to boycott the place! i went back in february and spent 20 minutes sitting at a cafe table in front of the maitre. no one bothered to hand me a menu or even acknowledge my existence. i've made sure that my friends know this too. so much for trendy french in carytown!

liberty bar was one of my favorites in san antonio- they got a nice write up in the january issue of "saveur."

i love my santoku---i have a tough time with heavy german knives due to some rotten arthritis in my hands and i have small hands. this was the first knife i've used that i felt the knife was doing the bulk of the work and not me!

i work "the night shift" and my stomach has absolutely no sense of time. probably my worst nocturnal gastronomic offense is raw bacon. ok, i know that's gross. peanut butter by the spoonful follows a close second. i do love a grilled cheese, but if i have to be up before 1100 and it's after 0300, i generally won't cook. but sometimes i do make an exception and that's for oatmeal with a ton of butter and brown sugar. i also drink beer at 8am after work, but not so much anymore that Tune Inn (of D.C. fame) is a 90 minute drive.

i'm definitely not down on any area in richmond-ok maybe west end. let me clarify-i think oregon hill is a totally hip neighborhood, but it's difficult to navigate, especially at night and 'zu's ain't the easiest place to find even in daylight. you add downtown's maze of one-way streets and it just compounds the problem. i still feel alot safer getting a bite to eat in downtown richmond than say, adams morgan leaving a bar at 3am. not any extra plug for comfort, but it is right on THE main drag in town. if you're there this friday night, check out some of the galleries on broad st- it's first friday. but be prepared for a long wait in line at comfort. also, they don't take reservations. if you really want local color (but not necessarily fine food) check out hill cafe at 2800 e. broad st in church hill. there are at least 3 virginia vintages on the wine list

this is amazing- i drove by the old whitey's space when i was up there last month. was sad to see that they were closed, but i can't believe that someone actually scraped the burger muck off the walls to open a new place!! and it sounds like a classy joint! will there be a 1/2 price burger nite??

comfort is my favorite and it's relatively easy to find off i-95. if you're used to paying d.c. prices for food you'll be pleasantly surprised. if you're not familiar with the richmond area, don't go looking for 'zu's. you'll end up in some pretty scary area in the vcu/oregon hill neighborhood. the only fine dining place left open in the bottom is juleps. i had a pretty decent rack of venison there. you can skip anything in shockoe slip. it's touristy, over-priced and the food isn't worth it. lemaire is definitely the cream of the fine dining crop. go to buz 'n ned's for bbq. it's a weird amalgam of styles but it's good pig and they have abc on/off- something rare for a bbq joint. it's located on boulevard just off of i-95.

my brother brought a pumpkin pie-i gave hime crap because it has a store-bought crust, but i have to give him credit for the fact that he grew the pumpkins and made the filling! he also brought 4 quarts of blueberries that he picked in the n.c. mountains this summer. i'll be making cobbler from those. i'm also making coconut custard pie-something different-i'm a bit of a coconut junkie! my s-i-l brought a couple of pies down from philly- came from a bakery at reading terminal so they must be tasty. they're a mistery as of right now. i can't imagine having any roon for dessert today!

susan- fresh scrapple is on tomorrow's breakfast menu. my brother drove down from philly today and there were requests for it- this is from one of the amish stands at reading terminal. i'm not a fan myself- i prefer kielbaasa with my eggs - but i have been known to pick it up in PA and tote it down to tampa for my mom. alas no fresh kielbasa this thanksgiving!

on my visits to florida, i've seen these birds hanging around strip malls eating trash in the parking lots. you want to EAT these things?? aren't cranes revered in some cultures?? aren't they relatively slow?? is this really sport?? dude, shoot pidgeons instead!

after a too long absence, i'm reviving the relish tray for my feast. celery with pimiento cheese (made with chipotle cheddar cheese!) green spanish olives filled with tuna nicoise olives cornichons picked okra my brother justin's homemade dill pickles cranberry/pickled beet chutney (out of the new gourmet cookbook) along side and for apps--various cheeses and billy bread (it's a richmond thing)

i'm very interested in this pat conroy book- i've read articles he's written for gourmet (and southern living, i think) i just bought the gourmet cookbook-for me, early christmas present- but i think that will be my pick for my best friend this year. we can finally get rid of all our old issues of gourmet. i hate a cluttered kitchen.

i usually just lurk on blogs, but the wealth of food at the farmers market and at pike's place brought me out! (the photos and commentary are wonderful as well!) did i really see chanterelles for $4.95/lb??? that wasn't some other currency, right? with food like that, i'll move to seattle rain and all. thanks for the great blog!!