Restaurant recommendations for Richmond?

[fchrisgrimm]

Thanks for the continuing nods. You are absolutely right that (personally) I have no neighborhood concerns and get around trouble free.

My concern is more with getting the annual meal that exemplifies (sp?) Richmond! Mamma Zu's sounds interesting - but I have a tough time getting excited about it, when I am an hour from New York - Mecca of, if nothing else, Italian food in the USA. (Oddly, in Norwalk, ten minutes away, is Pasta Nostra, which gets near-identical writes-up as Mamma Zu - and I haven't been there either, in ten years). So you see my mental block on the place.

Julep's seems a little more upscale (and my wife likes the web-site - oy), but I do get a better food vibe from Comfort. Julep's seems akin to Acacia, which we've done (though certainly enjoyed).

My one (odd) concern, as it were, is that Comfort doesn't have Virginia wine on their list. What's the deal with that? You have to support local wineries (unless you live up here in Connecticut - and even then...). A restaurant pushing local cuisine needs to be pushing Virginia wine (because there's enough good wine being made) - ought to be pouring by the glass, but that is another subject, altogether. That's what I especially liked about Pomegranate, when we ate there a few years ago - big time support (except by the glass) of local wine.

Thoughts appreciated. Otherwise, were zeroing in pretty well. BTW - for budgetary reasons, we are staying at the Radisson, rather than the Jeff. Any comments? We tend to check in, go to dinner, go to bed, and get up and leave - so it seemed extravagant this year.

[mighty quinn]

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

[fchrisgrimm]

Julep's it was!

Love the neighborhood (anyone have a report on Bob's Tiki?).

We were a bit early, so I had, of course, a mint julep from the bar, while Leslie had a glass of NZ Sauv Blanc. We were shortly settled and into our dinner.

I started with the Low Country Charcuterie - terrific start - and Les had the spinach salad. We shared a plate of fried green tomatoes - lightly breaded, really nice, and enjoyed the red onion salsa. For mains, I had a smoked duck breast with grits and succotach while Les had the cumin dusted pork roast with braised cabbage and fingerlings.

We drank a 2001 Barboursville Octagan, which was good, not great, but I still like ordering local.

Service was solid - unobtrusive, efficient, with good wine tips for local shopping. Had to call my own cab, but can't complain too much about that.

In conclusion, while we thoroughly enjoyed it, I would say it falls short of the dearly departed Frog/Redneck. Very good, but not memorable, I guess. I liked the charcuterie (duck confit, wild boar and cranberry sausage, and country pâté) more than the duck.