Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!



Looking to get your drag show fix without having to get up or make the reservations for Godfrey’s drag brunch?  Well then every 3rd Sunday of the month you may be in luck.

Here’s some highlights from the Babe’s Halloween Drag Extravaganza 2 weeks ago.





VMFA After Dark



For a long time (we’re talkin’ two years) I’ve heard about and wanted to attend one of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts presentations of Art After Dark.  They offer food, drink, entertainment, usually some sort of interactive dance or art class, and, of course, of all the works the VMFA has to offer.  Well finally this year I got a chance to attend one.

Their theme of the night I attended (Thursday Oct. 14th I believe) was a relaxed southern, New Orleans theme, complete with shrimp po’ boy sandwiches and waltzing lessons.

For food, besides the shrimp po’ boys, they had salad, fries, and fruit & cheese plates.
They had live music as well as classes on how to waltz (and possibly other dances that I may have missed).  It was a mix of southern jazz and old-timey, southern hospitality.

Several tables were selling liquor, wine and beer.

Everything was purchased by buying tickets for $1 each (food and drinks going for anywhere between $4 and $10) and proceeds go to help our local museum.

If you haven’t checked out a VMFA After Dark event yet, be sure to get down to the museum soon on any Thursday or Friday night until 9 p.m. for music, films, poetry readings, dancing, and other special events.





1708 Gallery presents: InLight Richmond



Friday October 22, 2010, something very strange was going on in Shockoe Bottom on a popular block of Cary Street in the well known area, Shockoe Slip.  From 7:30 p.m. to midnight, the entire street was dark.  Street lights, restaurants, stores, all with no lights. 

1708 Gallery, the non-profit organization started in 1978 by local artists, put on InLight Richmond, a public exhibition of contemporary art inspired by light. Shockoe Slip was transformed by 37 installations created by 60 artists presenting a mix of visual and performance art, like photography, video, sculpture, mixed media, interactive, and sound, digital, showcased in a variety of unexpected spaces, like sidewalks, alleys, walls, storefronts, building facades, instant gallery spaces and more. And this year, emerging and established artists from throughout the United States, and as far away as Australia, were selected for the exhibition.

InLight Richmond kicked-off with rhe Community Lantern Parade at 7:30 p.m. at the James Center Atrium.  They also had the Wearable Art InLight Fashion Show, which is a 1708 Gallery original, created 12 years ago.  The show is a creative fusion of fashion, sculpture, media and movement inspired by light. At 9pm, the winning designs were presented by models at the Shockoe Plaza in front of The Martin Agency.
For more info on 1708 Gallery, check out their website www.1708gallery.org, or stop by the gallery at 319 W. Broad Street.







Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Xtra’s Café- Bringing something extra to Carytown (yeah, I went there!)


If you haven’t been to Xtra’s Café at 3322-B W. Cary St. near the beginning of Carytown, then you are definitely behind the times and missing out.  The new restaurant and bar opened above Bangles N Beads in mid September.

You can tell that the bar is unique from the get-go when you have to immediately walk upstairs upon entering.  At the top you’ll find an open dining space to your right and the bar area to your left with another dining area.  At the end of the dining area to your right is a wall of windows.  Outside is the balcony, the only second story eating area in Carytown.  With bright décor and good natural light during the day, the whole restaurant oozes with relaxed class.

The food is a creative take on bar favorites and American cuisine, with a focus on “California cuisine”.  It’s moderately priced at $10-$15 an entree with easily affordable, well portioned appetizers.  The hummus and Canadian cheese fries are excellent starters.  The salads all look delicious, as well as the unique pizzas.  The sandwich selection excited me and I settle on the French dip, which was very good. And all the desserts are made from scratch!  We had double chocolate bread pudding, and while it was my first time trying bread pudding (no judgments!) and I can’t compare it to anything, I assure you, it was damn good bread pudding.
Drinks are what you’d expect at any bar- decently priced, well made liquor drinks, wine, and beer.  They also have a drink of the day to go with their soups and desserts of the day.  And let’s not forget their nightly happy hour and specials, like $5 appetizer night, 80’s night and couples night.  For more info on those, check out the Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Richmond-VA/Xtras-Cafe/143602305674603?v=info
and their new website:  http://www.xtrascafe.com

Delicious food at affordable prices, drink specials, positive ambiance, a nice staff, a balcony for viewing the traffic of Carytown…what’s not to like about Xtra’s???  Besides descending the staircase after a night (or brunch) of drinking maybe…
Broccoli and Cheddar Soup (Soup of the Day)
Hummus appetizer
French Dip Sandwich with a side salad
 Owner Xtra Moore and our waitress singing happy birthday to our embarrassed friend.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Four Seasons DC Review – Bourbon Steak Restaurant


So it’s not exactly in Richmond, but it’s close enough and awesome enough to be relevant.
If you get out of the financial crunch the recession may or may not have put you in, definitely check out the Four Seasons’ restaurant in their Washington, D.C. hotel.  It was pretty amazing.
First of all, the service is not that of a typical restaurant.  All I needed to do was order my food, and after that they took care of everything.  I never even had to ask for a refill of wine.  Never had to worry about flagging down a waiter for anything.  Never had to worry about being hungry while the food was cooked (they served two bread dishes before bringing out the main course).  Never had to focus on anything but the conversation and fun my table was having.
The food was … well, amazing.  I hate to repeat that word so much, but it’s the first and best word that comes to mind for the whole experience.  After studying the menu and sighing at the prices (most entrees were in the $30+ category), I decided on the chicken, ham, egg, red pepper, bread, and sauce concoction.  It sounded like a weird combination that somehow made sense. 
The sides all sounded good- from the black truffle macaroni and cheese, to the general tso’s broccoli, to the beef fried rice.  Our table got one of each, as well as the magic mushrooms (no joke, that’s what it said on the menu).
Before the appetizers came, they brought out the bread.  Only instead of it actually being bread, it was six different silver cups, three of which were each filled with a different type of French fries and three of which were filled with a different type of sauce.  I can’t explain what a perfect start to the meal this was.
After the appetizers, another bread dish arrived.  This time they were truffle and feta rolls.  They looked like mini cinnamon rolls, but clearly, were cheesy and buttery and the epitome of baked bread bliss.  I would do anything to go back to D.C. and order an entire to-go box of just those rolls.
The chicken dish was a perfect combination of tastes and textures, and was perfectly cooked.  Only one person in the entire group had any sort of complaint about their dish (which was that some fish had been overcooked) and when he requested a new dish be made quickly (I believe it was tuna tartar), they had no problem delivering and even had a chef come out to prepare it table-side on a little cart.  And they of course did not charge him for his first dinner.  As I said, the service is part of the reason to go to this place.
The sides dishes were all a hit and ended up pushing us over the edge of fullness by the end of the meal.
And let’s not forget drinks shall we?  Red and white wine were both consumed and of a very high quality.  Very few were offered by the glass though and the cheapest bottles were in the mid $50 range.
So if you go to this restaurant, you pretty much know you’re in for a good diner, just don’t forget about the price as you go.  Every side dish was amazing, but at $9 a pop, you’ll probably want to settle for one.  Especially since they feed about three people each.
Overall, a fancy restaurant done the right way.  If you get the chance, check it out.
French Fries as bread - who woulda thunk it?
Black Truffle Mac n' Cheese
Chicken Dinner

This is everything you get for a cup of tea!!!

Suggestions??

Know of any events around town that you  think deserve to be covered?  Maybe some that aren't as heavily advertised to the public as others? 

Then e-mail gritandglitter@gmail.com with the date & time.  Don’t even need a description if you don’t want….well actually, better put a description, too.

Zombie Walk ’09 Revisited

Alright all you undead pedestrians, get ready for the 6th Annual Richmond Zombie Walk, this Saturday Oct. 30th at 1:00 in Carytown (usually at the beginning of Carytown up near Nansemond). 

Until then, try to channel the energy from last year’s successful walk.