The purpose of this short “review” then is to countervail that oversight by spotlighting said dish, what I believe has quickly become one of the very best meals under $8 in Richmond.

Apologies for blurry camera phone picture but you should get the point...

• Pork Times Two (1): Shredded pork barbecue AND a really nice cut of cured pork belly. My take on Ejay Rin in general is that it’s a bbq restaurant in Asian clothing.
• Fish Cakes (2): Nothing fancy here but is a nod to the Japanese tradition. Bonus protein + soup enhancer.
• Poached Egg (3): With Bill Foster (Frog and the Redneck, Acacia) architecting, it’s no surprise that this sous-vide egg is always poached perfectly. Immediate Pavlovian reaction to destroy it into the soup.
• Pickled Vegetables (4): In-house pickled radish (punk pink), turnip chunk, cucumbers, and a sheet of Nori seaweed nicely balances the aesthetics of the dish.
• Stock (5): Porky, slurry, briny, and slow cooked in the old country way for max umami. No instant MSG packet here. The glue of this dish.
• Noodles (6): Prepping homemade ramen noodles daily takes a certain level of audacity. Not even the fabled David Chang or the rest of the East Village ramen vanguard are crazy enough to do that as they all outsource. Whether it’s Italian or Japanese, homemade noodles tend to usually have a luxury “surcharge” (box is so much easier and “familiar”) leading to the last bullet point…
• Price: $8 (lunch). At this price point, the amount of creativity, preparation, complexity, and ingredients going into this dish really, really over-delivers from a value perspective. That’s the bottom line and, generally, the hidden genius and integrity of Andy Howell projects.

The fifty or so participants represent a good cross-sample of our town’s restaurant scene, and it’s really interesting to see the chefs get competitive and creative with their offerings.  Make no mistake, everyone wants to win this (except for that random funnel cake guy).

Mobile Guide
Bookmark this link on your phone: http://tinyurl.com/broada2011.  It’s a mobile-friendly page with all the information you’ll need for this year’s event including a sortable table with booth numbers, restaurants, and menus.

Predictions
As an oddsmaker, you have to give the edge every year to the teams with home field advantage/access to real kitchens: Bistro 27 and Comfort are my standing picks.

Also, hopefully, more restaurants follow Acacia’s “kill them with a superior ingredient” strategy that netted them top prize last year (soft shell crabs).  I think Acacia does it right in that they see Broad Appetit as a “loss-leader” opportunity to showcase their restaurant to potential new customers (versus short term quick event cash).  Already, seeing Sensi is offering a crab ravioli in lobster sauce (but will it hold under heat lamps). For Three Bucks?!  Every year, Sensi is game and in the mix. They might be due.

At the end of the day, please support all these participating restaurants post-event as well.   Many are closing their shop for the day to support a great cause (Central Virginia Food Bank)!

Who’s In (new restaurants debuting)

• Amour Wine Bistro
• Boka Taco
• Bonvenu
• The Camel
• Culinard
• Emilios Tapas y Paella
• Ettamae’s Café
• Eurasia
• The Franklin Inn
• F.W. Sullivan’s Fan Bar and Grille
• Goatocado
• Great Seasons Bistro
• Lady Nawlins
• Lehja
• M Bistro & Wine Bar
• Martins Food Stores
• Shyndigz
• Stratford University
• White Anchovie?? (listed in Press Release but not on final map.  Too bad, Manley is a force.)

Who’s Out (particpated last year, not this year)

• Bistro 104
• Bookbinders
• Bull and Bear
• Café Gutenberg
• Café Rustica
• Carena’s Jamaican Grille
• Caribbean Mingles
• Chez Foushee
• Cous Cous
• The Grapevine
• Positive Vibe Café
• Q Barbeque
• Seafire Grill
• Stronghill
• The Urban Farmhouse

• With the Airtran-Southwest merger and JetBlue jettisoning their JFK route, the Chamber embarks on the Save Low Fares Richmond campaign.
• After a couple of high profile incidents, VCU President Michael Rao is put under the media (and VCU BOD) spotlight.
• Richmond’s Christmas Parade makes international headlines with the Rudolph float incident.
• Brittany Smith’s Ambert Alert leads to a national manhunt that ends in San Francisco.
• The Yeadley Love case picks up with various pre-trial maneuvers.
• Richmond prepares to bid for the international UCI cycling competition.
• The new downtown ice rink is a hit.
• Some museum district residents grumble about VMFA’s proposed electronic sign.
• Never does a town gets as hyped up over 4 inches of snow as Richmond (here and here).
• Richmond media gorges on 2010 retrospective articles.
• RGL takes a vacation.

November 2010

• The Republicans dominate and nearly sweep the Virginia Congressional midterm elections.
• I believe a Kenyan wins the SunTrust Richmond Marathon.
• Brain drain: Marcus Jones, deputy CAO for finance, leaves to take the Norfolk city manager job.
• A MRSA outbreak at Chippenham Hospital’s NICU leads to 10 illnesses and one death.
• City auditors uncover the Parks department paid $37,000 for a desk. Heads will roll.
• Denny Hamlin loses the NASCAR title on the last race of the season to Jimmy freakin Johnson.
• Kids just wanna have fun. Four Loko and Spice bans are introduced.
• During the busiest day of the year, there are no incidents at the Richmond Airport over the TSA naked scanner brouhaha.
• Steven Spielberg scouts Virginia as a possible location for his next movie, a biopic on Abraham Lincoln. Somewhere Daniel Day Lewis is growing a beard in a remote log cabin.
• The infamous Richmond noise ordinances are ruled unconstitutional.

October 2010

• Sexy Santa pictures of Krystal Ball are leaked supercharging the previously sleepy 1st District Congressional race.
• The Virginia Tea Party Convention is held in the Richmond Convention Center attracting popular Conservative speakers from around the country.
• Another monster year for the Richmond Folk Festival.
• Michelle Rhee resigns.
• The UFOs over Richmond story goes national.
• The Carytown Place story heats up with rumors of Whole Foods. Enter Don’t Big Box Carytown.
• A University of Richmond student is arrested as part of the Georgetown University dorm room/meth lab case.
• Violent tornados hit Eastern Henrico and Hanover
• The Unofficial Restaurant Week controversy has foodies atwitter.
• The Daily Show’s Rally to Restore Sanity attracts plenty of Richmonders.

September 2010

• “Hurricane” Earl. Overrated! Overrated!
• The Division I-AA JMU Football team shocks the world by upsetting (eventual ACC champs)Virginia Tech 21 to 16.
• After months of lobbying, the Governor finally outlines his ABC privatization plan.
• The Spiders open the brand new Robins Stadium with an overtime win against Elon.
• Up in DC, there’s the Discovery Channel hostage story.
• Councilman Samuels versus the Anarchists in the Battle for Monroe Park.
• Teresa Lewis is the first woman to be executed in Virginia in nearly a century.
• A crime wave of violence hits many Virginia college campuses.
• Blair Underwood visits his old hometown of Petersburg to promote his NBC show The Event.
• The VMFA announces a major Picasso exhibit in 2011.
• Part of a series of “working class” town halls, President Obama chooses the Southampton Recreation Association as a backdrop.

August 2010

• Richmond nun Sister Denise Mosier is killed by a drunk driver who happened to be an undocumented immigrant, thereby opening up that whole debate.
• A “Very Richmond” weekend featuring the Carytown Watermelon Festival and GWAR-BQ.
• The US military announces the redundancy of the U.S. Joint Forces Command in Suffolk.
• The Justin French saga begins.  A house of cards built with historical tax credits.
• Cuccinelli Stories of the Month: (1) State can regulate abortion clinics (2) Judge sides with UVA on the Mann climate case

July 2010

• SportsQuest is consummated with $4.3 million from Chesterfield County taxpayers.
• Henrico teacher Amanda Brady is a tragic victim of a DUI boat accident (captained by a Richmond Fire Captain Steven Nixon).
• Newly proposed dance ordinance turns Richmond into a modern day Footloose.
• Guns in bars.  The 2nd Amendment and beer.
• The Chester community rallies around the Parker sisters.
• J. Jason Burford has a heated email exchange with Apple CEO Steve Jobs over the iPhone 4’s antenna problems.
• High speed rail discussions heat up with Richmond at the node.
• McDonnell begins his long, slow march towards ABC privatization.
• The Tameka Claiborne murder leads to a citywide manhunt of alleged killer Michael Solomon.
• Terry Sisisky, the radio voice of VCU sports, dies at 58.
• 29-year-old Billy Ennis of Ashland is a random victim of gun crossfire on a heavily used stretch of Belvidere.
• Violent summer storms lead to lightning fires and downed trees.

June 2010

• An 87 year old Louisa woman is beaten and robbed in her own home.  May the perp burn and rot in hell for eternity.
• Stuzzi is the most talked about new restaurant opening in a long time.
• The Powhatan Wal-Mart debate begins.  Doesn’t take an oddsmaker to tell you who’ll win that.
• The beloved White Dog restaurant in the Fan closes up.
• As with any huge municipal building project, everyone has an opinion on the new Richmond Jail.
• Larry Sanders gets drafted #15 by the Milwaukee Bucks.
• Washington Post political blogger David Weigel resigns after his messages are leaked from a supposedly private journalist Listserv.
• Country legend and Sausage king Jimmy Dean passes away at the age of 81.
• On June 25, Richmond hits a record of 102 degrees. SNOmaggedon is long forgotten.
• Retired VCU president Eugene Trani starts a think tank to help guide “Richmond’s Future.”

May 2010

• Kyle Busch wins the Crown Royal Presents The Heath Calhoun 400…again.
• VMFA holds its Grand Re-Opening to rave reviews.
• UVA Women’s Lacrosse player Yeardley Love’s alleged murder by UVA Men’s Lacrosse player George Huguely rocks the UVA campus.  With so many intriguing angles, it becomes a red-hot national story.
• After numerous legal fights with the authorities, Sam Moore finally calls it quits and closes the controversial Velvet strip club.
• Cuccinelli stays in the headlines with the state seal breast lapel pin story.
• Arianna “Peaches” Davis goes missing.  Not a lot of coverage.  Hmm.
• “New Richmond City School computers left in storage”-Gate.
• Chris Brown hosts his comeback concert after-party in Shockoe Bottom.  With several recent shootings in the area, the ENTIRE RPD seems to be present.
• Speaking of club violence, the mayor’s office reacts swiftly by proposing new nightclub ordinances.
• The third annual Broad Appétit. Nom.
• Cuccinelli vs UVA over ex-climate professor’s research.

April 2010

• Kings Dominion debuts the Intimidator 305 roller coaster.  Considers renaming the Scooby Doo coaster after “Junior.”
• Redskins trade for Donovan McNabb.  Soon to become another clearance bin jersey in a long line of.
• The seventh Slaughterama. If you went to the first one, you’re probably too old for this.
• The Tiki Barber affair is all the NY Post gossip rage.
• 25 West Virginia coal miners die in a property owned by Richmond company Massey.
• McDonnell declares April Confederate History Month, and then quickly backtracks.
• After a season without baseball, the Flying Squirrels debut to a packed house by defeating the hated Reading Phillies 3-0.
• Drill, baby, drill.  McDonnell pushes for offshore drilling, and the Obama administration actually agrees…that is until Louisiana.
• 8,000 rioters are arrested and dispersed with tear gas during JMU’s annual Springfest.  The JMU student newspaper The Breeze would get subpoenaed for its photos bringing about a First Amendment legal battle.
• Man vs Food’s Adam Richman challenges Caliente and their stupid wing challenge.
• The tiny Bristol Herald Courier wins a Pulitzer Prize for its series on Southwest Virginia’s natural gas wealth.
• Dorothy Height, ‘the grand lady of the civil-rights movement,’ dies at 98. Thank you.
• Mickie James is fired from the WWE right before a Richmond Raw taping.
• The warm weather in April ushers in a huge spike in citywide violence highlighted by the Shockoe Bottom shootings.
• Chris Brown starts Rehab Tour 2010.  Breezy walks out on a Q-94 interview.
• Hot100 and 103 The River bring new (same) music formats to Richmond upping the competition.
• Northrop Grumman moves its corporate headquarters to Northern Virginia
• 69 potsmokers are arrested at a Widespread Panic show at the National.
• VCU raises tuition by 24 percent.  They would feel the wrath of Uncle Bob in December.

March 2010

• D’Angelo is arrested for soliciting an undercover NYPD officer for sex.  $40 (How Does It Feel).
• The CW green lights the ‘High Society,’ a reality show about Richmonder Dale Mercer and her daughter Tinsley Mortimer.  It lasts one glorious season.
• The state senate makes it easier to create and expand charter schools in Virginia.  Enter Patrick Henry.
• Ken Cuccinelli issues a fatwa ending gay bias protections for colleges.  After a huge local and national outcry, the Governor overrides the opinion by issuing Executive Directive No. 1.
• Richmond social media rock stars attend the Shorty Awards in New York City.  @lewisginter actually wins the Cultural Institution tweeter of the year.
• The James River Film Festival hosts a reunion of tv horror hosts of yore.
• Musical genius Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse takes his own life.
• British VCU student Jonny Dorey mysteriously goes missing creating a media frenzy from both sides of the Atlantic.
• Richmond joins the Google Fiber bandwagon.  In true Silicon Valley fashion, it ends up being a bunch of hyped vaporware.
• A high speed chase in Church Hill leads to the tragic death of innocent bystander Pastor Anthony Taylor. Local police chase procedures are put under the spotlight.
• There are a troubling number of death threats, window smashing incidents, and false alarms targeting both political parties.
• The charter school Patrick Henry goes through growing pains including the exclusion of “founder family” children from enrollment.
• Food story of the year belongs to the elusive Charlottesville (Atlanta?) chef Peter Chang.  Foodies speculate on his every move.

February 2010

• It doesn’t take a Richmond weatherman to know which way the snow falls.  Potholes in my lawn.
• Sportsquest begins its quest of becoming Chesterfield’s version of “Centerstage.”
• The Flying Squirrels unveil mascot “Nutzy” (subliminally rhymes with “new stadium subsidy”).
• 50th anniversary of the The “Richmond 34.” Thank you.
• Sissy Spacek uses her telekinetic powers to convince the General Assembly the need for film incentives.
• Giant Dutch food conglomerate Ahold finalizes its purchase of the Richmond grocery institution Ukrop’s.  The newly branded Martin’s starts off on the wrong foot with the Girl Scout cookie PR disaster.
• McDonnell proposes $2.3 billion worth of cuts from the state budget targeting among other things the Virginia Arts Commission.
• Richmond Good Life launches Foodie Friday. Yeah, you gotta allow me one self-referential bullet point.
• Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, runaway candidate for Richmond Newsmaker of the Year, sows his oats by challenging the Obama administration’s global warning rulings.  Watch Ken Wash, Rinse, Repeat all year.
• Style Weekly fires ace investigative reporter Chris Dovi following an email gaffe with a Norfolk PR firm.
• Legislator Bob Marshall says some pretty un-Christian things.
• Richmond City Council unknowingly passes an unconstitutional noise ordinance.
• Elliot Yamin tweets from the Chile earthquake.

January 2010

• Despite being canceled, a thousand or so revelers flash mobbed Carytown for NYE.
• We called it the The Great Restaurant Reckoning of ‘10.  With leases up, a bunch of restaurants including the seminal 1 North Belmont close shop.
• They paved a slave cemetery and put up a parking lot.  The year begins with Sa’ad El-Amin  filing a lawsuit against VCU.  The year would end with Bob McDonnell buying the lot for historical preservation.
• Teresa Sullivan is named UVA’s first female president.  It’ll be challenging first year for Ms. Sullivan.
• Mr. Kaine leaves and goes to Washington to be with his BFF.  Enter the Bob McDonnell era.  The early buzz is that Bob will challenge the aforementioned BFF in 2012.
• Redskins hire Mike Shanahan.  It all seemed so halcyon back then.
• The disaster in Haiti reverberates internationally and right here in Richmond.
• Prodigal daughter and Bachelor contestant  Rozlyn Papa puts Richmond on the TMZ radar.
• Jersey Shore is going to Richmond, bitch.
• The Morgan Harrington/Metallica concert tragedy dominates the news cycle.  Sadly, no closure to this story, yet.
• SNOMG2. Yeah, we hated snow at this point.
• VCU student Caressa Cameron is crowned Miss America.  Cute girl.
• Locals (Mraz, Songz, Lamb) represent at the Grammys.

Press Release:
The Best Worst Movie You’ve Never Seen!

• Style Weekly Announces Richmond Premiere of the Lost ’80s Movie, “Rock ’N’ Roll Hotel”
• Fundraiser to Benefit the Byrd Theatre

Shortly after the filming of the classic “My Dinner With Andre” at the Jefferson Hotel, another Hollywood crew took over the closed landmark in 1982 to make a very different movie.

What happened next became the stuff of urban legend. And until now — 28 years later — only a handful of people have seen the results of an exuberant yet turbulent production: a music-filled, campy film called “Rock ’N’ Roll Hotel.”

The movie, a sort of low-budget, ’80s-style cross between “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Grease,” features Judd Nelson in his big-screen debut, and stars Rachel Sweet, Colin Quinn and a host of Richmond extras and crew members.

Style contributor Dale Brumfield spent months researching the story of the film’s production, to be published as a cover story in Style Weekly on Aug. 18. During this process a co-producer unearthed a VHS copy of “Rock ’N’ Roll Hotel,” buried deep in the closet of an architectural firm in Culver City, Calif.

Style has partnered with Studio Center Total Production to help enhance movie quality and acquired the rights to premiere the film in a special one-time showing to benefit the Byrd Theatre (through the Byrd Theatre Foundation) on Monday, Aug. 30, at 8 p.m.

A grass-roots volunteer force, led by Robey Martin, Chad Brown and Brandon Laroussini of the Byrd Theatre (on Twitter @thebyrdrva), is selling tickets to the Richmond premiere (donation $10 in advance, $15 at the door). A special VIP package includes a 6:30 p.m. pre-reception at the Jefferson with the movie’s original screenwriter, along with other perks (donation $40 in advance, $45 at the door).

The Jefferson Hotel and To the Bottom and Back Bus are serving as co-sponsors.

Ticket information is available at styleweekly.com/thebyrd | Facebook | Twitter

BUY TICKETS NOW

Looking forward to sampling as many dishes as I can.  The beauty of this event is that no rules apply. You can alternate between entrees and desserts. Go with either a pre-meditated or stream of appetite strategy (I go hybrid).  Value shoppers looking to stretch their three Washingtons might opt for a quantity or quality approach (Last year, Sensi’s lobster risotto was the most bang for your buck meal.  This year, Acacia is offering a softshell crab sandwich and Olio, a truffles and crab pasta!).

Remember, the earlier, the better.  If a particular booth is slinging gastronomic goodness, word travels fast, and they just might run out. Happens ever year.

In terms of an early line for event winner, my inner-bookmaker likes the odds of the talented restaurants that have home-field advantage (27, Comfort, Foushee, Rustica, Tarrant’s).

Trendsetter I’m better my rhymes are good. I got a gold name plate that says I wish you would. LL Cool J

Was joking with one of the pizza day participants the other day that we started this whole Richmond Neapolitan Pizzeria trend. For me, the most important part of that experience was the discovery of Italian canned plum tomatoes.  Once you go this route for pizza or spaghetti sauce, it is very difficult to go back to the jar.  My mission the last couple of months has been to find the perfect brand of canned tomato.  For now, here are my findings of what brands are out there in Richmond:

Richmond, VA Italian Whole Peeled Plum Canned Tomatoes Guide

Do you have a favorite brand? Please leave a comment…

Note: This is Part 2 of my special obscure food series (Part 1: Kosher in Richmond)

Scoring went like this: If a restaurant was deemed a “top restaurant” by one of these recognized media sources, it was given a point. .5 bonus points (denoted by asterisk) were given for the following….

• Style Weekly 2009 Restaurant of the Year… Style Weekly Restaurant of the Decade
• 2008 Richmond Magazine Reader’s Choice #1…Richmond Magazine Chef of the Year
• RVANews Best Restaurant #1
• Urban Spoon #1 Restaurant
• Trip Advisor #1 Restaurant
• Yelp! #1 Restaurant
• For the revised Caramelized OpiNIONS scoring, we gave Cafe Rustica the .5 bonus points as they were cited multiple times in the post by various commentators.
  

Only restaurants with 2 or more impressions are listed here. Rank Ordered then Alphabetized…

• TripAdvisor, Yelp, UrbanSpoon as of Jan 2010.
• Ever the proletariat, the editor of Carmelized Opinions asked me to include the choices mentioned in the running commentary of his post.  The comments were incorporated into the scoring.
  
• Yes, I included my own list here (I did the work).   If any of these lists or media outlets offend you, just subtract one point.
• This is what happens when one is snowed in.

A couple of tweaks to usher in the new year:

(1) Changed the font to Tahoma 10. Nobody likes the durn typewriter font.
(2) Got rid of the red bar/short-cut links section (moved that information to the far right column)
(3) Moved the search bar to the right column as well.

These changes have added to the text density of the site allowing even more “news stories per pixel.”

January 2009

• Started with (perhaps) the last Carytown NYE celebration ever. Cheap bastards didn’t fill the donation boxes.
• Style Weekly names the “Whistleblower” as Richmonder of the Year. If you recall 2008 was the year of the VCU scandals.
• Wilder’s last days…Jones’ inauguration
• Xin Yang murder. The already psychically fragile Virginia Tech campus gets another tragedy.
• Obama’s BFF Tim Kaine is tapped as the new head of the DNC. Will he have enough RAM to multi-app?
• Kaine’s BFF Barack Obama gets inaugurated. Hardest ticket ever. History rejoices.
• The Shockoe Baseball development story begins to heat up. This story will go on and on and on until the squirrel.
• After 60 years in the business, Circuit City officially closes its doors. 2009 would be a sad year of homegrown businesses shutting down.

February 2009

• February started off with the VCU Police Chief sex chatroom scandal. The transcript of Hotcop2006 and Hannahmontana2012 (undercover Chesterfield PD) engenders shock and chuckles.
• Chris Brown gets arrested in LA for beating then girlfriend Rihanna. It’ll have a Richmond angle.
• While NYC was dealing with their Madoff scandal, Lord Allen Stanford hides out with his girl in Virginia.
• Movieland opens up to rave reviews. Nominal tax dollars used.
• Michael Rao is named the new President of VCU. So will we finally see football on Franklin St?

March 2009

• Phish returns from a long hiatus and they choose Hampton of all places to start their comeback tour.
• Some serious discussion around moving the National Slave Museum to Shockoe (as an add-on project to the Shockoe Baseball initiative)
• Toad’s Place closes its doors and Lady Gaga begins her first of many RVA show cancellations.
• Native Richmonder and Detroit Lion Corey Smith is lost in sea after horrofic fishing trip. Reminds us again that Nature is always in charge.
• Richmond issues $100,000 to study baseball proposal.
• Wal-Mart versus Wilderness Civil War preservation groups. Gee, I wonder who’ll win that one.
• CW films ‘Body Politic’ pilot (eventually not picked up) in Richmond.
• Tobacoo Avenue’s Girl Scout Cookie Chronicles…just because…
• Richmond School Board gets a public scolding for trying to institute a speech restriction policy.
• Chesterfield County’s anti-dancing ordinance. Now I gotta cut loose, footloose…

April 2009

• First Market Bank bought by Union Bankshares. The first sign of the #ukropalypse?
• Slaughterama.
• The Taliaferro trial opens up old wounds.
• Barely on the job for a year, state GOP chair Jeff Frederick steps down after an ugly fight.
• An 18 year media ban on US soldier coffins returning home is lifted as the body of Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers returns home to Hopewell.
• 2009 would be a painful transition year for the daily newspaper business. Media General lays off employees including many household name writers.
• Good friends at Gay RVA open shop.
• Eggleston Hotel Collapses. For me, this event really hit home the power of twitter (as coverage was occurring in real time)
• NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg starts a media campaign going after Virginia’s loose gun laws. Times it with the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech tragedy.
• The Richmond Tea Party is born.
• Swine flu is born.

May 2009

• Busch wins all three races in Richmond. To think, he would not make the cup race.
• Bear sightings!
• William & Mary students break the Guinness World Record for the most people doing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance. This video will become viral again later in the year.
• SMCRVA is born.
• In another media sign o the times, Q-94 replaces local favorites Sid and Melissa for a (cheaper) nationally syndicated morning show.
• Lots of retail robberies. A crime wave?
• SaveRichmond’s Don Harrison essentially calls out the mayor for having no testicles (re Downtown Plan). Harrison would later become Style Weekly’s new Arts and Culture Editor.
• Richmond loses yet another significant national retail HQ in S&K. I guarantee it.
• Michael Vick released from Kansas prison, returns home to Hampton…Football and traditional media speculate his next move.

June 2009

• Democratic primary was as heated and covered as the actual November race. Creigh Deeds emerges victor of the triple threat match.
• Bill Murray just randomly hangs out in Richmond. Serious Delirium!
• Another successful Broad Appétit.
• Police temporarily shut down Rumors for hosting an “illegal” music show. “CAPs” enters the Richmond lexicon.
• Velvet’s Sam Moore puts up a banner protesting the Shockoe Baseball project. Yeah, he’ll be back.
• Conrad Stoltz wins XTERRA despite nasty foot injury.
• The VITA scandal begins. Director Lemuel Stewart falls on sword. Times Dispatch begins its relentless coverage.
• Austin’s Byron Marshall is recruited to be the city’s new CAO.
• Kings Dominion UFO sighting.
• Highwoods properties drops out of Shockoe baseball project, essentially, killing it.
• Two DC Metro Red Line Trains Collide Near Fort Totten.
• Pandora Founder Tim Westergren visits Richmond for town hall.

July 2009

• Eugene Trani’s last day as VCU president.
• The $100K baseball study is released anticlimactically.
• Michael Jackson dies. Richmonder Chad Brown live tweets from LA, once again, showing the awesomeness of Twitter.
• The legendary Black Dog joins Michael up in heaven.
• The City Hall Ford police car procurement mess.
• Ex-VCU star Brandon Inge voted to All-Star game. Would have an awful home run derby.
• Yellow Brick Road Daycare tragedy.
• Due to budget crisis, the state closes down a number of highway rest stops. Virginians piss their pants over this.
• Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts ruling to wreck havoc on state forensics lab.
• Richmond Fair to feature monkeys riding dog racing. Did the thing ever happen?
• The Ukrop’s sale rumor rocks RVA’s newsrooms. @Mr_Sterling coins the term #Ukropalypse.
• UR alumni Adnan Hajizada is taken political prisoner in his home of Azerbaijan. The Collegian takes local leadership in covering the story.
• The first debate between McDonnell and Deeds occurs in Deeds’ backyard. Mmmm, Hommestead butter.
• Michael Vick is now a Philadelphia Eagles wildcat QB.

August 2009

• Chris Brown Short Pump Town Center sightings.
• Robot Chicken’s Seth Green hosts a skate party in Richmond to move some DVDs.
• Richmond media institution Gene Cox steps down from 11 PM broadcast to get some sleep.
• Harris Teeter is kicked out of the #Ukropalypse.
• The Matko Trial.
• Best Friends Day 8.
• Chris Brown is sentenced in LA to serve community service in Richmond.
• The Robin Starr/Louie story explodes. Everyone and their dog has an opinion on this one.
• #hashbrownnetworking is born.
• Kings Dominion announces their largest roller coaster to date: the Dale Earnhardt inspired Intimidator 305.
• Balliceaux opens up. Probably, the hottest restaurant opening in 2009.
• Ex-Richmonder, Manhattahn socialite Tinsley Mortimer separates from husband.
• The Washington Post publishes Bob McDonnell’s Regent U thesis. It would be a tough couple of weeks for the future governor.

September 2009

• Redskins sue grandmother fan. This would be the straw that broke the camel’s back (at least for me)
• CenterStage finally opens.
• Fall NASCAR race. Say what you want about NASCAR, but no other event in Richmond gets this much national coverage.
• Reggae artist Buju Banton becomes toxic due to protests from the Richmond gay community. All Richmond shows cancelled.
• Defenders announce they are leaving Connecticut to play Double AA at the Diamond.
• Cleveland Show debuts. Stoolbend as Richmond.
• Doug Wilder does not endorse either candidate for Governor which is essentially not endorsing Deeds which is essentially endorsing McDonnell.
• Chris Brown performs community service picking trash. The media goes nuts trying to find the secret location.
• The Farmville Horrorcore murders.
• InLight 2009.
• River City video goes viral.
• Master media manipulator Sam Moore creates more controversy by hanging up a giant Obama/Joker banner.
• After multiple cancellations, Lady Gaga finally plays Richmond.
• City Hall shakeup. Rachel Flynn loses power.

October 2009

• U2 plays Scott Stadium.
• The new Richmond baseball team holds a naming contest (Rock Hoppers, Rhinos, Flatheads, Flying Squirrels, Hambones, Hush Puppies). Hilarity ensues.
• Busch Gardens is sold.
• The first non-black Miss Hampton U. Small race drama.
• Richmond Folk Festival.
• Three Lakes Park is the third local park to get hit with racist graffiti.
• Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
• Creigh Deeds will lose the election next month for multiple reasons. Washington Post pens a pre-mortem.
• The Morgan Harrington/Metallica concert saga begins.
• A manatee is spotted in the James River near Richmond. I could go with a number of fat jokes here but won’t.
• Drew Barrymore is spotted in Richmond re-creating the NY Times 36 Hours article.
• Swine Flu reaches its fall peak.
• Richmond Zombie Walk! When there is no more room in Hell.
• Robert Crumb visits.

November 2009

• Bob McDonnell destroys Creigh Deeds. GOP sweeps statewide elections.
• The Fort Hood shootings have a Virginia connection.
• Velvet’s Sam Moore’s ABC hearing is R-rated. The adage of no sex in the champagne room is challenged.
• DC/Ashland Sniper John Allen Muhammad is executed.
• Richard Kelly’s The Box doesn’t do too well at the box.
• Harry Shearer visits. For some reason, the celebrities dig the Carytown.
• Rains like crazy in Virginia. Massive flooding in Hampton Roads. Governor Kaine gets some grief for attending an Arkansas fundraiser in the middle of all this.
• Danville TEA Party considers then cancels effigy burning of Perriello, Pelosi. Bush league psych out stuff, man.
• City Projects $10 Million Shortfall.
• Richmond Sheriff Woody is under investigation for sexual harassment but is quickly acquitted for lack of evidence.
• Al Groh is fired as UVA’s head football coach. He could never beat Tech.

December 2009

• December 1 smoking ban (sort of) in the world capitol of tobacco.
• The Salahis aka White House party crashers.
• UVA hires Mike London.
• The Ballad of Col Barfoot
• The Time Square gunman story also has a Virginia angle
• Redskins fire Cerrato, hire Allen, court Shanahan.
• Ahold buys Ukrops for 89 million euros.
• Major snowstorm shuts down Richmond. snOMG is born.
• Barack Obama prank calls Tim Kaine’s last radio show as governor.
• The inventor of the Sports Machine, George Michael, dies.
• The media inundate us with Best of 2009/Best of the Decade retrospectives. Including this one!

That year, that decade, flew!

• Acacia 2601 West Cary St (804) 354-6060 The “Beard Winner” is Back.  Tan, rested, and ready. A Richmond Magazine Best New Restaurant.
• Alamo BBQ 2202 Jefferson Avenue (804) 592-3138 In a really short period of time (opened in May), these fellas have already been given Top 10 BBQ honors by Richmond Magazine (noted the beef briquette as a stand-out). All of Church Hill is buzzing about Alamo.
• Anokha Unique Cuisine of India 4015 Lauderdale Drive (804) 360-8686 Indian has come a long way in Richmond. Finally, a fine dining concept with NO buffet.
• Aurora 401 E. Grace St (804) 519-9982 Gotta love a downtown location with an in-house bakery and pastry chef.
• Aziza’s on Main 2110 Main St (804) 344-1583 When the genius that invented “Billy Bread” (if you eat at Richmond restaurants, you’ve had it) teams up with his mom…watch out!
• Balliceaux 203 N. Lombardy St (804) 355-3008 Quickly vaulted to the top spot on the first day. Ex-Millie’s chef, check. Iconic location, check. Chris Bopst booking the music, check.  See RVAJazz , Style Weekly , Richmond.com,  Richmond Magazine, and RVA Magazine for the inside dope.
• The Belvidere at Broad 506 W. Broad St (804) 344-0644 Eclectic restaurant in the First Friday Arts District. Belgian beers, too! And gotta love a restaurant that blogs! (see Richmond Grid preview)
• The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing 4708 E. Old Main St  (804) 622-2628 The two Boathouses have secured the “restaurant with best view” awards for years to come. The James River/City Skyline is a magnificent backdrop to sip a beer on their covered outdoor deck/bar. Seafood focus with wood pizza oven.  (See Style Weekly’s architectural review)
• Bojangle’s 4901 Nine Mile Rd (804) 222-0883 Richmond has been without Bojangle’s for far too long. Imagine our surprise when they built a big modern version on Laburnum and 9 Mile!
• Bouchon 1209 East Cary Street (804) 225-9116 French bistro takes over the space of Pomegranate (a former Top 25 RGL restaurant).  Richmond.com’s astute Varmit Pickeral (yes, nom de plume) recently wrote a ga-ga review.
• Capriccio Pizza 9127 W Broad Street, Suite A  (804) 346-0184 Authentic Brooklyn slices.  What else can you ask for?
• Chicken Fiesta 7568 W Broad St Merchants Walk Shopping Center (in the old Taqueria del Sol location) Will this location’s menu be expanded to be more like its parent Guapo’s?
• Coast 5806 Grove Ave (804) 288-8466  From the makers of Enoteca Sogno comes this new Libbie-Grove seafood restaurant. Soft opening period. Can they break the “curse” of this location?
• Croaker’s Spot South Hull St (Old Manchester Plaza Building) The Croaker empire expands south of the river!
• Gibson’s Grill next to the National 7th and East Broad  The anticipation was killing us. Very important restaurant as out-of-town famous rockers performing at the National could develop city impression/perceptions through this establishment.
• Islamorada Fish Company 11550 Lakeridge Parkway (inside the Bass Pro Shop) (804) 496-4700  Probably, the most expensive restaurant (the aquarium by itself!) ever built in metro Richmond.
• La Sabrosita Bakery 7730 Midlothian Tpke Richmond, VA 23235-5172 (804) 562-8937 This place is like a Latin Willie Wonka bakery.  The respected RVAFoodie se gusta’s this place as well (Review 1 | Review 2).
• Lemaire 101 W. Franklin Street (804) 649-4644 Opened July 8. Re-inventing itself with updated cuisine and interior. But more importantly, they want to be the new “it” bar for the glamorous cocktail set (think Manhattan chic bars like Rose/Jade at Gramercy Park Hotel). Read Whine Me, Dine Me’s preview | review. Reviews are starting to trickle in from MSM, and everyone seems pleased with this updated landmark. Breaking: Esquire Magazine just named it one of the Best New US Restaurants of the year.
• Lucky Buddha 1421 E Cary St (804) 648-5100 Style Cover Girl Bartender Jennifer Whitehead just increased their bar sales by 1000%
• Magnolias Wine Bar & Bistro 7021 Three Chopt Road (804) 673-0006 Wine bar invasion hitting Westham set (note: this restaurant has since closed. Very short life span)
• Mediterraneo Ristorante 3730 Winterfield Rd Midlothian, VA 23113 Through the sheer will of VCUSpoon’s evangelism, this new Founder’s Bridge Italian restaurant rockets to the list!
• Mezzanine 3433 W Cary St (804) 353-2186 Winner of Style Weekly’s Restaurant of the Year.  Also, a Richmond Magazine Best New Restaurant (although a few reviews have come out recently questioning this conventional wisdom). High-concept Carytown restaurant-bar specializing in local ingredients.
• Nate’s Taco Truck anywhere Richmond’s version of the Goki truck.  Fanboys and fangirls utilize Twitter and follow Nate like a Taco Grateful Dead. Got rave reviews in recent Style Taco guide.
• Q Barbeque 2077 Walmart Way Midlothian, VA 23113 (804) 897-9007 If they stay consistent, they could challenge for Richmond BBQ heavyweight championship.  Got much love in the recent Top 10 BBQ Richmond Magazine issue (July 2009) and #2 in Best of issue (August 2009).  People I trust on Twitter (like @bpfox) also think this is the best BBQ joint in all the 5 counties.
• The Republic 2053 W. Broad St (804) 592-4444 Pretty neat that they’re encouraging employees to twitter.
• Sensi 2222 E Cary St # 101 (804) 648-3463 Strong showing at Broad Appetit (their lobster risotto entree and zabaglione dessert were a huge hit). New website, and they want to remind folks that they ain’t going nowhere.
• Shula’s Steak House at The New Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa 191 Towne Center West Boulevard (804) 218-3860 Shula’s enters Richmond’s crowded high-end steakhouse fray inside the highly anticipated (probable) 4 Star Short Pump Hilton.
• Stronghill Dining Company 1200 N Boulevard (804) 359-0202 Another “anticipation” restaurant. Needed addition to Scott’s Addition! A Richmond Magazine Best New Restaurant. Now open for lunch.
• Water Grill 3411 W Cary St (804) 353-3411 Opened July 31. Everything Michelle Williams touches turns to gold.  She’ll be the latest to make it a go in the crowded Carytown restaurant scene.  Will the menu be another Hard Shell or more (or less)??
• Wild Ginger 734 Winterfield Rd Midlothian, VA (804) 378-4988 Chris Tsui has the magic touch. On any given night, his River Road Osaka has the highest concentration of Richmond power players. You could say the same thing about his latest Founder’s Bridge Asian fusion creation.

In regards to “hottest of all,” the Final Four has to be Acacia,  Balliceaux, Lemaire , and Mezzanine.