The House of Marinara

Joe’s Inn is like that old pair of jeans that you can’t throw away because it they are so damn comfortable. Whether you are visiting the old location in the Fan or the strip mall version in Bon Air, both bring their unique qualities while maintaining a glorious consistency in the food they provide to their patrons.

For the few of you that may have never been to Joe’s Inn, it is Richmond’s version of the classic, Greek run diner. Now, neither location is located in a diner car, but they are known for hearty breakfasts, solid sandwiches, and fabulous baked pasta. In the AM, they carry the standard fare- eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc. Lunch and dinner menus are the same. The staple menu items that get most of the attention are the small Greek salads, fried chicken livers, spaghetti ala Joe and its cousin, the spaghetti ala Greek.

The Greek salads are not complicated but the red wine vinaigrette they use is so addicting that it is tempting to pay $5 for it in the local grocery stores. They also use a high quality feta which provides the perfect creamy blend to the tart dressing. As for the livers, I can’t stand livers in general. I just see people people eating them all of the time.  The spaghetti ala Joe is the big ticket item. This dish is a huge pile of spaghetti, topped with browned provolone cheese and finished off with marinara and meat sauce. The spaghetti ala Greek is the same except that it has some feta added to the mix. Based on the name of this blog, you can be sure that I take my sauce seriously. Joe’s has a great recipe. Spicy without being to acidic. I am more than happy to pay the $10 as opposed to going through the hassle myself.

Images provided by JoesInn.com

Which brings me to price. Joe’s is family friendly dining at a reasonable price. There may be a handful of items that are over $10. It’s a safe place to bring out-of-towners because of the variety as well as being a Richmond tradition for years.  I’m tempted to go try on those old jeans again!

*Note- I have never been to the Mechanicsville location, but who really goes to Mechanicsville to dine anayway

You ever just sit there and say “What the crap is wrong with me?” I had one of those moments last week when I ventured into Mekong for only the 2nd time ever. Mind you, I have lived in Richmond for over 10 years. It wasn’t that I had a bad experience when I went the last time, i just didn’t remember anything from it. I am thinking I was still very new to Vietnamese cuisine at the time.

Well, anyway, since my first visit to Mekong, I discovered Pho So #1 and never thought of any reason to go anywhere else. Until a few months ago, I was completely content in never going back. Then I learned about Ahn Mekong and his obsession with Belgian Ales.

It is a bit odd, that a Vietnamese restaurant has a beer menu that rivals Capital Ale House. It was enough reason for me to check it out again. So Mrs. Marinara and I were out on a little Valentine’s Day excursion and we decided to grab some dinner at Mekong.

Really, it was a solid experience. Everything was just good- nothing mind blowing- but good. The prices were reasonable. The menu was diverse. The food tasted great. I still don’t claim to be the expert on Vietnamese food, but it tasted good to me and the beer was great. I still can’t believe I waited so long to make it back there.

Am I the only one to have done this?

I grew up in NY State and pizza in NY State equates to large slice of thin pizza that can be folded in half. So while I can appreciate other styles of pizza, my default will always be that NY style slice. For my money, that is no better replicated than at Mary Angela’s in Carytown.

Mary Angela’s is a typical 70’s style pizza shop with the cramped booths, painted Italian murals on the wall, and Italian football..er..soccer on the tv. Its location in carytown gives it a good dose of foot traffic, and it always seems to be crowded. That being said, I live close by and I frequent it through the perverbial take out. They have delivery, but most people say that it takes too long to get the pies and they are often too soggy by the time they arrive.

Truth is that I am very boring when I order from there. I always order the 18″ x-large pie. This is key for slice folding (see ablove). As for toppings- pepperoni or sauage, sometimes onions. sometimes basil. The final product is a crispy-brown crust, gooey-salty cheese and perfection in the mouth.

It tastes amazing, the product is consistant and that is why I will continue to order from there.

I have heard about Brock’s BBQ for years. It’s a bit hazy whether it was from radio advertising or actual people. So yesterday when I was driving down RT 10 in Chesterfield yesterday at lunchtime, I deceded I should stop by for a quick bite.