I don’t like feeling “had” when I go to a restaurant, and that’s what happened, don’t claim a restaurant’s chef is a genius when only mediocre food is served. With a bottle of wine, six dishes, and tip our bill was right around a hundred for two people. The wine was only 24.

I don’t know who MAW is but anyone that defensive, appears to be related.

MAW must be stuck in the 80’s when it was okay to serve a head of garlic on the plate. MAW’s point of ciopinno and bouillabaise is irrelevant beacause they are considered stews.
Tom yum is a broth soup, do you like to dig in a cup of broth to get out mussels? Not me. With the exception of the occasional steamed crab, I don’t like to work for my food when I’m paying for someone to serve it. And that still doesn’t even address the complete lack of flavor in the soup.

How should I eat a grass fed burger, rare? Ground beef is required in many places to be cooked past med-well by state law. There is a reason for that, the bacteria on the outside of the meat contaminates the rest once ground. While I was dining there I smelled fish come to the table next of me that stunk. It was returned. If the fish is bad, how well do you think they keep that ground beef with all that oxygen that has now gotten too it??? The point still is it was over done. How is that good??

And as for being trite, are blogs not the definition of trite??

As a stay at home dad I obviously have a lot of time on my hands:) Sorry.

As for MAW, she doesn’t even live in Richmond. She freaking knows food and can be an ass about it too. She was just calling you out on your arguments.

Seriously, be smart about your arguments. Don’t complain that gazpacho tastes like salsa. It’s practically the same freaking thing as salsa other than cilantro. Also, don’t order grass fed burger- medium and complain when it comes out well-done. It’s grass fed beef for crying out loud and $10 at it. Also, complain about the dishes used is your soup, but complaining about shells seems crazy.

It seem like you have a bone to pick and whatever, but you are going to have a much better time if you grasp the reality of what Richmond has to offer instead of living in the past.

The olives you put on that plate were crap and they had their stones in them. Try refining your technique a bit and thinking about texture. You have tuna(soft), Olives(mushy), Alici (soft) and a half head of roasted garlic(very soft once you work at getting it out). The only crunch was from the pith of the lemon peel:) Think texture.

Your tart was the same way, the pastry was only slightly crisp on top, then it was all more soft mushy things.

Your mussels would be fine served in the shell for an entree, but digging around in cup is cumbersome. You have to think about your diner. Of course people in Richmond think that Millie’s and Balliceaux are good, the food scene is behind in this city.

By the way I have worked in NY(jean-georges), DC(vidalia and citronelle), and LA(sona). That is why I do not cook anymore in Richmond.

“get this a half head of garlic in the center of the plate” – This is a widely accepted way of serving roasted garlic.

Oh, and, FYI: cerignola olives can be black…

Finally, news flash: lots of seafood soups/stews have shells in them…ever heard of ciopinno, boullabaise?

Or maybe you’ve never eaten in a real city??