The House of Marinara

*This is number #6 on my trek though Richmond Goodlife’s Top #50 Restaurants in Richmond

It is difficult to argue against Comfort. It’s a good concept. The prices are reasonable. The food seems to be good.
I will always have a certain respect for Comfort. They were pioneers in bringing the Richmond dining scene back to Broad Street. They brought it back and they did it with style.

For those of you who are new to Comfort, the restaurant plays on the traditional Meat and Three concept. You pick your meat and 3 sides to go along with it. While traditional Meat and Three places are basic comfort foods, Comfort takes those same basic meals and tries to kick it up a notch. Read more »

This is number #5 on my trek though Richmond Goodlife’s Top #50 Restaurants in Richmond

It was bound to happen. I was going to have to disagree with Ed from Richmond Good Life at some point. It just happens to be at a place I so wanted to like.

I stopped in at Andrade’s International Restaurant in Historic Petersburg as part of my trip down to South Hill. Ed’s Top 50 List had not let me down to this point. In fact, he had opened my eyes to a few wonderful places AND this place had so much potential. It was a Mexican/Peruvian influenced restaurant, and judging from the menu, it looked to have some legitimate Peruvian dishes. Read more »

This is number #4 on my trek though Richmond Goodlife’s Top #50 Restaurants in Richmond

I dig Grandpa Eddies BBQ. Mind you, I won’t put it on my top 25 list nor advertise it as the best bbq, but given it’s location, it’s a great option. Located in the chain infested waters of the Short Pump area, the place survives and puts out a great product and perhaps a great value.

Let me first start by saying, the old location was so much better. The newer location makes more sense. It just has no atmosphere. It’s too clean and polished on the outside and bleh on the inside. Read more »

Croakers was one of those place I knew I wanted to visit and yet I never made it out there (out there- meaning Jackson-Wardish area). While being in the middle of the city, it really isn’t convenient.

I had heard rumors of their seafood chili being amazing; alas, they didn’t have any. So it was going to be one of their fish boats. I figured I would delve into the Buffalo Style Fish Boat, and man did I hit a home run. It was 2 or 3 huge fillets of “Lake Trout” breaded and fried perfectly and drenched in hot sauce. The “Lake Trout” was light and flakey. The breading provided nice texture and crunch without overwhelming flavor and the sauce blended well into it. Read more »

I have been to Can Can about 30 times over the past 2 years so it is a place that I have a bit a of familiarity. Most of these trips can be attributed to my friend Bookstore Piet persuading me to head on over to enjoy a late afternoon cocktail or two or three. Needless to say, I am comfortable with the place and, in fact, I really like it.

The trouble with Can Can is that grading it on value can be troublesome. I think in some ways, there is a whole lot of value to be found. Other times, the value is not as great. The difference is not due to inconsistency but instead the diversity of the menu. Read more »

When I do make it out to the office, I am heading out to the nowhere land between Chester and Hopewell. This place was a no-brainer for me to try since it was this or your typical chain (Chili’s, Uno’s, Friday’s, Fill in the Blank).

The place is a dive. It’s reminiscent of every sketchy, strip-mall Asian joint. That’s ok. That’s not the purpose of this experiment. It’s value.

And value is what Hibachi Ichiban delivers. While they have a diverse menu, you generally order one of 3 things: steak, chicken or shrimp. I chose steak being the carnivore that I am. For roughly $8, I received a 6X12 container stuffed with fried rice, some sort of noodles, and sauteed veggies. That concoction looked to have 8-10 oz of diced sirloin on top of that. Throw in a couple cups of that addictive, creamy sauce and there you have it folks, a good meal. Ed isn’t joking about this place. the taste is as good as the fancy ones without the showmanship and the price tag. This is takeout, so you don’t even need to tip, right RVAFoodie?