The Roosevelt

Located on a roundabout in the Church Hill area, The Roosevelt has a fantastic atmosphere with classic southern charm.
 

A very refreshing watermelon smash concoction that reminded me of a watermelon milk shake in Taiwan.
 

Steak tartar, egg yolk, pickled mustard seed, grilled bread.  The beef was very high quality but pieces were on the larger side compared to the typical beef tartar that I am accustomed to.  The yolk was seasoned well and added a smooth and silky texture to the dish.  The pickled mustard seeds popped in your mouth while the celery added nice crunch and acidity.

Virginia oysters on the 1/2 shell. What I liked about this dish was how briny it was. Also the bed of sea kelp that the oysters sat on was visually impressive. 

Check out how large these oysters are.  They made the Tabasco sauce looked so tiny. 

Roasted mussels, vermouth, garlic, grilled bread.  The mussels were cooked just right.  The broth was mild but had a great roasted garlic flavor.

Roasted catfish, creamed corn, smoked bacon, green tomato chow chow.  The fish was cooked to perfection, still moist and tender.  Green tomatoes and fennel added some crunch and acidity while the bacon added a hint of smokiness.  The creamed corn brought everything together and rounded off the dish nicely.  I also loved the presentation of the dish, very light and delicate.

Double cheeseburger, cheddar, bacon jam, rooster sauce.  It was very meaty and hardy.  The beef was sourced locally from Sausage Craft, needless to say it was very high quality.  The rooster sauce mayonnaise was spicy and creamy, while the bacon jam injected some sweetness to the burger.  The burger also came with a side dish.  I decided to go with the roasted potatoes.  They were lightly seasoned with a nice hint of sage.

Kentucky fried quail, potato puree, sausage gravy.  This reminded me of country fried steak.  The quail was very moist inside with a nice crunchy batter on the outside.  The potato puree was smooth and creamy.  A very simple dish with an elegant presentation.

Peanut butter pie.  For me it was a bit too sweet and the pie was a bit dense.  It was like a peanut butter cookie on top of pie crust.  The house made whip cream was fantastic.

Buttermilk panna cotta.  Presentation was amazing, loved the canning jar.  Inside the jar was delicious, soft, and creamy panna cotta with just the right amount of sweetness paired with seasonal fresh fruit.

Overall I had a fantastic experience.  The atmosphere was amazing with great southern charm and elegance.  Service was great and the price was reasonable.  All of the dishes were well presentented without being overly embellished.

View from the front window.

I love the hardwood floor btw. 

623 N. 25th Street, Richmond, VA 23223

Rating: ●●●●○

Ejay Rin

Richmond needs an authentic Japanese ramen shop.  When I heard about Ejay Rin I got really excited.  Having read about how two established chefs here in Richmond are opening a noodle bar inspired by Momofuku in NYC I got even more excited.  Well, here it goes...

The house made pickle plate.  A decent variety of pickled items, they were a bit on the sweet side.

The house made kimchee.  It wasn't very spicy and too sweet for Korean kimchee.

Tuna sashimi with kombu salad.  The tuna was a bit dry, almost like the texture and mouth feel of smoked salmon.  The fish was nice and fatty (chu-toro cut) but did not have the delicate taste and texture of Sashimi.

Pork belly, pickled cucumber and radish, hoisin sauce.  The bun was too thin, dense, and lacked fluffiness.  The pork belly was too small and thin, lacked the creaminess of a good pork belly but it had some nice crispiness on the edges.  The bun as a whole had good flavor but it needed more texture from the pork fat.

Pork Ramen.  First of all, the ramen was served in the wrong type of bowl.  Allow me to explain; the fancy bowl with a huge lip does not allow enough broth for the noodle to float.  The noodles were either cooked ahead of time or put into the bowl before the broth went in it. I had to break the noodles apart with my chopsticks.    Ramen noodles should be placed into a hot bowl of broth to prevent the noodles from sticking together, not the other way around.  The noodles were over cooked and lacked the mouth feel of ramen made with alkaline water (has a smoother slippery mouth feel).  The broth lacked depth and flavor.  It really needed more seasoning and pork/chicken bones.  We were told to break the egg yolk and mix it into the broth but a good broth shouldn't need help of an egg yolk. The pork belly (cha-shu) topping again lacked creaminess and size.  The fish cake wasn't cut into slices and was a bit cold.  The pulled pork had a nice tender texture and good flavor.  Finally the poached egg was poached perfectly.

Overall I was disappointed. Richmond really needs an authentic Japanese ramen shop and I was hopping Ejay Rin would take that honor.  Maybe with some constructive feedback they will improve, only time will tell.

201 W. 7th Street,
Richmond

Rating: ●○○○○

Blue Goat

Located next to the Westhampton theatre where the old Peking restaurant used to be.  Blue Goat has a simple décor and layout with a huge bar and a wine dining room that has a kitchen view.

Dishes are separated into three different sections; nibble, graze, and feed.  They are sized to share like tapas or dim sum so bring some friends or family (or us) with you.

Batter fried, julienne strips of Smithfield Farm pig ear, a sunny side duck egg with crispy Swiss chard.  First of all, you can’t go wrong with a fried egg on top of anything.  The thinly julienne pig ears matched great with their housemade, pickled bell pepper.  I would suggest dicing the bell pepper and mixing it in with the fried ears for a more even distribution of acidity and to cut the fat.  The crispy ears could have used a little more seasoning. 

Fallen Oaks Farm rabbit pate “country style”, bruschetta and white truffle honey.  This was delicious, light, and full of flavor.  Bruschetta was crispy, cheese was nutty, arugula was peppery, truffle honey was sweet and well, trufflely, and the balsamic vinegar added some welcome acidity.  The country style rabbit pate was very mild taking more of a supporting role in this dish. 

Braised goat, ricotta and Swiss chard housemade ravioli with sage brown butter and shaved pecorino Romano.  This dish tasted great but the ravioli was a bit on the rubbery side.  The braised goat filling was very delicate and flavorful but for me, it was missing some crunch.  Maybe some toasted pine nuts would add to the dish. The sage brown butter was also delicious.

Veal marrow bone with grey sea salt, bruschetta and black olive tapenade.  Fantastic dish, loved the presentation and preparation.  Creamy bone marrow was great on toasted bruschetta.  The black olive tapenade added additional salt and flavor to the spread.  My only complaint was that they should have served three of them, lol. 

Check out the marrow mmm.

Nice spread.

Overall a great experience, servers were nice, food was good, and price was reasonable.  This is a great addition to the Grove avenue area.  Oh, and don’t forget to check out the cool bathroom.

5710 Grove Ave,
Richmond, VA 23226

Rating: ●●●●○

KOMI

Located in Washington DC on P and 17 Streets right next to a CVS is one of the most amazing restaurant I've ever set my foot in. 

After being seated in a very simple yet elegantly decorated restaurant you are presented with a metal plated menu.  Inside there was no printed menu to order from but a list of wines and hand full of beers. Dinner is a set multi-course with a fixed price.  The only decision you need to make is whether you want to order wine/beer, or the optional wine pairing.  I recommend the wine pairing, it's worth the price.

Once you've decided on your beverage, course after course just starts to pour out of the kitchen.  Every course was paired with either wine or beer served in their respected glass.  Most of the dishes were small one biters with amazing flavor. All of the dishes were served with perfect timing and perfect temperature.  Everything was prepared fresh and beautifully presented.  It's a shame they don't allow photographs because all of the courses looked like art.

Sometimes fine dining means leaving hungry.  I can't remember how many courses we had but we spent around 2 hours eating course after course.  To put it in perspective there were around 4 different courses just on dessert.  Considering the price, we left satisfied and felt it was worth every penny.

Service was amazing from servers to the sommelier.  They were all very enthusiastic about what they were serving and explained everything they served you.  They were all very personable without being obtrusive.  The restaurant is setup like an oval track. There where tables around the outer perimeter and a hand full in the middle, leaving a walk way all the way around.  The whole front of the house worked together as a team and attended to every diner by walking around the whole restaurant.

The overall dining experience was amazing.  Everything from the atmosphere, to the food, and the service was world class.  It was really fine dining without being stuffy.

Tips:

• Call 30 days in advanced to RSVP, there is no walk in.
• Order the wine pairing, it's worth the money.
• Don't bother bringing your camera and just enjoy the experience.

1509 17th Street
Washington DC 20036

Rating: ●●●●●