Archive for March 22nd, 2008

I recently was searching out websites for Richmond places to eat, and came across Zed Cafe, a new venture that focuses on the local/responsible quality of ingredients.

Located on Richmond’s north side on Lakeside, Ave., Zed is located in what appears to be two former storefronts in a small strip mall, conveniently located right off I-95.

The space is modern, with original art adorning the walls, an exposed air duct following the ceiling, and spartan tables with butcher paper for covering. It reminded me in certain terms of Oxo in Charlottesville; here, however, the mood is darker, the ambiance less grand.

I started with a wonderful brioche and cheese “sandwich” appetizer with apples and walnuts. This dish was absolutely sublime. It was so good, in fact, I could have eaten a mountain of it. The textures and the flavor of butter, apple, an apple-spirit, and the cheese all came together in an interplay of texture, savory flavor and luxurious sweetness. I at once could forgive my dining partner for choosing the appetizer I wanted first, a marinated mozzarella salad with garlicky dressing. This was better.

My appetizer was good, but not superb. I ordered the crab cakes which were served amid a basil butter. Between the two broken cakes were cheesy grits (they were good).

The crab cakes were dusted in corn meal and fried; they lacked the cake-yness that many folks complain of; instead, it was mostly all crab on the plate. Nothing was wrong with this, of course; the flavor profile however was a bit bland. Some sort of sweet drizzle over the crab would have heightened flavors; more salt in the grits… we could have had a real winning combination. The size was good, not overly large.

Along with bread, I was getting full. But our waitress tempted us with desserts; I could not resist the idea of banana/chocolate bread pudding.

This is something I’d like to try and serve guests to my home; I know it couldn’t have been difficult. The flavors were delicious. It could have been even better with a real vanilla crème anglais sauce on top; maybe even one with some white chocolate folded in. Instead, we got simple whipped cream. Not awful, but a more sophisticated sauce, offering more wetness, and maybe even a more fragrant chocolate (a Guittard or even a Schaffenberger) would have sent this thing over the top.

We both would like to return to Zed. But a few notes:

• my dessert was served on a chipped plate.
• new silver is not brought out for each course; I think it should be.
• food service was quick.
• our waitress was a smoker. I didn’t like finding that out.
• our waitress bumped into another waitress twice. Tight spaces.

Umi Bistro restaurant is a new Japanese restaurant off W. Broad Street in Richmond’s far west end, across from the Short Pump mall.

While Umi features sushi as the star, for my first visit, I steered away from the seafood and instead tried one of their signature entrées: Plum Duck.

Before I get into the food, I wanted to make a few comments about the entire experience at Umi (or perhaps umi). The décor, fit and finish of the restaurant, etc., are on a higher-end than what you most likely expect from a new restaurant in a strip mall. Perhaps it is the “Bistro” portion of their name that elevates things. From a modern, lit bar area, to the dark wood floor, to the classy branding of the name on the wall and menus, Umi Bistro seems poised to be aiming at more cosmopolitan diners.

Being seated was an odd experience. I said as much to one in my party. “That was odd.” “Yes, it was,” he said. The server who showed us to the table lacked the experience that the atmosphere suggested. She stood in the way of us all being seated trying to hand out all the menus. Why they would have so many menus is beyond me… one for drinks… one for “special entrées” (some of which were sushi platters where it all looks like sushi candy wrapped in sweet, colorful sauces all over the plate), and then a real, honest-to-goodness menu. Variety wasn’t to be found in the menu. Instead, one of those check-off sheets for sushi contained all the real stuff: the special rolls, the uni (sea urchin), the eel rolls, etc., etc. So ordering was a sticky process when you had one copy (each) of the drink menu, the specials menu, and the sushi sheet. They gotta work on that.

That aside, their Umi Breeze drink was potent and refreshing. The plum duck I ordered was fine (the duck was plentiful and delicious) and was served with rice.

You can see from the photo it had a nice presentation from the kitchen. It wasn’t particularly starchy (with just a small bowl of rice), but I would have liked a different vegetable underneath other than cucumber. The waitress told me it was a favorite of hers, and the plum sauce came “straight from Japan.”

I know you cannot see it on the plate, but it reminded me (as did the presentation) of something you’d see in a fancier New York restaurant. Just like the bar, the floors, and the gradient of blue to black color on the walls… impressive, but dig deeper, and you began to tell it wasn’t the “real thing.”

The plate: the big rim around the plate wasn’t absolutely clean. It wasn’t dirty, per se, but it wasn’t spotless. It had residue on it, and lots of non-shiny spots, like it had come out of a dishwasher that wasn’t stocked with Cascade. Residue, for sure then, a small detail that I’d expect corrected for an otherwise tasty dish that was little more than duck and cucumber with a sweet sauce poured over top for $26.

I like Japanese cuisine, especially when it’s done right. For just opening, Umi wasn’t bad at all. The wait time was fine; the dining room was filing up by the time we left, and I left with the attitude that I’d like to return and try more of their menu. (Incidentally, our dining companions enjoyed their sushi.)

But if I might proffer any advice, it would be in the areas of detail. The small things can separate you from average to extraordinary.

1) Work on the customer experience at entry. 2) Simplify the menus and ordering. 3) Fix the hot/cold water control in the bathroom. 4) Ditch the paper napkins. This place deserves cotton.

I’m going to reserve my ratings until a future visit takes place.