Archive for March, 2010

I recently tried Bonvenu, a fairly new restaurant on Cary Street, across from the Byrd Theater in Richmond.

This place took over the spot once occupied by “The Track,” a place I never visited. There’s an edge inside Bonvenu, with some cool original art on the walls and a little sass from the waitstaff (I use sass here in a positive, fun way). The back of the dining room features a well-stocked bar. Interesting light fixtures set the real mood, with two large chrome chandeliers hanging in the center of the space.

I started with their mushroom appetizer with cheesy grits. The flavor combination was great, although I would have liked to have had more exotic mushrooms (mostly portobello was featured, with 3 shiitakes). No matter the fungus, the flavors were on, but I ultimately found the grits, on top of some great bread, filling me up fast.

My companion enjoyed their escargot special, each snail served on a little bed of puff pastry. “Great!” he exclaimed after they soon disappeared.

For entrées we ordered their scallops with onion rice and celeriac purée, and the red snapper. Both entrées were large. I am not sure I needed a big helping of rice after those grits, but the rice was moist and flavorful. I only got a few dabs of the special celery root purée, which from the tastes I had, was outstanding. If I were the chef, I might skip the rice, and go for a veggie with the purée (as the starch). Bok choy did make it on the plate, but it was underwhelming.

I enjoyed this entrée but the spice might be too heavy for some, as chili oil is used on this one. The snapper got a good review, although its side too suffered from ever a pinch too much spice.

The restaurant takes its name from Esperanto, which despite its meaning, always sounds a little spicy. The kick is in the food, and if I sensed there was too much, it was okay… a little kick of heat may distinguish the meals here from that you’d find elsewhere.

The atmosphere was a little noisy, but just about everyone seated in Bonvenu appeared like they were having an excellent time.

I thought I’d ramp up the same old “pasta and salad” dinner with some special things.

First, an salad in a mustardy vinaigrette featuring heirloom tomatoes and a poached egg.

This comes almost verbatim from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. The only thing I left out (and would recommend) were the croutons.

The main entrée was homemade mushroom ravioli with wilted onions and brown butter.

I first made a standard egg pasta dough, using 2/3 all purpose and 1/3 cake flour.

Then after rolling out the dough to a “7” on the pasta machine dial, we spooned our mixture, egged-up the interior, and sealed everything shut. This would have been so much easier with a pasta cutter. My big mistake was making giant ravioli with too much extra pasta hanging out. Next time, smaller little ravioli.

The sauce was made by melting onion in butter. Mine didn’t turn brown, but that’s okay if they do. I then removed those from the pan, added more butter until it became slightly brown, then added fresh garlic and the onions. This was tossed in the cooked ravioli before “service” and a final cheesing.

The filling, to wit:

• shiitake mushrooms,
• chopped onion
• chopped applewood bacon (or use pancetta)
• fresh thyme
• grated parmesan cheese
• ricotta cheese
• salt, pepper
• dried exotic mushrooms, hydrated in red wine, and chopped (porcini, morel)

I didn’t measure the ingredients. I used a low-fat ricotta, and the filling was delicious, but I would have liked it a little more “runny.” Next time, I would substitute a little ricotta for sour cream.

Delicious. I froze the ones I didn’t boil, so in the future, I’m ready for a nice giant-raviolo appetizer.

It has been too long since I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Coppola’s Deli on Cary Street in Richmond.

My favorite sandwich is their “true Italian hero,” a simple sandwich on great bread featuring prosciutto di parma, mozzarella cheese, and pickled red sweet peppers. I usually salt the cheese, and I’d kill for a little EVOO, but otherwise, the sandwich is sublime. It goes especially well with some of their San Pellegrino aranciata (Orange) water. Yummo!

Moist, delicious chocolate cake courtesy of Ina Garten, with Ukrop’s supermarket green frosting, with a minty kick. I might be late for St. Patrick’s Day, but I’ve got a good piece of dessert.

When the international Chinese online bulletin board lights up with Richmond area folks buzzing about a new Chinese restaurant in town, it’s worth our time to consider what the buzz is about! Ma Ma Wok has recently opened up on West Broad Street (east of Parham Rd.) serving both a mixture of Americanized and more authentic Chinese food, and curiously enough, sushi.

What the restaurant lacks in decor it makes up for in variety. Among the treats are Chinese soupy buns (the best I’ve had in Richmond outside my own home), beef chow fun (wide noodles), and eggplant with basil. Young, professional Chinese folks in the community seemed to fill the dining room on my last visit, a telltale sign that the restaurant is doing something good.

The only curious aspect of this new place is the choice of a sushi bar. While some Americans may confuse one Asian person for another, or even the cuisines, I’m not sure how successful sushi is in a Chinese (here, with an emphasis on Cantonese cuisine) restaurant. We’ll see. So far, the Chinese part has been promising.