We met up with one of our old SF buds in Richmond this past weekend as it was a good half-way point from DC and where she was staying in N.Carolina. That, and we sort of love Richmond for its artsy old South vibe and all the new eateries that have popped up over the past year. Our first stop was dinner at Dutch & Company in Churchill (my favorite part of Richmond). We ordered the reasonably priced prix fixe along with several apps off the specials menu, and of course plenty of Southern cocktails. Our favorite part of the meal was the seasonal honey pot — honey vanilla yogurt mixed with cardamon baked apples and a tart granita topped with edible flowers.
After dinner, we strolled around the Churchill neighborhood and admired all the beautiful old houses complete with rocking chairs and swings on the front porches. The sun was slipping behind the trees in just the right way that everything was washed in a dreamy golden glow. Even though we all now live in different parts of the country, we all have ties to the South. And in that moment, with our bellies full of delicious food and our souls satiated by good conversation (and lots of drinks) we could all see ourselves living in one of those old row houses, sitting with a dog on the porch, drinking sweet tea, and waving to passerbys as if they were long-lost friends. Claudia noticed that one of the houses was for sale and out of curiosity called the owner to find out the price of the house. Meanwhile, Sly noticed a guy walking out of the dream house who totally seemed to fit Claudia’s “type.” We laughed. Maybe it was Fate?
Later in the evening we went bar hopping — first to Empire then to Poe’s Pub. After ruling out late night eats of fried chicken (after one reviewer said ‘don’t get shot’) we settled on City Dogs (or as a different reviewer said, ‘awesomeness contained within four walls’). Awesomeness sounded good. We got lost in the streets of Shockhoe, ran into a million wedding parties and bachelorette parties, and then finally ordered way too much food at City Dogs (loved the mini corn dogs with honey mustard sauce).
The next morning was a predictably late start. We rolled out of bed and ate at our usual brunch spot, Black Sheep. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon — warm and sunny and breezy without being too hot or too cold. We enjoyed cold drinks and reminisced about high school/college music while sitting out on the deck behind the restaurant. Good friends, good weather, good food, great weekend.
P.S.: Claudia — buy *the* house so we can visit you every weekend and eat honey pot and drink cocktails on your upper balcony!
