Weekly Food News
Weekly Food News: Mean Bird in The Fan, Vegetarian Festival, and a hot take on the RVA Street Food Festival
Mean Bird opens its roost in The Fan this Friday, an Innsbrook sushi restaurant plans to close its doors, a word about secret dining events in Richmond, and I get real about this weekend’s RVA Street Food Festival.
All the news that’s fit to eat
New smoothie and juice bar squeezes into Carytown – The Pit and the Peel, a juice and smoothie bar that’s been operating on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus for two years, has opened its second location at 3321 W. Cary Street in Carytown. The latest location has outdoor seating and even a gift shop. Read more here from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Mean Bird comes home to roost in The Fan this Friday – As I write this, my RVAHub partner in crime Richard Hayes is gleefully enjoying some of the best fried chicken in town at the media preview of Mean Bird in The Fan. The popular food truck is opening its first storefront in the old Sticky ToGoGo spot at 2232 W. Main Street. They specialize in a delicious “fried and true” chicken recipe and are also known for their vegan “chicken.” They’ll also have chicken sandwiches and buckets at this location. The new spot, much like its sushi-centric predecessor, is pretty much only large enough to serve as a takeout spot, but it gives this roving food truck turned restaurant a place to park and operate indefinitely. We’ll have some photos and initial takeaways from our visit soon, but you can check it out for yourself on Friday. Get the details on Mean Bird’s grand opening here.
Make mama proud and eat your veggies this weekend – The Richmond Vegetarian Festival is this Saturday, June 24th from noon until 6:00 PM in the Azalea Gardens at Bryan Park. Enjoy vegetarian food, music, speakers, local businesses, non-profits, and family activities. Check out the full list of vendors here. There will also be six speakers, two of which will be cooking demos. Proceeds benefit the Richmond Wildlife Center. Visit the event website here.
Hanami Sushi closing its doors in Innsbrook – Hanami Sushi in the Innsbrook Shoppes is closing its doors after three-and-a-half years in business, the restaurant’s owners announced on Facebook Tuesday. Friday, June 30th will be the last day of service. The detailed Facebook explanation of the closure includes a multitude of reasons behind the decision, including the restaurant’s size and the health of the chef, Victor. It also hinted that the business may reopen in another location–and that Victor will likely resurface in the near future regardless. Read the post in full here.
Secret (dining) societies in Richmond – You’ve probably heard of local popup dining series in town such as The Underground Kitchen or The Ivy Wall. Each features a dining experience, usually prepared by a well-known local chef or two, where the menu and/or location remains secret to guests until the day of the event. Richmond Magazine has a great feature that delves into how the events work and how the format is allowing local chefs to get creative with their offerings and experiment without worrying about whether a dish will sell long-term on their respective restaurant menus. Read more from contributor Tyler Hammel here.
Cold, refreshing cold brew soda for a hot summer day – Richmond is full of craft beer and cold brew coffee, but I’m pretty sure there’s only once place in town you can get a hybrid of the two. If you haven’t been to Roaring Pines–a retro Church Hill storefront that’s once part old school soda fountain and another part general store of yesteryear–you’re in for a treat. Richmond Magazine has a look at the shop’s cold brew soda, “The Bebey,” a vanilla-bean-infused coffee soda that will keep you cool and caffeinated on this, the first day of summer. Catherine Amos Cribbs has the refreshing details.
The good, the bad, and the ugly: RVA Street Food Festival – It’s my goal to have RVAHub be your source for all the goings on around town, news, and more–and in features like Weekly Food News, I want to give you a lay of the land in terms of what’s happening in the dining scene and food-centric events. Another thing I also promise you is that I’ll give you my honest opinion on said events and goings on. With that, here’s my take on this weekend’s RVA Street Food Festival. Stay with me now.
The event, taking place this Saturday on Brown’s Island, will feature nine food trucks. The event website claims they’ll run the gamut of “world cuisines” and at best, that means Bocata Latin Grill and Ginger Thai Taste. At worst, that means Strawberry Street Café and Boka Tako Truck (both of these are fine establishments, but “world cuisine” and exotic street foods they are not). Anyway, it’s $8 to get in just for the privilege of walking upon “the lush greens of Brown’s Island” (I kid you not, this is their marketing verbiage on the ticketing page). For perspective, Hardywood’s Thursday night food truck court usually features about 12 food trucks and free admission. Take that for what you will. However, as a friend pointed out in my Twitter rant about the festival the other day, there are a lot of great local bands playing, so that may make it worth the cost of admission. Oh, but did I mention there’s no alcohol sales? Keep this fact in mind if you purchase the $25 VIP ticket, which includes a free beverage. Read more about the RVA Street Food Festival on the Eventbrite page here.
This week’s restaurant reviews
