A Meal RVA Needs - 202 Market

Richmond has come a long way on the food scene over the last ten or fifteen years. I know my first meal in Richmond was a total disaster - in a cockroach infested fondue place below street level in Shockoe Slip. Since then the bar has been raised by over-rated places like the Frog And The Redneck to current winners such as Can-Can, 1 North Belmont and Edo Squid. Our little city has become a place where you can be proud to take visiting friends and family out to destination eateries. At least until you go out of town yourself.

Vino recently bemoaned the fact that, even with all the upscale sushi places we do have, Ten in C'ville has fish rarely, if ever seen in River City (and nearly as much gunfire...). I hear similar stories of great restaurants (that we don't have equivalents of) from people who travel to Hampton Roads, Norfolk, DC or Baltimore. Then there's the vague feeling that there is not a lot of variety here in Richmond. Look at Millie's, LuLu's, deLux, Helen's or any number of other restaurants that seem to be working off the same food palate as well as the possibility that the chefs all trained under the same person - just look at how many places have 'gourmet' mac-n-cheese right now. Sure, there are differences, but there is certain sameness.

Then there's the service... The professional level I find outside the city makes a number of local places here look like amateurs run them. There are a lot of good servers in Richmond but too many places have not made training and education of their front of house staff a priority. RVA Foodie had a good example recently where the waiter had no idea what he had just brought to the table. Oh, and before RVA Foodie starts - there is a huge difference between professional and pretentious. Even Applebee's requires their servers to know the ingredients on a plate.

So, here we are, on the road visiting the in-laws and in search of a meal in Roanoke. Last visit we had eaten at a place with a wonderful view that was probably excellent when it opened decades ago but was now in need of a makeover. Kinda Roanoke's version of Byrum's, OK but could be so much better. Based on that I had hopes for a good meal but wasn't expecting to be wowed. Well, wowed I was.

202 Market (there seem to be a problem with their website today...) is in the middle of old town Roanoke and is in the midst of upscale eateries, coffee houses, and specialty shops. The building is an old warehouse and you can't help but feel a little thrown when you first enter. The bar is very sleek and modern, almost futuristic. It looked like the kind of place I would enjoy having a drink in but wasn't convinced that it was where I wanted to have dinner. Once led to the dining room I changed my mind. Exposed brick, high backed open booths, dark wood tables. I was reminded of Sensi except that it seemed much more finished. The large flat screen TV's bothered me a bit (we had come to eat not watch TV) until I realized the TV's were showing a live feed from the kitchen - pretty cool.

After ordering they brought out a special appetizer compliments of the chef. I don't see too many places in RVA do this even though it is great way to showcase the chef's skills. The theme for the appetizer was a putting green. A club made out of a ebony toothpick with proscuitto sitting on a bed of powdered proscuitto, a putting green of molecularly pressed melon and a champagne grape for a golf ball. The melon nearly exploded flavour in your mouth and the powdered proscuitto had all the intensified taste without intensified saltiness. A wonderful example of the creativity of molecular gastronomy.

Appetizers came out quickly and there wasn't a loser in the bunch. M had Mushroom Tempura with an Apple Ponzu, L had an excellent Calamari with a Spearmint and Harrisa Dipping Sauce, G had Wagyu Tip Kebab (great inexpensive way to try this type of beef for the first time), and I had the Seared Scallops. On my dish there was also mango and proscuitto. The mango had been pressed in such a way that the flavours were amplified and the piece nearly had the consistency of pasta. The talk at the table was that you could just sit at the bar and order round after round of appetizer and be perfectly happy.

For a wine for the evening I ordered a bottle of Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir. The waitress, being well supported by the management, let me know that they might be low or even out of that wine. Nice to know that up front rather than after 10 or 15 minutes of searching on their part. Turned out they did have the wine and she did point out the change in vintage rather than try to pass off the change and hope I didn't notice. The 2005 needed a little extra time to smooth out but turned out to be perfect once allowed to breath.

Glancing at the TV's we watched with anticipation as our entrees were plated up...

M had the Filet. Not very exciting in of itself but the steak, cooked perfectly, was served with powdered bacon. The result was all the flavour without the grease. A great combination.

The kids, Finn and his 11-year-old cousin, shared the Parpedelle Bolognese. The dish was excellent, rich and creamy, and the kids were treated well by the staff and owner. There were actually quite a number of families throughout the dining room and even eating in the bar. Nice change from the elitist attitudes of some in RVA who feel that families should be excluded from the downtown eating scene. Frankly the only place I feel is an 'adult eatery' is where the waitresses wear pasties.

L partook in the Paella. Saffron and chorizo with fresh shellfish. This is what Europa strives for in their Paella but comes up short. I don't know what they do to the rice here but both on L's dish and on mine it was possibly the best rice I have ever had. Individual grains, no clumping balls, seasoned perfectly. I would eat here just for the rice.

Both G and I had the Colorado Rack of Lamb. While still good this was my least favourite dish. The lamb was cooked sous vide (sealed in a bag and cooked under water) and while it produced a perfect juicy medium rare the taste was a bit bland. Without the caramelization of direct heat and reduction of moisture to intensify the flavour it was a little disappointing. Sous Vide would work well for he Opah on the menu, or even their twice cooked fried chicken, but not so much here.

To finish we had dessert. For me the usual, crème brulee. The best I have had in years. Exploding with vanilla beans and just a crust of caramelized sugar. Lately, in RVA, I've nearly needed a sledgehammer to get through the plate glass layer of sugar on the crème brulee's.

The closest we have to Market 202, that I have eaten at, is Sensi but I found 202 Market to be more exciting and creative in their food and their hospitality was flawless. Combine that with the cost being less than 2/3's of Sensi and I think it might be worth the drive.

The Men Who Would Be Mayor

At the close of the mayoral debate last night they thanked the 350 who showed up... Pardon? Must be new math. There was a good turn out (not 350) and a number of interesting people to meet. While Ross, Buttermilk & Mollassas and Tobacco Avenue live blogged nearby there was also Don (Save Richmond), Jon Baliles, FT Rea (Slant.blog) and possibly a few others I didn't meet. There were also five guys running (ok, standing and talking) to be our next leader. They were:

Paul Goldman - Somewhere between Woody Allen and Marty Feldman with a good bit of David Kucinich. While I tended to agree with most of his statements I'm not sure if we would be seeing the rebirth of the downtown area if he had been mayor for the past four years. His is a needed voice to help remind people of the less glamourous spending and projects but I'm not convinced he would be an effective leader.

Robert Grey - Thurston Howell III. I'm still trying to remember the last time I saw someone wearing a blue blazer with brass buttons - it was either a yacht or country club. He. Did. Enunciate. Very. Well. Hard. To. Follow. Speech. That. Is. That. Clipped. Didn't find him very inspiring nor very off-putting.

Dwight Jones - Probably the best speaker of the bunch. Did seem to say a lot without actually saying anything other than buzz words. Struck me as the person most able to take all sides into account and work as a consensus builder. Did manage, unlike others, not to roll his eyes and make faces when things were said that he didn't agree with. He did promise me that he would do a drive by on Home Street to assess the situation in my neighbourhood. I'll be interested to see if he does and if anything comes of it.

Bill Pantele - George Costanza. Showed a lot of disrespect to the other candidates by loudly drumming his fingers on the podium and sighing loudly when someone said something he didn't like. His microphone really should have been turned off when it wasn't his turn. Made some really big promises that would happen starting January 2nd. I liked some of the ideas but we just had a mayor who rules imperially, do we want to go there again. He just didn't sound or act like someone who plays well with others.

Lawrence Williams - I guess there was another guy up there... He kept getting drowned out by Pantele's drumming.

On some issues they agreed, on others they differed wildly. The problem, as I see it, is that with all the different competing jurisdictions (county, city, state) and the divergent interests and needs of the different council districts we need someone who can build consensus and move things forward. Another four years of gridlock and money wasted on infighting could undo the progress made in this city. We need the fiscal responsibility Goldman espouses and the big ideas of Pantele but I think Dwight Jones is going to get my vote.

Random thoughts on some of the issues...

Abandoned Housing - Seems there are about 1700 of them. One idea (Goldman) that was floated concerned seizing them, rehabbing and then making available to city police. Good thought, my neighbourhood's rebirth was kick-started when a group rehabbed about a dozen homes, but who is going to pay for that? I'd like to hear more.

Gilpin Court - Accross the tracks from my 'hood so of great concern. Lot's of ideas but this one looks like it could get ugly. On track to be demolished but where do you put all the people. Concentrating poverty in one spot seems, to me, to lead to despair and crime. Spread them out all over the city and give the kids a chance to break the cycle.

Mass Transit - Pantele kept promising a trolley system for downtown the moment he takes office. Sounds cute but not sure how much that will accomplish. I looked into taking the bus from North Avenue to my store near Broad & Libbie when gas prices started spiking. Best case scenario looked to be an hour and a half trip each way. Ugh. My wish would be for light rail. A East/West Line from CapOne West Creek or Short Pump taking Broad to Downtown or Churchill and a North/South Line from VA Center down Brook or Chamberlayne to the Southside. Add bus lines for each neighbourhood station and you've got a system. Doubt it will happen but as one candidate said - 'we can't keep laying asphalt' (sorry, forgot which one...). I feel the growth of Richmond will be constrained if we don't have effective mass transit and this may be a huge issue as the world runs out of oil. Also curious as to why GRTC serves RVA and Chesterfield but Chesterfield doesn't contribute...

VCU Expansion - They all seem to think it has moved far enough into the downtown area and it sounds like that it might be the end of expansion in that direction. Isn't Virginia Union on shaky ground? Maybe a merger is in order. Doesn't VCU need a football team?

Baseball - While the other candidates argued about location (the Bottom or Boulevard) Lawrence Williams stepped out of the shadows to remind everyone we have more pressing issues. Baseball is a 'nice to have' and would generate revenue (supposedly) but the city will not wither and die without it. Which brings us to...

The Budget - Personally, I was not aware that we may be close to circling the fiscal drain. I didn't think we were flush, but the potential shortfalls the candidates were talking about were large enough to give pause. You look around the city and see the number of projects that are at various stages of completion (or simply holes in the city scape) and wonder what will happen if the money starts running out. Goldman is right about one thing, we need to finish what we've started before starting on too many new things.

Anybody Wanna Heckle?

So tonight is the RVA News Mayoral Debate. Sounds like a good chance to find out if any of these guys are any good or not.

I'm hitting Tarrant's around 4 for a martini before heading over to the festivities starting around 5:30. Anyone care to join?

Trawling The Bottom - Halligan's, Jack's, LuLu's

Sometimes, after a rough week, you just want to tie one on. That was me last Friday and I decided to destroy a few brain cells. Wandering about town found me faced with a familiar dilemma - who's open in the middle of the afternoon. I work six days a week but am relieved by one of my assistants at two several times a week. My preference is to be home with the family as M finishes work and Finn gets out of school so my prime 'party' time is from 3-6. Can-Can is a good place, as is Buddy's, but I do like to try new places. Friday my wanderings found me in the Bottom so I parked and went in search of liquid refreshment.

First stop was 'The Cocktail Capital of the World'. Bit of a bust. Jack was there doing prep work and he kinda threw me out. Kidding. Guess they don't open till 4ish so I was a bit early. I always found prep work somewhat meditative. Folding a couple of hundred napkins or cutting a box of limes before the hordes hit the door help you get into a calmer state so when someone requests a strawberry daiquiri ('made with fresh strawberries but could you please remove the seeds'....) you don't stab them with a cocktail fork. I left Jack to find his zen and moved on.

'On' found me wandering into Halligan's, a tiny fireman themed bar on the other side of the Farmer's Market. Decent drinks, reasonable prices, nothing fancy. Often these 'themed' bars are just affectations. Not so here. Seems it is quite the hangout for the cities firefighters. So girls (and any interested boys) who have a fireman fetish, this would be the place to go. It's not really my kind of place but the people were so friendly that I enjoyed myself and would probably wander back in.

While I was there the kitchen staff was expirementing with some possible new additions to their menu (I didn't look at the menu so can't share what they have). Of note would be the fried twinkie. They brought it out and set it on the bar. Everyone looked at it, daring someone else to take the first bite. Turned out not that bad. I did prove that after 25+ years as a smoker and 4 years as a non-smoker your tastebuds do return. Just a faint hint of fish flavour. One cook said he had just put in clean oil that morning but then another said he had fried some fish at lunch. The result was that if they add the fried twinkie to the menu they are going to get a Fry Daddy to cook them seperately.

I also noticed something interesting while enjoying my beverage there. The Farmer's Market, not offically open on Fridays, did have a number of vendors there. The customers? All seemed to be wearing white chef's jackets. Now if it's good enough for them....

After taste testing at Halligan's I returned to Jack's and got what I had been really craving - Tanqueray 10 martini, up with a twist. Good stuff. We chatted for a bit and were soon joined by M and Finn. After a bit we decided some food was in order, bade Jack farewell and walked accross to LuLu's. We had been once last February and it was not bad - except for the stroganoff. Guess it was time to see if they were firing on all cylinders.

They were.

M had the Meatloaf and I had the Beef Loin. Her's was good, mine was excellent. The hanger cut of meat had been grilled and seasoned perfectly and the price was very reasonable. Both came with mashed potato (good) and a mushroom demi. The demi was reduced perfectly and the amount used allowed you to taste the food rather than drown it out.

Finn had the Lobster & Crab Fritters. I still can't detect any trace of seafood in these but Finn likes them so - what the hell.

All in all a good afternoon/evening.... except for waking up at 2 with a hangover.

NOTE - If anyone has any good suggestions for afternoon hangouts - do share!

Quick Hits - Mezzanine

With Finn now in school I'm finding myself at a bit of a loss as to what to do with myself when I have the afternoon off. Late last week that equated to me driving around RVA looking for someplace to nosh and enjoy a bevvie. Sadly, most places are closed at 3 or 4 in the afternoon so the choices are limited. As I tried to go over the short list in my head I realized I really just wanted to go someplace new. Luck would have it that my aimless travels had me close to Carytown and the newest place to grace the restaurant scene, Mezzanine. My hopes were dashed in that they were not open (currently opening at 5:30). I did, however, get something a little special. The kitchen staff were out sitting on the patio and were in a chatty mood.

I walked away with some interesting information.

The basic theme (if you could call it that - more like a philosophy) is to focus on fresh, local and regional ingredients with an emphais on produce from local farmers. They are not going to go totally organic but are going to strive to pick suppliers who use minimal pesticides and try to avoid growth hormones and antibiotics. Expect the menu to change rapidly, especially in the first few months, as they try different suppliers and see what works and what doesn't.

I really like this approach. Rather than impose a theme on the menu they are going to let it evolve based on results and, quite possibly, feedback. I've seen some places stick to a failed idea and sink while waiting for it to 'catch on'. If the chef here is good (I didn't catch his name) and creative we may very well have some exciting things going on here.

Realizing that you have to walk before you can run they are going to expand their offerings as they work the kinks out (ever been someplace that thought they could do it all on day one and manage to do nothing right?). The chefs all sounded very passionate about food and I've found that attitude often translates onto the plate. If they have the skills we could be seeing some very exciting dishes coming out of that kitchen.

It also sounds like they will start opening earlier as more people come and may have good munchies to help down that afternoon glass of wine or martini on their patio.

The rumour of raw bar offerings is an idea on the radar screen there that they haven't fully fleshed out. Something that perishable needs a good purveyor and a steady stream of customers to avoid bad bivalves. If they decide to add the raw bar I'll be excited to see what approach they take.

So far I like what I see and think they will be busy. That's a good thing. Of course, then there's the RTD reporter who loves the place but seems to imply that it won't be worth going once it gets busy. Personally I prefer restaurants that are inclusive and busy rather than elitist and exclusionary. She must get that from her boyfriend....

Battery Park - Civic Projects & Election Season

Recently I gave Wilder and the city an ugly grade of D+ for the reconstruction of Battery Park. I'm thinking I may have been wrong in giving out that grade. You see, giving a grade or an evaluation implies that the project is complete and can now be assessed. In reality the project is not complete, the park is not open, empty lots abound with no sign of progress or even real clues as to what to expect. The bi-weekly newsletter the city promised to send after the floods to keep us informed of the project and it's progress? We received two hard copies a couple of years ago (the same exact information with only the dates changed) before it went online. I'm not sure what bi-weekly means to the city of Richmond but it looks like 4 issues in over two years. The last one released claims it's now a monthly, published in June...

I should have given them an 'I', for incomplete.

Four years after the floods started and two years after the collapse of the storm drains and the destruction of the park and $47 million dollars later where should we be? Frankly, a lot further along than we are.

The drains are fixed. While we haven't had a true hurricane deluge to test them the heavy rains we've had recently have produced nothing more than large puddles. Great! Couple of questions though...

When we flooded so did the park north of Brookland Parkway in Ginter Park. Do the new drains cover them or are they the next domino to fall in the whole north Richmond drainage system of Ginter Park-Battery Park-Shockoe Valley & Bottom?

The drain near my house on now depopulated Joshua Street looks to be working fine. Now I'm not a city engineer but shouldn't drains be flush or below ground level? If the concrete lip of the drain is seven or eight inches above ground level.... Kinda defeats the whole drainage thing doesn't it?

The sinkholes have been filled. Personally, I find sinkholes very scary. Has the city ever really fixed the one up in Church Hill from a couple of years ago? The mini-ones that opened up in the park and in the middle of tennis courts weren't that big but have any studies been done to see if there are any more lingering just below the surface and how safe is the neighbourhood as a whole?

The park is not open. The only noticeable work that had been done for most of the spring and through the summer seems to have been reconstructing a brick buidling and installing a prefab (although very nice looking) playgound set. Work has picked up of late, however, with some attention paid to the resurfacing of the tennis courts. I would love to think it was due to my last post on the park but I suspect that our city leaders only read my blog if they are looking for ways to take potshots at each other... Being a bit more cynical I suspect it has much more to do with our upcoming election. I fully expect our council woman, Ellen Robertson, to be knocking on our door in the next few weeks (as she does each election cycle) to ask for our vote. Once she is done with that she can go back to ignoring phone calls and emails from her constiuents. At least with Sa'id Al'Amin we got noticed. Our current empty suit is a bit of a wall flower in city politics.

The park expansion seems to have been forgotten. When the city tore down the two apartment complexes and the dozen or so homes a couple of blocks from my house there was much talk of a community center, gardens, or any number of things. Can't find anything resembling a plan out there (if someone knows pass it along!) and the area is turning into a poorly maintaned grassland. Couple that with the unknown future of Norrell School (at least they didn't send the kids back to a school polluted with who knows what), the unused baseball fields (which they continued to water while we were under water restrictions...) and you start to wonder where all the promises (and the money) went.

Speaking of money.... I had a number of discussions with friends after the first post on all this. One thing that kept coming up was the money and the timeline. One almost has to wonder if Wilder, rather than repair and maintain the drains with city money when the problem started appearing, waited the two years until they completely collapsed so he could apply for Federal money to replace them.... Don't know that's what happened but just wondering and if so, were we an 'earmark'?...

In sum...

We're dry but will everone upstream stay that way?

The park is still closed but the election season has brought a few workers onto the scene and some incremental progress is being made (will it continue after Nov 4th?).

The park expansion forced dozens of people from their homes and now seems to have been forgotten.

Communication is either not the cities priority or not in their skill set.

Millie's - Worth Staying Up Past 7?

A while back I ruffled a few feathers by suggesting that Millie's brunch, while good, might not be worth the wait for a table. Some people disagreed and said it was worth the wait (that's ok - personally, I still am not sure as the meal was a bit uneven). A number of people waxed poetic about the dinner and declared me wrong. The problem with that is that I was just writing about their brunch, not dinner - so, let's stay on subject, OK? This time I'm writing about dinner so take your brunch comments (if any) over to the other post.

Dinner's out are becoming less frequent for us. With Finn in school and M pregnant if we make it out to dinner it's becoming earlier and earlier. We're not looking for early bird specials but we seem to be calling for opening times rather than closing times. The issue with that is I don't close my store until 7 in the evening. If we eat out on nights I close it tends to be quick or a chain (shudder...) of some sort. There are, however, still nights that we just need to get out for a good meal. Wednesday was one of those.

After the typical debate between M and I (involving a good 15 or 20 restaurants) we decided while circling Shockoe Bottom on Millie's and, once parking was located, entered the restaurant. My first thought, upon entering, was the music was better and not as loud before - good start. We were told that a table would be available soon, unless we wanted the worst table in the place (they didn't actually say that but you could hear the apology in his voice as he pointed out a table flanked by the stairs and the door to the kitchen). Actually, we didn't mind a table in a high traffic zone so we sat there.

As Finn pushed buttons on the table top jukebox we looked over the menu. The waiter approached and told us that they were out of a few items. I liked that. Too often your told about an item being 86'd while your ordering or even later. Nice to see someone making an effort. The other thing I really liked was a nice selection of 1/2 bottles. With M on the knocked up wagon it's nice to be able to order something other than a full bottle that I may very well not finish or take home and forget about before polishing it off. Millie's didn't disappoint and I ordered a nice bottle of Trimbach Gerwurtzriminer - rich flavours of pear and apricot without being too sweet.

To start I ordered the Seared Beef Carpachio. I caught a hint of saran wrap on the first bite but but the rest was great. The spiced tomato puree gave flavour without overpowering and there were none of the stringy pieces in the beef. I thought the yellow tomato salsa a little bland but then I am not a huge fan of tomatoes and M thought it tasty so you be your own judge. (Of course, as I am writing this I checked their web site and they've posted a new menu changing this dish and a bunch of others...).

For Finn we got the Mac & Cheese with Asparagus, Oyster Mushrooms & Foie Gras Butter. Very tasty, although if you have a small child you may want to have them leave off the asparagus - Finn is a little picky about larger green items....

For an entree M had the Tamarind Oven Roasted Pork Loin. Tamarind can be tricky. I've cooked with it before and there is a very fine line between 'needs a little bit more' and 'OMG, I can't taste anything else'. Millie's hit it perfectly and the roasting left the pork moist and juicy.

I had a bit of a quandry for for my entree. They had a Crispy Rendered Duck dish that sounded good as did the Spicy Thai Shrimp. Basically decided on the shrimp as I had just had a great duck sandwich at Can-Can a week or so ago (warm duck, melted brie, sauteed mushrooms on a sweet fruit and nut bread - mmm, yummy.).

The dish looked a little odd to me. The shrimp had little colour, like they weren't cooked, and the noodles looked very odd. They were cooked perfectly, everything tasted great. I especially liked the fact that the spiciness was balanced so that, even though it was hot, you could still taste the individual ingredients. Very enjoyable. I was also very glad that I took a picture of the dish. Turns out it was just poor lighting that made it look odd as the shrimp as well as the noodles look fine under the harsh glare of my flash.

To finish M had a chocolate layer cake and I had the creme brulee. Her's was excellent and mine was good but otherwise unremarkable. Service was friendly and efficient (although I think I could hear them thinking 'why would you sit at that horrible table?' as they walked by. It was actually fine and they all made an effort not to bump into me as they went by).

So, in sum, for those of who find it harder and harder to get out in the evenings - is it worth staying up past 7?... Yes.

Shaking The Package - Full of FAIL

As M hit 20 weeks we went for an ultrasound and to see if we need to buy new clothes or if Finn's can be recycled. One nice thing about our doc, the same one who delivered Finn, is that he is a very hands on doctor. No pushing the ultrasounds or other things off on techs, he does it all himself. I think that actually saves the patients time as you don't have to wait for one person to come do the test, then wait for the doctor to come and interpret it. Plus, it's just nice to have such an involved doctor.

Anyway, everything seems to be fine. Normal noggin, fluttering hands, straight spine, beating heart, tummy, and legs.... Oh, the legs. While everything else is normal it looks a bit like we have a long legged baby (as opposed to Finn who had a freakishly large head - it's still large but only becomes apparent when your trying to put a shirt that it supposed to fit onto him). Not sure if that means we'll have a tall kid or just a really good hurdler...

The legs also caused a bit on another problem. While Baby Zygote was laid out in a breach position, which allowed a really good look at the whole body, Zygote was sitting, as our doc put it, 'Indian Style' with knees locked together. Not a very good position for 'shaking the package'. Our doc tried jiggling the belly and various other methods to get Zygote to move but to no avail. Guess we'll have to wait another month to figure out what's wrapped up inside.

Mayoral Push Polling In RVA?

Push polling is a rather deceitful practice that is not so much about gather information as it is about shaping attitudes. Ten to twenty percent of either side of the political spectrum have their minds made up and no one can change them. The vast majority in the middle, however, can be swayed through information or through misrepresentation. Push polling goes after this segment by phrasing a question in such a way as to change your perception, rightly or wrongly, about an issue or candidate.

Ask a normal, thinking person if they believe gays should be fired or denied housing solely on their orientation and the answer will be 'no'. Ask that same person if gays should have 'special rights' and that answer might change. The issue hasn't changed but the person answering the question may think it has.

The most notorious example of push polling came in 2000 in South Carolina. Trailing after New Hampshire Bush's operatives were getting desperate. Suddenly people were getting phone calls where one of the questions was how they felt about McCain's illegitimate bi-racial child. Even though the allegations were false (he has an adopted child from India) the damage was done and we've been stuck with Bush for the last 8 years. Oddly, I think I would have been OK with McCain in 2000... Now he's a bit like leftovers that have been in the fridge longer than you can remember.

So, here I am, enjoying a nice glass of wine on a Sunday afternoon, watching TV and playing a little Civilization 4- Warlords Edition (Ragnar of the Vikings, Diety level, barely holding my own...) on my new MacBook when the phone rings. Would I like to take a political survey? Sure, I'd love to inject my opinions onto the national scene. Ooops, turns out it is local, for the mayoral race....

Suddenly I feel a bit unprepared. I'm well read on the issues of Battery Park, the shortcomings of the city's school system, and the failures of Doug Wilder but I would be hard pressed to tell you much of anything about any of the current candidates for mayor. While all politics may be local (thanks Tip O'Neil) the noise of the national race has pretty much drowned out the local one. Frankly, I was thinking about voting for Dwight Jones, solely on RVA Foodies recommendation, and, since I'm pretty sure there will be a run-off, paying attention to that campaign.

The questions start with your basic name recognition. OK, while I may not be up on the issues I am on the names. They're asking about three candidates: Jones, Pantele, Grey. Hey! Where's Goldman? Somehow I thought he was a contender. Hmmm...

After a number of general questions they start asking about specific issues. Crime (against it), education (for it), infrastructure (Hello! I live in Battery Park!). Then comes a number of questions about Pantele. Mostly vague questions concerning his stance on the issues. Phrased so vanilla that you can't not agree. Yes, better schools. More police. Less infighting between the mayor and city council.

This was getting long and dull (much like this post...). Not for long though. The questions started becoming a little more specific, and vicious. I'm not going to repeat them verbatim here for fear of misquoting but... For Pantele there were questions about being in Wilder's back pocket, questionable financial dealings, failure to fulfill promises and the like. For other candidates it was negatively phrased questions concerning clergy membership, conflict of interest business ties, and the favourite political slur in RVA - being a slumlord. I was feeling a bit like I was sitting in my new composter...

Finally, came the kicker. The closing and the statement that this survey was conducted and paid for by Friend of Pantele. Really? After some of the questions I was feeling like if I was in the same room I would want to kick him in the shins and there was no real way I would want to vote for him. If he really did finance this then he needs to fire his advisors.

But what if this was something else?

What if this was a push poll? Pantele came out poorly. Jones and Grey muddied. Goldman was never mentioned. Why? If you want to smear your opponents I guess you would want to distance yourself from accusations. I came away from the phone call thinking who would I vote for if not for those three. Then I thought who had the most to gain from the call....

It may not have been a push poll. If it was it may not have been financed by Goldman. What I did learn was that the mayor's race may get interesting after all. That, and I really need to start paying better attention to it.

Election Year Garbage - How Are You Dealing?

This election cycle seems like it has gone on forever. Kicking off in 2006 it has drug on and on and the rhetoric passed ankle deep quite a while ago. As the networks dig up surrogates with dubious or no connection to the campaigns to fill the time slots the commentary is rapidly becoming ludicrous in some of the attempts to score points. The latest person to join the fray, Ms Palin, and the constant drip of fragmentary information, coupled with her unwillingness to face questions, has sent created such a maelstrom of contradictory information that it would be amusing if it wasn't so serious. While the left speculates and the right ignores the historical record the amount of garbage being produced is astounding.

So with all this crap abounding what is one to do? We decided to counter the shit-storm of crap by reducing the amount of crap we produce. Instead of a carbon off-set a kind of politician off-set.

The first thing we did was start recycling. OK, we're a little late to this particular party but every time we got one of those fun canisters for the pick-up from Waste Management it got stolen. Now that the neighbourhood is a bit more gentrified and other people on the street haven't had theirs stolen we went ahead and ordered a new bin.

Now while the bin hasn't arrived we've already started the process of bagging up cans, glass, and plastic so we will be ready the moment arrives. A reduction large enough for me to be able to watch an hour of MSNBC or ten minutes of Fox Noise each morning with a clear conscience.

The other thing we decided to do was to take part in the city's composting scheme.

So, in the midst of the remnants of Hurricane Hannah, I sent my pregnant wife off to wait in the rain and procure some subsidized compost containers. One for us, one for a friend and one for a birthday present. The line at Willow Lawn was long but they moved very quickly. She still got soaked.

Saturday afternoon saw me enjoying a glass of wine and reading up on what can and cannot go it the composter and all sorts of handy hints. It should be interesting to see what I can do in my yard if the plants are in soil rather than Virginia clay (and in our case contaminated with spilled diesel from an inconsiderate neighbour...).

At the end of the weekend I took a peek into our large city trash canister. We had reduced the amount of crap we produce by over 50%. Quite an accomplishment with only minimal effort on our part. Now I can watch a full episode of Keith Olbermann in the evenings, or five minutes of Bill O.

Now, with the new baby on the way, just need to find disposable diapers that can go into a composter... Probably wishful thinking on my part.

When Foodies Meet, Eat, & Drink, & Drink, & Drink....

Did it seem a little quiet in a few neighbourhoods in town this last Sunday? it could have been the result of a few very tired kids and their very tired/hungover parents.

To close out the summer we had decided to have a few people over for a 'foodie' potluck. Your basic bring an 'A' game dish or a family favourite. Combine lots of good food with copious amounts of alcohol and there is always fun to be had.

There had been a fair amount of discussion about a certain drink over the course of the summer and how not to make it - the mojito. A certain downtown bar, and big seller of this beverage, seems to be leading the list of misguided attempts at mojito mixing (sorry, Jack). Pre-muddling the mint is bad but their addition of sweet and sour mix just turns it into a mint flavoured rum collins. It's funny that as our restaurant food gets more creative and less prefrabicated that bars are moving in the other direction. In the August edition of Bon Appetit (sorry, not online) is a great article about cocktail construction in Japan. Seems their mixologists pride themselves on making individual cocktails from scratch using fresh ingredients and lots of imagination. Here we seem to be drifting to a McDonalds approach to bartending with premade syrups and mixes. Bit of a shame.

With that in mind I decided to make mojitos (for the first time) from scratch. That afternoon I made a batch of simple syrup, and then set up limes and mint. For each person requesting a mojito I muddled the mint and then addded the syrup, light rum, lime and club soda. Except for the first one (which I managed to make half of in one glass and then finish off in my Rangpur & Tonic - not a good combo...) they seemed to be a hit. Next time I'll need more syrup... and rum.
My first course out was Grav Lax. Made with salmon from Yellow Umbrella and then salt/sugar cured for 48 hours. Served on sliced bread with an espresso dill honey mustard. The lack of leftovers led me to believe it was a hit.
I had orignally planned on cooking something on the grill. A trip last weekend to Carytown with my visiting parents and my first glimpse on Penzy's got me thinking. They had a certain spice that caught my eye - English Prime Rib Rub. The heady aroma of celery, pepper, onions, and garlic got me craving a major piece of beef.

Belmont Butchery provided me with a choice cut of prime rib that I could work with. Rubbed down first with grapeseed oil and then the Penzy spice I opted for the controlled heat of my oven rather than the grill. Fifteen minutes at 500 and then 2 hours at 230 (both on covection roast). During the 30 minute covered rest I made a jus by adding stock and sherry to the pan to deglaze and then reduced over high heat.

There were no leftovers.
Since I didn't use the grill the queue for others was shorter.
Sketchy brought his mythical DragonFish. Using a cute little trick of molecular gastronomy he used a protein glue to reform several pieces of halibut into a piece resemebling a tenderloin. Then, again using the glue, he attached thin spicy slices of chorizo. Roasted over the grill it came out crispy on the outside and moist inside. I could swear that Sketchy managed to achieve umami with this dish, a real accomplishment with fish.

Another fun dish for the evening was made by Koolz. He stuck to his roots and made a meatball dish from a family recipe. Pork meatballs grilled over my infrared then topped with basil and slices of mozzarella. Well spiced and Koolz did well for his first work with the searing temps that my infrared grill puts out. M seems to be aggitating for him to make some ziti and show off his tomato sauce skills. Sounds like a call for a repeat performance.

A late arrival for the evening was RVA Foodie. That was probably a good thing as nearly all of the dishes woudln't comply with his 'meat is murder but fish is justifiable homicide' type of vegetarianism. His arrival did usher in a bout of heavy beverage consumption. As the wives put the kids down we engaged in mojitos and a number of rounds of shots.

In true foodie fashion we had both sweet and savory shots. I pulled out a bottle of akvavit, a Danish tradition flavoured with caraway and anise. Sketchy brought a bottle that he had altered.... Italian Lemoncello that he had unbottled and then carbonated. The thick heavy liquid held the carbonation until it hits your toungue and then bubbles up in small explosions. Both were great but weren't exactly great together and we had some casualties....

Oh, and if anyone was out and about around 2 in the morning in the Fan we are looking for any witness to a 'missing' bicycle trip that someone took... :)

Decision Making By Sarah Palin....

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