Richmond, tries oyster harvesting with Ryan
Croxton, co-owner of Rappahannock River
Oysters, for an episode of "Chefs A' Field."
RRO, a family-owned business that has been harvesting since 1899, has been shipping oysters across the country (and to restaurants in Richmond), but this spring the company will open a shop at Locklies Marina in the Middlesex County community of Topping, where owners (and cousins) Ryan and Travis Croxton hope to bring attention to their products.
“We’ve been looking for a place to develop commercially,” Ryan Croxton says. “Somewhere we can invite chefs and customers, and teach people about aquaculture. We’re branding [the oysters] the way people talk about wine … trying to make the region a Napa of oyster making, and Locklies can become a hub.”
Locklies remains a fully functioning marina, off the shore of which RRO harvests one of its many varieties of oyster. The storefront will be a place to showcase the oysters. And soon, Ryan says he hopes to open a restaurant at the marina.
RRO grows oysters throughout the Chesapeake Bay area. Their most consistent crops are the Rappahannock River Oyster, the Stingray Oyster and the Olde Salts Oyster. Rappahannock River Oysters are grown in the water near Topping, in mostly freshwater from the Blue Ridge Mountains; Stingray Oysters are grown in the Ware Neck area of Gloucester County in brackish water; and Olde Salts Oysters are grown in Chincoteague Bay, where they’re infused with tidal salt water. The oysters grown in water with low-salt content are generally sweeter with more mineral-like flavor, while the oysters grown in water with high salt content have a sharp, crisp taste, Ryan says.
“It’s like being smacked in the face with an ocean wave,” he says of the ocean-grown oysters. “Some people really like that.”
The marina sits near the Chesapeake Bay at 784 Locklies Creek Road, about a 90-minute drive from Richmond. Although the Croxtons have made many trips to Richmond for restaurant events and tastings, RRO’s oysters arrive in Richmond via UPS truck on most days. Of the many restaurants in the area that use RRO oysters, Mezzanine (3433 Cary St.) and Lemaire (101 W. Franklin St.) usually offer the widest variety.
Many Richmonders remember Sneed from his days as owner of the Frog and the Redneck in Shockoe Slip, but he’s also a partner in Carena’s Jamaican Grill on Midlothian Turnpike.
“We have some young chefs and thought that [having] him working with them ... would be inspiring and helpful,” Healy says.
Consistent with Sneed’s renowned affinity for simplicity, the new menu is somewhat pared down, and preparation of many dishes has changed. For example, the previous menu included hoisin-glazed grilled mahi on shichimi shrimp and vegetable fried rice with toasted sesame seeds, unagi drizzle and kaiware sprouts. The revised menu has “fresh mahi topped with local crab, served with Arborio rice pilaf.”
While the previous menu had five additional ingredients listed with the shrimp-and-grits, the new menu has two: sausage and cheddar cheese. Grilled salmon served on a bed of eggplant caviar with sautéed red-and-yellow peppers and Arborio rice pilaf replaces the former menu’s miso-glazed salmon with Asian slaw, wontons and vegetable couscous.
Some additions include Mussels and Fries (the mussels are cooked with green curry, garlic and white wine, or saffron broth) and a Platter O’Toads (description: “The famed Sugar Toad blowfish, [‘sweet as sugar, ugly as a toad’].”)
Among the other additions are a house-made rum cake for dessert, soon to be joined by crème brûlée, tapioca pudding and apple pie.
Healy says the new children’s menu offers a choice of pizzas from the brick oven, pasta and chicken dishes, and baked macaroni and cheese.
You’ll still find filet mignon and strip steak, the Seafood Tower, Colossal Crab Cake, sushi rolls and gourmet pizza (with a few changes).
“While we have been successful with our [previous] menu for many years at the Brandermill location,” Healy says, “we are excited to unveil our new menu at both locations.” The banquet menus for both restaurants have also been updated.
He says the new menu more closely reflects “the fact that we’re in central Virginia and on the river and close to the Chesapeake Bay.” But don’t get too used to this version; Healy hinted at another update in month or so.
Six Burner owner Ry Marchant, with the help of Jason Alley from Comfort restaurant and Tanya Cauthen of Belmont Butchery, started organizing the event about a month ago after an e-mail from his daughter tipped him off about a similar event that took place in New York City on Jan. 24.
“We’ve got a good restaurant community,” says Marchant. “Most everybody I talked with was really enthusiastic.”
Restaurants will choose which relief organization their donation will support –the Red Cross or Heifer International. The Red Cross is providing food, water, shelter and medical care to earthquake victims in Haiti. Heifer International is a nonprofit working in Haiti that provides livestock (not for slaughter) to poverty stricken families. The livestock provide families with up to 4 gallons of milk a day and can produce up to one calf a year.
If he’d had more time, Marchant says he would have tried to recruit even more participants. With 30 restaurants, Marchant says he hopes the event will raise as much as $10,000.
Participating businesses:
Six Burner
Comfort
Belmont Butchery
The Boathouse (Rocketts Landing and Sunday Park)
Yellow Umbrella Fresh Seafood (5600 Patterson Ave.)
Europa Italian Café & Tapas Bar
The Hill Café (2800 E. Broad St.)
Olio (formerly European Market)
“I wanted good bread before, so I had to make it. Now I want good pizza, so I’ll have to make it,” Fallen says, half-joking.
Aziza’s will add pizza to the menu in late April or early May when the new bakery is finished.
While it won’t seek official Italian-government-granted D.O.C. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) status, Fallen — poking a bit of fun at those who take such things too seriously — intends to institute his own mark of quality: R.G.P. (for Really Good Pizza). “I think a lot of people put emphasis on brand and recognition,” he says. “I put more emphasis on quality.”
Besides serving the adjoining restaurant, the bakery will market Aziza’s multigrain sourdough bread and frozen pizzas to grocery stores and natural-food markets in the Richmond area, Williamsburg and Charlottesville, Fallen says.
In the meantime, he’s been experimenting with dough, cooking his pizzas on a grill or in the oven. He's also been doing some testing in a friend's backyard brick oven (the same friend Brandon Fox wrote about for her “Brandon Eats” column in the March issue of Richmond magazine).
Fallen promises, “It’s going to be very authentic.”
of Lady Godiva./Photo by Sunny Zhao
Some Richmonders already know about that from attending Zhao’s parties. “I used to have a dumpling party at my house or my office,” he says. “It got so big, at one point I had 500 or more [guests]. They would make dumplings together.”
Now, anyone can taste Zhao’s “crazy dumplings” at his new restaurant, Fan House, in the former Verbena space at 2526 Floyd Ave. (612-8888). The grand opening is still a couple of weeks away, but after several “soft opening” days, word is spreading via word of mouth and blog entries. “We’re starting to see a lot of people show up,” he says.
Zhao describes the menu as “East Meets West.” Reece Roberts, formerly of Cabo’s Corner Bistro and Franco’s Ristorante, is the head chef. “Reece represents the West; I represent the East,” Zhao says.
The menu’s lineup of five small plates, priced at $3 to $6, will change each week, he says. Those include dishes such as tuna sashimi and Asian beef kebabs. In addition, there are eight appetizers, such as charcoal-grilled ostrich, FanHouse seafood salad, mussels with white-wine sauce, Chinese beef noodles, grilled calamari and spring rolls with tiger shrimp.
The eight entrée selections include Zhao’s semi-famous “crazy dumplings.” He says he adapted the recipe from one used at a restaurant his parents owned in China, with ingredients such as beef, shrimp and chives.
Zhao’s connection with visual arts is also in evidence at his restaurant. The first floor features an 11-foot mural of Lady Godiva that was shipped from Europe, and he says the top floor contains a 35-foot-long canvas that will be painted in sections by 35 artists, each completing one foot of what will be a mural of China's Great Wall.
For now, the restaurant is open from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday, though hours will be extended in a few weeks to add lunch.
Whiskey’s Flowing on North Robinson
In other dining news, McCormack’s Whisky Grill and Smokehouse (204 N. Robinson St.) served its first customers over the weekend. But if you stop by, bring cash. They’re not accepting credit cards; as owner William “Mac” McCormack puts it, “We’re saying no to the corporate man.” The Whisky serves Southern comfort food and, as you might expect, an impressive selection of whiskeys.
Trackside Seating
I also finally made it out to the new Trackside Grill (301 S. Railroad Ave., 752-4688) in Ashland with some friends on Friday night. The former Cow Catcher tavern has been beautifully renovated, with cozy wooden booths, fans suspended from the decorative, high ceilings and pictures of horses interspersed with trains along the walls. Our table mostly ordered burgers and sandwiches — my crab cake on an English muffin was tasty — but the restaurant also offers a variety of entrées in the $15 to $20 range. Matt Hamman, co-owner with his wife, Debbie, was one of the original owners of the former Red Oak Café in Goochland County. The head chef is Charles Mosley, who previously worked at Hermitage Country Club. If Friday night’s crowd was any indication, business is going well.
