at Alpha Audio in the early 1970s.
Image courtesy of the Alpha Audio archives page.
I pass by this space every day and have wondered what is to become of it. I first knew it as Benjamin's, a smoky jazz bar with black-framed pictures of unsmiling men — a joke, I think — interspersed with those of the acts that had played there. F.T. Rea tells the story of his involvement there in 1969 when it was a psychedelic strip club named The Bearded Brothers.
A few weeks ago, while working on a story about developments in these stagnant days, I caught up with French. He told me then that a restaurant was on its way for the Cabo's place.
French is also putting in "condominium-finished apartments" in the Cabo's building and the three-story building next-door, where Diservio & Sobrito insurance and Dream Factory Productions were located until recently. On the third floor is a barrel-vaulted space that "back in the day" was home to the studios of Richmond's Alpha Audio. Here, in late May 1973, Bruce Springsteen recorded a six-song set for broadcast on WGOE-AM with Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos, Albee Tellone and David Sancious (who, according to the Handful of Brains blog, had yet to join Springsteen's band but worked then at the studio).
The Republic will feature a variety of international beers and theme days highlighting the origins of the food (paired with an appropriate whiskey, bourbon, and so forth). Right now, there's not much at the restaurant's Web site, except an animated logo and a countdown clock that indicates that time is slipping into the future fairly fast.
Design consultant Myrph Bowery of Decorum Interior Design says that Lyons and French are going for a warm, comfortable lounge feel. She projects a completion somewhere around October.
"We're using all reclaimed buidling materials," French says. "This includes maple floors, reclaimed heart-pine beams for the bar, all the tiled areas, and in bathrooms we'll use tiles made out of glass recycled from vehicle windshields." All the booths and tables will also come from previously experienced materials.
In addition, French, who now has an interest in CitySpace Solar, is installing solar panels on the restaurant's roof. The stage is being retained, but not David Turner's neo-classical backdrop.
"I own the building with my business partner, Matthew Appelget," French says."He has a residence in the 2000 block of Monument that's near this property."
French's goal is to create an entire restaurant corner. The three-story building will have apartments on its upper two floors, but on the street level, 1,000 square feet of floating event space will be available for either The Republic or neighboring Italian eatery Enoteca Sogno. Flanking the sides of the building's entry are sculpted halves of the globe, almost gone now due to corrosion and weather. The building was originally a fraternal meeting hall.
Below, however, is a 5,000-square-foot basement with concrete floors and piers. French wants to insert a dramatic staircase, like at Julep's, and create a wine or cigar club there.
All-in-all, a welcome revival for this end of Broad Street.
European Market & Café owner Jason Savedoff has had enough. No more will puzzled walk-ins remark, “Hey, I thought this was a grocery store,” while he cheerily asks them what they’d like to order from behind a wide deli case filled with olives and cheeses.
That said, it is a grocery store. Sort of. With mousse truffée, Irish bangers, pâtés, caviar, 80 European cheeses, a dozen olive choices, imported beer and wine, and fresh baked bread, shoppers can choose themselves dizzy. But at the European Market & Café, you can buy the 100-year-old balsamic vinegar for your homemade cuisine or you can let the master chef do the cooking for you.
After years of confusion, Savedoff has decided to hand over the reins to his patrons and let them propose a more fitting name. Although his business is still a store, “95 percent of what we do is cooking and catering,” he says.
The West Main Street market has cycled through three owners in the eight years since it opened in 2001. Savedoff, who has owned the business for two years, says, “We thought it was time to settle on a concept: European fusion in a bistro setting, local produce and affordable meals.”
Along with a new name, the rustic café will adjust its menu. “We’re kicking it up a notch in the entrée selection,” Savedoff says. Almond-and-black pepper-crusted New Zealand lamb, anyone?
In exchange for christening genius, Savedoff will reward the winner with dinner and wine for two. So far, he has received more than 200 submissions from his e-mail list alone and expects many more before the contest ends July 31. “One guy vacationing on the beaches in Spain wrote me from his iPhone,” he says with a laugh.
The café also will be setting up a lunch cart on Main Street near Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus in September. The cart will feature gourmet sandwiches, salads and imported beverages. Savedoff says many students and faculty frequent his café and he wants to make it easier for them to do so during busy school days. “Instead of them coming to us, we’re coming to them.”
The cart also will have a portable oven to bake bread on the spot for made-to-order sandwiches. Who needs France?
To submit your idea for a new name, call 355-5182 or e-mail info@shopeuropeanmarket.com.
For about two weeks in a row, my CSA half-share included a head or two of bok choy. If you’re anything like me, you may never have tasted this veggie outside of sauce-laden Chinese-takeout. Naturally, I was looking forward to seeing what this veggie could do. Russell, the farmer in charge of my CSA, suggested using the bok choy in a stir-fry or grilling it. I tried both.
First off, grilling. This was the ultimate success. Instead of simply cutting the bok choy into stalks and placing it on the grill, which is what Russell suggested, I let Google get the best of me and tried this recipe, originally from Bon Appétit, for grilled-shrimp satay with peaches and bok choy. The dish was supposed to be topped with a sauce made from peach nectar, peanut butter and Asian hot chili paste, along with other ingredients, which seemed like an odd combination, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I’d also never tried grilled peaches, although I’ve seen chefs prepare them on cooking shows numerous times.
I made the recipe pretty true to the original.
This dish was great. And, as we move further into peach season, I know the sweet-savory-tangy-nutty flavor combination will taste even better. The bok choy added sort of a cool, neutralizing effect to the rest of the vibrant flavors thanks to its delicate flavor nuances and crisp texture.
Later in the week, I sautéed some of the bok-choy greens with garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and red-pepper flakes, and it made for a tasty leafy green side dish.
My second attempt, this tofu and bok choy stir-fry, also originally from Bon Appétit, was pretty good but not as stellar as the grilled dish. I think this may have been more due to my inexperience with tofu and stir-frys, though, as opposed to the recipe. After reading the reviews, I decided to alter the formula a bit. I doubled the ginger, soy sauce and cooking sherry and added an extra garlic clove or two, a few chopped carrots and a drained-and-rinsed can of bamboo shoots.
As I was prepping all the chopped ingredients, I placed my extra-firm tofu on a plate and covered it with a stack of plates to drain excess moisture. Like I said, I haven’t had a ton of tofu experience, and I think this was part of my downfall. The tofu only drained for about 10 minutes, so when it was time to chop it up, there was still some moisture left in it. For this recipe, I thinly sliced my bok choy as if I was slicing celery, and I threw in both the greens and the stalk.
Again, following the reviews, I cooked the oil, ginger, garlic and red-pepper flakes for a few minutes until they were fragrant, and then added the tofu before anything else to allow it to crisp a bit. I cooked it alone with the spices for about three minutes, until some of the edges began to brown. Were I to make the recipe again, I would have cooked the tofu longer without the other veggies, because when I added the bok choy and carrots and stirred it all together, the tofu began to crumble, and it kept crumbling as I added more ingredients. I’m guessing this might not have happened if the tofu’s outside was cooked more.
Once I added the sauce and allowed it to boil and start to thicken, I took a taste — it was a little on the bland side. I added a few extra dashes of soy sauce and continued cooking. I think if I made the dish again, I might consider allowing the tofu to sit in an extra batch of sauce to soak up more flavor. This time, I served the dish with more of my now beloved Sriracha Chili Garlic Sauce and soy sauce on the side. I added one more dash of soy (yay, sodium!) and a spoonful or two of the chili paste to my bowl. The result was fiery hot but pretty tangy and tasty. Because the tofu crumbled, the texture was just a bit off, though.
I still have one more bok choy head in my fridge, anyone have a favorite preparation? Or any stir-fry tips for an aspiring Asian chef?
RichmondMagazine.com blogger Megan Marconyak signed up for a half-share of produce from the CSA Edible Old Dominion, which she picks up every week at Lakeside Farmers' Market. Always an adventurous cook, she's looking to eat more vegetables while being introduced to new varieties she might not have tried otherwise.
As part of its Project Virginia initiative, a push to counter the economic downturn by purchasing products and services from within the state, Capital Ale House is paying employees to work a certain number of volunteer hours doing community service — up to four hours a week, for a maximum of 10 hours per month per employee, said Matthew Simmons, president of Capitol Ale House, which has three Richmond-area locations and one in Fredericksburg.
On June 13, the Beer Corps tackled its first project, Simmons said. Twenty employees from the downtown and Midlothian restaurants pitched in on the 10th Annual James River Regional Cleanup at Pony Pasture Rapids and Robious Landing.
“A lot of employees volunteer beyond the limit, without getting paid,” Simmons said. “It’s really been a great team-building experience. The cleanup was the first project we did. We plan on doing at least one project every month.”
Meanwhile, Capital Ale is making plans for its second annual Virginia Beer Festival on July 3 outside the Midlothian restaurant, 13831 Village Place Drive. The event, scheduled to run from noon to 11 p.m., will feature 20 Virginia breweries offering between 40 and 50 beers, live music, and children’s entertainment. Tickets are $10 for people 21 or older ($5 for those 12 to 20 years old and for designated drivers). Simmons said the event, held at the Innsbrook location last year, was moved to Midlothian to allow more room.
And on July 2, a Virginia Beer Dinner at the downtown location (623 E. Main St.) will pair beers from the Old Dominion with a five-course meal. (Tickets are $50 per person.) That same evening, brewers from around the state will be on hand at a Virginia Pig Pickin’ at the Innsbrook restaurant, 4024-A Cox Road. (Tickets are $10.)
