Double Damage in the Old Dominion

I've been planning on a  return visit  to Richmond Virginia for quite some time. Due to circumstances that are apparently no longer relevant, last weekend was the perfect opportunity to spend a four day weekend in the Old Dominion.

Friday May 7

I had an early flight out of TF Green with a quick layover in Baltimore. I landed in Norfolk , got my rental car and was on the road
heading to Richmond by 10 AM.

My first destination was a roadfood spot mentioned on numerous occasions by Wheregreggeats



Stuart's Fresh Catch

a takeout only seafood market  also serving as a very popular lunch spot right on Mechanicsville Pike in Richmond...








I knew I knew I wanted fried fish but the menu overwhelmed me. The lady behind the counter recommended Spot but warned me that there would be bones in the fish.

The meal comes with two sides and a choice of hushpuppies or spoon bread. Well apparently Stuart's is known for their spoon bread, so the decision was easy..



I decided to get cabbage and fried okra with my meal.




The spoon bread was definitely the star of the meal. A little sweeter than what I've had in the past, for those not familiar with spoon bread, think biscuits in a thick, firm pudding form.

The lady behind the counter wasn't joking when she said there would be bones in the fish. The spot would have been much more enjoyable had it been deboned prior to frying. If I ever return, I would try the lake trout or whiting next time since that is served boneless. The cabbage was quite peppery and the fried okra was good.

Although eating in my rental car  didn't help, this could have been a great meal, if it wasn't for all of the fish bones.

After lunch, I had all afternoon to explore and being the history buff that I am, I decided to check out



The Cold Harbor Battlefield.

This is where Lee managed to Stall Grant and the Union army's progress towards Richmond

You can tour by car, or walk the trail. Of course I decided to walk the trail since it was a beautiful warm afternoon.





After getting lost on the trail, I ended up walking alot more than I anticipated in order to get back to the park entrance.
I then drove up the road to the Garthright House






apparently this house also served as a field hospital. Unfortunately there was no entry allowed into the house itself.

I then drove towards Richmond  and stopped at the Diamond



Former Home of the Richmond Braves, the Triple A team for the Atlanta Braves, ironically the ballpark was modeled back in the 80's  after Atlanta's former Fulton County Stadium.

The Diamond is now current home of the



Richmond Flying Squirrels the double A team for the San Francisco Giants.
Although they were away last weekend, I did have an opportunity to get inside the ballpark and get some photos.











Afterwards I headed towards downtown Richmond and  walked around the Historic Shockoe Slip district which is adjacent to downtown. I was disappointed to find out that my favorite brewpub The Richbrau Brewpub had shut it's doors for good. I did end up having a fantastic Iced Coffee at Shockoe Espresso and Roastery.

After heading east of town to check into my motel, I headed back to town to a place that has been mentioned several times
here on Roadfood.



Buz and Ned's Real BBQ

Swarming with college kids  I wasn't sure what to expect

Shortly after arriving, I met up with roadfooder Williamsburger who works nearby.

We shared some excellent sweet potato fries. Hot and crispy and fresh from the fryer, they were dusted with cinnamon and sugar.



As Williamsburger and I were chatting, our  final guest arrived, Buffetbuster.

Now it was time to order some "Q"

The three of us agreed to order our Q and sides in bulk versus ordering separate meals.

We started out with some hushpuppies



and moved on to cinnamon bourbon apples





and then went down to serious busines with some pulled pork and cole slaw




and of course a half a rack of spare ribs.





The hushpuppies were "ok"  with a slightly crisp exterior, corny with a hint of onion. The cinnamon bourbon apples were surprisingly good and reminded me of good homemade apple pie filling, My only regret is that I didn't get more.

The ribs were decent, very meaty with a charred exterior. I thought the sauce on the pulled pork had a peculiar taste that really  didn't agree with me at all. At first I thought it was my imagination, but the more I ate, the more I disliked it.

Overall I thought  Buz and Neds was a little north of mediocre, I dont' think it lived up to the hype. I've been to better bbq joints.

After our meal, we said our goodbyes and I returned back to my hotel. It was a long day, and there's lots more to come.

I'm glad to hear that you made it to Virginia! I'm excited to see the rest of your trip report; I'm anxious to see if you swung by Charlottesville, it's a great little town. And it is the home to the University of Virginia, go Wahoos!

WJ-
Only two places to eat on Saturday?  Thank goodness I showed up to set you on the proper path!

I'm not normally a fan of fried apples, but those cinnamon bourbon apples at Buz & Ned's were quite good.  The rest of the food was just okay. 

nitb4tempest

Unfortunately we did not make it to Charlottesville. Stay tuned for Part 2 tonight.

Buffetbuster

Actually that was Friday.
Chi Town Diner has taught you well young Buffetbuster

Excellent!  Virginia is a place I'd like to revisit.  Haven't been since 1975.

Sorry about the bones, but it does look good.  

I particularly love your baseball field photos.  Very arty!  My favorite is the seats going to the right.

Then I scrolled down to the seats going to the left and I found that that photo bothered me.  So does that that.

Can't wait for the rest of the photos and commentary.

Thanks!

So do they maybe serve ice cream to go along with those apples?  They look nummers.

I hope I don't break wj's momentum here, but after landing in Norfolk on Friday afternoon, the first stop was at the Roadfood reviewed Megallon's BBQ.  Situated just a few miles from the airport, it was extremely convenient before the drive to Richmond.

Having never been in the area before, I wondered if there would be any difficulty in finding it.  But with the bright pink exterior

and the large sign

with a piggy face, it would have been impossible to miss.  My first piece of advice:  don't park here if you aren't a customer!


The inside is tiny, with about 10 counter seats and a couple small tables.  I ordered a pork bbq sandwich and was asked if I wanted cole slaw on the sandwich.  The answer to that question is always a big yes!  I asked the friendly owner which side he recommended.  He told me the beans were homemade, while some of the other sides were not.  So beans it was!

The pork was finely chopped and was plenty moist.  The sweet, creamy cole slaw completed a very good sandwich.  As you can see, he was generous with the beans, which were doctored up with pork and the sweet, tangy bbq sauce.

For dessert, I passed up the pecan pie and tried the cream sherry cake. 

It tasted like regular ol' pound cake, but was still a fine way to end my quick meal.

While the food gets good marks from me, the best reason to visit Megallon's is for the genuine Roadfood atmosphere.  The owner is a real character and to listen to him chat with one of his regulars, they kept me laughing the entire time I was here.  The main topic of conversation was the owner telling the story of his wife dragging him to see the movie Reds back in the 80s.  Needless to say, he did not like the movie much and said he would rather have a root canal than sit through that again.  Also, there is a bumper sticker near the cash register that advertises Megallon's as "Home of the Dancing Pig".  I asked about that and was treated to another great story!

Oh, one more piece of advice for eating at Megallon's BBQ.  Keep your complaints to yourself! 

(The little red tag has a #1 on it) 

Megallon's Gourmet Barbecue
2424 E. Little Creek Road
Norfolk, VA
757-531-1131
 
http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/6920/megallons-gourmet-bbq

From there, it was straight to Richmond, where I met up with WJ and Williamsburger.

 

I wonder if wj will post that one shot of me, him and buffetbuster breaking bread

in the Old Domimion. Afterall, it's not often that I wear white when eating 'que.

  LOL! Beautiful.  

Gawd that pound cake looks nice.  And why do barbecue places go to the color pink so often?  I get the pig thing but you'd think the pink thing wouldn't be next.

Nancypalooza,

The cinnamon bourbon apples would have gone great with vanilla ice cream

Buffetbuster

How did Megallons pork sandwich compare with the others we checked out?

Saturday May 8

I woke up early to grab a couple of cups of java at Lamplighter Roasting an up and coming coffeehouse in the Fan District.  I was tempted to get one of the fresh peanut covered donuts they had from a local donut shop, but had to resist temptation and save myself for breakfast. The dark roast was not as strong as I would have liked, but the coffee house had a nice courtyard.

Buffetbuster and I met at one of my favorite breakfast spots in the country



McClean's  Restaurant
 a real classic neighborhood joint with a "good ol' boy" atmosphere






I knew what I was getting, the "big breakast"

which comes with choice of fried apples and buttery grits



along with



eggs, biscuit and choice of meat. In my case bologna. This isn't the supermarket version, but a real deep- dark- rich macho thick hunka bologna.

I also ordered  a delicious slab of salty and oinky country ham but could barely finish half of it after my big breakfast.



After breakfast we drove around Monument Avenue admiring many of the statues of the confederate war heros including


 
J.E.B Stuart



Robert E. Lee


Jefferson Davis




and Stonewall Jackson





Can anyone guess which Civil War hero this is? I'll give you a hint, his primary weapon was a tennis racket!


After our monument venture, we headed off to University of Richmond so Buffetbuster could get his T-Shirt.


We were expecting an urban campus but were pleasantly surprised at the tranquil surroundings. I'm not big on touring college campuses, but this one is truly a keeper.

Since we ate lightly (In Chi Town Diner terms) for breakfast. It was now time for lunch.
After doing some research, we decided to check out



Mama Mary's Sugar & Spice

a gen-u-ine soul food restaurant located in an unassuming cinder block building



(I noticed Buffetbuster has gotten in a few of my photos)

Unfortunately we were told that Mama Mary is no longer with us



But here she is peering at us from the menu.

The meal starts with warm toasted corn bread



We ended up splitting a couple of meals  and decided on the




Smothered pork chops in gravy. These were tender meaty chops- fork tender in a deliciously deep dark gravy.

and




succulent Fried Chicken

Our sides included



Candied Yams and Collards

as well as




Green Beans and Mac N Cheese

I thought the green breans and collards were ordinary but the Mac n Cheese and Candies Yams were spectacular.

If at this point of the meal, we questioned if Mama Mary's is roadfood worthy? Then dessert certainly sealed my decision

A huge slice of sweet potato pie




and a gigantic dish of peach cobbler



both were extraordinary, in fact this was undoubtedly the best sweet potato pie I've ever had!

Mama Mary's has been the best meal so far, but will it be the best meal of the entire trip? You'll have to wait and see.

After lunch we headed back into downtown Richmond to take a tour of the John Marshall House. The longest serving Chief Justice in American History



Our tour guide was both enthusiastic and informative.


Afterwards  we took the drive up to Fredericksburg which took just under an hour.

Our first stop located in Fredericksburg's quaint town center was



Goorick's Pharmacy. A classic drugstore and lunch counter serving malts and shakes the old fashioned way..




I went with the Mocha Malt




It was a rich and creamy version of fresh ground coffee, unfortunately I could only finish half of it in order to make it to our next
stop...



Allman's Pit Cooked BBQ

An authentic classic bbq joint going way back..

Here is the menu display behind the counter..



I decided to get bar b que sandwich



The bbq pork is served "minced" style. The slaw was absolutely fantastic, creamy with just the right vinegar bite. Unfortunately I thought it overwhelmed the bbq itself , however there is no doubt that this was the best coleslaw I had on this trip!

As we left, I couldn't help but notice the pig head mounted on the wall behind the counter..



Our final stop in Fredericksburg was



Carl's Ice Cream

At this point my appetite was reduced to



a small cup of vanilla ice cream.

The ice cream itself was very light, it reminded me of frozen cool whip. I wasn't very excited about it.

We then drove back to Richmond for the evening but not before observing this sign not too far from Carl's




Wow, talk about being enthusiastic about a buffet (is that an apostrophe between the "k" and the "e"??)

After watching the hockey playoffs later that evening between Pittsburgh and Montreal, we decided to make one last stop in Richmond for the night.
Unfortunately I do not have an photos (but Buffetbuster has!)

Phillips Continental Lounge

We walked in after 10PM. the kitchen closes at 10:30 pm.....

The place is a freakin college bar, true it's been around for 70 years, but we were wondering what was so special about this place? Don't get me wrong, there are many bars and taverns that are roadfood worthy, I even reviewed a few.
But this is a generic college bar that could be in "Anytown USA!!!"

Perhaps the food sets the tone. Buffetbuster ordered a cheeseburger and I ordered a grilled cheese possibly with bacon and tomato I don't remember. We shared an order of onion rings. The onion rings were actually pretty decent-however the grilled cheese was just "grilled cheese" and the burger was just  "a burger"... After going home I read the review in the 2008 edition of Roadfood and ironically both the burger and grilled cheese were given mention...

Not only was this the most dissapointing stop of the weekend,but I think I just found the first rotten tomato of 2010.

Afterwards we called it a night...

much more to come....

Vanilla?

Ha!  Sorry, but that's the first thing I thought.

Did you ask for a thick malt?  I have a fit when I ask for thick and it comes out straw suckable.  

I could certainly dive in to that Mama Mary's meal.  Delicious pictures!

WJ, that's not a pig head, as in what might go into barbeque. That's the had of a wild boar -- a Russian boar, I believe.

wanderingjew

How did Megallons pork sandwich compare with the others we checked out?

The pork bbq sandwich at Pierce's Pitt was superior.

Some more photos and thoughts about our stops:
 
Because there were going to be many food stops on this day, I ordered just the superb country ham at McLean's.   WJ mentioned the "good 'ol boy" atmosphere here, but you can't help but notice just how attractive all the waitresses are.
 
We tried to stop at the Marshall House before eating at Mama Mary's, but there was a sign at the door that read the next tour was at 11:15AM.  Since it was only 10:30, we didn't want to wait 45 minutes, so we decided to come back.  Later, WJ called to find out when the next tour was and the lady told him there was no set time, just walk in and they show you around.  I found this rather annoying and was going to bring it up when we went back.  But the lady was so friendly and enthusiastic, I didn't have the heart to give her a hard time.  Still, I wonder how many people this place shoos away with the sign.
 
The University of Richmond campus was shocking in it's beauty.  I had assumed it would be a typical urban campus, but it was heavily wooded and gorgeous!  Even better, I was able to pick up an excellent Spiders t-shirt and shorts.
 
Mama Mary's wasn't a complete home run, but was still a very worthy stop.  The mac & cheese, peach cobbler and sweet potato pie were all A+ dishes.  And the sweet tea

was extra strong and extra sweet.
 
At Goolrick's Pharmacy,

I got the cherry milkshake. 

Not as thick as I would prefer, but taste-wise it could not have been improved.  The two young guys seated next to us at the counter ordered root beer floats and I couldn't help but ask to take a photo of one.  Now this

is what a root beer float should look like!
 
Allman's Pit Cooked Bar-B-Q

gets an A+ for Roadfood atmosphere and friendly service, but the food gets a mere above average.  Both of us got pork bbq sandwiches, but I also tried a couple of sides. 

The beans were ordinary, but the ultra-mayoey potato salad was quite good.
 
It was my suggestion to stop at Carl's, a Fredricksburg institution.  WJ surprised me by calling it ice cream, but I have always known it to be frozen custard.  But after doing a little research, it apparently can't be called frozen custard because it doesn't meet the requirement for minimum level of egg yolks.  So, ice cream it is.  Truthfully, both the flavor and texture of my strawberry cone

were a disappointment.  But locals do love the place and there is always a long line here.

And here is WJ in action,

getting the perfect shot of his dairy treat.
 
 

  So you had coffee in the "Fan District"  Please 'splain that to me..... Sports fans? Ceiling fans? silk fans?.......Also, is it located anywhere near the "Hammock District" ?     

Dale, your picture is of Arthur Ashe.

I really like the whole two-perspective thing going on.  The sides at Mama Mary's and the root beer float in particular look insanely good!  Nice job fellas!

Doesn't that root beer float have just the right amount of overflow?  Lovely!

BB, don't you just hate it when WJ is right?  J/K!!!

When the ice cream scoops are peaked like that, how do you get a double?  I worry about those things.

Anyone in Virginia ever hear of Hi's (or High's) Ice Cream?

Back in 1960 it was the place to go in Hopewell or Petersburg (I forget which) for ice cream.  They had a special cone that held 3 small scoops of different flavored ice cream.  Something that still makes me smile 50 years later.

MH

And I thought it was some left over "Q"

Ahi

The Fan is a neighborhood in Richmond (think the West Bank or Dinkytown in Minneapolis) the reason why they call it the Fan is because the major streets converge and then fan out.

Nancypalooza

You win the prize!

Mar

That stuff they served at Carl's was certainly not custard, it doesn't even deserve to be called ice cream. Its frozen cool whip!

Great pictures, now I know where to find a decent breakfast in Richmond.  As for BBQ, well… where I am originally from BBQ is just a fancy name for a sloppy joe, so I have no inbred bias about BBQ, but after eating all around Virginia (as state I now hold quite dear), I must come to the conclusion that for some reason the quality of BBQ drops the further you get from the North Carolina border.  Megallon’s is one of the best the state has to offer, while sadly I have found that both Buzz and Ned’s and Allman’s to be quite unimpressive.

bb & wj -

I am really pleased to see this trip report.  I've been to Richmond several times on business and think it's an underrated RoadFood city.  I'm interested to see if your final stops include any of my other favorites.

Jim

JRPfeff,

Our last stops were actually outside of Richmond, although my final stop in this excerpt of the trip report was actually about 25 miles outside of the city.

Sunday February 9

Although there were other coffee houses I wanted to check out, I  had to return to Lamplighter Roasting because all the other coffee houses didn't open until 9AM.

I was on the road towards Williamsburg. Buffetbuster had a plane to catch later that afternoon in Norfolk, so we took separate cars and met at our first stop of the day.



Pierces Pitt Bar-B-Que

My we both arrived about 10 minutes before the place opened at 10AM and we were the first cars in the parking lot.  My last visit was back in 2003 and I enjoyed my experience. Will it be as good now as it was then?



We were impressed with the size of those smokers
The place opened just in time.

I ordered a large pork sandwich



And it was just as good as I remembered. Just the right combination of smoke and sauce. Although you can add additional bbq sauce if you wish.   Now, if I just had that coleslaw from Allman's on top of THIS sandwich!

We also shared a side of sweet potato sticks



With a slightly crunchy exterior and



a creamy sweet potato interior....

These were my favorite sides when I previously visited, If I recall, I thought there other sides were nothing special....

Since this was the last bbq stop on the trip, I declare Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que to be the best BBQ of the trip!

While we were at Pierce's, Williamsburger called me as she and her husband, Terry will be meeting us at our next stop....

Part of the fun of getting to our next stop was a short 15 minute  car ferry ride across the James River

. The ferry was a short drive from Pierce's. As I followed Buffetbuster to the ferry entrance, the guard approached Buffetbuster and ended up searching his car for illegal contraband.  You never know when Buffetbuster might be trying to sneak some pie onto the vessel...

Here we are leaving the dock



Williamsburger and her husband, Terry, met us on the boat

I managed to grab a photo of them along with Buffetbuster.




It was just over a 5 minute drive  to our next stop and also Buffetbuster's final stop since he had a plane to catch..





The Surrey House Restaurant in Surry (yes different spelling)
Previously written about in several of the Stern's Roadfood books,
we were wondering if it was still good..

As we entered, we approached a pig that was happy to greet us




As we sat down, the place filled up quickly..

Fresh rolls came to the table.



I started out with some creamy peanut soup..



I enjoyed the soup,  it does taste like "peanut butter bisque". Buffetbuster and I talked a few days later about the soup. He prefers the peanut soup at Southern Kitchen in New Market, I haven't been there in 10 years but remember it being very good.

The meal comes with a salad, sorry but I did not get any photos of the salad....

Finally our meals arrived...




I ordered the Country Ham. Rugged and salty was the best way to describe this, it was good, but it was missing something, then again, come think about the Country Ham at McClean's was also missing something....what could it be?????I know- RED EYE GRAVY!! I'm surprised at my self for not asking if they had any. Country Ham without red eye gravy is like peanut butter without jelly!  The meal comes with two sides. I chose Corn pudding which was the special of the day. I was disappointed with my corn pudding, for some reason, I was expecting a firmer consistency, but it reminded me of creamed corn. On the other hand the stewed tomatos were absolutely outstanding, the best I've ever had- Firm, rich and encased in a breading that lost it's consistency and melded into the tomatoes...

I also ended up taking a photo of someone else's meal. It could have been Terry's but I'm not 100% sure




Finally  I already knew what I was going to order for dessert..



Peanut Raisin Pie. 
I didn't know exactly what to expect prior to ordering, but it reminded me of pecan pie it was very sweet...Although I'm not a huge fan of pecan pie, the peanut pie wasn't bad, but I don't know if I would go out of my way to order it again...

Unfortunately Buffetbuster had to excuse himself right after lunch so that he can make his return flight home. Williamsburger, Terry and I spent a little more time at the restaurant before we said our goodbyes.

I had a few hours left in the afternoon to some exploring. Part of our lunch conversation was whether or not I was going to do Jamestown, Yorktown or a Plantation tour. After taking the ferry back to the other side of the James, I didn't think I would have enough time to thoroughtly explore Jamestown...so I headed back towards Richmond and took a tour of the Shirley Planation in
Charles City...



The Shirley Plantation is the oldest active plantation in Virginia and apparently the oldest family business in the US dating back to the 1600's!

The house tour was by appointment, so as I was waiting for the next tour I explored the grounds...














There was a sign noting that this tree is several hundred years old



This the James River



This is the plantation garden....

The plantation house tour itself was guided and very informative, apparently there are family members of the original owners that still live on the top floors of the house. Unfortunately photography wasn't allowed..

After I left the plantation, I ended up taking the scenic route (Route 5) back to Richmond...

My final meal stop of the day was  at



Tanglewood Ordinary in Goochland County about 30 miles west of Richmond A "family style" restaurant in an old renovated house built back in the 1920's or 30's....

I thought that the name of the restaurant said it all.....I thought the meal (which is served family style) was very ordinary, In fact it reminded me alot of another ordinary restaurant I went to a few months earlier- Mrs. Wilkes in Savannah.

The meal began with Biscuits and Cornbread




and included



cole slaw



Green Beans...



some decent mashed potatos (which also came with a side gravy)



Some surprisingly good black eyed peas..



Stewed Tomatos which paled in comparison to the stewed tomatos I had at lunch..

An automatic course of fried chicken...



and a second course from a selection  of your choosing...




In my case it was North Carolina Q. In fact that waitress specifically had to let me know that it was North Carolina style as if she were trying to warn me of something...

And for dessert I had the Apple Cobbler A' La Mode



Which actually wasn't all that bad...

The whole meal was $25 which included automatic tax and gratuity- apparently this was the mother's day special..

Again, this wasn't a terrible meal, there was just nothing memorable about it other than the nice old fashioned converted house atmosphere....

Afterwards I headed back to my hotel for the evening...

I'll complete the final installment before the end of the week...

wj,

Those were not the places I had in mind, but I never shy from driving to Williamsburg or crossing to Surry.  There is enough in that area to make for a really nice Roadfood.com eating tour.  I don't believe Richmond was nominated as a possibility in Michael Stern's thread.

My coworkers in Richmond have a real knack for diners and downhome places to eat.  They really showed me around.

Jim

Excellent!  I'm really enjoying this trip.  

The peanut soup is intriguing.  Off to Google it!

Thanks!

I remember the controversy over Arthur Ashe's statue being included in the hall of heroes.

Okay, my mind is a tiny bit blown here.  Is stewed tomatoes with something other than tomatoes in it a Virginia thing?  I'm completely unfamiliar with that.  I mean, we do stewed tomatoes with okra here all the time, but other than seasonings it's pretty much . . tomatoes and okra.   No breading or anything that I'm aware of.  Am I being a total newbie?

Also, Dale, I've had that same feeling before many times wishing I had a part of another barbecue joint's roster in front of me for part of my meal (in reference to the slaw on your sandwich).  As far as I'm concerned, only the barbecue joint in the afterworld is going to have the perfect combo of mains and sides.

I invite y'all to walk around the SC state house grounds and view all the memorials to shady dead white guys and the general 'African American History' monument that has a big sign noting that it was dedicated in 2001.  (eyeroll)

Even the food that hasn't gotten the best reviews looks good to me. Great photos and report.

Nancy, My mother's family comes from Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. My mother made stewed tomatoes the way her mother, grandmother and great grandmother did. It always had chunks of bread in it. Towards the end of the summer, maybe yellow squash or zucchini. Lots of salt, pepper and if they thought the tomatoes needed it, a pinch of sugar.

Zataar

I'm glad you answered Nancypalooza's question, because I certainly didn't have an answer. I do recall that the stewed tomates I had at the now defunct Lockhart's in Norfolk VA was prepared similarly, so perhaps its a mid south regional thing.

My husband's grandmother, whose family came from Ohio and Pennsylvania, never put anything in her stewed tomatoes but tomatoes. She also thought only  imperfect tomatoes should be used for stewed tomatoes. Never the nice ones.