Good Old Days

I guess the holidays are old news by now, heh?
I still can't resist posting a few more shots taken during our Christmas excursions.
We could eat lunch at Joe's Inn at any time of the year. It's one of our favorite places for breakfast too (go early - it get's fill quickly).

Summer Days

Yesterday, the weather here was spectacular for this time of the year.
Sunny, unseasonably cooler, & breezy.
A great reason to head out to a local haunt by the river, Conch Republic, and have a brewski and burger outdoors.

Boathouse Spanish Wine Dinner

Last night we treated ourselves to a wine dinner at Boathouse Restaurant at Rocketts Landing.

The food and wine were both outstanding and paired perfectly thanks to the expertise of their Director of Wine, Michael Avery, and their talented Executive Chef, Todd Richardson.

First course: Chapel Creek Oyster Ceviche with citrus mignonette paired with Marques de Gelida Brut Cava - Spain 2007. This sparkling wine was yummy, and the oysters so fresh and light tasting with a hint of citrus.

Second course: Surry Peanut Stew with Surryano Ham, paired with Pazo de Arribi Godello Castile-Leon, Spain 2010. O.M.G. The best stew I've had in a long time. I could have eaten a lot more of it. The wine paired with this dish was excellent (so good we bought a bottle).

Third course: Manakintowne Frisée Salad with cherry tomato potters, spiced cashews, and Virginia apple vinaigrette paired with Lagar de Cevera Albarino - Rias Baixas, Spain, 2010. This was so delicious - fresh and light - loved the stuffed tomatoes. Wine was wonderful too.

Fourth course: Braised Rabbit, Beet Chow Chow, Parsnip Chips, Smoked Surry Sausage paired with Finca Sandoval Syrah-Monastrell Mancheula - Spain - 2007. I've NEVER eaten rabbit before. This was so succulent and rich. Not at all like chicken, which a few people at the table said it would taste like. It was BETTER than chicken - more moist and tender. The wine was excellent.

Fifth course: Herb Rubbed Polyface Pork Loin, Red Potato Tortilla, Rhubarb Ginger Jus, and White Asparagus. Paired with Tres Picos Garnacha Campo de Borja, Spain – 2010. Excellent! I love pork and this made me love it even more. Wine was outstanding (so good we bought a bottle of this too).

Sixth course: BonnyClabber Blue Goat Cheese Ice Cream, Honey Hazelnut Crisp. Paired with Lustau Delux Cream Capataz Andres Jerez-Sherry - Spain NV. Blue Goat cheese ice cream? It was spectacular! So good. Sweet and creamy - a creaminess that only cheese can impart. Set atop this wonderfully thin crunchy cookie. The sherry was really good - although I'm not a sherry drinker. But the hubs is and he didn't let my glass go to waste. 

Afterwards, many of the guests headed upstairs to the Boathouse Restaurant for more spirits and conversation. While we did join in, I only had a large glass of water - after 6 glasses of wine, I was starting to feel it - even with all the yummy food in my tummy. We had a lot of laughs.

We've attended several wine dinners in the area and I believe this is really the best one yet. Highly recommend!! Everything, including the waitstaff who so pleasantly and diligently kept our glasses full and tables cleared, was fantastic.

For my photographer friends - the event was at night and the dining light was very dim (perfect ambiance for the dinner - not so perfect for photographing). Had to use my 50mm 1.4 (which as you can see gave me a lot of wonderful bokeh), cranked up the ISO, and carefully snapped each photo while I held my arms in tight to prevent camera shake. I've become unusually interested in photographing in dim light. I love the way bright lights and heavy shadows play off each other in the final B&W image. Challenging.

Belle! Bonne alimentaires!

One of these days I will go to France.

But until then, I will enjoy our local French restaurant, Can Can.

Food is great. Love the environment.

You can see why I carry my camera when I go there.

Hurricane Irene

Hope everyone was safe during hurricane Irene. Unbelievable, right?

We were lucky and came through without any major issues. Some of our electricity is still out. It's strange that part of our electricity is on and part is not, but it's a condo issue for the part that is not on. All the important things are up and running though.

My Mom's fence was blown over, but nothing fell on the house (that she can see so far) and she does have electricity, thank goodness. My brothers are all safe.

Yesterday before the storm the hubs and I walked across the street to a local restaurant, M's, and had an early lunch. When we went in the weather wasn't too bad - some rain and a little wind. It started to get really nasty while we were there and by the time we left about an hour later all heck had broken loose. I nearly got blown over on the 10 second walk back to the condo.

A little while after that we took a walk around our condo's enclosed garage to watch the river and city skyline during the worst of the storm. WOW, it was incredible.

Conch & Fried Green Tomatoes

Fed my Yankee hubby some homemade southern style fried green tomatoes for the first time in his life. He loved them.

Bought a new label making machine yesterday. We're doing some redecorating at the condo and need to create a binder to hold the myriad of paperwork that's starting to accumulate.

Tried a new local restaurant, Conch Republic, that just opened within a short walking distance of the condo. Food was good. But I enjoyed the environment most: lively atmosphere, roomy outdoor river-side dining deck, live music, cold beer, viewing the RVA skyline, and watching the James river flow by.

Had my Lensbaby on the camera for some of these photos at Conch.

Aziza's

We splurged a little last night.
Had dinner out at Aziza's. It's one of our favorite places.
Food is always so fresh and delicious. The menu changes often to better use all the freshest in-season ingredients.
I love their brick-oven cooked pizzas.
And they make a down right killer home-made cream puff (which we didn't have, but have had plenty of times).
They have a great deli attached to the restaurant where you can buy all kinds of home-made foods.
In addition to the great food, I love the atmosphere. It's an older building with the most wonderful architecture. Tin pressed ceilings. Brick walls. Leather table tops. Local hand-made pottery on shelves above the tables. Soft jazz playing. Great wine (served in those fat, stemless goblets). Terrific service.
And if you get seated near a window like we did (at our request) - also great light for photography.