The Slice: And the nominees are...DUMPLINGS

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BEARD CLUB

The 2018 James Beard Foundation Award semi-finalists were announced yesterday, and among them are Brittanny Anderson of Brenner Pass and Metzger Bar & Butchery, Evrim and Evin Dogu of Sub Rosa Bakery, and An Mekong of Mekong and The Answer. High fives all around!

MORE NOMS

Maybe you can’t spring for a $500 ticket to the James Beard Awards, but you can still celebrate some culinary heroes this Sunday at The Elby’s. Proceeds from those $120 tickets support local nonprofit Shalom Farms.

Nominees include Brittanny Anderson, for chef of the year (maybe JBF took a page from the Elby’s, who’s to say?), Mean Bird for grab-and-go food, and long-time client Morgan Botwinick of Whisk and the soon-to-open Scoop for best pastry chef. We’re especially excited to see awards recognizing global dining and promoters of sustainability, worthy categories indeed.

TAX-Y

Maybe you’ve heard something about this meals tax increase? Probably not, it’s been pretty quiet. After five hours of public debate (and innumerable Facebook squabbles), the proposed 1.5% hike was approved this Monday. That makes every meal consumed within Richmond City limits its own kind of fundraiser, so get out there and eat your faces off...for the kids! 

BUT RATHER, LOOK FORWARD

When a fire shut down Don't Look Back's Carytown location last July, fans of Nate Gutierrez' tacos, burritos, and frito pie were crestfallen. Anyone who suffered through the wait between Nate closing his own taco shop and taking the reigns at DLB knows that the waiting is the hardest part. But good news: DLB owner Hamooda Shami announced this week that, in addition to plans to open a Southside location sometime this Summer, Shami, Gutierrez and the crew will slam into the long-vacant corner pocket that is The Triple with a new location, opening as early as this Spring. 

BREWING SOON

The never-sleeping team behind Church Hill Ventures, Michael Hild and Laura Dyer Hild, announced plans to open a second Manchester Brewery, Manastoh at 1128 Hull St. According to Bizsense, "The name Manastoh honors the original Native American population in Manchester before it was settled by English immigrants in the late 1700s."

RETURN OF NICK’S

Nick's Produce celebrates a Grand Opening in their new Westwood Ave location on Saturday, February 24th, with samples, wine tastings and a special surprise for the first 50 guests. And no, before you even ask, there will not be sandwiches. I KNOW, BUT STILL.

ZEST FOR THE BEST

Also on February 24th, show your support for Central VA food bank FeedMore and celebrate the golden anniversary of Meals on Wheels at Zest Fest. Your $150 ticket will assist FeedMore in their mission to provide meals to underserved neighbors in our region. According to the Zest Fest event page, "Last year's Zest Fest helped us provide more than 681,000 healthy meals to our neighbors in their times of need!" This year's chefs include:

SIP: PERK!'S ROSEWATER RHASPBERRY

Think pink! For a limited time only, Perk! is combining housemade raspberry rosewater syrup and your favorite espresso drink, topped off with homemade raspberry sugar and a edible rose petals. Be your own Valentine with this one all month long.

BITE: DUMPLINGS AND NOODLES

Happy Lunar New Year! It's officially the Year of the Dog! Peter Chang's Noodles and Dumplings has plenty of options for either noodles or, well, dumplings (and bao!); but my newfound favorites are the spicy wontons--slippery, slurp-able perfection.

GRAM: @RVACinnamonrolls

Roll, don’t walk to your nearest coffee shop for your weekly opportunity to gorge on RVA Cinnamon Rolls. These sweet treats are now available at The Café at St. Stephen's, Shields Market, and Stir Crazy RVA. Fresh deliveries every Friday!

Stephanie GanzComment