The RVA Pizza Guide: I Was Made for Oven You, Baby | Richmond Magazine

Take a peek inside the kiln to learn how pizza gets made

by Jason Tesauro, January 23, 2017

“I call her my fire-breathing dragon,” says Jenna Sneed, chef and owner of Fresca on Addison. “She has a personality and you have to talk to her sweetly.” Sneed keeps her gas-powered dome humming at 800 degrees all day; it can’t run below 500 overnight, “or else it takes too long to heat back up.”

At its heart, an oven is about two things: temperature and heat distribution. While most any oven will make good pizza, strict certifications, precise ratios and refraction dictate a great oven’s floor runs at 750 to 800 degrees, while the dome nears 1,000. At these temps, dough cooks in 90 seconds. And when a pizza is lifted to the dome, toppings are blistered in even fewer. “But it’s not easy to use,” says Randall Doetzer, executive chef of Nota Bene. He spins pizzas around the deck to work his Neapolitan oven’s hot and cold spots. “With so many variables, I can do a hundred pizzas just fine and then wreck the next one. It’s humbling.”

Then there’s the fuel. Wood is sexy, but it’s also dirty, full of oils and tough to control. Coal is cleaner but it’s hard to get the fire started, and more difficult to master. Lots of pizzerias keep oven-side piles of cordwood or coal, but don’t get burned by marketing; if that wood or coal isn’t the primary heat source, it’s just a fancified gas oven.

Continue reading...

Richmond Food News: Week of Jan 9-13 | Richmond Magazine

It's time for your week-in-food review, which, fortunately for you, comes complete with an old-timey PSA, some fried chicken, a new late-night option and a whole lotta beer:

• Welcome to Friday! Let's kick it off with a bit of fun: Tickets for the sixth annual Elby Awards are now on sale! This year we're bringing "Prohibition chic" to the historic Altria Theater with a burlesque/variety show and a few surprises, all in celebration of the Richmond area's dining scene and those who make it happen. "But Stephanie," you might be thinking, "what am I supposed to wear to this event, where costumes are always part of the fun?" To you I say fear not, because my co-host Jason Tesauro and I are here to help. We made this very handy wardrobe PSA just for you, and we hope it answers any questions you might have! (We shot this in one take and my pipes had frozen during the snowstorm last weekend, so my hair is not looking 100-emoji good, but I still think we look pretty fly, in part due to the fine apparel from Blue Bones Vintage.) After the ceremony — which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19 — we'll head downstairs for the official after-party, where there'll be drinks and eats and dancing. Who's excited?? THIS BROAD. Need a refresher on which restaurants, chefs and purveyors are nominated this year? Jitterbug your way right over here.

Continue reading...

A taste of Virginia: Take a food-focused trip to Richmond | WTOP: Washington's Top News

By Rachel Nania, November 4, 2016

WASHINGTON — The nation’s capital isn’t the only great food city in the local area. Virginia’s capital city is also raking in recognition for its innovative and fast-growing restaurant scene. 

In the last year, national publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Saveur have put Richmond on the map as a top town for eating and drinking. 

Susan Winiecki, co-owner of Real Richmond Food Tours and associate publisher of Richmond Magazine, says the city’s shift into the culinary spotlight started about 15 years ago when chef Jason Alley opened his restaurant, Comfort, on downtown’s once-desolate Broad Street. 

Continue reading...

6 can’t miss Fire, Flour & Fork weekend events | WTVR CBS6

By Stephanie Ganz, November 2, 2016

RICHMOND, Va. — It starts in January, if you can believe it. It might seem like there are 11 long months until November, but I know better. Just after the New Year’s buzz fades, it’s time to get down to business– wrangling sponsors, calling chefs, organizing, promising, and emailing — so much emailing — to make sure Fire, Flour & Fork goes off with as few hiccups as possible.

GRAPETIONARY, AROUND THE WORLD IN WINE
Saturday, November 19 from 1:00 to 1:30, Vagabond

Do you love wine? I mean do you really, really love it to the point where you want to run a gauntlet of 26 wines before 2:00 in the afternoon? In that case, there’s no better spirit guides for your quest than Jason Tesauro and his team of sommeliers...

Continue reading...

Nile Flows Uphill | Richmond Magazine

One of Richmond's favorite Ethiopian restaurants reemerges in Church Hill

By Jason Tesauro, August 19, 2016

Ten years after founding the original Nile on Laurel Street, the Teklemariam family is bringing its Ethiopian restaurant to Church Hill.

Brothers Yoseph and Benyam Teklemariam first laid eyes on the 96-year-old commercial building  at 306 N. 29th St. years ago but settled into the VCU district instead. Now, after eight years near the college, a continuing hot-bar arrangement at Ellwood Thompson's, and a brief collaboration with Portrait House in Carytown, they've reemerged with a new space of their own, which soft-opened Tuesday in the former Str8 Out of Philly location. While the brothers Teklemariam get a feel for their new business, you can stop by for dinner...

Continue reading...

Richmond Abuzz

In honor of National Coffee Day, a roundup of the best coffee spots in Richmond from our January 2015 "Best Brunches and Breakfasts" issue.

By Jason Tesauro, September 29, 2015

Whether coffee is a thoughtless part of your morning routine on par with teeth-brushing or it’s a fetishized ritual akin to wine tasting, somewhere in the 804 there’s a cup with your name on it. Our city boasts many these coffeehouses, but RVA’s entire scene can be broken down into three classes of perk joint: Geek Out, Gack Out and Hang Out. Forget blind loyalties and hit the right one according to each day’s particular kind of java jones.

Continue reading...