R I C H M O N D I N WAT E RC O L O R dining out + drinking in
BO PRILLAMAN c ompi l e d by E L I Z A B E T H P EY T O N T OW N E S P R I L L A M A N
www.boprillaman.com Copyright © 2020 William Darwin Prillaman All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.
CONTENTS 1 Chioccas Bo’s The Beast
29 Joe’s Inn BBB Bo’s Braised Beef
3 Bacchus Veal Scallopine
31 Mama J’s Grillswith
5 Brunch Scones
33 The Hill Cafe Panko Salmon
7 Can Can Croque Madame
35 Garnett’s Devilish Eggs
9 The Stables Shrimp Bisque
37 The Robin Inn Simone’s Bolognese
11 Helen’s Hollandaise
39 Coppola’s Deli Pesto Pasta
13 Shagbark Fried Green Tomatoes
41 M&F Jamaician Cafe Jamaican Cabbage
15 Babe’s Big Cheese d’oily
43 Patrick Henry’s Pub & Grille Ginger Burgers
17 Les Crepes Crepes Dentelles
45 Mellow Mushroom Bo’s Julian’s Wanna-be Za
19 Kuba Kuba Fried Platanos
47 Supper! and Lunch. Leftover Chicken Gravy
21 Bamboo Cafe Crab Soup
49 Portico Oyster Beausimone
23 The Roosevelt Tournedos Rossini (a la poorman)
51 Rosie Connolly’s William’s Welshish Rabbit
25 Millie’s Diner Biscuits and Gravy
53 Stella’s Three (or 4) Color Peppers
27 Mosaic Olive Tapenade
INTRODUCTION I first arrived in Richmond in the late 1960s. RPI had just been
rebranded as VCU where I was enrolled as a freshman. I had a great little Triumph TR4 convertible, a small suitcase and two or three golf clubs in the back. I was on my way to college! The only colleges I’d ever seen were situated in vast expanse of lawns and playing fields. I had a map of Virginia and address for my new college. As I cruised down Franklin Street, I stopped in front of the Hibbs building, where I was very puzzled to be at the address where I was meant to begin my advanced academia, but there was certainly no college there. I saw what I took to be a student – right age group, anyway - and asked the young man “can you tell me where VCU/RPI is?” His eyes were a bit glazed over, and with my car top down, I caught an unfamiliar scent of smoke - Cigarette? Pipe? Cigar? After a slow 360° turn, arms raised, his reply was: “it’s everywhere man”. I was a Bob Dylan fan so I kinda got it, but I was still wondering where the football fields and tennis courts were. There were no virtual campus tours in the 1960s. I was just a young man from Martinsville, Virginia where all of the few restaurants were very similar in style and food choices. After locating my “college“, and coming to understand it was actually an urban University, I needed to eat. I wandered over to Grace Street and went into a bar called Andy’s. Chris Gibbs, who subsequently opened a few of his own restaurants in RVA, was the bartender. I was just old enough to drink 3.2
beer and I ordered one along with a buck-fifty hamburger. $1.50 was a lot for a hamburger (they were $.65 at home) and I remember thinking that I couldn’t live (well, eat) through the end of the month at that rate. Then I had my second beer and the worries faded away and I was just smiling a lot. It was so cool to drink beer (legally) at the same time as you dined. I began attending classes, eventually found an apartment in which to live, got a part-time job with an architect in town, and was able to begin expanding my culinary horizons in Richmond. I could afford to dine out at least once a week and took that opportunity to try Greek, Lebanese, Chinese, Indian, French, “real” Italian and German food for the first time. Hooray for the big city. Although mys gastro-palette had expanded greatly, I still had an affinity for the diner-like food I had as a child (and I still do). I was attracted to places that looked and smelled old fashioned, served meatloaf & mashed, hot dogs, and you could eat lunch for under a couple of bucks. But at the end of the day, I preferred the spice and variety of ethnic food. Later, during grad school at UVA, my architecture professor cooked a couple of amazing meals for my girlfriend and me (shrimp and pork with oyster sauce, curried lamb with garlic pickle) and I vowed to learn to cook. Today I still prefer to cook anything exotic at home rather than go out, but food is not the only reason to dine out. When my wife and I returned to Richmond a few years ago to make it
our summer home (away from the Florida heat) my interest in local restaurants was re-kindled. I wanted to start a painting project here, similar to the project I did in Vero Beach a few years ago; “A Month of Lunches”. That endeavor involved doing 30 plein-air watercolors of various buildings in the town, usually at lunch time. Using my old Land Rover as a studio base, sitting for an hour or so in my folding lawn chair, sketching and painting. I think the value of those paintings is primarily the “documentary” aspect. Many buildings are summarily torn down to make way for “progress” and now there is a graphic record of them. Until the invention of the camera, architecture had always been recorded through the eyes of artists. The camera shows buildings in irrefutable detail; the artist has the freedom of interpretation, which I utilized when a palm tree was in the way, or a lorry in front.
convey the same feeling with a quick haphazard swipe of a flat brush (although expertly executed). My attempts in that style produced the equivalent of a high school art class competition reject. My goal as an artist is learn to casually flick the brush once or twice to simulate a bank of triglyphs and metopes without counting them and not caring the correct number. Stay tuned for the next book.
Some of the restaurants you see in this book are still around today as they were during my college years; Chioccas, The Village, Robin Inn. Most of the structures are still around (sadly not the original Julian’s on Broad) but many have undergone numerous iterations over the years. Most of the buildings shown in this book are fairly accurately depicted. Occasionally I took a few liberties; adding light when there was little, popping in a few flower pots, etc., but I wanted these paintings to be a history of what the places were at the time.
This book is dedicated to those in the industry going through these hard times. A portion of all profits will be donated to their cause, and if you have bought this book, please know that it is helping others who may not be so lucky.
It is the curse of the architect to have a tendency to be obliged to paint every single nine light window if it exists -exactly nine, not six or two. I tried hard not to do that but often I failed. Great artists can seemingly
One will see in the watercolors a number of buildings with tents out front. Some popped up after I had started to paint the building. This “time and place” aspect-due to the Covid-19 pandemic may be remembered as a tragic time for all of us, but particularly for the restaurant owners and staff. My hope is they will return stronger than before-I fear some may not return at all.
I am very much looking forward to returning to these restaurants, pubs, bars, food trucks- without a mask, to hug the great waitresses or owners who have served us well, and to once again sit near enough to a stranger to strike up a conversation over a pink gin. William Darwin Prillaman.
Chiocca’s
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425 N Belmont Ave, Richmond, VA 23221
I first visited this renowned establishment as a college student in 1969. They had the smallest basement, the biggest and best sandwiches in Richmond –no menu, no prices and no waitresses. Mario, and later his son Tim, came to your table and asked if you wanted a reuben, a sailor, or a pastrami and sweitzer. He would make a turkey sandwich, but not without some disdain. He served cold beers in cans, and cooked your sandwich on the smallest grille- oven known to man- two sandwiches at a time, max. If you asked, you got ripple potato chips, but always got a pickle. The grille (vintage c. 1940) is still there and the only cooking appliance. Standing room only in the loo. Each booth had a juke box- Sinatra, Tony Bennett, etc.- 3 plays for 25 cents. They remained operable until the late 1980s. Draft beer is served now, as are salads, and soups- so modern.. But the “Rathskeller” has the original booths, photographs and some of the cobwebs. Not to be missed.
Bo’s The Beast Thinly sliced medium rare roast beef Turkey Black Forest ham Pastrami Swiss or sweitzer cheese, piled very high Onion, coleslaw, mustard and mayonnaise. Rye or Kaiser bread, sliced
Assemble with relaxed care. Bread on the outside. Butter or margarine spread very lightly on the bread, (optional). For the real experience, wait 5 minutes for the previous order to cook. Place on a foil covered tray and shove it under the flame. Turn after 2 -1/2 minutes and cook the other side. Serve with a big dill pickle slice and a handful of rippled potato chips and a cold domestic beer, or (if you are feeling sophisticated) an imported one. Better plan on two beers for the timing. A paper napkin finishes it off. You will likely need no dessert. A nap would be good. Recipe by Bo Prillaman
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Bacchus
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2 N Meadow St, Richmond, VA 23220
At the corner of Meadow and Main sits another black awning local. Entering Bacchus puts one in a place that says neighborhood restaurant. It reminds me of the many Italian eateries in Brooklyn. The polished bar, booths and pressed-tin ceiling are old school architectural features, and the smell of sautéed garlic that hits one when opening the door says “hello, how are ya!” The menu is interesting and while leaning toward traditional Italian, there are also Chesapeake Bay seafood and locally sourced meat/veg. offerings. The dining room is noisy in a good way, and relaxed as can be. Informality is the key, the servers appear more laid back than in most restaurants- perhaps confidence in the food? Parking is a hassle, but worth the walk if parking on Floyd or beyond.
Veal Scallopine 2 4oz pieces of veal (top round sliced thin and pounded) 2 ounces all purpose flour 1 ounce extra virgin olive oil 4 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon chopped shallots 1 tablespoon capers juice from 1 lemon salt and pepper
Salt and pepper veal, dredge veal in flour. Heat a saute pan add extra virgin olive oil. Add veal to pan and brown both sides or until veal is just cooked through, remove veal from pan and discard of used cooking oil. Add butter, shallots, and capers to pan and turn heat down to low, allow butter to turn brown slowly. Once butter is brown and lemon juice to finish. Pour sauce over veal and serve. Recipe Courtesy of Bacchus, you should try the real deal on Meadow and Main.
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Brunch
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2600 W. Main St, Richmond, VA 23220
Brunch with its sisters, Supper and Lunch has become a Fan District staple. Years ago it was Soble’s, then became the Starlite, and now is again serving good food and drink to the many fans in the Fan. It was open for brunch-ish food from 7-4 for big meals and breakfast sammies. Sadly it is closed now but we hope it will re-open soon.
Scones 2 cup flour 2⁄3 cup sugar 4oz stick of butter 1⁄2 cup raisins 1⁄4 cup sweetened dried cranberries 1⁄2 cup sour cream 1 egg 1 tsp baking powder 1⁄4 tsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 400° Mix dry stuff, grate very cold butter into the mixture and cut in with a fork and knife. In a seperate bowl, beat the egg and sour cream. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture along with the dried fruit. Mix until the dough forms a rough ball. Roll out onto a floured surface until you have a rectangle about 3⁄4” thick. Cut scones into triangle shapes, glaze with egg wash. Place scones on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven on the middle rack. Serve with clotted cream or creme fraiche and fruit jam. Recipe by Bo Prillaman
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Can Can
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3120 W Cary St, Richmond, VA 23221
A Carytown institution for a European experience. Can Can recalls the streetside bistros and brasseries of Paris. A delightful place to have lunch outside, with all the noise and activity of busy Cary Street. Flower vendors standing near the dining outdoor area with bright red umbrellas give an authentic feel to the ambiance. With cars honking horns, shoppers rustling bags, street artists playing music, a glass of white wine in hand, one could close eyes and pretend to be on the Rue Haussmann. Inside at night, moulles frites et bierre, clanking dishes and bustling waiters complete the feel.
Croque Madame thinly sliced ham your choice of cheese unsalted butter béchamel sauce (see page 22)
Make a ham and cheese sandwich, grille it in unsalted butter on both sides. Add a ½ cup béchamel sauce (pg. 22) over and put it under the broiler until the sauce is slightly browned. Serve with a glass of Sancerre, and a vinaigrette dressed salad. Recipe by Bo Prillaman
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The Stables
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201 N Belmont, Richmond, VA 23220
A cool little building which looks as if it could have once been, well, stables. A one story brick with storefront glass now. This little turn of the century gem on Belmont features southern inspired dishes and cocktails, in a calm atmosphere. As I was sketching the façade, a wandering person was utilizing the bench outside for a telephone conversation, discussing his mental health and current situation at top volume for nearly an hour. I perceived the person on the other end of the line was not overly sympathetic. I heard every word, as I painted, but really didn’t want to know. TMI- sometimes one gets that as one paints outside. Another local eatery in the Museum district is always welcome, and this is a good’un..
Shrimp Bisque make a light brown roux with butter flour and stock 1⁄2 onion (minced) 2oz broccoli stems (diced) 1” piece of ginger ½ red bell pepper 2oz diced tomato 1lb fresh wild shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into small pieces paprika, celery seed, cumin, salt & pepper ½ cup vermouth and or marsala ½ cup milk ½ cup cream pinch brown sugar
Make a thick roux with 3oz butter, 3oz flour and 1 ½ cups chicken or fish stock, and a pinch of brown sugar. Saute all chopped ingredients in 2oz butter & herbs. Add shrimp, wine, & milk. Bring to a boil. Add roux and cream & heat through, about 8 minutes. Optional: add a bit of sherry or marsala just before serving. Recipe by Bo Prillaman
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Helen’s
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2527 W. Main St, Richmond, VA 23220
Another restaurant that took over a pharmacy building (c. 1912) with a soda fountain- a number have done so in RVA-particularly in the Fan. Must be a natural fit. This one probably has the record for longevity; the Donatis took over the place in 1927- D’s Restaurant. Daughter Helen started her tenure in 1935. Helen’s has morphed from a family-style diner where Xmas decorations covered almost every square inch of the interior at Yuletide, to an upscale contemporary restaurant. Gone are most of the booths and bar that lined the west wall when meatloaf and gravy was the mainstay and swing music was the style; but the tin ceiling and dim light is a visual recall (and they still decorate the place to the hilt at Christmas). The menu is varied and the food is good, as well as the bartender’s knowledge. Snag an outdoor table when the weather is fine.
Hollandaise 4 egg yolks 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter 1 pinch cayenne 1 pinch salt
Vigorously whisk yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel bowl until doubled in volume. Use a double boiler, or if you do not have one, place a stainless steel bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Continue to whisk rapidly. Be careful not to overheat eggs or they will scramble. Drizzle melted butter in and continue to whisk vigorously until the sauce has doubled in volume. Remove from heat, whisk in cayenne and salt. Cover and place in a warm spot until ready to use. Recipe by Elizabeth Prillaman
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