Gone but not forgotten: Brazilian Cafe
by b1bob
Restaurant Name: Brasilian Cafe (closed: late 2005)
Ironically enough, this short-lived Brazilian restaurant was located cattywampus from the J.E.B. Stuart statue on Monument Avenue. Maciek, Urszula, and I discovered this place quite by accident in October, 2004. We had intended on taking supper that night at La Casita Mexican restaurant. It was Urszula who discovered it on the walk to the Jefferson Hotel when she had to use the loo. We decided on the way back that it might be convenient for us to give it a try. For awhile, we were the only ones there, but then it was a Wednesday night. I'm glad we did. The food was superb and so was the service.
Favourite Dish: Maciek and I had the Bife Acebolado (steak with onions, for those from Roxboro) with black beans and rice. Urszula had some beef with either white cheese or sauce served with tortillas. The waiter (and owner) is a native Brazilian and I ordered in Portuguese. Maciek, Urszula, and I had guaraná to drink. Several months later, my buddy Lee and I went back for some Brazilian pizza. The owner was glad to see me again. This pizza, the Florianópolis, has cheese, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Normally, it comes with pineapple, but we asked them to leave it off and they were glad to do it. They also gave us some hearts of palm just because Lee asked what they were. The owner said we would never be able to eat the whole large pizza ourselves, but we did. I can't understand why it closed down. It had a prime location and it served good food with typical Brazilian hospitality. It is not because Richmond is not ready for international cuisine because many such restaurants survive.
en español, em português
Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimer's
by b1bob
Folks, I'm not real big on shopping, but Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimer's were real downtown Richmond institutions. I can remember when I was real young, in the days before there was a Taco Bell on every corner, having to go downtown to Thalhimer's to buy tortillas which, at that time, were sold in tins. I remember seeing the Miller & Rhoads Santa Claus and the Thalhimer's Snow Bear at Christmas, 1975 when I was just 6 years old. At Christmastime, I always think about those two Richmond institutions, which closed their doors in the early 1990s. Click the link for more details on the history of Miller & Rhoads.
Shockoe Tomato Festival
by b1bob
For many years, Richmond's Downtown- particularly the Shockoe Bottom- was dead. I like to see something like the Shockoe Tomato Festival bring life to the downtown. It features tomatoes in every conceivable form, an array of vendors, music, tomato-themed children's activities (which gipper84 regrettably missed), a magician and juggler, and the Annual Hot Tomato Talent Contest. Normally, I miss this event on account of Clarksville's Lakefest, but I stayed in town in 2006 in part for this event. The 17th Street Farmer's Market is an ideal location because it contains most of the activity into that area and the police have to only close off a couple of streets. Of course, tomatoes figured very prominently in this, but, for my friends (like ClarkRB) who aren't keen on the savoury red fruit, there were many other choices such as popcorn, corn dogs, hot dogs, etc. I personally had the tomato salsa on a baguette. Drew had a salsa and hummus pita. Just about every interest and advocacy group set up a booth or passed out literature there including the Vegetarian Society of Richmond. I would like to see that lot set up a booth at the Pork (or Chicken) Festival, just once!
Bogey's
by gipper84
Bogey’s Sports Park is on the western outskirts of the Richmond area. It is mainly a mini golf course, but there is also a driving range and batting cage. The most memorable time there was with Nat and Bill. Bill played all right, but Nat’s ball went in the water so often it should have come with scuba gear. To be fair, it is a hard course. I enjoy hitting a bucket of golf balls and, since baseball is my best sport, I like doing the batting cage. All borrowed there, but you can bring your own clubs.
Federacy
by GUYON
The capitol was built by Thomas Jefferson, in 1788, to look like a Roman Temple.
It can be freely visited from 9AM to 5PM 7 days/week in Summer (other season : closed on Sunday).
There are several statues of Federate Generals.
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The Capitol
War Museum
main corridor: Azalea Mall
lobster tank at the entrance
