Gastronome Tart

Station 2- Restaurant Review

I have an extreme fondness for a good hamburger, so when Courtney from Cook Like a Champion and Ryan from Ryan Bakes decided to meet at Station 2 for my last hoorah in Richmond, I was obviously game. 

The hubby and I lived downtown during our time in Richmond and would pass this new restaurant during it's building phase (or renovating phase) and was looking forward to patroning once it opened. Too bad that we moved so close to when it finally did.

When it was suggested by Courtney that we go there, I was excited to try this new burger joint out. After all, deluxe burgers are having their moment and for good reason too. They are delicious and besides, who doesn't love sitting down to enjoy a fat laden meal instead of driving by a window?

Station 2 is housed in a historic firehouse in downtown Richmond with all the bells and whistles of a laid back yet upscale burger  joint. 

There is a bar in the back that is pouring some amazing brews and a menu chock full of almost every hamburger that one could dream of. They also were blaring my type of music. It was like a soundtrack from my favorite radio station on Sirius/XM, Alt Nation. I basically sang along to just about every song.

Did I also mention those sweet potato tater tots? Ryan had turned me on to the idea of them before we even got there, telling me all about them after she checked out the menu online. Needless to say, I literally had tater tots dancing through my head. 

Besides, who doesn't love tater tots? Even Napoleon Dynamite loved them so much that he squished them into his pockets and decided to share! 

Okay, I do love tater tots, but say it with me, "Ewwww..." Yeah, I don't think I would like them out of someone's pocket either.

Once we arrived, I noticed that for their appetizers they had a "Beer Cheese" which was a dip that consisted of puréed veggies with cheddar, lager and came complete with pretzel bread pieces for dipping. I immediately ordered it as it was the end of October and I was in the mood for some Oktoberfest type dishes.

Courtney ordered the Potato Shingles which is basically huge pieces of potatoes (or a glorified potato wedge) that have been fried and came with a garlic aioli sauce for dipping.

Apologies for the quality of photos. I think it's time to trade in this Blackberry for an iPhone4

 

The Beer Cheese was absolutely fabulous and paired very nicely with a Pumpkin IPA (India Pale Ale) that I had ordered. When they brought out the Beer Cheese, there wasn't much pretzel bread that came with it, however our server was happy to bring more out when we requested.

As for the Potato Shingles, they were good. However, I don't know if I would order them again. I think the one item on the description that stood out the most was "garlic aioli". Otherwise, it just tasted like your average potato wedge. Good, but nothing to get excited about.

It took me a while to finally be able to choose which type of hamburger I was going to go for. Although there were many great options to choose from, I decided to go with a classic. Their griddle-pressed burgers which was a 3.5 ounce burger that came with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles. I opted to make it a double (who's counting calories today?) and topped with a slice of cheddar cheese.

Station 2 seems to take great pride in their hamburgers. They are after all a hamburger joint. On their menu, it states that their burgers are char-grilled to order (funny, our server never asked me how I like my burger. Thank goodness it actually came out medium-rare which I love) and it is served on top of a bun that has been baked by the local bakery: Lucille's.

For me, the burger missed the mark. While I ate it and reveled at the fact that I was eating a big hunk of meat, the meat was under seasoned (or not seasoned at all) and the bun did not taste fresh to me and had a very dry mouth feel. This was obviously not the type of burger that I had enjoyed at Flip Burger of Richard Blaise fame.

The star of the night, was those sweet potato tots. Crunchy little pieces of sweet heaven. I actually found myself preferring the appetizers and side dishes over the main show, which would be the hamburger. My husband also agreed with me about the burger being under seasoned and the bun tasting a bit stale as I had brought him a hamburger home along with fries for dinner.

                                                                        Sweet Potato Tots                    

By the time that I had eaten here (the end of October), Station 2 had only been open for close to three months. I'm hoping that they are still just working out some kinks within the kitchen and within their service.

While our server was friendly, she would disappear for a period of time and even asked if we wanted to switch tables when Courtney had spilled her milkshake because they were really busy and she didn't have time to wipe it up but that she wanted to make sure that we had a clean table (this was as we were about to leave).

At the time, I thought they were truly busy (as many of the seats were full) however, once I went outside to take a conference call, I noticed her chatting it up with other servers in the back. Busy indeed. 

However, even with all these kinks, I would go back. For me the atmosphere, mixed in with great beers on tap and that amazing beer cheese, is enough for me. 

Station 2

2016 East Main St. | Richmond, VA 23223

Phone: 804-249-4702

 

 

 

Ejay Rin

Rob and I have always been one to try out new neighborhood restaurants or shops. As many people do, we fully support local, independently owned businesses. There is just something about the nostalgic nature of a company that is not owned by a corporation.

While we obviously do have our obsessions with certain corporate companies (Starbucks and Target just to name a few) we become extremely excited at the prospects of not just any independently owned business, but restaurants that may be opening up shop in our neck of the woods.

While the hubby and I will be leaving Richmond at the end of the month for the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, that still hasn't stopped our love affair with our neighborhood. We currently live right outside of downtown in an area that while isn't necessarily run down, it still has a ways to go.

There is something about living amongst artists and true visionaries that makes me feel at my most creative and my neighborhood has some of the best.

Which is why when I was driving home from the South of the James Farmer's Market one weekend, that I passed what is now called Ejay Rin.

Hmmm... Ejay Rin. If I'm not mistaken, that sounds like a restaurant. An asian restaurant. Possibly asian noodle house restaurant? Like Rei Rei Ken in the West Village?! 

I had to know as our neighborhood has some food establishments, although not many. Could it be? Could this be a non-corporate restaurant made for my neighborhood?

I immediately charged towards my computer the minute I got home. Those veggies from the market can wait to be put away at another time. Up popped google and I typed Ejay Rin in. 

It is true! An asian style restaurant in my neighborhood! As I perused the menu, I noticed steamed buns and noodle bowls (complete with an egg and a fish cake!) rice bowls. I was pumped to say the least. 

The minute Rob came home, I told him all about Ejay Rin and we decided that our next night out would be there. 

Advance apologies for the photography. When I do restaurant reviews, I try to be incognito and only take pics with my phone. Looks like my Blackberry needs to be upgraded :)

 

From the moment that we walked in, we realized that Ejay Rin was a neighborhood gem. Spare decor, with just the right accent pieces and has a bar as the center of attention. 

The staff was very friendly and greeted us the moment we arrived. When I had looked at the menu prior to leaving the house, I didn't notice any alcoholic beverages, although it is obvious now that they do serve. I believe at the time we were there, they only served wine and beer (yet I am unsure). 

In recent years, I have become quite the beer connoisseur. I immediately asked our server what he would recommend. His suggestion was this Austrian beer. While I do understand that they emphasize on asian, this didn't seem out of place for this establishment. It was absolutely delicious and tasted very much like an IPA. 

Looking at the menu, there is an extensive amount of pork belly in many of their dishes. Ranging from their rice and noodle bowls all the way over to their steamed buns. 

Rob and I have eaten at this restaurant several times since our first visit. Once for lunch as an appetizer we had ordered some of their steamed buns. It was like a BLT but made with pork belly instead. It was not on the menu, but was suggested by our waiter. It probably takes the cake (or shall I say pork belly?) as one of the best tasting BLT's ever. Hand's down they make excellent steamed buns so I would not skip them as the start to your meal.

The first time we had eaten here, I had ordered the Pork Ramen. If you aren't familiar with ramen other than from a packet when you were in college, then you are missing out. Ramen is truly a serious noodle in Japan and rightfully so. It is absolutely delicious (you can read all about my post on Rei Rei Ken in NYC here) It came complete with pulled pork, pork belly, a poached egg, fish cake, nori, scallions, pickled radishes and pork broth.

Rob had ordered the pulled pork rice bowl. I later ordered it at a different date as well (see pic below) and as always was superb. It came chock full of pulled pork belly, pickled cucumber, radishes, scallions and of coarse, no true noodle or rice bowl would be complete without a poached egg. 

While all of our experiences at Ejay Rin have been fantastic, there were still a few slight hiccups every now and then. When we came for lunch one time, I had ordered the Bok Choy that was sautéed with ginger, garlic and lemon. While the flavors were sublime and all around it was equally delicious, it was a tad over salted. I like to think this is because they are still working around a few things since this was within the first two weeks of them opening. All in all, I would order it again because I did enjoy the dish, I will just make a note with the waiter for the chef to have an easy hand on the salt. 

The last time we had eaten here, we ordered dessert to go. Dessert was not something that was on the menu so knowing I have such a sweet tooth, I was excited to see and try some of their desserts as the rest of the food has always been right on par.

The waiter told us of their desserts. I ended up going with the cereal milk panna cotta, with an avocado puree and a toffee crisp. I was elated at the idea and intrigued. While cereal milk anything isn't necessarily new due to the hype (and well deserved) of the original cereal milk concept from Milk Bar in NYC, I was excited at the prospect of it in a panna cotta. And an avocado cream puree? Interesting. Rob had chosen a ginger rice pudding.

We brought them home and I was elated to try my dessert. However, I must say it was a complete let down. The panna cotta had a salty taste to it and I don't know why the avocado cream was ever thought to be put into this dish. The only good thing about the dish was the toffee chip. It seemed like something out of the TV show Chopped and I was the judge telling the contestant that their dish didn't make any sense flavor wise. Big let down in that department. However, I must note that Rob thoroughly enjoyed his dessert. He thought it was absolutely delicious.

Although the dessert for me was a let down, this will not stop me from coming back. I have been waiting for an asian restaurant like this to come around since we had moved many years back from Los Angeles. Every where we have lived has not had a restaurant like this. 

Go, try it out, patron this amazingly small yet delicious restaurant and don't forget to try those steamed buns of theirs!

Ejay Rin

201 W. 7th Street, Richmond, VA

804-745-6488

 

Review of Shyndigz Cake Cafe

I have a little food blog camaraderie going on here in Richmond. It begins with me, Courtney from Cook Like A Champion and Ryan of Ryan Bakes. We all met through Twitter and found that that not only do we all live in the same city, we are all transplants and we obviously love food, so hey! Why not meet up?

Last month had us meeting in a wine cafe. Which anything with a little bit of booze is a good thing right? We initially were going to meet up at Shyndigz, however due to scheduling conflicts were not able too. So, we vowed that we will go to Shyndigz one day which is what led us there last night.

Every time I think of cake, I remember the show Rules of engagement and where one character bursts into a room where another character is sitting and proclaims,

"There is going to be cake!"

"What makes you think that?"

"She registered for a cake plate! So, she is going to make cake!"

"Listen, I've been married for twelve years, no cake my friend. Just like we have a waffle maker and no waffles. Quesadilla maker..."

"Cool!"

"No señor. No quesadilla's. So, no cake."

Ringing through my head all yesterday was the fact that yes. There will be cake! And lot's of it to choose from. What is a cake lover to do?

Amongst all this, you might be asking what on earth is Shyndigz? Well, it is a cake shop here in Richmond that not only makes amazing specialty cakes, but it also serves as a cake cafe. The cake cafe is open Thursday evenings from 5-10 pm and Friday's and Saturday's from 5-11 pm. 

One of the most awesome things about Shyndigz is that one thing that they offer is that you can pick whichever cake you would like and they will turn it into a milk shake and also serve a petite slice alongside. If that doesn't float your boat, then how about Grown up Smores? Which encompasses everything you love about Smores to begin with only this one comes with a boozy chocolate cream.

Hmmm... what to choose? What to choose? What to choose?.... The above pic was only a small fraction of what was being served, and everything looked super delicious. Okay. Got it. I settled on the....

Salted Chocolate Caramel Cake Milk Shake with a slice of the cake itself. This was literally heaven in my mouth. Not only was the milk shake so utterly delicious and had hints of the actual cake itself, but the cake was something else all in it's own. I am an absolute fan of all salted caramels. However, let's get real. How many times have you eaten something that touts to be a salted caramel and you barely get any saltiness it all seems to be sweet? Not this cake, it delivered as promised. You could actually taste the flecks of salt which made me a very happy customer. 

Ryan decided on a slice of their Caramel Cake and some coffee. I like to think of it as mile high caramel cake! Look at all those layers! She said it was to die for and after a mini break returned to it to polish it off as Courtney and I polished off our desserts. 

Courtney did as I did and ordered a cake milk shake. Only she decided to go with their Fruit Cake. This was my second choice as it looked so fresh and seasonal. However, I have always been known to be a little too indulgent at times and to be honest that salted chocolate caramel cake was calling my name almost from the moment I walked in. 

The decor was very modern, clean and laid back at the same time. When we walked in, I had my eye on the couches to sit at because I just wanted to stuff my face and lean back. However, it was taken at the moment.

When I first walked in, I would have liked there to have been a bit more lighting. As the only lighting that seemed to be on in the dining area was the lamps on the tables. However, as time went on, I was glad that the lighting was low. We indulged, talked, laughed and stayed for quite some time (Two and a half hours to be exact). They were very accommodating and even refilled Ryan's coffee as needed.  The owner, Nicole Jessee, even came out to say hello because Courtney works at a cupcake shop that she enjoys. 

As we left, many more customer's came through the doors to enjoy a nice cup of coffee and some fresh desserts. I usually am not one to like to frequent bakeries (although I do love them) because I choose to make things myself. However, Shyndigz was so amazing, that I plan on taking the hubby back, and out of town company and any one else who wants a little indulgence. There will be cake! And oh yes, there was.

We all enjoyed our cake so much, we all took some home. This is their Chocolate Chip Cake that I brought home for the hubby. He approves!