After a few wrong turns, I found Sunday's, tucked away in front of a gorgeous lake in Brandermill.
Despite the boardwalk and the "beach," the menu's blatant nod to the tropics seemed odd: Jamaican habanero wings. St. Martin burger. Aruba shrimp-salad sandwich.
Pizza ($8.55 to $10.95) is a popular starter and comes big enough to share. The house salads ($3.45) are fresh and generous, but the dressings seem prefab. Lunch entrees range from $6.95 to $15.95 and run the gamut: There are sandwiches, main-course salads, pasta, burgers and a selection of fresh fish dishes. On my visit, my Trinidad tuna ($13.95) was perfectly cooked and went beautifully with Asian-flavored soba noodles. The lunch special, seasoned grilled shrimp ($6.95), was dry, too salty, and the accompanying rice was bland and lacking in personality.
Do not miss dessert (all $4.45). The blueberry white-chocolate bread pudding sounds odd, but is utterly delicious. The Elizabeth cake a chocolate roulade with cream-cheese filling is pretty and festive and not too sweet. We left Sunday's full, content, and happy not to be dressed in skimpy resort clothing. Sally Belk King
Sunday's Waterfront Restaurant
4602 Millridge Parkway
744-2545
Lunch and dinner Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday, Saturday 11:30-10 p.m., Sunday
brunch 10 a.m.-3 p.m., dinner 3 p.m.-9 p.m.
Rivah Bistro is an everyday place, think Cafe Rick in "Casablanca" on casual Friday. The most interesting contributions to Richmond's culinary palate are the Moroccan dishes: merguez, a soft and warmly spiced Moroccan lamb sausage served with a smokey tomato coulis, and harissa not always on the menu an all-purpose puree of pepper, oil, garlic, coriander and cumin, that is transformed into a soup. Unfortunately, this is where Morocco ends.
They also make some delicious and fresh desserts ($4 - $7), like fresh sorbet shaped into a small pyramid and capped with a delicate chocolate shell, and a vanilla creme brulee that is absolutely a point.
The rest of the menu is a tour of comforts both French and Italian, comfortably priced from $10 to $18: onion soup, nicely gratineed; pork loin with baked apples; baked chicken (an occasional special) with mashed potatoes and jus deglaze; plus a range of scallopine-cut veal and chicken in a variety of styles and sauces saltimbocca, Toscan, cognac and Marsala. Patrick Getlein
Rivah Bistro
1417 E. Cary St.
344-8222
www.rivahbistro.com
Monday - Thursday, 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Friday - Saturday, 11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Sunday, 10:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Despite the boardwalk and the "beach," the menu's blatant nod to the tropics seemed odd: Jamaican habanero wings. St. Martin burger. Aruba shrimp-salad sandwich.
Pizza ($8.55 to $10.95) is a popular starter and comes big enough to share. The house salads ($3.45) are fresh and generous, but the dressings seem prefab. Lunch entrees range from $6.95 to $15.95 and run the gamut: There are sandwiches, main-course salads, pasta, burgers and a selection of fresh fish dishes. On my visit, my Trinidad tuna ($13.95) was perfectly cooked and went beautifully with Asian-flavored soba noodles. The lunch special, seasoned grilled shrimp ($6.95), was dry, too salty, and the accompanying rice was bland and lacking in personality.
Do not miss dessert (all $4.45). The blueberry white-chocolate bread pudding sounds odd, but is utterly delicious. The Elizabeth cake a chocolate roulade with cream-cheese filling is pretty and festive and not too sweet. We left Sunday's full, content, and happy not to be dressed in skimpy resort clothing. Sally Belk King
Sunday's Waterfront Restaurant
4602 Millridge Parkway
744-2545
Lunch and dinner Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday, Saturday 11:30-10 p.m., Sunday
brunch 10 a.m.-3 p.m., dinner 3 p.m.-9 p.m.
Rivah Bistro is an everyday place, think Cafe Rick in "Casablanca" on casual Friday. The most interesting contributions to Richmond's culinary palate are the Moroccan dishes: merguez, a soft and warmly spiced Moroccan lamb sausage served with a smokey tomato coulis, and harissa not always on the menu an all-purpose puree of pepper, oil, garlic, coriander and cumin, that is transformed into a soup. Unfortunately, this is where Morocco ends.
They also make some delicious and fresh desserts ($4 - $7), like fresh sorbet shaped into a small pyramid and capped with a delicate chocolate shell, and a vanilla creme brulee that is absolutely a point.
The rest of the menu is a tour of comforts both French and Italian, comfortably priced from $10 to $18: onion soup, nicely gratineed; pork loin with baked apples; baked chicken (an occasional special) with mashed potatoes and jus deglaze; plus a range of scallopine-cut veal and chicken in a variety of styles and sauces saltimbocca, Toscan, cognac and Marsala. Patrick Getlein
Rivah Bistro
1417 E. Cary St.
344-8222
www.rivahbistro.com
Monday - Thursday, 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Friday - Saturday, 11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Sunday, 10:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.
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