Plate and Goblet: Farm-to-table, shakes and other comings and goings

Fresh-from-the-farm tastes and tours

Celeste Farms held a soft opening recently of The Farmers & The Chef, a series of educational farm tours and dinner events that highlight home-grown produce and celebrate sustainable agriculture. Guests enjoyed seasonal mocktails inspired by flora grown on-site as they toured the farm, which included wildflower meadows, brooder chicks, a worm "castle," an Argentinian-style grill, raised beds of multiple crops, and homemade compost.

The compost program mixes food scraps collected from restaurants with wood chips from True Timber, producing a "nice fluffy compost" while also diverting food waste from landfills. Celeste Farms supplies its organically grown diversified fruits and vegetables to such popular local establishments as Ellwood Thompson and Goatacado, and also donates produce to the nonprofit RVA Community Fridges.

After the tour, guests sat down to tables made of repurposed bowling alley lanes, and ate on plates made by a potter friend of the owner. The first course of napa cabbage, pac choi and hungiku leaf, served with benne seed and carrot vinaigrette, was followed by charred beet, summer squash, and hakurei turnip. Rainbow trout with gold rice grits rounded out the main course, and was topped off with basil cake in a mulberry and elderflower sauce.

Celeste Farms (which draws its name from the Celeste Fig) is now accepting a limited number of bookings for the onsite dinner series. The farm is located in Varina, ten minutes from Rocketts Landing.
For details about dinners, tours, and other events, visit https://www.celestefarms.com.

Shrooms & Shakes

Shake Shack opened June 12 to an enthusiastic horde of fans, who began lining up in Willow Place at 9 a.m. for the opening two hours later. My son-in-law, who'd just celebrated his birthday, had been wanting to try the 'Shroom Burger – so I offered to bring him a birthday burger.

Even though I was in line well before 11 a.m., I did not deliver his 'Shroom Burger until well after noon. But he gave it a thumbs up, praising its crispy outside and creamy center. I did not fare as well with my own picks (ordered on a kiosk). I chose a hotdog and a custard, and was disappointed there seemed to be no chili option for the hotdog. The scoop of custard was also a letdown; I'd had my heart set on a custardy shake. Still, I plan to go back – to try the 'Shroom Burger for myself, if nothing else.

• Intermission Beer Company is expanding into Hanover, but never fear – the original Glen Allen taproom will remain open in its Virginia Center Commons location. It will now house the space for Intermission's barrel-aging program, and production will move to the larger Hanover space next to Green Top Sporting Goods. The Hanover site will boast a taproom with 20 taps, an arcade and a pizzeria, and is projected to open at the end of June at 10180 Lakeridge Parkway. (Side note: As with Celeste Farms, there's a story behind Intermission's name. Owners Courtney and Justin White originally met at VCU as theater majors – so it was only fitting that they go with a dramatic theme for the brewery's name.)

• Tiki Club RVA recently launched a floating tiki bar that docks at Rocketts Landing. The custom-built, 40-foot tiki boat is decked out with bamboo and other tropical trimmings, a thatched roof, and a bar ready for stocking with BYOB drinks and snacks. Built for 30 passengers, the boat is available for private charters and public tours, and accommodates both single-passenger or small groups as well as private parties. Tiki Club RVA cruises are one hour and 45 minutes in duration.

• Among recent restaurant openings are Mariscos Mazatlan (8415 W. Broad St.), which has a seafood-centered menu (ceviche, octopus, crab, lobster, oysters) emphasizing Mexican coastal cuisine, and Akoya Kitchen (10921 West Broad Street) a quick-service hibachi and sushi spot in Innsbrook. Also in Innsbrook, La Rancherita Taqueria y Paleteria (3423 Cox Road) serves tacos and Mexican ice cream pops. In Short Pump, the Jamaican jerk spot Hungry Eyes boasts a patio at its Towne Center West Blvd. location, and a menu that includes jerk chicken, oxtail, fish and shrimp.

• The Short Pump area also had a closing: Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery. Located on the mall's second floor, above Firebirds, the brewpub opened in 2014 and closed June 4. Rock Bottom also closed its locations in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Minneapolis this year.

• As of June 14, Acacia Midtown is open for lunch (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) but only on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Eventually lunch will be added on Tuesdays and Saturdays as well. Lunch service is walk-in only.

CIV Culinary Contest

I had the honor of serving as a judge in April when four student teams at the Culinary Institute of Virginia's Innsbrook location took part in the campus' first competition. The theme of the challenge was “Take Me Out to the Ball Game," and students were invited to "take their best swing" at coming up with innovative, upscale twists on traditional stadium finger food. (See the Citizen's coverage of the event here.)

The winning entry of funnel cake churros wowed the judges with its crispy outside, soft center, and dipping sauces of chocolate and strawberry. Other entries included nacho pretzels, spicy chicken sandwiches, and cheeseburger croquettes. (Richmond Flying Squirrels, take note! These would all be great fits for the new stadium . . or the current ballpark, for that matter.)

The top three teams won prizes of scholarship funds and the judges (including restaurateur Mike Lindsey, restaurant and vineyard owner Jeff Ottaviano, and Richmond Times Dispatch food critic Justin Lo) came away impressed – and well-stuffed.