Plate and Goblet: Jetsons-style dining, playing with food, Restaurant Week and more

• Get ready for a dining-out experience straight out of the Jetsons! Robot servers have arrived in Richmond-area restaurants – including the Plaza Azteca sites in Short Pump (where one has been operating for months now) and on West Broad Street at Forest Avenue. The Bellabot, as it (she?) is called, is capable of delivering your meal to the table.

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• Get ready, as well, for the fall edition of Richmond Restaurant Week (Oct. 23-29); it's not too early to be making reservations. Among the Henrico restaurants that will be participating in the fundraiser for Feed More are Acacia Midtown, The Boathouse restaurants at Short Pump and Rocketts Landing, The Daily Kitchen & Bar at Short Pump, Tarrrant's West, and Island Shrimp Company at Rocketts Landing. Participating restaurants offer a three-course prix fixe meal for $35.23, of which $5.23 goes to Feed More. See www.rrweek.com for details.

* * *• The Lakeside location of Carytown Burgers & Fries has a new owner. Next year, it will take on a new name, as well. The founder and previous owner of Carytown Burgers put both locations of the business up for sale due to health issues, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The new owner of the Henrico site doesn't plan to change much about it – except to rename it Lakeside Burgers and Fries.

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• BizSense reports that Virginia BBQ's new owners also will change the restaurant name, to Lakeside Barbeque.

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• ChefSuite, which was profiled in the March edition of P&G, has added Outre to its stable of restaurants. A Southern fusion takeout and delivery restaurant, Outre joins Bad Hombres, Naan Stop, On a Roll, Absurd Bird, and a number of other takeout/delivery outlets at the fast-casual food hall. All can be ordered from online, through delivery apps, or at the kiosk at at 4711 West Broad Street.

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• Brunches has moved into the spot vacated by Spoonbread Deux in the Shops at Wellesley on Lauderdale Dr. Serving brunch from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, the restaurant offers fare ranging from waffles to French toast and several varieties of eggs Benedict.

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• A few Henrico restaurants have drawn praise lately from other local news outlets. Among three recent mentions:

– Axios Richmond gave a shout-out to Tortilleria Mixteca's new tortilla factory in eastern Henrico (5172 Nine Mile Road), Virginia's first large-scale tortilla manufacturer. The site features a market and restaurant in the front and manufacturing facility in the rear, capable of churning out 12,000 tortillas per hour. Axios praised the half-chicken meal, noting that it came with rice, beans, three warm corn tortillas, tasty seasoning and a nicely-charred flavor. The case of hot foods, it was noted, contained several tempting to-go options as well.

– Readers of RIC Today named two Henrico establishments to the list of "Best Hotdogs" in the Richmond area. No one should be surprised to hear that perennial favorites Melito's and Joey's Hot Dogs were named among the elite. Joey's, located on Cox Road in Innsbrook, has been family-run since the 1930s and is famed for its chili, while Melito's (established in 1981 and located on Three Chopt Road) is perhaps best known for its Junkyard Dog, topped with chili, bacon, and coleslaw – for starters.

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• A recent visit to Mekong reminded me why it ranks among my favorite places and consistently tops polls for Best Vietnamese Restaurant – not to mention Best Beer Bar – in the area. One of my companions ordered a platter of roll-your-own spring rolls – a frequent first choice of my own. It's a light-yet-filling meal, highlighted by a peanut dipping sauce with just the right hint of spice. Diners can layer the spring rolls with their personalized proportions of rice paper, lettuce, cucumber, pickled carrot, basil, crushed peanut, and a protein of choice.

But the best part of rolling your own spring roll, as my fellow diner pointed out, is the sensory experience. "I like to play with my food," he said with a laugh.

So the next time your inner child (or maybe your actual child) is craving a personal, hands-on relationship with their meal: think Mekong. Take a kid – or just go and eat like one.