PLATE AND GOBLET: New and coming soon – Texas steakhouse, sports bar

While Short Pump has had its restaurant flops (Carolina Ale House, for one), the area continues to bubble up with newcomers. Among recent openings on West Broad Street are The Cocky Rooster in Greengate and a Chopt location in Short Pump Station, near Trader Joe's.

The dessert chain Nothing Bundt Cakes has also opened in The Corner at Short Pump, at the former site of Saladworks. In Lexington Commons, near Innsbrook, the bakery cafe My Favorite Muffin opened this month with a fundraiser benefiting Acca Shriners Hospital Transportation Fund. In addition to its signature cake-like muffins, MFM offers breakfast and lunch bagel sandwiches. (Note to late lunchers: MFM, which bills itself as an "all-day" cafe, closes at 2:00 p.m. on weekdays and 2:30 on weekends.)

Also near Innsbrook, The Caribbean restaurant Charles' Kitchen has opened in its new location in Parkside Marketplace. And let's not forget the addition of the new MPM Tiki Bar at West Broad Village, noted in in the April Plate & Goblet.)

On deck
Coming up in 2023, Short Pump is slated to get a Torchy’s Tacos — a 15-year-old chain based that started as a food trailer in Austin, Texas, and has built a reputation for non-traditional, "experimental" or unique tacos. To date, Charlottesville boasts the sole Virginia Torchy's.

One of my favorite Midlothian sports bars will also expand into Henrico within the year. Wood & Iron Gameday should open in its new location at 12120 W. Broad St. in Short Pump (West Broad Marketplace) in early 2023, seven years after its flagship Southside bar opened off Huguenot Road. Lots of TV's and beer choices, and the Henrico site will include an outdoor patio.

Leading the list of high-end restaurants headed for Short Pump is Perry's Steakhouse & Grille, set to open in mid-2023 along the perimeter of Short Pump Town Center near Cooper's Hawk. Like Torchy's, the steakhouse was founded in Texas, but there the resemblance ends.

Founded in 1979, Perry's began as a small meat market in Houston known as Perry’s Butcher Shop and Deli. After a Perry family member convinced his father to add dining tables, Perry's expanded into restaurants and extended its reach across several states. Short Pump will be the first Virginia location for Perry's, bringing the total states to nine. The restaurant will feature patio dining, four private dining rooms, and an island bar (Perry’s Bar 79, named for the year Perry’s was founded).

(Note: For locals eager to check out Perry's specialties ahead of opening day, an online market offers opportunities to order signature meats, sides and seasonings and have them shipped to your door.)

Return of McCormack's
Over at Willow Lawn, owners of the Cary St. taqueria TBT El Gallo have launched a crowdfunding campaign and are hoping to expand into Henrico as well. The Willow Lawn location will be housed in the former Pie Five Pizza Co. site.

A Shake Shack is also slated to open in the Willow Lawn vicinity in 2023, at the site of the now-demolished Broad Street Applebee's. The Willow Place Shake Shack will be the fast food chain's first Richmond location.

And at Regency, the long-awaited new location of McCormack's Big Whisky Grill is open, complete with familiar eye-catching bar and spacious banquet facilities. Although the new site is only steps from the original (in space formerly occupied by Texas de Brazil) the move took a couple of years, thanks to a host of pandemic and renovation issues.

The Grill still has the same rustic decor of whisky barrel tables and vintage movie posters -- not to mention an array of plaques and awards for its continued ranking among "America's Best Bourbon Bars." After enjoying a recent meal of Cast Iron Ribeye and rosemary potatoes, I can vouch for the fact that McCormack's food is still notches above the average pub fare. What's more, the portions were so generous that I was able to enjoy it again next day -- as an equally outstanding breakfast.

("Good news, bad news" note: McCormack's has added a cigar patio, but sadly, no longer holds Tuesday-night Whisky School (profiled in the Citizen in Dec. 2018).

Not far from McCormack's, the "island taco bar" Sloop: John B has been open for more than half a year. I checked it out on a recent Monday evening (a night when so many restaurants are closed) and enjoyed a breezy seat on the patio, a cheesy grilled corn appetizer, and a couple of a la carte tacos. I much preferred the taco al pastor to the other, a tuna poke taco that I didn't realize would be served raw. Next time I'll know better, and request the option to have it cooked to order.

A friend who had planned to join me had to back out, but I told her I'm definitely up for a return trip to SJB. I especially want to try their octopus – available only on a craft taco platter – and the churros. (When I asked the family at a nearby table if their churros were as good as they looked, they could barely tear themselves away from their finger-licking and lip-smacking to answer – with enthusiastic nods and fervent amens.)

Elsewhere in western Henrico
Recently opened near West Broad Street and Tuckernuck, Lazeez Modern Indian Flair offers a traditional Indian menu, sprinkled with some intriguing items like "Subz and jalapeno cheese cigars" and "Chaaz fry oyster." I might just have to climb out of my biryani rut and do a menu-tasting; the "Karara crab," or "soft shell crab fritters with lemon garlic chutney" in particular is calling my name. (You had me at "soft shell crab.")

The Mantu Market will open soon in the Merchants Walk Shopping Center, bringing the Afghan cuisine that has won over Carytown crowds to a wider audience in the western end of the county. Chef Hamid Noori told Richmond BizSense that because there's such a large Afghani community in western Henrico, he was constantly being asked to open a place closer than Carytown.

The Mantu Market will be more casual than the fine-dining, white-tablecloth Thompson Street establishment, with a larger bakery and a grocery area where patrons can grab prepared foods. The bakery is an important component of Mantu's new location, because ever since the Afghan government collapsed last year and refugees began fleeing to the U.S., Noori has been baking authentic naan bread to give away to refugees – both for sustenance and for a comforting taste of home.

In April, Noori was among several Afghan restaurateurs in the mid-Atlantic region who were written up in the New York Times for their efforts to help newly arrived Afghan refugees.

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Read last month's edition of Plate and Goblet here.

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a planned monthly series of (mostly) local news updates and notes related to food and beverages – including updates about Henrico restaurants, food-themed events in the county and region, new adult beverages in the market, and everything in between. Your ideas, tips, updates and questions are encouraged! Did you try a new restaurant? We want to hear your thoughts. Know of a special food-related event that’s coming up? Let us hear about it! Got a question about craft beer? Ask us! E-mail Patty Kruszewski at patty@henricocitizen.com.