Pizza night, the small version

So we were lucky enough to be connected in with a monthly pizza circle in Richmond recently, and I had the chance to see some truly creative work happening with the pies. Though there were no other kids around, it proved a delightfully kid-friendly event for Buttercup, too. Good times.

Fast-forward a few days to Thursday, a night we'd sworn to go swimming after missing the past few days. Pool night means a good bit of relaxation, but it also means eating later than usual. (We've tried going to Mekong after swimming a couple times, and while it is delicious, the night can sometimes be a bit too indulgent.) In any case, we've lately come to three parameters for dinners: 1. Get dinner ready so we can eat together; 2. Eat before the kid gets too tired and/or cranky; 3. Use what we have so we do a better job of staying within the budget.

L suggested pizza. She could thaw the TJ's dough in the freezer. At ninety-nine cents a pop, Trader Joe's fresh dough is a lifesaver — high quality and easy to use. To make life for later even easier, she divided the dough into two smaller pies and pre-baked the crust.

We got back from swimming just after 8 p.m. and raided the fridge. The kid wanted pepperoni and olives. A good quality salumi was a good pepperoni substitute. Add marinara, some grated mozzarella, some feta and a few kalamata olives, and the kid's pie was ready to go. Ten minutes in the oven, and it was finished. Ours was more of a hodge-podge: the last of the artichokes and roasted peppers, some leftover fresh sage, marinara, blue cheese and mozzarella, olives, and some crushed chili. And this is what the hodge-podge looked like:


Delicious. Cheap. And it was all a matter of what we had in the fridge. What a perfect cheapicurean moment.

Italy on a dream (and a budget)

A week from Wednesday, we fly out to Florence. So far the stay looks something like this: 3 days (2 nights) in Florence, 3 and a half days (and 3 nights) in Chianti, 1 night in Cinque Terre, and a final night in Fiesole (just outside Florence). Known highlights so far include lunch and a private tour at a Zonin estate in Chianti and a few other tastings at estates in Chianti. Plans for L's birthday continue to lurk, but they're sure to include the freshest food I can find between Florence and the villa we'll be taking for the nights in Chianti.

So here's a bit of crowdsourcing: if you have traveled there and have any bits of advice, please email or add them in the comments.

One additional note: this will be my first real non-kid trip in 8 years. What a thought...

Date Night Deal... sort of

L and I recently met up with another couple — Vamsi and his girlfriend Rebecka — for Bouchon's Tuesday date night $50 prix fixe. The restaurant was quiet — a good and bad sign. We admired the space for a bit while our waitress checked on the menu specials for the night. It's a good space, airy without feeling vacant, and muted enough to feel intimate.

The wine list is exclusively French, and I was tasked with finding something appropriate. When the date night prix fixe first debuted, it included a bottle of wine. Considering that the wines started at $28 at the bottom end and quickly cruised into the $45 to $60 range, I could see why they killed the wine-inclusive. Of course, I could also see why the half-price wine night at Acacia might be a better deal. Trying to keep the budget down and knowing we might end up with two bottles, I settled on three bottles that hovered at the bottom end of the list — a Cotes du Rhone, a Grenache, and a Corbieres. We asked the waitress for her take and were told that she'd only had the Corbieres. "But it's a staff favorite," she added. Since it was clear she had nothing more to offer and since we were all fans of Corbieres, we took the recommendation. The wine was good — nice fruit and a clean, dry finish on the palate.

When she came back to take our orders, we asked how the prix fixe worked and flustered her again. Apparently, the date night menu was not the regular menu. On any given date night, there were three off-menu offerings — a meat dish, a fish dish, and a vegetarian risotto. In this case, the choices were a lamb terrine, sauteed flounder, and a wild mushroom risotto. For the appetizer, it was a choice of spring vegetable soup and salad; dessert was a choice between vanilla ice cream and crème brulée. Vamsi and L chose the flounder, Rebecka chose the lamb, and much to L's surprise, I opted for the risotto.

The spring vegetable soup was a good, if thin, vegetable broth with the kitchen's leftover vegetables put to a fair, if underspiced, use. The salad was a rather measly mix of romaine and grape tomatoes. It wasn't bad, but it certainly didn't beat my first criteria — serve me something better than I can make at home. When the entrees came out, things perked up a bit. The fish was well-cooked, nicely sauteed on the outside and light and flaky inside. The side of roasted brussels sprouts conquered even L's opposition to the vegetable. The terrine was a well-spiced mix of braised lamb shank and sausage. My risotto was quite good, but both L and I wondered whether the base wasn't chicken stock. At first, the portion looked a bit light, but it was satisfying in the end.

When it came to the desserts, we ordered three brulées and one ice cream. The ice cream met the vanilla litmus test, but was otherwise unremarkable. The brulée had a good flavor, but the consistency was more of chilled custard. I was reminded of what a chef-friend told me years ago about the problems with brulée on hot, humid days like the one we'd had in Richmond that day — the consistency rarely holds enough to be perfect.

When all was said and done, we debated rating the restaurant, and I gave it a 7.5. Vamsi would have upped the rating slightly, but I held at 7.5. The meal had been good but not stellar. The service and pacing were consistent, but our waitress was far too uncertain of the menu. (I don't care what kind of restaurant you're running; the staff should always know a menu, even if it is just debuted that day.) The wine was good, but I'm not sold that it was appreciably better than a bottle we could have had for half the price elsewhere. In the end, the meal was a B. Given that the restaurant never filled up past a quarter full — and it's a small room — through the evening, their date night deal hasn't caught on yet, or it's just not good enough yet. Frankly, we agreed that date night would have been far better with a broader selection — say offering a tasting of the whole menu rather than such a restricted list of options.

Even so, we all agreed the place was worth another try. It's just not the cheap date place we expected. Once tax and tip were included, our tabs ran to a C-note per couple. For a date night that fits the budget better, stick to Tuesday at Acacia, Rustica, Cous Cous or any of the other small, reasonably-priced joints that will hopefully be added in the comments.



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And if you've made it this far, you can check out this post on the new home for foodies on a budget... coming soon...

Where have I been?

I had it lurking in the back of my mind that I hadn't posted recently and then discovered that it had, in fact, been almost three weeks since my last missive. I've had a few recipes to post, a few good foodie experiences to write about, some parenting moments, and in the end no time to post. Why, you might ask?

A few things are percolating...

• The house purchase. This is eclipsing many, many things at the moment, but I'm looking forward to a kick-ass new stove and some great entertaining space where we'll have friends and acquaintances over for foodie fests.


• The Italy trip. Preparations for this have eaten up a good deal of brain space too. I'm looking forward to writing about it from the road however — particularly the nice connections we've scored at a couple of wine estates.


• A new blog. Or rather the evolution of this one. I've purchased a new URL and will be moving much of my food writing, and anything related to food over there. I'll keep Impolitic Eye open for a catch-all spot as it used to be and may cross-post from time to time, but stay tuned for news of the blog dedicated to foodies on a budget.


• Life in general. There's quite a lot of this going on.

So there's the quick update. Please check in over the next week, and I promise you'll start to see things blossom just as we're starting to see the first delights blossom in Virginia.

Continuing the evolution

A few little items of business...

• Based on my last few posts, you may have deduced that beer-blogging will be returning here. Apparently, besides a general passion for tasting new beers, my refrigerator is an indication that I am also beginning to accumulate and collect interesting beers. Stay tuned for more on this.



• Recent changes in life and budget priorities mean that I will be looking very closely at what we are eating and what we are spending. This probably means fewer restaurant meals — not necessarily a great loss — and more creative ways of making amazing (and cost-effective) meals at home. We have also begun to make more aggressive efforts to plan meals ahead. This week's specials: Taco Night and Bamboo Stir-fry Night.


• Banana was informed last night that she'll be helping cook from time to time. We're all looking forward to this, and I'm quietly thinking about the challenge when she is asked to prepare a whole meal for the three of us.



• Reilly has retired to Ohio. He is quite happy about this as it means he gets more attention and more walks on the golf courses and in the woods. We are sad to miss our greeter — and I keep reminding myself when food drops that there is no longer a dog to help clean it up.


• If all goes well, we will be moving to a new house soon with a much-upgraded kitchen. Please keep your fingers crossed that all goes well.


• Before the move to said-house, there will also be a trip to Italy. Prepare for profuse food blogging before, during, and after.


• Lastly, I'm still playing with the question of whether to rename the whole venture to better reflect the direction this is taking and maybe free me up to start another for writing and photography...

Stay tuned for more, longer, and better posts soon.