RICHMOND, Va. — “Where should we go to eat?” It’s an often-asked question at offices and homes around Central Virginia. CBS 6 food writer Robey Martin is here to help guide you with some delicious decisions. Here are some of Robey’s off-the-beaten path gems that make lunching a little more interesting.
Lunch with a Cause
Off of Nine Mile Road, you’ll find the Front Porch Cafe. For lunch, try the Buffalo Chicken Salad sandwich. It’s chicken salad, but with some serious spice. At $6.50 (with a side!), it makes it easy to add a pick-me-up like their incredibly affordable coffee pour-over or their $1 drip coffee. Take your time while caffeinating and learn about the non-profit that runs the cafe, Church Hill Activities and Tutoring, a mission intended to help local East End youth.
Front Porch Cafe
2600 Nine Mile Road
Richmond, Va. 23223
Fried Chicken and a Show
At the Chesterfield Airport, you can watch the planes come and go during lunch at King’s Korner Catering. King’s Korner began in 1982 as a catering establishment and morphed into what it is now — a lunch and dinner buffet inside the terminal at the county airport. The menu changes daily – though Thursday’s buffet might be the best because of the fried chicken. For $8.99, it’s all you can eat till 2 p.m. Just don’t miss the bread pudding.
King’s Korner
7511 Airfield Drive
Chesterfield County, Va. 23237
Sandwiches with a Souvenir
Sitting unassumingly in a Powhatan Strip Mall is Country Food and Furniture. The store is packed with knick-knacks, wood furniture and children’s books. But really it’s all about the sandwich. The menu is simple but extensive.
Pick your sandwich ingredients and take a trip around to check out their wares – maybe buy some fresh eggs? This isn’t your average hoagie, grinder, sub shop — it’s a hefty two-hander on homemade bread. If you are looking for Lebanon meat (a cured bologna), this is your stop.
Country Food and Furniture
1901 Anderson Highway
Powhatan, Va. 23139
Drive-up Service
“Lights on for curb service.” Dunn’s Drive In Barbecue has been slinging barbecue (using the same recipe and in the same family) since 1935. The limeades, navy bean soup, and pork have a local following – so much so you might be recognized as an outsider when you pull up.
One ‘car diner’ states she’d been coming to Dunn’s since she was a teen and the pork chop on a bun is the only thing she orders. Experience speaks for itself.
Dunn’s Drive In Barbecue
3716 Mechanicsville Turnpike
Richmond, Va. 23223
Three stop-shop in Ashland
It’s a three for one in Ashland, Virginia. Hit Layne’s Country Store & Amish Kettle and then Sleep Fox Moonshine. If this sounds overwhelming, start with some hoop cheese, a milder cheese made on-site and country ham. Grab a sandwich made to your specifications on their home-made bread. Definitely ask for pickles. Get a “butterbeer” and round out your afternoon (though I don’t think this is what Harry Potter drinks)— made with Sleepy Fox bourbon, root beer and butter rum. Or maybe a play on a Bloody Mary with cinnamon moonshine, bloody mary mix, hot sauce and lime.
Layne’s Country Store & Amish Kettle
11670 Lakeridge Parkway
Ashland, Va. 23005
Email Robey your Richmond restaurant questions and/or food-related story ideas.
