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RICHMOND, Va. — I get one question asked of me every single day: Where should I eat right now? Richmond wants to know where to eat and what’s hot in Richmond dine or on the cusp of being too busy to get a reservation. Here ya go, Richmond. Here’s your hot Richmond restaurants for May.
It’s as if Shelly and Omar Bravo reached into my head for their new spot, Coco and Hazel. The space, on Ridge Road in the West End, has a Mexican hot chocolate milkshake with churros and Oaxacan single origin coffee. The name is a mash-up of their daughter’s names and the family vibe doesn’t stop there.
Everything is shareable with portions at whatever is bigger than huge. But expect a line, I’m not the only one who’d like to live there right now.
Coco and Hazel
411 N. Ridge Road
Henrico, Va. 23229
Meet my new girlfriend. She’s sweet.
Family-sized fish platters and boats of skrimp are the flagship menu items of the fried seafood joint, Skrimp Shack. The seafood restaurant began as a market in Newport News, Virginia and the first location in Richmond proper opened last month. They are serving what they claim is the “fattest fish sandwich.” Other menu items are a family platter with fourteen pieces of flounder and a super catfish sammie.
Skrimp Shack
7510 W. Broad St
Henrico, Va. 23294
Don’t be chicken! Try our huge chicken sandwich
Holy Smokes, barbecue is hot right now in Richmond. And also in Mechanicsville. When you visit the Salty Pig Smokehouse, go early so you can get both their incredible pork ribs and their addictive fried deviled eggs. The owners, Michael and Olivia Robeson, are offering North Carolina barbecue straight out of a smoker brought to Virginia from Georgia. Get the smoked wings.
The Salty Pig Smokehouse
9502 Chamberlayne Road
Mechanicsville, VA 23116
What whatttt….. It's Hump Day aka Fried Deviled Egg Wednesday!
Staying on the list this month is Adarra, BUT NOW with patio dining, and word on the street is they have soft shell crabs right now.
From the minds of Richmond restaurant mainstays Randall and Lyne Doetzer, the Basque (northern Spain) focused restaurant, Restaurant Adarra comes. The old Rogue spot has morphed into another small plate spot with quirky cocktails running through the range of serious to quirky. Only two menu items (currently) sit over $16 mark. Reservations are tight for the small space — but get in and get the skate, post haste.
Restaurant Adarra
618 N 1st Street
Richmond, Va. 23219
Another list repeater, Benny Ventano’s. Richmond really likes huge slices of pizza for $5 — and it’s open till 3 a.m.
If it repeats the business the Blacksburg location (the original) does – you’ll be in line for huge pizza slices for quite some time. It might not be the ‘za you write home to your mom about, but it certainly will be the one of the largest pizza slices you consume in your lifetime. Is bigger better?
Benny Ventano’s
2501 W Main Street
Richmond, Va. 23220
