I can't believe this is my first post in the month of April.
I had big plans for blogging over my Spring Break last week, but it just didn't happen. That being said, I am feeling recharged and have some great posts lined up for the rest of the month!
This post is an exciting one for my Richmond readers: Today is the grand opening of Rancho T!
Rancho T is the collaboration between Tuffy Stone (of Q Barbecue) and Ed Vasaio (of Edo's Squid/Mamma Zu/8.5); Billy Fallen of Billy Bread and chef Aaron Cross (trained at Richmond's Lemaire) are also on board, so the team is pretty stacked. You can read more about the restaurant's birth here.
On the corner of Morris and Main Street, the cuisine can be described as Southwestern comfort food
...or just plain good.
Friday night, Bryce and I had the opportunity to go for a special tasting at the new restaurant with his stepbrother and girlfriend. We ordered a little bit of everything and shared all around the table which made for an amazing night!
The restaurant has a great laid-back Southwestern atmosphere!
Now for a look at our night: Prepare to drool.
Here's a preview of the semi-final menu!
We started with the kolaches, which were stuffed with sausage and relish. The mustard on the side was bold and tasty!
For our next course, we had chips and salsa, empanadas, and escabache. I'll share that I'm not even typically a fan of salsa, but loved theirs. It was light and sweet! The emapanads came with an amazing green chile sauce, that we encouraged them to bottle and sell to us (haha). And finally, my favorite of this course was the escabache, a delicious medley of chilled roasted veggies.
For entrees we each ordered something different so that we could sample most of the menu. We even were able to sample each of the six sides. Clockwise from the top: Angus Flatiron with Stewed Beans w/Escarole and Swiss Chard & Pigeon Peas; Sweet Corn Tamales with House Salad and Fried Potatoes; Clams and Pork Campanelle with (ah-mazing!) Billy Bread; and Pork Chop with Roasted Yams w/Pumpkin Seeds and Criolla Rice.
My choice was the campanelle, it was delicious and when it came
time to share those clams, I may have been a bit greedy...
Everything was out of this world good. My favorites on the table were the angus flatiron, my camapenelle (so unique), the yams and the chard. Bryce's favorite were the corn tamales and he even said they were as good as any he's had out west.
Next up, you guessed it, we sampled the desserts! Clockwise from the top: Flan, Profiteroles, Danish Churros, and Orange Caramel Pie.
Yet again, everything was absolutely scrumptious! My favorite dessert was the churros. They had the most amazing citrus flavor. The rest of the table, hands down, agreed that the flan was the best dessert!
After speaking with the chef, Aaron Cross (read more about his journey here) and giving him our kudos, we decided to end the night with drinks at Lemaire, where he trained for 18 months!
I sipped on the Corpse Reviver #77
Rancho T is officially open for business today and will serve lunch and dinner (until 2 am!!). Yep, you read that right, their full menu will be available late night until 2 in the morning! Be sure to check it out!
Have you been to any great new restaurants lately?
Are you a fan of Southwestern food?
What is your favorite Richmond restaurant?
Have a great day!