From email:
I am a parent in the Open High PTSA. We wanted to let you know that we are having an Open High PTSA fundraiser at Chipotle in Carytown on Tuesday, January 27 between 4-8pm. Anyone that wants to come and support the school will need to tell the Chipotle cashier at the time of purchase that they are there for the fundraiser.
Richmond Magazine’s Genevelyn Steele has a two page review of L’Opossum restaurant.
Excerpt:
L’Opossum has so much fun with its name, vittles and décor that you could just as easily call it LOLpossum.
With a classical menu of rabbit, baby chicken and foie gras that could incite a PETA protest, choices are playfully categorized by course — “Les Appetizers,” “Les Entrées” and “Lez Deezerts” — avoiding small plates entirely. We begin with tubby escargot on a ham biscuit. The snails need more salt, but the sweet, garlicky beurre blanc and house-made quick bread redeems. Another appetizer, Chapel Creek Oysters Rockefeller, divides the table; one loves the crème fraîche in the spinach filling, while another had her heart set on less cream. Agreeable to both is the fragrant tableside squirt of absinthe. A 1990s classic, grilled Caesar salad, resurfaces in eggy, white anchovy glory. We wipe the plate with our bread to get it all.
From the Times Dispatch review:
L’Opossum, with its flamboyance and gumption, is helping to shake up this town’s already vibrant restaurant scene. Shannon is reinventing food, hospitality and ambience with his own special wit and panache.
From start to finish, L’Opossum is a dining experience fit for the food-curious.
Richmond.com has an article on the 2015 Elby Award Nominations…
For those who don’t know, The Elbys are Richmond’s most prestigious restaurant industry award, which honors “excellence in the Richmond region’s restaurant community.”
(BTW, I’ve confirmed – it’s Elbys, no apostrophe. The Elby Awards, named for Chef Paul Elbling of the former La Petite France, AKA Elbys.)
Started by Richmond Magazine in 2011, this award is the top honor a Richmond restaurant can get, and the annual award ceremony is a must-attend event for anyone involved in Richmond dining.
L’Opossum was nominated for Best New Restaurant, while Mamma’Zu was nominated for a new category, Richmond Stalwart.
Style magazine recently published a review of L’Opossum restaurant:
Character seems to work for Oregon Hill, and the kitschy-baroque décor includes — but isn’t limited to — deep-red walls lined with “Star Wars”-themed decorative plates and a gallery of thrift-store art, shaggy latch-hook pillows, bejeweled pendant lighting and a clown bathroom you must experience for yourself. There’s tension between all this stuff, and while it seems that it shouldn’t work together, it kind of does.
Part of the menu works this mishmash theme, and you can tell that chef David Shannon had a grand old time coming up with his eclectic spread, plates and spirits. You’ll need help figuring out what some of the long-winded items are, such as the Chapel Creek oysters rock in a green fairy fog of absinthe mist ($10). This isn’t a ding. Let it be known that I love all wordplay, and it was a blast to read and decipher the menu — with assistance from the staff. It’s a wonderful bunch, pros who swoop in greeting, welcoming, directing and guiding.
…
There’s a lot to love about L’Opossom: It’s creative, it’s fun, and it’s a welcome respite from newer, design-oriented restaurants that often feel too precious. It has a strong, bold base from which to work. And if the French-style adage of less is more were applied here and there, it could achieve that magical balance of tastiness and consistency. It could be a contender as the other Oregon Hill destination.
Somehow I missed this when it was produced back in 2008, but here it is now:
From a neighbor:
New restaurant L’opossum is open in the former Chuckwagon, Hollywood Grill, Pescados China Street, EAT Oregon Hill spot at 626 China Street.
Click here to see the restaurant’s website, which includes a menu.
Some comments I have heard from others so far- and keep in mind that these are from people who have not actually eaten there yet-
“Wow, this place has zing. And the menu has a writer’s flair. Wonder how the food stacks up…”
“I loved David’s food from the Dogwood days and I’m sure he’s only gotten better–very excited to visit.”
“David’s background includes Inn at Little Washington, Helen’s and Dogwood. Food will be amazing.”
“I hate to post something negative but I had high hopes. $24 entrees just guarantees it will fail, pescados closed because it was too expensive for the neighborhood and very few locals went there consistently.”
“I like it that I have to go there to find out what a Polyamorous Hippie Three-Way is.”
“Everything’s better with a side of Schadenfreude.”
From the FaceBook event page:
Hmmm man what’s happening on July 15th? Probably nothin that great…nothin cool happens on Tuesdays. WAIT RIGHT THERE!
Didn’t you hear?! Weird Al has a new album coming out that day!
So what we’re doing is having a little party just to listen to it! We’ll start this party with an hour or so of comedy and then get right into eating mozzarella sticks and drinking beer while the smooth sounds of Mr. Yankovic’s voice carries us away from our troubled past.
Join us!
Sign up at 8
Show at 9
