Plate and Goblet: Mellow Mushroom hits middle age; Bourdain tribute; wine and beer stars

Atlanta-based Mellow Mushroom is celebrating its golden anniversary this year with a limited-time-only special, offered through Nov. 11.

Founded in Atlanta in 1974, the restaurant has three metro-Richmond locations in metro, but it was the Short Pump location that a friend and I visited to check out the 50th anniversary fare at the Short Pump location.

We started out with an order of nine double-baked Honey Sriracha Wings, and agreed that the sprinkling of sesame seeds elevated them a notch above the typical. To complement the wings, we sipped the official 50th anniversary cocktail, a Disco Peach – blending Jim Beam, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, peach, sour mix and Coke and decorated with a gummy fruit. (Both the Disco Peach and the Pineapple Express mocktail I had for dessert were tasty and refreshing, but if I got them again I’d pair it with a glass of seltzer to cut the sweetness.)

We also tried two of the 50th anniversary pizzas, and especially liked The Maui Wowie, which features a pesto base crust, ham, bacon, pineapple, jerk chicken, and banana peppers.

After the Maui, the Marley – same pesto base crust but topped with jerk chicken, Italian sausage, and sweet onions – tasted relatively bland. (The next day, however, I enhanced the leftover slices with fresh cherry tomatoes before reheating, and that added a nice kick to the taste buds.)

I was already a fan of Mellow Mushroom’s stone-baked pizzas – particularly the pesto crust and the ample portions (even a small pizza makes for a satisfying meal). Cassie, our cheerful server, was another bonus of the Short Pump location; we will be sure to seek her out when we return for our next special-menu sampling!

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Back in April, The New Yorker also marked an anniversary: the 25th anniversary of one of the magazine’s most famous culinary pieces: “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” by the late Anthony Bourdain.

Submitted by Bourdain’s mother, the unsolicited story was accepted for publication as soon as the editor read it. That story – which later developed into Bourdain’s bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential – made him a star. Like the story, the book exposed the seamier side of the restaurant industry, highlighting unsanitary kitchen conditions and unprincipled workers.

While Bourdain went on to international celebrity with his TV shows about cuisine, he never lost his unabashed honesty. As he wrote in The New Yorker, “It was the unsavory side of professional cooking that attracted me to it in the first place.”

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Five Henrico County restaurants led the list of Richmond-area sites named to Wine Spectator’s 2024 list of best restaurants for wine.

Buckhead’s, Lehja, and Shagbark each came away with two-cup ratings (the equivalent of stars), indicating the Best of Award of Excellence, while Hondos and Perry’s Steakhouse each earned a one-cup Award of Excellence. The full list of restaurants is available at www.winespectator.com/restaurants.

Meanwhile, Henrico breweries continue to make a name for themselves, with The Answer Brewpub and Strangeways winning honors at the 2024 Virginia Craft Beer Cup. The Answer won a first place in the Specialty IPA category with its Dark Helmet, and Strangeways took a second place in European Sour for its Uberlin.

Check out the full list of winners at vacraftbeercup.brewingcompetitions.com.

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Richmond Magazine recently explored the history of Roy’s Big Burger, the iconic Lakeside burger joint, pointing out that it was established in 1961 — the very same year that Ray Kroc took over McDonald’s and set it on the road to global dominance.

Like McDonald’s, Roy’s built its success on a simple, affordable menu: burgers (originally 35 cents), chips, and soda. Not that much has changed (other than the prices), and the story centers around the generations of loyal Richmonders who still enjoy their Roy’s burgers — and taking their grandkids there for a nostalgic treat.

For a stroll-down-Memory-Lane read, visit richmondmagazine.com/restaurants-in-richmond/roys-big-burger/.

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Lakeside got another shout-out in a RIC Today feature highlighting top brunch spots in the Richmond area. SB’s Lakeside Love Shack was cited as having “the most creative brunch in Richmond, complete with edible glitter,” while Boychik’s Deli in Innsbrook drew praise for its deals on breakfast sandwiches.

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The Melting Pot on Gayton Road launched a Down to Fondue Happy Hour this month featuring half-priced cheese and chocolate fondue, as well as specials on cocktails, wine, and beers. Guests who dine in the bar can enjoy the discounted fondue-for-two daily from 4 to 7 p.m.