(This post is dedicated to Ted Kennedy) Health care reform discussions tend to get people hot under the collar, raise blood pressure, result in guns drawn, media hysteria, and even health food store boycotts.  Lots of irony in that mess.  Nonetheless, it’s an issue we cannot politely refuse.  Insured or otherwise, we’re all affected.  When I got the call, from the Virginia Organizing project that they wanted one of their board members to say a few words at a town hall meeting, I responded affirmatively like it was a call of duty.  Let the opposition bring their guns, and their misunderstanding of the Constitution, and whatever else makes the tea-baggers feel safe and secure while others endure inhumane hardship.  I had to do some small part as well.

Karen and I have a thousand axes to grind with the American health care system, from pre-existing condition denials, to prescription coverage rigmarole, to the the patriarchal perversion that is modern maternity care, we’ve pretty much resigned ourselves to extremely infrequent health care, even though we’re paying for it. Even for the privileged, something has got to change.  But I wasn’t attending to speak for our limited perspective.  Here’s the verbiage I conveyed with my portion of the agenda:

On behalf of the Virginia Organizing Project, I’d like to welcome everyone to tonight’s discussion. VOP is as a statewide, grassroots, non-partisan organization.  We have been working for social justice across Virginia for 15 years, focusing particularly on people who have traditionally been left out of the democratic process.  We do this by bringing people together at forums like this one, but we also try to meet people right where they’re at. This summer, VOP hired 40 interns to go door-to-door canvassing neighborhoods, talking with lots of people about the need for health care reform.  In just 10 weeks, VOP interns knocked on more than 140,000 doors and helped generate thousands of phone calls to the offices of elected officials.

On a personal note, I’ve been on VOP’s state governing board for almost ten years, having gotten involved in the group not long after graduating from Mary Washington College right here in Fredericksburg. Class of 1997! (insert joke about all the beer cans I left behind) After college, I moved to Richmond and spent a few years working as a paralegal at some of Virginia’s biggest Workers Compensation and Bankruptcy law firms. We defended people who were hurt on the job and people who were crippled with debt. Day after day, new clients would come to our offices with several grocery bags full of medical bills that they couldn’t pay, their cars repossessed, and their houses in foreclosure. For these people, the cure seemed as bad or worse than their illness. It was also my job to try and reassure injured workers who were losing everything they had while awaiting trial because insurance companies denied their claims for coverage. I know from those experiences, Americans should provide better support for people when they’re suffering. We need to make sure that a Health Care Reform bill includes a strong public health insurance option, to make sure that everyone has access to quality, affordable healthcare.

The event was a really big success. There were about 80 people in the crowded room at the Fredericksburg Freelance Star. The agenda was so tightly facilitated, tough questions were handled, but respect was a theme throughout, and the last 25 minutes were dedicated to cultivating the crowd for advocacy work. This brings me to the topic of tactics. They say a phone call to your elected rep is worth 10 emails. And a handwritten letter or a visit is worth 10 printed letters. Well, what about a boycott of a grocery store?

When Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey, published an inflammatory anti-healthcare reform OP-ED piece in the Wall Street Journal, he kicked off a fire storm backlash. Although he may have been trying to position his company as a self-sufficiency alternative, Mackey’s dismissive arrogance warranted a response.  According to some progressives, the resulting boycott is cutting into Whole Foods profits.  Personally, I don’t spend enough at the place to make a difference, either way, but I’m glad it’s happening.  Whole Foods (like any healthfood store) does a lot of good with it’s products and dedication to sustainability.  I hope employees and customers remember that after this dust-up blows over.  But first, I think we need to hold out for a mea culpa from Mackey.  I say, Whole Foods boycotters should follow through and keep this jerk’s feet to the fire.  And if you’re still shopping there, I’d be happy to direct you to some alternatives.

ACTION ITEM: Top Chef.
Please contact BRAVO to ask them to drop Whole Foods as the official supermarket of the show.
http://www.bravotv.com/contact

HOW TO CONTACT WHOLE FOODS
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/national.php

To read more about why we are calling for a boycott and why a boycott will work, visit our blog: http://wholeboycott.com

Media: http://wholeboycott.com/media-relations/
Schedule Event: http://wholeboycott.com/schedule-boycott-events/
Arts for the Boycott: http://wholeboycott.com/arts-for-the-boycott/

Big news in two parts: My wife is going to be in the new Belle magazine and it’s got nothing to do with me.  And her first bit of media attention coincides with the debut of her new Etsy site and blog, featuring home furnishings that are restored and reinterpreted in unique and creative ways.  I’m gonna give you the whole story, but if you wanna cut to the chase, check out Karen’s new blog, Etsy store, and graphic design portfolio.

Yall probably never would have guessed this, but my wife is 10 times the person I’ll ever be.  For instance, before I ever blogged about food, Karen was all over the food blogs, saving recipes and sending me links to stuff that I never bothered to read.  Instead of reading the blogs that Karen devoured, I just wanted to tell my own stories.  So, Karen pushed me to start my own blog (and yadda yadda yadda).  Another example:  You know that Rick Bayless guy who won Top Chef Masters and is like one of my biggest inspirations?  Karen told me about him and dragged me to his restaurant, Frontera Grill, when we went to Chicago years ago.  Of course, it was awesome, but I didn’t even buy a cookbook or get his autograph.  My point is, I try to share this tiny little spotlight with her, but it’s high time that Karen Guard’s impeccable tastes got their due.  There’s a chance that’s going to start happening, but probably not without your help.

A few weeks back, Karen was contacted by Deveron Timberlake (a Style food writer and Belle contributor).  Karen had been sharing her favorite links using her @darlingoctopus Twitter account.  The bulk of those tweets concern interior design, decorating, and other kinds of craftiness (only sometimes graphic design, her other freelance gig – see Ipanema/Garnett’s printed stuff).  These, along with Karen’s staring role in the home-makeover stories I’ve shared here, landed her a page in Belle Magazine (comes out Aug 26th).  This comes at the perfect time as Karen has decided to monetize one of her favorite hobbies: turning unloved furniture into works of artistic decor.

Since that decision and this catalyzing media hit with Belle (due out 8/26), Karen has been busy rummaging through thrift stores for neglected bargains and scouring alleys for discarded treasures.  She’s been buying paints, fabrics, and designer paper and turning each old piece into a reborn decorative masterpiece with elements of modern hipster, retro, and shabby chic.  The results are being posted to her Etsy site every day.  Here are pics of a few of my favorite pieces.

So, how can you help?  Simple. Spread the word about Karen’s fantastic furnishings.  Did you get here because of a Twitter post?  Please retweet it.  You might even wanna buy something.  No one else anywhere will have an identical to the Karen original that you saw the wisdom to buy.  Know any interior designers, decorators, or stagers?  Send them to the Etsy site or we’ll invite them over for a snack to see some of the finished pieces.  Maybe you’ve got an in with a gallery or hip consignment shop?  Karen would love to hear from them about showing some of her work.  Okay, enough pimpin’ out my wife.  She can take it from here.

Now, let’s just see what that Belle article has to say and if Jasper steals Karen’s thunder in the picture (the photo shoot was in the nursery/aquarium).

UPDATE:

Just thought you should see the latest.

While stumbling through what was supposed to be a quick dinner, I found myself at this point where it was looking like I was headed for a train wreck. To relieve some of my anxiety, I sent out a message on Twitter to let the universe know that I, in fact, knew that I was ruining our risotto dinner.   I had all these vegetables prepped, eggplants roasting, veggie stock simmering, rice sauteing, and various ingredients waiting on the counter.  The chaos in my head foretold, no way this was going to be edible. Let the record reflect that this is what I knew and this is when I knew it.

Then, I added stock to rice and homegrown swiss chard as well, some pesto to boot and began stirring.  Stuff started happening immediately.  It thickened and a beautiful smell rose up.  A glimmer of the finished product was evident in this early stage.  This is gonna be too much food and too tasty  for just me and Karen.  So, I sent out another Tweet asking for help finishing this food.  While engaged in cooking, I took furtive peeks at my hand-held and wound up negotiating with Museum District resident Michelle Catania for  a trade, my extra risotto for her extra fresh homemade gnocchi.  Two labor intensive dishes of glutinous starch and we were both seasoning with pesto.  Ironic serendipity.

Before I knew it, Michelle was on my porch.  We exchanged tupperware, talked about our cooking techniques and dietary habits, and as it turns out, a few mutual friends.  I made sure to gloat that I had grown the swiss chard and the basil for the risotto, because I am a freakin peacock when I’m proud of something I’ve cooked.  Anywho, there’s probably a moral to this story.  Something about social media breaking down barriers in real life (IRL), enabling your hobbies/interests to resonate off of others, and generally enlarging the world for everyone involved.  Or, it could just be a way to eat two dinners in one night, having only cooked one. Here’s the recipes for ya (with a few additional details from the Twitterzone).  Oh yeah!  The gnocchi were perfect.  Small and light, clearly made with TLC, and slathered in garlicy basily oil. As for my first risotto, I couldn’t be happier.  Swiss chard is such an earthy  full flavored green and the stalks are so succulent once tenderized, the gluey rice porridge couldn’t have been happier stuck together with my choice of veg.  Try it.  Here are the recipes.  My meandering haphazard risotto, and Michelle’s precision potato pesto gnocchi.

My wife has always been the one to make risotto, but tonight, I was looking for a starch to go with a creamy swiss chard sauce and I decided to crack into a box of arborio rice that I picked up at 8.5 on Strawberry. It was my first risotto. Aside from the general process outlined on the box, I kinda wung it.

Swiss Chard and Pesto Risotto

• strip leaves from chard and boil them until they’re all limp (less than 10mins). Rinse and chop leaves and set aside.
• rinse and chop stalks. Saute in butter with a little onion (I used scallions cuz it’s what was handy – won’t matter either way).
• when the saute gets golden and/or the chard begins to soften, drop in .5 to 1 cup of arborio rice (depending on how much risotto you want) and saute for a few mins.
• Have 4-8 cups of broth simmering and dump half into the pot of chard and rice and begin endless stirring campaign.
• Tweet about the disconcerting state of affairs in the pot.
• Consider adding miscellaneous veggies from the fridge, but don’t actually do it. This ain’t a stir fry.
• As the stock is absorbed, add a bit more and keep stirring over low heat (from here on out)
• Try to send out a tweet, but stop to stir the pot cuz it’s sticking already. Add more water and stir, realizing that you’re married to this pot for the next 30 minutes or so.
• Add chard greens whenever you want.
• Add premade pesto in stages, along with stock (mine had no cheese and was made with toasted almonds instead of expensive pine nuts)
• Taste as you go, tweeting that people should come over if it’s any good
  -when the rice is soft enough, drop in some white cheese (totally optional, but i used up the remainder of some some fresh moz – shoulda been parm)
• Top with a scattering of freshly made gnocchi from a fellow tweeter (not really)
• Wash it down with red wine

And now, here’s Michelle Catania’s recipe. No way in hell I’m going to the trouble to make something as involved as this… but that’s what I’ve said about risotto for the longest time.

Gnocchi al pesto

2 lbs of potatoes (about 5)
1 egg
16 oz. “00″ flour
salt
pepper
olive oil
three large handfuls of fresh basil
pignoli
balsamic vinegar
cream or milk

1. Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes
2. Peel them while still hot
3. Pass hot potatoes through a food mill into a bowl. The mill imparts a
   lot of air into the potato mixture – makes a big difference. (you can use a potato masher, but they the finished gnocchi won’t be as light and fluffy)
4. Add salt and pepper to taste (I use two pinches salt, one pinch
   pepper), then tweet risotto stirring tips to local strangers.
5. Crack the egg over the potato mixture, stirring QUICKLY before the
   hot potatoes cook the egg.
6. Add two handfuls of the flour and mix until it is completely
   combined.
7. Spread the rest of the flour out onto a wood surface. Begin craving
   swiss chard risotto.
8. Turn dough out onto the flour and lightly knead with your hands until
9. the glob of potato turns into a pliable dough. This happens pretty quickly.
10. Slice a piece off of your finished dough about the size of your fist.
11. Roll it out into a long snake about the thickness of one of your
    fingers. (I like my gnocchi small, so I make skinny dough snakes).
12. Cut the snake into little bits (I aim for the size of a nickel).
    Continue until all of the dough is cut into bits. Do this as quickly as you can, and lay the gnocchi out on a tray as you finish them so that they don’t stick to each other. The dough should still be warm when you cook it.
13. For added texture (to help the gnocchi hold sauce), you can give the
    gnocchi a 1/4 round score with the tines of a fork.
14. Have a pot of boiling water, heavily salted, on the stove ready to
    use. Empty the tray into the pot of water and let them cook for 1-2 minutes.
15. Continue tweeting with flour covered fingers about ways to trade your
    gnocchi for risotto.
16. Strain them out of the pot after no more than 2 minutes and toss
    with anything you like…I prefer pesto and pignoli (basil, sicilian olive
    oil, a bit of balsamic vinegar, pignoli, a touch of cream, fresh ground
    pepper blended super well in my vicious blender. I add the olive oil SUPERSLOW while pulverizing the basil in the blender so that it really emulsifies into a thicker sauce).
17. Then pour a little bit of the sauce into a bowl and pour some cooked
    gnocchi over top of it. Gently fold the sauce up from the bottom of the bowl and cover the gnocchi in shredded fontina, parmesan, and asiago and…..Voila!

(packing it into gladware and delivering it to a stranger at 9:30 p.m. is
completely optional).

A friend of mine said she goes to Shockoe Slip a lot, not because she likes it, but because it’s close to home, so she’s gotta make use of her accessible options.  I couldn’t identify, I’d drive to Petersburg to get a drink before setting foot in Shockoe Slip.  My neighborhood isn’t much different.  For every restaurant/bar within walking distance of my house, I’ve got some preconceived notion that keeps me away.  It’s like an exercise in self-denial.  However, I recently overcame a deeply held prejudice regarding one place that I’ve spent years talking shit about.  It wasn’t really planned, but I wound up having a great time, including bargain drinks, and tasty food.  You’ll get that story in a minute.  But first, I want to make a list of some of the nearby spots that probably wouldn’t refuse me service, but rather, I refuse them my business, often for really flimsy reasons.

Bacchus: Too upscale acting for my taste.  Could be the clientele more than the concept, cuisine, or their approach to service.  Had great food there once, tho. And they do brunch.  (.41 mi from my house, Meadow & Main)

Rowland Fine Dining: I know the Rowland couple can cook, but it’s doesn’t seem suitable for hanging out.  Brunch is another story.  If there’s hot coffee and fresh baked banana mini-muffins, I’m likely to bring my laptop and set up shop for the weekend.  Potato latkes folks.  Get several plates of those. (.47 miles from my house at Shields and Main)

Sticky Rice: People I like practically live here.  And yet, I can’t bring myself to join the herd of tattooed folks flocking together, tho I’d likely fit in well enough (until I opened my mouth).  Plus, I don’t like PBR and for one reason or another there’s a lot of negative commentary about the sushi here.  (.39 miles from my house at Strawberry and Main)

White Dog: I love this (hiding) place and here’s why.  (.44 miles at Stafford and Main)

Starlight/Helen’s/3Monkeys: For some, this is the Fan’s multiplex cinema of watering hole meat-markets, and I’m guessing they like it that way.  Sure, Helen’s attracts a punkier crowd.  But somehow it just seems like a Hot Topic sandwiched between a Banana Republic and an Aeropostale. There might be a few tasty dishes at these places, but the patron’s foggy memory prevents any word of mouth.    (.61 miles from my house at Robinson and Main)

Plaza Mexico: Their food is above average Mexican, like a significant step up from Mexico chain schlock.  And yet, since my honeymoon in Mexico I’m still hesitant about any place where the combo platter section dominate the menu.  Matt Marinara says the tacos al pastor are better than La Milpa.   But, this new joint has no ABC license, last I checked. Anyone know any different?  (UPDATE: a commenter says they do have alcohol now!).  In the meantime, get the agua fresca con melon.  (.54 from my house at Main and Allen)

Bogarts: College hangout, kinda preppy.  That’s my assumption, but they’ve just opened, and I haven’t even tried the food or heard any music there yet.  Heck, they have an interesting setting for outdoor seating, but I never see anyone sitting out there.  Gonna have to calibrate my prejudice here. (.39 miles at Granby and Cary)

Okay, you get the point.  I need to get off my high horse, get over myself, and stop reinforcing whatever stereotypes I think some of these places embody.  The fact is, my options are enumerable.  Just see this Urban Spoon map for evidence.

Restaurant/Bars: Turn On Your Love Light

Well, recently, Jasper and I had to clear out while Karen did an phone interview with a local magazine (stay tuned for that!).  The weather was nice and I wanted to sit outside, show off my son, and drink a cold beer (a dad can dream, right?).  Until Lamplighter opens, one of my only options for this is Cary Street Cafe.  Talk about stereotypes!  In my youth, it seemed like the choice was clear: hippy or punk.  I tended to go with the latter, especially with my musical tastes (still despise jam bands, unless they make my baby happy).  This pretty much precluded my ever hobnobbing with the Trustifarians at Cary Street Cafe.  I’m sure that gravitating toward your social demographic clique makes sense for a decade or so of your adult life, but once you’re married with children, who gives a fuck?  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I wanted a cold beer, dammit, but I didn’t want to lug my stroller into a bar and expose baby Jasper to the smoke and business of a restaurant.

I’ve written of my desire for a drive up window that sold pints of beer to stroller pushers.  Well, outdoor seating may be a reasonable compromise.  I parked Jasper’s ride at Cary and Mulberry and sat down in an outdoor both with Jasper at my side and the stroller within view.  Since it was happy hour, all beverages were $1 off (until 7:30).  A glass of Stella Artois quickly went down the hatch while Jasper pointed at passing cars and bouncing dreadlocks (actually, the crowd was surprisingly preppy and I never once smelled patchouli).  The second beer required chips and salsa. The chips were your typical round oversalted Tostito-types, but the salsa was fresh and spicy.

Soon, Karen called and I convinced her to join us.  We ordered some more stuff: A personal pizza for $5 and a BBQ eggplant sub recommended by the waitress (and more bargain Stella).  Let me tell you about this sandwich.  Phenomenal. Okay, it was a little small, but that was probably because we inhaled it.  The eggplant had been deep fried and slathered in tangy BBQ sauce.  Whatever else was on there (fresh veggies and cheese?), enhanced the experience.  This came with a side.  Since I’d seen one of Cary Street Cafe’s rotating vinyl signs proclaiming “VOTED BEST CHILI IN RICHMOND,” I ordered a cup of vegetarian chili.  Folks.  That chili was very good.  A variety of beans (a la Moosewood) and very well spiced.  Gimme s’more of that.  The personal pizza.  Forget it. Spongy crust and I’m a stickler for a well made dough.  But hey! Food bloggers (including myself).  When you got to a bar, don’t bitch if you’re served bar food.  Salty, spicy, spongy.  These all have their place when the alcohol is flowing.

Inside Cary Street Cafe, the sparse crowd was as motley a crue of characters as you’d find at any bar during happy hour.  These folks were a little extra colorful for a Fan setting, but decidedly chill.  The bartender agreed to put some cranberry juice in Jasper’s sippy cup for free (I did offer to pay).  By the time we were leaving, my mind had changed significantly about Cary Street Cafe.  I’d only been inside the place once before, years ago, and that was a late night show by Brown Sabbath (a Black Sabbath cover band – I like me some heavy metal).  Now, I’m kinda sorry I didn’t ever go back til now.  Hopefully, my rowdy family is welcome back. The server reminded me that they deliver food, beer, and cigarettes.  Wait, what time is it now? I want another BBQ eggplant sub.

By the way: I skipped over a bunch of crucial watering holes (Bamboo, Avalon, EasyStreet, etc).  If any restaurant/bars are diamonds in the rough, if they have a soft center beneath that tough exterior, feel free to give them their due in the comments section.

The defining element of the two Chicken Fiesta locations in Richmond is the cavernous rotisserie oven where your bird slowly rotates over hot coals.  The sight of it will probably make you order a quarter chicken before looking at the other options on the menu, and you’d be pretty pleased with yourself as the chicken juice bursts with each bite.  However, those birds are just the tip of the ice berg.  There’s more to the fiesta than just chicken.  Beef, chicken and steak tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, chimichangas, burritos, ribs, and grill platters offer plenty of variety.  For this vegetarian, the sides are my own private fiesta, but not a pity party, cuz the non-meat stuff is flavored like a main dish.

It was lunchtime when I met up with a handful of social media enthusiasts at the new Chicken Fiesta in Merchants Walk shopping center (home to Marshalls, one of my frequent bargain hunting refuges).  More specifically, Chicken Fiesta has moved into the old Taqueria del Sol, a short-lived Mexican restaurant that indeed had soul (tortillas made by hand, sopa and ceviche, a grande shrimp cocktail, etc).  Why they went under is anyone’s guess. Things just seemed to fall apart.  The latino clientele dried up.  The cockroaches moved in.  And the quality went down abruptly.  Sniff sniff… ahem.  Sorry.  It’s a sore subject for me.  Although the Taqueria left big shoes to fill, the arrival of Chicken Fiesta is probably the best possible consolation prize.  Not only is their product proven, their expansion is warranted and will likely have staying power.

Unlike those combo meal “Mexican” chains, Chicken Fiesta brings flavors that are typically found in Mexico, or much closer to the border, and Peruvian influenced, I’m told (tho they advertise Tex-Mex).  There are many others like Chicken Fiesta around Virginia (especially NoVa): Crisp’n'Juicy, El Pollo Rico, Guapo’s (try this one at Potomac Mills), and many other independently owned shops that fit the model.  These place all build their menus around those little birdies flapping their wings over a dull flame (until the skin tightens and the meat steams from within).  And, they’re successful for a reason.  They’ve got the formula to keep people coming back.

Around the table for six sat my companions WhineMeDineMe, Matt Marinara, Mr. Kevin GayRVA, Ed rom the Good Life, and Kevin’s non-tweeting buddy.  The group had quarters and halves of chicken, some slabs of beef, a trio of tacos, a meaty sub, and then there was my array of side dishes: Fried yucca, tamal de elote (sweet corn cake), black beans, a cold horchata beverage.

All three of my sides were tasty, stick to your ribs, comfort food.  The beans were mellow and interspersed with sauteed peppers and onions.  The tamale was flavorful with pronounced corniness, if a little sweet and in need of a filling (fixed that with the beans).  But, it is definitely the fried yucca with yellow sauce that brings me back to these rotisserie places.  The texture of yucca beats a potato eight days a week, and fried (in what, I don’t wanna know), they’re simply heavenly.  Then there’s that yellow sauce. Matt says it’s a mustard/mayo combo.  Not  sure I agree.  You?  Throughout the meal, my horchata refreshed.  Although less sweet than other syrupy versions, it definitely contributed to my overstuffed bloated feeling at the end.  Nonetheless, I couldn’t help looking around the table at the glistening piles of chicken meat.  There’s no doubt that my #chickenfiestasinpollo campaign misses the whole point of the latin rotisserie experience.  In theory, that doesn’t bother me one bit.  But, when your companions don’t finishing their succulent servings… well, it’s was pretty tempting to clean up after them.  Freegan, ya know.

My passing thought about meat-eating was interrupted by a cloud of smoke.  The whole table took notice that the air was getting hazy as the oven belched gray vapors.  Probably just working out the kinks of new equipment and new staff. No big deal, but a reminder that lunch break was clearly over and it was time to get some air and bring the gathering to a close.

PS: Ed was saying that he’s grown used to the superior chicken of these rotisserie places to the point that it’s lost its significance.  He likened it to the “the law of diminishing marginal utility,” because he’s made a habit of the cuisine, and doesn’t spend much time settling for less.  (correct me on this Ed.).  If you’ve gotten this far in the post, it’s probably time to stop reading and go try Chicken Fiesta for yourself.