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Dish

In the almost three years that I've been covering Richmond restaurants I've noticed a trend when it comes to diners' tastes. We Richmonders are a fickle bunch.

That is, at least when it comes to labeling a restaurant as great … or even good. For every Richmonder who praises and embraces a specific restaurant, there's at least one who dismisses it as overrated (and generally overpriced). Believe me. I have the letters to prove it.

Richmond diners change their minds about a restaurant quicker than most people send back cold soup. And one bad meal is usually enough to send them packing for life. But there's one exception: Millie's .

In all the years that I've written, read and chatted about local restaurants, Millie's has been the one consistent favorite. I don't know if it's the laid back atmosphere, rotating menu or the yummy, yummy food, but one thing is certain: Richmond loves Millie's. So when word got out that Millie's co-owner Paul Keevil and its longtime chef, Steve Jurina, were opening a new Shockoe Bottom restaurant, the response from local diners was, "when and where?"

Lulu's (21 N. 18th St., 343-9771) is in its third month of operation. According to restaurant manger Amy Hardin , the goal of the restaurant is to offer "gourmet comfort food at a reasonable price." And the proof is in the pudding, so to speak.

Pan-seared tilapia, tandoori-style chicken, "high-falooten mac and cheese" (with three-cheese penne pasta and grilled shrimp) and grilled Angus beef loin are all part of a menu that tops out at $17. The wine is also reasonably priced with a generous selection of bottles that are under $30. There are also 10 wines available by the glass for around $5.50 each.

Throw in a few weekly specials, like shrimp and grits or veggie lasagna and it's clear that The Bottom just got a little tastier. Lulu's is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner and Sundays for brunch.

But Lulu's isn't the only new restaurant in the Shockoes. Granny Wade's (1316 E. Cary St., 225-8550) in Shockoe Slip opened a little more than a month ago and brings a down-home feel to the upscale Slip. Its lunch and dinner menu rotates daily – seriously. "Granny" posts that day's menu on its Web site, just like your granny would have (I guess depending on how tech-savvy she was. Mine couldn't manage her car clicker). You may not know what you're getting specifically, but it's sure to be "Southern Appalachian cuisine." Fried chicken, meat loaf, macaroni and cheese and corn bread are all regular favorites. Granny Wade's is open Monday through Friday for lunch and Thursday, Friday and Saturday for dinner.

Things are heating up south of the river, too. South Richmond residents have been in an unofficial war with Northside ever since Northsiders started getting a new restaurant every month, or so it seemed. Okay, maybe it's not an unofficial war but a personal fuming, but still. The Southside may not be getting any new restaurants right now, but one of its favorites is about to get a whole lot better.

O'Toole's Restaurant & Pub (4800 Forest Hill Ave., 233-1781) is planning to expand into its neighboring storefront, which will add 45 more seats, a 40-person banquet room and extend the bar by 20 feet to wrap around and connect the two spaces.

More importantly, however, and much to the delight of residents, O'Toole's is adding a patio … contingent on city approval. The patio will run the length of the 48th Street side of the restaurant, where the sidewalk is 18 feet wide (the patio will be 11 feet wide). Certainly, a tight-fit, but it was the only place to put it, even though regulars (like me) petitioned for a rooftop deck.

"We looked at that," said owner John O'Toole , "but [the roof] isn't structurally sound enough."

O'Toole's has also added some new menu items. Crap dip, chicken parmesan and a black & bleu Caesar salad are just a few of the new dishes, but the menu is temporary. O'Toole plans to add a whole new menu of pub and Irish fare while keeping the favorites that the regulars have come to love. The pub plans to have all of the renovations completed by March.

But construction hasn't gone smoothly for everyone in the city. Richmond's first ice bar, Infuzion (1401 Roseneath Road, 249-COOL) , has indefinitely postponed its grand opening due to ice shipping delays. The new plan is to open without the ice bar and save the festivities for the ice's arrival. The soft opening should happen later this month.

Speaking of first, Richmond is about to host Virginia's first wine expo. The Virginia Wine Expo will take place at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Feb. 16 and 17 and will give Richmonders the opportunity to sample more than 200 wines from dozens of Virginia's wineries. Wine by the glass, bottle or case will be available for sale and there will be cooking demonstration and food sample from some of Richmond's finest restaurants. Tickets range from $25 to $50 for the event. Look for more information to come.

There's also early news that a new sushi and Japanese grill restaurant is going to go in the Parc Place @ Short Pump (11736 W. Broad St.) shopping center. The ink is still wet on the lease, but we'll keep you posted on that one as well. 

As reported almost everywhere by now, Richmond jazz lovers awoke to some unsettling news Monday morning. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the beloved Fan restaurant Bogart's (203 N. Lombardy St., 353-9280) would be serving its last meal in April. The word is that the building owners are booting this restaurant and music venue out the space to replace it with … a restaurant and music venue.

And Bogart's isn't the only closing in Richmond. Food Fanatics , the Museum District takeout, delivery and catering spot that specialized in just about everything, has closed.

In a statement on its Web site, co-owner Tammy Giambanco wrote that her restaurant partner, Tammy Pond , never fully recovered after an accident in early 2006.

"Last week she had a heart attack and is in critical condition in the hospital. She is on a respirator and is in a coma," Giambanco wrote on the site. "For this reason, I have decided to close Food Fanatics. It would just be too hard to do it without her … Thank you all so much for your business over the last eight years."

Our thoughts are with Giambanco and Pond. Richmond will surely miss them.