5 Questions with a Foodie: Tim Vidra

Tim Vidra was born hungry—he says so on his blog; he also says so on his Facebook page, his Twitter page, in Youtube videos and he’ll tell you in person if you are lucky enough to run into him.

Obviously, we’re all born hungry, but Tim is serious; he was born passionate about food. He gets this glint in his eyes when you chat with him about tomatoes, or coffee, or just about anything you can pick up at your local market—the man loves food.

Like I mentioned, Vidra has a food blog called E.A.T., and I know you’re thinking "ho-hum, yet another food blog," but if you aren’t already familiar with Tim’s blog you should definitely check it out. It is a simple, clean, beautiful presentation of Tim’s recipes, discoveries and other food bits with lovely pictures that will most certainly whet your appetite.

You might find that you’ve already run into Tim if you ever find yourself at a place that sells, grows or prepares fresh, local food. He teaches cooking classes around town and takes every opportunity to patronize locavore businesses and promote them to friends, family and his readers. He also has an Etsy store featuring vintage and rare finds for your kitchen or home—I want to buy everything he’s selling so be careful when you visit.

I think its pretty clear that Tim is a foodie so lets see what he has to say on the subject.

How do you define the term "foodie" and do you consider yourself one?

Let’s start with the latter. I have read the good and the bad about being labeled a foodie but I’d never really looked up the definition—so I did. Foodie: A person keenly interested in food, especially in eating and cooking. If that is the true definition of a foodie then I am definitely a foodie—besides I was born hungry.

I would then elaborate and define "foodie" as anyone who is always thinking about that next meal. I cannot even finish my current meal without planning out in my mind or thinking about what’s going to be next. This also applies to traveling, as in a foodie almost always spends way more time searching what restaurants, diners, and specialty grocery stores are in town versus where you are going to stay.

How did you get into food and/or cooking?

Throughout my childhood, cooking and restaurants were always an important part of my life. I was always drawn to the smells in my parents’ and grandparents’ kitchens as they made meals from scratch. One of my favorite memories involves catching soft shell crabs and bringing them back to watch my maternal grandmother bread them and put them in the pan while they were still squirming. My dad’s mother came to America straight from Hungary literally carrying a ladle with her—with as little as I can imagine they were able to pack, the ladle signifies the importance of preparing food in my mind! She never ate anything if she didn’t grow it, pluck it, or kill it—which I joke about, but is actually some food for thought in this day in time.

As you might be able to guess, both of my parents were (and still are) amazing cooks, always keeping a variety of mostly fresh, seasonal dishes on the table. Although we did indeed eat out, most of my meals were home-cooked and I’ve happily carried on what I like to think as a healthy mix of both.

If tonight was your last night in RVA, ever, where would you eat? Why?

I’d really like to answer this by turning the clock back on Richmond to see if the restaurants I remember as a child were as magical as I thought they were at the time. I’m talking about Top of the Tower on Franklin, Celebrity Room on Brook, Lums on Lombardy, The Lord Baltimore Inn in Midlothian, Fass Brothers Fish House, Shakey’s pizza, and the Venice on Cary. I’d just love to run through the nostalgia and eats of all these old favorites. As I’m answering this question, all of a sudden I’m now craving the baked spaghetti from the Venice—thanks...

What is your biggest guilty pleasure food?

People that know me understand supporting local seasonal ingredients that aren’t highly processed is important to me. That being said, I’m far from perfect and have been known to take pleasure in eating Slim Jims. I know. There are very limited instances where this happens so if you happen to catch me driving around Richmond with a Slim Jim, snap a pic and tweet "Caught @timvidraeats stuffing a Slim Jim in his mouth, the nerve!" I deserve it.

In your opinion, what is the biggest problem with the RVA food culture? How would you fix it?

I love the Richmond food culture and how quickly it’s growing. If there’s a problem, so to speak, I’d say it involves more people not really knowing or taking initiative to learn about supporting what’s local to the scene. Richmond has a tremendous amount of local restaurants and groceries that are supported by a small circle of folks. While this circle is growing, I wish more Richmonders (and people in general) would make an effort to opt out of the chain scene and into the local scene more often than not. If you take a look at the restaurants I mentioned remembering as a child you’ll notice these were all local restaurants mostly unique to Richmond. Supporting local restaurants when eating out and supporting local groceries (who are supporting local farmers) is something I’d like for everyone to take note of and I know it would go a long way in continuing to help the Richmond food culture flourish.

On a related note, even though I love trying new places and visiting old haunts, the seemingly dwindling value of cooking at home is another pet peeve of mine. What has happened to truly cooking a meal at home? I’m not talking about reheating leftovers or throwing something in the microwave—I’m talking looking at a recipe, shopping for the ingredients and making the meal.

All in all, I really think it’s in our hands. We each have the opportunity to support, enrich, and essentially "vote for" our local food culture three times a day—these are values I try to talk about in a fun and simple way on my blog, E.A.T. in hopes of helping to broaden that small circle. In the words of Mark Twain, "Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is."

P.S. Aside from fixing anything, I’d selfishly like to see the Richmond restaurant scene open a true oyster bar. It could be within a larger restaurant concept and some out there do currently serve oysters, but I have yet to see it done right. I’d just love to see a bar support 15 to 20 oyster varieties which change daily. If that happens I will be the first to belly up and slurp a dozen or so back.