5 Questions with a Foodie: Chad Williams

Every week 5 Questions with a Foodie interviews someone with a close attachment to food. Whether they admit to being a "foodie" or not, we get to hear a lot of takes on the Richmond food scene from bloggers, chefs, writers, bakers, business owners and obsessive eaters; but admittedly, in a small, conservative city like Richmond, many of the answers and opinions expressed mirror each other in general over-arching themes.

This is not a negative; in fact, I think it demonstrates that though the Richmond food scene evolves slowly, at least it evolves with a sense of "foodie solidarity."

Sometimes the points of view expressed in a 5 Questions with a Foodie interview, though echoing similar themes, stand out more than others and I think this is one of those times. Perhaps it is his direct connection (while not directly involved) to the restaurant industry, his travels or his profession—either way Chad Williams presents a clear, positive and thoughtful outlook on the Richmond food scene that is worth a read whether you’re a seasoned restaurateur or a casual suburban eater.

Chad is the owner and creative director of Creative Visual Design, a Richmond web design firm, and an avid blogger on all things Richmond and beyond. As a self-described "RVA restaurant regular," following Chad’s Twitter feed is one of the best ways to take a quick pulse of the good and the bad of local dining—that and the fact that his sister, chef Michelle Williams, is one of the most successful restaurateurs in the city.

It is a foregone conclusion that Chad’s well-defined outlook on the Richmond food scene is a direct result of the culmination of all of the above.

As you’ll read in the interview, Chad likens the idea of being labeled a "foodie" to that of being labeled a "hipster." I’m surprised this is the first time this association has been made in 5 Questions with a Foodie because, quite frankly, it is a perfect analogy. A well made pair of skinny jeans, some plaid, a pair of Ray Bans and a fixed gear bike, assembled well, can be a damn good look—and yes, most people would call you a hipster if they saw you—but the idea that stoned, bearded losers is short sighted at best.

I think the same short sightedness applies to the idea that foodies are arrogant, snobbish elitists who seek out arduous ingredients just to impress the common folk. Perhaps it's time we come up with a nomenclature to separate the good foodies (and hipsters) from the bad. Maybe we should start calling the good foodies "executive foodies"—or maybe we should just stick to "foodie" and start referring to the bad seeds as what they really are: assholes.

At any rate, take a minute to read what Chad Williams has to say on being a Richmond loving foodie and pay special attention to the last question—he’s spot on and he just planned your next Richmond dining experience.

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

First of all I think the term "foodie" is kind of like calling someone a "hipster." Just like a hipster is known for wearing tight jeans, old school sneakers and has a thrift store style a foodie in my opinion is just someone who loves food, considers its origin and is always interested in learning more. It's more of a way of life than a negative connotation. I think I'm more of a hybrid foodie because I've grown up with a chef as a sister, but I've never been personally into the overly expensive fine dining style of eating.

My brother-in-law is also a chef so I'm constantly eating great food and many times helping prepare dishes that we make ourselves like a recent meal on vacation in Anguilla. We went to a local dock, met a fisherman that had just brought in a bunch of live Crayfish and one Slippery Tail Lobster. We walked to his house where he weighed out seven pounds of Crayfish and he threw in the Lobster for free.

Later that day I climbed a tree and got some coconuts for our coconut risotto and we had begun putting together our Island Thanksgiving. The final menu: 14 Crayfish and 1 Slippery Tail Lobster grilled topped with mango butter, Coconut Risotto, Roasted Red Peppers and Fresh Pineapple on the grill and cinnamon salted Plantains. That's a foodie meal.

You travel a lot; how does the Richmond food scene compare to the rest of the world?

I feel the food scene in Richmond is constantly growing and evolving, but we are certainly behind the major cities when it comes to creativity and concepts. Richmond is a conservative town so trying something here even ten years after it has been successfully done in NY, LA or Chicago doesn’t mean it will work here the same way.

Many restaurateurs have tried concepts here that were thriving in other cities, but were just too conceptual for the Richmond food scene. In the recent years though, you are seeing more restaurants push their creativity and concept and the whole "green" and "local" trend has really taken off. This is great for the customer because it pushes the restaurants to serve a better product to keep up with their competition.

What are the top three biggest mistakes local restaurants make with their internet and social media presence? Is there any restaurant in town that is doing it right?

The first and most obvious problem is not having a website at all. When I go to a new city, state, country one of the first things I do is get online and start seeing what’s around me. I use Foursquare and other social applications to locate those places, get tips, deals, etc. and then go visit their website to see what the place is all about (the style, menu, price, photos, potential specials, etc.) As a web designer I can’t understand how a business can open and think that not having a website is a good decision.

Opening restaurants costs a lot of money and there are so many things to consider, but not including web/social media into your budget, to me, is an oversight and it tells me that you don’t fully understand the value of the amazing tools we have at our disposal today to help your business succeed in an incredibly competitive industry.

Next would be having a website, but not updating it when your menu changes or forgetting to take off the Restaurant Week menu that ended weeks or months ago. Sometimes it's the little things that stand out.

Finally, I honestly can't say that anyone is really doing everything right when it comes to social media. There are plenty of restaurants that are making a decent effort, but with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp, Urban Spoon, your business website, a blog and more there are a lot of different profiles to keep up with and many restaurant owners either don't have the time, don't want to invest the money for someone to manage it for them or don't feel that social media has an added benefit to them over traditional marketing methods. I feel there is a lot of room for improvement in this area.

How has being part of a restaurateur family affected your outlook on dining in Richmond?

I would say it has opened my eyes to try most any place whether it’s a food cart or fine dining. When it comes down to it I’m a very simple eater, but growing up with a chef for a sister has greatly enhanced my knowledge of food and my desire to want to constantly explore and try new places. I’ve learned to not judge a place by one bad experience because I wouldn’t want someone to have one bad experience at one of our restaurants and never come back.

There have been times I have had a bad experience, expressed that to friends only to find out that the place has fixed many of their issues and is worth another visit. Everyone deserves a second chance. If you blow that one, then all bets are off, but if they show they have made things better I would gladly endorse them.

The final thing is I very rarely will eat at a corporate location. It's sad when a great restaurant fails because a corporate location comes in with a similar product at a lower price point and essentially runs the local guy out. It's reality, but I try not to contribute to their success and choose to eat at places that try and buy locally when possible.

Let’s say Steven Spielberg calls you up tomorrow and asks you to show him the best food experiences Richmond has to offer in one day –where would you take him?

Here is the agenda in a perfect world with an endless stomach. First I would take him to Lamplighter to grab his morning beverage of choice before heading to Millie’s for breakfast. To me, Millie's just has that city feeling. It's small, the kitchen is open and the vibe is fun. Anytime I go to a new city I look for a place with the Millie's feel.

For lunch I would take him to Kuba Kuba for a Cubano, Toastones, Risotto Cakes and of course the Tres Leeches. To start the evening off we would go to Europa. To this day it's still one of my favorite Richmond restaurants. That may seem biased, but it's the honest truth. My sister introduced tapas to Richmond in 1998 when people thought it was a "topless bar" because it was a Mediterranean Cafe and Tapas Bar. That risk has paid off though because she is still going strong 14 years later.

After sampling some different small plates we would head over to Mama Zu's for some of the best Italian food you can get. To end the evening I would take him by deLux for my brother-in-law Brian Enroughty's Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding and after dinner drinks. Now that's a legit day right there.