Eating brettljause in Richmond

What I absolutely loved about the European Market & Café was its selection of some of my favorite European products. Located on West Main Street near Virginia Commonwealth University, this place does a roaring take-out business with its gourmet sandwiches, soups, and ready-to-heat selections.

I had dropped by for lunch and as it was very busy, ended up creating my own menu from the take-out offerings. This is the perfect place to pick up not only lunch or dinner, but also an impromptu picnic. A great cheese display stocks some of my favorite French brie and a triple cream called Saint André that I’ve had difficulty finding, and the meat section includes an Italian ham called speck that I love.

They also have an excellent selection of European beers, with several good German and Belgian choices, including a great, lemony summer beer called Stiegl. What’s nice is that you can buy these as singles or mix and match a six-pack and get a 10% discount on the total. Often it’s harder to find these imported beers than to find European wines, but the Café stocks a decent selection of those as well, alongside olive oils, condiments, pastas, and chocolate from Italy, France, Spain, and Germany.

If you’re a fan of antipasto, you can create your own platter ($9.95-$14.95) or you can build a cheese or paté sampler of your favorites. I love the traditional European snack, called Brettljause by the Austrians, which is a selection of cold cuts, cheeses, and garnishes, and the European Market has the authentic ingredients to create one of your own. In fact, I got to know GoNomad’s editor, Max Hartshorne, over several glasses of good wine and beer and several boards of Brettljause.

The vodka and marinara sauces are packaged in take-home sizes, as are the desserts which include cannolis ($3), a Molten Lava soufflé ($4), several flavors of Italian Gelato and Sorbet ($5.95 a pint),individual brownies and cookies, and a “pastry du jour”, which was a luscious apple and raisin tart on the day of my visit. I couldn’t resist adding a dollop of whipped cream to that when I got home.

Since a huge part of the European Market’s business is take-out, complete menus for the lunch and dinner fare, as well as for catering, are available to take home. Because this is a small place with limited staff, eating lunch or dinner in the Café is going to be continental in timing as well, so if you’re in a hurry, call in your order for pick-up.

www.euromarketgourmet.com

My First Garden Tea

I went to my first garden tea a few days ago, and not in just any garden. The Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond are one of the city’s best-kept secrets. Located on the north side of town in an area called Lakeside, the site features several themed gardens including a healing garden and a brand new rose garden, as well as a conservatory with a wonderful display of orchids and tropical plants.

There's also a special children’s area which is part playground, part garden, part learning center and in addition to the casual café where you can get snacks to enjoy on the grounds, there’s a lovely Tea House that should be called the Tree House, since it’s nestled high in the green canopy and is walled with windows.

I had a very serene and ladylike lunch, and sampled some Southern favorites including shrimp and grits. More contemporary entrees included a panini with brie and peaches, as well as a variety of soups and salads, and the prices were very reasonable in the $5 to $10 range. Desserts ran the gamut from a light mango sorbet to a decadent chocolate brownie sundae, which came with a large dish of whole walnuts so that you could garnish it to your heart’s content.

The garden hosts a wide variety of special events from jazz concerts and wine tastings in the Rose Garden to a Fidos After 5 event every Thursday where visitors can bring their leashed and well-behaved pooches for an evening stroll. There’s also a huge gift shop that’s worthy of visit in and of itself, as it contains not only everything imaginable for the would-be gardener, but handcrafted jewelry, gift items, and art.

The garden is open daily from 9-5, and in the evenings for special events. www.lewisginter.org