★★★★ for Dutch & Co.

We’ve had dinner there a number of times and can’t say enough great things about the restaurant, the amazing food, and the wonderful staff. So glad to have you guys in Church Hill!

I am glad Dutch & Co. have made their way to our neighborhood and surprised that they are not quite as intrusive as expected.

Even with the rave review the down side is that their menu caters to a more 20-30-something crowd and not to Baby Boomers who have a different palate seeking comfort food. Wild Game and Organ Meats are not fare I crave.

When they said the menus would include “local” favorites I expected “Southern” local such as fried, baked, and casseroled items (country ham, fried chicken, grits, etc…). From what I have gathered the menu is limited for those like me but if they expand to include some of the other items, at a more affordable price point, I just may consider a visit.

Also, have they started serving mixed drinks yet and if not…when? We are not beer or wine drinkers when we do drink anything with a meal.

Eric H. won’t be happy until there’s a Cracker Barrel in CH.

Eric Huffstutler: the foods you “crave” (Southern comfort food) is well noted on countless menus across Richmond. You do not have to look far to find it. Due to your “rigid tenacity” and continued ignorance, you are missing out on food in which you “may” crave, if only you gave it a chance. Go outside of your “box” for new gastronomic adventures/delights. Dana Craig and all of the others could not be so wrong…can they?

You’ve all but predicted a parking nightmare, before they opened…to the point where your negativity was oozing from our computer screens. Your “negative” expectations are not productive at all. Now, did you really have to get the special parking spot in front of your house???

As for your silly question about mixed drinks: Man, just saddle up to their bar and ask for one. And see what they say…don’t waste your time pondering it on the internet. God forbid that while you’re there, the lovely aroma of the sweetbread sausage will entice your senses. Again, you’ll probably never make it to the bar stool to find out…this is indeed sad.

Eric, hold the phone–have you not even been there yet?

I ask you again–you haven’t actually tried the delicious food or drink they offer literally steps from your front door?

Ah, I get it–you are content with just looking out your window and projecting your issues onto the restaurant. (::they probably wouldn’t have what I wanted to eat anyways, durn new-fangled restaurants with their fresh and tasty ingredients etc. etc. where’s my “real food” that exacerbates diabetes and heart disease heh heh heh::)

Also, news flash–> they have an EXTENSIVE cocktail list and full bar.

maybe if they opened a Waffle House you would be excited? an Arby’s? Applebee’s?
FYI to a lot of people, that is NOT real food.

Do you really think that tone is called for, G?

So Eric says we wants comfort food — big deal!!!

Isn’t he allowed to express his opinion without being attacked? Do his words really harm you?

I love D&C and know we are fortunate to have them in the neighborhood.

But Eric’s words don’t hurt me, you, D&C or anyone else.

Just privately chuckle at Eric’s harmless opinions and don’t become a hater yourself.

I’m so glad D&C is getting the love, sad that it will be even harder to get a table. I personally think it’s the best restaurant in Richmond. Yup, said it.

Ps they have cocktails.

PSS Eric, Johnson’s Southern Comfort?

I get what Eric H. is saying, but only to a point.

Here’s where I agree with Eric:

I am not an adventurous eater. Never have been. I like a basic steak. Simple pastas. Steamed simple shellfish. That sort of things. Never been one for vegetables–the taste of the chlorophyll makes me gag. I have a strong negative reaction to onions. I’m allergic to nuts. And I feel a little self-conscious when I look at a menu and see an unexplained item that I have never heard of like “gribiche sauce” that is listed as if it were common like carrots.

To look at D&C’s menu (and maybe we shouldn’t be calling it D&C’s while discussing organ meat) there is not much for me. I don’t need my ice cream to have lavender. Vanilla makes me happy. Bone marrow does not sound especially appetizing. Everything is a little frou-frou compared to what I enjoy. So I get Eric’s aversion to the place.

Here’s where I disagree with Eric:

I don’t understand his almost angry-tone toward the place just because it is not for him. It is sort of like being angry at there being an Indian restaurant if you are not into Indian food.

Personally, I’m really happy this place is here. There is an audience for this kind of food and they are coming to the neighborhood to enjoy it. Maybe some of them will look around and think it is cool to be near happening places like this and consider moving to Church Hill and renovating a home or opening their own business. Maybe others will see this success and think they can piggyback on it. To me that’s awesome. We all benefit from the restaurant being excellent and successful even though some of us may never step foot in it because it is not for us. I hope the people who opened this establishment maintain the excellence they clearly are demonstrating and prosper doing something they evidently love.

I just have one request. Don’t change the menu. You know your audience. But maybe consider…just consider…adding one “plain” item on the menu so I can join my friends if they want to dine at your place—they can have the cumin yogurt and I can join them and order a basic while they enjoy themselves. I would gladly give the waitstaff and the kitchen crew permission to look down their noses at me or snicker for ordering the plain dish. Even The Roosevelt has a cheeseburger for Philistines like me…although I do have to ask them to hold the “bacon onion jam” and the “rooster sauce.”

If you don’t, that’s OK. I still have Hill Café, WPA, Captain Buzzy’s, Johnson’s, Anthony’s, Alamo and the burger at The Roosevelt. And I still think that it is amazing that there are two top notch restaurants like yours and the Roosevelt within 3 minutes of my house.

Eric H. reminds me of that old Paul Begala quote: “The Baby Boomers are the most self-centered, self-seeking, self-interested, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing generation in American history.”

I’m actually with Brett and Eric on this one. Their menu doesn’t entice me. My friends and husband went recently and were not impressed, especially with the chocolate dessert that comes with some sort of green slime. Ha. That was there take away. I’m glad it is here. I’m glad it is thriving. But I, too, would love to see a dish or two geared to the less adventurous.