On RVANews.com:

Photo by: parrothead2514 via instagram

Food blogger “grub like a girl” recently posted a review of Oregon Hill’s Mamma Zu restaurant.

Excerpts:

Forget “have it your way” hospitality, Mamma Zu has customers playing their way; of course, this can make pretentious diners feel powerless, making for one interesting customer service experience. For me, I prefer the raw un-fluffy service and ambiance centered around good food, not fancy font menus or hand stitched table linens. If you’re open to mediocre service, no ass-kissing, and food that’ll make you melt with delight, this is your place.
…
Mamma Zu isn’t one of Richmond’s top restaurant for nothing, this place is an experience and the food is exceptional. For me, it solidifies the ongoing admiration I have for local eateries and the servers, cooks, and team that delivers authentic deserving food.

An excerpt from the recent review in Style magazine:

Pescados China Street won rave reviews and was named critics’ favorite hot spot in Style Weekly’s 2011 State of the Plate. Unfortunately, according to co-owner and chef Todd Manley, fresh seafood was too narrow and expensive for the neighborhood. So Manley engaged his staff in a re-branding effort, settling on a global, eclectic menu with a variety of prices.

Eat Oregon Hill maintains Pescados’ décor and most popular menu items, but expands into new dishes. Seafood continues to be the main draw, while the other offerings are uneven in concept and execution.

The menu is divided into “eat small” and “eat large,” as well as “eat your greens” and “eat your sweets.” There’s also an “eat any time” section, which I think confuses rather than clarifies the classification system. It’s clear the chefs had fun creating the menu, shown by creatively prepared dishes such as carrots sous-vide and root beer air. Culinary influences extend beyond the Latin and Caribbean flavors of Pescados, with Moroccan, Southern and even Canadian dishes. The bar features innovative cocktails and house-made sodas worth trying.

According to the reviewer, there is still room for improvement:

In three visits, every seafood dish I eat is excellent and has me planning return visits, while almost every nonseafood dish has some flaws. The decision to keep the best of Pescados was the right one, and I hope a few improvements to the rest of the menu will keep Eat Oregon Hill a neighborhood staple serving creative and inspiring food.

RVAnews.com writer Nathan Cushing has a feature on EAT Oregon Hill.

Excerpt:

The restaurant has also diversified by adding a mixture of small plates (chicken pot pie, char grilled baguette crostini), medium plates (Canadian style poutine, BBQ lettuce wraps), and large plates (seared duck breast, quinoa and black bean cakes). “People who don’t eat seafood have a plethora” of options now, ranging from $8 – $30. The restaurant will also brew its own beer.

Each beer will be named after a street running through Oregon Hill. The first one slated for debut will be the Idlewood IPA, scheduled to premiere in the coming weeks. It’s precisely this local focus that Manley feels was missing during the restaurant’s first incarnation.

The changes in the restaurant’s menu and approach culminated with a new name, EAT Oregon Hill. It’s derived from three large red letters mounted to the wall of Pescados China Street: E-A-T. It was a simple, playful command that Manley thought encapsulated the new restaurant, one he believes “feels more city-like, more Richmond-like…more Oregon Hill-like.”

FanOftheFan community news site is breaking news of what may be a new place on W.Cary (taking the old 821 Bakery Cafe location):

Otto Due Uno LLC (Italian for “eight two one”) yesterday applied for an ABC license for “Dinamo” (Italian for “dynamo”) for 821 West Cary Street. This location has long been rumored as an Ed Vasaio/Brad Wein (of Mama Zu/Edo’s Squid) project…