The Collegian
Friday, March 29, 2024

To Dine or Not to Dine: Black Sheep

Lately Spiders have been spotted crawling to the heart of VCU territory for a great little restaurant, The Black Sheep. The place is a hole-in-the-wall in the recently gentrified Carver neighborhood of downtown Richmond, but it is far from a dive. The restaurant is a revamped townhouse with exposed brick walls that are covered with a collection of paintings and art. It is a cozy, small space that is very popular, so prepare to wait outside as I did (I would not recommend a visit to The Black Sheep on a very cold day!).

The menu is full of inventive, yet traditional Southern favorites done right and with a sense of humor. It is fun to find a place with authentic Richmond food and unique beverages such as Cheerwine soda, spicy Blenheim ginger ale and glass-bottled Coca-Cola.

I went for brunch and ordered from the breakfast menu, which is served until 2 p.m. This menu offers tempting plates, such as rhubarb french toast and green eggs and ham. The green eggs and ham dish is three eggs scrambled with artichoke pesto and spinach served with cheese grits, andouille sausage and a toasted baguette. I ordered the Red Flannel hash, which is two eggs served any way over a bed of chopped roasted beets. Beware though, the eggs are topped with a very spicy sauce. I also ordered a side of homemade applesauce served chunky and loaded with cinnamon.

My brunch date had sausage gravy and biscuits, which evoked serious food-envy from me. This dish was the best biscuits and gravy I think I have had in a long time. Even though I went to The Black Sheep for brunch, I will definitely go back for dinner or lunch.

One section of the menu is called "The War of Northern Indigestion" and boasts impressive submarine sandwiches on whole baguettes, with names such as the CSS Virginia and USS Lafayette. According to the menu, "All come with a knife for doing battle and a napkin to signify your surrender."

The Black Sheep has fabulous food and is definitely a hipster spin on southern Richmond fare. I am excited to go back, but considering the semester is starting to kick into full gear, for now I will just have to dream of heavenly biscuits and gravy and rum-spiked banana pudding.

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