Flavor of the Week: The Village Cafe

1001 W Grace St.

Richmond, VA 23220

My friends and I are addicted to the Food Network and especially Guy Fieri's show, "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives." So, naturally, we were dying to go to one of Guy's stops right here in Richmond, The Village Cafe.

After studying the menu online and at the restaurant for 20 minutes and still struggling with what to order, we asked our friendly waiter what he'd recommend. He suggested the turkey burger, the soy burger, the chicken salad and definitely not the falafel. Since we weren't feeling health-conscious we decided to ignore his recommendations and ordered a dozen hot wings for the table, two steak subs with muenster, a Reuben, corned beef hash with two eggs over medium and a chicken burrito. Oh, and a chocolate milkshake.

When our food arrived, we were not disappointed. The portions were perfect (enormous), and everything was fresh (melty) and cooked perfectly (greasy). Guy did not lead us astray. It was a perfect Sunday meal, complete with a great atmosphere.

The Village Cafe is worth the trek to the Fan where it is located near Virginia Commonwealth University on Grace Street. The menu contains all the standard southern-style diner items such as country-fried steak and barbecue along with various strombolis, burritos and omelets. Next time I will be trying the fried chicken club ... or the cheese calzone ... or maybe I'll be feeling breakfasty (which is served all day) and get Dae's breakfast burrito.