View From The Knob

If you told me a year ago that Sticky Rice would become my favorite hang out after work, I would have laughed in your face. But since January I've been going there once or twice a week to decompress and order an appetizer, usually two, and a glass of wine, usually two, before heading for home. Although I arrive by myself, the staff knows to seat me in the corner table in the rear, where I can sit facing the restaurant and Main Street. (Usually during busy times single persons are seated at the Sushi Bar.)

It's a delight to frequent a restaurant where one is recognized and receives friendly and customized service from the waitstaff. Before I've settled down and taken out my laptop to check on emails, Marti, my regular and favorite waitress, brings my glass of Butterfield Station Cabernet. Yeah, this is no specialty wine, but at only $5.50 a glass, I don't mind. I then order my first appetizer. Last night it was the Sticky Scallops appetizer ($8.00). Within minutes Marti served up six huge, succulent scallops that sat on a bed of lettuce. Covered with brown sauce and garnished with carrot slivers and pieces of cashews, they hit the spot. After I ate the scallops, I used the remaining sauce, carrots, and cashews on the lettuce to eat it as a salad. The sauce had a slight kick, enough to add heat but not enough to ruin the fresh flavor of the scallops.

My second appetizer was a single serving of tater tots. Tater tots? Yeah. You can order a bucket of traditional tater tots for $6.00. Warm and crispy on the outside, and served with tot sauce (which also has a hot kick), they hit the spot on a cold December evening.

If I'm in a South Beach diet frame of mind, I forego the tater tots for the lettuce wraps with chicken, shittake, and mixed vegetables. Sometimes I'll order one of their specialties, Sticky Balls (see photo). Sticky Balls are made with inari pockets that are stuffed with tuna, crab, and shirracha rice. They are then deep fried and topped with scallions and tobiko wasabi dressing and eel sauce. Yum. This appetizer tastes best when served crisp on the outside and still warm on the inside. (Sometimes they arrive cold inside, or with an uneven temperature.)  Depending on which chef creates this dish , it sometimes arrives with a kick so powerful it will clear your sinuses. At $6.50, Sticky Balls are a bargain.

In fact, I rarely spend more than $24.00 at Sticky Rice. There might be fancier and better Japanese restaurants in Richmond, but none have an atmosphere so suited to my taste, and none have a waitstaff that are more attentive. Click here to read Sticky Rice's blog.