Out of Towners

The weekly Travel section of The New York Times typically includes a page detailing 36 hours in, say, Capri, Novosibirsk, Fez, Saskatoon, Hong Kong, Belo Horizonte, or some other world-class destination. After consuming the advice, imaginative globetrotters head for recommended spots -- only to find, at the next table, not a rustic or a Bollywood star but a former broker with Bear Stearns.

Last Sunday, Richmond made the cut.

The article cited Carytown, the State Capitol, the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, as well as galleries, watering holes, and restaurants. The hometown received a favorable review, albeit with baffling asides.

"Don't expect to find amazing ethnic food in Richmond -- this is fried okra country, not an immigrant town." Richmond lacks the ethnic enclaves seen in New York and other melting pots, yet local gourmands seem more likely to find menus with digestible ethnic items than menus offering fried okra. Indeed, okra will be enjoyed not at mom-and-pops but at "upscale" diners serving home-style meals designed for epicures who have been to the Basque country or Tuscany.

The reference to fried okra recalled a Washington Post description of Richmond as a city surrounded by tobacco fields.

And speaking of The Post: On Wednesday a headline in the paper reported, "Richmond Stages an Artistic Comeback." The Escapes column focused on the opening of CenterStage and conveyed good news and the other kind. The writer raved about the performing arts complex and concluded that the project struck an agreeable balance between preservation and the new. We would have added a bravo for The National -- and for the nearby Richmond Ballet Center for the Dance. One of our favorite outposts for lunch inhabits the neighborhood, too, but this is not the appropriate place to name our loves or, for that matter, to confess our sins, gustatory and otherwise. If you guess correctly, then enjoy the fish sandwich, our usual -- best indulged among friends.

The Post's correspondent lamented the off-putting blocks between CenterStage (and the writer's hotel) and the gallery district to the west. She mentioned boarded-up storefronts and a bleak atmosphere. The hotel staff advised her party not to walk. A pedestrian she encountered also recommended a cab.

Reports such as this may prove jarring to booster sensibilities but are fair -- and are necessary for the region to hear. The downtown streetscape is, as The Post says, a work in progress. Our sense is that if downtown is not what it was when the department stores were still open and retail thrived and Richmonders had dogs at Angelo's and steadied themselves at the Captain's Grill, then the past five years have seen dramatic improvement. The city center has come a long way. It has a way to go.