2010 Virginia AAA Five and Four Diamond Winners

Dora’s Brazilian Grill expects to be open by today. The new churrasco at 1331 E. Cary St. has been awaiting final city permits.  The restaurant will feature the traditional Brazilian rodizio format of a prix fixe meal ($26.95 for adults, $10.95 for kids 4-9 and 10 percent off for seniors 65 and older).

Out with the burritos, in with the fish. In early December, the Outer Banks Seafood Co. is expected to open in Stony Point Fashion Park. The restaurant, which opened its first location this spring in Corolla, N.C., is taking over the space vacated by Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande Café, which abruptly closed in February 2007. Mike Bishal, CEO of the restaurant that bills itself as a “traditional coastal eatery,“ said the concept for the Outer Banks location is to “help folks kick back and relax” with the soothing colors of its décor and provide “good, unpretentious food.“

Gray Wyatt made his Richmond restaurant, Perly’s, smoke-free in 1998 and never looked back. “I think when people sit down to eat, the last thing they want to deal with is tobacco smoke,“ Wyatt said yesterday. “It’s not a very good condiment.“ So, Perly’s Restaurant & Deli was a logical place for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to kick off a countdown to Virginia’s upcoming ban on smoking in restaurants, which takes effect Dec. 1.

The Peking Restaurant at 5710 Grove Ave. has closed.

Patrick Henry’s Grill and Pub in East Richmond has a smoking area downstairs, but no smoking in the upstairs dining area. Owner Eric Warner recently prohibited smoking in the entire restaurant until after 9 p.m. With a new law going into effect in Virginia in December that puts more restrictions on, but does not entirely ban, smoking in restaurants, Warner said he’s likely to make his restaurant smoke-free, despite his concerns about how some customers might react.

Recent raves The most recent restaurants to receive three or more stars from restaurant reviewer Dana Craig The Black Sheep 901 W. Marshall St.

Legislation that would severely restrict smoking in Virginia’s restaurants appears headed toward resolution in the proverbial smoke-filled room.

Several Richmond-area restaurants say they have more reservations than in previous years, and in many cases, they have been booked for weeks for tomorrow’s celebration of all things mushy.

For the owner of McLeans Restaurant on West Broad Street, a state ban on smoking in restaurants represents a bailout of the environmental kind. “I’m all for it,“ said Dionne Kelleher, hours before the House of Delegates passed a watered-down version of a proposed smoking ban.

The Republican-controlled House of Delegates—the last barrier to a further clampdown on smoking in public—could vote as early as Monday to ban lighting up in restaurants and bars across a state built in part on the riches of tobacco.

Restaurants come and go. An eatery surviving 30-plus years is uncommon, experts say. Independent restaurant owners live in a volatile world—especially in today’s economy, where fuel prices have caused a surge in food prices and diners are keeping a tight grip on their wallets.

Richmonders can swirl, sniff and sip away economic uncertainty thanks to the bevy of wine bars across town. The area has enjoyed its share of restaurants with lengthy bottle lists, but as wine becomes more popular, so do spots catering to its admirers. Barrel Thief wine shop and café started pouring in Short Pump in 2007 and recently opened a location near Patterson and Libbie avenues. That plants it just blocks from Café Caturra’s latest location, on Grove Avenue near Libbie.

Supporters of stricter indoor-smoking laws and higher cigarette taxes in Virginia turned out yesterday to lobby state lawmakers. About 150 volunteers descended on the Capitol, urging legislators to vote for bills that would crack down on smoking in workplaces and increase the state’s cigarette tax to $1.20 from 30 cents per pack. A coalition of public-health groups organized the effort.

An abandoned power plant that once provided electricity for Richmond’s trolley cars will become home to a restaurant with views of the James River as part of the ongoing Rocketts Landing development. Developers of the mixed-use residential and commercial development in East Richmond and Henrico County also announced yesterday that they have received final permits needed to start construction of a private marina on the James. The restaurant and the marina are scheduled to open this summer.