Home Sweet Home — Restaurant in Richmond

Tried this place after briefly meeting someone who works there. Gourmet grilled cheese! I was expecting to be wowed, but was disappointed enough to not give them a second try. First red flag was the water and cigarette overflowing bucket that greets you outside the front door. Inside, the server was a little too nonchalant, not really caring if we were there or not was the vibe I got. The only other patrons were folks who looked like regulars at the bar so our server was not busy. Our table was sticky and the paper menus should have been recycled long before they made it into our hungry hands; food stains and torn, it was laughable. When the server took our order he was less than helpful, again not seeming to care. We got fried pickles, which were ok, came with a super salty dipping sauce and were pickle slices instead of spears. My grilled cheese was good, but the chilled beet bisque was lacking. After a few spoonfuls I stopped trying to like it. Other folks liked their sandwiches, and the salad with the yellow beets was a hit. The crab dip was tasty, but when we asked for a container to take the dip to go, the server said "That's specifically why we don't do the crab dip to go." Huh? I asked him "What is specifically why you don't do the grab dip to go?" Server: "Because we don't have a container to put it in." I replied, "Well that's stupid." Server: shrugs shoulders. I was able to get a 'regular' box, which sufficed just fine to take the crab do to go. Did I mention the music was not only annoying but really loud? It was 3 in the afternoon. So, dirty, meh food and crappy server equals there are way too many restaurants in Richmond for me to go back to a...

I woke up yesterday and absolutely needed poutine. Not sure where that came from (thanks, pregnancy) since I haven't had it in years, but I needed it. A Google search directed me to Home Sweet Home so off I went. Before arriving I was a little concerned about the ingredients. I've ordered poutine before in Virginia and it came out with crumbled or shredded cheese instead of cheese curds and that's just wrong. I sat down and ordered myself a plate of Totooine (poutine with tater tots instead of fries). I was pleasantly surprised that not only were there real cheese curds on there, but they were big and chewy just like they should be. As a former Wisconsinite, I take cheese curds very seriously (as should everyone). I'm not sure if this particular craving is going to crop up again, but if it does, I'm going to go straight back to Home Sweet Home. I'll probably be back to try some of the...

My daughter and I visited for lunch and were very happy with our experience. She got the Mac N Me -pulled pork and Mac n cheese on grilled challah bread. The result was a crispy, buttery, slightly sweet bread filled with not too saucy pulled pork and creamy cheesy mac. Delightful! Her sandwich came with a little cruet of slightly spiced basil-y tomato soup. I got the WTF -grilled multigrain bread with smoked pork, sage and fontina cheese with a side of perfectly cooked sweet potato fries. We opted for the house dressing which was very mild cross between Russian and ranch with more of a bent towards the ranch side. Went well with the fries. The service was prompt and friendly. The downstairs brought me back to my recent trip to Nashville -small narrow bar -I did not venture upstairs as I was able to nab a table right by the bright window up front! I recommend for a...