Studies show that dinnertime is the most stressful part of a busy parent’s day – the planning, the shopping, the prep, the cleanup, the figuring out what in the world to fix. Every. Single. Night. It gets exhausting, even for those who actually enjoy cooking. I know my husband and I dread having to figure out dinner seven nights a week, so when I heard about the Tazza Kitchen team’s genius idea to convert an old diesel garage in Scott’s Addition into a state-of-the-art industrial kitchen, where the meal I ordered from their website could be delivered right into my car when I pulled in to the drive-through garage bay, I knew I would become a frequent customer.
Have you ever been to a Brew-Thru in OBX? Fun, wasn’t it? Well imagine that idea, but you come out with a restaurant-quality meal, prepared the same day, complete with heating instructions and even in environment-friendly packaging. It’s a dream come true for not just busy parents, but for anyone who doesn’t want to or have time to cook. I can’t decide which segment of the population will love this more – singles, older folks (my mom would love to have this in her town!), busy parents, couples on the go – I think that covers everyone, so yes, everyonewill love this concept.
The Big Kitchen is the name, and as restaurant owners, the team understands that while we all love going out to eat every now and then, we sometimes want the same yummy food, but in the comfort of our own homes (I mean what’s better than eating a restaurant-quality meal in your jammies and not having to tip – or pay for drinks!). The Big Kitchen is also about to start delivering to select parts of town, and they just announced their second location coming to Short Pump, right next to their Tazza outpost there, so it will be even easier to enjoy their food and convenience soon.
When I checked out their website for the first time, I was immediately impressed by the graphics, ease of use, and straight-forward presentation. Typically, you can pick up your order as soon as thirty minutes after ordering, between 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 2:30 p.m. through 7:30 p.m. on weekends, and you can choose a pick-up time slot every fifteen minutes during those hours. You can even order up to seven days in advance, so if you have that pocket of time, you can put a whole new spin on that meal prep thing!
As a native of Maryland’s eastern shore, crab cakes are always my test of a good restaurant, so I decided to launch right in with an order of four jumbo lump crab cakes, which I thought were very reasonably priced at $24.99 for four (if they truly were lump backfin, time would tell). I can honestly say that while not the largest, they were among the best tasting crab cakes I’ve had in Richmond, filled with lump backfin and no filler. We also decided to try the bbq, knowing that they have an industrial-sized smoker on the premises. We opted for the Springer Mountain Farms pulled chicken, with buns and slaw, and it did not disappoint. I definitely want to try the chopped prime beef brisket and pulled pork soon, as well as the variety of sauces they have to choose from. The marinated winter vegetables and the bread and butter pickles we ordered as side dishes were very flavorful, and the pimento cheese was simply to die for (another test of a good restaurant!). We topped off our meal with the chocolate budino, which was so rich and decadent, we ate it over the course of a couple of days.
For our second pickup, we ordered the smoked beef brisket burritos, which easily fed me and my husband, and were scrumptious. We got a frozen brick oven pepperoni pizza for the kids and a spicy sausage and black pepper honey pizza for us, which were hits with all of us.
I’m excited to keep trying items off of their diverse menu – I’m thinking boneless buttermilk fried chicken and shrimp fried rice for the kids next, and for us, maybe applewood smoked bacon quiche and pork lettuce wraps … or the baja bowl tex mex kit … or the African peanut soup with roasted sweet potato and cilantro … it’s just so hard to choose!
They even have some grab-and-go items in the onsite market, like sandwiches, salads, sides, frozen brick oven pizzas, beer, and wine. Plus, you can snag the Big Kitchen gift cards on their website, which email straight to the recipient with your personal note. I’m thinking this will make for a wonderful gift for just about anyone and will surely be appreciated.
Kudos to the Tazza Kitchen and The Big Kitchen teams for knocking this concept out of the park, and a big thank you from busy families everywhere.
To order dinner and/or check out the menu for yourself, go to The Big Kitchen.
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Read how Tazza Kitchen is committed to sustainability in packaging, sourcing, composting, and waste management in this article at Just Joan: RVA Storyteller.
