Soon, Short Pump will have it’s very own Smoothie King, located just outside the entrance to Innsbrook in the Parkside Marketplace shopping center. The store will be beside Starbucks, where Hagen-Dazs once was. Smoothie King is set to open its doors at the beginning of June. It was also mentioned that a third Richmond location will be opening at the same time near W. Broad St. and N. Harrison St. in the VCU area.

When it comes to smoothies, Short Pump offers up some steep competition. Froots is across the street in the Innsbrook Shoppes, Squeeze is just up the road across from the Regal Short Pump 14, and Tropical Smoothie Cafe is just beyond that in the shopping center adjacent to Short Pump Town Center. Though this brings us to a grand total to four smoothie stores in our area, Smoothie King has made a name for themselves in the Carytown area and may be able to hit the ground running if their reputation in Carytown precedes them.

On the first visit I had the Chicken Pesto Panini and my wife chose the Curry Chicken Salad in a wrap. All sandwiches come with a bag of chips and unlike your standard Subway fare, you have your choice from a much more interesting selection. I definitely suggest trying Stacy’s Pita Chips if you have never had them. I like the Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips. The Curry Chicken Salad was really tasty and indeed fresh. The Pesto Chicken Panini was definitely good. So good, in fact, that I had another for dinner later that week. I really like the bread they use for their panini sandwiches. There were flax seeds baked into the bread and, unlike many places that offer panini sandwiches, even after being heated the bread remained soft and enjoyable.

Something unique and unexpected about Verde is that they also offer wine and beer. Stop by on a Wednesday or Friday night for their free wine tasting. I am not much of a wine connoisseur, but I did notice that they carry Toscolo Chianti, which is not very easy to find in Richmond and is one of my favorites. You’re also getting a very good deal on it at $12.99 a bottle. Verde offers you a chance at getting some wisely chosen wine at a reasonable price. They also have a small, but very decent selection of single beers.

I think Verde is a welcome addition to the Short Pump area offering a healthy and fresh alternative to the norm everyone is used to.

UPDATE: Verde Fresh Food has their website up. Check it out at www.verdefreshfood.com

The restaurant, still being very new, was a touch empty, but we went in the middle of the afternoon, so that was to be expected. There seemed to be an empty bar area near our booth and when I say empty, I mean no booze. There were a few people siting there, there just weren’t any liquor bottles or handles on the beer taps. I can only assume the ABC license is still pending.

We tried the Spicy Toasted Ravioli for starters and it was definitely tasty and satisfying. It came with marinara for dipping, which is a must for the proper Italian kick; not too spicy and not too fried. I would get it again for sure. Since Ledo’s has “pizza” in their name, we had to give it a shot. You have three options when it comes to pizza size: small, medium and large, also known as Personal, One Tray, and Two Trays. When I say tray, visualize a tray that you might get in a cafeteria to carry your food. That’s what were talking about. We ordered a medium (One Tray) with red onion and green pepper.

Before visiting, I envisioned square pizza from Ledo’s to be not unlike the square “pan style” pizza I had many times in the past, generally being very thick and heavy with plenty of sauce. To me, that kind of pizza is extremely filling, so filling that merely considering it makes me feel full. I was very happily wrong about this. Ledo’s pizza crusts are thin. Thin and tasty. Simply said, that pizza was awesome. We had a few more pieces than we probably should have and still had plenty to carry home for lunch the next day. The bill was about $20 after a two topping tray of pizza, an appetizer and a couple of drinks. What a deal.

This is a great addition to the local pizza choices Short Pump has to offer, especially considering it’s different from anything else in the area. I definitely think they’re in a good location and should do well when West Broad Village fills with residents. Add this one to the top of your list. The prices are very good, the people are nice, and the pizza was great.

Pizza Fusion has made being eco-friendly and healthy their top priority. They mentioned on their website that they didn’t go the eco-friendly route to hop on the “green” bandwagon. Instead, they made the decision because it’s the right thing to do. From my bar stool, I could tell that they are definitely doing things differently than your average pizza joint. They use all-natural and organic ingredients in all of their foods and even offer gluten-free options. The bar was made from recycled materials and their delivery vehicle is a Toyota Prius.

In addition to their all-natural and organic food options, they also serve all-natural and organic drinks. Beer, sodas, juices, they have lots to choose from, but none of it is crammed with artificial ingredients and sweeteners. I had a Boylan’s cream soda and it was awesome. We ordered a pepperoni pizza and a tomato pizza. The pepperonis were huge, but easily as good, if not better than what we are all used to with pepperoni. The tomato pizza was also good, but the tomatoes were pretty seedy, which we didn’t like.

I definitely enjoyed the clean and earth friendly atmosphere and though we found one ingredient we didn’t care for, the food itself was very tasty and worth eating again. On a busy night, I suggest delivery since they are not a big restaurant, but if you are looking for a new place to try and it happens to be earlier in the week, Pizza Fusion is the way to go. And remember: get a Boylan’s soda to drink!