You gotta like a guy who loves his dog so much he named a restaurant after her. Weezie, Todd Gelsamino’s beloved pug died of breed specific canine encephalitis a couple of years ago, so when Gelsamino opened Weezie’s Kitchen in Carytown last year, he had no trouble choosing a name.

Gelsamino admits to being a “restaurant brat,” having spent most of his formative years doing kitchen jobs. He began in his hometown of Clearwater, Fla., where he learned the business from the inside out. Since then, he’s washed dishes, bussed tables, cooked the line and worked the front of the house.

Somewhere in there, he earned a degree from Fullsail School for the Recording Arts in Winter Park, Fla. But no matter what he did, Gelsamino couldn’t seem to get away from food. When he tried out his film school chops, he found himself handling food as a prop master and stylist for commercials.

“I always tried to keep my eye on what people were going to see,” he says.

Weezie’s Kitchen is the first restaurant Gelsamino has owned. Clearly he has the experience. “I’ve done every job from the front to the back door,” he says. “It’s just juggling, propping up one end, fixing the other.”

The spirit of Weezie, whose happy mug peers out from a frame over the bar, keeps him running. He clears tables, fixes drinks. “It’s not that people aren’t doing their jobs,” he says. “It gives me an opportunity to talk to people; an excuse to be there without bothering people.”

Gelsamino’s genius lies in serving fashionable riffs on comfort food. His Chicken-Fried Steak for instance, isn’t the thinly sliced, tough cut of beef your grandma breaded, fried and served with cream gravy. Instead, he pounds out New York strips and then fries them like chicken; crispy like grandma’s, tasty and tender like strip steak.

Likewise, if you’ve ever tasted the frozen, heavily breaded Buffalo shrimp that seem to be popping up in bars everywhere, you have no idea how good they can really be.

Sample the Buffalo Shrimp at Weezies, where large whole shrimp are lightly battered and fried, then doused with a tame and tangy hot sauce. You will never settle for the frozen version again.

Gelsamino takes equal care with all his fare. His vegetables and greens come from a local farmer and from Manakin Towne Specialty Growers, so everything is grown within driving distance of the restaurant.

With the hefty supply, Gelsamino has brought magic to the garden salad, too. “There are usually a couple of special salads and an entrée salad,” he says, such as Sorrel Salad with Hanger Steak or Arugula and Dandelion Salad with Roasted Duck.

Gelsamino has lent his imprimatur to the bar as well. Last year’s Watermelon Festival saw the creation of “that watermelon drink” that remains nameless.

“People just came in asking for ‘that watermelon drink that everyone is talking about,’” he recalls.

Without being too specific, Gelsamino hints at what the concoction might include: watermelon juice, ginger, lime, and vodka. And the nameless drink comes in three forms: martinis, shots, and coolers.

They were so popular last year that Gelsamino was trapped behind the bar, with no escape, from 11:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.

“We were slammed,” he says. “It was insane.”

If you’re intending to cool off with a Weezie’s watermelon drink at this year’s Watermelon Festival, a word of advice: Get there when the doors open, and chill down with a cold one. 

HOURS
BREAKFAST
8am-11am
Tuesday thru Friday
BRUNCH
8am-2pm
Saturday & Sunday
LUNCH
11am-5pm
Tuesday thru Friday
DINNER
5pm-1am
Tuesday thru Sunday
SUNDAY NIGHTS 3pm-9pm
Food & Drink Specials
HAPPY HOUR
3pm-7pm
Tuesday thru Friday
[$1 off all drinks!]
Closed Mondays.
Late nite menu & take-out available. 

Weezie’s Kitchen | 3123 W. Cary St, | 726.1270

Weezie’s is awesome!!  If you are a vegetarian, like me- it has many great and yummy choices… I LOVE IT!!!  =D