Welcome to Richmond. While I don't live there, we have eaten there from time to time, and always enjoy ourselves. I don't know what category these recommendations fall under. How about just places we liked, and we are passing it along for your consideration? In addition to my links, there is probably more information out there on the restaurants.

We liked Dots Back Inn, because of the eclectic selection. I keep meaning to go back there. http://omnigeek.org/alphageektalksfood/2011/08/dots-back-inn.html?m=1

Alamo BBQ was a great find. It is what I call new school BBQ, where places make BBQ and dress it up with some creative sides. BBQ is a very personal thing, so it may or may not be up to your standards, but we liked it. Go on a good day, because you eat outside. Of course you could get your order to go.
http://omnigeek.org/alphageektalksfoo...

While I am certainly no expert, would something like Whole Foods work? There is a Whole Foods in Short Pump. http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/sh...

I like the bbq exchange. I consider it one of the new type of bbq joints. These new bbq places offer good bbq, and try lots of innovative things with the side dishes. I especially like the pickles that they make there. You might also look at my profile, I did a review of bbq exchange a while ago over on my web site.

We were in Virginia Beach last month. We had similar ideas about meals as well: stay away from the tourist places. While I wrote up our meals on my blog, I am not trying (well not too hard...) to push my blog. However, we did like Mojito Cafe quite a bit. If you like Latin influences, it is a good choice. We tried Nick's Seafood, and liked the local flavor of it. Finally, we ate at Belvedere's for breakfast and liked that too. You can take a look at our blog at http://alphageekfood.blogspot.com/ for more details. You could also just poke around. When we opened our eyes, we found many interesting looking places to eat.

A few quickly come to mind.

We like Pho Saigon for the Pho they are named after.
Garnjana is pretty good Thai food.
Choi's Korean Kitchen is a very friendly place to get some Korean food.

You can read our opinions on these restaurants, at the link above. I don't want to just keep logging on and posting our link.

Is Asian influenced food what you are looking for?

Seafood is kind of difficult in the immediate Fredericksburg area. Believe it or not, the grocery store Wegmans has a seafood counter that we like to go to, when we want a nice piece of grilled fish. The other option is to get seafood at a local sushi or Thai place. Garnjana has a seafood special that we like; the dish is listed as a special, but they seem to have it all of the time.

It seems like most people go to Bonefish these days here, but you were looking non-chain. We ate there once, and it was okay, but really crowded and did not stick out as a great place.

I will keep my ears open for seafood, and post back if I hear anything interesting.

I live here in Fredericksburg, and think there are many good non-chain restaurants here. I have by no means eaten in all of them, but I do have some reviews up on my site, http://alphageekfood.blogspot.com/
Do you have an interest in any particular type of restaurant? I am not really a "fancy" restaurant kind of guy, but I can make some suggestions, based on my experience.

I have to second the Thai Siam suggestion. I am not familiar with restaurants in Lynchburg, but Thai Siam is one of the best place I have ever eaten, hands down. There have been some other threads on Thai Siam, so you might want to look through the archives for reviews, but everyone seems to love the place.

I am more "old school" when visiting Tech, so I have two old recommendations. Backstreet's has been there forever, and serves up some good pizza. The other one is Mike's Grill. Go to Mike's and get a cheeseburger, fries and a beer.

I know a lot of folks recommend Gillies, but I have never heard anyone rave about the food later. I *still* hear people raving about their Mike's Burger years later.

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Backstreets Restaurant
207 S Main St, Blacksburg, VA 24060

Mike's Grill
418 N Main St, Blacksburg, VA 24060

I think they re-opened. We at there last week and posted some information that might be useful. http://alphageekfood.blogspot.com/201...