This is Spilling the Beans , where plugged-in baristas give us the lowdown on where to go, what to do, and what to eat (and drink) in their hometown. In this installment, Andrew Huffman of Lamplighter Roasting Company shows us the ropes in Richmond, Virginia.

Andrew Huffman came down to Richmond for school and, almost 10 years later, he's more in love with the city than he's ever been. The bar manager at Lamplighter Roasting Company's Summit Avenue Roastery, Huffman's part of a group of shop owners and restaurateurs transforming Richmond into a hip city packed to the brim with festivals, art, and great food and drink. According to Huffman, there's a saying: Once you've been there for more than four years, you can't leave. But we think a shorter timeline may be in order—let Huffman be your guide to how to make the most of your time in Virginia's capital.

Courtesy of Andrew Huffman

Where should we stay?

There's a brand new hotel that just opened up called The Quirk Hotel ; it's in a revitalized building and looks like something out of a Wes Anderson film. Great restaurant, bar, coffee bar; and it's in a central hub called Jackson Ward. The folks that opened it had this awesome art gallery. On the other end of the spectrum, they just opened up a hostel too. It's our first hostel in Richmond, but it's a really cool place. If you're getting an Airbnb, The Fan is probably our best-known neighborhood—it's where we first opened Lamplighter and it's close to restaurants and shops. Very close to The Fan is Carytown, another eight to ten blocks of all independent local restaurants and boutiques. Nearly every building is a locally-owned mom-and-pop shop.

Where should we grab breakfast?

Hurley's . It takes diner food to the next level. Another spot that's awesome for brunch is Heritage ; they have a salmon bagel, which is probably my favorite thing in the entire world. When you think of a bagel, cream cheese, and lox, it doesn't necessarily jump out at you but when you bite into this one, you just understand the world. Everything makes sense.

Best cup of coffee?

We have lots of different places starting to sprout up. We have Alchemy Coffee , a multi-roaster shop, which uses beans from all over the country and sometimes Blanchard's , which is local. Equally great is Saison Market . One more place is called Harvest Grocery + Supply , a multi-roaster shop. While there, you can also get the breads, wines, cheeses, and different kinds of meats.

Flickr/punktoad

Best brewery?

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery is kind of at the forefront. It's a beautiful brewery, where they have food trucks on the weekends and craft events. They have a full tasting room with different kinds of beers that are all great. Ardent Craft Ales is another, more recent one, and they've been doing all kinds of really cool fun stuff. Instead of doing a standard pumpkin brew for fall, they've been working with a sage and sweet potato-infused beer and doing things way outside of the box.

Distillery?

Reservoir Distillery . My dad's from Kentucky and grew up on bourbon; even he loves it. He's like, "Don't tell grandpa, but this place is good ."

Food market to eat your way through?

South of the James farmers' market. There's all kinds of produce and then food trucks, stands, and crafts every Saturday morning.

Best cocktails?

The Rogue Gentlemen or Heritage. Both places have, in my opinion, some of the coolest cocktails in the city. They also have harder-to-find liquors.

Best classic, old-school restaurant?

We probably have one of the best old-school Italian places, Mamma Zu . It's one of those places where you walk in, it's dimly lit, and the menu's on a chalkboard. Everything's flat-out amazing, and they take care down to the minute details of how they prepare the garlic. Kuba Kuba is a popular Cuban restaurant where you'll see someone who's like, "I eat here every Thursday, and I've done it for the last 25 years." Another place is Joe's Inn , which does really tasty big-portion burgers and sandwiches; it's been open almost 70 years.

Courtesy of Southbound

Hottest new dinner spot?

Saison Market and then The Rogue Gentlemen . Both of those are great. The Roosevelt is one of the Richmond institutions we're proudest of. It's head chef is Lee Gregory, a James Beard nominee; it's Southern-style food with a twist. I haven't been to Southbound yet, but knowing Gregory and his track record, I have no doubt it's amazing.

Place to catch live music?

We have The National , which is a really big one, where you'd get some big name bands like Toro y Moi or Death Cab for Cutie. Another spot also opened recently called The Broadberry that's a bit smaller with a cool vibe to it. You're going to be pretty close to the stage, no matter what.

Where to get into trouble?

Sticky Rice , which is one of the bigger sushi bars. It has karaoke and, when it rains, there are $1 PBRs. If you wind up there, and you spend more than an hour, you'll find some trouble in the best possible way. Then, one of my favorite places to catch good dancing is called Balliceaux . They always have really cool dance parties. I went to a post-punk dance party there recently; they do different genres of music, but it's always a good time.

Where to eat late-night when the party’s over?

Doner Kebab , a great falafel place that's usually open till 3 a.m. You eat that falafel, and it just changes your view on the world.

Flickr/rvaphotodude

Place to see great art?

One of the coolest galleries is the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VFMA). It's totally free and has a lot of old and new stuff, photography, and then a rotating big-name exhibit like van Gogh. Then, for street art, recently a lot of the street artists took over an old, abandoned bus depot and did crazy designs. It was interactive, like a community paint-by-numbers. They've been doing super awesome murals on buildings all over town working with local establishments. Then we have a First Friday; that's a big art walk where galleries open their doors and you can go in, free of charge.

Best daytrip?

What's really cool about Richmond is that any direction you go, you're going to end up somewhere that feels like different. In summer, there's a place called Hadad's Lake that has giant swimming pools. It's 15 minutes away from the city, but you feel like you're out in the country all of a sudden. People go to party and have a good time.

If you want to hit up vineyards, James River Cellars Winery is right outside of the city. There's also a place called New Kent that's 20 minutes away, where you can do great hiking.