Knife & Fork: Winter 2019

SUPPER SAVES Lynsie Steele tackles deals for meals

PAGE 15

WINTER 2019

Taste is everything.

LET’S SWEET

Pie queen Rachel Pennington talks shop

In the round

A Crozet coffee spot with a Big Apple twist

Till the last drop L’étoile’s inventive soups to savor

dessert Patisserie Torres’ chocolate cake with mango filling and raspberries. Yes, please!

EAT UP!

400+ spots to dive in, chow down, and fill up

Go ahead, give in to your sweet tooth

GRAB A COLD ONE & ENJOY THE VIEW

for your health THE JUICE LAUNDRY 100% ORGANIC PLANT-BASED FOOD PRESTON AVE / THE CORNER

NELSON COUNTY’S

ORIGINAL BREWERY INDEPENDENTLY BREWED SINCE 2007

OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK MON-SAT: 11AM - 10PM SUN: 11AM - 9PM 9519 CRITZERS SHOP RD, AFTON, VA 22920

|

540-456-8020

|

WWW.BLUEMOUNTAINBREWERY.COM

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Sunday-Thursday 11am-11pm Friday & Saturday 11am-Midnight

106 West South Street, Charlottesville, VA | 434-293-6550 | southstreetbrewery.com

SH

K

S

F

O

L’

A

DWEL

4 Knife&Fork Winter

O

D & DR

IN

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S The Dish 11 Winter warm-up

Soups and stews from a beloved local chef.

13 Circle game

A bite of the Big Apple in Crozet.

15 Dinner winner

Charlottesville’s clapback to Blue Apron.

19 Happy new eats

Your New Year’s Day meal, sprung to life.

1 pound The amount of butter in Harrison Keevil’s ham biscuit recipe. Page 19

21 Whole foods

Sweet everythings

Give us dessert or give us death. In this issue, we’re exploring the finest of Charlottesville’s sugary treats—from a wintry shake best enjoyed at the lunch counter to a few updated childhood favorites. Life’s short— eat dessert first. PAGE 27

Tale of a grape

That perfect French wine you had the other night at dinner didn’t just drop down from heaven (though it may as well have). These local importers are working behind the scenes to get your next glass from here, there, and everywhere. PAGE 47

A good-for-you foods store in Lovingston.

23 What’s up

News, events, and a daytrip worth taking.

Half full

Fill up your glass at one of the area’s 50+ wineries, breweries and cideries. PAGE 54

Eat up

More than 400 restaurants to satisfy your craving—from apple pie to zucchini fritters. PAGE 59

The Last Bite

Hot and cold vibes at The Alley Light. PAGE 70

ON THE COVER: Patisserie Torres. Photo: Morgan Salyer. COMMENTS? Email the editor at caite@c-ville.com.

3am

That’s how early Lynsie Steele wakes up on Wednesday mornings to hunt the deals for you. Page 15

Winter Knife&Fork 5

826 Hinton Ave • tavolavino.com please call 434.972.9463 to reserve in advance

Eat Well | Do Good

Charlottesville’s News & Arts Weekly P.O. Box 119 • 308 E. Main St., Charlottesville, VA 22902 (434) 817-2749 Advertising/Editorial Fax: (434) 817-2758 www.c-ville.com Facebook: facebook.com/cville.weekly Instagram: @cvilleweekly

Join us to support local non-profits on the first Tuesday of the month*.

now accepting accepting reservations now reservations for holiday holiday parties parties in for in our our We asked the staff: new private private dining dining room new room What’s your favorite sweet treat? new private dining room Editorial n a for holiday parties in our o w fo r h now accepting reservations n e w

Our version of the spaghetti supper fundraiser features bucatini & meatballs, asiago garlic bread, insalata verde, and special drinks served in the bar to benefit the evening’s charity partner. (* no fundraiser in January & July)

EDITOR

Laura Longhine (x20) KNIFE & FORK EDITOR

Caite Hamilton (x45) NEWS EDITOR

email: info@tavolavino.com please 434.972.9463 reserveininadvance advance or callcall 434.972.9643 toto reserve 826 434.972.9463 Hinton Ave • tavolavino.com please call to reserve in advance

“The Coupe Maison on C&O’s late-night menu. It’s basically a fancy ice cream sundae, which is sometimes exactly what you want and need at 1am.”

826 Hinton Ave • tavolavino.com

Ready for something awesome?

Lisa Provence (x14) ARTS EDITOR

Tami Keaveny (x18) ARTS & LIVING REPORTER

Erin O’Hare STAFF REPORTER

Samantha Baars (x40)

“Bizou’s darkchocolate mousse.

I always order two: one for dessert at the restaurant, and a second to take home and devour the next day.”

p l e a s e

COPY EDITOR

Susan Sorensen “Chocolate éclairs from Albemarle Baking Company.

Always and forever.”

“My true love is Alley Light’s Mr. Rech (page 70), but at home, let’s just say I wouldn’t throw a pint of Häagen-Dazs Caramel Cone out of bed.”

Design and Production CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Bill LeSueur (x17) artdirector@c-ville.com EDITORIAL DESIGNER

“The dark chocolate pie from The Pie Chest is sort of fabulous.”

“Ice cream: butter pecan, or any flavor with chocolate from Chaps, or pistachio gelato from Splendora’s, or a Kilwin’s waffle bowl sundae.”

Max March (x16) GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Tracy Federico, Lorena Perez

Advertising

advertising@c-ville.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Theressa Leak (x15) PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Faith Gibson (x25) MARKETING SERVICES DIVISION classifieds@c-ville.com

Erica Gentile (x43), Alex Patterson (x42), Cindy Simmons (x39), Beth Wood (x56) “Key lime pie from Downtown Grille, cake pops (salted caramel or red velvet) from Sweethaus, or that darn good brownie from Brazos Tacos.”

“Cupcakes from Sweethaus. The best! Creative flavors and creamy frostings.”

Business

“I love the mango rice from Bang!.

I also love the chocolate molten cake from Chili’s.”

PUBLISHER

Aimee Atteberry (x12) aimee@c-ville.com CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Debbie Miller (x28) MARKETING MANAGER

Anna Harrison (x51) A/R SPECIALIST

Nanci Winter (x33) CIRCULATION MANAGER

Billy Dempsey (x32) C-VILLE HOLDINGS

www.timberwoodtaphouse.com 6 Knife&Fork Winter

Bill Chapman, Blair Kelly KNIFE & FORK, a supplement to C-VILLE Weekly, is distributed regionally. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. ©2018 C-VILLE Weekly.

Over 30 curated events in Richmond for the wine and spirits enthusiast and foodie, featuring tastings, dinners, lunches, brunches, minglers, cooking classes, and seminars.

Information and tickets at VirginiaWineExpo.com.

February 26-March 3, 2019 Photo (top) taken at the Evening Walk-Around Grand Tasting session at spectacular Main Street Station

Fall Knife&Fork 7

WINE WAREHOUSE

COMING SOON: NEW EXTENDED MENU!

WINE & CRAFT BEER STORE EST. 1994 • CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA

Est. 1994

SERVING ITALIAN "MASTER PIZZAS" SINCE 1997.

Mon.-Sat. 9:30-7:30 • Sun. 12:30-5:30

Take-out and Delivery available On The Mall with a $50 minimum order Call to place an order 434-977-0162

Enjoy our Gourmet Pizza, Pasta Dishes, Stromboli and Tiramisu.

1804 Hydraulic Road • Charlottesville, VA Follow us on Facebook, 434.296.1727 • wineinc@aol.com

984 Barren Ridge Rd.

Fishersville, VA 22939

540-248-3300

www.barrenridgevineyards.com

Join us for Lunch and Dinner from 11am - 8pm Mon - Sat. & Sun 12 - 6pm

www.vitanovapizzapasta.com

Hours: Monday - Wednesday: 11am to 6pm

Thursday - Saturday: 11am to 9pm

Sunday: 1pm to 6pm

Type to enter text

984 Barren Ridge Rd. Fishersville, VA 22939 540-248-3300 www.barrenridgevineyards.com

8 Knife&Fork Winter

Monday - Wednesday: 11am to 6pm Thursday - Saturday: 11am to 9pm Sunday: 1pm to 6pm

The Gift that Gives All Year Long ▲

AT THESE LOCATIONS...

HIRING FOR...

• • • • •

• • • •

5th Street Barracks Hollymead Waynesboro Harrisonburg

▲

Join Our Team Associates Drivers Bakers Managers

email Kyle.robinson@blueridgebread.com

Winter Knife&Fork 9

Hair Cuttery Mailbox Express Sentara Family Medicine Lee Nails Sally’s Beauty Sprint Primary Eyecare Great Clips Bank of the James Verizon Select Medical Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa Planet Fitness iFixt Royal Nails Spa Verizon COMING SOON: Trend Salon & Mathnasium Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Panera Bread Fuzzy’s Taco Shop Jersey Mike’s The Ultimate Shopping Red Mango and Dining Experience Timberwood Tap House Krispy Kreme ABC Liquor Mattress Warehouse PetSmart A.C. Moore and Crafts GNC Dollar Tree Wegmans Dick’s Sporting Goods Now open Chimm Restaurant & Extreme Pizza.

Field and Stream Coming Soon Basil, Moshiko & more!

Havertys

149 5th Street Station Parkway Charlottesville, VA 22904 • 5thststation.com

10 Knife&Fork Winter

Put yourself in a relaxing atmosphere,

and enjoy local brews and wine inside or outdoors by the cozy fire pit.

West Main Pub

Come join us at the new gathering place.

Open Mon-Sat 5pm -10pm I 434-220-0075 I 315 West Main

The Dish TRENDS, TASTEMAKERS, AND FOODS WE LOVE

JOHN ROBINSON

Warm welcome L’étoile’s Mark Gresge just wants to make you a bowl of soup

Winter Knife&Fork 11

PRESENTED BY

VIP TENT SPONSORED BY

GA AND VIP TICKETS ON SALE NOW:

KNOWGOODBEER.COM

This event sold out last year. Do not wait to purchase tickets!

Part of the proceeds to benefit Red Shoe Cville and the Charlottesville Ronald McDonald House.

12 Knife&Fork Winter

The Dish

Soup’s on!

Hearty bowls simmer in a Crozet cottage

C

hef Mark Gresge missed making soup.

From 1992 to 2014, Gresge ran the beloved local French restaurant L’étoile. “To me,” Gresge says, “French country cooking was the perfect cuisine. Depth of flavor, locally sourced product, a true sense of region in the cooking.”

L’étoile had always run catering alongside its restaurant operations, but the growth of both that catering business and his own family drove Gresge to reluctantly close the restaurant and focus only on catering. Through word of mouth, he found a cozy cottage kitchen just outside downtown Crozet and set up shop there. “I still miss the restaurant,” he says, “and try and capture the feeling through the pop-ups that I hold at the kitchen when time allows.”

But pop-ups and catering still weren’t enough.

Making soup was one of the ways Gresge began each day at the restaurant, and far from considering it a lowly haven for leftovers, he took its preparation as seriously as the rest of his courses. “I missed that process, making it every day, and decided that I would make a small batch and see if anyone was interested in taking some home,” he says. So Gresge put a simple sign out front and an honor box and cooler on the porch, and he marketed his soups via social media.

He says he can’t count the number of different flavors he’s cooked up since he began in 2015; he tries to avoid a routine and offer new combinations of flavors each week. Gresge especially loves taking requests from patrons for particular favorite recipes. “People seem to love anything with shrimp, gumbo, chowder and

JACK LOONEY

By Nathan Alderman

After closing his beloved restaurant in the city, L’étoile chef Mark Gresge turned to something simpler (in addition to his catering business): soup.

so on,” he says, listing New England clam chowder and chicken and rice as other popular offerings. (Kale-related soups? Not so much.)

In the chilly months ahead, he’s planning to offer cassoulet, a hearty French dish of white beans and assorted meats, and bigos, a Polish “hunter’s stew” traditionally made with meat, cabbage, and sauerkraut. “Bigos is so wonderful,” says Gresge, “I would love to share it with Crozet.”

When Gresge first opened L’étoile, “I imagined a grandmother cooking for her family,” he says. “I wanted to do that.” Serving soup to hungry, happy customers seems to keep him connected to that ideal.

“Honestly,” he says, “if I could make only one dish, and it was only soup, I would be a very happy person.”

Getcha some Drive past L’étoile’s Crozet headquarters (or drop by its Facebook page) at 5857 Jarmans Gap Rd., and you’ll see a hand-lettered sign announcing the two weekly flavors on offer. Drop $10 in the lockbox on the front porch, and help yourself to a quart from the cooler. New offerings roll out every Wednesday. “If the sign is not out,” says Gresge, “the soup is gone.”—NA

Hidden treasure It’s a gutsy position to take in a town devoted to Bodo’s, but northerner Scott Link thinks H&H bagels are the ones to beat, if only for nostalgia purposes. That’s why, before he even opened Rocket Coffee in late April, he knew the first thing on his menu (besides the joe) would have to be the New York delicacy, shipped in fresh from Midtown Manhattan.

JACK LOONEY

“We have a lot of Northeast transplants out here in Crozet,” Link says. “I knew it would be a draw for them.”

Besides the coffee (he especially loves Rocket’s G Force espresso), the shop’s bestseller is its New York-style sammy: smoked salmon and cream cheese with red onion and capers on a toasted H&H bagel.

A little bit of the Big Apple just down the road? When it comes to bagels, the more the merrier, we say.

—Caite Hamilton

Winter Knife&Fork 13

The Vintner’s Table For groups of 6-16 guests, $95 per person, $125 for Reserve Wine Pairings ~ Reserverations Required

4-COURSE WINE PAIRING MENU Join us at the Vintner’s Table for a personalized wine experience featuring a 4-course tasting menu showcasing our latest wine releases paired with shared dishes. The ever-changing menu is inspired by seasonal ingredients sourced from our onsite Kitchen Garden and local farm partners. It’s available for booking Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm.

TO BOOK, VISIT: www.pippinhillfarm.com/food/the-vintners-table

5 0 2 2 P L A N K R O A D , N O R T H G A R D E N , VA

434.202.8063

•

P I P P I N H I L L FA R M . C O M

For an unforgettable dining experience, savor the personalized five-course menus at our Chef ’s Table.

RED PUMP KITCHEN’S CHEF’S TABLE 5-COURSES, $80 PER PERSON R E S E R VA T I O N S R E Q U I R E D

401 EAST MAIN STREET DOWNTOWN CHARLOTTESVILLE

434.202.6040 •

REDPUMPKITCHEN.COM

Bargain hunter and gatherer

The Dish

Extra perk

Want to tr y Vie? Enter out code knife promo andfork at getvie.c om for a free mon th of meal plan s.

Through Vie, Lynsie Steele searches out bargains at local grocery stores and passes them on to you, plus weekly meal plans. Earlier this winter, recipes included chimichurri steak tacos, meatless stuffed peppers, butternut grains, and pumpkin tortilla soup. PHOTOS: LYNSIE STEELE, AMY JACKSON SMITH

Living the Vie Lifestyle means eating affordable, easy-to-make meals

By Jenny Gardiner

F

or mother of six Lynsie Steele, necessity was the mother invention as she tried to feed a large family on a shoestring.

“I was trying to find ways to save money so I challenged myself to cut my grocery bill in half,” says the food entrepreneur. She decided to blog about the meal plans she designed based on Harris Teeter’s weekly sales, and soon had a large following of readers who requested meal plans that corresponded to sales at all local grocery stores. From this came Vie Lifestyle, which has morphed into a subscription service in which customers pay $9.99 per month for a weekly shopping list and unlimited access to all Vie Lifestyle meal plans, 3,000 archived recipes, plus private consultation with their meal planners and with Steele herself.

“We’re a real-life resource, not a robot,” Steele says. “We’re making healthy eating more affordable, but we’re essentially a cooking school. I want people to feel comfortable and empowered

in the kitchen, so when people reach for an onion, they know how to chop it and not get frustrated or feel held back in the kitchen because something didn’t come out right.”

Which means she provides not only detailed recipes but also plenty of online how-to videos as well. Steele feels strongly that nutritional eating should be affordable to all.

“Using the (grocery) sale items hit a home run for us because we were able to affect change in people’s lives that didn’t allow them to say, ‘I can’t eat healthy food because I can’t afford it,’” she says. “This locked in the motivation behind the business because people were so responsive to it.”

Now Steele and her staff of two full-timers and several freelancers write seven meal plans a week tied to sale items at most local grocery stores. With the popularity of many diet-specific needs, they started incorporating Paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, and nightshade-free meal plans as well.

Steele rises at 3am on Wednesdays to see what’s on sale and start writing meal plans. By Thursday they’re published on the website and on Friday, she adds three plans that are not reliant on sales (the special diet plan, Trader Joe’s, which doesn’t have sales, and Wegmans,

which doesn’t use a national sales plan like many grocers). While Vie Lifestyle has a customer base that extends as far away as California, the sales aspect only applies regionally since that’s how stores organize their sale pricing.

Steele says the cost-savings are significant, with a family of four to six spending between $100 and $150 per week for four dishes, two large sides, and one soup, which should provide enough leftovers to last a week.

The 2-year-old business relies on a patchwork of freelancing chefs and food industry experts who help in many ways.

“Most of my team has had a lot of experience in the food industry. What makes the job so good for people like us is it is a job you can do remotely; it doesn’t require the long hours that chefs usually have to work and I give them a lot of autonomy and independence to write recipes they love that they make at home. I love the distinct voices that each meal planner can relay when they write their meals.”

Steele says while the program benefits countless subscribers, it’s a boon for her as well.

“Having a business where I feel so excited about all the different aspects of it—it’s a motivator to get up that early,” she says. “I get butterflies in my stomach every time I get to work!”

“We’re making healthy eating more affordable, but we’re essentially a cooking school. I want people to feel comfortable and empowered in the kitchen.”

Winter Knife&Fork 15

GATHER AROUND WITH LOVE AND CHEER

Barracks Road.

FIRST WATCH COMING SOON!

B.GOOD • BEN & JERRY’S • CHOPT • FIVE GUYS • GREENBERRY’S COFFEE & TEA • THE HAPPY COOK • HARRIS TEETER HOTCAKES • J-PETAL • LINDT • OLIVA • PETER CHANG CHINA GRILL • POKE SUSHI BOWL • REBECCA’S NATURAL FOOD SMOOTHIE KING • SWEETFROG • TARA THAI • ZINBURGER • ZOËS KITCHEN • AND MORE!

barracksroad.com Emmet Street at Barracks Road, Charlottesville, Virginia

www.renewalrestaurant.com 1106 West Main St. Charlottesville, Va 22903 434.984.8010

Renewal restaurant set in the heart of Charlottesville, a short walk from UVA hospital and UVA grounds. Locally owned and operated, we gather ingredients from around the area and down into New Orleans. These products help drive our southern and Cajun inspired menu. From worldly wines to classic cocktails and 36 draft beers, including our pour your own tasting experience, you will find something to pair with our savory cuisine. We are excited to be a part of the thriving local restaurant craft and can’t wait to share our offerings with you and our community.

18 Knife&Fork Winter

A taste of luck

The Dish

Three ways to start the new year

By Caite Hamilton

N

ew Year’s is more of a drinkingand-kissing holiday than one meant for feasting. But don’t let a good startof-the-year meal go overlooked, especially if you might leave some luck on the table. We asked some local food folks to cook us up New Year’s Day nosh that was traditional (to capitalize on all that good fortune) in its ingredients, but slightly left of center in execution.

Because pigs are a symbol of prosperity (they root around with their nose in a forward motion), many people believe eating pork will bring progress in the new year. Chef/owner Harrison Keevil of Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen thinks ham biscuits—rather than a tenderloin or pork chop—is the ticket. He makes these little beauties every day in his Hinton Avenue store and insists on country ham from Edwards, a Virginia smokehouse based in Surry.

MORGAN SALYER

Pork

lopoulos suggests a heary kale soup with local ingredients—he digs Whisper Hill and Broadhead Mountain kale (found at the Charlottesville City Market).

Ham biscuits

Greens & Beans

6 cups AP flour 1 tbsp. salt 4 tbsp. baking powder 1 lb. very cold unsalted butter 3 cups whole milk

(aka Kale Minestrone) 1 1/2 cups dried beans (cannellini, Great Northern, Pinto) 2 quarts vegetable stock or water, (extra for adjusting texture) 1 bouquet garni (tied bundle of 1/2 bunch thyme, 1/2 bunch rosemary, 2 bay leaves) Olive oil, as needed 1 onion, medium dice 1 leek, small dice (soak and wash in lots of water, drain)

Greens It’s a no-brainer that greens, the color of four leaf clovers, jade jewelry, and, obvs, money, will usher in prosperity. Ivy Inn’s Angelo Vange-

AMY JACKSON SMITH

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients. Using a box grader, grate the cold butter in to the dry mixture. Add milk.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture until the milk is incorporated fully. On a floured work surface, put the mixture on the table and sprinkle with additional flour. Pat down the dough until it’s approximately half an inch thick. Fold top half of dough over bottom half, turn and pat down to half an inch. Repeat the process six times. On the final fold, cut the dough half an inch thick and cut biscuits 2 inches by 2 inches (cut straight down when cutting dough). Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Slice two pounds of ham, then assemble biscuit by slicing it in half and placing the ham inside.

2 carrots, peeled, medium dice 2 celery stalks, medium dice 1 tbsp. chopped garlic 2 cups chopped canned tomato 6-8 medium red potatoes, washed, large dice 1 1/2 lbs. kale (remove stems, wash, cut into pieces) Salt, pepper, sherry vinegar, hot sauce, and Worcestershire to taste Soak beans six hours or overnight in double the volume of water. Drain, then put them into a large pot and cover with stock by at least 2 inches and add the bouquet. Simmer gently for one to two hours until the beans are tender.

Add more stock or water to keep the beans wet and saucy. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve.

Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat until shimmering and sweat the onions, leek, carrots, celery, and a pinch of salt and pepper until translucent (approximately eight to 10 minutes). Add the garlic, then cook another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, simmer gently another 10 minutes. Add a cup of stock and the potatoes, simmer 10 minutes.

When the beans are fully cooked, add the vegetables and tomato, add the kale, replenish with a little more stock as needed, and simmer five to 10 minutes or until the kale and potatoes are tender.

Check seasoning; add vinegar, hot sauce, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper as needed.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

Angelo Vangelopoulos

Winter Knife&Fork 19

First Colony Winery is nestled in beautiful Albemarle County, the heart of Virginia wine country. Open seven days a week, the warm hospitality, relaxed atmosphere and award-wining wines will make you feel like kicking back and staying awhile.

Open daily from 11am – 6pm 1650 Harris Creek Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902 | (434) 979-7105 | info@firstcolonywinery.com

20 Knife&Fork Winter

Serve with a healthy scoop of pesto* on top, a little extra parmigiano, and a healthy glug of good olive oil. *KALE PESTO: In a small food processor, grind 1/2 bunch of kale, 1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts, and 4 cloves of roasted garlic into a paste, adding a little oil at a time.

Add 2 tablespoons of parmigiano and seasonings (salt and red pepper flakes to taste) and combine.

Pomegranate Probably the New Year’s gods are looking for a more traditional interpretation of the use of pomegranate (in Greece, tradition says smash the pom against a door to see how many seeds scatter, symbolizing the amount of luck you’ll have in the new year). But we couldn’t ignore a celebration’s main ingredient: the cocktail.

Junction’s Alec Spidalieri recommends his tweaked take on Prohibition-Era El Presidente, using a homemade pomegranate grenadine.

The Age of Sail (BELOW) 1.5 oz. Rhum Barbancourt 5-Star Reserve 1.5 oz. Contratto Bianco .25 oz. Amaro Montenegro .25 oz. Pomegranate grenadine* 2 dashes Angostura bitters Stir with ice until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Cut a length of orange peel and express the citrus oil over the surface of the cocktail. Garnish the glass with the peel and serve. *POMEGRANATE GRENADINE: Combine 2 cups POM Wonderful Juice, 2 cups white sugar, 2 oz. pomegranate molasses, .5 oz. orange blossom water, and 1 oz. vodka in a large measuring cup or mixing bowl. Blend with an immersion blender, then let settle for 30 minutes or so. Blend again, then fine-strain to remove any unwanted textures or clumps. Keep refrigerated in a clean container up to one month. Yields 1 quart.

Wait, there’s more!

ALEC SPIDALIERI

Visit c-ville.com/knifeandfork to nab Priya Mahadevan’s Soondal recipe.

Honest goodness

A new Lovingston shop offers up high-quality wares

R

By Caite Hamilton estoration has always been important to the Ramsey family: There’s Luke, whose company Ramsey Restoration focuses on the construction and preservation of historical property, and who learned how to build log cabins from his father. And there’s Adrienne, who formerly served as a spokesperson for the Food Routes Network (the same folks who developed the “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” campaign).

After moving to Virginia in 2007 in search of “something more,” she organized historical skills education programs at the Heritage Harvest Festival, farmer’s markets, fairs, and festivals before hunkering down to tend to family and farm (“homeschooling, daily meditation, cows, sheep, chickens, guineas, and Great Pyrenees,” Adrienne says). Then, in March of 2018, on the new moon, the Ramseys opened Home Remedies Mercantile & Exchange.

The Lovingston store owners hope to provide a place to buy high-quality groceries and goods, as well as exchange ideas and take hands-on classes.

“We would like to share the many blessings our family farm provides, both edible and experiential,” Adrienne says. “We are devoted to sustainable skills, historic preservation, and local culture and harbor a deep desire to serve and connect with like minds.”

The shop offers grass-fed, organic dairy, eggs, and local meat; traditional, medicinal, and culinary remedies; locally made microbrews, baked goods, honeys, coffees, and teas; and even locally crafted wreaths and bouquets.

And with the addition of a new stove and oven in December came local baker Cris Hamilton, who will expand the store’s menu options.

JEFFREY GLEASON

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

The Dish

Home Remedies Mercantile & Exchange owner Adrienne Ramsey wanted to create a shop for goods and groceries, but also a place to exchange ideas and learn more about living a sustainable lifestyle.

Says Adrienne, “This will enable us to offer many more seasonally inspired meals and prepared foods made with love and high vibrations.”

Coming soon The store’s next barter/exchange event is scheduled for the first full moon January.

Come with anything you’ve grown, nurtured, or cultivated and barter with others interested in exchanging.—CH

“We are devoted to sustainable skills, historic preservation, and local culture and harbor a deep desire to serve and connect with like minds.”

Winter Knife&Fork 21

Discover What’s New in History

Guided Tours Public Events Farm Animals Picnic Spaces

@ I D � R;

@ I D � R;

CELEBRATED CIDER CIDER CRAFTED CELEBRATED CRAFTED FROM THE THE FINEST FINEST FRUIT FROM FRUIT HIGHLAND.ORG

Tasting Room open daily 11-5

INFO@HIGHLAND.ORG | 434.293.8000 Charlottesville, Virginia

castlehillcider.com I 434.296.0047 I 6065 Turkey Sag Road, Keswick, VA

Photograph by Gene Runion

castlehillcider.com I 434.296.0047 I 6065 Turkey Sag Road, Keswick, VA

The Downtown Grille, located on Charlottesville’s historic downtown mall, serves only the finest in beef and fresh seafood, while incorporating local ingredients. The restaurant has an extensive wine list which has been honored by The Wine Spectator with the Award of Excellence every year since opening in 1999.

Our private room is also available for events and dinners.

201 West Main Street Charlottesville, Virginia 22902

434.817.7080

www.downtowngrille.com 22 Knife&Fork Winter

WINNER BEST STEAK IN CHARLOTTESVILLE

The Dish

WHAT’S NEXT

TASTE LOCAL

C-VILLE Restaurant Week January 19 to January 26

Various locations

ERIC LUSHER

Good eats should feel like an event. Happily, there are plenty of area dining (and drinking) options that are actual events. Here are three of our favorite ways to savor the season. (Bonus: A portion of your admission cost goes to charity.) Easy as pie.

At the Route 11 factory, you can feast your eyes (and tummies) on fresh-made chips, right off the conveyor belt.

By now a biannual tradition, C-VILLE Restaurant Week gives diners an opportunity to sample a spot they may not otherwise frequent (or grab a bite at their favorite eatery for a lower price point). Choose a restaurant in the $29 or $39 tier and enjoy three delish courses. Word to the wise: Make a reservation! c-villerestaurant week.com

GET OUTTA TOWN

We’d bet on it

Chip chip hooray

Holy prezzant, Batman! Many yummy food things happened in 2018 (Prime 109, we’re looking at you), but the best news we received all year was that of an upcoming MarieBette Café & Bakery downtown.

In July, rumor had it the popular spot would be open by fall, but the build-out took longer than anticipated and co-owner Jason Becton says the Water Street location is now on track to open in January.

What to expect of the outpost? An increased focus on the café’s favored La Colombe coffee, for one (“We’ll be able to showcase more of their different varieties,” says Becton). There won’t be a full-on restaurant element, as at the Rose Hill Drive location, but there will be seating, as well as grab-and-go items. Becton says the focus will be on pastries and coffee. We’ll be first in line.—Caite Hamilton

Know Good Beer & Spirits Winter Fest January 26

IX Art Park Your $35-60 ticket gets you a tasting glass for unlimited two- to four-ounce samples of Virginia brews, ciders, bourbons, and other spirits from around the state, plus plenty of live music, food vendors, and local artists. VIPs get early access to everything on offer, and a few sips of some rare stuff. Pro tip: Get your tickets early; this event often sells out way in advance. knowgoodbeer.com

Porkapolooza Mid-February

AMY JACKSON SMITH

Barbeque Exchange It’s pretty hard to call yourself a pork-lover if you haven’t been to chef Craig Hartman’s annual Porkapolooza, a two-day celebration of all things piggy at his Gordonsville barbecue joint.

Last year’s menu featured pulled pork and pork belly, and experimented with Puerto Rican cuisine. Keep an eye on the restaurant’s Facebook page to get the skinny (er, not-so-skinny) on dates, times, and ticket prices. facebook.com/ porkapolooza

CAN’T WAIT

Something to chew on as you grab your bag of chips at Rev Soup: the Route 11 Potato Chips factory is only a few miles up Interstate 81.

About an hour and a half from Charlottesville, it’s a worthy daytrip (especially if you consider the enticing smell that hits your nose as you step out of the car).

14,000 How many pounds of potatoes the factory can process in one day.

You can’t actually enter the production area, but you can get a darn good look at how the chips are made by gazing through large interior windows. Watch bushels of potatoes undergo a rapid transformation from peeled raw spuds to freshly bagged chips, all packaged up in boxes. Sliced potatoes pour off the end of a conveyor belt into a steamy vat of hot oil, where a snakelike stirring rod trundles back and forth.

Upstairs, a fascinating machine portions out the chips just before they plunge through a tube (like something out of a Roald Dahl story), into an even more fascinating machine that folds, fills, and seals the bags.

Feel free to make frequent visits to the sample table offering a rainbow of flavors and, on the way out, nab a big clear plastic bag of uberfresh potato chips.—Erika Howsare

Winter Knife&Fork 23

24 Knife&Fork Winter

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There’s only one right way to eat dessert: at every meal. Start with breakfast—a sticky, gooey donut (okay, fine, you can put bacon on it)—then a sip of a sugary shake, and later, a pillowy pile of tiramisu and a

G I M M E

S O M E

mug of cocoa before bed. In this issue, we’ll show you how to appease your sweet tooth in all manner of ways, from restaurant delicacies to giftables that satisfy any guilty-pleasure craving. What a treat!

MORGAN SALYER

MarieBette’s palmiers (aka French hearts) are a classic choice: pure crisp, buttery, sugary goodness.

Winter Knife&Fork 27

Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake Nutella Handpies - Dessert Bars - Bacon Carmelized Onion and Parmesean Quiche - Weddings - Prince ss Ravioli Sugar Cookies - Better than DMB Brownies - Catering - Pear Almond Tart - G ood M orning Muffin - Event Space Rental - House Wedding Cakes rt Parties - Turkey Apple Brie Sandwich - Pain au Chocolat - Almond PavĂŠ - NY Style Cheesecake - Virginia Peanut Butter Mousse Torte - Apple Streusel Pie - Lemon Hand Pie - Pignoli Cookies - Dessert Bars - Jewish Blueberry Cake - Numerous Gluten Free Options - Espresso - Wedding Cakes Ham and Cheddar Croissant - Free Wi-Fi - Red Velvet Cake - Southern Pecan Pie - Vegan Offerings - Lemonhead Brownie - Pie B ars - Meeting Space - Italian Cream Cake - Chocolate Flourless Torte - Crea my Limey Tart - Fri endly Sugari bea - Private Dessert Parties Banana Nut Bread - Breakfast Catering - Peanut Butter and Friends Cookie - Dessert Billy Idol Cake (you know, White Wedding) - Lemon Poppy Seed Bread - Blueberry Handpies - Maple Cinnamon Twist - Broccoli Chedd Tart - Friendly ar Quic he - Gluten Free Frittatas - One of a Kind Studio Cakes - Almond Croissants - Office Catering - Blueberry Almond Tarts - Roasted Apple Hand Pies - Brown Sugar Buttermilk Pie - Coconut Rum Cake - Private Cooking Classes - Chocolate Chip Cookies Pumpkin Bread - Lemon Tart - Italian Cream Cake - Hummingbird Cake - Gluten Free Options Asparagus Goat Cheese Leek Quiche - Ham and Cheddar Sandwiches - Tiramisu - Italian Cream Cake 313 2nd StreetBars SE - Baco Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake Nutella Handpies - Dessert In the Sugar Glass Building Onion and Parmesean Quiche - Weddings - Princess Ravioli Cookies - Bet 434.245.2253 Brownies - Catering - Pear Almond Tart - Good Morning Muffin - Event Space www.paradoxpastrycafe.com Wedding Cakes rt Parties - Turkey Apple Brie Sandwich - Pain au Chocolat - Almo Style Cheesecake - Virginia Peanut Butter Mousse Torte - Apple Streusel Pie - Lem Pignoli Cookies - Dessert Bars - Jewish Blueberry Cake - Numerous Gluten Free Opt - Wedding Cakes Ham and Cheddar Croissant - Free Wi-Fi - Red Velvet Cake - South - Vegan Offerings - Lemonhead Brownie - Pie Bars - Meeting Space - Italian Cream late Flourless Torte - Creamy Limey Tart - Friendly Sugari bea - Private Dessert Pa Nut Bread - Breakfast Catering - PeanutRelax, Butter You and Friends Cookie - Dessert Billy I Still Have Options know, White Wedding) - Lemon Poppy Seed Bread - Blueberry Handpies - Maple C - Broccoli Cheddar Quiche - Gluten Free Frittatas - One of a Kind Studio C Croissants - Office Catering - Blueberry Almond Tarts - Roasted Apple Hand Pies Buttermilk Pie - Coconut Rum Cake - Private Cooking Classes - Chocolate Chip Co kin Bread - Lemon Tart - Italian Cream Cake - Hummingbird Cake - Gluten Free O gus Goat Cheese Leek Quiche - Ham and Cheddar Sandwiches - Tiramisu - Event

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Sweet snacks Red Rocker Candy’s fancy fix for the munchies

By Erika Howsare

MORGAN SALYER

Mix, Charney’s most popular product—a salty/ sweet mix of pretzels, almonds, and cereals with a white confection coating. Other mixes take that ed Rocker Candy has its origins in an ecoformula and add delicious twists, like dark chocnomic crash and a cross-country move. olate and mini peanut butter cups, or lemoncelBack in 2000, Sue Charney got laid off lo almonds and mini chocolate raspberry cups. from her job in California, and started to spend “We’re not Gearharts; that’s not what we do,” more time making candy, a lifelong hobby. “My says Charney. “It’s snack food, really.” When she’s neighbor owned a carpet cleaning business,” she developing a new product, she’ll shop retail for remembers, “and said, ‘Why don’t you sell me candies and cookies that contain the flavors she’s some of that for my customers?’” The following interested in, then search for wholesale ingredient year, her husband also lost his job. The pair sources. Employees at the small factory in Troy pulled up roots and moved to Virginia to start coat the pretzels, pour chocolate into trays to a candy company. make barks and brittles, and package it all up for “I’d never run a business before,” she says. “I customers as far away as California and Florida. bought a house at Lake Monticello and had a Locally, you can get Red Rocker treats right kitchen built in the basement. I stood there for there at the factory store—which sells a few six years in my basement making candy by mythings you won’t find anywhere else, and offers self.” High-end shops like Foods of All Nations tons of free samples—or at Feast!, Foods of All and Feast! took notice. Eventually, she was able Nations, The Virginia Shoppe, and to move into a commercial space the Blue Ridge Country Store. in Troy, hire employees, and even Though Charney’s husband open a factory store. passed away in 2014, she and her “My mother taught me to make team continue to develop new prodcandy when I was a kid and I underucts and welcome customers to stood it,” Charney says. “It’s comtheir store. “Just by being in the fortable to me. Candy-making is a business, I’ve developed a strong science; it’s not like cooking.” Her way of knowing good flavors,” Charfirst products were toffees and britney says. “We try not to do anytles, but over time the company has thing trendy. I just try to listen to evolved to focus on pretzel mixes, like the signature Rocking Chair Red Rocker owner Sue Charney my gut.”

R

JEFFREY GLEASON

Chocolate Budino

S’mores bread pudding

EAT LIKE A KID Chocolate Budino Budino is a traditional Italian custard typically made with milk, sugar, egg yolks, and top-shelf cocoa powder. Lampo breaks with tradition when it tops its version, layering on thin hazelnut brittle, “barely” whipped cream, and extra virgin olive oil. Chef Mitchell Beerens recommends pairing the dessert with “something nutty and sweet like a Vin Santo or Madeira.” You’d do well to listen.

S’mores bread pudding Housemade marshmallows and chocolate pudding, candied cereal and graham crackers, and deep-fried bread pudding come together to completely reinvent a kids’ camping classic at Oakhart Social. “More than anything, it’s a nod to nostalgia,” says Chef Tristan Wraight.

When former Brasserie Saison chef Tyler Teass wanted to make something sweet for his wife at home, it was always a pudding swirled with fresh popcorn. The dish is now the restaurant’s most popular dessert. Puffed corn is blitzed into butter and heavy cream, layered with crème fraîche and lime segments in simple syrup, and topped with popped sorghum.—Shea Gibbs

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Buttered popcorn pudding

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30 Knife&Fork Winter

Dessert doctor How a pro pastry chef writes an afterdinner menu

By Erika Howsare

TOM MCGOVERN

S

erge Torres has given plenty of thought to the question of dessert. Since 2015 he’s worked as Fleurie’s pastry chef, and earlier this year he opened Patisserie Torres, a small shop showcasing his passion for high-end pastries. The French-born Torres still creates Fleurie’s seasonal desserts and oversees the dessert menu there.

Conceptualizing a dessert selection for a place like Fleurie, he says, demands balancing many factors. Seasonal produce is a big one, with inspiration coming from the yearly cycle of available fruits. Spring might see a fraisier appear on the menu (that’s an angel cake layered with strawberries) while fall tends toward toffee pumpkin cake with coconut mousse.

“I play with texture,” says Torres, “and I play with warm and cold”—adding a little ice cream or constructing a parfait. The old favorite at Fleurie? Crème brûlée. Torres says it was there before he arrived and has remained a standard. “People like it, and it’s easy to prepare,” he says.

The menu also regularly features one or two chocolate-based items and a fromage plate—a selection of cheeses. After many years in the

Pastry chef Serge Torres says the perfect dessert menu balances seasonal produce, texture, and temperature.

business, Torres has a large repertoire on which he draws, from petits-fours to chocolate truffles to hazelnut financiers. Travels inspire him: After visiting the Middle East, he experimented more with spices, pistachios, and carrots.

Lately, though, he says, he’s been keeping to “French flavors with an American twist.” He’s been making chocolate passionfruit domes, co-

conut dacquoise (a cake layered with meringue), and maple-pecan cheesecake.

His Charlottesville audience, of course, influences what shows up on that final menu diners peruse at the end of a meal at Fleurie. “People love chocolate, apples from Charlottesville, local products,” he says. “I try to make something they can recognize, but also get them out of their comfort zone.”

JEFFREY GLEASON

Sticky standards

Chef Dean Maupin says the C&O’s sticky toffee pudding “hits all the right notes when you’re eating it.”

In a recent (informal) Facebook poll, C-VILLE readers cooed about their favorite local desserts, and a clear favorite emerged: the sticky toffee pudding at C&O. This date-enriched, sinfully sweet sponge cake has origins in a tiny country hotel in Lancashire, England, where the proprietor reportedly learned the recipe from two Canadian Air Force officers stationed nearby during World War II. Wherever it came from, its local devotees mostly just seem glad it’s here in Charlottesville.

Like the original, the C&O’s recipe seems to have passed through many different hands. Erin Maupin, former pastry chef and current handmade clothing entrepreneur, first learned it while working at Blantyre, a luxury resort in Massachusetts, early in her career. She refined the gooey treat during stints at Keswick Hall, and later The Clifton, where she ran the kitchen with her husband, Dean. The recipe’s now a staple at the C&O, which Dean took over as chef/owner in 2013.

According to Dean Maupin, the much-loved dessert is actually easy to make. “The method is interesting,” he says. “It starts by boiling dates, water, and baking soda together. That mixture is cooled, then added to a butter/sugar creaming, with eggs, flour, and leavening added to it.” The dark, rich result gets dolloped with mascarpone cheese and lavished with warm toffee sauce. “We haven’t changed it much over the years,” says Maupin.—Nathan Alderman

Winter Knife&Fork 31

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32 Knife&Fork Winter

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Splendid slice Pie Chest maven Rachel Pennington focuses on flavor

By Erika Howsare

R

K&F: How did you begin creating the menu at The Pie Chest?

Rachel Pennington: The Whiskey Jar informed me. They make real food, done simply, with a focus on flavor. My aesthetic fit well within that paradigm, because things are supposed to look rustic. Appearance was secondary for me. I’ll never have what Albemarle Baking Company or MarieBette have. My focus is flavor, 100 percent.

Fifteen is the number of pies we have every season at The Pie Chest. You have to have chocolate, fruit, nuts, and citrus. Then you flesh out the menu under those umbrellas. I took a lot of notes at The Whiskey Jar and made a collection of recipes; I gathered eight or nine hundred recipes from cookbooks and made a database. I don’t even look at those lists anymore.

What are the biggest challenges with your business?

When you’re baking at home, it doesn’t matter if juices are running or if a pie bleeds when you cut it. I’ll have a recipe concept and then I have to find techniques and methods to fix a certain element—like getting a strawberry-rhubarb pie to stay tight. Every fruit has a different moisture content and acts differently when baking. Apples thicken just with flour. But for strawberry-rhubarb, I use both cornstarch and granulated tapioca, and it’s three or four steps. It’s a two-day process even before the baking.

Have there been pies you gave up on?

We tried to do a mint julep pie. But the look of it is really unsightly; the filling is brown. So you cover it with whipped cream, and then it looks boring. So then we added candied mint leaves. But I have to be careful not to create a pie with 10 different ridiculous steps. So now if I say, “That’s a mint julep,” everybody knows that stands for “We’re not doing that again.”

AMY JACKSON SMITH

achel Pennington makes no bones about how she got into the baking world. “I had no professional baking experience at all,” she says, remembering back to when she applied for a part-time job as a pie baker at The Whiskey Jar. “I dove in headfirst and it worked.” Indeed, she did so well that owner Will Richey offered her a gig as the brains behind a spin-off pie shop just off the mall. That was nearly four years ago, and The Pie Chest now has a second location, where Pennington and her team bake 250 sweet pies a week, plus 850 savory items like hand pies. “It’s been a journey,” she says.

Rachel Pennington says The Pie Chest makes about 250 pies per week, plus 850 savory options.

Do you use local ingredients?

We use about 80 percent local fruit, like apples from Carter Mountain, and we use eggs from Pamplin Poultry, and honey from Hungry Hill. A lot of what we use comes through the Local Food Hub. Right now it’s Asian pears from Saunders Brothers in Nelson County.

What are you making with those Asian pears?

Honey spice pear pie. I’m proud of that one, because from the ground up, it’s mine. The spices are cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. I make a caramel with those and honey—mostly that’s the sweetener. We mix that with Asian pears and top with a hazelnut crumble.

An unexpected treat Two fun facts about tiramisu: First, that you can get it daily at Vita Nova on the Downtown Mall (who knew?). And second, roughly translated, tiramisu means “pick me up”: tirare meaning “pull” or “lift,” mi meaning “me,” and su meaning “up.” Is there a better pick-me-up than a heaping spoonful of homemade tiramisu?

They’ve had plenty of years to refine the recipe at Vita Nova, where owner Giovanni Sestito has been making it from scratch since he opened the shop in 1997. Prior to moving to Charlottesville, he had a restaurant in Massachusetts at which he regularly made desserts, so he continued that tradition here, also making such treats as Parisian macarons and cheesecake. Sestito says they tend to make desserts for the winter months, but tiramisu remains on the menu year-round.

“Usually people want something sweet after dinner, and it’s not a heavy dessert, like cheesecake,” which he jokes would be more like tiramigiù, or “pull me down.” “It’s very light, so you seldom get the heaviness with tiramisu.”—Jenny Gardiner JEFFREY GLEASON

Winter Knife&Fork 33

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SWEET SIPPABLES Peppermint shake

CORBETT SMITHSON

JEFFREY GLEASON

If you think there’s anything better than a milkshake at a lunch counter, you probably haven’t tried the peppermint shakes at Timberlake’s. Built by blending vanilla ice cream, milk, and crushed peppermint candies, the shake is thick, satisfying, and tremendously popular from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.

Fried Ice Cream

Traditional tastes These treats are out of this world

A good dessert should take you away—away from your troubles, away from your cares, away from your skinny jeans. These three international flavors truly transport.—Shea Gibbs

Fried ice cream at Monsoon Siam

Gulab jamun is a favorite in Indian households and for good reason—it’s basically a doughnut.

Milan makes its version with milk and Bisquick, bathes the deep-fried treat in cardamom-infused syrup, and tops it with coconut or pistachios.

“They’re simple, but they take a lot of time,” owner CJ Gohtra says.

ANDREA HUBBELL

The secret ingredient in Monsoon Siam’s deep fried ice cream is all-American: butter bread.

They take the classic white loaf, cut off the crusts, wrap a slice around any flavor of ice cream, freeze the ball overnight, and quickly fry till golden.

Owner Kit Ashi says her Thai restaurant sells more than 50 fried ice creams, topped with homemade black raspberry sauce and whipped cream, every month and more in the summer.

Hot chocolate

Baklava at Bashir’s Taverna Bashir’s Taverna chef/owner Bashir Khelafa worked on his baklava recipe for almost a year and a half before unveiling it to the public, so he’s not gonna tell you what’s in it. “My mix of nuts and what I do to the dough is proprietary,” he says. “The final product has been incredibly successful.” The critical part of the scratch-made confection? “It’s not too sweet.”

Gulab jamun at Milan Indian Cuisine

The folks at MarieBette take hot chocolate so seriously, they devote an entire month to it. Building on a base of frothed European chocolate ganache and whole milk, the uberbakery comes up with a different flavor of hot cocoa every day in February—think roasted banana, s’mores with bruléed marshmallows, raspberry, or coconut.

Lots of folks ignore the glossy dough balls swimming in syrup on the Indian buffet. Don’t do it.

Gulab Jamun

JEFFREY GLEASON

Sweet, refreshing horchata might be best on a warm day, but La Flor Michoacana owner Claudia Polania says customers ask for her handmade rice milk right through the winter months. With five simple ingredients—rice, milk, cinnamon, sugar, and water—horchata is a staple in Latin America.—Shea Gibbs

MORGAN SALYER

Horchata

Baklava

Winter Knife&Fork 35

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Not-too-decadent desserts

By Erika Howsare

L

ove sweets, but not the thought of empty calories? Avoiding gluten, or attempting to cut your cholesterol? It’s still possible to enjoy a treat. We sampled a few healthy (or, at least, healthier) desserts from local restaurants, searching for the right combination of virtue and sin.

Almond pavé cake from Paradox Pastry Need a dinner idea? We can almost imagine making a meal out of this cake, which comes in a generous slice and contains only a few ingredients—almond flour, butter, sugar, and eggs.

Hear that? Eggs! It’s practically an omelet. Given to Paradox owner Jenny Peterson by a French grandmother, the recipe counts as gluten-free even though it carries no whiff of deprivation.

A crust of sliced almonds on the top complements the nutty flavor of the cake’s lovely, subtle body, and contrasts with its moist, squishy texture.

Like a good almond butter, which in a way it re-

sembles, it’s just the right happy medium between light and dense. The dark outer crust, which is the color of toast that’s just shy of burned, lends a little complexity. Just think of all the protein you’re giving your body as you nosh this treat.

ing you with refined sugar, you’re able to appreciate the more subtle, nectar-like quality of the sweetness they bring. Overall, this creation lives somewhere between a fig newton, an energy bar, and a very virtuous birthday cake.

Cinnamon roll from Moon Maiden’s Delights

Lemon olive oil cake from Parallel 38

Moon Maiden is “a mindful bakery” whose ingredient lists contain stuff like sprouted pumpkin seeds, hemp, and sprouted cashew. So if, when we say “cinnamon roll,” you’re picturing something like what you can get at a certain national chain often found in airports, put that out of your mind right now. This is more akin to something you’d find at a natural food co-op.

The roll’s swirled form pays homage to its namesake, though it clearly contains a ton less sugar than what you’re used to. Dense like a biscuit, the roll gets sweeter toward the middle as you arrive at the fig-based (crunchy!) filling and vanilla topping sprinkled with lavender flowers.

The flowers, by the way, are potent in flavor— and because the cinnamon roll isn’t overpower-

This slim slice displays a medium-dark brown crust and, inside, a color as light and citrus-like as you’d expect. Take a bite, and your mouth is filled with sweet, rich lemon, offset by the toasty flavor of that just-browned-enough crust. There may be olive oil involved, likely meaning a lower butter content, but this dessert doesn’t come off as a lightweight.

Plus, check out the accompaniments: a miniscoop of vanilla ice cream, lemon curd, and a substantial piece of dark chocolate with a little spicy kick. The lemon curd glistens and adds a bright bite of tartness to each mouthful of cake.

Even more dimension comes from the milk crumbles, just a few of them, bringing a welcome bit of texture to the whole ensemble.

A most misunderstood delicacy: Bizou’s grilled banana bread Despite the name, Bizou’s most popular dessert isn’t really grilled, and it isn’t quite Bizou’s.

“Truth is, I stole it,” says chef and co-owner Tim Burgess of the restaurant’s beloved banana bread.

He lifted the dish—“the single best dessert I’ve ever had,” he says—from a long-ago meal at Dallas’ now-closed Deep Ellum Café, and brought it to Bizou by way of his previous restaurant, Metropolitan.

MORGAN SALYER

Each slice represents one-eighth of one of the 10 or more loaves Bizou makes per batch, using a secret recipe that is “denser, drier, and much less sweet” than usual and without any walnuts. And “grilled” is a bit of a misnomer: The restaurant uses a bit of unsalted butter in a small skillet and cooks the slices in it. As the butter browns and sizzles, it creates a crispy, almost brûléed crust on the outside of the bread, while the interior remains moist and soft.—Nathan Alderman

Winter Knife&Fork 37

Celebrate the best of Virginia wine & food.

Award-winning wines. Live music.

Special events. Seasonal menus, locally sourced.

Details at earlymountain.com.

Come out to Early Mountain this Winter.

Early Mountain is located in Madison, Virginia in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

38 Knife&Fork Winter

6109 Wolftown-Hood Road • Madison, VA 22727 • 540.948.9005

Duck Donuts

Dunkin’ Donuts

MORGAN SALYER

Donut Connection

So happy together Three ways to put your coffee where your treat is

By Erika Howsare

Sugar Shack

Krispy Kreme

HOLE IN ONE The ultimate loophole in the dessert-for-breakfast paradigm?

Donuts. Here are four of your most indulgent local choices (and a classic Krispy Kreme, obvs).

O

sinks into thick, sticky, ruby-colored fruit. On the tongue, the fruit dissolves and spreads, while oats and the occasional raspberry seed build a rustic texture.

This is like a granola bar that died and went to heaven, where it acquired a slight sugar crunch. Meanwhile, the macchiato—which means “marked,” as in espresso marked by milk foam—adds its own dimensions of delicious. Weighty, toasty-flavored espresso slides down under a layer of warm, sweet foam.

Sicily Rose: Cannoli with espresso

The Pie Chest/Lone Light Coffee: Chai vanilla cream pie with a cortado

ur favorite thing about a coffee shop (other than the joe itself)? The sweet treats offered up alongside that magical elixir. With a universe of cafés as rich as Charlottesville’s, each with its own selection of edible goodies, the possibilities for coffee-treat combos are nearly endless. Here are a few pairings that please our taste buds.

This is a stripped-down experience. Sicily Rose offers a tiny menu—just cannoli, with a small selection of toppings. Ordering a no-frills espresso as accompaniment means you’re taking the whole thing seriously, sort of the way a monk approaches prayer. Behold: The divine manifests in the form of a chocolate shell, layered and delicate, stuffed with dense, subtle ricotta cheese (but only filled right before it’s served, so that the shell won’t get soggy). Playing off these time-honored flavors are candied orange, which calls out to the lemony notes in the filling, and the crunch of pistachios...and, last but not least, dark, oily, smoky, super-rich espresso.

Atlas Coffee: Raspberry triangle with a macchiato The triangle has it all: texture, color, and a flavor that balances sweet streusel with tart berries. It’s a low wedge of fluted oat-based crust under a minimal topping that

One might be tempted to order a chai with the chai vanilla cream pie, but what fun would that be? A cortado (espresso with lightly steamed milk) makes for a more complex pairing, pulling in a whole other symphony of flavors to mingle with the pie’s already-beguiling composition—the most important element of which, in our estimation, is the whipped cream on top.

Ridiculously rich, firm, and cool, it sits on the tongue, substantial as custard, for a few divine moments before melting away. Underneath, the filling offers the familiar chai spice experience (including just a tiny bit of heat), and the buttery, savory crust, breaking into large flakes, seems somehow warmer in temperature than the rest of the pie. And here comes the cortado (!)—its bite of espresso offset by just enough milky sweetness.

Winter Knife&Fork 39

ABERDEEN BARN Virginia’s finest steakhouse since 1965.

Roast Prime Rib • Charcoal Broiled Ribeye • The Porterhouse • Broiled Lobster Tail • Maryland Style Crab Cakes

Affirm the intrinsic right of people to make decisions about their pregnancy that are best for themselves and their families.

Volunteer or donate today blueridgeabortionfund.org

2018 Holiday Drive 434.296.4630 | www.aberdeenbarn.com

— Neighborhood Wine Bar and Café —

Making people happy with wine & cheese since 2017 On the Downtown Mall near the Pavilion... Look for the sheep!

406 E. Main Street |434-566-0777| tilmanscheeseandwine.com

40 Knife&Fork Winter

Hawt chocolate It’s no secret that Gearharts Fine Chocolates has long been the grande dame of artisanal chocolates in Charlottesville. But there are some new kids on the block making headway on the local chocolate scene, some focusing on more traditional treats while others are dabbling in cutting-edge cacao/cocoa trends.

—Jenny Gardiner

Ooh la la Jennifer Mowad of Cocoa & Spice makes a particularly amazing cup of drinking chocolate: Rich, velvety, and luscious, it transports you to a Parisian café or a piazza in Florence, it’s that good. But her chocolate-making skills reach far beyond that.

Mowad started her business four years ago, after she’d gotten hooked on “playing around with chocolate and peanut butter cups, then bark and truffles.” She decided to enroll in an online chocolate program, then apprenticed at a chocolate shop and coffee roaster in Vancouver, Canada, before launching her homebased business, selling at City Market and vending on the Downtown Mall. She moved into her shop about a year and a half ago.

“I make everything because I like it,” Mowad says, “but I really like coconut and curry clusters. People are always hesitant to try, but once they do it’s like, ‘Wow, it’s really yummy.’”

SANJAY SUCHACK

506 Stewart St., cocoaandspice.com

Jennifer Mowad

Winter Knife&Fork 41

ANN ARDEN HOME free interior design consulations HGTV design studio large showroom . white glove delivery Quality brands like Bassett, Hooker, Natuzzi, Rowe and more.

“I love their furniture!!”

“pure joy and satisfaction” “beautiful furniture”

406 W MAIN ST. WAYNESBORO 540-949-5044 ANNARDENHOME.COM TUES-SAT 10-6, SUN 1-5

42 Knife&Fork Winter

AMY JACKSON SMITH

In a way, Chocolatesville’s Mary Ellen Isaacson went in search of chocolate popcorn and came back with a store—or at least the nugget of an idea to open her own shop. Fairly new to town, she tore the area apart in search of the desired treat to no avail, and a business was soon born.

While Chocolatesville can be counted on for more traditional types of chocolates like bark, truffles, and solid molded chocolates, Isaacson likes to experiment, too, with things like sponge candy (“crunchy candy full of air bubbles with a molasses flavor,” Isaacson says) and chocolate-dipped items including strawberry Twizzlers, Swedish fish, orange peels, and apricots.

325 Rivanna Plaza Dr., chocolatesville.com

Bean there, done that Monica Boatwright had been working with her good friend, Jonny Nuckols, who’d opened Shark Mountain Coffee in UVA’s iLab a few years back, when he had the idea to start mak-

Chocolatesville

“We’re working on botanicals with something to offer from a culinary point of view, and refining that into the chocolate.”

Find them at Mudhouse, Lone Light Coffee, Ivy Provisions, Market Street Wine, JM Stock Provisions, and Foods of All Nations.

Play time CORBETT SMITHSON

The bark is better than the bite

AMY JACKSON SMITH

Mary Ellen Isaacson

Monica Boatwright

ing bean-to-bar chocolate because of its correlation to coffee production. She got hooked.

“This is a movement in the chocolate industry in which the roasting and refining and the process that I’m doing allows for retention of flavors that are really specific to different origins (of cacao beans),” says the chocolatier. “When you taste a small-batch bean-to-bar, you’ll get flavor notes in it like those you’ll see in a coffee shop now—like a coffee that has notes of blueberry.”

She says she’s always trying out new chocolates with her single original chocolate bars, which are made from straight cocoa beans and organic sugar and use no cocoa butter.

Frolic Chocolate’s Logan Byrd became enamored of bean-to-bar chocolate while traveling several years ago and immersed himself on a cacao farm in Costa Rica for two weeks to learn the craft.

Upon his return, he started collecting machinery to create chocolate, and is working on releasing two bars at the beginning of 2019— one from a Guatemalan bean and another from a Belize bean. In the meantime, he’s also gotten into coffee bean roasting as well.

“It’s really fun to see how the roasting process affects the coffee and it also affects the chocolate a lot,” Byrd says. “For roasting you appeal to many senses, but ultimately it’s the final flavor.”

Until now he’s been making just bars, but with a newly acquired tempering machine, he hopes to also make truffles. As he ramps up production over the next several weeks, Byrd expects to produce one 50-pound batch per month in the refurbished outbuilding-turned-chocolatier-haven behind his Belmont home. frolicchocolate.com

Winter Knife&Fork 43

NEW LISTING IN EDNAM FOREST

524 Rookwood Place • Ednam Forest Charlottesville • $1,295,000 www.524RookwoodPlace.com

5 bedrooms • 3 full baths • 2 half baths Nestled on a lushly landscaped 1.6 acre lot in a coveted neighborhood this sprawling one level living home has it all! Sophisticated, eat-in gourmet kitchen, main level owner’s suite with adjoining private office and updated bath, great room featuring beamed ceilings, custom built ins and fireplace, spacious formal living & dining areas, sun room bathed in natural light and screened porch to enjoy your morning coffee. The resort-like outdoor area boasts pool, patios, stone walkways, tiered gardens and so much more. Truly move in ready! All this is located close to all that the Charlottesville area has to offer.

NEW LISTING

NEW LISTING

NEW LISTING

646 Baywick Circle

530 Summerford Lane Old Trail • $329,000

1688 Wickham Way

Old Trail • $759,900

Wickham Pond • $321,900

4 bedrooms • 4 full baths www.646BaywickCircle.com

3 bedrooms • 2 full baths • 1 half bath www.530SummerfordLane.com

Elegant, one level living.

3 bedrooms • 2 full baths • 1 half bath www.1688WickhamWay.com

Main floor owner’s suite.

Townhome close to downtown Crozet.

UNDER CONTRACT

NEW PRICE

256 Grayrock Drive

3452 Rowcross Street Old Trail • $549,900

Grayrock • 424,900

3 bedrooms • 2 full baths • 1 half bath www.3452RowcrossStreet.com One level living in like-new home.

4 bedrooms • 2 full baths • 2 half baths

www.256GrayrockDrive.com Walk to downtown Crozet!

Thinking of selling or buying in 2019? Call, email or text me to discuss!

For all your real estate needs...

2013 CAAR Salesperson of the Year, 2015 CAAR REALTOR© of the Year

Definitely Denise 44 Knife&Fork Winter

(434) 960-4333 deniserameyrealtor@gmail.com www.deniseramey.com

350 Old Ivy Way, Suite 200, Charlottesville, Va - 22903 Licensed to sell real estate in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

NEW PRICE

NEW PRICE

NEW PRICE

204 Robertson Avenue

5415 Ashlar Avenue Old Trail • $420,000

Wickham Pond • $419,900

Charlottesville • $365,000

1974 Delila Drive

3 bedrooms • 1 full bath 4 bedrooms • 3 full baths • 1 half bath 4 bedrooms • 4 full baths • 1 half bath www.204RobertsonAvenue.com www.5415AshlarAvenue.com www.1974DelilaDrive.com Updated city home on large lot.

Low-maintenance end unit townhome. 3 finished levels, finished basement.

2096 Stonemont Farm

672 Jonna Street

Keswick • $1,150,000

Westlake at Foothill Crossing • $779,900

5327 Ashlar Avenue

432 Penny Well Court

Old Trail • $495,000 4 bedrooms • 3 full baths • 1 half bath 6 bedrooms • 4 full baths • 1 half bath 4 bedrooms • 3 full baths • 1 half bath 5 bedrooms • 3 full baths • 1 half bath www.2096StonemontFarm.com www.672JonnaStreet.com www.432PennyWellCourt.com www.5327AshlarAvenue.com 3 homes on 168+ acres!

Cul-de-sac location.

Adjacent to two parks!

Modern farmhouse, mountain views.

Old Trail • $619,000

UNIQUE NEW HOME

BY ARCADIA BUILDERS Building in Central Virginia Uniqueness is in the details Well-respected local builder Many floor plans to choose from Lots available in Old Trail and Lochlyn Hill Homes from $575,000 Ask about our $5,000 closing cost credit!

You’ll love the attention to detail and high end finishes included in all Arcadia homes!

For all your real estate needs...

2013 CAAR Salesperson of the Year, 2015 CAAR REALTOR© of the Year

Definitely Denise

(434) 960-4333 deniserameyrealtor@gmail.com www.deniseramey.com 350 Old Ivy Way, Suite 200, Charlottesville, Va - 22903 Licensed to sell real estate in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Winter Knife&Fork 45

A Charlottesville job with a world of possibilities.

Of course you can move to NYC, or L.A., or Chicago…

Or you can stay right here in Charlottesville and work in a place with a view and a really contemporary viewpoint. We’re WorldStrides, and we’ve been at home here for fifty years. In fact, today we’re 500 employees strong! This is where great work is done and friends are made. This is where careers take flight—right from the Downtown Mall. worldstrides.com/careers 46 Knife&Fork Winter

The taste of terroir Local wine importers source your next favorite glass

By Lisa Martin

Winter Knife&Fork 47

An old world family heritage blends a new world wine tradition with Virginia terroir.

Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday: 11:00-5:30 Friday & Saturday: 11:00-9:00

GRACE FRIDAYS AT

Pâtisserie

ORRES

Join us every Friday evening for live music from 5:30-8:30.

Enjoy wine, food, atmosphere, and our picturesque grounds GraceEstateWinery.com

103 3rd Street, N.E. Charlottesville, VA 22902

Email: patisserietorres@gmail.com

Horton Vineyards 639 9 S P OT S WO O D T R A I L • G O R D O N S V I LLE VA 2 29 4 2 540-832-7440 • hortonwine.com • Open 10am-5pm Daily

E XC LU S I V E LY F O U N D AT T H E W I N E RY. COME VISIT! 48 Knife&Fork Winter

A

s they peruse a restaurant wine list or browse the shelves of the local wine shop, do most imbibers know how all of those foreign bottles made their way here? From finding a promising producer in the European countryside, to navigating a logistic and regulatory thicket to usher the product into the U.S., to presenting and distributing it to retail customers, a knowledgeable wine importer makes it all happen. Here are three of Charlottesville’s hard-working, hometown importers, always ready to bring it.

ing a new wine to clients, and it’s an expensive one, involving licensing, taxes, a sales force, vehicles, storage costs, and more, but Margaux’s reputation has made her the go-to gal for her special selections. “It’s really quite an exciting business,” she says.

French connection While many importers begin with a familial connection to the food and beverage industry to spur their interest, Didier Simonin’s Parisian family did not drink much wine. “I was raised between Perrier and orange juice,” he says with a smile. “I started drinking alcohol when I was 25.” Even then, he did so for work rather than pleasure.

As a commercial realtor, Simonin was often asked to choose the wine for a table full of bankers and developers, so he taught himself how to

Sparkle and shine

“POP!” CULTURE Pamela Margaux recommends these imports of hers, most available at Wine Warehouse, Market Street Market, Tastings, or Foods of All Nations.

Champagne Guiborat Blanc de Blanc NV (from the Cremant region of Champagne) J Fritsch Lieu-Dit-Altenburg Pinot Gris (from Alsace) Chateau La Croix Taillefer 2014 (from the Pomerol region of Bordeaux) Roland Tissier Sancerre 2017 (“A most delicious Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley”) Domaine de Bel Air La Fosse aux Loup Chinon (“A really earthy Cab Franc also from the Loire”) Xavier Chateauneuf du Pape 2015 (“A Rhone Valley Classic”)

JON-PHILLIP SHERIDAN

Pamela Margaux spent 25 years in the Sonoma Valley restaurant business before she and her husband, French winemaker Claude Thibaut, moved to Virginia. “I learned a lot about wine in Sonoma, but as my palate grew I began to prefer the balance and earthiness of French wines over the jammy California wines,” says Margaux. When Thibaut’s business partner Manuel Janisson (together the co-creators of the Thibaut-Janisson line of Virginia sparkling wines), asked Margaux if she would try her hand at importing French wine, she was game.

“In 2005, I received my first container of champagne, which is 600 cases,” she says. “I leased a temperature-controlled storage unit on Pantops, and went out every day with 10 cases in the back of my station wagon, selling it to restaurants and retailers.” The trio expected it would take Margaux 18 months to sell it all, but she was done in three. “I like this,” she remembers saying to Janisson. “Let’s find more wines.”

Now she imports and distributes “really pure and regionally correct” small-producer French wines throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., and she distributes Virginia wines as well. Local winemakers such as King Family, Pollack, Cardinal Point, and Gabriele Rausse look to Margaux for cost-effective statewide distribution.

“Some wineries don’t make enough wine to hire a distributor,” she says, “so they might choose to self-distribute or simply to sell all their wine from their tasting rooms. But others feel that it’s an important part of their marketing plan, and they want to get out to other regions in the state.”

While distributors typically charge a 30 to 35 percent markup for their services, they handle all the logistics and hassle of keeping up with demand from dozens or hundreds of accounts.

Margaux buys from 60 different producers in France, traveling to the region two or three times a year and constantly looking to “freshen her book,” or update the portfolio of wines she offers. The process is a balancing act that has to allow for up to eight weeks to receive an order from France before she can even begin present-

enjoy it. “I started buying wine and opening some every day, spitting it out, tasting all the different types,” he says. Eventually he went to the Burgundy Wine School in Beaune, France, to learn everything about the process from the vine to the bottle.

In 1999, he moved to Charlottesville with his then-wife, a Charlottesville native, and set about meeting the town’s wine influencers. “When I first met Bill [Curtis, owner] at Tastings just after I arrived here, I told him I was interested in being in the wine business, and he said, ‘Don’t do it!

Never do it!’” says Simonin, laughing. “But that’s the worst thing you can tell me, because then I really have to see if I can do it.” Curtis and Vincent Derquenne of Bizou, now long-time friends of Simonin’s, were valuable early mentors who share his unquenchable curiosity about wine.

For the first six years, Simonin was Charlottesville’s sole importer, and found he liked creating brands for wines, making them memorable for buyers. “I was always good at marketing, it’s what I love. If you give me a rock, I can find a way to promote that rock and make it the best rock that you don’t have but wish you had.”

Beginning with 10 French producers, he now imports dozens but prefers to work mostly solo.

(He recounts that his first hire in 2004 was Will Richey, now mega-owner/manager of many popular local eateries.) Simonin still drives a round-trip distribution circuit through D.C. three days a week, as he has since 2001.

Though he loves Paris, Simonin’s heart belongs here now. “There is something so dynamic about the culture, I think it’s the intellectual nature of Charlottesville, always thinking, questioning,” he says. “It is absolutely amazing to have three importers based here, all bringing wine to this tiny town.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 51

Pamela Margaux started her sparkling wine importing business 25 years ago, selling cases from the trunk of her station wagon. “I like this,” she remembers saying. “Let’s find more wines.”

Winter Knife&Fork 49

A small, family owned vineyard and winery producing world class wines from estate grown French vinifera.

From Charlottesville: I-64 west to exit 107 (Crozet), left onto Route 250 for about 3 miles, right on Route 796 (Brooksville Road), right on Newtown Road, Pollak Vineyards is 0.5 miles on left

540.456.8844 • www.pollakvineyards.com 330 Newtown Road, Greenwood VA

50 Knife&Fork Winter

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 49

Au naturel Nicolas Mestre grew up in the Haute-Savoie region of France where his dad worked in the restaurant business, and good food and wine were ever-present. “My memories of growing up are of people sitting around the dining room table drinking and eating, talking and laughing,” says Mestre. He began working at Tastings in Charlottesville when he turned 21, learning about importing and distribution as well, and soon linked up with fellow connoisseurs Andrew Greene, Toby Beard, and Ted Burns in their labyrinthine wine cellar underneath the Downtown Mall.

“It was a vast space they rented under the old Williams Corner Bookstore [now the Virginia National Bank building], where they stored their wine collection.” says Mestre. “We spent a lot of time down there drinking wine, and it was there that we first got the idea for the business.” It was also the inspiration for the name of the business, Williams Corner Wine, where Mestre now serves as CEO. Turning away from conventional mass producers, Mestre became increasingly interested

PEA K PL ACEMENT Nicolas Mestre, CEO of Williams Corner Wine,

Prime 109: Dirty & Rowdy 2017 California Mourvedre “Unfamiliar” C&O: Yohan Lardy 2016 Moulin-a-Vent “Vieilles Vignes de 1903” Tastings of Charlottesville: Domaine Aux

AMY JACKSON SMITH

Moines 2015 Savennieres Sec

Williams Corner Wine CEO Nicolas Mestre convinced his business partners to focus on natural wines—those that use organic and biodynamic grape-growing techniques.

AMY JACKSON SMITH

highlights a few choice placements on local menus.

Though he didn’t grow up in a family that drank a lot of wine, Didier Simonin taught himself about the beverage (and the industry), eventually—for a while, at least—becoming Charlottesville’s sole importer.

in wines made with a more eco-friendly approach, using organic and biodynamic grapegrowing techniques. When he didn’t find such wines being imported to the U.S., he convinced his co-founders that “natural wines” should be Williams Corner’s focus.

“The mass use of pesticides and herbicides, while giving producers the ability to achieve higher yields and quantities of finished wine, also ends up diluting that sense of place and authenticity of the product,” says Mestre. This “terroir,” the characteristic flavor imparted to a wine by the environment where it’s produced, is the unique aspect Mestre is working to preserve.

An importer is a kind of agent, pairing delicious discoveries in one part of the world with receptive palates in another. “It’s like being a curator,” says Mestre. “I have a certain style in my portfolio that’s not going to appeal to everyone, but I really believe in it.” At the same time, Jeff Bloem an importer’s job is to expose the market to new tastes. “Importers are at the forefront of influ-

TOP PICK S Didier Simonin points to a couple of favorite selections at restaurants around town.

Champagne Soutiran, found at Fleurie, Common House, Tastings, Petit Pois, Bang, and Bizou Fratelli Grasso (Italy), Barbaresco, found at The Alley Light, Tastings, and Fleurie

encing the arc of taste in the industry. Often we try to bend the market toward the types of things we’re interested in bringing to it.”

Mestre sees natural wines slowly gaining a following. “There’s a re-thinking—did we lose something in the industrialization of wine,” he says. “Lots of growers are, as with the farm movement, examining how they make their product, preserving authenticity whether it be of place or style, and to me that’s very interesting.”

Winter Knife&Fork 51

A Virginia Country Life

FAIR VIEW - c. 1856 brick Georgian manor home encompasses four levels of living space totaling 9,000 s.f. with 10’ ceilings and heart pine floors throughout as well as numerous fireplaces and original moldings and woodwork. 5 bedrooms or more possible with a delightful guest cottage next to existing period ice house. Formal gardens and rose garden, Farm managers house and horse facilities and equipment barns. This Farm is the complete package, located in beautiful Somerset VA.

HIGHLAND ORCHARD - Nearly 1,000-acres in Albemarle County, Virginia -20 min from Charlottesville and UVA. Situated among the headwaters of the Hardware River, Highland Orchard features a rolling pasture and woodland with a stylish contemporary residence situated to enjoy the spectacular views. The Main residence, guest house, farm managers cottage, formal greens pool and host of complimentary farm buildings make this one of the most extraordinary farm offering in Virginia. MLS 580935

EXCELLENT PROXIMITY TO THE DOWNTOWN MALL - located on one of Charlottesville’s best streets. This stucco Victiorian house offers generous ceiling hight and room proportions with 4-bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms and outdoor space for private intimate gardens. This is a wonderful way to live downtown in the city. MLS 581322

WHITE HART - c. 1998 Shelter and Associates English manor sited in the center of a 350-acre expanse of rolling northern Albemarle County farmland. Expansive views of the Southwest and Blue Ridge Mountain ranges, over 8,000 s.f. the 4 bedroom home, extraordinary setting and 20 min to Charlottesville. MLS 573304

BARTERBROOK - Extraordinary country property 10 minutes north of Charlottesville set on 33 private acres. Renovated turn of the century weatherboard farm house 3-bedrooms 3 bathrooms and over 3,151 square feet. Additional timber frame workshop/barn and barn renovation with loft bedroom and full kitchen and bathroom that has to be seen to be believed. This building is a masterpiece of rustic charm and historic aesthetic that one only dreams about.

KESWICK ESTATE - Located only 5 miles east of Charlottesville Keswick Estate offers the best building opportunities in the area. Adjoining the Keswick Hall and Golf Club with current renovations underway at the Hotel and and newly designed Pete Dye Golf Course, “Full Cry”, the chance to build your own signature custom home awaits.

Fulfill the dream and choose a homesite; golf views, water views or tranquil wooded views there is potential with myriad of options to select on homesite or house design.

Murdoch Matheson

434.981.7439

murdoch.matheson@sothebysrealty.com

murdoch-matheson.com

Winter Knife&Fork 53

Albemarle CiderWorks What started as an orchard for rare and heirloom apples grew into a popular area cidery. Tastings and tours are available for $6 per person. 2550 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. 297-2326.

Blue Mountain Brewery Well-liked brewery serves up its local drafts, plus light fare for lunch and dinner. 9519 Critzers Shop Rd., Afton. (540) 456-8020.

Blue Toad Hard Cider Large outdoor space, classic pub food and, of course, hard cider. 9278 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Afton. 996-6992.

Bold Rock Cidery Virginia’s largest (and growing!) cidery. Free tours and tastings daily. 1020 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford. 361-1030.

Brewing Tree Beer Company Artisanal Brew Trail spot from the founder of Starr Hill. 9278 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Afton. (540) 381-0990. $.

Bryant's Small Batch Cider Craft cider produced on a 150-year-old farm, plus food and entertainment with indoor and outdoor seating.

3224 E. Branch Loop, Roseland. (804) 420-9683.

Castle Hill Cider Enjoy a glass of Terrestrial on the octagonal porch or explore the grounds.

Open for tastings daily. 6065 Turkey Sag Rd., Keswick. 296-0047.

Champion Brewing Company Beer-focused kitchen offerings, plus five ales on tap. 324 Sixth St. SE. 295-2739. $.

Devils Backbone Brewing Company Nelson’s hip brewpub—award-winning craft beers, lunch and dinner. 200 Mosbys Run, Roseland. 361-1001.

Hardywood Pilot Brewery & Taproom Charlottesville’s version of the beloved Richmond brewhouse. 1000 W. Main St. 234-3386.

James River Brewing Co. There’s only beer here.

561 Valley St., Scottsville. 286-7837.

North American Sake Brewery Wash down your dumplings and lamb ribs with a flight of sake.

522 Second St. SE. $$.

Potter’s Craft Cider Handcrafted cider out of Free Union, with a city tasting room. 209 Monticello Rd. 964-0271.

Pro Re Nata Brewery A farm brewery and food truck offering up to 12 craft beers and live music.

6135 Rockfish Gap Tpke., Crozet. 823-4878.

Random Row Brewing Co. No food (but there are food trucks!), but nearly 12 beers on tap. 608 Preston Ave. 284-8466.

Reason Beer A 30-barrel production facility, plus a tasting room with rotating craft brew on tap.

1180 Seminole Trail, Suite 290. 260-0145.

South Street Brewery Brews and food from the folks at Blue Mountain. 106 W. South St. 293-6550.

Starr Hill Brewery Largest independent craft brewer in Virginia with 16 rotating beers on tap.

5391 Three Notched Rd., Crozet. 823-5671.

Three Notch’d Craft Kitchen & Brewery Craft beers and beer-infused pub food. 520 Second St. SE. 956-3141. Sour house: 946 Grady Ave. 293-0610.

Wild Wolf Brewing Company An outdoor “biergarten,” robust menu and up to 12 brews on tap.

2461 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford. 361-0088.

Wood Ridge Farm Brewery “From the dirt to the glass” brewery 165 Old Ridge Rd., Lovingston. 422-6225.

Distilleries Devils Backbone Distilling Co. Virginia straight bourbon whiskey with views of Ragged Mountain.

35 Mosbys Run, Roseland. (540) 602-6018.

Ragged Branch Distillery Virginia straight bourbon whiskey with views of Ragged Mountain.

1075 Taylors Gap Rd. 244-2600.

Silverback Distillery Rye whiskey, monkey gin and Beringei vodka. 9374 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Afton. (540) 456-7070.

54 Knife&Fork Winter

Spirit Lab Distilling Single-malt whiskey and amaro behind a red door. 1503 Sixth St. SE. 218-2605.

Virginia Distillery Co. Single-malt whiskey from the Blue Ridge. 299 Eades Ln., Lovingston.

285-2900.

Vitae Spirits Award-winning rum and gin in a hip spot for sipping. 715 Henry Ave. 270-0317.

Wineries Afton Mountain Vineyards Try the Albarino, a limited-production, estate-grown white only available in the summer. Tastings are $7 per person. 234 Vineyard Ln., Afton. (540) 456-8667.

Ankida Ridge Vineyards A Sumerian word that means “where heaven and earth join,” Ankida marks the spot—at 1,800' on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 1304 Franklin Creek Rd., Amherst. 922-7678.

Autumn Hill Vineyards Only open four weekends per year, Autumn Hill produces eight varietals. Tastings are $7 per person. 301 River Dr., Stanardsville. 985-6100.

Barboursville Vineyards Routinely listed on national “best winery” lists, Barboursville is a true destination—for the wines and the scenery.

Open for tastings ($5, includes glass). 17655 Winery Rd., Barboursville. (540) 832-3824.

Blenheim Vineyards Established in 2000 by owner Dave Matthews (yep, that Dave Matthews), Blenheim’s timber-frame tasting room looks down into the barrel room. Tours and tastings are $5 per person. 31 Blenheim Farm. 293-5366.

Bluestone Vineyard Award-winning smallbatch wines in the Shenandoah Valley. Open daily for tastings. 4828 Spring Creek Rd., Bridgewater. (540) 828-0099. bluestonevineyard.com Brent Manor Vineyards Sample wines from the vineyard and a selection of nearby Virginia wines. Tastings are $9 per person. 100 Brent Manor Ln., Faber. 826-0722.

Burnley Vineyards One of the oldest vineyards in the Monticello Viticultural Area. Tastings are $2 per person. 4500 Winery Ln., Barboursville. (540) 832-2828.

Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery Try the Quattro—a blend of Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Viognier and Traminette—at this spare but relaxing spot. Open for tours and $5 tastings.

9423 Batesville Rd., Afton. (540) 456-8400.

Chestnut Oak Vineyard Single-varietal, single-vineyard wines from Petit Manseng to Chardonnay. Weekend tastings from noon-6pm. 5050 Stony Point Rd., Barboursville. 964-9104.

Cunningham Creek Winery Once a working cow farm, this winery offers Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Gris, Cab Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Open for tastings daily. $8 per person.

3304 Ruritan Lake Rd., Palmyra. 207-3907.

DelFosse Vineyards & Winery Try the reds at this off-the-beaten-path spot 30 minutes from Charlottesville. $5 for a classic tasting, $10 for reserve. 500 DelFosse Winery Ln., Faber. 263-6100.

DuCard Vineyards A successful grape-growing business bloomed into what’s now this boutique winery. Tastings are $6 per person and are credited back with a two-bottle minimum purchase. 40 Gibson Hollow Ln., Etlan. (540) 923-4206.

Early Mountain Vineyards Beautifully appointed facility, with a terrace for mountain and vineyards views while sipping. 6109 WolftownHood Rd., Madison. (540) 948-9005.

Fifty-Third Winery & Vineyard There’s something for everyone—including sangria—under Fifty-Third’s LEED-certified roof. Open for tastings daily. $10 per person. 13372 Shannon Hill Rd., Louisa. (540) 894-5253.

COURTESY FLYING FOX VINEYARD

Breweries and cideries

SPOTLIGHT

Flying Fox Vineyard A new start means new opportunities— and Flying Fox is no exception. The Afton vineyard relocated its tasting room in September and, with it, embraced a more playful take on its products and environs.

On the exterior, a mural three years in the making—of a hot air balloon attached to a wine barrel—greets visitors upon arrival.

Inside, whimsical patterns (a dapper fox here, more balloons there) cover the walls.

And the wine isn’t exempt from the owners’ creativity, either: In 2017, they began experimenting with the vineyard’s pruning techniques to bottle their first Sly Fox Series, on shelves in 2019.

Of course, it isn’t all play and no work.

The Afton vineyard took home a Governor’s Cup gold medal this year for its 2016 Viognier and 2015 Trio, and recently nabbed the Overall Winner nod from Virginia Living’s Made in Virginia awards for its seasonal vermouth.

10368 Critzer Shop Rd., Afton. 361-1692.

First Colony Winery Adopt a row of grapevines and you’ll get to learn how to prune and participate in its harvest. $5 tastings. 1650 Harris Creek Rd. 979-7105.

Five Oaks Vineyard Hybrid vines producing Chambourcin, Sabrevois and more. 4574 Belle Vista Dr., Barboursville. 242-9445.

Flying Fox Vineyard Named after the weather vane on the vineyard’s main building, Flying Fox boasts a limited production of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Viognier and Pinot Gris. Tastings are $5. 10368 Critzer Shop Rd., Afton. 361-1692.

Glass House Winery Don’t miss the tropical conservatory next to the tasting room—or the handcrafted chocolates! Tastings are $5 per person, $8 with an etched wine glass. 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. 975-0094.

Grace Estate Winery This 50-acre vineyard on scenic Mount Juliet Farm produces 14 varietals. $9 tastings. 5273 Mount Juliet Farm, Crozet. 823-1486.

Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery The bread and butter at this medieval-themed winery is the authentic honey meads. Try the Dragon’s Blood.

Open for tours and tasting. 2800 Berry Hill Rd., Nellysford. 361-1266.

Horton Vineyards More than 40 different dry, fruit and dessert wines abound at this winery just outside of Barboursville. Tastings are $5. 6399 Spotswood Trail, Gordonsville. (540) 832-7440.

Jefferson Vineyards Grab a bottle of Meritage and get a spot on the tree deck for a picturesque afternoon. Tastings are $10. 1353 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. 977-3042.

Keswick Vineyards Dog-friendly tasting spot located at the historic 400-acre Edgewood Estate. Tastings daily. 1575 Keswick Winery Dr., Keswick. 244-3341.

Kilaurwen Winery Artisanal wines near Shenandoah National Park. 1543 Evergreen Church Rd., Stanardsville. 985-2535.

King Family Vineyards Frequent Governor’s Cup award winner, King Family is also the site of polo matches every Sunday from Memorial Day weekend to mid-October. Tastings are $7, and you get to keep the glass! 6550 Roseland Farm, Crozet. 823-7800.

Knight’s Gambit Vineyard More than five acres of Petit Verdot, Pinot Grigio, Merlot and

Open for tastings Friday-Sunday. 1849 Simmons Gap Rd., Nortonsville. 990-0111.

Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards Try a glass of the Merlot Reserve while having lunch at the Farm Table & Wine Bar. Tastings are $6 per person. 5022 Plank Rd., North Garden.

202-8063.

Pollak Vineyards Located between Charlottesville and Wintergreen, this 98-acre farm produces 27 acres of French vinifera. Open daily. 330 Newtown Rd., Greenwood. (540) 456-8844.

Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery Sip a glass of Chardonnay in Prince Michel’s tasting room, above the barrel cave and tank room.

Tastings and self-guided tours. 154 Winery Ln., Leon. (540) 547-3707.

Rappahannock Cellars West Coast wine on the East: A desire to raise their 12 children in Virginia led Rappahannock’s owners to relocate from California. Open year-round for tours and $8 tastings. 14437 Hume Rd., Huntly. (540) 635-9398.

Rassawek Vineyards No tasting room; these folks grow grapes for other wineries.

6276 River Rd. W., Columbia. (804) 396-3098.

Septenary Winery Seven acres under vine at this stunning property, where Old World winemaking techniques abound. 200 Seven Oaks Farm, Greenwood. (540) 471-4282.

Sharp Rock Vineyards Once a working family farm, Sharp Rock is now a vineyard, winery and bed and breakfast. Tastings and selfguided tours available. 5 Sharp Rock Rd., Sperryville. (540) 987-8020.

Cabernet Franc located on a rolling hillside near Whitehall. 2218 Lake Albemarle Rd. 566-1168.

Lazy Days Winery A boutique winery that’s home to local festivals like the Virginia Summer Solstice Wine Festival. Open for tastings.

1351 N. Amherst Hwy., Amherst. 381-6088.

Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery A certified- organic vineyard and winery tucked away in the hills. Tastings are $5. Open Friday-Sunday, 11am-5pm (April-December). 3340 Sutherland Rd., North Garden. 984-0774.

Lovingston Winery A densely planted 8.5 acres yields wine of high-quality fruit. (Word to the wise: Leave your pups at home; there are two here already!) Free tastings. 885 Freshwater Cove Ln., Lovingston. 263-8467.

Meriwether Springs Vineyard The postand-beam event space is just the beginning —there are also two ponds, a three-acre lake and beautiful Ivy Creek here, which flanks the property. Open for tours and tastings. 1040 Owensville Rd. 270-4299.

Michael Shaps Wineworks Sample Virginia wines in the spare but stylish tasting room, as well as the Premiere Cru Burgundies, grown and bottled in France by owner Michael Shaps. $10 for a tasting of 12 wines.

1781 Harris Creek Way, 296-3438; 1585 Avon St. Ext. (Wineworks Extended), 529-6848.

Mountain Cove Vineyards Even better with age? The first batch of wine here was made in 1976. Open for tours and tastings. 1362 Fortunes Cove Ln., Lovingston. 263-5392.

Mountfair Vineyards You’ll find small-batch, blended red wines at Mountfair, just 20 miles west of Charlottesville. Open for complimentary tastings. 4875 Fox Mountain Rd., Crozet. 823-7605.

Moss Vineyards Fifty-two acres with views of the Blue Ridge, including nine under vine with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Viognier grapes.

Stinson Vineyards The cozy tasting room opens to a quaint patio for sipping awardwinning wines and noshing on farm-fresh snacks. Tastings are $7, $10 per person for groups of 10 or more. 4744 Sugar Hollow Rd., Crozet. 823-7300.

Stone Mountain Vineyards A rustic winery offers panoramic views of the surrounding counties from 1,700'. Tastings and tours available. 1376 Wyatt Mountain Rd., Dyke. 990-9463.

Thistle Gate Vineyard Handcrafted wines aged in French and American oak. Tastings available. 5199 W. River Rd., Scottsville.

286-7781.

Trump Winery Virginia’s yugest vineyard, Trump offers 200 acres of French vinifera varieties. Tastings are $10 for seven wines. 3550 Blenheim Rd., 984-4855.

Valley Road Vineyards Vineyard and tasting room at the head of the Rockfish Valley.

Tastings are $10 per person for six wines or $15 for a tasting. 9264 Critzers Shop Rd., Afton. (540) 456-6350.

Veritas Vineyard & Winery Award-winning wines at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Bring a picnic basket! Tastings are $5.

145 Saddleback Farm, Afton. (540) 456-8000.

Weston Farm Vineyard & Winery Small, family-owned winery. Must love dogs: Charlie and Suzie, the owners’ French bulldogs, often roam the property. $5 tastings and you keep the glass. 206 Harris Creek Rd., Louisa.

(540) 967-4647.

White Hall Vineyards Call ahead to reserve a cheese plate from the neighboring monastery to enjoy with your $5 tasting. 5282 Sugar Ridge Rd., White Hall. 823-8615.

Wisdom Oak Winery Make your way down the long gravel road to get to an intimate tasting room and outdoor picnic area. Tastings and tours are $5 per person and $10 per person for groups of eight or more. 3613 Walnut Branch Ln., North Garden. 984-4272.

Winter Knife&Fork 55

grapes don’t grow in ugly placesŽ

Lunch menu items available eat-in or take to-go

Sandwiches, soups, salads & pizza made daily!

Afton Mountain Vineyards 234 Vineyard Lane | Afton VA 22920 540.456.8667 | aftonmountainvineyards.com

CALL FOR WINTER HOURS Groups of 7 or more by reservation only.

Afton Mountain Vineyards 234 Vineyard Lane | Afton VA 22920 540.456.8667 | aftonmountainvineyards.com

Open Every Day 11: 00 am - 5:30 pm Groups of 7 or more by reservation only.

56 Knife&Fork Winter

We host Cooking Classes - Call us to find out about the next class.

921 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22903

monalisapasta.com

WINE IS MORE THAN JUST A DRINK...

EXPERIENCE HOW GOOD VIRGINIA WINES CAN BE! VISIT FIFTY-THIRD WINERY AND VINEYARD.

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Friday through Monday, 11am to 5pm. May through December open seven days a week, 11am to 5pm.

Closed Christmas, New Years day and Easter. Come see for yourself and visit us in our intimate, private

setting in rural Louisa County. It’s an easy drive from Charlottesville, Fredericksburg or Richmond. www.coopervineyards.com.

Great Wines, Friendly Staff, Great Experience.

The Shebeen Pub & Braai Experience South African inspired cuisine in downtown Charlottesville!

Join us for weekday lunch specials, nightly dinner specials, happy hour, and weekend brunch!

SHEBEEN PUB HAPPY HOUR Every Monday - Friday from 3pm - 6pm 1/2 off appetizers plus drink specials in the Pub! Weekday Dinner Specials Sunday $12 Peri Peri Chicken

roasted half-chicken + spicy peri-peri blend + mango chutney + fresh lemon; with choice of soup, salad, or chips

Monday $16 Shepherds Pie ground lamb + mash + parmesan + pub vegetables + gravy

PLUS Kids eat free with paid adult entree!

Tuesday Wine Nights 50% off bottles under $45 & 25% off bottles over $45 Explore our exclusively South African wine list!

PLUS $14 Durban Chicken Dinner sugar cane skewered chicken + cardamom, coriander & cumin + mealie pap + voodoo sauce + mango chutney Wednesday $10 Craft Burger Night weekly craft burger + fries Indulge in a different burger each week!

Thursday $29 Three Course Dinner Menu Enjoy a three-course, prix fixe dinner menu every Thursday night for just $29!

247 Ridge McIntire Rd, Charlottesville ,VA 22903 434-296-3185 www.shebeen.com 58 Knife&Fork Winter

Harrisonburg, Virginia 64 South Mason

Restaurant Guide Restaurant price ranges $/Under $10, $$/$10-25, $$$/$25+

Love Sushi King All-you-can-eat sushi for $11.98 (lunch) or $17.99 (dinner). Seminole Square Shopping Center. 978-1199. $.

Tea House Chinese-American and authentic Chinese weekly specials. 325 Four Leaf Ln., Crozet.

823-2868. $.

Asian Cuisine

Maharaja Spicy Indian specialties. The lunch buffet’s a deal. Seminole Square Shopping Center. 973-1110. $$.

Ten Super swanky second-floor spot serving modern Japanese. 120B E. Main St., Downtown Mall.

295-6691. $$$.

Marco & Luca’s Noodle Shop Quality meets quantity for under $5. York Place, Downtown Mall, 295-3855; 107 Elliewood Ave., 244-0016; 176 Zan Rd., no phone. $.

Thai ’99 II Thai noodle and rice dishes, curries and stir-frys in an inspired interior. In the Gardens Shopping Center. 964-1212. $.

Asian Express Cheap and cheerful, plus delivery. 909 W. Main St. 979-1888. $.

Bamboo House Korean and Chinese entrées served with an aesthetic flair. 4831 Seminole Trail. 973-9211. $$.

Bang! Asian fusion tapas, martinis to die for. 213 Second St. 984-BANG. $.

Bangkok ’99 Traditional Thai. 540 Radford Ln. #700, Crozet, 823-5881; 2005 Commonwealth Dr., 974-1326. $$.

Beijing Station Chinese favorites on the Corner.

104 14th St. NW. 234-3877. $.

Café 88 Cheap dim sum, bento boxes and soups.

Lots of veggie offerings. Preston Plaza. 293-9888. $.

Chen’s Chinese Take-out or eat-in. Inside Annie Land Plaza. 73 Callohill Dr., Lovingston. 263-8865. $.

Chimm Thai Thai street food. Try the dumplings.

5th Street Station. 288-1122. $$.

Maru Korean BBQ & Grill Traditional Korean food with modern additions. 412 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 956-4110. $.

Mi Canton Chinese and Latin cuisine. Think pupusas with a side of beef lo mein. McIntire Plaza.

296-8661. $.

Milan Indian Cuisine Authentic Indian cuisine with all the standards; daily lunch buffet. 1817 Emmet St. 984-2828. $$.

Ming Dynasty Chinese food with many vegetarian options. Low-fat menu available. 1417 Emmet St. N. 979-0909. $.

Monsoon Siam Curries, pad Thai and other entrées, plus an outdoor patio. 113 W. Market St. 971-1515. $$.

Chopsticks Express Straight-up no-nonsense Chinese place. 1841 Seminole Trail. 975-4380. $.

Noo-No-De Vietnamese Thai fusion, noodle soups, and rice bowls. 112 W. Main St., in York Place. $.

Doma Korean Kitchen Korean-style barbecue, kimchi and more. 701 W. Main St. (703) 336-3918. $.

Noodles & Company Fast-casual chain with noodles, soups and sandwiches. The Shops at Stonefield. 984-9621. $.

Druknya House Authentic Tibetan cuisine down JPA way. 2208 Fontaine Ave. 995-5539. $$.

Now & Zen Bite-sized gourmet Japanese and sushi spot. 202 Second St. NW. 971-1177. $$.

East Garden From chow mein to General Tso’s.

Pantops Shopping Center. 295-2888. $.

Oriental Express Chinese standards plus sushi.

3440 Seminole Trail, Suite 107. 974-9988. $.

Ginkgo Chinese Restaurant Sichuan classics from a Peter Chang-trained chef. 104 14th St. NW #8. 872-9386. $/$$.

Pad Thai Homestyle Thai cooking from an experienced chef. 156 Carlton Rd. 293-4032. $$.

Got Dumplings Pork, chicken, shrimp and chive, tofu—fast and hot. 1395 W. Main St. 244-3040. $.

Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet Watch chefs prepare food hibachi-style. 1185 Seminole Trail.

973-8889. $$.

Himalayan Fusion Curries, tandoori and other faves, plus a lunch buffet. 520 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 293-3120. $$.

Peter Chang China Grill Authentic Sichuan cuisine from a renowned chef. Barracks Road Shopping Center North Wing. 244-9818. $$.

Pho 3 Pho Authentic Vietnamese pho. Rivanna Plaza. 422-8975. $$.

Poke Sushi Bowl Hawaiian-inspired poke on the Corner. 101 14th St. NW, 328-8833; Barracks Road Shopping Center, 284-5466. $.

Red Lantern Chinese cuisine by the pint or the quart. 221 Carlton Rd. 979-9968. $.

Hong Kong Restaurant & Take-out Favorite Chinese entrées down Avon way. Southside Shopping Center, off Avon Street. 245-8818. $.

Royal Indian Restaurant One of the best-kept secrets in town. Seminole Square Shopping Center. 973-2288. $$.

J-Petal Japanese crêpes and Thai ice cream. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 234-3332. $.

Sakura Japanese Steak and Seafood Great teppanyaki seafood and Japanese-style steaks.

Hollymead Town Center. 872-0099. $$/ $$$.

Jade Garden Chinese essentials, plus twists like Hawaiian-style Triple Delight. 1139 Fifth St. SW. 979-3512. $.

Kabuto Sushi and Teppanyaki Beautifully presented fresh sushi and teppanyaki, plus soups and desserts. 1836 Abbey Rd. 973-1585. $.

Kuma Sushi Noodle & Bar Pan-Asian restaurant and karaoke bar. 12 Elliewood Ave. 328-2741. $.

Kung Fu Tea Authentic bubble teas, plus dumplings, buns and tarts. 1001 W. Main St. 202-8844. $.

Kyoto A mix of Japanese and Chinese meals— teppanyaki to bento boxes. Rio Hill Shopping Center. 923-8889. $.

Lemongrass Vietnam meets Thailand. Veggie options and delivery, too. 104 14th St. NW. 244THAI. $$.

Lime Leaf Thai The serene dining room is a tad more upscale than the average Thai place. Rio Hill Shopping Center. 245-8884. $/$$.

ShangHai Wide array of regional selections, plus a lunch buffet. 312 Pantops Shopping Center.

984-2688. $.

Shun Xing Szechuan, Hunan and Cantonesestyle dishes. Forest Lakes Shopping Center. 9749888. $.

Silk Thai Authentic Thai in a cozy house setting.

2210 Fontaine Ave. 977-8424. $.

Taiwan Garden Basic assortment of Chinese fare in basic surroundings. 2171 Ivy Rd. 295-0081. $.

Tara Thai Serves up affordable Thai faves, with multiple meat, fish and veggie options. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 984-9998. $$.

Thai Cuisine & Noodle House Traditional Thai food, noodle dishes and vegetarian specials.

2005 Commonwealth Dr. 974-1326. $$.

Thai Fresh Thai take-out with great prices. 106 Fifth St. SE. 249-5291. $.

Tokyo Rose Long-standing landmark serves sushi and sashimi. 2171 Ivy Rd. 296-3366. $$.

Urban Bowl Noodle soups and rice bowls. 111 W. Water St., York Place. 984-0095. $.

Vu Noodles Four kinds of homemade noodle bowls from a take-out window. 110 Second St. NW; 233 Fourth St. NW. $.

The Pie Chest Homemade breakfast and hand pies, plus by-the-slice options (for those who can’t decide). 119 Fourth St. NE., 977-0443; 1518 E. High St. 984-0555. $.

Bars and Grills Augustiner Hall & Garden A 24-seat German biergarten in the Glass Building. 313 Second St. SE. 202-7044. $$.

Beer Run Rotating beers on tap, six-packs and wine to take away and three meals daily. 156 Carlton Rd., Suite 203. 984-2337. $$.

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse American fare—plus pizza and award-winning, handcrafted beer. 3924 Lenox Ave. 422-5170. $$.

Blue Tavern & Sports Bar Food offerings include 55 flavors of chicken wings. 8315 Seminole Trail, Ruckersville. 985-3633. $$.

Coupe’s Pub food with a popular late-night scene.

9 Elliewood Ave. 282-2141. $.

Yuan Ho Great lunch deal before 4pm. 117 Maury Ave. 977-7878. $.

Devils Grill Contemporary American fare with a view of the green. Devils Knob Golf Course, Wintergreen. 325-2200. $$.

Bakeries

Double Horseshoe Saloon American food, plus billiards and occasional live music. 1522 E. High St. 202-8714. $.

Albemarle Baking Company Get your ABCs of baked goods here. 418 W. Main St., in the Main Street Market. 293-6456. $.

BreadWorks Breads, desserts and a full deli with sandwiches, soups, etc. Preston Plaza, 2964663; 2955 Ivy Rd., 220-4575. $.

Carpe Donut Well-loved donuts, hot beverages and locally brewed kombucha. McIntire Plaza.

202-2918. $.

Chandler’s Bakery Cakes for any occasion, plus cookies and brownies for your sugar fix. Rio Hill Shopping Center. 975-2253. $.

Cocoa & Spice Handcrafted chocolates and confections. 506 Stewart St. (973) 489-7789. $.

Crust & Crumb Bakery Fresh-baked bread and pastry specials, plus a light menu. 1671 W. River Rd., Scottsville. 960-4444. $.

Duck Donuts Outer Banks donut spot with madeto-order treats. Stonefield Shopping Center, 8231960. $.

Found. Market Co. Bakehouse and mercantile specializing in cookies—eat them there or take dough home. 221 Carlton Rd., Suite 2. $$.

Great Harvest Bread Company Sandwiches, sweets and bread baked from scratch every day.

McIntire Plaza. 202-7813. $.

MarieBette Café & Bakery French pastries for breakfast, more pastries (and a dine-in menu) for lunch. 700 Rose Hill Dr. 529-6118. $.

Moon Maiden’s Delights From-scratch vegan and gluten-free pastries. York Place, Downtown Mall. 995-9233. $.

Nestlé Toll House Café Coffee, ice cream, cookie cakes and other sweet treats from the chocolatey chain. 5th Street Station. 328-8393. $.

Patisserie Torres Delicious delicacies from Fleurie pasty chef Serge Torres. 103 Third St. NE. $.

Quality Pie In the former Spudnuts spot, sweet and savory dishes for breakfast, lunch and happy hour. 309 Avon St. 284-5120. $$.

Taste of China Chinese favorites on 29N. Albemarle Square Shopping Center. 975-6688. $$.

Sugar Shack Donuts & Coffee Hand-rolled and cut donuts (and fresh coffee) from this Richmond chain. 1001 W. Main St. 995-5167. $.

Taste of India Delicious Indian fare and a lunch buffet under $9. 310 E. Main St, Downtown Mall.

984-9944. $$.

SweetHaus Homemade cupcakes and specialty candy at this sweet shop on West Main. 2248 Ivy Rd., 270-2944; 929 Second St. SE, 422-2677. $.

Draft Taproom Sixty self-serve taps with a large, diverse selection of craft beer styles. 425 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 422-5901. $.

Fardowners Restaurant Local ingredients liven up pub fare like sliders and sandwiches. 5773 The Square, Crozet. 823-1300. $/$$.

Firefly Craft beer, tasty eats and arcade games.

1304 E. Market St. 202-1050. $.

Glass Half Full Taproom “The bar next door,” inside Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. 5th Street Station. 326-5056. $.

Hurley’s Tavern Twenty taps and 20 TVs. Rivanna Plaza. 964-2742. $.

Joe’s Pool Hall & Sports Bar Pool, darts, poker and ’cue. Scottsville Shopping Center, Scottsville. 286-7665. $.

Kardinal Hall Bocce and beer garden. 722 Preston Ave. 295-4255. $.

Lost Saint Diminutive cocktail bar below Tavern & Grocery. 333 W. Main St. 293-7403. $.

Miller’s A classic Downtown bar, with pub grub and live music every night. 109 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. 971-8511. $$.

Mountain Grill Farm to table at Carter Mountain Orchard. 1435 Carters Mountain Trail. 977-1833. $$.

Mountainside Grille Everything from Cobb salad to peanut butter and chocolate chip pie.

375 Four Leaf Ln., Crozet. 823-7080. $$.

Rapture Contemporary American with soulful accents, weekend brunch, purple pool tables and a dance club. 303 E. Main St., Downtown Mall.

293-9526. $$.

Rockfish 151 Pub Irish-American grub, with daily specials. 9278 Rockfish Valley Hwy. 966-6992. $.

Sedona Taphouse Five hundred craft beers and an all-American menu. 1035 Millmont St. 2962337. $$.

Stoney Creek Bar & Grill Distinctive dining at Wintergreen’s Stoney Creek Golf Course. Wintergreen Resort, Rte. 664, Nellysford. 325-8110. $-$$.

Texas Roadhouse Steaks, ribs and from-scratch sides. Albemarle Square. 973-4700. $$.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 61

Winter Knife&Fork 59

THRILL OF THE FRILL

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60 Knife&Fork Winter

Restaurant Guide CONTINUED FROM PAGE 59

The Biltmore Large portions and a popular drinking scene. 16 Elliewood Ave. 202-1498. $.

The Livery Stable Hole-in-the-wall (er, basement) spot Downtown. 120 Old Preston Ave. 202-2088. $/$$.

The Pub by Wegmans Pub fare for lunch and dinner, plus beer, wine and signature drinks. 100 Wegmans Way. 529-3265. $$.

The Smokehouse Grille Locally sourced barbecue, plus a seasonal farm-to-table menu. 515 Valley St., Scottsville. 286-4745. $$.

The Southern Café & Music Hall Downtown music venue opens its café before shows. 103 S. First St. 977-5590. $.

The Villa Sports Bar & Ultra Lounge Live music, private parties, Mexican food and dancing.

1250 Emmet St. N. 962-6575. $$.

The Virginian Cozy Corner mainstay with an 80plus-year history. 1521 University Ave. 984-4667. $$.

The Whiskey Jar Saloon-style Southern spot with, naturally, more than 90 varieties of whiskey.

227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. 202-1549. $$.

Timberwood Grill All-American eatery and after-work watering hole. 3311 Worth Crossing.

975-3311; Fifth Street Station (Timberwood Tap House), 234-3563. $$.

Tin Whistle Irish Pub Traditional Irish pub Downtown. 609 E. Market St. 979-4279. $$.

Trinity Irish Pub Hand-carved wooden bars, exposed brick and an upstairs balcony directly across from Grounds. 1505 University Ave. 295-7100. $.

West Main Pub Residence Inn’s bar and appetizer spot. 315 W. Main St. 220-0075. $.

Whistlestop Grill Southern comfort foods in Crozet. 1200 Crozet Ave. 823-9000. $.

World of Beer More than 500 different beers from more than 40 countries. 852 W. Main St. 970-1088. $$.

Breakfast Joints Bluegrass Grill and Bakery Unpretentious breakfast and lunch spot, beloved by local weekenders. Glass Building, Second Street. 295-9700. $.

Cavalier Diner Breakfast all day long, plus burgers, subs and Italian standbys. 1403 Emmet St. 977-1619. $.

Farm Bell Kitchen New-Southern cuisine with local farm-to-table ingredients. 1209 W. Main St. 205-1538. $$.

International House of Pancakes Standard breakfast fare. Long lines on the weekends. Rio Hill Shopping Center. 964-0830. $.

Sam’s Kitchen All-day breakfast, plus American and French dishes at this local institution.

1863 Seminole Trail. 964-9488. $.

The Pigeon Hole Cozy all-day breakfast spot with fresh-squeezed juices and stone-ground grits.

11 Elliewood Ave. 977-4711. $.

The Villa American breakfast all day. 1250 Emmet St. N. 296-9977. $.

The Well House Cafe Coffee, tea, smoothies and pastries. 118 10 1/2 St. NW. 973-0002. $.

Waffle House It’s breakfast ’round the clock.

1162 Fifth St. SW, 296-5010; 495 Premier Cir. on 29N, 975-5860. $.

Burgers, BBQ, Dogs and Diners Ace Biscuit & Barbecue Breakfast and lunch spot serving up soul food by the biscuit. 711 Henry Ave. 202-1403. $.

Barbeque Exchange Hickory-smoked and slowroasted pork, plus hushpuppies, pie and pickles.

102 Martinsburg Ave., Gordonsville. (540) 8320227. $.

Blue Ridge Pig For connoisseurs of barbecue, the Pig is the place. Rte. 151, Nellysford. 3611170. $.

Boylan Heights Burger spot and popular bar serves organic Virginia beef. 102 14th St. 9845707. $.

Brother’s Bar & Grill The same barbecue folks have loved for years. 2104 Angus Rd. 293-6333. $.

Buck Island BBQ Pulled pork, spare ribs, fried chicken. 4842 Richmond Rd., Keswick. 872-0259. $.

Burger Bach New Zealand-inspired gastropub.

The Shops at Stonefield, 328-2812. $$.

Chicken Coop Chicken, barbecue and a variety of sandwiches. 40 Front St., Lovingston. 263-7818. $.

Citizen Burger Bar Gourmet burgers with highquality meat, plus a large collection of beers.

212 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 979-9944. $$.

Doodle’s Diner Country cookin’ from breakfast to burgers. 1305 Long St. 295-7550. $.

Five Guys Two locations for local carnivores. Barracks Road Shopping Center, 975-GUYS; Hollymead Town Center, 963-GUYS. $.

Fox’s Café Daily specials, burgers, dogs and dinners. 403 Avon St. 293-2844. $.

Holly’s Deli & Pub Southern food, live music and beer. 1221 E. Market St. 282-2713. $.

Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint Classic burgers, daily specials and bras on the chandelier. 109 Second St. SE. 244-0073. $.

Jak’n Jil The working man’s Bodo’s: foot-longs and fries. 1404 E. High St. 293-7213. $.

Korner Restaurant This greasy spoon offers all the usual suspects. Daily lunch special. 415 Ninth St. SW. 977-9535. $.

Lazy Parrot Backyard BBQ The Lazy Parrot Grill’s sister restaurant. Pantops Shopping Center. 244-0723. $/$$.

Lumpkins Classic burgers, salads, fried chicken and foot-long hotdogs. 1075 Valley St., Scottsville. 286-3690. $.

Luther Burger Donuts, burgers, and brew inside Sugar Shack. 1001 W. Main St. 995-5813. $.

Luv’n Oven Gizzards, livers, fries and shakes. 162 Village Sq., Scottsville. 286-3828. $.

Martin’s Grill Delicious hamburgers, veggie burgers and fries. 3449 Seminole Trail, in the Forest Lakes Shopping Center. 974-9955. $.

Me2 Market and Eatery Delish barbecue and fresh baked treats just 3.5 miles east of Monticello. 2243 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. 297-2201. $.

Mel’s Café Southern soul-soothing food. A longtime favorite on West Main. 719 W. Main St. 9718819. $.

Mission BBQ Pulled turkey, pork and chicken, plus racks by the bone. The Shops at Stonefield.

260-7740. $.

Moe’s Original BBQ Alabama-style pulled pork smoked in-house. 2119 Ivy Rd. 244-7427. $.

Moose’s by the Creek American favorites, plus mounted moose antlers for photo ops. 1710 Monticello Rd. 977-4150. $.

Nelly’s Roadhouse American and Mexican menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 2815 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford. 361-1400. $$.

Olive’s Grill Food for the working man. Most items under $10. 8839 Seminole Trail, Ruckersville. 990-2634. $.

Otto’s All-American faves and daily specials at your service. Order at the counter and sit outside if it’s warm. 325 Four Leaf Ln., Crozet. 823-4200. $.

Paulie’s Pig Out First barbecue joint on the way to Wintergreen. 7376 Rockfish Valley Hwy. 361-2001. $.

Pig N’ Steak Pig…and steak. 313 Washington St., Madison. (540) 948-3130. $.

Red Hub Food Co. Quality catering and barbecue at a 10-seat lunch counter. 202 10th St. NW. 975-2271. $.

Riverside Lunch Legendary burgers and fries.

1429 Hazel St. 971-3546. $.

Riverside North Notable burgers and fries on 29N. Sunday morning buffet, too. Forest Lakes Shopping Center. 979-1000. $.

Sam’s Hot Dog Stand Get three dogs, fries and a drink for only $8.20. 5786 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. 205-4438. $.

Smoked Kitchen and Tap Beloved food truckturned-restaurant in Crozet’s Piedmont Place.

2025 Library Ave., Crozet. 205-4881. $.

The Colleen Drive-In On Route 29, look for the huge ice cream cone. 4105 Thomas Nelson Hwy., Arrington. 263-5343. $.

The Wolf’s Fixins Barbecue Barbecue, burgers and beer. 344 Stoneridge Dr. N, Ruckersville.

242-1551. $.

Timberlake’s Old-fashioned soda fountain, sandwiches galore, burgers and dogs. 322 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 295-9155. $.

Tip Top Breakfast, lunch and dinner with Italian and Greek specials. 1420 Richmond Rd., on Pantops Mountain. 244-3424. $.

Wayside Takeout & Catering Famous Old Virginia fried chicken and barbecue sandwiches.

2203 Jefferson Park Ave. 977-5000. $.

White Spot Burgers with tradition at this popular Corner spot. 1407 University Ave. 295-9899. $.

Wild Wing Café Sports bar features wings and beer, plus live music, karaoke, trivia and poker.

820 W. Main St. 979-WING. $/$$.

Wings Over Charlottesville Wing delivery spot that encourages patrons to eat like a caveman. 2029 Ivy Rd. 964-9464. $$.

Zinburger Wine & Burger Gourmet burgers, fries, milkshakes and, of course, plenty of wine.

Barracks Road Shopping Center. 244-2604. $$.

Coffee Places with Kitchens Atlas Coffee Get a cup of coffee or an espresso roasted by Shenandoah Joe. 2206B Fontaine Ave. 970-1700. $.

Baine’s Books & Coffee Books, music, film, pottery, musical instruments, food and, of course, coffee. 485 Valley St., Scottsville. 286-3577. $.

C’ville Coffee Co. Well-established café, with a kids’ corner and library to keep wee ones entertained. 1301 Harris St. 817-2633. $.

Carpe Café Breakfast, lunch and snacks inside Studio IX. 969 Second St. SE. 260-3803. $.

Daily Grind Family-owned coffee and ice cream shop with more than 20 flavor choices. 3450 Seminole Trail. 529-8209. $.

Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin-Robbins Coffee and donuts. 305 Rivanna Plaza Dr., Suite 101, 2449998. $.

Greenberry’s Java and specialty drinks, plus fresh baked goods. Wi-Fi available. Barracks Road Shopping Center, 984-0200; in Alderman Library on UVA grounds, 243-8961. $.

Grit Coffee People, coffee, food, space, design and work: That’s the focus at Grit. 110 Old Trail Dr., Crozet, 205-4253; 112 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 971-8743; 989 Second St. SE, no phone; 19 Elliewood Ave., 293-4412; The Shops at Stonefield, 284-8461. $.

Java Java All fair-trade organic coffee all the time. Smoothies and a lunch menu, too. Comfy seating, warm atmosphere, Wi-Fi. 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 245-0020. $.

La Taza Cuban press sandwiches, soups and salads. 212 Seventh St. (inside the SNL Building), no phone. $.

Lone Light Coffee Specialty coffee spot inside The Pie Chest. 119 Fourth St. NE., 977-0443; 1518 E. High St., 984-0555. $.

Mermaid Express Mochas to smoothies. Inside PVCC. No phone. $.

Milli Coffee Roasters Espresso drinks, chai and hot chocolate. 400 Preston Ave., Suite 150, 2822659. $.

Mudhouse Locally roasted, heavy-duty coffee, fresh juices and pastries. 213 W. Main St., 9846833; The Square, Crozet, 823-2240; also to-go in the Bellair Market, 977-0222, and Mulberry Station, 245-0163. $.

Paradox Pastry Retro-urban-vibed bakery and dessert café. 313 Second St., in the Glass Building. 245-2253. $.

Rapunzel’s Coffee, books and music; chill out in Lovingston. Live music, too. 924 Front St., Lovingston. 263-6660. $.

Rocket Coffee Get a buzz, grab a New York bagel, or stay for lunch. 5866 Rockfish Gap Tpke. (Crozet).

205-4210. $.

Shark Mountain Coffee Roastery, coffee shop, chocolatier. 621 Nash Dr. (540) 327-1564. $.

Sheepdog Coffee Grab-and-go coffee spot inside the Graduate hotel. 1309 W. Main St. 295-4333. $.

Shenandoah Joe Local roaster with a coffee bar and pastries. 945 Preston Ave., 295-4563; 2214 Ivy Rd., 923-4563. $.

Sicily Rose Coffee Shop & Cannoli Bar Coffee and cannoli. What’s better than that? 969 Second St. SE. Snowing in Space Coffee Co. Nitro brew coffee plus light snacks to tamper your caffeine buzz.

705 W. Main St. 228-1120. $.

Starbucks Multiple locations for all your corporate coffee needs. 1601 University Ave., 9701058; Rivanna Ridge Shopping Center, 2954996; 1520 Seminole Trail, 973-5298; Hollymead Town Center, 975-6005. Location without phone in Fashion Square Mall. $.

The Corner Cup Fresh Trager Brothers coffee and espresso, plus pastries and muffins. 1325 W. Main St. 293-7905. $.

Trager Brothers Coffee See the roastery in action and sample some of the fresh roasted coffee while you’re there. 486 Front St., Lovingston.

263-8916. $.

Family-Friendly Ann’s Family Restaurant Good old country cooking. 1170 Thomas Nelson Hwy. (Rte. 29, south of Lovingston). 263-8110. $.

Applebee’s Steak and Southwestern amid local memorabilia. 571 Branchlands Blvd., 974-5596; Rivanna Ridge Shopping Center, 293-3208; 2005 Abbey Rd., 293-3208. $/$$.

Cherry Avenue Diner American diner classics: fries, burgers and the like. 820 Cherry Ave. 2021267. $.

Chew Chew Town Trained-themed spot for kids and families, by the folks at Al Carbon. 1877 Seminole Trail. 202-2609. $.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 63

Winter Knife&Fork 61

62 Knife&Fork Winter

Restaurant Guide Fleurie Upscale modern French restaurant gets rave reviews. Extensive wine list. 108 Third St. NE. 971-7800. $$$.

Petit Pois French-American bistro from the owners of Fleurie. All the chic, lower check. 201 E. Main St. 979-7647. $$.

Pomme Casual French in the heart of picturesque Gordonsville. 115 S. Main St., Gordonsville. (540) 832-0130. $$$.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 61

Chili’s Southwestern eats in a colorful, boothheavy interior. 100 Zan Rd. 975-0800. $/$$.

Michie Tavern Traditional Southern lunch in an 18th-century tavern near Monticello. 683 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. 977-1234. $$.

Red Robin Gourmet burgers, salads and bottomless pits of steak fries. Fashion Square Mall.

964-9523. $.

The Haven Homecooking Weekly Wednesday pop-up café benefiting The Haven homeless shelter. 112 Market St. 973-1234. $.

The Light Well Coffee-kitchen-tavern serves healthy ingredients in original recipes. 110 E. Main St., Orange. (540) 661-0004. $.

The Nook Half-century-old Charlottesville diner serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with a full bar.

415 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 295-6665. $.

Wood Grill Buffet Big buffet featuring things grilled on wood. 576 Branchlands Blvd. 975-5613. $.

Frozen Treats Arch’s Frozen Yogurt Wahoo-approved yogurt with tons of optional toppings. 104 14th St. NW. 984-2724. $.

Ben & Jerry’s Thirty-four flavors of ice cream and froyo. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 244-7438. $.

Bloop Self-serve froyo with rotating flavors.

1430 Rolkin Ct. 282-2093; 32 Mill Creek Dr. 3282288. $.

Chaps More than 20 years of gourmet homemade ice cream. Grub like burgers and diner fare.

223 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 977-4139. $.

Cold Stone Creamery Ice cream, cakes, shakes and smoothies at this frozen treat chain. 1709 Emmet St. 529-8526. $.

Corner Juice UVA alum-owned juice spot with fresh, cold-pressed options. 1509 University Ave. $.

Crozet Creamery Small-batch ice cream in rotating flavors from Rocky Road to dairy-free lemon. 2025 Library Ave, Crozet. 205-4889. $.

Fast Food Arby’s Big roast beef. 1230 Emmet St., 296-8995; 1700 Timberwood Blvd., 978-1050. $.

Bojangles Chicken and biscuits. 2009 Abbey Rd. 293-1190; 3370 Seminole Trail, 284-5862. $.

Burger King The Whopper. Pantops Shopping Center, 296-5145; 1181 Fifth St. Ext., 963-7827; 1000 Emmet St., 293-8566; 11518 James Madison Hwy., Gordonsville, 589-6854. $.

Chick-Fil-A Waffle fries. 350 Woodbrook Dr., 872-0187; Fashion Square Mall, 973-1646; 1626 Richmond Rd., 245-5254. $.

Cook-Out Diner fare, plus chicken nuggets —as a side. 1254 Emmet St. $.

Dairy Queen Home of the Blizzard.1248 Crozet Ave., 823-6585; 1777 Fortune Park Rd., 964-9595. $.

Hardee’s Burgers, breakfasts and fried chicken.

1150 Fifth St. SW, 977-4804; Rte. 250E, 977-3191; Rte. 29N, 973-2083. $.

Kentucky Fried Chicken Double-down with the Colonel. 1705 Emmet St. 295-5158. $.

McDonald’s Home of the Happy Meal. Barracks Road Shopping Center, 295-6092; 475 Ridge McIntire Rd., 977-2984; 1294 Stoney Point Rd., 295-6677; 29th Place, 973-3055; Forest Lakes Shopping Center, 975-1112; 11455 James Madison Hwy., Gordonsville, 589-6753; 85 Callohill Dr., Lovingston, 263-8066. $.

Popeyes Chicken chain with savory sides. 1709 Emmet St. 529-8148. $.

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers Chicken fingers and Texas toast. 1805 N. Emmet St. 293-4331. $.

Taco Bell Great late-night drive-thru. 820 Gardens Blvd., 974-1344; 1158 Fifth St. NW, 295-9185; 801 Emmet St., 979-9074; Pantops Shopping Center, 296-7647. $.

Wendy’s Spicy No. 6. 416 Fourth St. NW, 9790380; Corner of Rte. 250E and Rte. 20, 979-5908; Fashion Square Mall, 973-6226; 8764 Seminole Trail, Ruckersville, 990-2021. $.

Zaxby’s Chicken wings, chicken fingers, chicken sandwiches... 1248 Emmet St. N. 529-8220. $.

MY FAVORITE BITE

Stolen moments Years ago, while in Chicago attending culinary school at night and working full-time as a cheesemonger during the day, Tilman’s co-owner Courtenay Tyler came up with a ritual—a few quiet moments that became the inspo for the vibe at her Downtown Mall wine and cheese shop.

“I

would head to a small neighborhood French bistro right when it opened and order the cheese and pâtè plate and a glass of pinot.

The server almost always would pause for a moment, and then ask me if I was sure this was what I wanted. The crowd on Sunday mornings were generally having coffee and pastries, eggs, crêpes, and other more traditional and (I assume) respectable fare.

Yes, that is exactly what I wanted, I said. I adore a nibble of a salty cheese, crusty bread, and a bite of coppa with a swath of mustard. I love taking a moment for myself just to sit and relax with a really good glass of wine.”

EZE AMOS

French Basic Necessities A taste of Southern France with fresh organic fare, plus wine and cheese. 2226 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford. 361-1766. $$.

C&O Sophisticated French at a 30-plus-year-old establishment. Excellent cheese plate, extensive wine list, popular bar. 515 E. Water St. 971-7044. $$$.

Kilwin’s Ice cream, fudge and truffles. 313 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 234-3634. $.

Kirt’s Homemade Ice Cream Ice cream made fresh in the store. Albemarle Square Shopping Center. 202-0306. $.

Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard Cones, cups, floats, sundaes, “snowstorms” and smoothies. Woodbrook Shopping Center, 975-4651; 250E, 2960041. $.

La Flor Michoacana Homemade popsicles, fruit beverages and ice cream. 601 Cherry Ave., 9841604. $.

Red Mango Fresh juices, smoothies and frozen yogurt. 5th Street Station. 328-8393. $.

Smojo Smoothies, juices, power bars and granola bars to go. 2025 Library Ave., Crozet. (360) 481-4087. $.

Smoothie King Chain features smoothies, supplements and healthy snacks. Barracks Road Shopping Center, 295-8502; Rivanna Ridge Shopping Center, 975-5464. $.

Splendora’s Gelato Ranging selection of Italian gelato (and sorbet) and delicious desserts in a bright Downtown location. 317 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 296-8555. $.

Sweet Frog Interesting froyo flavors and even more interesting toppings—Cap’n Crunch with fresh mangos, maybe? Hollymead Town Center, 975-3764; Barracks Road Shopping Center, 293-1130. $.

The Juice Laundry Pressed juices, nut milks, shots, smoothies, coffee, salads and raw foods. 722 Preston Ave. #105, 1411 University Ave. 234-3044. $.

The Juice Place Smoothies, juices and rice bowls for quick eating. 201 E. Main St., Downtown Mall.

270-8813. $.

Gourmet Groceries and Gas Stations Batesville Market Sandwiches to order, salads and baked goods plus cheeses, produce and packaged goods. 6624 Plank Rd., Batesville. 823-2001. $.

Bellair Market Gourmet sandwich spot on Ivy Road. 2401 Ivy Rd. 971-6608. $.

Blue Ridge Bottle Shop Craft beer store with both bottles and growlers available—plus sample before you buy! 2025 Library Ave, Crozet. 602-2337. $.

Brownsville Market Breakfast starting at 5am, plus burgers, sides and famous fried chicken. 5995 Rockfish Gap Tpke., Crozet. 823-5251. $.

Everyday Café Gourmet gas station with homemade pizza and gelato. 2404 Fontaine Ave., 2063790; 250E on Pantops Mountain, 971-8771. $.

Feast! Nationally noted cheese, wine and specialty food shop. 416 W. Main St., in the Main Street Market. 244-7800. $$.

Foods of All Nations Sandwiches, deli and salads at this gourmet grocery. Try the West Coast.

2121 Ivy Rd. 296-6131. $.

Greenwood Gourmet Grocery Made-to-order sandwiches, plus fresh soup and a deli with mac-ncheese, bread pudding and other rotating dishes.

6701 Rockfish Gap Tpke., Crozet. (540) 456-6431. $.

Hunt Country Market A rotating menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 2048 Garth Rd. 296-1648. $.

Integral Yoga Natural Foods All-natural food, supplements and personal care products, plus a deli and juice/smoothie bar. 923 Preston Ave. 293-4111. $.

JM Stock Provisions Whole-animal butcher shop with sandwiches to go. 709 W. Main St. 244-2480. $.

Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen Belmont grocery with breakfast and lunch sammies, plus takeaway dinners. 703 Hinton Ave. 989-7648. $.

Market Street Café Gourmet breakfast, rotisserie chicken and deli meats. 1111 E. Rio Rd. 9641185. $.

Market Street Market Deli in the Downtown grocery serves sandwiches and prepared foods.

400 E. Market St. 293-3478. $.

Market Street Wine An expertly curated selection. 305 Rivanna Plaza Dr., Suite 102, 964-9463; 311 E. Market St., 979-9463. $$.

Mill Creek Market The Southern sister of Bellair Market. Avon Street, across from the Southside Shopping Center. 817-1570. $.

Mulberry Station at Shadwell A full-service convenience store. 3008 Richmond Rd., Keswick.

245-0315. $.

Seafood @ West Main Fresh fish, shellfish and seafood, plus Japanese groceries. 416 W. Main St., in the Main Street Market. 296-8484. $.

Trader Joe’s This grocery chain boasts top quality at low cost, including “Two Buck Chuck” wine (which is actually $3.50). The Shops at Stonefield. 974-1466. $$.

Whole Foods Market Fresh, all-natural sandwiches ranging from classic favorites to vegan delights. Big salad and prepared-foods bar, too.

1797 Hydraulic Rd. 973-4900. $$.

Wyant’s Store Country-store fare like coffee and donuts, with daily specials and a great (cheap!) cheeseburger. 4696 Garth Rd., Crozet.

823-7299. $.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 65

Winter Knife&Fork 63

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Restaurant Guide CONTINUED FROM PAGE 63

Inns and Hotel Restaurants

Bella’s Restaurant An authentic Roman-Italian family-style restaurant. 707 W. Main St. 3274833. $$.

Belmont Pizza and Pub Fresh, stone-baked pizza on hand-tossed pies. Beer, too! 211 Carlton Rd. Suite 10. 977-1970. $.

1321 W. Main St., in the Red Roof Inn. 972-9366. $.

MidiCi Neapolitan pizza chain. The Shops at Stonefield. 284-8874. $.

Benny Deluca’s Giant slices from a simple fivepie menu. 913 W. Main St. 245-4007.

Mona Lisa Pasta This market carries nearly every variety of pasta and sauce imaginable. To-go entrées serve two to three people. Preston Plaza.

295-2494. $$.

Brick Oven Gourmet pizzas, sandwiches from an authentic wood-fired grill. Rio Hill Shopping Center. 964-1119. $.

Nate & Em’s Pizza All your pizzeria faves: calzones, stromboli, pasta, subs and—of course—pies.

5924 Seminole Trail, Ruckersville. 985-9000. $.

Emmet’s Holiday Inn restaurant serves American fare. 1901 Emmet St. 977-0803. $$.

Brixx Wood Fired Pizza Franchise pizza spot serves, you guessed it, wood-fired pies. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 245-4050. $$.

Palladio Restaurant Northern Italian cuisine and Barboursville wines. 17655 Winery Rd., Barboursville. (540) 832-7848. $$$.

Fossett’s American regional cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a tapas bar. Inside Keswick Hall, 701 Club Dr., off 250E. 979-3440. $$$.

Carmello’s Upscale service just like in Little Italy, gargantuan pepper mills and all. 29th Place.

977-5200. $$.

Papa John’s Pizza fans come to Papa. 3441 Seminole Trail, 973-7272; University Shopping Center, 979-7272; 1305-A Long St., 296-7272. $.

Heirloom Rooftop bar and restaurant inside The Graduate Hotel. 1309 W. Main St. 295-4333. $$.

Chirio’s Pizza Authentic, homemade NY pizza, subs, salads, sandwiches, specials and ice cream.

Eat in, take-out, delivery. 2777 Rockfish Valley Hwy. 361-9188. $.

Pizza Hut The Jabba of pizza chains. 1718 Seminole Trail, 973-1616; 540 Radford Ln., Suite 300, 823-7500. $.

Café 1201 Seven-day breakfast buffet. At Courtyard Marriott-UVA Medical Center. 1201 W. Main St. 977-1700. $$.

Camp Ten Four Rooftop bar and restaurant inside the Graduate hotel. 1309 W. Main St. 295-4333. $$.

Charlotte’s All-American menu in the Holiday Inn. 1200 Fifth St. SW. 977-5100. $$.

Inn at Court Square Upscale Southern in the oldest house Downtown. 410 E. Jefferson St. 2952800. $$$.

Keswick Hall Monday through Friday lunch buffet in the Villa Crawford. Reservations required.

701 Club Dr. 979-3440. $$.

Christian’s Pizza The place to get fresh pies, by-the-slice or the whole darn thing. 118 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 977-9688; 100 14th St. NW, 872-0436; 3440 Seminole Trail, 973-7280. $.

Lafayette Inn Restored 1840s inn that once served as a boarding house for proper young ladies. 146 Main St., Stanardsville. 985-6345. $$$.

College Inn Straight-up late-night goodness. Pizza, gyros, subs, and its delivery can’t be beat. Breakfast items, too. 1511 University Ave. 977-2710. $.

Oakhurst Inn Coffee & Café Southern breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch. 1616 Jefferson Park Ave. 872-0100. $.

Crozet Pizza Unpretentious, family-owned pizza parlor with nationally recognized pies. 5794 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet, 823-2132; 20 Elliewood Ave., 202-1046. $.

The Mill Room Expect historic ambience with your breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. The Boar’s Head, 200 Ednam Dr. 972-2230. $$$.

Prospect Hill Plantation Inn & Restaurant Candlelit prix fixe four-course dinners in this 1732 plantation house. 2887 Poindexter Rd., Trevilians.

(540) 967-0844. $$$.

Renewal Elevated Southern cuisine and a selfserve tasting wall inside The Draftsman hotel.

1106 W. Main St. 984-8000. $$.

The Edge Casual fare with a family-priced menu for a meal overlooking the slopes. Wintergreen Resort, Rte. 664. 325-8080. $$.

Domino’s Six locally owned branches of the national chain. Pizza, of course, plus pasta, sandwiches and wings. 1137 Millmont St., 971-8383; 1147 Fifth St. SW, 970-7777; 2335 Seminole Trail, 973-1243; 508 Stewart St., 979-2525; Food Lion Shopping Center, Ruckersville, 990-2000; 325 Four Leaf Ln., Crozet, 823-7752. $.

Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie Pizza joint in the Crossroads mini-mall. 4916 Plank Rd., on 29S at North Garden. 245-0000. $/$$.

End Zone Pizza Pizza, big subs and fresh salads.

Forest Lakes Shopping Center. 973-8207. $.

The Fountain Room at the Mark Addy Inn Picture-perfect mountain B&B with a dining room open to all. 56 Rodes Farm Dr., Nellysford. 361-1101. $$$.

Extreme Pizza Delivery, dine-in or take-n-bake, this chain pushes pizza to the limit. 5th Street Station, 234-3239. $$.

The Inn at Meander Plantation Upscale American cuisine and candlelight dining. Breakfast open to inn guests only. 2333 N. James Madison Hwy., Locust Dale. (800) 385-4936. $$$.

Fabio’s New York Pizza Pizza, subs, salads and calzones made by natives of Naples. Get your pie the Sicilian way. 1551 E. High St. 872-0070. $.

Sal’s Caffe Italia Brick-oven pizza plus subs, pasta and outdoor seating in a lively Mall location.

221 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 295-8484. $$.

Sal’s Pizza Hand-tossed pizzas, fresh bread, delicious pasta dishes since 1987. Crozet Shopping Center, Crozet. 823-1611. $.

Tavola Open kitchen serves up lovely food (pancetta-wrapped shrimp, handmade pappardelle) and an artisanal wine list. 826 Hinton Ave. 9729463. $$.

The Rooftop Pizzas, salads, seafood and steaks with panoramic views of the Blue Ridge. 2025 Library Ave, Crozet. 205-4881. $$.

Travinia Italian Kitchen Contemporary American Italian, plus an outdoor patio for people watching. The Shops at Stonefield. 244-3304. $$.

Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Build your own perfect pizza, assembly line-style. The Shops at Stonefield, 234-3717. $$.

Vinny’s Italian Grill & Pizzeria This regional chain has pies plus a slew of caloric subs, pastas and stromboli. Hollymead Town Center. 9734055. $$.

Vinny’s New York Pizza and Pasta Serves up authentic pies, pastas and subs. Lasagna and veal are faves at this long-established joint. 8841 Seminole Trail. 985-4731. $.

Vita Nova Cheap and hearty pizza by the slice.

310 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 977-0162. $.

Feelin’ Saucy Pizzeria Buy one pizza, get one free. 104 14th St. NW. 234-3877. $.

Vito’s Italian Restaurant Specializing in pizza and Italian dishes. Rte. 29, 8181 Thomas Nelson Hwy., Lovingston. 263-8688. $$.

Fellini’s #9 A local landmark featuring Italian favorites plus some inventive new takes. 200 W. Market St. 979-4279. $$.

Vivace Every kind of pasta imaginable, plus seafood, Italian wines, grappas and full bar in a casual, elegant setting. 2244 Ivy Rd. 979-0994. $$.

The Pointe Tapas-style appetizers, filet mignon and Starr Hill beers on tap. In the Omni Hotel, Downtown Mall. 971-5500. $$$.

Fry’s Spring Station Very characterful brick-oven pizza joint. 2115 Jefferson Park Ave. 202-2257. $$.

TJ’s Tavern and Dining Room Doubletree Hotel dining room with views of the Rivanna and American and Italian fare. 990 Hilton Heights Rd. 973-2121. $$.

Giuseppe’s Italian Restaurant Everything you could want out of classical Italian fare. 2842 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford. 361-9170. $$.

Vocelli Pizza Pizza, pasta, panini, salads and stromboli for carryout and delivery, plus antipasti. 1857 Seminole Trail in the Woodbrook Shopping Center. 977-4992. $.

Italian and Pizza

Lelo’s Pizza By the slice or the whole pie. Rivanna Ridge Shopping Center, 293-6788. $.

The Inn at Willow Grove This inn boasts an exquisite menu at its in-house restaurant, Vintage.

14079 Plantation Way, Orange. (540) 317-1206. $$$.

Amici’s Italian Bistro Sicilian cuisine in a family-style setting. 370 Valley St., Scottsville. 2864000. $.

Anna’s Pizza No. 5 In the family for 35 years. 115 Maury Ave. 295-7500. $.

Anna’s Ristorante Italiano From the folks behind Anna’s Pizza No. 5. 1015 Heathercroft Cir., Crozet. 823-1327. $.

Lampo Authentic Neapolitan pizzeria in Belmont.

205 Monticello Rd. 282-0607. $.

Little Caesar’s Pizza Home of the $5 Large Hotn-Ready Pizza. 1301 Hydraulic Rd., 296-5646; Albemarle Square, 964-1011; Pantops Center, 2343328. $.

Marco’s Pizza “Ah!thentic Italian” (with a secret sauce). 465-6800. $.

Mellow Mushroom Trippy-themed franchise, with great pizza and even better beer selection.

Latin American Al Carbon Chicken Tacos, tamales and sandwiches with rotisserie chicken. 1871 Seminole Trail. 964-1052. $.

Armando’s Mexican Restaurant Authentic Mexican on the Corner. 105 14th St. NW. 202-1980. $.

Asado Wing & Taco Company Chicken wings, tacos, and margs. 1327 W. Main St., 234-3486. $.

Aqui es Mexico Authentic Mexican and Salvadoran tacos, tortas, sopas, pupusas and more.

221 Carlton Rd., Ste. 12. 295-4748. $.

Barbie’s Burrito Barn California-style Mexican food to go. 201 Avon St. 328-8020. $.

Brazos Tacos Austin, Texas-style breakfast, lunch, early dinner and brunch tacos. 925 Second St. SE, 984-1163. $.

Burrito Baby Made-to-order burritos, baby. 111 S. Faulconer St., Gordonsville. (540) 832-6677. $.

BurritOh! Burritos, tacos, rice bowls, quesadillas and nachos made to order. 540 Radford Ln., Crozet. 812-2152. $.

Cactus Mexican Restaurant Authentic Mexican and Central American dishes. 221 Carlton Rd. Suite 11 & 12. 295-4748. $.

Chipotle Simple menu of burritos and tacos made before your eyes. Barracks Road Shopping Center, 872-0212; 2040 Abbey Rd. Suite 101, 984-1512. $.

Cinema Taco Burritos, tacos and empanadas inside the Jefferson Theater. Delicious and cheap.

110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 245-4981. $.

Continental Divide “Get in Here!” commands the neon sign in the window. 811 W. Main St. 9840143. $$.

El Jaripeo Mexican favorites for the 29N crowd and also the UVA Corner crowd. 1750 Timberwood Blvd., 296-9300; 1202 W. Main St., 972-9190. $.

El Vaquero West This tried-and-true Mexican place has sister locations in Palmyra, Haymarket and Orange, all owned by the same family. 1863 Seminole Trail. 964-1190. $.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop Fresh, handmade, Baja-style Mexican food. 435 Merchant Walk Sq., Suite 600. 214-0500. $.

Guadalajara Mexican food by Mexican folks.

Margaritas so green they glow. Cheap prices!

805 E. Market St., 977-2676; 395 Greenbrier Dr., 978-4313; 2206 Fontaine Ave., 979-2424; 108 Town Country Ln., 293-3538; 3450 Seminole Trail, 977-2677. $.

Junction Modern Mexican in Belmont. 421 Monticello Rd. 465-6131. $$.

La Joya Authentic Mexican from tacos to churros. 1145 Fifth St. SW, 293-3185; 1015 Heathercroft Cir, Ste. #300 (Crozet), 205-4609. $.

La Michoacana Mexican deli serves budgetfriendly burritos, tacos and enchiladas. 1138 E. High St. 409-9941. $.

La Tortuga Feliz Authentic Mexican entrées and baked goods. 1195 Seminole Trail. 882-7461. $.

Los Jarochos Authentic Mexican in Midtown.

625 W. Main St. 328-8281. $.

Margarita’s the Flavor of Mexico Authentic Mexican, American and margaritas. 2815 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford. 218-7767. $.

Morsel Compass Popular food truck’s brick and mortar spot. 2025 Library Ave., Crozet. 989-1569. $$.

Plaza Azteca Tableside guacamole is just the beginning of the offerings at this Mexican chain.

101 Seminole Ct., Seminole Square Shopping Center. 964-1045. $.

Qdoba Mexican Grill Spicy burritos, quesadillas and Mexican salads made before your eyes.

1415 University Ave., 293-6299; 3918 Lenox Ave., 244-5641. $.

The Bebedero Upscale authentic Mexican, plus cocktails and made-to-order guac. 225 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. 234-3763. $$.

Mediterranean Bashir’s Taverna Authentic Mediterranean cuisine by a Mediterranean chef. 507 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 923-0927. $$.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 67

Winter Knife&Fork 65

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Basil Mediterranean Bistro Mediterranean fare from grape leaves to tapas, plus a late-night wine bar. 109 14th St. 977-5700. $.

Box’d Kitchen Custom salads and homemade sauces. 909 W. Main St. 202-2749. $.

Cava Fast-casual Mediterranean with lots of vegetarian options and customizable meals. 1200 Emmet St. N #110. 227-4800. $.

Copper Mine Bistro Mediterranean-inspired menu features tapas, pizzas and entrées like shrimp provençal and veal saltimbocca. Wintergreen Resort. 325-8090. $/$$.

Mezeh Mediterranean Grill Bowls, wraps and pita pockets, all prepared with the fresh ingredients of your choosing. The Shops at Stonefield.

202-1446. $.

Orzo Kitchen & Wine Bar Dishes from Spain to Greece and wines of the world. Main Street Market. 975-6796. $$.

Parallel 38 Small plates, innovative “farm-totable” cocktails and an extensive wine list. 817 W. Main St. 923-3838. $$.

Miscellaneous Nationalities Afghan Kabob Palace Mouthwatering authentic Afghan cuisine. 400 Emmet St. N. 245-0095. $$.

Aromas Café Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare. Sandwiches, salads and famous falafel; super-friendly service. 900 Natural Resources Dr. 244-2486. $.

Bavarian Chef German cuisine in Alpine atmosphere. 29N in Madison. (540) 948-6505. $$.

Little India Delicious Pakistani, Indian and Middle Eastern-inspired food for veggies and carnivores. 1329 W. Main St. 202-2067. $.

Mas Authentic Spanish tapas and wines in a funky, dimly lit atmosphere in the heart of Belmont. 904 Monticello Rd. 979-0990. $$.

Mochiko Good Hawaiian eats. The Yard at 5th Street Station. $.

Obrigado New American fare and pasta nights are the specialties at this colorful, bistro-like storefront spot. 109 W. Main St., Louisa. (540) 967-9447. $$.

Pearl Island Caribbean-inspired lunch spot in the Jefferson School City Center. 233 Fourth St. NW. 466-0092. $.

Sticks A quick, healthy alternative to fast food: kebobs (veggie options available), sides, salads, desserts. Preston Plaza, 295-5262; Rivanna Ridge Shopping Center, 295-5212. $.

Sultan Kebab Authentic Turkish food, all kind of

vegetarian dishes, necessity salads, homemade dicare coverskebabs, oral surgery medical only.

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Turkish baklava, Turkish tea and coffee. 333 Second Street SE. 981-0090. $.

The Shebeen Pub and Braai Conjures the South African veldt with brunch on Sundays. Great bar for futbol-watching. Vinegar Hill Shopping Center. 296-3185. $$.

Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar Downtown teahouse offers international vegetarian fare, delectable desserts and 80-plus exotic loose teas and hookah. 414 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 293-9947. $.

Soups, Salads, Sandwiches B.good Grain bowls and seasonal salads, plus smoothies and shakes. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 305-1115. $.

Baggby’s Gourmet Sandwiches Give your name; your sammich arrives in a bag with a cookie. Get it? 512 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 984-1862. $.

Blue Ridge Café Ruckersville joint serving American-continental. 8315 Seminole Trail. 985-3633. $$.

Blue Ridge Country Store Breakfast is scones and muffins; lunch is pre-made wraps and soups, plus a popular salad bar. 518 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 295-1573. $.

Bodo’s Bagels Still the king of bagels in our town.

1418 N. Emmet St., 977-9598; 505 Preston Ave., 293-5224; 1609 University Ave., 293-6021. $.

Café at Monticello Sandwiches, barbecue, coffee, tea and ice cream for when you’re done with your tour of TJ’s house. 984-9800. $.

Carving Board Café Inventive salads, soups and sandwiches for the 29N lunch bunch. Albemarle Square Shopping Center. 974-9004. $.

Chopt Creative salad chain with ingredients from local purveyors. Barracks Road Shopping Center.

328-8092. $.

Citizen Bowl Shop Specialty salads with glutenfree, vegetarian and paleo-friendly options. 223 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. 234-3662. $.

Croby’s Urban Viddles Southern-inspired chicken and pork rotisserie fare. 32 Mill Creek Dr., Suite 102. 234-3089. $.

Durty Nelly’s Jazz, blues and rock in a rootsy pub and deli that caters. 2200 Jefferson Park Ave. 2951278. $.

Firehouse Subs Hot subs and sandwiches across from Fashion Square. 29th Place. 995-5921. $.

HotCakes Fancy sandwiches, homemade entrées and desserts. Delivery available. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 295-6037. $.

Iron Paffles & Coffee Pastry dough + waffle iron + savory or sweet insides. 214 W. Water St. 8063800. $.

Ivy Provisions Hot and cold sammies with inventive names like the “Don’t Call Me Shirley.”

2206 Ivy Rd. 202-1308. $.

Jack’s Shop Kitchen Farm-to-table brunch, lunch and supper spot with elevated classics.

14843 Spotswood Trail, Ruckersville. 939-9239. $$.

Jersey Mike’s Subs Subs from Jersey, prepared right in front of you. 2040 Abbey Rd. #104, 529-6278; 5th Street Station, 328-8694. $.

Jimmy John’s Low-cost sandwiches on 29N. “Freaky fast” delivery. 1650 E. Rio Rd., 975-2100. $.

Kitchen(ette) An assortment of sandwiches (vegetarian included!) plus sides and salads. 606 Rivanna Ave. 260-7687. $.

Littlejohn’s New York Delicatessen Buxom sandwiches. Delivery, too! 1427 University Ave., 977-0588. $.

Lovingston Café A pleasant surprise in the middle of Lovingston, with a diverse, modestly priced menu. 165 Front St., Lovingston. 263-8000. $.

Mac’s Country Store Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Daily specials, eat in or take out. 7023 Patrick Henry Hwy., Roseland. 277-5305. $.

Market at Grelen A casual café with seasonal ingredients and daily specials. 15091 Yager Rd., Somerset. (540) 672-7268. $.

Martha’s Garden Café Healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner options. Martha Jefferson Hospital, 595 Martha Jefferson Dr. 654-6037. $.

Panera Bread Co. Ubiquitous chain with casual fare. Barracks Road Shopping Center, 2456192; Hollymead Town Center, 973-5264; Fifth Street Station, 973-5264. $.

Peloton Station Sandwiches, craft draft beers, tallboys and bikes. Chow down and tune up. 114 10th St. NW. 284-7786. $.

Quizno’s Subs Chain offering cheesesteaks, meatballs and specialty subs. Salads and soups, too. Rivanna Ridge Shopping Center. 977-7827. $.

Revolutionary Soup Choose from a slew of enticing soups made daily. 108 Second St. SW, 296-SOUP; 104 14th St. NW, 979-9988. $.

Roots Natural Kitchen Fast-casual health food from UVA alumni. 1329 W. Main St. 529-6229. $.

Subway Tons of locations, so you can “eat fresh” anywhere. 1764 Rio Hill Ct., 978-7008; 32 Mill Creek Dr., 295-5555; Pantops Shopping Center, 984-0652; 1061 E. Rio Rd., 973-9898; 2212 Ivy Rd., 293-0666; 104 14th St. NW, 295-7827; 111 Maury Ave., 977-5141; 1220 Seminole Trail, 973-4035; 1779 Fortune Park Rd., 974-9595; Vinegar Hill Shopping Center, 245-8000; 65 Callohill Dr., Lovingston, 263-6800. $.

Take It Away Sandwiches, salads, sides and desserts in a jazz-themed shop. Favorite spot of student study breakers. 115 Elliewood Ave. 2951899. $.

The Flat The place for crêpes: Choose sweet or savory for lunch or dinner. 111A E. Water St., behind the Jefferson Theater. 978-FLAT. $.

The Salad Maker Made-to-order salads, plus a daily soup special and sweet treats. 300 E. Market St. 284-5523. $.

Tilman’s Cheese, snacks and sandwiches in the café, plus a charming wine bar. 406 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. $.

Trackside Café Healthy fare and smoothies inside ACAC. ACAC, Albemarle Square Shopping Center. 978-3800. $.

Upscale Casual 1799 The Clifton hotel’s signature restaurant. Sit at the chef’s counter and watch the action. 1296 Clifton Inn Dr. 971-1800. $$.

Bizou Upscale down-home cookin’ with fresh fish, pork and beef dishes. 119 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. 977-1818. $$.

Brasserie Saison Downtown Mall brewery with Franco-Belgian cuisine. 111 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 202-7027. $$.

Burton’s Grill Contemporary American menu with stylish ambience. The Shops at Stonefield.

977-1111. $$.

Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar Swanky Downtown restaurant with inventive entrées and a rooftop bar. 422 E. Main St., Downtown Mall.

202-7728. $$$.

Court Square Tavern Hearty pub fare and 130plus varieties of bottled beer. 500 Court Square.

296-6111. $$.

Duner’s Artful entrées and fine desserts on a rotating menu. 250W in Ivy. 293-8352. $$$.

Fig Bistro & Bar Mediterranean and New Orleans-inspired dishes with house-made ingredients. 1331 W. Main St. 995-5047. $.

Tubby’s Grilled sandwiches and subs galore.

1412 E. High St. 293-3825. $.

Hamiltons’ at First & Main Imaginative American cuisine, award-winning wine list and superb vegetarian. 101 W. Main St., Downtown Mall.

295-6649. $$$.

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches Create your own sandwiches by marking up the pre-printed brown bags. Hollymead Town Center. 977-9424. $.

Ivy Inn Daily menu of modern American cuisine in an 18th century tollhouse. 2244 Old Ivy Rd. 9771222. $$$.

Zazus Fresh Grille Lots of wraps, salads, soups and fresh smoothies, plus yummy breakfast wraps.

Delivery available. 2214 Ivy Rd. 293-3454. $.

Maya Upscale Southern cuisine. Pleasant patio seating outside, sleek mod inside. 633 W. Main St. 979-6292. $$.

Zoës Kitchen Fast, casual meals with an emphasis on health-conscious, Mediterranean-inspired ingredients. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 9555334. $.

Michael’s Bistro Mucho microbrews and an artful menu. Second floor of 1427 University Ave. 977-3697. $$.

Steaks and Seafood

Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards The Farm Table & Wine Bar is as big a draw as its beautiful setting. 5022 Plank Rd., North Garden. 202-8063. $$.

Aberdeen Barn More beef than you can shake a T-bone at, since 1965. 2018 Holiday Dr. 296-4630. $$$.

Bonefish Grill Sister to mega-popular Outback Steakhouse featuring seafood, grilled non-fish specialties and a full bar. Hollymead Town Center.

975-3474. $$.

Devils Grill Restaurant & Lounge Above Devils Knob Golf Course with 50-mile views. Dinner reservations required. Wintergreen Resort. 3258100. $$$.

Downtown Grille Upscale steak and seafood with white-linen service and a chummy bar scene.

201 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. 817-7080. $$$.

Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ onions and giant steaks. 1101 Seminole Trail. 975-4329. $$.

Prime 109 Fancy steakhouse with locally grown and produced food served in a multi-story, 100year-old neoclassical building. 300 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 422-5094. $$$.

Public Fish & Oyster Simply prepared, responsibly sourced seafood. Shucked oysters, raw bar and a full bar. 513 W. Main St., 995-5542. $/$$.

Red Lobster Seafood with daily specials. 1648 E. Rio Rd. 973-0315. $$.

Rhett’s River Grill and Raw Bar She-crab soup, half-shell delicacies and steaks. 2335 Seminole Trail, Suite 100. 974-7818. $$.

Rocksalt Seafood-centric chain with an outdoor bar and patio. The Shops at Stonefield. 326-5665. $$.

Shadwell’s Seafood, steaks, burgers, pasta and salads made out of fresh, local ingredients. 1791 Richmond Rd. 202-2568. $$.

Oakhart Social Seasonal Atlantic Coast food for sharing. 511 W. Main St. 995-5449. $$.

Red Pump Kitchen Tuscan-inspired restaurant with chic, rustic décor. 401 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 202-6040. $$.

Restoration Indoor and outdoor dining at this spot at Old Trail Golf Course. 5494 Golf Dr., Crozet.

823-1841. $$.

Southern Crescent Cajun and Creole fare in Belmont. 814 Hinton Ave. 284-5101. $$.

Tastings Wine shop/restaurant with wood-grilled entrées and an impressive wine list. 502 E. Market St. 293-3663. $$.

Tavern & Grocery Inspired tavern fare from chicken sandwiches to banh mi. 333 W. Main St. 293-7403. $.

The Alley Light Intimate small-plate spot above Revolutionary Soup. 108 Second St. SW. 296-5003. $$.

The Fitzroy Restaurant and bar in a swanky setting. 120 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 295-1223. $$.

The Local Belmont neighborhood spot with unusual twists on local, organic ingredients. 824 Hinton Ave. 984-9749. $$.

The Melting Pot It’s a fon-do! This melted- cheese franchise features warmers built into the tables and a huge wine selection. 501 E. Water St. 2443463. $$$.

Wayland’s Crossing Tavern Steak, raw oysters, pub food, vegetarian plates and kid-friendly fare.

1015 Heathercroft Cir., Crozet. 205-4669. $$.

Zocalo Flavorful high-end, Latin-inspired cuisine with a full bar. 201 E. Main St., Downtown Mall.

977-4944. $$.

Winter Knife&Fork 67

The Last Bite

HIDDEN GEM

70 Knife&Fork Winter

TOM MCGOVERN

Though it may appear that The Alley Lightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mr. Rech, a nod to Parisian restaurateur Adrien Rech, is just a bowl of chocolate sauce (and would that be so bad?), the dessert is full of surprises. Beneath that puddle of chocolate lies frozen hazelnut parfait sandwiched between a crisp, oversized macaron. Then comes the warm, gooey sauce, mixing cold and hot to perfectionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;like coming inside after a long day in the winter chill.

Mondays 4pm-close

Tuesdays all day

Thursdays all day

Monday-Friday 4-6pm

$1

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1lb. Lobster (market price) with two sides

Kids eat free

Happy Hour

Open daily at 11:30am • 100 Wegmans Way, Charlottesville VA • (434) 529-3265 • wegmanspub.com

MACON GUNTER | REALTOR® 434.242.7772 macon@nestrealty.com nestrealty.com/macongunter

COMING SOON | NORTH DOWNTOWN Built in 1878 and located less than a half mile from the Downtown Mall on a corner lot, this classic home was expertly renovated in 2015, including the addition of a breathtaking kitchen and gracious master suite.

Contact me for more information.

SOLD | FARMINGTON One of the first homes built in Farmington, this stately residence includes elegant rooms, soaring ceilings, and countless original features, and is situated on six beautiful acres with distant views to the east and west.

I represented the buyer in this transaction.

“Macon has a proven, systematic, data-driven approach that consistently delivers the expected result.

We’ve used Macon on three separate occasions both to buy and sell homes. Each time, he has delivered in surpassing all expectations -- THREE TIMES! This is not an accident. He is committed, diligent, and detailoriented. I cannot overstate how reassuring this is as the buyer/seller with Macon in your corner. You want a professional who understands what it takes to represent you -- you want Macon Gunter.”

- CHRIS, Dec. 2018 “Macon is a consummate professional. His easy-going, thoughtful demeanor blends perfectly with his zealous advocacy and expert negotiation skills. Moreover, Macon’s local market knowledge is second to none. Recommend without even the slightest of hesitation for all real estate needs.”

- JASON, July 2018 “We’ve been extremely impressed with Macon’s professionalism and ability to complete our real estate transactions seamlessly. Macon truly knows and understands the local market, meaning he will price your home with confidence and deliver. If you are searching for an agent who knows how to negotiate with others, who is driven, and always professional and courteous, then contact Macon!”

- KADIE, Dec. 2018 126 Garrett St, Suite D, Charlottesville, VA, 22902