Knife & Fork Spring 2020

FLAN! Conmole’s delicate, delicious spring dessert

STUFF! Chef Clayton Butler’s favorite things

NEWS! An update on what’s coming—from wine to pastries SPRING 2020

Taste is everything.

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REAL VEGAN HOUSEWIFE ROBIN FETTER DISHES ON HER TOP LOCAL EATS

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S The Dish 7 How it vegan

Robin Fetter has been a vegan since before Charlottesville’s scene got started. Here’s what she’s learned.

10 Kids in the kitchen

An after-school cooking program puts little hands (and minds) to work.

13 Batteau up

A Q&A with Clayton Butler, Scottsville’s new star chef.

15 New state fruit?

Pawpaw popularity is on the rise—in the House of Delegates and on local menus.

6x8' The size of a prison cell— and the size of the kitchen at Luce, downtown’s takeout pasta darling. PAGE 25

Take it away

Glass half full

All we can think about is fast eats—from the perfect Thai dish to your new favorite picnic spot. PAGE 20

With more than 30 local wineries offering lodging, we’re asking one question: Wine not stay? PAGE 28

THE LAST BITE Conmole’s impossibly delicious chocoflan. PAGE 30

17 Cookbook club

Take a page from this book club, which meets each month to cook through a three-course meal.

19 Coming up

Wool Factory update, what’s new at 5th Street Station, and City Market.

308 E. Main St. Charlottesville, VA 22902 (434) 817-2749 n c-ville.com c-ville.com/knife-fork

COVER: Photo by John Robinson. COMMENTS? Email us at editor@c-ville.com.

KNIFE & FORK, a supplement to C-VILLE Weekly, is distributed in Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the Shenandoah Valley. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Editor Laura Longhine. Knife & Fork Editor Caite Hamilton. Copy Editor Susan Sorensen.

Creative Director Bill LeSueur. Graphic Designers Tracy Federico, Max March, Lorena Perez. Account Executives Lisa C. Hurdle, Gabby Kirk, Theressa Leak, Chris Till, Beth Wood. Production Coordinator Faith Gibson. Publisher Aimee Atteberry. Chief Financial Officer Debbie Miller. Marketing Manager Anna Harrison. A/R Specialist Nanci Winter. Circulation Manager Billy Dempsey. ©2020 C-VILLE Weekly.

Spring Knife&Fork 5

The Dish TRENDS, TASTEMAKERS, AND FOODS WE LOVE

AMY AND JACKSON SMITH

Where do we vegan?

Now and Zen’s Galapagos roll, tofu balls, and vegan ramen are standouts for local vegan Robin Fetter.

Robin Fetter is leading the charge for vegans in Charlottesville (and beyond) By Caite Hamilton Spring Knife&Fork 7

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The Dish

ZACK WAJSGRAS

obin Fetter had considered herself a “lazy vegetarian” since the age of 13.

Until, that is, a few months after her wedding in 2008, when an episode of Morgan Spurlock’s “30 Days” changed her diet (and mindset) forever.

In the episode, a hunter from North Carolina was tasked with spending 30 days with a vegan family in Los Angeles. In one scene, the hunter teamed up with an animal rescuer to save a baby calf left for dead on the side of the road by a dairy farm. Meanwhile, another scene showed farm workers pulling baby calves onto a truck by their tails.

“I think the combo of those two moments on the show really made me rethink my choices,” Fetter said. “Here I was not eating any meat and thinking I was doing so much good. But seeing the stuff that occurs on a dairy farm, I felt like a hypocrite.”

When her husband came home from work, Fetter had him watch the episode. “The first thing he said was, ‘I can do anything for 30 days!’” Their 30-day vegan experiment turned into 12 years (and counting).

Three years after seeing that episode, Fetter started a blog, The Real Vegan Housewife, where she cooked her way through Rip Esselstyn’s popular plant-based diet book, The Engine 2 Diet. The leader of the Charlottesville Whole Foods’ Healthy Eating group, where Fetter learned about Esselstyn, wrote to the author with a link to Fetter’s blog.

“I guess Rip was pretty pleased and shared it with his followers,” she says. “My blog took off.” Even well after she’d finished cooking her way through the book, she continued to receive emails (and reality TV show offers!). That was enough evidence to keep her motivated, and in 2013 she launched the Charlottesville Veg Parents Network, to help vegan (and vegetarian) families find local resources, from vegan-friendly playdate locations and doctors to the best vegan restaurants for families with small kids.

She’s been a recipe tester and contributing writer for various vegan books and magazines and a speaker at national vegan conferences and on radio shows, and through her blog and the Charlottesville Vegans Facebook group, continues to serve as a resource in our local community.

Speaking of which, Fetter is quick to defend Charlottesville as a vegan-friendly city, despite having only one truly vegan restaurant.

“Many of my friends who visit me from out of town are often impressed with how easy it is to eat a memorable vegan meal here that goes well beyond a mere veggie burger and hummus plate,” Fetter says. But there’s still room for improvement.

“If I had a chance to reach out and say something to the local chefs and restaurant owners

Robin Fetter, aka The Real Vegan Housewife, has championed Charlottesville’s vegan scene for 12 years (and counting).

in the area, it would be to make a better effort to mark which items on the menu are vegan or can be made vegan by request,” she says. And she has advice for local vegans, too.

“Just show up!” she says. “The more visible vegans are at these establishments, the more these places will take notice. When they need to change up a menu or do a daily special, they’ll be more inclined to do so with the local vegan community in mind.”

Try, try vegan Robin Fetter says it’s not difficult to eat vegan in Charlottesville—you just have to know where to look. Here’s a list of (some of) her favorite local dishes.

Iron Paffles and Coffee I am a sucker for the vegan paffle specials, which change every week. I come in here weekly just so I don’t miss out on any of Kathryn’s new creations.

Now and Zen You can’t lose with the tofu balls, Galapagos roll, or vegan ramen. Also the tempura is vegan, so make sure you load up on any tempura veggies on the menu.

Thai Cuisine and Noodle House If you have room, they offer an amazing mango sticky rice and Thai coconut pudding that is to die for.

Doma Korean Kitchen My personal faves are the Tteokbokki (rice

cake skewers covered in gochujang sauce), Goguma Twigim (fried sweet potato rounds with a sweet sauce), and Bibimbap with tofu (ask for no egg and it’s vegan!).

Firefly I cannot leave this place without ordering the vegan totchos with cashew cheese—it’s addictive!

Vu Noodles My husband would kill me if I didn’t mention how freakin’ amazing the tofu banh mi is.

Pearl Island Catering My go-to has always been the Creole Bean Platter that comes with rice and pigeon peas, fried plantains, and a really pretty-looking kale salad and a side of “pikliz.”

Sultan Kebab They have a vegetarian plate that you can request a vegan version of, and it is amazing!

Also I cannot express how much I love the Koz Patlican appetizer.

Citizen Burger Bar I always order the house vegan burger with random toppings, and usually pair it with the truffle fries (omit the cheese). I also like the grilled shishito peppers appetizer (omit the ranch dressing).

Splendora’s Gelato Every summer they have chili mango sorbet and cucumber mint. I get a small scoop of each and eat them together like it was a match made in heaven all along.

Spring Knife&Fork 9

The Dish

PHOTOS: EZE AMOS

Becky Calvert leads cooking club members as they prep ingredients for orzo with roasted root vegetables, fresh herbs, and fresh squeezed lemon and olive oil dressing.

Kids who cook An after-school club teaches kitchen skills and more

By Joe Bargmann

T

he bell rings at Walker Upper Elementary School, and kids stream for the exits. But Becky Calvert is just getting settled into her “classroom,” a sprawling institutional kitchen with a lot of buffed stainless steel surfaces. “I try to do some of the prep for the kids every week,” says Calvert. The blade of a chef ’s knife rings as she swishes it across a honing rod. She cleaves a turnip in two, then a carrot, and then a sweet potato…. “Roasted root vegetables are the main ingredient tonight!” she says, her voice rising over the noise of the convection-oven fan.

For an hour on most Wednesdays, from 3:304:30pm, Calvert convenes the cooking club at Walker, guiding about a dozen 10- and 11-yearolds through a recipe. Former Charlottesville City Schools dietitian Alicia Cost launched the program in 2003, and it has been running ever since. A real estate agent by day, Calvert began assisting with the club in 2014 and took over as

10 Knife&Fork Spring

director two years ago. It’s funded by the schools, but Calvert has worked to secure donations and volunteer help to keep the club thriving.

Some food industry folks, friends of Calvert’s, help out. In fact, one has just bounded in and peeled off his jacket. “Hello, Miss Becky,” he says. It’s Ian Redshaw, the star chef formerly of Prime 109 and Lampo. He looks like a rocker ready to take the stage, with black Converse high-tops, skinny jeans, a flannel shirt, and spiky hair.

Redshaw washes his hands, dons an apron, and brandishes a knife. “What can I do for you?” he asks Calvert.

“I want those quartered,” Calvert says, pointing her blade at a mesh bag of Brussels sprouts.

“Okay,” Redshaw says, “I am quartering Brussels sprouts!”

Now the kids start trickling in and the volume increases, as their voices and laughter join the din of the oven fan.

“Hey, guys!” Calvert says, greeting Alex, Nakiya, Avarie, Maya, Amelia, Si-Si, Alanah, Ze-

niah, and Gabby. “Has everyone washed their hands?!”

“Yessss!” says the chorus of young cooks, positioning themselves in front of their chopping mats.

“Today we’re going to do orzo with roasted vegetables and olive oil and lemon juice—and you’re going to love it!” Calvert says.

“Oh, goody,” says Gabby, 11, a tall girl with a brown ponytail.

Calvert had warned that the class would be “fast and furious,” and she did not lie. Within 60 minutes—from first slice to plating—the group will have created a big, delicious batch of root vegetables and orzo with fresh herbs, plus the dressing Calvert mentioned. The coup de grâce are thin, delicate, cheese crisps, which Redshaw makes with the kids, using finely grated Parmigiano- Reggiano. “They taste great,” Redshaw says, “like Cheetos!”

It’s a marked contrast to what’s usually available at the cafeteria, where city schools are reimbursed only $3.43 from the federal gov-

ernment for each lunch they provide. With labor and other overhead costs, the net amount available to provide one school lunch is between $1.50 and $1.75, says Carlton Jones, nutrition administrator for Charlottesville City Schools.

At cooking club, students work with fresh, organic produce and they are learning a lot—new knife skills, the meaning of “chiffonade,” how to juice a lemon, and a special move called the “cat’s claw,” which the chef teaches the kids to reduce the risk of cutting a fingertip while dicing.

“I would say our schools try to do everything we can to expose all of our kids to healthy food choices,” says Krissy Vick, the city schools community relations liaison. She lauds Calvert’s cooking club, while also citing several other programs, including one that sustains vegetable gardens tended by students on school grounds.

After Calvert mixes the vegetables and orzo in a big stainless-steel bowl and adds the dressing, the students line up with plates to be served. Calvert spoons out the meal, and Redshaw doles out the cheese crisps. The young cooks head into the cafeteria to eat. With the oven turned off, the kitchen is quiet now, and the sound of the kids’ chatter filters in.

Calvert dries dishes and straightens up the kitchen. Redshaw gives her a quick hug and bids her adieu.

This was the penultimate class for this group of students (next up: chocolate chip cookies), and Calvert admits in a low voice that she feels a bit sad, knowing that soon she won’t be seeing them every week. “They really are sweet, and so capable,” she says.

She tells the story of one former student whose mother held down three jobs to keep the family afloat. Because of this, she had little time to cook, so the student often prepared dinner. “That’s why I do this,” Calvert says. “It’s a lot of fun, and I love the kids, but the best part is knowing that they leave here with a new skill.”

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Bayou-inspired

The Dish

The Batteau’s Clayton Butler takes a cue from his Louisiana upbringing

By Caite Hamilton

Dessert: Crème brûlée Ice cream flavor: Chocolate chip cookie dough Kitchen aroma: Bread baking Always in the home fridge: Milk and eggs Always in the pantry: Spices Bodo’s order: Roast beef on everything bagel with Swiss cheese and tomato Salad bar toppings: Cucumber, tomato, red onion, croutons, shaved carrots, croutons, ranch dressing, and more croutons.

C

layton Butler admits that, since working as a dishwasher at Duner’s in the late ’90s, his culinary journey has been “trial by fire.” He’s traveled and trained throughout the United States, including at a Relais & Chateaux establishment in North Carolina, celebrity chef restaurants in Las Vegas, and destinations in Lake Tahoe.

The Batteau owner and chef said his goal was always to own his own restaurant, so after moving to Scottsville to be near family, he and his wife set up shop downtown, first opening a small wine store, which expanded into a wine and specialty spot with grab-and-go lunch options, then finally to The Batteau, the full-service restaurant and wine bar that opened in October 2019. On the menu, crispy fried catfish meets chili-lime edamame meets Thai curry.

“I was born and (partially) raised in Louisiana, which sparked a lifelong interest in Southern-American cooking,” Butler says. “I’ve picked up techniques from French, British, Turkish, and Japanese chefs along the way, which I’ve adapted and melded into the [restaurant’s] eclectic style.”

We asked him to tell us about a few more of his favorite things and biggest influences.

JOHN ROBINSON

Always on the bar: Missile IPA from Champion Brewing Company Special-occasion drink: Champagne Energy source: I know it sounds cheesy, but I thrive on my kids’ energy. At 1 and 3, they have a ton of it.

Lunch spot: Riverside or Guadalajara Chinese take-out order: My new favorite is kung pao chicken.

Go-to comfort food: Fried chicken Sandwich: French dip Unusual ingredient: Huy Fong chili sauce Healthy snack: Bananas Unhealthy snack: All the unhealthy snacks.

Seriously, I love snacks.

Condiment: Mustard—yellow, Dijon, stone-ground. ...Any kind of mustard.

Chocolate: Dark chocolate Grocery-store cookie: Tate’s thin chocolate-chip cookies

“I was born and (partially) raised in Louisiana, which sparked a lifelong interest in SouthernAmerican cooking.”

Cut of meat: Rib-eye Fish: Sea bass Vegetable: Onion Midnight snack: Popcorn. Also a plain Hershey bar with a handful of pistachios.

Knife: Messermeister Appliance: Gas range Food books: Anything by Thomas Keller and On Food and Cooking by Herold McGee. Dream trip: Japan. Everything about the food and culture is fascinating.

Favorite food city: New Orleans Cooking clothes: Chef jacket, chef pants, clogs, and an apron.

Kitchen shoes: Birkenstocks and Danskos Best meal ever: Oyster Orleans at Half Shell Oyster House in Biloxi, Mississippi. I once took a two-hour detour on a road trip home from New Orleans for these oysters. Worth it.

Spring Knife&Fork 13

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The popular pawpaw

The Dish

I

t’s becoming the most popular fruit you’ve never tried—or have you? Pawpaws are having a moment, so if you’re the sort who likes to sample new things, you may well have gotten your taste buds on a pawpaw already.

Not that pawpaws are “new.” Actually, they’re native to the Appalachians, and they have a long history in local food that famously includes being enjoyed by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The wild plants present an invitation and a challenge to foragers when the fruit ripens in late summer. As a cultivated tree, the pawpaw comes in several varieties. Michael McConkey has been selling pawpaw trees since he opened Edible Landscaping in 1987.

“They are our best seller by far,” he says, adding that the pawpaw is seeing a “little renaissance” among home orchardists. Virginia State Delegate Elizabeth Guzman even sponsored a bill in the General Assembly this year that would have made the pawpaw the official state fruit. (The measure, HB 592, was pushed off until 2021.)

Local food and drink producers are on the pawpaw train, too. With their soft, custardy texture and tropical banana-mango flavor, the fruit of Asimina triloba are certainly distinctive. South Street Brewery, which offered Pawpaw Moon sour ale in 2018, called them “odd and delicious” when announcing the beer on Facebook. Ian Glomski, the founder of Charlottesville’s Vitae Spirits, says although pawpaw doesn’t please everyone, it definitely has its devotees.

He didn’t know what to expect from it, but Vitae’s Paw Paw Liqueur has been a good seller. Glomski, who sees it as a “very Charlottesville” product given the Jefferson connection, plans to concoct more this fall. The process involves using flash-frozen pawpaw pulp, sourced from a farm in southern Ohio, to infuse flavor into a rum base. “Through tastings, we decided it needed more acidity, so we add-

A cross between a mango and a banana, the pawpaw is enjoying a bit of a renaissance in Virginia— in landscaping and cocktails.

ed some citric acid,” he says. “Pawpaws are pretty tropical, not very acidic, and I wanted a little more balance of sweetness and aromas.”

Two years ago, Richmond’s Blue Bee Cider used wild pawpaws, foraged near the James River, to infuse a limited-edition batch of Gold Rush apple cider. “I happen to live close to the river, and I learned how to identify the trees,” says Blue Bee’s Brian Ahnmark. “We did a collaboration with Väsen Brewing where we fermented Gold Rush cider in a chardonnay bar-

JOHN ROBINSON

By Erika Howsare

US DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Native fruit comes ripe in local food and drink scene

Vitae Spirits’ Paw Paw Liqueur utilizes the fruit’s pulp and infuses it into a rum base.

The wild plants present an invitation and a challenge to foragers when the fruit ripens in late summer. rel they provided, which had previously held a grapefruit tripel beer of theirs.” The blend of flavors—mango and banana from the pawpaw, creamy vanilla notes from the chardonnay, and pineapple from the beer—“turned out really well,” Ahnmark says. “We left it noncarbonated; we liked the mouthfeel without bubbles.”

He’d like to do something similar again in the future, but foraging is unpredictable, and it can be tricky to tell when pawpaws are ripe.

With such a truly local fruit—which has a short shelf life—one must take a Zen attitude, and enjoy the bounty if and when it arrives.

Micah LeMon of The Alley Light has taken an interest in foraging pawpaws and, when they’re in season, he likes to offer a pawpaw daiquiri.

Making it is not simple, since he first undertakes a multi-step process to make a pawpaw cordial. “It takes a lot of work,” he acknowledges.

You can always eat a pawpaw as nature made it, scooping out the flesh from around the large, beanlike seeds. Fans also enjoy pawpaw jellies, smoothies, and pies. But McConkey thinks there’s something even tastier: “The best,” he says, “is pawpaw ice cream.”

Spring Knife&Fork 15

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The Dish

Family meal A local club cooks up community

By Caite Hamilton

Y

ou’ve heard of book clubs. But have you heard of cookbook clubs? Neither had Jacqueline Willis, until blogger Kate Arends mentioned her own on her site, and eventually recorded an episode of her podcast explaining how she and her friends made it work. Willis was intrigued.

“Jacqueline wanted to create the club for a few months before it actually commenced,” says club member Carrie Coleman. “She wanted to share her love of cooking and food with people who cared as much as she did.”

Here’s how it works: There’s a different host each month, and the host chooses the book (“This could be one from their personal col-

On the shelf Jacqueline’s pick: Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child The dish: Artichokes with hollandaise “I had been wanting to try this dish for

Local cookbook club In the Boeuf meets each month to serve up a three-course home-cooked meal (plus cocktails!).

years so I had to include it in my menu.

Heather executed the dish perfectly and it was everything I hoped it would be.”

Reggie’s pick: Season by Nik Sharma The dish: Shaved Brussels sprouts “I never knew that Brussels sprouts could be fluffy. The texture, the flavor—approaching a common ingredient in a fresh way can completely change your experience.”

Heather’s pick: Le Creuset Cookbook

by David Rathgeber and Elisa Vergne The dish: Lentil, walnut, and whipped goat cheese salad “It was interesting and balanced, and really surprised me.”

Carrie’s pick: True Tuscan by Cesare Casella The dish: Stuffed cabbage “Ashton added a bit of lavender to it and it made it sing.”

lection that they have wanted to cook a full meal from, or one they have heard is popular,” says Coleman). The host is responsible for the main course and a cocktail, while the others take on appetizers, sides, and dessert. Each member of the club prepares as much of their portion of the meal at home as possible, then

finishes cooking or assembling the dish at the host’s house.

It always amounts to a full meal, and the group tries to source ingredients locally when possible. (Coleman notes that almost all of the meat in their dishes has come from JM Stock Provisions.)

In the Boeuf, as they call themselves, has six members—Reggie Leonard, Noah Rosner, Heather Flor, and Ashton Wirt, plus Willis and Coleman. Only one of them, Coleman, has attended culinary school. “Otherwise we all just love cooking!” she says.

The main goal of the club, Coleman says, is to learn more about food, cooking techniques, and flavor pairings. But it’s also about community.

“We have a range of ages and walks of life represented in our club, which leads to a variety of conversation topics,” Coleman says.

“Creating new friendships in an intentional way is a huge bonus.”

Spring Knife&Fork 17

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The Dish

NEWS & EVENTS

Factory reset While there is no official opening date for the much-anticipated restaurant, microbrewery, and event space The Wool Factory, much is underway.

What to expect from the Woolen Mills spot?

Namely, three menus from Executive Chef Tucker Yoder for Broadcloth restaurant, Selvedge Brewing taproom, and an in-house catering menu for events. Plus, in addition to desserts and breads for each concept, Executive Pastry Chef Rachel De Jong will be producing grab-and-go breads and pastries for The Workshop, a wine spot offering flights, wines by the glass, and bottles to go.

Yoder’s personal relationships with local farmers and purveyors—which he’s built over the last 15 years while working in our local restaurant scene—will play heavily into the eclectic menu choices at Broadcloth, as well as Selvedge.

Says Director of Operations Claire Macfarlan, “Broadcloth marries the industrial aesthetic of the original mill with modern touches and boasts a chef ’s counter inside the kitchen, a classic cocktail bar, and a private dining room.”

Look for The Wool Factory to open sometime this spring. And, before you ask, there’s plenty of parking—300 spots, in fact.

At the forthcoming venue The Wool Factory, expect a few new dining options: Broadcloth restaurant, Selvedge Brewing taproom, and The Workshop, a wine shop with flights, wines by the glass, and grab-and-go treats.

Sad news for crepe-lovers: The Flat announced its closing in a social media post in early February. After going through several owners, the space was reopened by Elise Stewart after being offered for sale via tweet. The upside? Vu Noodles is already planning to move in, anticipating a spring opening.

JOHN ROBINSON

Farewells and silver linings

City Market Corner of Water and Second streets Every Saturday through November, head to the parking lot at the corner of Water and Second streets to take in all the things that are great about Charlottesville: artisan goods, community, and, of course, food and drink. Get there early to grab a taco!

New restaurants at 5th Street Station The new year brought a number of new restaurants to 5th Street Station: local eatery Kanak Indian Kitchen, and outposts of national chains BurgerFi and Wing Zone are all now open, bringing new flavors and options for guests.

And that’s not all—several more restaurants are anticipated to open at 5th Street in the coming weeks and months.

SKYCLAD AERIAL

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Take it to go!

While the experience of being at a restaurant—the din of clanging dishes and diners’ chatter, the comfort of being tended to—is unparalleled in our estimation, there’s a certain something special about taking your favorite menu items home. We’ve rounded up a few of our top picks: lightning-fast pasta, perfectly layered sandwiches, and the ultimate takeout cuisine—Thai. Plus, find a roundup of picnic spots or, if you’d rather opt for PJs and TV, a few pretty plates to up the ante on prepared foods chez you. Let’s go (or stay)!

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JOHN ROBINSON

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Tongue, Thai’d Is Thai food the new go-to takout?

By Shea Gibbs

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hai cuisine has gone from Bangkok to bangin’ in the States in the last 15 years or so. Where two decades ago American families were stuck mostly with Westernized Chinese joints, today we have more than 5,000 Thai restaurants from coast to coast, according to Tasting Table, making the cuisine the most well-represented per capita in the country.

And while a lot of ethnic eats come stateside to be bastardized and appropriated—looking at you Taco Bell and PF Chang’s—the evidence suggests Thai restaurateurs stick pretty close to their roots. Jay Pun, owner of Chimm and Thai Cuisine & Noodle House, agrees.

“Pad Thai is the national dish, but a lot of Thai people don’t eat it,” Pun says. “After you go away from that, the people do eat dishes like pad see ew and drunken noodles.”

The three noodle dishes Pun pinpoints are staple street food, and Thailand’s city-dwellers take many of their meals out on the town, he says. Add the noods to Thailand’s various curry and rice dishes and ubiquitous tom yum soup, and you have a decent representation of what the locals eat in the motherland. So, what do the locals eat on C’ville’s Thai cuisine scene?

Drunken Noodles at Pad Thai

Fresh Rolls at Monsoon Siam

The spiciest of the holy Thai noodle trinity, drunken noodles pair well with almost any protein, according to Santi Ouypron, owner of Belmont’s Pad Thai. Pork, beef, and seafood are popular, and “mostly, the customers love the way the chef prepares it,” Ouypron says. Also known as pad kee mao, the dish is stir-fried and made with broad rice noodles.

The Fresh Rolls at Monsoon Siam aren’t traditional Thai fare, but that doesn’t dampen their popularity. Owner Kit Ashi says the simple rice paper rolls, stuffed with avocado, spring mix, and carrot and served with a tamarind peanut dipping sauce, are one of the restaurant’s hottest items, selling at a rate of about 100 per week.

Guay Tiew Tom Yum at Thai Cuisine & Noodle House

Pad See Ew at Chimm

Grandpa’s Favorite at Pad Thai Pad Thai’s Grandpa’s Favorite is a favorite among many, melding green curry rice, fried whitefish, a Thai-style omelet, and shrimp roll in one medium-spicy dish. “Green curry mostly is herbs, like 10 to 12 different kinds of herbs,” Ouypron says.

Drunken Noodles at Pad Thai

Khao Mok Neua at Monsoon Siam A special so loved by Monsoon Siam customers it’s pretty much always available, khao mok neua is a dry beef curry often likened to the Indian/ Pakistani beef biryani. Ashi says she serves her khao mok meua with two sauces, yellow curry and lime mint, to adapt it to Western palates.

The mild curry comes from the “south of Thailand, where people do not eat pork,” Ashi says.

“They choose to eat beef more. When it is tender, it makes the dish so rich.”

Pad See Ew at Chimm Pad See Ew offers a thicker, more glutinous noodle than Pad Thai, and it’s traditionally the least spicy of the big three Thai noodle dishes. “It’s such a great introduction to Thai,” Pun says. Pun likes to crank up the spice in his own pad see ew, and alternates the protein based on his mood.

“I think it’s even perfect for breakfast, with the egg and vegetables,” he says. “You can have it any time of day.”

JOHN ROBINSON

Boat Noodles at Chimm Pun compares Chimm’s boat noodles to Vietnamese pho but with a richer, darker broth. Enriched with beef drippings, the broth is “a meat-lover’s paradise,” he says. Pun says his version at Chimm is incredibly authentic, “just like in Thailand.”

Beef is the iconic protein for boat noodles, Pun says, but duck also works due to its richness.

The guay tiew tom yum at Thai Cuisine & Noodle House is another traditional take on a popular dish, according to Pun. Here, the hot and sour tom yum soup base is fortified with red chili paste and rice noodles to make the dish a meal. “Tom yum is like Thailand’s chicken noodle soup,” Pun says. “It’s on almost every table.”

Fresh Rolls at Monsoon Siam

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Growl movement What should you get in your big bad beer bottle?

To wit: Reason Beer doesn’t offer growler fills on any of its beers and never has. Random Row Brewing Co. sticks to crowlers, sealable 32-ounce cans of to-go goodness.

“Crowlers are great because of how versatile they are,” says Kevin McElroy, Random Row’s brewer and co-founder. “They can be taken almost anywhere...and at half the size of a typical growler, they are perfect for sharing or consuming by yourself.”

Growlers typically last a few days, where crowlers can go a few weeks. Either way, if you’re looking to fill your fridge with freshly tapped suds— ”a great way to support your local brewery,” McElroy says—you’d do well economically and hedonistically to focus on brews you can’t otherwise pick up in cans or bottles. And shy away from super high alcohol contents. You’ll want to drink the brew in one sitting, and let’s be honest, you don’t have many friends.

Following are a few suds-gestions to get you growling.—Shea Gibbs

RANDOM ROW

Growlers are dead. Long live the growler. Talk to 10 people in the beer biz, and you’ll likely get 10 different opinions on growlers, those 32- to 128-ounce brew behemoths designed to carry tap beer from craftroom to couch. Growlers are the best way to enjoy craft beer. Growlers are the worst way to enjoy craft beer. Growlers are far superior to bottled beer. crowlers are far superior to growlers.

Random Row’s new crowler design (pictured here with the Big Little American Pale Ale inside) debuted earlier this spring.

Brewing Tree Beer Co.

Champion Brewing Company

South Street Brewery

Three Notch’d Brewing Company

Philinda Vienna Lager $13 for 64-ounce growler fills; $4.50 for 16-ounce crowler fills 4.9% ABV 28 IBU

John Barleycorn $36 10.8% ABV 47 IBU

Percheron Pale $15 7.3% ABV 65 IBU

Green Terrors $19 5.5% ABV 10 IBU

While not satisfying the low ABV requirement, barleywines are all the rage (among a small group of beer geeks), and English barleywines like Champion’s John Barleycorn are particularly hot (among an even smaller and geekier group). This brew features caramelized Marris Otter malt and East Kent Golding hops.

That’s bloody English right there.

South Street consistently offers the lowest prices in town on growler fills. This medium-bodied pale ale features healthy amounts of Pacific Northwest hops to balance the sweet Belgian base with bitterness.

Three Notch’d Brewing Company keeps a steady supply of IPAs flowing alongside its flagship 40 Mile.

Green Terrors is a mash-up of the New England and Australian IPA styles, offering low bitterness and heaps of juiciness from Australiangrown Galaxy, Ella, and Enigma hops. Bonzer.

Brewing Tree packages its beers sparingly, so the best way to drink BT beer at home is growler and crowler-wise. Owner and brewmaster Mark Thompson is a fiend for classic beer styles, so give this Germanstyle lager, brewed with Tettnang and Saaz hops, a to-go.

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Use your noodle A postage-stamp storefront just off the Downtown Mall serves up enormously tasty pasta

By Nathan Alderman

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Fresh pasta, fast!

And just like that, pasta is now a fast-food “thing” in Charlottesville. Following the late-October opening of Luce, a sliver of space on the Downtown Mall, a new instant-gratification, fresh-pasta shop opened on the Corner in the spot that formerly housed Revolutionary Soup.

Pronto is the brainchild of Daniel Kaufman, who also owns Public Fish & Oyster, and Johnny Garver, former head chef of now-closed Parallel 38. Stop by, and you’ll find a variety of fresh pastas—including gluten-free and zucchini zoodles—and eight different preparation styles, ranging from bolognese to pesto. Rounding out the menu are salads, garlic sticks, macaroni and cheese, and housemade tiramisu.

ming in a cook and a cashier, “it’s definitely our most spacious kitchen between here and [his other restaurant posts] Bizou and Bang.” Clever organization helps, with wall-mounted shelves, refrigerators that double as countertops, and induction burners to cook food in mere minutes.

So does having an off-site prep kitchen at The Space on Water Street, where two to three more cooks make 50 to 60 pounds of fresh pasta every day. The dough’s mixed and sheeted by machine—if they rolled it out with wooden pins, Italian grandma-style, “my prep cooks would probably have jacked forearms and hate me forever,” Burgess says—but otherwise made by hand. Throughout the day, runners carry ingredients across the mall. “It’s good for my arms,” Burgess says. “I canceled my gym membership, and I just curl boxes of pasta.”

As summer’s fresh produce approaches, Burgess looks forward to trying new specials. But “I’m too afraid to take something off the menu yet,” he says. “We’ll see what kind of backlash I get.”

JEN FARIELLO

JOHN ROBINSON

STEPHEN BARLING

or proof that good things come in small packages, head north on Second Street from the Downtown Mall and look for the streetlight mural, where Luce (pronounced LOOchay) serves up cups of handmade pasta to go.

Nearly everything about this eatery is tiny, from the menu—three regular pastas, a fourth special, a kale Caesar salad, and a dessert—to the prices, at $10 or less per dish. The flavors, however, are huge: The Bolo alone boasts ribbons of perfectly al dente pappardelle, red sauce rich with Parmesan and pepper, savory ground pork, toasted bread crumbs, and verdant notes of fresh mint.

That goodness comes from a six-by-eight-foot kitchen—the size of the average U.S. prison cell.

But chef Tyler Burgess says that despite cram-

All set Just because you’re eating at home doesn’t mean you have to dine in your PJs (though you absolutely can and we’d never judge you). These porcelain Mud Australia plates from Be Just elevate any to-go order—even pizza. Don’t forget your cloth napkin.

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JOHN ROBINSON

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His Sandwichness One man reimagines a world between two slices of bread

By Shea Gibbs

“The porchetta is just everything that makes a sandwich great. This amazing bread, the same dough they use for the pizza, the pork is cooked perfectly and balanced with the bitter broccoli rabe, the cheese, and olive oil. You get it all in every bite, and it’s this perfect balance. It changes your idea of what a sandwich can be.”

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eoff Otis envisions a world where no one idly chit chats about the weather.

They talk of sandwiches. Sandwiches are, after all, universal: “Welcome to my TED talk,” Otis says.

An audio-visual technician for UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, Otis is a self-professed “sandwich enthusiast from way back.” He fell in love when he walked into his namesake Geoff ’s Superlative Sandwiches in Providence, Rhode Island. The sammies were wacky, fun, delicious.

And Geoff ’s wackiness is something that’s driven Otis’ hero worship for many years since.

“The reason I go for a sandwich—my rule for sandwiches—is I never want to get a sandwich I can make at home,” he says. With that in mind, Otis offers up his choices for the best handhelds in town.

Best sleeper: The Balboa at Basil Shaved prime rib, grilled onions, roasted sweet peppers, pepperoncinis, hot cherry peppers, cremini, balsamic vinegar, provolone, romaine, Roma tomatoes, and mayonnaise on an Italian sub roll “Basil makes amazing sandwiches. They approach sandwiches the same as their dishes, with the kitchen sink approach. ‘Let’s throw it on the sandwich!’”

Chicken, steak, pastor meat, egg, and bacon with beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and mayo on a bolillo roll “The Torta Cubana is straight decadence, just so many amazing ingredients thrown on a sandwich. It’s an incredibly soft bread, and you can choose your salsas to go with it and make it as spicy as you want.”

Best high-end: Porchetta Panuozzi at Lampo Housemade porchetta, garlic aioli, broccoli rabe, calabrian chili, fior di latte, and provolone on wood-fired pizza dough

AMY AND JACKSON SMITH

Best all-around: Torta Cubana at La Michoacana

Torta Cubana at La Michoacana

Best chain: Italian B.M.T. at Subway Genoa salami, spicy pepperoni, ham, choice of veggies, and dressing on a sub roll “Subway actually does a decent chain sandwich. Jersey Mike’s is a good alternative. I am principled against Jimmy John’s. I do not eat there. That’s the big game hunter right? Fuck that guy.”

Best healthy: Don’t bother “When I’m getting lunch, if I go to Littlejohn’s or Wayside, the rest of the day is gonna be a much lower calorie intake.”

Honorable mention: So many As Otis gushes about sandos and finishes up his TED talk, the options come fast and fresh. The chicken breast sandwich at Wayside, Littlejohns’ Five Easy Pieces and Chipotle Chicken, Durty Nelly’s The Jefferson and Sailor, The Virginian for C’ville’s best club, the rib sandwich at Mel’s, Market Street Market for “an absolutely killer Ruben,” the pastrami at Bodo’s, College Inn for chicken parm—dine-in only—Ace Biscuit and Barbecue for the Old Dirty Biscuit and meatloaf special.

For Otis, sandwiches and their artists serve up something for everyone.

“This is what draws me to sandwiches,” Otis says. “They’re such a common denominator. If you’re ever stuck in an elevator, don’t talk about the weather. Talk about the best sandwich you’ve had. That’s a better feeling than saying whether it’s raining.”

JACK LOONEY

Pick up and picnic Got a minute? Grab your food to-go, then settle in at one of these popular spots for dining al fresco.

Beaver Creek Lake: This gem out towards Crozet is a great place to boat, kayak ,or canoe. There are several picnic tables available for lunch on the water. Greenleaf Park: A great option for families, Greenleaf Park offers a picnic area, a spray ground, and a half-basketball court. The Lawn: Summer is a wonderful time to enjoy a more serene experience on Grounds at UVA. If you’re lucky, you might even find a spot in one of the pavilion gardens. Jefferson, Pollack, and King Family vineyards are three of a number of vineyards that allow guests to bring their own food. At any of these spots, there are striking views and—of course—plenty of wine to go with your sun-drenched snacking.—Meg Irvin

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Stay a while Stay a while

Lots of area wineries offer overnight lodging, so plan your weekend escape

Lots of area wineries offer overnight lodging, so plan your weekend escape Barboursville Vineyards SUPPLIED PHOTO

Vineyard lodging is having a growth spurt. As wine tourism grows in Virginia, so, too, do the number of wineries rolling out the welcome mat at everything from refurbished farmhouses to log cabins to luxe suites. More than 30 wineries now offer lodging; here are five local favorites.—Nancy Bauer

The Farmhouse at Veritas, Veritas Vineyard & Winery A designer’s touch is evident in the updated English countryside feel at The Farmhouse at Veritas, from silk draperies to custom wainscoting to the soft rugs on wide-planked floors. Some of the spacious rooms are snugged up by coffered ceilings over plush, king-sized beds, and a bottle of complimentary Veritas wine waits on a side table. Built in the 1820s as a family home, the Farmhouse at Veritas was updated and reopened as lodging in 2012.

Wine hour begins at 5pm in the salon with small plates of housemade nibbles: cheeses, pickles, charcuterie, and jams. Guests can rack up a game of billiards or take a walk through the Inn’s flower garden and grounds. Most visitors eventually find their way to porch rockers, where they stick like glue until dinner at 7pm.

For late risers, the best part of the Farmhouse schedule is the gloriously late breakfast, served to order from 9 to 11am. A glass of Veritas sparkling wine can be enjoyed solo, or as part of a

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duet with fresh-squeezed orange juice, along with croissants, fruit, and choice of a sweet or savory main course, such as housemade brioche French toast with house-cultured yogurt, local maple syrup, and granola, or Free Union Grass Farm fried chicken with Gruyère, fried egg, and house-fermented hot sauce honey.

For dinner, guests can drive 30 minutes to Staunton or Charlottesville, but most choose to dine in at the excellent Farmhouse Restaurant.

(Reservations required; $85 for four courses, including wine pairings.) $200-650, 72 Saddleback Farm, Afton. veritasfarmhouse. com, (540) 456-8100.

Historic Chestnut Log Cabin and Vineyard Farmhouse, DelFosse Vineyards & Winery The tasting room at DelFosse Vineyards sits at the bottom of your palm, just above the wrist.

Your fingers hold the trellised vineyard rows, rising up and away. At the top of your middle

finger is a log cabin, and as you perch on the cabin’s flagstone patio, big enough for 50 of your friends, the entire estate—lake and winery, tiny cars and people—is your view. You rule. You are master of the universe. At least until the sun goes down; then you are bear bait. Ha! We kid: There’s a huge reinforced fence around the property. So instead, you are simply—alone.

The 150-year-old cabin is the best kind of retreat: full of character yet fully-functional. There’s a comfortable bedroom upstairs, satellite TV, and an updated kitchen and bathroom so thoughtfully done that the integrity of the log house—the smoky, dark woodsiness of it—remains.

The Vineyard Farmhouse, just outside the winery gates, has old-house charm in a modern package.

Popular with DelFosse’s wedding parties, the Farmhouse holds nine guests in four ensuite bedrooms, plus full kitchen, dining room, and living room.

For dinner, break out the DIY steaks, or take a country drive 20 minutes northeast to Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie, which, in our opinion, has no reason to be humble: It’s by far the best pizza around.

Cabin $175-$395; Farmhouse $695, 500 DelFosse Winery Ln., Faber. delfossewine.com, 263-6100.

1804 Inn and Cottages, Barboursville Vineyards

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Afton Mountain Vineyards

SUPPLIED PHOTO

An aura of stillness and a sliver of a story begin your stay at Barboursville Vineyards’ 1804 Inn and Cottages, which stands among hulking ancient boxwoods in the shadow of a silent ruin.

If former Virginia governor James Barbour’s brick shell of a home (it burned on Christmas Day 1884) reminds you passingly of Monticello, that’s because it was designed in the same Palladian style by a neighbor—Thomas Jefferson.

For sheer elegance, book one of the suites in the 1804 Inn; each has a separate sitting room, fireplace, and wide balcony or patio, plus enough oriental rugs, chintz, and antique furnishings to make you thirsty for an aged brandy. Inn guests breakfast together in the central dining room.

The cottages are more relaxed and casual, each with its own estate history as a schoolhouse, gardener’s cottage, or servant’s quarter. Inside, working fireplaces keep it cozy, and kitchenettes are stocked with DIY breakfast, plus happy hour wine, grapes, and cheese.

A shared deck behind the cottages is great for evening stargazing and sipping on a glass of Barboursville’s luscious dessert wine, Paxxito (available at the winery).

Three additional suites are now open in the Blue Run Cottage, which was the family residence for winemaker Luca Paschina for 30 years.

Though the room rate includes a wine tasting, consider upgrading to the winery’s Library 1821, a quiet, ritzy enclave overlooking orderly rows of cabernet franc vines. For a starting price of $25, you can sample Barboursville vintages dating back 20 years or more.

Reserve ahead for lunch or dinner at Barboursville’s gracious and welcoming Palladio Restaurant, featuring an a la carte menu of Northern Italian cuisine with wine pairings. The price for a threecourse dinner pairing is $75 or $105 with wines, while the four-course pairing is $90 or $125.

one of the four Vineyard Cottages. Apartmentsized at 650-square feet, the Cottages feel fresh and airy, with a wheelchair-accessible quadrant design of king bedroom, huge bathroom with walk-in shower, cozy living room with cute electric fireplace, and kitchen with full-size appliances.

A two-bedroom, two-bath Guest House is also available, just 15 long strides from the tasting room. The full kitchen is outfitted for those who love to cook, while a comfortable living room with fireplace, front patio, and screened porch are perfect for those who love to sit.

Lodging fees include two tastings at the winery, and horseback riding in the vineyard can be arranged with a local outfitter. Two of the cottages are dog friendly, but there’s an extra fee.

DelFosse Vineyards & Winery

Dinner options within a 10-minute drive include the excellent Farmhouse at Veritas (reservations required) and the nacho/wings/pizza/burger goodness at Blue Mountain Brewery, both in Afton.

Cottages $165-338; Guest House $225-355, plus fees.

234 Vineyard Ln., Afton. aftonmountain vineyards.com, (540) 456-8667.

Glass House Winery B&B An extravagance of color, texture, and whimsy, the B&B at Glass House Winery might seem like the harvest of someone’s wildest imagination, were it not for the winery’s other flagship space—a glass conservatory off the tasting room that blooms year-round with 10-foot-tall banana trees, heliconia, and other tropical flowers. Glass House Winery is delightfully exuberant, to put it mildly.

The B&B’s main common areas are modern-meets-jungle with animal print furnishings and lots of greenery around an open kitchen.

Outside, wicker furniture surrounds a pool, hot tub, and tiki bar.

Three bedrooms and a large, two-room suite —more sedate in décor—come with ensuite bathrooms, and the live-in innkeeper, Peggy Young, is available to help answer questions and cook up a generous breakfast in the morning.

There’s music and dancing at the winery every Friday from 6-9pm. Children and dogs are welcome at the B&B and winery.

Nearby dining options are few, but Duner’s, a busy local favorite with an upscale American menu, is 20 minutes away, or drive a few more minutes to The Mill Room, reopened this year at Boar’s Head Resort after a multi-year renovation. $125-395 (book the entire B&B for $650-1,000 a night), 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glass housewinery. com, 964-2190.

$240-550, 17655 Winery Rd., Barboursville. bbvwine. com, (540) 832-5384. Library 1821 open Friday- Monday; reservations suggested, (540) 832-3824. Palladio Restaurant open for lunch Wednesday-Sunday and dinner Friday and Saturday, (540) 832-7848.

Last fall, there was a particularly riveting photo of Virginia wine country making the rounds— have you seen it? October’s gone-to-orange vines marching in straight rows toward a glittering pond, backed by rising layers of gold-brown and blue mountains, all topped off with puffy white clouds. That iconic image was taken at Afton Mountain Vineyards, and that’s also the view from your private deck when you check in to

JOHN ROBINSON

Vineyard Cottages, Afton Mountain Vineyards

Veritas Vineyard & Winery

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The Last Bite

Impossible dream cake The folks at Conmole, Belmont’s pint-sized Mexican restaurant, call this Chocoflan, but it’s also known as flan imposible, as in “impossible flan.”

Here’s why.

To make it, they cover the cake mold in caramel, then pour in chocolate cake batter. After a few minutes, flan batter is poured on top, then the pan goes in the oven. When the flan layer has disappeared and all that remains is the cake—that’s when it’s ready...for the next step, which is to soak the cake part in three types of milk, similar to a tres leches cake. “[It’s] very tricky and easy to destroy—time and patience is a must,” says co-owner Benos Bustamante. Still, he adds, “This rich, sweet dessert is muy sabroso!” Indeed, it’s impossible to resist.

JOHN ROBINSON

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Filipino Food Truck located in Charlottesville, Virginia.

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