Tremelo: A New Bar With a Musical Touch

Tremelo: A New Bar With a Musical Touch

By Leslie VanSant

Jarad Slipp will soon open a new Middleburg eatery.

The tremelo bar is a long, thin bar attached to the bridge or tailpiece of an electric guitar. It can be depressed to increase the tension of the strings and produce such effects as vibrato, portamento, and dive bomb. Some people call it the whammy bar, and it was made famous by Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck and especially by Eddie Van Halen.

It’s also the name of a new bar and restaurant in Middleburg, the second location in town for Knead Wine proprietor, sommelier, and head pizza chef, Jarad Slipp.

Slipp, 46, grew up in Maine. He skipped his last year of high school, choosing to follow a career path in the culinary and hospitality industry. Since then, he’s spent time in kitchens, cellars, classrooms and managing the front of houses in New York, London, Washington, Paris and Italy. Along the way he earned degrees from the Culinary Institute of America and the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners. He’s also a Master Sommelier.

He found his way to Middleburg from Washington, taking a job at RdV Vineyards in Delaplane. Like many who start reverse commuting from D.C. to the Virginia Piedmont, he fell in love with the place and now calls it home.

“I always knew I wanted to have my own restaurant,” he said. “You could say I’m living the dream.”

He obviously knows his way around a kitchen, how to find and combine ingredients into taste sensations. He prefers high quality, fresh ingredients, which means the menu changes. Try the Knopfler pizza, with roasted butternut squash, mozzarella, maple-balsamic, sage and toasted pistachios. And that pizza goes nicely with

Les Hauts de Lagarde White Bordeaux.He also likes music. And obviously puns.

The pizzas at Knead Wine are all named for famous guitarists.

And the new place is named the Tremelo Bar.

The feel inside the space is minimal and bright. When it opens in February, casual lunch and dinner will be served. There’s a formidable wine list and a well-stocked bar. The menu will feature international flavors and small plates.

Slipp envisions a somewhat casual, neighborhood place, with great food, drink and music. Guests might stop in for a glass of sherry, roasted Marcona almonds and olives before heading to full dinner elsewhere. Or maybe to refuel with a cocktail and some truffled popcorn after a day of shopping in town.

On a recent visit to the space at 19 East Washington Street, he shared his future vision of private dinners and wine events. The outside space is shared, but “upstairs I can seat forty. To start, it will be lunch and dinner. But phase two will include breakfast.”

He’s also hiring.

If you enjoy Knead Wine, the Tremelo Bar also should be satisfying, a lovely place to sit down, enjoy a drink and something to eat in a relaxed casual setting where the focus is definitely on the food.