Month: September 2012

Categories
Living

Big ass salads: Large and in charge

Eppie's Santa Monica salad.

There are those salads that make you feel deprived the minute you order them. And then there are those salads that make no apologies, satisfying like a steak and potatoes. They’re of generous size and chock full of delicious (and not necessarily healthy) ingredients. We call them Big Ass Salads and we love them. These places serve up B.A.S.s that you’ll devour with gusto, feeling anything but denied.

The chicken marrakech at Aromas Café isn’t called a salad, but since shredded romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, and grilled pita triangles surround Moroccan-spiced chicken and rice, we call it one —and a tasty one at that.

Protein fiends already know the delight of a good Niçoise salad, and the one at Court Square Tavern loads up mixed greens with albacore tuna, hard-boiled eggs, capers, artichokes, olives, roasted red peppers, potato salad, green beans, and a saffron aioli.

Fast and fresh is the M.O. at Eppie’s and we’d add fantastically filling after a Santa Monica salad—baby spinach leaves, grape tomatoes, chopped dates, sweet corn, goat cheese, and champagne vinaigrette—with chicken breast on top and a small loaf of pumpkin bread on the side.

Orzo always has a special salad or two bound to entice, and the combination of tender, braised calamari with arugula, capers, shaved fennel, and lemon vinaigrette is a summer special-gone-permanent that’ll stay on the menu just a few weeks more.

Everyone loves a wedge salad and the folks at Rapture make a mean one. Iceberg lettuce gets gussied up with shaved red onion, local eggs, and house-cured bacon before a generous pour of pimento cheese ranch dressing steals the show.

You’ll skip the entrée instead of the bread at Zocalo, where the warm rolls and the Adobo Caesar (cool romaine with sweet-as-candy grape tomatoes, salty slivers of pecorino, and squares of polenta that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside) is one delicious dinner.

Got leftovers?
Last night’s dinner makes quick work of a B.A.S. for lunch the next day. Anything goes, but here’s a trio of favorites:

Burger bowl: Lettuce becomes the base and your burger (beef or NoBull) and all the extras (including toasted bun croutons) become the topping. You can even make a dressing by adding a little pickle juice to some honey mustard.

BLT bowl: This holy trinity makes a perfect salad, especially if you add diced avocado and some cheese. Thin out your leftover basil- or garlic-spiked mayo with a squeeze of lemon to drizzle over top.

Fajita bowl: Grilled meat, rice, black beans, sautéed onions and peppers, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream over lettuce? Almost better than the night before!

“All I did was hand someone a bag.”
Remember the “Seinfeld” episode when Elaine asks George to get her a Big Salad from Monk’s and then George’s girlfriend hands Elaine the bag and accepts her thank you for the salad even though George paid for it? “What I would like to know is, how does a person who has nothing to do with the Big Salad claim responsibility for that salad and accept the thank you under false pretenses?” Classic Costanza.

And what does Jerry say when George asks what’s in the Big Salad? “Big lettuce, big carrots, tomatoes like volleyballs.”

Categories
News

Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch keeps tabs on raptors

Osprey
Hawks aren't the only birds the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch volunteers spot and count. Here, an osprey soars above Afton Mountain. Photo by Vic Laubach.

On a slow September Saturday back in the early 1990s, Brenda Tekin took a drive up Afton Mountain in search of something to occupy her for the afternoon. She’d read about the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, a group of birders who kept tabs on migrants from the parking lot of the Inn at Afton each fall, and decided to drop in.

The binocular-slinging crowd was buzzing about broad-winged hawks, but at first, she only saw a few distant specks against the blue.

“Then the birds came straight toward us across I-64,” said Tekin, an administrator in UVA’s Sociology Department who lives in Stuarts Draft. “There were just hundreds and hundreds. They were so close it was almost like you could just reach out and pluck them out of the sky. I never knew there were so many hawks.”

Just like that, Tekin was hooked, and she’s now one of the lead volunteers keeping the 36-year-old Hawk Watch going. The dedicated group triesto have people with their eyes on the skies at the mountaintop site from August through November, counting birds of prey and feeding the data to the Hawk Migration Association of North America, which tabs populations nationwide.

The numbers from HMANA and other count organizations are important, said volunteer Vic Laubach, who also works at UVA and lives in the Valley, because they provide a rare window into raptor populations for researchers and conservationists from key sites that see a steady stream of birds each year. The Blue Ridge Mountains, which lie along a major migration path for a number of species, narrow to a slender isthmus where the Rockfish Gap cuts through the range west of Charlottesville, concentrating the long-distance travelers following the Appalachian ridgelines to warmer climes. From their perch immediately south of the interstate exit for the Skyline Drive, dedicated counters and casual enthusiasts have a panoramic view of hawks, eagles, kestrels, and other birds coasting on mountain air currents.

The volunteers said it’s hard to stay away once the migration season starts.

“We sneak out, play hooky, take vacation or whatever we can during the weekdays to come up and count,” Laubach said.

Occasionally, high winds and bad weather force them down from the high gap, but Tekin said they return as quickly as they can.

“Once those fronts start moving out, we head up to the mountain, because we know that if the birds are in the pipeline, as soon as theweather starts breaking, they’re going to take to the air,” she said. Sometimes, the conditions are rough, even for the hawks. Tekin recalled one blustery day when everyone was confused by a hurtling shape they couldn’t make heads nor tails of.

“We knew it was a bird, but we couldn’t figure out what we were looking at,” she said. They peered through their binoculars, and realized it was a red-shouldered hawk flying flat-out backwards, powerless against the wind that was bearing it along.

Sometimes the drama is in the sheer numbers. Last year, the birders logged a new record when they counted 10,000 broad-winged hawks in a single day. Peak season is winding down, Tekin said, but a wide variety of species will be flying through for two more months, and anyone who wants to take a look and ask questions is welcome. Even those whose days and years on the mountain have turned them into de facto raptor experts find they have questions themselves with each new migration season. “It’s a learning process,” she said. “We’re all still learning.”

 

Categories
Arts

Roanoke rockers Eternal Summers return to the Tea Bazaar

The Roanoke-based band Eternal Summers haven’t been around long, but they’ve been busy, releasing two EPs, two full-length albums, and a handful of singles and compilation appearances in just over two years. Nicole Yun’s catchy, somber punk anthems are a perfect match for Daniel Cundiff’s exuberant, energetic drumming, and they’ve built a passionate fanbase both in Virginia and around the country.

The recent Dawn of Eternal Summers collection is a fine summary of their earliest material to catch up the uninitiated, but the band itself is looking forward, subtly shifting their sound with each new release. Jonathan Woods (who’s also Cundiff’s bandmate in Roanake-based Byrds-soundalikes the Young Sinclairs) has joined them on bass, and their new record Correct Behavior finds them polishing up their sound, moving from the sharp, angular riffs of their earlier material into territory that has more in common with early New Wave, with a dash of Shoegazer dreaminess.

Eternal Summers will appear at the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar on Thursday, September 27th, along with the similarly-excellent Philadelphia-based group Bleeding Rainbow and local indie-rockers Left & Right. The cover charge is $9 and the concert begins at 8:00pm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywQICq_g8tg&feature=related

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: The Honey Dewdrops

The Honey Dewdrops put a new twist on an old-time sound at Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center. Photo: Jack Looney.

The Virginia roots duo known as The Honey Dewdrops gained notoriety afterwinning A Prairie Home Companion’s “Talented People in their Twenties contest.” Four years and three albums later local residents Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish return, between U.S. tour dates, to play a benefit concert for Charlottesville High School where Parrish himself once taught.

Thursday 9/27  $15, 7:30pm. Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center, 1400 Melbourne Rd. 979-9532.

 

 

Categories
News

Local businessman Michael Harding indicted on seven counts

HMC Holdings purchased this 17-acre parcel in Northern Albemarle in 2008 for roughly $2.7 million, but forged Certificates of Partial Satisfaction to bring more investors in the property. Photo: Jack Looney

Nearly a year after his company was charged with forgery, local real estate developer Michael Harding was indicted last week on seven counts, including mortgage fraud, money laundering, and bankruptcy fraud. This is not the local real estate developer’s first run-in with the law involving money, and Harding could face up to 55 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

Harding allegedly forged mortgage documents, obtained checks from mortgage companies intended for contractors, and took the checks to local businesses and had them cashed for his own personal use. The indictment also accuses Harding of filing false monthly reports and lying about forging signatures on real estate documents.

“There were just dozens of things like this; it was an ongoing operation,” said local attorney Robert Blodinger.

Blodinger is representing Jarman’s Sportcycles, one of the businesses that fell victim to Harding’s fraud, and the only victim named specifically in the indictment.

According to Blodinger, his client hired Harding, who was responsible for putting up a new building on the shop’s property. He arranged contracts for construction of the building, and in doing so, “invented a contractor who exists but wasn’t on this job,” JA Marshall Contracting. Blodinger said dozens of checks were endorsed—and likely forged—as the fake contractor.

“My client, as result of this, lost his motorcycle shop,” Blodinger said. The owner kept the business, he said, but lost the building because he couldn’t afford the mortgage payments. Blodinger said his client has opened a shop at a new location on 29, but the original site of Jarman’s on 250 will be sold at foreclosure in October.

Harding’s brother is Albemarle County Sheriff Chip Harding. Despite his position in local law enforcement, the Sheriff said he was not involved in the investigation in any way, and has never been questioned with regard to his brother’s activities.

“I love my brother and his family,” he said. “I will do what I can as a brother to support [them] outside of the legal process as this case moves toward a resolution.”

Chip Harding said he has had no participation in any phase of the investigation or prosecution process. With over 35 years with both state and federal law enforcement under his belt, he said he has confidence that his brother will have a fair trail with a proper and just conclusion.

The Sheriff said he was aware that “something was going on” several months ago, only because a friend informed him that his brother might be under investigation. He said he read the newspaper articles, but has neither discussed the issue with his brother nor read the indictment itself.

“I don’t really know much about it,” he said. “I’m staying apart from all that.”

*In the print version of this story, attorney Robert Blodinger’s name was misspelled as “Boldinger,” and the Jarman’s building foreclosure date was inaccurately stated as last October. 

Categories
News

Welcome to The Aristocratic Old Grandpa State

Categories
Arts

Downtown Library screens classic campaign documentary

The 1993 documentary The War Room captures a transitional moment, not only in American politics, but also in popular media. Shot during Bill Clinton’s 1992 Presidential campaign, by Chris Hedegus and legendary documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker (of Bob Dylan’s Dont Look Back fame), the film is a snapshot of the US political sphere, taking place after the rise of 24-hour cable news networks, but before the internet made all news instantaneous and each minor campaign moment into a headline. The film is primarily concerned with campaign managers James Carville and George Stephanopoulos; Clinton himself can barely be seen. Revisiting the film 20 years later is an interesting experience; in some ways, the shifts in the political and media landscapes are striking, but in other ways things aren’t so different at all.

The Jefferson-Madison Regional Library’s downtown branch will present The War Room as part of their ongoing Documentary Film Series, on Thursday, September 27th at 7:00pm. Admission is free and open to the public.

Categories
News

Charlottesville’s free clinic celebrates 20 years

With the presidential election on the horizon and the Affordable Care Act still up for debate, health care is on the minds of voters across the country. But regardless of who takes office and what reforms stick, the Charlottesville Free Clinic, which turned 20 this year, plans to be around for a while.

Nobody expected the clinic to last this long, said Executive Director Erika Viccellio. When it was founded by two UVA medical residents in 1992, it was intended to be a temporary fix for those without access to affordable health care. But despite health care changes on the federal level, the Charlottesville Free Clinic still provides care for the uninsured, with the help of 15 paid employees, over 500 volunteers, and 1,300 donors. About 3,300 people—nearly all of them adults who don’t qualify for programs targeting children, the elderly, or those below the poverty line —make more than 9,000 visits yearly.

Viccellio said some people label the care the clinic offers a “handout,” and she wants to educate the community to eliminate the negative connotations. Eligible patients are usually employed—often with multiple part-time jobs—and can neither access insurance through work nor afford to pay for an individual policy, which can cost up to $5,000 a year. She wants people to know that the clinic’s patients aren’t simply opting out of paying for health care.

“These are people who are working hard and doing everything that makes Charlottesville fantastic, so the least we can do is make sure they’re healthy,” Viccellio said.

Julie Wright has been seeing doctors at the free clinic for over a year because her full-time job doesn’t offer health insurance. Purchasing her own plan would run her about $800 a month, which she said she simply cannot afford.

When asked about the current state of health care and its future, Wright shrugged.

“I don’t think it can get any worse,” she said.

Carolyn Engelhard, an assistant professor at UVA and chair of the Free Clinic Board, said no matter what happens in November, some working Americans will still be left behind. Those who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford insurance still deserve quality care, she said, and shouldn’t have to rely on emergency rooms.

“There are always going to be people who fall through the cracks,” she said. “We have fabulous doctors, hospitals, great innovation, discovery, and research. There’s no place you’d rather be when you’re really sick than the U.S., but we have this really big problem with not being able to offer it to everybody.” Even if the Affordable Care Act continues to move forward, she said, free clinics and other safety net organizations will always be necessary.

To mark its 20th anniversary, the Charlottesville Free Clinic will host an open house Friday, September 28, and it’s encouraging prospective patients, volunteers, and donors to attend.

Despite two decades of success, Viccellio said she’d like to see a day when the clinic is no longer needed.

“I would like to say with confidence that it will be closed in another 20 years,” Viccellio said. “But unfortunately, the likelihood is slim.”

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Jack White

Jack White sheds his stripes to perform a solo set at the Pavilion. Photo: Joe McCaughey.

Jack White may be one of the last real rock stars on the planet. While the swaggering old guard have all but been replaced by skinny jean-clad hipsters playing banjos and Macbooks, Mr. White’s a study in musical progress. His stripped-down garage days with the White Stripes led into new bands, movie roles, and collaborations with the likes of Jimmy Page. He steps out solo in the current manifestation of a guitar legend in the making at the height of his abilities.

Thursday 9/27 $45, 7pm. nTelos Wireless Pavilion, 700 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 245-4910.

 

Categories
Living

Free Will Astrology: Week of September 24

File photo.

Libra
(September 23-October 22): The German poet and philosopher Friedrich von Schiller liked to have rotting apples in his desk drawer as he worked; the scent inspired him. Agatha Christie testified that many of her best ideas came to her while she was washing dishes. As for Beethoven, he sometimes stimulated his creativity by pouring cold water over his head. What about you, Libra? Are there odd inclinations and idiosyncratic behaviors that in the past have roused your original thinking? I encourage you to try them all this week, and then see if you can dream up at least two new ones. You have officially entered the brainstorming season.

Scorpio
(October 23-November 21): It’s expensive for the U.S. to hold prisoners at its Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba: $800,000 per year for each detainee. That’s 30 times more than it costs to incarcerate a convict on the American mainland. According to the Miami Herald, Guantanamo is the most expensive prison on the planet. How much do you spend on locking stuff up, Scorpio? What does it cost, not just financially but emotionally and spiritually, for you to keep your secrets hidden and your fears tamped down and your unruly passions bottled up and your naughty urges suppressed? The coming weeks would be a good time to make sure the price you pay for all that is reasonable—not even close to being like Guantanamo.

Sagittarius
(November 22-December 21): What time is it, boys and girls? It’s Floods of Fantastic Gratitude Week: a perfect opportunity to express your passionate appreciation for everything you’ve been given. So get out there and tell people how much you’ve benefited from what they’ve done for you. For best results, be playful and have fun as you express your thanks. By the way, there’ll be a fringe benefit to this outpouring: By celebrating the blessings you already enjoy, you will generate future blessings.

Capricorn
(December 22-January 19): Telling the whole deep truth and nothing but the whole deep truth isn’t necessarily a recipe for being popular. It may on occasion provoke chaos and be disruptive. In an institutional setting, displays of candor may even diminish your clout and undermine your ambitions. But now take everything I just said and disregard it for a while. This is one of those rare times when being profoundly authentic will work to your supreme advantage.

Aquarius
(January 20-February 18): “Show me the money” is a meme that first appeared in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire. It has been uttered approximately a hundred trillion times since then. Have you ever said it in earnest? If so, you were probably demanding to get what you had been promised. You were telling people you wanted to see tangible proof that they valued your efforts. In light of your current astrological omens, I propose that you use a variation on this theme. What you need right now is less materialistic and more marvelous. Try making this your mantra: “Show me the magic.”

Pisces
(February 19-March 20): My acquaintance Jacob fell for a woman who also professed her ardor for him. But in the midst of their courtship, as the mystery was still ripening, she suddenly left the country. “I’ve got to go to Indonesia,” she texted him one night, and she was gone the next day. Jacob was confused, forlorn, dazed. He barely ate for days. On the sixth day, a FedEx package arrived from her. It contained a green silk scarf and a note: “I wore this as I walked to the top of the volcano and said a five-hour prayer to elevate our love.” Jacob wasn’t sure how to interpret it, although it seemed to be a good omen. What happened next? I haven’t heard yet. I predict that you will soon receive a sign that has resemblances to this one. Don’t jump to conclusions about what it means, but assume the best.

Aries
(March 21-April 19): Here’s the curious message I derived from the current astrological configurations: It’s one of those rare times when a wall may actually help bring people together. How? Why? The omens don’t reveal that specific information. They only tell me that what seems like a barrier might end up serving as a connector. An influence that in other situations would tend to cause separation will in this case be likely to promote unity. Capitalize on this anomaly, Aries!

Taurus
(April 20-May 20): In my first dream last night, I gave you a holy book that you left out in the rain. In my second dream, I cooked you some chicken soup that you didn’t eat. My third dream was equally disturbing. I assigned you some homework that would have helped you discover important clues about tending to your emotional health. Alas, you didn’t do the homework. In the morning, I woke up from my dreams feeling exasperated and worried. But later I began to theorize that maybe they weren’t prophecies, but rather helpful warnings. Now that you’ve heard them, I’m hoping you will become alert to the gifts you’ve been ignoring and take advantage of the healing opportunities you’ve been neglecting.

Gemini
(May 21-June 20): There’s a good chance that your rhythm in the coming days will resemble a gentle, continuous orgasm. It won’t be stupendously ecstatic, mind you. I’m not predicting massive eruptions of honeyed bliss that keep blowing your mind. Rather, the experience will be more like a persistent flow of warm contentment. You’ll be constantly tuning in to a secret sweetness that thrills you subliminally. Again and again you will slip into a delicious feeling that everything is unfolding exactly as it should be. Warning! There are two factors that could possibly undermine this blessing: 1. if you scare it away with blasts of cynicism; 2. if you get greedy and try to force it to become bigger and stronger. So please don’t do those things!

Cancer
(June 21-July 22): Philosopher Jonathan Zap (zaporacle.com) provides the seed for this week’s meditation: “Conscious reflection on the past can deepen the soul and provide revelations of great value for the present and future. On the other hand, returning to the past obsessively out of emotional addiction can be a massive draining of vitality needed for full engagement with the present.” So which will it be, Cancerian? One way or another, you are likely to be pulled back toward the old days and the old ways. I’ll prefer it if you re-examine your history and extract useful lessons from the past instead of wallowing in dark nostalgia and getting lost in fruitless longing.

Leo
(July 23-August 22): Picture a TV satellite dish on the roof of a peasant’s shack in rural Honduras. Imagine a gripping rendition of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” played on the mandolin. Visualize the Dalai Lama quoting Chris Rock a bit out of context but with humorous and dramatic effect. Got all that? Next, imagine that these three scenes are metaphors for your metaphysical assignment in the coming week. Need another hint? O.K. Think about how you can make sure that nothing gets lost in the dicey translations you’ll be responsible for making.

Virgo
(August 23-September 22): Here are some ways to get more respect: 1. Do your best in every single thing you do—whether it’s communicating precisely or upholding the highest possible standards at your job or taking excellent care of yourself. 2. Maintain impeccable levels of integrity in everything you do—whether it’s being scrupulously honest or thoroughly fair-minded or fiercely kind. 3. On the other hand, don’t try so compulsively hard to do your best and cultivate integrity that you get self-conscious and obstruct the flow of your natural intelligence. 4. Make it your goal that no later than four years from now you will be doing what you love to do at least 51 percent of the time. 5. Give other people as much respect as you sincerely believe they deserve. 6. Give yourself more respect.