Month: April 2013

Now that it’s warmer outside, they will come. They’ll come from the field and the hollow and the valley and even the next state over. I saw one last summer just after he had gotten off the bus. He looked as lost as Gomer Pyle at a love-in. He was warily wandering around the west end of the Mall, a little after sundown, in dark-colored dress jeans—creased, of course—with a short sleeve, snap-button, pattern-fabric cowboy shirt and a 10- gallon hat. He carried a small, overnight Samsonite in one hand and a guitar in the other.

“How you doing?” I asked him.

He looked at me like he was still shaking off the residuum of whatever malfunctioning time machine had landed him here.

“All right,” he said, completely unconvincing even to himself.

A couple hours later, I saw him walking west on Preston Avenue around Harris Street as though he was expecting to find an all-night diner he could hole up in until Mrs. Mulgrew would rent him a room at her boarding house come morning.

The cowboy hung around the Mall for a week or so, seeming to have made a couple of unlikely acquaintances of the more bohemian variety. He tried playing a little music with some of them, all sitting outside of Red Light’s offices (some of the slyer ones will set up a block away, so as not to appear too desperate) hoping someone would look down from the tower and say, “Holy s**t fellas, I think I see the next Alicia Keys right down there.”

After about a week, the cowboy disappeared, off to find the real Nashville, one would hope.

If that cowboy was still here though, I’m sure he’d be happy to spend what few bucks he scraped together busking the hard, brick streets of our town on a hearty, home-cooked meal, the kind of meal he might have found at that diner at the end of the world he was walking toward, or at Mrs. Mulgrew’s supper table.

Three places along the West Main Street corridor have popped up lately, serving just that meal—the kind of repast that would have sustained perseverant traders on treks over the Khyber Pass.

The Afghan Grand Market on West Main set up a steam table six or seven weeks back and started serving hot meals of kabobs and curries. The curry changes day to day: Monday and Tuesday it’s lamb, Wednesday/Thursday goat, and on Fridays, chicken. They all come ladled over basmati rice with naan and some creamy sauce. There’s even a little side salad. The curry is of the milder variety spice-wise but there’s a sauce to fix that. All the food is halal and the curry is done in vegetable oil, not butter. It’s all $6 to $8.

A little farther down on West Main, just east of 14th Street, is Nasir Sathi, who used to serve his Pakistani delights in Manhattan but brought his family to Charlottesville to raise his children in a more family-friendly environment. His Kabab & Curry has been there just a month now. I had the goat curry, which came on long rice, with warm tandoori bread and a side salad. Very good. There’s a fairly extensive menu that includes fish and shrimp curries as well as fish kebabs. There’s plenty of reasons for repeat visits. The curry here is done in vegetable oil as well.

Back after a four-year absence is Just Curry. It’s directly across the Mall from the Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar, which is handy for proprietor Alex George, because Commonwealth is his other project, which he worked on while Just Curry was on the back burner. Just Curry does lamb, chicken, goat, and veggie curries with a Caribbean bent. All ingredients are listed on the wall and they all come with a perfectly fried plantain. The thing that really sets this place apart though is the hot sauce: a papaya-habanero base with cumin, mustard seed, and a hint of citrus. It sounds a little fruity, but it really works.

Like Italian food, Italian wine has an innate, comforting presence that draws you in and keeps you coming back for more. Regardless of where in Italy it comes from, good Italian wine (and food) speaks to the soul.

Once simply cheap jug wine and basket-wrapped bottles of Chianti, Italian wine has morphed into a respectable, drinkable, and lovable product. On recent trips to New York and San Francisco, I was shocked at how many non-Italian restaurants featured mostly Italian wine lists, but I shouldn’t have been: Many Italian wines (both white and red) are affordable, complex, and extremely versatile with food.

While Tuscan darlings like Chianti and Piedmont showstoppers like Barolo and Barbaresco were introduced and admired initially, the jewels of southern Italy are on the rise. The wines from Apulia (Puglia in Italian), like Negroamaro, Primitivo, and Nero d’Avola, are perfect examples of full-bodied, spicy reds with dried fruit characteristics. The Fatalone Teres Primitivo (found at Tastings) is lighter in style than most Primitivos, with notes of dried flowers and blackberries, and is a real treat with antipasti.

Campania is a southern Italian region surrounding Naples that makes intriguing whites like Greco di Tufo, with honeyed aromas and bracing acidity. Wines from this region, such as Falanghina and Aglianico, have been accepted and adapted for their uniqueness and versatility. The predominant red wine of this region is Aglianico (pronounced al-YAHN-i-co), which tends to have full tannins, a leathery texture, and pronounced smokiness. Like nebbiolo, the grape in Barolos and Barbarescos—or sangiovese, the main ingredient in Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino, Aglianico—can be rough when opened young. Its tannic structure and notes of tar and chewing tobacco make it a wine that’s better suited with food. At Orzo, you can sample the Grotta del Sole Aglianico (for $9 per glass) with the Bolognese with Italian rigatoni, pomodoro, chili flakes, and cream.

Barbaresco is the Piedmont twin of Barolo, but not necessarily its identical twin. Like Barolo, Barbaresco is made from the nebbiolo grape, which is thick skinned and grows on the hillside slopes of the region. Both have aromas of red fruits, rose petals, licorice, and tar, with good acidity balanced with fierce tannins. These wines need age, and a lot of it. They differ in size of the vineyards planted, with Barbaresco being only one third the size of Barolo. Technically speaking, Barolo must be aged for three years, with two in barrel before it can be released, where Barbaresco is required to age only two years, with one in barrel. Historically, Barolo is often portrayed as being the “masculine” and Barbaresco as “feminine.” Practically, this means nothing as they are often indistinguishable. Glass Haus Kitchen has the 2008 Montaribaldi Palaxxina Barbaresco, which pairs fantastically with the Best of What’s Around ribeye with “dirty oats” (which is a play on dirty rice made with Anson Mills heirloom oats), housemade malt vinegar, glazed shallots, celery, and red wine sauce.

But back to Chianti. Located in Tuscany, it’s widely known as a popular Italian wine region, and sangiovese is its star grape. It is also a region where the quality and style of winemaking differ substantially. These wines can be thin, soft, rough, and dull, or they can be some of the finest examples of Sangiovese made anywhere. The Buondonno Chianti Classico Riserva ($76 at tavola) is a prime example of what wines from this region taste like when they’re made well. Another example of the versatility of this grape can be found at Clifton Inn, where you’ll find Sassetto Sangiovese di Romagna 2009 by the glass for $11. This wine is unfiltered and lighter in body and oak than those from Chianti. It pairs delightfully with the restaurant’s rye spaetzle with housemade pastrami, pickled cabbage, and crème fraiche.

The white wines of Tuscany are often overlooked yet are affordable, quaffable, and versatile. The Elisabetta Toscana Vermentino ($32 at Duner’s) is a perfect complement to the panko-crusted fried oysters with red pepper aioli. Vermentino is typically grown along the sea in places like Liguria, where fish and seafood are prevalent, lending itself as an easy match. Red wines from Liguria are not as commonly found in the U.S., but Orzo Kitchen & Wine Bar has the Durin Rossese ($39), which stands up to the grilled octopus with potato gnocchi, chorizo sugo, green olives, and merguez sausage.

With the plethora of food and wine out there, my heart always seems to be drawn right back to Italy. I’m just glad to know I’m not alone.