Yogurt with a cause
As if Charlottesville isn’t already crawling with frozen treats (sweetFrog, CUPS, Arch’s, and Kohr Brothers, to name a few), a second Bloop Frozen Yogurt spot opened its doors last week.
The Lynchburg-based chain, which has locations in Virginia and Michigan, arrived on the Charlottesville scene in May 2012, with the opening of a shop on Pantops. Two years later, owner Ryan Schwartz is bringing the hand-crafted self-serve yogurt to the Southside Shopping Center at Mill Creek.
Competing froyo spots seem to serve up themes (God at sweetFrog, sexual innuendo at CUPS) with their desserts, and Bloop is no exception. Through its A Cup 4 A Cup program, for every cup of yogurt and toppings (“Bloopers”) sold, Bloop donates a cup of clean drinking water to someone in need in a third world country. So if religion and boobs aren’t your preferred chilled-dessert-related causes, get your yogurt on at Bloop. It’s open 11am-10pm Monday-Saturday, and noon-10pm Sunday.
French cuisine and German wine at Petit Pois dinner
Calling all wine lovers! Wines of Germany, the exclusive U.S. office of the Deutsches Weininstitut (German Wine Institute), has hit the road for a 10-day road trip. Paul Grieco, a partner in New York’s Hearth and Terroir restaurants, is joining wine writer Stuart Piggott to spread their love of Riesling by traveling the East Coast in a wine bar on wheels. In between jaunts to Raleigh, North Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland, they’re stopping in Charlottesville on Tuesday, May 13 for an all inclusive, multi-course dinner at Petit Pois. The event begins at 6pm, and features German wines paired with some of Petit Pois’ best dishes. Tickets are $52 per person; for reservations call 979-7647 or e-mail info@petitpois restaurant.com.
Make way for the men
It’s time for the 27th annual Men Who Cook! fundraiser. On Saturday, May 10, more than 50 local amateur chefs, organized by former UVA football starter Antonio Rice, will gather at the Charlottesville Omni Hotel to present a multi-
course meal including hors d’oeuvres, entrees, sides, and desserts.
The event, which benefits the Monticello Area Community Action Agency (MACAA), kicks off at 5:30pm with a pre-dinner cocktail hour, music by The Jim Howe Trio, and a silent auction preview. Dinner begins at 6:30pm in the Omni ballroom, and the silent auction continues into the night. Tickets are $125 per person, or you can pay $1,000 for a 10-person table and save $250.
The proceeds from Men Who Cook! will make it possible for MACAA to continue offering preschool education, transitional housing for homeless families, financial management education, and other programs to help low-income families escape poverty. Tickets are available at http://www.macaa.org/NewsandEvents/ MenWhoCook.aspx.
Savour goes on sabbatical
Word on the street is that Savour Restaurant, the gourmet Emmet Street spot that’s known for its $33 three-course meals, has closed its doors for the time being. An ABC application for a new Indian restaurant has been taped to the door, and the restaurant’s outgoing voicemail message says it’s “in the process of moving to another location by September.” That’s all we know for now, but we’ll keep you posted.
Chocolate shop awaits shipment of 600 insects
Ever crunched a cricket or sucked down a scorpion after it took a dip in some chocolate? In a couple weeks, My Chocolate Shoppe on the Downtown Mall will offer hand-dipped chocolate covered insects.
The shop already carries “insect suckers”—fruit flavored lollipops with either ants, scorpions, crickets, or worms on the inside—by the California-based candy company Hotlix. According to shop owner Mary Beth Schellhammer, a shipment of 250 crickets, 250 worms, and 100 scorpions, will arrive soon, freshly baked and ready to be turned into candy.
As for the gross-out factor? Schellhammer said once the insects are prepared and dunked in homemade melted chocolate, they don’t taste buggy.
“They’re kind of just crunchy,” she said, recalling the chocolate-dipped cicadas she made at home last year. “There’s not a whole lot of taste.”
Once the critters arrive, Schellhammer said, the shop will offer birthday parties and events so you can try your hand at making creepy crawly chocolates.
We’re always keeping our eyes and ears out for the latest news on Charlottesville’s food and drink scene, so pick up a paper and check c-ville.com/living each week for the latest Small Bites. Have a scoop for Small Bites? E-mail us at bites@c-ville.com.