Watering holes all over town are getting into the Christmas spirits—er, spirit—this week, decking the halls and pouring festive drinks galore.
The Whiskey Jar’s Christmas pop-up bar will feature an all-Christmas cocktail list created by bar director Leah Peeks and assistant bar manager Reid Dougherty. “We’re going to tacky the place up, play Christmas music, have Christmas food and go nuts,” Peeks says. Look for the Dancin’ In Your Head (moonshine punch, starfruit and sugar plum); I Don’t Give A Fig About All This (fig jelly, scotch, lemon and ginger); Cotton-Headed Ninny Muggins (butter, bourbon and salted caramel whipped cream); All I Want for Christmas is Booze (Tröegs Mad Elf Belgian-style strong dark ale and a shot of Angel’s Envy bourbon); and plenty of other heart- and belly-warmers.
Lost Saint, the bar below Tavern & Grocery on West Main, is also serving winter warmers such as an old-fashioned garnished with a cinnamon stick, homemade eggnog and mulled wine amidst snowflake and icicle lights hanging from the low ceiling.
The Alley Light will serve Micah Le-Mon’s homemade eggnog (sometimes with Virginia apple brandy); Tavola’s winter menu includes drinks such as the Pompeii, a savory/smoky sipper that includes single-malt whiskey, Oloroso sherry, tayberry and vegetable ash; and Three Notch’d Brewing Company has its Stocking Stuffer peppermint stout on tap.
If you need a bit of a caffeine kick to make it through last-minute shopping trips, Shenandoah Joe’s We 3 Beans holiday blend is back, this time with Costa Rica El Cidral, Guatemala Altos del Volcan and Ethiopia Sidamo ARDI, creating notes of chocolate, nougat, citrus and berry.
Bye, bye, Brookville
Brookville Restaurant served its final meal—brunch—last Sunday, December 18.
“Every restaurant has a lifetime and Brookville has come to the end of its,” chef Harrison Keevil wrote in an e-mail shortly after making the announcement. He and his wife, Jennifer Keevil, opened Brookville, known for its farm-to-table comfort food—egg dishes, biscuits, chicken and waffles, chocolate chip cookies, bacon, bacon and more bacon—on the Downtown Mall in July 2010.
The Keevils will continue to serve local food at Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen at 703 Hinton Ave. in Belmont. They opened the shop in July of this year.
Going forward, Keevil says they’ll expand sandwich offerings at the shop and offer take-away hot dinners beginning in January.
A return to Duner’s
Laura Fonner is back in the kitchen at Duner’s Restaurant on Ivy Road. Fonner worked there for eight years—four as executive chef—before leaving after the birth of her second child in 2012. During that time, she did some catering and occasionally worked the front of the house at Duner’s. About a month ago, she accepted an offer to return to the kitchen after chef Doug McLeod’s departure.
Fonner enjoys the flexibility of Duner’s menu and the creative control it affords her. “I’m not restricted to one ethnicity or one cut of meat,” she says, noting that on Duner’s menu, Korean barbecued grilled tuna with handmade local mushroom and bok choy dumplings can be found right next to a classic gnocchi dish. “There’s no boundary!” she says.