As the number of coronavirus cases in our area multiply daily, health officials have urged anyone experiencing symptoms of the virus—fever, cough, and shortness of breath—to immediately contact their doctor. But what if you have other symptoms, suffer a minor injury, or just need a checkup? Will you still be seen by a physician?
For many patients in and around Charlottesville, the answer is yes—but not in an office. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, many local practices have moved their appointments online, only seeing patients in person when necessary.
Since last month, Albemarle Center for Family Medicine has allowed both new and old patients with non-urgent issues to schedule virtual appointments. Though its staff was apprehensive at first, the appointments have “been going really great,” says office coordinator Stephanie Hall.
After patients schedule an appointment, they receive a text message and an email with a link, which lets them know what their insurance will cover and allows them to pay their co-pay in advance, Hall explains. (Those without insurance pay an out-of-pocket fee of $75.)
At the time of the virtual visit, the provider’s nurse calls first to do an intake. “We check your meds, we check your allergies, we make sure you’re at home,” Hall says. Once the patient is ready, the provider, who is in a private setting at home or at the office, logs in. “It’s almost like FaceTime.”
After discussing patients’ issues, the doctor or nurse practitioner may use the patients’ cameras to perform a limited physical exam, and have them take their own vital signs, if possible, as well as go over their medical history and other important information before giving a recommendation. And like a regular doctor’s visit, all information is documented and confidential.
After the appointment, “we can send in prescriptions if needed, we can order labs and X-rays if needed…[and] we can have them call us back to make a follow-up appointment in the office,” says nurse practitioner Catherine Easter of Charlottesville Gastroenterology Associates, which started using telemedicine with established patients last month.
For other practices around town, telemedicine is nothing new. Since opening in September, Charlottesville Direct Primary Care has allowed its patients to schedule virtual appointments through an app.
“When you join [our practice], you get a prompt on your phone to download the Spruce app,” says co-founder Dr. Lindsey Neal. “So a telemedicine visit for us is literally like press a button, and there we are on the screen.”
Yet despite its conveniences, telemedicine comes with its own challenges, specifically for those without adequate internet or cell phone service.
“Most of the issues that we’ve had have been technical difficulties, because of all the traffic on the internet, particularly during the day,” says Easter. “But it has been very limited as far as problems go.”
Telemedicine can also be challenging for those who are not tech savvy, particularly elderly patients, Hall points out. They may need help from the doctor’s office or a family member in order to set up the video call. And if all else fails, the appointment may need to be done over a regular phone call, or in person.
Connecting with a patient through a screen can be difficult as well, explains Neal.
“There’s a lot of information that a physician can get just from seeing someone” through a video call, she says. “[But] there’s some beauty in the unspoken information that comes from being in the room with someone…We’re also trained to do physical exams. So it’s really hard to make a diagnosis on someone without that added additional information.”
For Hawkins Dale, a patient at Sentara Family Medicine, telemedicine “worked just fine.”
“There was some confusion on their part about the technical requirements,” he says. “But it turned out it was just a regular old Zoom meeting!”
Because Dale’s appointment was for a six-month checkup, he had set it up in advance, and did not have to go through the scheduling process. At the time of his appointment, a nurse connected with him over Zoom, and “took the basic facts,” such as his weight. Afterwards, Dale discussed his health with his doctor, who simply encouraged him to “drink less beer and get more exercise, as she would have done in person,” he says.
With the ease and convenience of his first virtual appointment, Dale plans to continue to use telemedicine for his medical needs.
“Lots of medicine can be delivered remotely,” he says. “Even without the plague, I would much rather do this from my office, rather than having to go to the doctor’s office.”
Dale is one of many patients who have been pleased with their virtual visits, all three medical professionals say.
“[Our patients] are really grateful to know that we’re here for them, but they don’t have to leave their homes to get the help they need for their issues,” says Neal. “They also text message me a lot…[and] are just hungry for reassurance.”
At Albemarle Center for Family Medicine, patients have also given a lot of positive feedback, and are glad to receive treatment without having to potentially expose themselves or others to the virus, says Hall.
“In general, it has been a great avenue for us to be able to reach some of our patients that we would not have been able to otherwise,” adds Easter. “I hope that patients will continue, even after the COVID crisis, to use this platform.”
Correction 4/16: Stephanie Hall is the office coordinator for Albemarle Center for Family Medicine, not Family Medicine of Albemarle.
A young Bhagavan Antle and Swami Satchidananda pose with one of Antle's lions. Photo: Living Yoga: The life and teachings of Swami Satchidananda
Before he was a tiger king, Bhagavan Kevin “Doc” Antle lived in the rolling green hills of central Virginia, at the Satchidananda Ashram, in Buckingham County’s Yogaville. Antle has become an international sensation thanks to his starring role in the Netflix documentary miniseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness.” The show portrays Antle as both a talented animal handler and a sinister cult leader, who mistreats and abuses his young and vulnerable employees.
In the 1980s, when he lived in Virginia, Antle was a magician with a yard full of wild animals.
“It was very exciting,” says Martha Louis, who lived next to Antle’s Buckingham operation. “Night noises. Lions roaring. Tigers purring. The elephant, Bubbles, doing his thing. They would sometimes come into our yard because we were right next door.”
“[Antle] could be seen on Howardsville Road, walking—like you’d walk a dog—he’d walk the tiger,” says Louis.
Antle came to Yogaville in the earliest days of the ashram, around 1982—which is also when he bought his first tiger, according to a 2015 Rolling Stone profile. At the time, he was also working in marketing for Exxon.
Antle evidently felt at home at Yogaville, a meditation complex founded in the early ’80s by Swami Satchidananda, the celebrity yogi who delivered the opening blessing at Woodstock in 1969. The spot draws people from around the world to practice in the placid Appalachian wilderness—residents eat vegetarian, meditate multiple times per day, and pay cheap rent. Many adopt Sanskrit first names. (Antle’s name, Bhagavan, was given to him by his mother, according to Rolling Stone.)
Shortly after arriving, Antle had a robust private zoo up and running, not far from the ashram. Louis estimates the 14-acre property held 100 animals—lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, birds, an elephant, and more.
Martha Louis’ family with one of Antle’s lions. Photo: Martha Louis
“He lived at the zoo,” Louis says. “He was there most of the time because those animals all needed to be fed. He had a freezer full of meat, like a full big freezer full of steaks.”
Antle’s animals regularly appear in photos with Satchidananda, who died in 2002, but whose image is still ubiquitous in Yogaville’s advertising materials. A 1986 Washington Post article describing the dedication of Yogaville’s central Lotus building mentions Antle, and Bubbles the elephant, leading a celebratory parade.
The big cats helped Satchidananda cultivate an image of holiness. “This so perfectly captures the utter fearlessness and also love of animals and nature that #SwamiSatchidananda embodied,” reads a 2017 post from the swami’s Facebook page, above a photo of a windswept Satchidananda posing contemplatively in a field with two of Antle’s tigers.
Satchidananda with two of Antle’s tigers. Photo: Sri Swami Satchidananda on Facebook
Despite this peaceful talk, it wasn’t all smooth sailing at Antle’s Buckingham zoo. Once, says Louis, “The buffalo got out. Buffaloes are not a good pet, they’re kind of crazy. I think it went right through the fence and brought a few animals with it.”
“He’s not really a nice guy,” says Louis of Antle. “You probably picked that up from the publicity. He was nice to us.”
The circumstances of Antle’s departure from Buckingham remain somewhat mysterious. 911 Animal Abuse suggests Antle fled the property in December 1989, leaving behind peacocks and deer. A 1990 article in The Tennessean recounts an earlier incident in which a visitor named Clint Baron had his hand mauled by a tiger—Baron filed and then withdrew a lawsuit. Louis remembers that at one point an employee was “clawed by a bear.”
Antle didn’t respond to a request for comment on this story, and Yogaville didn’t return multiple calls. (Give them a ring, and you’ll have the option of pressing 1 to make a reservation, or pressing 2 if you’re “in need of spiritual guidance.” Neither line is interested in talking to the press, apparently.)
The Netflix documentary makes serious allegations about Antle’s treatment of the employees at the sprawling Myrtle Beach Safari that he now calls home. According to Barbara Fisher, a former employee interviewed on the show, Antle pays his employees $100 a week to work 12-hour days, seven days a week. Many of his employees are young women who arrive as teenagers and never leave. The documentarians ask various people in the show how many wives Antle has, and guesses range from two to nine.
In a 2007 film about the value of Satchidandanda’s teachings, Antle gives the swami’s lessons credit for his zoo operation. “Integral yoga is what has given us the tools to transform people into tiger caretakers,” Antle says.
According to Fisher, “There’s this concept where a guru will touch you and you’ll become enlightened.” And Antle, she says, invoked this concept, “shakti-pa,” to get his young employees to sleep with him—“Essentially, it’s shakti-pa with penis.”
Many of yoga’s most prominent gurus have faced sexual assault allegations over the decades—including Satchidananda, who in 1991 was accused by students of sexual abuse, and was met with protesters holding signs reading “End the abuse” when speaking at a conference.
In the weeks since its debut, “Tiger King” has been criticized for reveling in the wild lives of its subjects and ignoring more serious abuses hiding in plain sight—abuse of both animals and people. Antle—“He’s a performer,” Louis says—knows better than anyone that tigers can be distracting.
While pets often deal with their own strain of coronavirus, there’s no indication at this time that household pets spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to people, writes Dr. Mike Fietz. Getty Images
As we continue practicing social distancing and self-isolation in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, many of us are at home and spending a lot more time with our pets. They can be a tremendous comfort in a time like this; I have yet to find an antidote as soothing as my dog’s peaceful obliviousness to world events.
Amidst all this, it’s natural for pet owners to wonder if they have anything to worry about. Thankfully, the short answer is no. At this time, there is no evidence that dogs, cats, or other household pets spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to people. The long answer is more confusing.
Dogs can already be afflicted with their own varieties of coronavirus, most of which cause a brief bout of diarrhea. But if your dog has ever been diagnosed with “kennel cough,” there’s a chance it was infected with one of the respiratory strains instead. Regardless, the symptoms are usually mild and temporary.
Cats, especially those from shelter environments, are widely infected with their own coronavirus. Much like the canine version, some diarrhea is the most common symptom. But the usually mild nature of the feline coronavirus masks a frightening side. For reasons that aren’t completely understood, it can sometimes transform into a variant that causes a fatal disease called feline infectious peritonitis. These cases are relatively uncommon compared to the large numbers of cats carrying the virus, but they’re tragic all the same.
While pets have their own coronaviruses, it is unclear whether they can be infected with the specific virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. A very small number of dogs and cats (now including a tiger at the Bronx Zoo) have tested positive for the virus, and there is some preliminary evidence that cats can transmit it to one another. But it’s still early days, and the implications remain unclear. Even if they can be infected, it is unknown whether they can readily pass it to people. Despite the global scale of the pandemic, there have so far been no known instances of people catching this virus from household pets, and that is very encouraging.
At this point, you may find yourself with questions. If COVID-19 hopped over from bats, as is currently suspected, could the feline and canine coronaviruses do the same? Or could our pets become vulnerable to this pandemic? The answer is that there isn’t much to worry about in the short term, but that nothing is set in stone. Viruses change over time, and a virus that is well-adapted to one species could eventually happen upon the right mutations in the right genes to allow it to finally make the leap to another. These events are rare and represent legitimate evolutionary milestones. But as we are all currently learning, rare things happen.
This is important from an epidemiological perspective, but there is no practical day-to-day response for pet owners to take. Living in constant fear of specific illnesses becoming zoonotic–transmissible between species–isn’t productive. It is more important to prevent and control zoonotic diseases that already exist. Keeping pets routinely dewormed and properly vaccinated against infections like rabies and leptospirosis will keep you and your family safer than worrying about the staggeringly unlikely odds of becoming the next patient zero.
While animals remain an unlikely route of transmission for COVID-19, it remains wise to regard pets with the same social-distancing rules we are currently practicing with each other. Dogs shouldn’t be greeting each other during walks as they normally might. The risk is low, but at the very least it draws their respective people too close together. And cats should be kept indoors to be certain they haven’t encountered any people, or less likely cats, that may have been infected.
It is understandable that people crave more certain answers in a time of uncertainty, but it is the nature of science–especially emerging science–to avoid absolutes. There’s always “no current evidence to suggest” something, and “no known reason” to worry. This can sound like hedging, but it is born of a rational humility. The implicit acknowledgment of its own limits is why science is ultimately trustworthy.
And right now, science needs some time to figure out this mess. In the meantime, at least it seems safe to cuddle up with your own pets. They’re happy to have you home.
Dr. Mike Fietz is a small animal veterinarian at Georgetown Veterinary Hospital. He received his veterinary degree from Cornell University in 2003 and has lived in Charlottesville since.
Can’t fight this feeling:Connecting through music has always been a comfort in troubled times. This year, WTJU’s Rock Marathon affirms that connection with a transcendent dose of specially curated programming filled with the deep dives, obscure tracks, and whimsy we’ve come to expect from the station over the past 60 years. Tune in to discover classical music DJ Uncle Dave Lewis’ formative role in Cincinnati’s punk rock scene, explore popular songs written by Bertrand Russell Berns, whose credits include “Twist and Shout,” “Piece of My Heart,” and “Here Comes the Night,” and soak up “The Return of the Guilty Pleasures” show, which offers “a safe space for your admiration of Britney, REO Speedwagon, or the ‘Theme from The Love Boat.’”
Through Sunday, April 19. 91.1 FM in Charlottesville, online everywhere at wtju.net.
Ever since its emergence in the United States, the coronavirus has impacted people’s lives in distinct ways, and laid waste to societal norms as we know them. For high school seniors, this includes social and academic expectations for their final semester.
Senior year has always been notable for prom, graduation, lasting memories with friends, acute senioritis, and the final blossoming into adulthood that precedes leaving the nest. As a senior at Charlottesville High School, I’ve found myself mourning what would’ve been, and jealous of classes of the past and future that will get to participate in things many of us have long taken for granted. Scrolling through Instagram, my memories are bittersweet as I look at pictures of my junior prom, CHS soccer’s state championship, last year’s graduation ceremony, and more. There’s one common sentiment I keep hearing over and over from my closest friends: “It wasn’t supposed to end this way.”
For some seniors at CHS, however, there are more pressing concerns than losing a graduation ceremony or missing out on prom. Before the pandemic, Lucy Butler worked at Little Star, the Spanish-influenced restaurant located in a converted garage on West Main Street. As a food runner and host, she’d carved out a stress-relieving routine and a steady source of income, until she was recently laid off when Little Star was forced to close its doors and exclusively serve takeout. “It’s been hard not having that outlet, and stressful not being able to make money to provide for myself,” says Butler.
Compounding her financial stress, Butler’s father was laid off from his job in the restaurant industry too. And this pandemic couldn’t come at a worse time for her education. “Since I will be paying all of my college [tuition] myself, I’ve been frantic about how I’ll be able to afford my down payment for the fall semester,” she says. “I’m hoping that my previous job or other facilities will reopen in time for me to start working again and saving money.”
For spring-season athletes, these abrupt closures also carry the sting of disappointment. Earning accolades and championships for both his club and high school teams, Said Osman had every intention of leading Charlottesville High’s varsity soccer team to a second consecutive state championship after last year’s thrilling overtime win. It’s difficult to accept that those dreams have been dashed. “I still can’t wrap my head around it,” says Osman. “I’ve built multiple friendships [through] CHS soccer, and the fact that we don’t get to win games and [another] championship with each other really sucks. We don’t get to enjoy big moments like walking across the field with family on senior night and signing to play on the collegiate level in front of [our] school.” Despite this blow, Osman’s athletic career won’t be over anytime soon. He is committed to attend and play soccer at the University of Lynchburg.
For me (and many others), this crisis affects college decisions: The volatile stock market and very real possibility of a virtual first semester are considerable factors to weigh when considering where to attend school in the fall. As someone offered admission to UVA Wise with the intent to transfer to UVA, a virtual first semester could be beneficial in reducing my time away from home. If I decide to go to another university, missing that on-campus semester could be a drawback. I have friends who are considering a gap year, because they don’t want to pay full tuition for half a year’s worth of the onsite college experience. With so much uncertainty in the air, the only thing to be sure of is that this outbreak will distinctly affect the lives of high school seniors for months, and possibly years, to come.
While the experience of being at a restaurant—the din of clanging dishes and diners’ chatter, the comfort of being tended to—is unparalleled in our estimation, there’s a certain something special about taking your favorite menu items home. We’ve rounded up a few of our top picks: lightning-fast pasta, perfectly layered sandwiches, and the ultimate takeout cuisine—Thai. Plus, find a roundup of picnic spots or, if you’d rather opt for PJs and TV, a few pretty plates to up the ante on prepared foods chez you. Let’s go (or stay)!
Drunken Noodles at Pad Thai, Pad See Ew at Chimm, and Fresh Rolls at Monsoon Siam. Photo: John Robinson
Tongue, Thai’d
Is Thai food the new go-to takout?
By Shea Gibbs
Thai cuisine has gone from Bangkok to bangin’ in the States in the last 15 years or so. Where two decades ago American families were stuck mostly with Westernized Chinese joints, today we have more than 5,000 Thai restaurants from coast to coast, according to Tasting Table, making the cuisine the most well-represented per capita in the country.
And while a lot of ethnic eats come stateside to be bastardized and appropriated—looking at you Taco Bell and PF Chang’s—the evidence suggests Thai restaurateurs stick pretty close to their roots. Jay Pun, owner of Chimm and Thai Cuisine & Noodle House, agrees.
“Pad Thai is the national dish, but a lot of Thai people don’t eat it,” Pun says. “After you go away from that, the people do eat dishes like pad see ew and drunken noodles.”
The three noodle dishes Pun pinpoints are staple street food, and Thailand’s city-dwellers take many of their meals out on the town, he says. Add the noods to Thailand’s various curry and rice dishes and ubiquitous tom yum soup, and you have a decent representation of what the locals eat in the motherland. So, what do the locals eat on C’ville’s Thai cuisine scene?
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Pad See Ew offers a thicker, more glutinous noodle than Pad Thai, and it’s traditionally the least spicy of the big three Thai noodle dishes. “It’s such a great introduction to Thai,” Pun says. Pun likes to crank up the spice in his own pad see ew, and alternates the protein based on his mood. “I think it’s even perfect for breakfast, with the egg and vegetables,” he says. “You can have it any time of day.”
Photo: Stephen Barling
Use your noodle
A postage-stamp storefront just off the Downtown Mall serves up enormously tasty pasta
By Nathan Alderman
For proof that good things come in small packages, head north on Second Street from the Downtown Mall and look for the streetlight mural, where Luce (pronounced LOO-chay) serves up cups of handmade pasta to go.
Nearly everything about this eatery is tiny, from the menu—three regular pastas, a fourth special, a kale Caesar salad, and a dessert—to the prices, at $10 or less per dish. The flavors, however, are huge: The Bolo alone boasts ribbons of perfectly al dente pappardelle, red sauce rich with Parmesan and pepper, savory ground pork, toasted bread crumbs, and verdant notes of fresh mint.
That goodness comes from a six-by-eight-foot kitchen—the size of the average U.S. prison cell. But chef Tyler Burgess says that despite cramming in a cook and a cashier, “it’s definitely our most spacious kitchen between here and [his other restaurant posts] Bizou and Bang.” Clever organization helps, with wall-mounted shelves, refrigerators that double as countertops, and induction burners to cook food in mere minutes.
So does having an off-site prep kitchen at The Space on Water Street, where two to three more cooks make 50 to 60 pounds of fresh pasta every day. The dough’s mixed and sheeted by machine—if they rolled it out with wooden pins, Italian grandma-style, “my prep cooks would probably have jacked forearms and hate me forever,” Burgess says—but otherwise made by hand. Throughout the day, runners carry ingredients across the mall. “It’s good for my arms,” Burgess says. “I canceled my gym membership, and I just curl boxes of pasta.”
As summer’s fresh produce approaches, Burgess looks forward to trying new specials. But “I’m too afraid to take something off the menu yet,” he says. “We’ll see what kind of backlash I get.”
Photo: John Robinson
Fresh pasta, fast!
And just like that, pasta is now a fast-food “thing” in Charlottesville. Following the late-October opening of Luce, a sliver of space on the Downtown Mall, a new instant-gratification, fresh-pasta shop opened on the Corner in the spot that formerly housed Revolutionary Soup.
Pronto is the brainchild of Daniel Kaufman, who also owns Public Fish & Oyster, and Johnny Garver, former head chef of now-closed Parallel 38. Stop by, and you’ll find a variety of fresh pastas—including gluten-free and zucchini zoodles—and eight different preparation styles, ranging from bolognese to pesto. Rounding out the menu are salads, garlic sticks, macaroni and cheese, and housemade tiramisu.
Photo: Jen Fariello
All set
Just because you’re eating at home doesn’t mean you have to dine in your PJs (though you absolutely can and we’d never judge you). These porcelain Mud Australia plates from Be Just elevate any to-go order—even pizza. Don’t forget your cloth napkin.
Geoff Otis. Photo: John Robinson
His Sandwichness
One man reimagines a world between two slices of bread
By Shea Gibbs
Geoff Otis envisions a world where no one idly chit chats about the weather. They talk of sandwiches. Sandwiches are, after all, universal: “Welcome to my TED talk,” Otis says.
An audio-visual technician for UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, Otis is a self-professed “sandwich enthusiast from way back.” He fell in love when he walked into his namesake Geoff’s Superlative Sandwiches in Providence, Rhode Island. The sammies were wacky, fun, delicious.
And Geoff’s wackiness is something that’s driven Otis’ hero worship for many years since.
“The reason I go for a sandwich—my rule for sandwiches—is I never want to get a sandwich I can make at home,” he says. With that in mind, Otis offers up his choices for the best handhelds in town.
Photo: Amy Jackson Smith
Best all-around: Torta Cubana at La Michoacana
Chicken, steak, pastor meat, egg, and bacon with beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and mayo on a bolillo roll
“The Torta Cubana is straight decadence, just so many amazing ingredients thrown on a sandwich. It’s an incredibly soft bread, and you can choose your salsas to go with it and make it as spicy as you want.”
Best high-end: Porchetta Panuozzi at Lampo
Housemade porchetta, garlic aioli, broccoli rabe, calabrian chili, fior di latte, and provolone on wood-fired pizza dough
“The porchetta is just everything that makes a sandwich great. This amazing bread, the same dough they use for the pizza, the pork is cooked perfectly and balanced with the bitter broccoli rabe, the cheese, and olive oil. You get it all in every bite, and it’s this perfect balance. It changes your idea of what a sandwich can be.”
Best sleeper: The Balboa at Basil
Shaved prime rib, grilled onions, roasted sweet peppers, pepperoncinis, hot cherry peppers, cremini, balsamic vinegar, provolone, romaine, Roma tomatoes, and mayonnaise on an Italian sub roll
“Basil makes amazing sandwiches. They approach sandwiches the same as their dishes, with the kitchen sink approach. ‘Let’s throw it on the sandwich!’”
Best chain: Italian B.M.T. at Subway
Genoa salami, spicy pepperoni, ham, choice of veggies, and dressing on a sub roll
“Subway actually does a decent chain sandwich. Jersey Mike’s is a good alternative. I am principled against Jimmy John’s. I do not eat there. That’s the big game hunter right? Fuck that guy.”
Best healthy: Don’t bother
“When I’m getting lunch, if I go to Littlejohn’s or Wayside, the rest of the day is gonna be a much lower calorie intake.”
Honorable mention: So many
As Otis gushes about sandos and finishes up his TED talk, the options come fast and fresh. The chicken breast sandwich at Wayside, Littlejohns’ Five Easy Pieces and Chipotle Chicken, Durty Nelly’s The Jefferson and Sailor, The Virginian for C’ville’s best club, the rib sandwich at Mel’s, Market Street Market for “an absolutely killer Ruben,” the pastrami at Bodo’s, College Inn for chicken parm—dine-in only—Ace Biscuit and Barbecue for the Old Dirty Biscuit and meatloaf special.
For Otis, sandwiches and their artists serve up something for everyone.
“This is what draws me to sandwiches,” Otis says. “They’re such a common denominator. If you’re ever stuck in an elevator, don’t talk about the weather. Talk about the best sandwich you’ve had. That’s a better feeling than saying whether it’s raining.”
Random Row’s new crowler design (pictured here with the Big Little American Pale Ale inside) debuted earlier this spring. Photo: Random Row
Growl movement
What should you get in your big bad beer bottle?
By Shea Gibbs
Growlers are dead. Long live the growler. Talk to 10 people in the beer biz, and you’ll likely get 10 different opinions on growlers, those 32- to 128-ounce brew behemoths designed to carry tap beer from craftroom to couch. Growlers are the best way to enjoy craft beer. Growlers are the worst way to enjoy craft beer. Growlers are far superior to bottled beer. crowlers are far superior to growlers.
To wit: Reason Beer doesn’t offer growler fills on any of its beers and never has. Random Row Brewing Co. sticks to crowlers, sealable 32-ounce cans of to-go goodness.
“Crowlers are great because of how versatile they are,” says Kevin McElroy, Random Row’s brewer and co-founder. “They can be taken almost anywhere…and at half the size of a typical growler, they are perfect for sharing or consuming by yourself.”
Growlers typically last a few days, where crowlers can go a few weeks. Either way, if you’re looking to fill your fridge with freshly tapped suds—”a great way to support your local brewery,” McElroy says—you’d do well economically and hedonistically to focus on brews you can’t otherwise pick up in cans or bottles. And shy away from super high alcohol contents. You’ll want to drink the brew in one sitting, and let’s be honest, you don’t have many friends.
Following are a few suds-gestions to get you growling.—Shea Gibbs
Brewing Tree Beer Co.
Philinda Vienna Lager
$13 for 64-ounce growler fills; $4.50 for 16-ounce crowler fills
4.9% ABV
28 IBU
Brewing Tree packages its beers sparingly, so the best way to drink BT beer at home is growler and crowler-wise. Owner and brewmaster Mark Thompson is a fiend for classic beer styles, so give this German- style lager, brewed with Tettnang and Saaz hops, a to-go.
Champion Brewing Company
John Barleycorn
$36
10.8% ABV
47 IBU
While not satisfying the low ABV requirement, barleywines are all the rage (among a small group of beer geeks), and English barleywines like Champion’s John Barleycorn are particularly hot (among an even smaller and geekier group). This brew features caramelized Marris Otter malt and East Kent Golding hops. That’s bloody English right there.
South Street Brewery
Percheron Pale
$15
7.3% ABV
65 IBU
South Street consistently offers the lowest prices in town on growler fills. This medium-bodied pale ale features healthy amounts of Pacific Northwest hops to balance the sweet Belgian base with bitterness.
Beaver Creek Park. Photo: Jack Looney
Pick up and picnic
Got a minute? Grab your food to-go, then settle in at one of these popular spots for dining al fresco.
Beaver Creek Lake: This gem out towards Crozet is a great place to boat, kayak ,or canoe. There are several picnic tables available for lunch on the water. Greenleaf Park: A great option for families, Greenleaf Park offers a picnic area, a spray ground, and a half-basketball court. The Lawn: Summer is a wonderful time to enjoy a more serene experience on Grounds at UVA. If you’re lucky, you might even find a spot in one of the pavilion gardens. Jefferson, Pollack, and King Family vineyards are three of a number of vineyards that allow guests to bring their own food. At any of these spots, there are striking views and—of course—plenty of wine to go with your sun-drenched snacking.—Meg Irvin
Robin Fetter, aka The Real Vegan Housewife, has championed Charlottesville's vegan scene for 12 years (and counting). Photo: Zack Wajsgras
Robin Fetter had considered herself a “lazy vegetarian” since the age of 13. Until, that is, a few months after her wedding in 2008, when an episode of Morgan Spurlock’s “30 Days” changed her diet (and mindset) forever.
In the episode, a hunter from North Carolina was tasked with spending 30 days with a vegan family in Los Angeles. In one scene, the hunter teamed up with an animal rescuer to save a baby calf left for dead on the side of the road by a dairy farm. Meanwhile, another scene showed farm workers pulling baby calves onto a truck by their tails.
“I think the combo of those two moments on the show really made me rethink my choices,” Fetter said. “Here I was not eating any meat and thinking I was doing so much good. But seeing the stuff that occurs on a dairy farm, I felt like a hypocrite.”
When her husband came home from work, Fetter had him watch the episode. “The first thing he said was, ‘I can do anything for 30 days!’” Their 30-day vegan experiment turned into 12 years (and counting).
Three years after seeing that episode, Fetter started a blog, The Real Vegan Housewife, where she cooked her way through Rip Esselstyn’s popular plant-based diet book, The Engine 2 Diet. The leader of the Charlottesville Whole Foods’ Healthy Eating group, where Fetter learned about Esselstyn, wrote to the author with a link to Fetter’s blog.
“I guess Rip was pretty pleased and shared it with his followers,” she says. “My blog took off.” Even well after she’d finished cooking her way through the book, she continued to receive emails (and reality TV show offers!). That was enough evidence to keep her motivated, and in 2013 she launched the Charlottesville Veg Parents Network, to help vegan (and vegetarian) families find local resources, from vegan-friendly playdate locations and doctors to the best vegan restaurants for families with small kids.
She’s been a recipe tester and contributing writer for various vegan books and magazines and a speaker at national vegan conferences and on radio shows, and through her blog and the Charlottesville Vegans Facebook group, continues to serve as a resource in our local community.
Speaking of which, Fetter is quick to defend Charlottesville as a vegan-friendly city, despite having only one truly vegan restaurant.
“Many of my friends who visit me from out of town are often impressed with how easy it is to eat a memorable vegan meal here that goes well beyond a mere veggie burger and hummus plate,” Fetter says. But there’s still room for improvement.
“If I had a chance to reach out and say something to the local chefs and restaurant owners in the area, it would be to make a better effort to mark which items on the menu are vegan or can be made vegan by request,” she says. And she has advice for local vegans, too.
“Just show up!” she says. “The more visible vegans are at these establishments, the more these places will take notice. When they need to change up a menu or do a daily special, they’ll be more inclined to do so with the local vegan community in mind.”
Try, try vegan
Robin Fetter says it’s not difficult to eat vegan in Charlottesville—you just have to know where to look. Here’s a list of (some of) her favorite local dishes.
Iron Paffles and Coffee
I am a sucker for the vegan paffle specials, which change every week. I come in here weekly just so I don’t miss out on any of Kathryn’s new creations.
Now and Zen
You can’t lose with the tofu balls, Galapagos roll, or vegan ramen. Also the tempura is vegan, so make sure you load up on any tempura veggies on the menu.
Thai Cuisine and Noodle House
If you have room, they offer an amazing mango sticky rice and Thai coconut pudding that is to die for.
Doma Korean Kitchen
My personal faves are the Tteokbokki (rice cake skewers covered in gochujang sauce), Goguma Twigim (fried sweet potato rounds with a sweet sauce), and Bibimbap with tofu (ask for no egg and it’s vegan!).
Firefly
I cannot leave this place without ordering the vegan totchos with cashew cheese—it’s addictive!
Vu Noodles
My husband would kill me if I didn’t mention how freakin’ amazing the tofu banh mi is.
Pearl Island Catering
My go-to has always been the Creole Bean Platter that comes with rice and pigeon peas, fried plantains, and a really pretty-looking kale salad and a side of “pikliz.”
Sultan Kebab
They have a vegetarian plate that you can request a vegan version of, and it is amazing! Also I cannot express how much I love the Koz Patlican appetizer.
Citizen Burger Bar
I always order the house vegan burger with random toppings, and usually pair it with the truffle fries (omit the cheese). I also like the grilled shishito peppers appetizer (omit the ranch dressing).
Splendora’s Gelato
Every summer they have chili mango sorbet and cucumber mint. I get a small scoop of each and eat them together like it was a match made in heaven all along.
Bodo’s Bagels
Nearly all of the bagels are vegan (except for the wheat bagels). My go-to is hummus, sprouts, tomato, cucumber, hot pepper spread on an everything bagel. It’s also worth mentioning that the potato salad, shoepeg corn salad, and tabouli salad are all vegan.
A cross between a mango and a banana, the pawpaw is enjoying a bit of a renaissance in Virginia—in landscaping and cocktails.
It’s becoming the most popular fruit you’ve never tried—or have you? Pawpaws are having a moment, so if you’re the sort who likes to sample new things, you may well have gotten your taste buds on a pawpaw already.
Not that pawpaws are “new.” Actually, they’re native to the Appalachians, and they have a long history in local food that famously includes being enjoyed by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The wild plants present an invitation and a challenge to foragers when the fruit ripens in late summer. As a cultivated tree, the pawpaw comes in several varieties. Michael McConkey has been selling pawpaw trees since he opened Edible Landscaping in 1987.
“They are our best seller by far,” he says, adding that the pawpaw is seeing a “little renaissance” among home orchardists. Virginia State Delegate Elizabeth Guzman even sponsored a bill in the General Assembly this year that would have made the pawpaw the official state fruit. (The measure, HB 592, was pushed off until 2021.)
Local food and drink producers are on the pawpaw train, too. With their soft, custardy texture and tropical banana-mango flavor, the fruit of Asimina triloba are certainly distinctive. South Street Brewery, which offered Pawpaw Moon sour ale in 2018, called them “odd and delicious” when announcing the beer on Facebook. Ian Glomski, the founder of Charlottesville’s Vitae Spirits, says although pawpaw doesn’t please everyone, it definitely has its devotees.
He didn’t know what to expect from it, but Vitae’s Paw Paw Liqueur has been a good seller. Glomski, who sees it as a “very Charlottesville” product given the Jefferson connection, plans to concoct more this fall. The process involves using flash-frozen pawpaw pulp, sourced from a farm in southern Ohio, to infuse flavor into a rum base. “Through tastings, we decided it needed more acidity, so we added some citric acid,” he says. “Pawpaws are pretty tropical, not very acidic, and I wanted a little more balance of sweetness and aromas.”
Two years ago, Richmond’s Blue Bee Cider used wild pawpaws, foraged near the James River, to infuse a limited-edition batch of Gold Rush apple cider. “I happen to live close to the river, and I learned how to identify the trees,” says Blue Bee’s Brian Ahnmark. “We did a collaboration with Väsen Brewing where we fermented Gold Rush cider in a chardonnay barrel they provided, which had previously held a grapefruit tripel beer of theirs.” The blend of flavors—mango and banana from the pawpaw, creamy vanilla notes from the chardonnay, and pineapple from the beer—“turned out really well,” Ahnmark says. “We left it noncarbonated; we liked the mouthfeel without bubbles.”
Vitae Spirits’ Paw Paw Liqueur utilizes the fruit’s pulp and infuses it into a rum base. Photo: John Robinson
He’d like to do something similar again in the future, but foraging is unpredictable, and it can be tricky to tell when pawpaws are ripe. With such a truly local fruit—which has a short shelf life—one must take a Zen attitude, and enjoy the bounty if and when it arrives.
Micah LeMon of The Alley Light has taken an interest in foraging pawpaws and, when they’re in season, he likes to offer a pawpaw daiquiri.
Making it is not simple, since he first undertakes a multi-step process to make a pawpaw cordial. “It takes a lot of work,” he acknowledges.
You can always eat a pawpaw as nature made it, scooping out the flesh from around the large, beanlike seeds. Fans also enjoy pawpaw jellies, smoothies, and pies. But McConkey thinks there’s something even tastier: “The best,” he says, “is pawpaw ice cream.”
Local cookbook club In the Boeuf meets each month to serve up a three-course home-cooked meal (plus cocktails!). Photo: Carrie Coleman
You’ve heard of book clubs. But have you heard of cookbook clubs? Neither had Jacqueline Willis, until blogger Kate Arends mentioned her own on her site, and eventually recorded an episode of her podcast explaining how she and her friends made it work. Willis was intrigued.
“Jacqueline wanted to create the club for a few months before it actually commenced,” says club member Carrie Coleman. “She wanted to share her love of cooking and food with people who cared as much as she did.”
Here’s how it works: There’s a different host each month, and the host chooses the book (“This could be one from their personal collection that they have wanted to cook a full meal from, or one they have heard is popular,” says Coleman). The host is responsible for the main course and a cocktail, while the others take on appetizers, sides, and dessert. Each member of the club prepares as much of their portion of the meal at home as possible, then finishes cooking or assembling the dish at the host’s house.
It always amounts to a full meal, and the group tries to source ingredients locally when possible. (Coleman notes that almost all of the meat in their dishes has come from JM Stock Provisions.)
In the Boeuf, as they call themselves, has six members—Reggie Leonard, Noah Rosner, Heather Flor, and Ashton Wirt, plus Willis and Coleman. Only one of them, Coleman, has attended culinary school. “Otherwise we all just love cooking!” she says.
The main goal of the club, Coleman says, is to learn more about food, cooking techniques, and flavor pairings. But it’s also about community.
“We have a range of ages and walks of life represented in our club, which leads to a variety of conversation topics,” Coleman says. “Creating new friendships in an intentional way is a huge bonus.”
On the shelf
Jacqueline’s pick:Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
The dish: Artichokes with hollandaise
“I had been wanting to try this dish for years so I had to include it in my menu. Heather executed the dish perfectly and it was everything I hoped it would be.”
Reggie’s pick:Season by Nik Sharma
The dish: Shaved Brussels sprouts
“I never knew that Brussels sprouts could be fluffy. The texture, the flavor—approaching a common ingredient in a fresh way can completely change your experience.”
Heather’s pick:Le Creuset Cookbook by David Rathgeber and Elisa Vergne
The dish: Lentil, walnut, and whipped goat cheese salad
“It was interesting and balanced, and really surprised me.”
Carrie’s pick:True Tuscan by Cesare Casella
The dish: Stuffed cabbage
“Ashton added a bit of lavender to it and it made it sing.”
Clayton Butler admits that, since working as a dishwasher at Duner’s in the late ’90s, his culinary journey has been “trial by fire.” He’s traveled and trained throughout the United States, including at a Relais & Chateaux establishment in North Carolina, celebrity chef restaurants in Las Vegas, and destinations in Lake Tahoe.
The Batteau owner and chef said his goal was always to own his own restaurant, so after moving to Scottsville to be near family, he and his wife set up shop downtown, first opening a small wine store, which expanded into a wine and specialty spot with grab-and-go lunch options, then finally to The Batteau, the full-service restaurant and wine bar that opened in October 2019. On the menu, crispy fried catfish meets chili-lime edamame meets Thai curry.
“I was born and (partially) raised in Louisiana, which sparked a lifelong interest in Southern-American cooking,” Butler says. “I’ve picked up techniques from French, British, Turkish, and Japanese chefs along the way, which I’ve adapted and melded into the [restaurant’s] eclectic style.”
We asked him to tell us about a few more of his favorite things and biggest influences.
Always on the bar: Missile IPA from Champion Brewing Company
Special-occasion drink: Champagne
Energy source: I know it sounds cheesy, but I thrive on my kids’ energy. At 1 and 3, they have a ton of it.
Lunch spot: Riverside or Guadalajara
Chinese take-out order: My new favorite is kung pao chicken.
Go-to comfort food: Fried chicken
Sandwich: French dip
Unusual ingredient: Huy Fong chili sauce
Healthy snack: Bananas
Unhealthy snack:All the unhealthy snacks. Seriously, I love snacks.
Condiment:Mustard—yellow, Dijon, stone-ground. …Any kind of mustard.
Chocolate: Dark chocolate
Grocery-store cookie: Tate’s thin chocolate-chip cookies
Dessert: Crème brûlée
Ice cream flavor: Chocolate chip cookie dough
Kitchen aroma: Bread baking
Always in the home fridge:Milk and eggs
Always in the pantry: Spices
Bodo’s order: Roast beef on everything bagel with Swiss cheese and tomato
Salad bar toppings: Cucumber, tomato, red onion, croutons, shaved carrots, croutons, ranch dressing, and more croutons.
Cut of meat:Rib-eye
Fish: Sea bass
Vegetable: Onion
Midnight snack: Popcorn. Also a plain Hershey bar with a handful of pistachios.
Knife:Messermeister
Appliance: Gas range
Food books: Anything by Thomas Keller and On Food and Cooking by Herold McGee.
Dream trip:Japan. Everything about the food and culture is fascinating.
Favorite food city: New Orleans
Cooking clothes: Chef jacket, chef pants, clogs, and an apron.
Kitchen shoes: Birkenstocks and Danskos
Best meal ever: Oyster Orleans at Half Shell Oyster House in Biloxi, Mississippi. I once took a two-hour detour on a road trip home from New Orleans for these oysters. Worth it.
