Let’s all Thai together
We’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’s been as innovative as Chimm Thai Restaurant co-owner Jay Pun in finding ways to serve people during the ongoing pandemic. While Chimm St. at Dairy Market remains open, Chimm’s 5th Street Station location is still closed for indoor dining, relying on takeout, delivery, patio seating, and catering to keep customers happy.
Now, Pun says, his team has added a food-drop program, as well as a stand at IX Art Park’s Thursday night farmers’ market. “It’s basically me and my dad doing neighborhood food drops and catering, since staffing is so hard for everyone these days,” says Pun.
The Chimm drop offers a variety of options from easy-to-reheat dishes to pre-portioned meal kits. Want to learn the basics of Thai street food? Chimm will deconstruct everything from drunken noodles to pho, and deliver it with instructions included.
The owners of Chimm also support Asian communities through their business. Inspired by NYC’s Heart of Dinner organization, which seeks to fight food insecurity in Asian communities, and in remembrance of last year’s horrific Atlanta spa shootings, Chimm offers the chance to donate meals to local Asian families. Meal donations include free delivery, a complimentary dessert, and a personalized card. To participate in the food-drop or meal donation programs, visit chimmtaste.com to place an order, or email chimmtaste@gmail.com
Deer goggles
In March, Devils Backbone Brewing Company released Buck Tradition, its newest IPA lineup. As part of the celebration, DB partnered with tattoo artist and TikTok star Jake Karamol to create a series of designs, and threw out a challenge to customers that asks: Are you committed enough to permanently rep the buck? Any brave soul who gets a tattoo of one of the designs will receive a year’s supply of free beer, along with a sick tat. Find out more on Instagram at #bucktraditiontattoochallenge
Tabled for now
In March of 2020, the Local Food Hub saw that farmers were having trouble connecting with their customers due to pandemic supply chain disruptions. In addition, Charlottesville residents had reservations about going into grocery stores. So as part of its mission to increase equitable access to fresh food from independent farmers, LFH began hosting a contactless Drive-Through Market, and the temporary solution grew into a years-long project with over 150 successful events. Now that pandemic restrictions have waned and traditional farmers’ markets have reopened, Local Food Hub has suspended the drive-through market, and intends to reopen it in the fall, when many farmers’ markets close for the seaso
Up next
If you are reading this in Charlottesville, welcome to the next great food city! Food & Wine magazine included C’ville on a list of 11 American cities with up-and-coming food and drink scenes, along with Cincinnati, Ohio, and Boise, Idaho, among others. “Charlottesville has emerged as a vibrant dining destination,” writes Katie Chang, calling out Dairy Market (and Angelic’s Kitchen and South and Central), saying the food hall brings “together some of the area’s brightest talent.” The article also gives a shout-out to The Wool Factory, In Vino Veritas, MarieBette, Conmole, and Luce.
Keep ’em full
We’re not just about fancy dining either. The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank reported that its March collections added up to the most donations in its 11-year history. The BRAFB School Food Drive brought in 11,000 pounds of food from 22 schools, over 18 days. “The opportunity for the schools, family, students, parents to come together has really been spectacular,” says Albemarle High School senior Kat Ravichandran, who helped lead the effort.
The extra food has been sorely needed: According to BRAFB CEO Michael McKee, the number of food insecure families in the Blue Ridge area has increased more than 50 percent since 2000, and the food bank is now serving about 110,000 people every month. Learn how you can help fight hunger at brafb.org