Achtung! Todd Debarba, Alexander Hans Radziwill Debarba and Nicole Radziwill took top honors for their getups at Ludwig’s on Saturday.
When Restaurantarama picked up our copy of C-VILLE last week, we were shocked. Apparently, some other “writers” in this office think they have the right to “cover” food and drink. We refer, of course, to Will Goldsmith’s “story” about beer drinking which splashed itself all over the cover and purported to enlighten us all on the finer points of swilling suds.
Well, make no mistake: Restaurantarama is here to reassure you that we can throw back brewskis with the best of ’em. And, as Mr. Goldsmith may or may not have pointed out first, this is the time of year when beer drinking, as an activity, has its moment in the sun—ja, Oktoberfest, of course. To celebrate, and to reclaim our rightful status as the ONE TRUE SOURCE of restaurant news, we hereby bring you…Der Oktoberfest Roundup!
First stop: Ludwig’s. The Fontaine Avenue standby, operating since 1970, was built by current owner Hans Gerstl’s father, bought by another family in 1980, then reclaimed by the younger Gerstl in 2003. One year later, he opened the lounge portion of the business, which caters to, as he puts it, a more “laid-back clientele.” Meaning, perhaps, people with one strap unbuttoned on their lederhosen?
You think we’re joking, but Gerstl is actually running a contest every Saturday night as part of his Oktoberfestivities, and the way you compete is by wearing lederhosen (if you’re a herr) or a dirndl (if you’re a frau). If you’re sporting the best duds in the joint, you’ll win a trophy and a gift certificate to Ludwig’s. Even if you don’t win, you can sample a changing selection of Oktoberfest brews that might include stuff like Paulaner Oktoberfest or Erdinger Weizen Oktoberfest.
Next stop: The Bavarian Chef, just north of the Albemarle line on Route 29N. Absolutely nothing out-of-the-ordinary is going on up there, says the Chef’s Jerome Thalwitz. “For us it’s Oktoberfest all year round,” he proclaims. Wunderbar.
So on to South Street Brewery, where brewer Taylor Smack has a delicious tip for you: If you want to be privy to the freshest taste of his Oktoberfest lager, show up at the brewery on October 12. That’s when a new batch will hit the pint glasses (as will South Street’s harvest pumpkin ale).
It’s enough to make you, well, drunk. Viva Oktoberfest, or something. And Will Goldsmith? We’re watching you.
Old tricks at a new dog
Last week, we promised you more details on Brian Helleberg’s reincarnation of L’Avventura, which he’s calling Il Cane Pazzo (“the crazy dog”). Mourners of the former Italian restaurant next door to Vinegar Hill Theatre will be happy to hear that a lot of its key elements will be reinstated at Il Cane.
“Half the menu will be grilled pizzas,” declares Helleberg. That’s kind of a cool sentence to hear from the mouth of a guy who owns two high-end French restaurants (Fleurie and Petit Pois). The pizzas will appease those among you who just want your old L’Avventura back. Newer territory for Il Cane will be multi-course meals of antipasti, pasta, meat and fish (and impossibly creative designer cocktails from Michael Fitzgerald, formerly of Kiki).
Other staff—Howard Griffin in the kitchen and Scott Robinson up front—will be familiar from L’Avventura’s glory days. We’ll see what the place looks like dressed up in new clothes.
Tokyo knows
Atsushi Miura, former owner of sushi mainstay Tokyo Rose, was back in town for a couple of days recently to consult with Helen Yan, the Rose’s new owner. Miura, every Charlottesville punk’s favorite sushi chef, has no plans to move back permanently, he told us. Coincidentally, on September 26, the original Tokyo Rose—a Japanese-American woman who was accused of treason during World War II—died in Chicago.
Miura now lives in San Francisco. Does he still hate Charlottesville, as he once famously crooned? “Yes, too boring.”