Author: Laura Ingles

They say in America that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Turns out that’s pretty universal.

“Her love for food started with a love for her husband, because the restaurant owner was her husband,” says Caterina Martini, translating for seventh-generation Italian chef Roberta Vivetta Cintelli. “She started cooking at the restaurant and then she got married.”

Cintelli was 20 years old when she began working in the kitchen of Ristorante il Falcone, a restaurant in Poggio a Caiano that opened in 1862. Fifty years later she’s still cooking, and she jumped at the opportunity to travel to the United States to get a taste of Charlottesville.

Through the Charlottesville Sister Cities program, the team at Tavola has partnered with il Falcone for a summer culinary exchange, during which each restaurant’s chef will spend a week visiting and working with the other. In July, Tavola chef Caleb Warr will travel to Poggio a Caiano, where he’ll work alongside Cintelli, who’s been cooking longer than he’s been alive. Cintelli is visiting this month for about 10 days, during which she’ll see local sites, eat all over town and, of course, cook at Tavola.

Last weekend, Cintelli and Martini joined Tavola owners Michael and Tami Keaveny for brunch at Hamiltons’ at First & Main. After Martini quietly translated the extensive menu for her, Cintelli ordered an omelet, and a basket of pastries and biscuits arrived for the group to share. Both Italians at the table marveled at the perfect balance of the biscuits (not to be confused with cookies, as Martini’s classic British English training would have them believe) and the side of locally made strawberry jam.

Cintelli’s hosts have a long list of local food for her and Martini to try during their stay, and as of last Sunday morning, one of their favorites was the classic Cajun-creole fare they had at the recently opened Southern Crescent in Belmont.

“The real American food, like gumbo or soul food, it’s really appreciated, because it’s something new and very genuine at the same time,” Martini translates for Cintelli, adding that they acknowledge the difference between classic, original American cuisine and American junk food.

And, as much as she’s enjoying the opportunity to visit area eateries, Cintelli asked an unsurprising question shortly after landing in Charlottesville last week: “When do I get to cook?”

Cintelli will spend most of the rest of her stay working in the kitchen at Tavola, with the week culminating in a Poggio a Caiano-inspired food-and-wine street festival in front of the restaurant on Saturday, June 11.

And while Warr and the rest of the Tavola staff are soaking in as much knowledge from the Italian culinary matriarch as possible, 70-year-old Cintelli remains humble.

“I would like to teach my traditions, but I also want to learn as much as possible,” she says. “The world right now is very different from when I started as a teen, and there are always plenty of possibilities to learn.”

Count your chickens

Welp, the cat’s outta the bag. Central Virginia is on the map as the place to track down fried chicken in what some may consider the most unlikely of places: gas stations. Preston Avenue Shell, Brownsville Shell in Crozet, The Chicken Coop in a Lovingston Exxon—we all know and love these inconspicuous spots for their crispy, flawless fried chicken and sides such as potato wedges and coleslaw.

Last month, Saveur writer Hawk Krall posted a short piece for the gourmet food and travel magazine entitled “One of America’s best fried chickens comes from a Virginia gas station.” The piece highlights Mac’s Country Store, located in an innocuous Exxon station in Roseland, about 40 miles south of Charlottesville.

“It’s the kind of place where, if they’re working on a fresh batch of chicken, they’ll direct you away from the ones sitting in the warming tray [to] make sure you get a taste of their best work,” Krall writes. “And their chicken is out of this world—as crisp and juicy as you could hope for.”

We’re glad you enjoyed it, Krall. Be sure to come back next time you’re writing about beer or donuts.

Tasty tidbits

At the table with Timbercreek…Starting on Saturday, June 11, Timbercreek Market will host monthly farm-to-table dinners through September, with courses created by executive chef Allie Redshaw and a cheese course by Flora Artisanal Cheese. Tickets are $65 per person, plus $15 for wine pairings. Cheers to beer…Wild Wolf Brewing Company recently announced it received an honorable mention for its imperial stout at the United States Beer Tasting Championship. Open for business…Months ago we told you that a new Korean restaurant was coming to West Main, and, as of last week, Doma is officially up and running. Stay tuned for more details about the owners and menu.

Richard Ridge and Kelley Tripp wanted to create a gathering place on the Downtown Mall, a restaurant and bar where folks can become regulars. Given that the doors have only officially been open since last week, it’s hard to say if everybody knows your name yet at the new space, but it’s certainly already drawing a crowd.

Introducing The Fitzroy, the newest place to grab dinner and a drink on the Downtown Mall. Located at 120 E. Main St. in the old Blue Light Grill spot, The Fitzroy has big shoes to fill. Blue Light was a downtown staple for 15 years, serving up classic seafood dishes and swanky cocktails in a sleek, preppy atmosphere. Ownership quietly changed hands in April of last year, and in November, Blue Light served its final meal before Ridge, Tripp and their other business partners, Ryan Rooney and Kevin Badke, began overhauling the space and menu.

Six months later, it is rebranded and almost entirely unrecognizable, with an exposed brick wall, black-and-white subway-style tile with a capital letter F behind the newly built bar, dark-stained wood shelving and a lot more seating. (Jeannette Andamasaris at JAID Style conceptualized the overall vision of the space.) During its grand opening last Tuesday evening, guests packed into the seats around the bar, the high-top tables, the cozy tufted booths and the banquette seats lining the brick wall (all of which were designed and built by Hector Zamora of Zamora General Contracting). Outdoor seating is limited for now, but Ridge says the full patio will open within the next few weeks.

“A lot of the changes we made were aesthetic, but we also made some more operational changes,” Ridge says. “We wanted to create more room for people, and it was great to see folks fill those spaces. You get a different feel depending on which part of the restaurant you’re sitting in.”

The menu is more reminiscent of down-home comfort food, but, as promised to the loyal seafood-loving Blue Light crowd, guests can still indulge in a giant platter of raw oysters on the half shell with horseradish, and cocktail and mignonette sauces. For those who prefer their shellfish cooked, consider the oysters Rockefeller (roasted with spinach, sausage, bacon, absinthe and Parmesan cheese) or oysters larroquette (roasted with andouille sausage and lemon-rosemary butter).

As for the inspiration behind the menu, Ridge says it’s all about options.

“With the format we have, you can really make it customizable, and people have appreciated that,” he says. “We’ve seen people build different meals based on certain dietary needs, whether they like to share or not, or how hungry they are.”

Sandwiches include The Fitzroy burger made with dry-aged Seven Hills beef that’s ground in-house every day, a fried shrimp po’ boy with remoulade, buttermilk-battered fried chicken with lemon cayenne aioli and an all-things-local club with chicken, ham, bacon and avocado. Items like a thick-cut pork chop, short rib stroganoff and house meatloaf make up the entrée section, plus there’s a daily fish (halibut, for the time being) with caramelized lemon and herbs. The cauliflower “steak” is the only vegetarian-friendly main dish, but the giant slice of a cauliflower head served with a beurre blanc made from Bold Rock cider, tarragon and Parmesan is surprisingly hefty and flavorful, so non-meat-eaters may be perfectly content ordering that every time.

The entrées come without sides, which is where the mixing and matching comes in. Pair anything with a bowl of clam chowder, order a full-sized kale Caesar salad with shrimp or chicken for the table to share or choose from the list of eight available sides. The mac-and-cheese features cavatappi pasta with a silky-smooth sharp cheddar cheese sauce, broiled to create a light crust on top. Hand-cut French fries are available as a side, as are duck-fat potatoes, fried to crispy perfection and served lightly seasoned in a small cast iron skillet. There’s also a list of appetizers that includes barbecue shrimp, French onion dip and dry-rubbed wings, a twist on the classic buffalo served with Crystal hot sauce and house ranch.

“It’s been great to see people interact with the menu and make their own dining experience,” Ridge says.

The Fitzroy is serving dinner seven days a week, with late-night hours every day (closing at midnight Sunday through Tuesday and 2am Friday and Saturday).

“We really want to have this balance where we feel like a nice restaurant but also transition into a great place to get a drink late-night,” Ridge says, adding that they plan to start serving lunch and weekend brunch once they’ve got their bearings on dinner and late-night.

This article was updated at 5:12pm June 9 to name the designers on the project.

Pork belly donuts.

Now that we have your attention, let’s talk about a new spot that’s about to open across from the UVA hospital next week. Introducing Heirloom, a farm-to-table restaurant and bar on the ninth floor of the Graduate Hotel Charlottesville, where the old Red Roof Inn used to be.

“We don’t want to be just a hotel restaurant,” says General Manager of Food and Beverage Andrew Koerper, who spent the last four and a half years managing the food and beverage operations at the Omni hotel. “It’s very hyper-local, and I really love the concept.”

Heirloom’s concept—entrées and small plates composed of as much locally sourced meat and produce as possible—was created with sharing in mind (though we’re certainly not going to judge if you hoard your plates for yourself). Koerper says to expect menu items like charred oysters, sous vide steak, macaroni and cheese and the aforementioned pork belly donuts.

The bar will be stocked with Virginia beer, wine and cider, and bar manager Ben Quade—whose food-and-drink résumé includes C&O, Revolutionary Soup, The Whiskey Jar and most recently Firefly—has been meticulously crafting a list of house cocktails featuring as many local ingredients as he can get his hands on.

We have yet to sample anything off the menu, but it’s safe to say the view is reason enough to check this place out. Built on top of what used to be the roof of the old hotel, the patio, with tables, chairs and couches, overlooks the entire city. It’s going to be hard to beat sipping a glass of wine that was made only a few miles away while watching the sun set behind the mountains.

Koerper says he hopes the location, the menu and the unbeatable view will make Heirloom the new go-to spot for a cross-section of people in Charlottesville.

“The Graduate Hotel is very much about community, and I think that the restaurant itself will definitely appeal to the community and the locals,” he says. “I know there’s a lot of push to kind of merge the Downtown Mall and the Corner, and I think this is a really great bridge for that.”

Live and kickin’

We love local food and we love good music, so it only makes sense to put the two together for a good cause.

For seven years, Local Food Hub has built its model around partnerships with small Virginia farms, food-distribution experts and other nonprofits in the area in an effort to make local food more easily accessible. The organization has built relationships with more than 60 farms while providing freshly grown food to the community through schools, health clinics and youth programs, and next week it’ll be able to add another person to its list of partners: Willie Nelson.

On Wednesday, May 25, the legendary country music star will perform live at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion, with the proceeds benefiting Local Food Hub.

“Willie Nelson has a lifelong connection and dedication to local food and small family farms,” says Local Food Hub Executive Director Kristen Suokko. “This concert will help us raise funds for our mission to connect people with food grown close to home.”

Visit nteloswirelesspavilion.com to buy tickets, and check out localfoodhub.org/willie for information about sponsor packages and an exclusive pre-show celebration.

At last

After years (literally, years) of taunting us all with the promise of po’ boys and gumbo, Belmont couple Lucinda Ewell and Ian Day have officially debuted Southern Crescent. Located next to The Local Smokehouse on Hinton Avenue, the space is a beautifully remodeled old house with hand-painted ceilings and a giant porch for seating.

And that lovely porch is all that’s open for the time being. Ewell says she and Day are waiting until the liquor license comes through before they open up the interior and start serving dinner, but, in the meantime, the much-anticipated restaurant is serving lunch from 11am-3pm every day.

Have a ball

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Brewer’s Ball is coming to Charlottesville. Local chapters of the national organization have been holding these annual food-and-drink-oriented fundraisers for years, and Charlottesville will host its inaugural Brewer’s Ball on Thursday, June 9. A $75 ticket will give you access to booze from local favorites such as Pro Re Nata Farm Brewery, Bold Rock Hard Cider and Veritas Vineyard & Winery, plus food from Moe’s Original Bar B Que, Carpe Donut and Kardinal Hall, among others. Tickets are available at brewersballcville.com.

Tasty tidbits

Cider with a purpose…On Saturday, May 21, Potter’s Craft Cider will release a Trappist-style dry cider at the IX Art Park, with proceeds from sales to benefit The Haven and efforts to raise awareness about homelessness in the area. Double gold…Devils Backbone Brewing Company just brought home two World Beer Cup Gold Awards for its Schwartz Bier and Reilly’s Red.

Tavola doesn’t take reservations, no matter how nicely you ask, but it’s always worth the wait. And for a week this summer, at the end of that wait will be a menu created in collaboration with Roberta Vivetta Cintelli, a 70-year-old Italian restaurant matriarch who’s visiting and working in Tavola’s kitchen June 6-11.

The Belmont eatery has partnered with the Charlottesville Sister City program for a culinary exchange with Ristorante il Falcone, a longstanding restaurant in the Italian town of Poggio a Caiano. During her visit, Cintelli will cook and teach in the kitchen at Tavola, and the week will culminate in a classic Italian street festival in and around the restaurant on Saturday, June 11.

“We get to really experience working with a chef who’s been cooking in Italy for decades,” says chef Caleb Warr. “Just to have her here will be amazing, to get that sort of old world experience.”

When they’re not prepping menus and tearing it up in the kitchen, Warr says he can’t wait to introduce Cintelli to some of his favorite Charlottesville restaurants (C&O, Ten, Ivy Inn and Fleurie, to name a few) and also prepare some homemade dishes for her, like gumbo inspired by his Louisiana roots.

In July, Warr will travel to Poggio a Caiano to spend a week with Cintelli in her kitchen. The young chef says he’s never been out of the country (aside from a camping trip to Canada).

“It’s just going to be incredible to go over there and see the differences in food, ideologies and ingredients,” he says. “She’s been cooking at least 10 times longer than I have, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to teach her anything. But hopefully we’ll at least gain a respect from her and appreciation for our approach to food.”

Movin’ on up

James Beard semi-finalist Jose De Brito quietly left his post as executive chef at The Alley Light last week, and rumors have been flying about what his next move is. Well, the cat’s out of the bag.

“The Inn at Little Washington is pleased to welcome Charlottesville’s Jose De Brito to its kitchen brigade,” says The Inn at Little Washington PR Director Rachel Hayden. “He will join Chef Patrick O’Connell and his team of 36 chefs in The Inn’s five-star kitchen this spring. We are all looking forward to working together and to having Jose on our team.”

O’Connell and his restaurant at The Inn at Little Washington—which opened in a former garage in 1978—have received international accolades for years, including restaurant of the year from the James Beard Foundation in 1993.

As for The Alley Light, founder/co-owner Will Richey says he isn’t worried about the transition. Former sous chef Robin McDaniel has taken over the kitchen as chef/co-owner, and Richey is confident she will uphold the reputation De Brito built. 

“She will continue in the method of classical French cuisine that Jose began, staying true to the aesthetics that have rounded out the experience of The Alley Light,” he says. “Robin was already leading the kitchen at The Alley Light two nights a week and for many months during the last few years when Jose would travel, and she is eager to lead our kitchen with her own personal touch.”

Meals on wheels

Seasonal Roots has been connecting local farmers with sustainability-conscious consumers in Virginia for about six years, and this spring the home-delivery service made its way to Charlottesville. Launched in Richmond in 2010, Seasonal Roots—“your online farmers’ market”—partners with farmers and artisans who are dedicated to sustainable practices in an effort to make their products more accessible.

“We saw a need to connect people with the farmers who are bone-tired, working in the fields all day, selling at the markets, doing their own marketing,” says Executive Product Producer Kat Costello. “Our goal is to have them in the fields so they can continue farming and not worry so much about markets and wholesale.”

The online market opens at 2pm every Friday, and customers have until midnight on Sunday to place their orders. Unlike some CSAs and delivery services, Seasonal Roots members can customize their baskets with the fruits, veggies, baked goods, meats and dairy they want, plus extras like household items. Memberships cost $50 the first year and $35 annually after that, and member benefits include customizable baskets, lower prices and unlimited local extras. Non-members can make orders as guests, Costello says, but they won’t have the same kind of flexibility in ordering.

For more information, check out seasonal roots.com.

How many breweries do we need in this town? At least one more, apparently. Last week the owners of Richmond’s Hardywood Park Craft Brewery (twice voted Virginia’s top brewery by ratebeer.com users) announced its plan to open a location in Charlottesville, and everyone’s already in a tizzy over it. Located at 1000 W. Main St. (about equidistant between the Downtown Mall and the Corner), the new brewery will include a 3.5-barrel brewery, a taproom and an outdoor beer garden.

According to the recent online announcement, 12 Hardywood beers will be on tap, “with a focus on experimental batches brewed on site.” The menu will also feature locally roasted coffee, locally brewed kombucha and snacks such as fresh-baked pretzels and charcuterie. 

The Hardywood folks are aiming for a September opening.

Game on

Steak and cheese fries? Beer-battered artichokes? Fried mashed potatoes? Yes, please.

Introducing Hurley’s Tavern, a new sports bar off Route 29 with an extensive beer list and apps menu that has quietly made its debut just in time for baseball season. Located at 1000 Rivanna Plaza Dr., Hurley’s officially opened for business last Thursday afternoon.

“We wanted to be a local sports bar with homemade food,” says co-owner Janice Rossano.

The menu features classics such as crispy wings and burgers, of course, but also some of Rossano’s own creations inspired by late nights in the kitchen at Cheeseburger in Paradise (before the Charlottesville location closed a few years ago), like the steak fries smothered in melted provolone cheese, steak, grilled peppers and onions and bacon.

And there’s more to the menu than meat and cheese (though there’s plenty of that). A vegan herself, Rossano wanted to have something for everybody, not just the wing-eating crowd—the menu features meat-free options like the crispy, satisfying deep-fried cauliflower, smothered in the homemade wing sauce of your choice (hey, we said vegan, not low fat).

The daily rotating draft beer list is displayed on a chalkboard visible from the long wooden booths, each of which is equipped with its own TV and remote. No house cocktails, but the bar has just about anything other than frozen drinks.

For more information, check out the Hurley’s Tavern Cville Facebook page.

Tasty tidbits

Rise and shine…Now open at 7:30am on weekdays (11am on weekends), Roots Natural Kitchen on the Corner has added breakfast items such as chia yogurt, oatmeal, toast and coffee to its menu. And many more…Happy birthday, Littlejohn’s New York Delicatessen. The sandwich shop with an extensive menu and loyal following turns 40 this spring, and the original location on the Corner will hold an anniversary event later this summer—we don’t know all the details yet, but we hear it will involve giveaways like concert tickets and gift cards. Read it and eat…Volume 3 of Our Local Commons has just been released, and the 152-page book includes 16 feature stories, cooking tutorials, recipes and other pieces about the area’s food community.