Author: Simon Davidson

Simon Davidson, founder of The Charlottesville 29, has had a passion for food for as long as he can remember. Even as a young child, at restaurants with his parents he would ask the server to allow him one more appetizer while everyone else was ordering dessert. He has eaten all over the country and all over the Charlottesville area, which he has called home for nearly all of his adult life. In his real life, he practices law at the international law firm McGuireWoods, which was founded in Charlottesville, and also writes a political law column for the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. Most important of all, he says, he is the father of two and husband of one.

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Knife & Fork

10 hot* new restaurants: A diverse collection of upstarts drives a local dining boom

“Happier cows make better meat” is just one of the motto-ish lines you’ll find on the website for Albemarle’s Sherwood Farms, where Prime 109 sources its dry-aged cuts. Here, a Kansas City strip steak gets a boost from roasted Meyer lemons and garlic. Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith

The restaurant business, like any industry, goes in cycles. Grow, contract, repeat. Here in Charlottesville, our last boom came in 2014, a year that brought Lampo, The Alley Light, Oakhart Social, Parallel 38, Public Fish & Oyster, MarieBette, Rock Salt, Red Pump Kitchen, and Al Carbon, among others.

Now, after a slight lull, the area’s restaurant scene is resurgent, with a burst of openings in the past 18 months. The 10 we feature here are all good, and a few are exceptional. But what stands out as much as their quality is their variety. A bicycle bar. A lavish steakhouse. Tibetan food. A sake brewery. A pie shop with tapas. Greek fast-casual. Mexican- and Spanish-inspired cuisine. Thai. Korean. Nearly every new entry has given Charlottesville something it lacked. While our area’s restaurant scene has long punched above its weight, the latest additions remind us that even in the best food communities, there’s always room to grow.

 

* What makes a new restaurant “hot?” In a word, popularity. Whether it cooks with gas or a wood-fired oven, a restaurant that draws a crowd soon after opening—particularly in a city with so many options for dining out—is hot. Please write to joe@c-ville.com with comments. We welcome, nay, encourage debate!

(Ed. note: Restaurants are presented in alphabetical order.)

Cava’s greens and grains bowl is a riot of colors, fresh flavors, and savory sauces. Photo: Max March

Cava

Before the chain Cava was born, its three founding owners ran just a single full-service Greek restaurant in Rockville, Maryland, Cava Mezze, which they launched in 2006. From there, the owners—all first-generation Greek-Americans—took the red-hot concept of fast casual and applied it to the food of their birthplace. The result is a rapidly growing chain that now has more than 70 locations. Guests line up at the counter, survey an array of greens, grains, Greek spreads, meats, and other toppings, and then point away to build their own bowl, salad, or pita wrap. At the Charlottesville outpost, there is little evidence that expansion has diluted quality. The owners’ passion for good eating and well-sourced ingredients is unmistakable.

Cuisine Greek fast casual

Owner’s pick Greens and grains bowl with rice, chicken, braised lamb shoulder, harissa, tzatziki, vegetables, and seasonal dressing ($9.87).

Crowd favorites Black lentils, harissa spread, spicy lamb meatballs. Toppings: roasted vegetables, pickled banana peppers, tomato-and-onion salad, cabbage slaw. Dressing, lemon herb tahini vinaigrette.

Vitals 1200 Emmet St. N., 227-4800, cava.com

 

Most people would call Chimm a Thai restaurant, but other southeast Asian foods—Vietnamese and Indonesian, for instance—fill out the expansive menu. Photo: Tom McGovern

Chimm

The owners of the popular Thai Cuisine & Noodle House noticed a lack of Thai food south of town, and filled the void with their new restaurant in The Yard at 5th Street Station. In addition to the standard menu items of many Thai restaurants—pad thai, pad kee mao (also called drunken noodles), massaman curry—Chimm makes a point of featuring less common dishes, like Isan Style Som Tum (papaya salad made with fermented fish sauce) and Bah Mee Haeng (dry egg-noodle bowl). As diners become accustomed to the unusual dishes, Chimm plans to introduce more and more of them. Keep an eye out for occasional lunch banh mi specials, which require reservations and always sell out in advance.

Cuisine Thai

Chef’s pick Boat Noodle Soup ($12.50): rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, and bean sprouts in a dark, meaty housemade broth, with scallions, cilantro, fried garlic, and spicy chili sauce. In true Bangkok floating-market style, the broth made from marrow and saignant meat juice is slightly gelatinous.

Crowd favorite Khao Soi ($13.50): egg noodles with chicken in homemade curry paste, topped with wonton crisps and cilantro, served with pickled mustard greens, red onion, chili oil, and lime.

Vitals 5th Street Station, 365 Merchant Walk Square, 288-1120, chimmtaste.com

 

Chef Lobsang Gyaltsen presents a Tibetan favorite, jasha kam trak: crispy chicken with vegetables and spicy sauce. Photo: Levi Cheff

Druknya House

If you’ve never had Tibetan food before, Druknya House is a great place to start. Hearty starches like barley, noodles, and potatoes dominate the food of a region known for mountains and wintry weather. Though Tibet has a cuisine all its own, its closest cousins are the foods of Himalayan neighbors, such as Nepal and Northeast India, with flavors like ginger, garlic, and turmeric. Yet, because the spicing of Tibetan food is often restrained, it’s approachable for most diners. In the kitchen at Druknya House is Lobsang Gyaltsen, a monk who studied Buddhist philosophy for two decades before turning to cooking to pursue an interest in healthy eating. While his menu does include unusual foods like chilay khatsu (spicy braised cow’s tongue), much of what Gyaltsen makes is comforting and restorative, like soups, noodle bowls, and Tibet’s beloved momos (dumplings filled with beef, chicken, or vegetables).

Cuisine Tibetan

Chef’s pick Ten Thuk Soup ($11), traditional Eastern Tibetan style hand-pulled noodles simmered in beef broth over greens.

Crowd favorites Jasha Kam Trak ($13): crispy chicken with mixed peppers, celery, scallions, and chef’s spice blend; Tsampa ($4): grilled brown mushrooms in melted butter, dusted with roasted barley flour.

Vitals 2208 Fontaine Ave., 995-5539, druknyahouse.com

 

Little Star is all about artful presentation and ambiance. You’d smell smoke from the wood-fired oven if this photo were scratch-and-sniff. Photo: John Robinson

Little Star

In partnership with Oakhart Social, chef Ryan Collins has brightened the former service station on West Main where other attempted restaurants have gone dark. From high-top tables, guests can now whet their appetites by gazing into the hearth where much of the food is cooked. The menu borrows from Spain and Mexico, two countries whose cuisines Collins came to love during eight years working for celebrity chef José Andrés, including three as head chef of the Washington, D.C., Mexican restaurant Oyamel. With small plates and large family-style platters, Collins intends all of his food for sharing. New York City transplant Joel Cuellar, a veteran of the spirits and cocktail industry, ensures that the bar does justice to the quality of the kitchen.

Cuisine Hearth-cooked American, inspired by Mexico and Spain

Chef’s pick Sunny Side Eggs ($10): fried eggs with salsa negra, green onion, sesame seeds, grilled bread, and hickory syrup. “It’s fatty, sweet, smoky, spicy, herbal, and salty,” says Collins. “And, every menu needs eggs.”

Crowd favorite Pan tomate ($8): grilled Albemarle Baking Company pan Estrella bread with grated tomato, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt.

Vitals 420 W. Main St., 252-2502, littlestarrestaurant.com

 

At Mangione’s on Main, specials like tender braised lamb shank with polenta and a splash of greens join a menu of Italian-American favorites, served family style. Photo: Levi Cheff

Mangione’s on Main

Tread lightly when remaking a former restaurant beloved by regulars. That’s what first-time restaurant owners Bert Crinks and Elaina Mangione have been doing since moving from northern Virginia to Charlottesville and buying the Italian-American restaurant Bella’s. Aside from a new name, changes have come gradually. The wood floors have been refinished and the walls freshly painted, but most of Bella’s menu of family-style Italian-American dishes remains the same, now joined by weekly specials from chef Mick Markley (formerly of Mas and Lynchburg’s Emerald Stone Grille).

Cuisine Italian-American

Chef’s pick Rosa di parma ($24): butterflied pork loin, stuffed with prosciutto, sage, and mozzarella, then slow roasted with potatoes and vegetables with pan sauce.

Crowd favorite Rigatoni al Forno ($23): Italian sausage and rigatoni tossed in ragu bolognese made with ground veal, beef, and pork, then topped with mozzarella cheese and baked.

Vitals 707 W. Main St., 327-4833, mangionesonmain.com

 

Maru deepens the culinary diversity on the Downtown Mall, with Korean delicacies like crispy fried squid. Photo: Tom McGovern

Maru

This is not your old-school mom-and-pop place. In the former home of Eppie’s restaurant on the Downtown Mall, industry veterans Steven Kim and his wife, Kay, have created an airy, contemporary Korean restaurant with an open kitchen and exposed brick walls. The menu also is modern, combining traditional Korean dishes like bibimbap and kimchi jeon with modern flourishes, like the use of melted cheese, a fairly recent phenomenon in Korea. There’s even a (delicious) bulgogi steak and cheese.

Cuisine Korean

Chef’s pick Bulgogi Plate ($17): thinly sliced beef in a sweet soy marinade, grilled with onion and served with rice, lettuce wrap, homemade ssam sauce, and daily banchan.

Crowd favorite Dolsot Bibimbap ($12): rice served with a medley of vegetables, topped with a sunny-side-up egg, spicy gochujang sauce, and choice of beef, pork, chicken, or tofu.

Vitals 412 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 956-4110

 

 

North American Sake Brewery’s Tekka Poke Don features diced yellowfin tuna and salmon marinated in sweet soy sauce, plus a mélange of ginger, scallion, sesame seed, radish, cucumber, and flying-fish roe, served over sticky rice. Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith

North American Sake Brewery

Food was not the first thing on the minds of owners Jeremy Goldstein and Andrew Centofante when they prepared to open Virginia’s first sake brewery last year. But when Culinary Institute of America alum Peter Robertson, of famed local food truck Côte-Rôtie, came on board as chef, he proposed creating a menu of Japanese-style small plates designed to pair with sake. The food does much more than complement the wine—it uses sake as an ingredient, too, along with brewing byproducts like koji, a mold prized by chefs for its ability to transform flavor. Though Robertson has moved on, he leaves behind a menu he helped to create and a kitchen run by his former cook Don Van Remoortere, a certified BBQ judge who marries American smoking techniques with Japanese flavors.

Cuisine Japanese-American

Chef’s pick Diamond Joe Brisket Platter ($16): Slow smoked prime beef brisket rubbed with ground espresso beans, Szechuan pepper, and sea salt, served with a side of soy “jus.” “The power move,” says Remoortere, “is to order it with two steamed bao buns with a side of housemade spicy sambal and a heap of kimchi to make a pair of towering brisket sammies.”

Crowd favorite That Chick Teri rice bowl ($14). Roasted teriyaki chicken with bell pepper, onions, carrots, garlic, sesame seeds, aioli, and crispy fried onions.

Vitals 522 Second St. SE, 767-8105, pourmeone.com

 

The Rivanna Trail sandwich: a baguette piled high with green-pea kofta, cucumber-radish salad, pickled carrots, and green harissa and feta-yogurt sauces. Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith

Peloton Station

Who knew that Curtis Shaver’s three passions would go together so well? The Hamiltons’ chef emerged from the kitchen last year to help turn a classic-car sales and service shop into a tavern celebrating a few of his favorite things: beer, bicycles, and sandwiches. Part pub, part sports bar, part bicycle shop, Peloton Station showcases the type of over-the-top sandwiches that earned Shaver a following at Hamiltons’ “sandwich lab.” Draught beers and wines are well chosen, and there are plenty of TVs to entertain you while you eat, drink, and wait for your bicycle to complete its tune-up.

Cuisine Sandwiches, pub grub, unconventional brunch fare

Owner’s picks Big Mike ($12): grilled mortadella, salami, capicolla, provolone, mozzarella, and cherry pepper olive salad on a pressed baguette; The Peg ($11): smoked house pastrami, gruyere cheese, pickled cabbage, and comeback sauce, on toasted multigrain rye.

Crowd favorite O-Hill Burger ($13): burger with muenster cheese, fried mushrooms, black pepper bacon, onion marmalade.

Vitals 114 10th St. NW, 284-7785, peletonstation.com

 

Prime 109 brings yet another fine-dining experience to the Downtown Mall. Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith

Prime 109

No recent opening made a bigger splash than the Lampo team’s steakhouse in the former Bank of America building on the Downtown Mall. In a stunning room with soaring ceilings, the featured product is one rarely seen: local, heritage beef, dry-aged 60 days or more. Beyond the steaks à la carte, there’s a separate menu of cheffy salads, pastas, and entrées from a talented kitchen staff led by Ian Redshaw, a James Beard Award semifinalist in the 2019 Rising Star Chef of the Year category. While Prime 109’s steak prices range from roughly $25 to $85, pastas and other entrées—also excellently prepared—are less expensive, and an ever-changing bar menu offers inspired sandwiches and snacks Monday through Wednesday. Along with well-chosen wines, there’s a serious bar program for cocktail enthusiasts.

Cuisine Steakhouse-plus

Chef’s pick Prime 109 Burger ($14): 70/30 blend of dry-aged to fresh beef (ribeye and tenderloin), American cheese, pickles, onion, primal sauce, on a sesame seed bun.

Crowd favorite Steak Frites ($24): butcher’s selection cut, peppercorn cognac double-cream sauce, and thrice-cooked fries.

Vitals 300 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 422-5094, prime109steakhouse.com

 

Former Mas tapas chef Tomas Rahal stirs things up with his new venture, Quality Pie. Photo: John Robinson

Quality Pie

When the local institution Spudnuts closed in 2016, its prime location at the gateway between Belmont and downtown instantly became one of the more coveted restaurant spots in town. The prize went to former Mas tapas chef Tomas Rahal, who converted the timeworn space into a bright, colorful pie shop. While the pies are stellar, the restaurant offers a whole lot more, with a menu that changes throughout the day. For breakfast, there are egg sandwiches, tarts, and papas bravas; at lunch, soups, salads, and creative sandwiches like a grilled octopus banh mi on charcoal bread; and, in late afternoon and early evening, wine, sherry, and tapas, like boquerones and bacon-wrapped dates. Plus, regardless of the hour, you can drop in for Rahal’s excellent breads, pastries, and other baked goods.

Cuisine Baked goods, sandwiches, and tapas

Chef’s pick Wild blueberry sourdough waffle ($8).

Crowd favorite Avocado toast with egg ($10).

Vitals 309 Avon St., 284-5120, qualitypieva.com

 

Categories
Living

Milli Coffee Roasters founder dies at 34

Nick Leichtentritt was a much loved member of Charlottesville’s food scene. Photo: Martyn Kyle

Nick Leichtentritt, founder of Milli Coffee Roasters and Sicily Rose, died February 17 at the age of 34. Pursuing a passion for food and drink, Leichtentritt left a corporate job in 2012 to open the coffee shop, followed by his cannoli shop, Sicily Rose, in 2018. Both developed loyal followings, and Leichtentritt became a beloved part of the Charlottesville food community. “Nick spent time with so many of the great tastemakers in Charlottesville,” recalls Will Richey of Ten Course Hospitality. “He was one of them after all, and he was open to all types of perspectives and experiences in a way that many are not. So many of us will miss him terribly.”

Despite Leichtentritt’s passing, both Milli Coffee Roasters and Sicily Rose remain in operation. Leichtentritt is survived by his wife, Nicole Kistler Leichtentritt, and a 4-year-old-son, whom the community has rallied to support with a fund for his immediate and long-term needs. To contribute, see the GoFundMe page Jesse’s Bright Future. (As of 11am Friday, March 1, the campaign had raised $19,000 of its $30,000 goal.)

Reservation, please

The dining app Resy, recently launched in Charlottesville, is making it easier to book and manage reservations, area restaurateurs say. Once diners register, they can make and change reservations, receive text reminders, and provide profile information regarding allergies, favorite cocktails, special occasions, and more. “It’s an awesome new platform with great analytics for users on both sides,” says Zocalo owner Ivan Rekosh.

Hardywood lightens up

Anticipating the arrival of spring, Hardywood founders Eric McKay and Patrick Murtaugh are launching a spin-off brand called Suncrush, a fruit-infused sparkling brew. Crisp golden ale with a hint of green tea gets a dose of crushed fruit and natural flavors, like grapefruit, Southern peach, and black cherry. Low in alcohol, calories, and carbohydrates, the drinks target outdoor-sports enthusiasts. “I’m a ginger nut,” McKay says, “and am really looking forward to Ginger Lime Suncrush.”

Categories
Living

Thomas Jefferson—beer nerd? New Champion release honors TJ’s personal brewer

Research by J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, a Randolph College professor and beer historian, inspired a new brew based on one made more than 200 years ago. Photo: Good Beer Hunting

Thomas Jefferson was not an IPA guy.

We know this thanks to the scholarly efforts of J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, a Randolph College professor, whose research provides a fascinating account of the work of Jefferson’s enslaved brewer, Peter Hemings, a son of Elizabeth Hemings. Jackson-Beckham’s recently published article, “Missing Ingredients—The (Incomplete) Story of Thomas Jefferson’s Unsung Brewer,” inspired a new offering from Champion Brewing Company, created in collaboration with the professor and media company Good Beer Hunting. Called Intelligence and Diligence—qualities that Jefferson himself attributed to Hemings—the beer will be on tap at an upcoming event at Champion.

Jackson-Beckham’s article evolved from a tale she had often heard repeated during her decade studying the beer industry: America’s founding fathers all brewed their own beer. Given the hard labor of brewing—especially in the colonial era—Jackson-Beckham was skeptical. “The narrative always struck me as implausible,” she says.

In search of the truth, the Lynchburg resident started at Monticello, where, she learned, much of the beer was made by Peter Hemings, whose mother was a sister of Jefferson’s mistress Sally Hemings. As Jackson-Beckham’s article recounts, Hemings learned to brew while he was the principal cook at Jefferson’s estate. In 1821, Governor James Barbour—the namesake of Barboursville—enjoyed the beer so much during a stay at Monticello that he later wrote to Jefferson, asking for the recipe. Jefferson replied that he doubted someone could replicate Hemings’ magic from a recipe alone. The president credited the beer’s quality, in part, to his “servant of great intelligence and diligence, both of which are necessary.”

While Jackson-Beckham failed to discover an actual recipe, her findings were sufficient to create one closely approximating Hemings’ formula—with a modern twist. Jefferson wrote glowingly of Hemings’ brew, except once, when he noted that it had been “spoiled” by “over-hopping.” Given today’s popularity of aggressively hopped beers, Jackson-Beckham wonders whether Hemings may have been 200 years ahead of his time.

And so, Intelligence and Diligence is an homage to the Hemings beer Jefferson said was spoiled. As Hemings likely would have done, Champion and its brewing collaborators started with wheat and corn (along with a little barley for contemporary tastes). To that, they added a healthy dose of Magnum hops. The result is a hoppy wheat ale, 5.6 percent ABV and 56 IBU. Champion’s lead brewer Josh Skinner describes it as clean, bitter, and effervescent with dominant wheat flavors and subtle corn sweetness.

Champion founder Hunter Smith says he’s honored to be part of a project that celebrates the legacy of one of our area’s earliest brewers. The beer, Smith says, “represents another way Monticello and Charlottesville are making efforts to better understand the past and reconcile that with present realities.”

Want a taste?

The Intelligence and Diligence release party takes place at 5pm, February 22, at Champion, 324 Sixth St. SE. The first 50 guests will receive a commemorative glass; copies of Jackson-Beckham’s article, and the author herself will be on hand.

Correction February 14: The original version misidentified Jackson-Beckham as a Randolph-Macon professor instead of Randolph College in Lynchburg where she’s on the faculty.

Categories
Living

MarieBetter: Bakery adds downtown location

Petite MarieBette debuts downtown with a new co-owner, Will Darsie, and lovely baked goods. Photo: Corbett Smithson

MarieBette Café & Bakery spin-off Petite MarieBette is now open at 105 E. Water St., offering coffee and baked goods (of course!), as well as breakfast sandwiches and grab-and-go lunch. Longtime MarieBette employee Will Darsie co-owns the new spot, and will manage it. The son of a chef (mom) and a farmer (dad), Darsie moved from his native California to Charlottesville in 2015. He found work at MarieBette, starting as a busboy and rising to general manager. “I never had any intention of working in this industry, but now I can’t see myself doing anything else,” Darsie says.

Music to your mouth

Prime 109 has a new menu available Wednesday nights to accompany weekly live jazz. Guests can enjoy a more casual midweek bite, while the cooks get to create “experimental dishes that don’t necessarily fit the structure of the dining room,” Executive Chef Ian Redshaw says. In keeping with the improvisational theme, the menu changes weekly. Past offerings have included housemade pastrami banh mi and an “octo dog”—octopus poached in olive oil and served on a Parker House-style hot dog bun with shishito peppers, shallots, harissa, and cilantro. Music, from 6-9pm, is courtesy of jazz trio Adam Larrabee, Brian Caputo, and Randall Pharr.

Winning spirit

For the third year in a row, Lovingston’s Virginia Distillery Co. has taken home a top prize at the U.K.-based World Whiskies Awards. The distillery’s Port Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky earned a medal for Best American Blended Malt, the same award it won in 2018. Aged in Virginia port-style wine barrels, the spirit blends American single-malt whiskey distilled on-site with single-malt whiskey from Scotland. In 2017, the distillery’s flagship Virginia-Highland Malt won Best American Single Malt.

Categories
Food & Drink Living

Mel at Mel’s: Chef Melissa Close-Hart savors a taste of home at Mel’s Cafe

Junction chef Melissa Close-Hart has been eating at Mel’s for 20 years.

Sometimes the good stuff is hiding right under your nose.

For decades, Mel’s Café has sat near the center of town on West Main Street, with a bright blue sign that is impossible to miss. Yet, even some of my most food-loving friends have never set foot in the place. As a longtime fan, this puzzles me. And many top chefs would share my view: They love it, too.

Take Junction’s Melissa Close-Hart, one of Charlottesville’s most decorated chefs. A native of Mobile, Alabama, Close-Hart calls Mel’s her “go-to place for a taste of home,” and has been eating there for 20 years. I recently tagged along with her at Mel’s to see what keeps her coming back.

Part of it is feel. Genuine Southern hospitality meets everyone who walks through the door. “No pomp and circumstance,” said Close-Hart. “Just go to the counter, order your food, get your own drink, wait for Mel to personally cook your order, and then enjoy.”

But the real hook is owner Mel Walker’s soul food.

Walker first learned to cook in the late 1960s, while working as a dishwasher at The Virginian. One evening, when the cook didn’t show, the owner asked Walker, who was only 14 years old at the time, to fill in. He must have been a quick study: when the owner returned the next day, Walker recalls, he said: “Mel, you’re the cook now.” Walker has been cooking ever since, and Mel’s is a showcase of the  homestyle Southern dishes he has honed over the years.

Close-Hart and I shared a feast of some of Walker’s best, starting with Close-Hart’s standard order, which she rattled off like a child reciting a rhyme: hamburger steak with gravy and onions, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, two rolls, and sweet tea. For the steak, Walker grills a fresh eight ounce hamburger patty, which he smothers with grilled onions and gravy made from beef broth, his own blend of spices, and a roux. “Never underdone or overcooked,” Close-Hart said of the steak.

You can taste the love that goes into Walker’s food, Close-Hart said: “You have to love the food to give it soul.” For me, nowhere in great soul food cooking is the love felt more deeply than in the vegetables, cooked with patience and care, gently coaxing their flavor. Walker’s green beans, “nothing fancy,” he insisted, were “cooked properly”  for a Southerner like Close-Hart, she said: slowly, with onions and an end of country ham, until dark olive in color and nearly falling apart. “That’s the way my mom and granny cooked them,” Close-Hart said.

She assembled a bite of hamburger steak, gravy, onions, green beans, and mashed potatoes on her fork, held it in the air, and admired it. “Aside from Thanksgiving,” she said, “this is my favorite bite of food in the world.”

There was also love in our plate of fried chicken. Patience, too. “Many places cook chicken ahead,” says Walker, “but not here.” Once ordered, about 14-16 minutes is the time Walker needs to dip the chicken in egg wash and seasoned flour, and then deep-fry it. “No one minds waiting the extra time for properly cooked fried chicken,” said Close-Hart.   

We had to have a Meta’s burger, a Mel’s legend. Pronounced “meet-ah’s,” the burger is named for a customer who ordered the same thing almost every day at an Earlysville place where Walker once worked called Charlie’s Cafe: a burger with Swiss cheese and grilled onions on rye toast. A sum-is-greater-than-its-parts combination, it is one of the most crave-worthy foods in town.

Last but not least was sweet potato pie, which Close-Hart orders on every visit, and says she could eat every day. “I make a pretty good sweet potato pie,” said the four-time James Beard Award semifinalist, “but Mel blows mine out of the water.” The recipe comes from Walker’s grandmother, with sweet potatoes, milk, and just little bit of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. “Sweet potatoes have a natural sweetness and complexity,” said Close-Hart, “and do not need to be doused in a ton of sugar and spice to taste good.” The result is a pie that has become so popular that, around the holidays, people order it by the dozen.

What Close-Hart likes best about Mel’s food is the comfort it brings. “My husband knows he could bring me my favorite Mel’s meal and it would cheer me up more than flowers and chocolates,” she said. But there is one thing about Mel’s she admits she does not like: the name. You see, Close-Hart, who sometimes goes by Mel, has always wanted to open a soul food restaurant of her own, and call it Mel’s.

She can’t do that in Charlottesville, though. There’s only one Mel’s.

 

Categories
Living

High steaks: Dining with Governor Ralph Northam at Prime 109

Governor Ralph Northam says the New York Strip he recently enjoyed at Prime 109 was the “best piece of meat I’ve ever had.” Photo by Amy Jackson Smith

Where was the best steak of Governor Ralph Northam’s life? Right here in Charlottesville.

Northam was in town to speak at the inauguration of James Ryan as president of the University of Virginia, and joined me afterwards for dinner. Given the occasion and guest, I chose Prime 109, which opened last month in the former Bank of America building on the Downtown Mall. From my prior visits, the new steakhouse seemed worthy of the celebration: a spectacular space with food to match. Indeed, our steaks were extraordinary.

But, what makes the steaks so good? Sure, the chefs are part of the answer. It’s the same talented team that runs the acclaimed pizzeria Lampo. The answer really begins, though, with someone who does not even work at Prime 109—their meat supplier, Ryan Ford. For years, Ford has been working on a problem he first encountered while running a butcher shop selling Virginia meat. In short, Virginia has an abundance of great cattle, but no easy path from farm to table.

Ford’s solution is Seven Hills, a Lynchburg meat company he launched in 2015 that instantly became the commonwealth’s largest independent slaughter facility. Ford’s mission is to connect Virginia farmers who care about the quality of their product with consumers who care about where their food comes from. The key is “vertical integration,” Ford says. Instead of processing cattle and returning meat to farms, like some facilities do, Seven Hills buys cattle from farms and handles all the rest: processing, aging, packaging, and distribution.

Relieved of the burden of sales and distribution, farmers can focus on what they do best. “Let the farmers farm,” says Ford. Also benefiting are customers, who have greater access to Virginia beef than ever before. Seven Hills sources only from farms that meet its high standards, and its humane, state-of-the art facility allows it to trace everything it sells back to the originating farm.

Ford’s hope is that this can change the way we eat beef. He envisions a Virginia where consumers expect to know where their meat comes from, whether they’re buying it at the supermarket or ordering it at a restaurant, and even grow to learn which farms they like best. Northam is on board. “As I travel the commonwealth, I see folks making it a priority to know where their food is coming from,” said Northam. “This benefits everyone—prioritizing local farms helps our economy, and customers become better educated about their food choices.”

Prime 109, which buys all of its beef from Seven Hills, is on board too, buying entire animals at a time. This, Ford says, is unheard of among steakhouses, which generally buy pre-fabricated cuts of bestsellers. In a typical 800-pound animal, classic steakhouse cuts comprise just 10-20 percent of the meat. What to do with the rest?

Cue Ian Redshaw, winner of this year’s Best of C-VILLE award for Best Chef. Determined not to waste a thing, he breaks down whole sides of beef and finds uses for it all: roasts, braises, terrines, stocks, burgers, sausages, and more.

As a dinner guest, Northam, whom I had met briefly a few times before, could not have been more pleasant. He grew up on a farm on the Eastern Shore, and nine months as the commonwealth’s most powerful man have done nothing to his affable, aw shucks demeanor. “Hi, I’m Ralph,” he would introduce himself to servers. On being governor, he told me, “It’s almost surreal that I am doing this.”

We sat at the chef’s counter, a marble bar perched beside the open wood-fired grill where we watched Redshaw cook. The concept for the food is familiar steakhouse dishes, enhanced. Unlike many steakhouses, Prime 109 is doing some serious cooking, with a team of cooks who have been head chefs of other top kitchens, including Lampo, Tavola, and Pippin Hill.”

Take Northam’s wedge salad. Iceberg lettuce rests beneath Bayley Hazen blue cheese, pickled onions, confit tomatoes, and beef bacon made from the bellies of beef that’s been dry-aged for 200 days. In a riff on buttermilk dressing, Prime 109 creates an herb dressing from kefir (house made fermented milk), tart and creamy. “Delicious,” Northam said. “Could be a meal unto itself.”

In our Oysters Rockefeller, Northam was thrilled to find Tangier Island oysters. “I am biased, but it’s hard to beat oysters from the Eastern Shore,” said Northam, who once worked on a construction crew that built the runway for Tangier Island’s airport, and after his term hopes to resume growing oysters himself. Covered in sautéed spinach and then broiled, the oysters were topped with a fonduta made by applying nitrogen dioxide to a blend of raclette cheese, cream, and nutmeg. Dehydrated shallots added crunch and punch.

Tangier Island oysters made another appearance in a showstopper of a side, a special that evening: “Oysters and Pearls” stuffing. First, oysters were cooked sous-vide and emulsified, and the resulting liquid was poured over pieces of bread made from Prime 109’s Parker House roll dough, drizzled with beef marrow drippings. Whole smoked oysters were then stirred into the stuffing, and the whole thing was baked and topped with Osetra caviar. “Really nice,” said Northam.

Then there were the steaks. Prime 109 offers meat that’s been dry-aged—a process that tenderizes the beef and concentrates flavor. Meat ages better if hung in very large pieces or as a whole side, which Seven Hills does at its facility and Prime 109 continues at the restaurant for optimal aging. This is a costly process, in part because of the labor, but also because of the weight loss. A 16-ounce dry-aged steak might have been 18 or 20 ounces before aging. Buying whole carcasses and butchering meat in-house allows Prime 109 to cut costs, and pass on savings to guests.

To be sure, this does not mean the steaks are cheap. Prices per steak currently range from $24-86, and toppings are extra. But it does mean that Prime 109 can afford to offer a unique product that, to my knowledge, is available at no other steakhouse: Virginia heritage beef, aged for 60 days or more. As one friend described the experience: “Expensive but underpriced.”

Can you really taste the difference? As a barometer to compare with other steakhouses, Northam chose a classic cut, New York Strip. The verdict? “Best piece of meat I’ve ever had,” he said.

I asked Redshaw to choose mine, and my reward was a 200-day-aged picanha, topped with an indulgent blend of burgundy truffles, onions agrodolce made with fish sauce, house chimichurri sauce, béarnaise, and demi-glace. Oh my. “That looks like a work of art,” Northam said. Tasted like one, too. The toppings might have overwhelmed a lesser steak, but the long dry-aging gave the meat a concentrated, earthy flavor that, like a good blue cheese, held up well. Though I often enjoy steak unadorned, this was one of my best steak experiences in memory.

As governor, Northam considers it part of his job to be an ambassador for Virginia. “We have really been trying to promote farm-to-table,” says Northam. Prime 109 could be his chief of staff.

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Living

At Maru, traditional Korean cuisine and modern riffs both shine

Maru’s take on classic Korean dishes include bulgogi, thinly sliced beef marinated in sweet soy sauce, sesame oil and other seasonings, then grilled; fried squid, a street food staple; and kimchi jeon, a pancake made with kimchi, scallions and flour. Photo by Morgan Salyer

I knew it would be a risky choice: Jen Naylor to help critique a Korean restaurant. The Korean food genius of Sussex Farm has a cult-like following for dishes she sells at area farmers markets. And, as good as she is at making Korean food, she may be even better at tasting it. The Korean native trained her palate on the food of one of the best cooks she has known: her mother. “Thanks to her,” says Naylor, “I am blessed with taste buds that know when it’s good eats.”

Naylor’s expertise made me wonder how she would rate Maru, the new Korean restaurant on the Downtown Mall where I had enjoyed several meals. Though I have eaten Korean food for decades, I am no expert. Would Maru meet the high standards of someone like Naylor? To find out, I invited her, along with her daughter, Kelsey, a cook at Ten who is another aficionado, having grown up on Jen’s food.

Maru is the product of Korea natives Steven Kim and his wife, Kay, who moved to Charlottesville from northern Virginia in 2016. The Kims “fell in love with the culture and people of Charlottesville,” says Kay, but found a shortage of great Korean food, and set out to fix it.

Chef Steven brings decades of experience to the kitchen, including a restaurant he ran in Annandale, Virginia’s unofficial capital of Korean food. His focus is twofold: traditional Korean cuisine and more progressive riffs. Melted cheese, for example, has become an unlikely sensation in Korea, and appears often in Maru’s dishes.

Jen prefers traditional cuisine, though, so we steered clear of modern twists. As we sat down and awaited our meal, Jen explained how her mother’s food had “spoiled” her, making her hyper-sensitive to flawed preparations. Uh-oh, I thought. Even if some dishes fail to meet Jen’s standards, will she like any of it?

Thank you, fried squid. “Excellent,” Jen said, of the Korean street food staple. “It brings back great memories—as good as I remembered it growing up in Korea.” Jen also liked the banchan, traditional small side dishes served before or during a meal. One was kimchi—the signature Korean dish of fermented cabbage or other vegetables. Famous for her own kimchi, Jen’s praise speaks volumes. “It’s made with young Napa cabbage,” says Jen, “which is perfect for this time of the year.”

Jen is also known for bulgogi—thinly sliced beef marinated in sweet soy sauce, sesame oil and other seasonings, then grilled. Maru’s version was a hit. “Perfectly cooked,” Jen said. “You can taste the smokiness from the flame grill.”

Kelsey’s favorite, meanwhile, was kimchi jeon, a pancake of kimchi, scallions and flour. “I would come back just for this,” she said. “It’s light and crispy on the edges and very well seasoned.” With the pancake, Kay served makgeolli, a cloudy, tangy rice wine typically enjoyed with the dish. New to me, but a spot-on marriage of flavors. “Amazing,” Kelsey said of the pairing.

We finished with bingsu, a delicious dessert of shaved ice, condensed milk and various toppings, which Kelsey said may become destination-worthy. “Light and refreshing,” she said. “Everything I would want in a summertime dessert.”

After our meal, I returned to sample some of the less traditional offerings we had skipped. Though I was skeptical, I am glad I did. Italy meets Korea in kimchi arancini—balls of kimchi, fried rice and cheese, breaded and fried. In lesser hands, a cultural hybrid like this could be a trainwreck. But, chef Steven nails it, as he does another mash-up: the Philly-Korean bulgogi beef and cheese. On a sub roll, bulgogi joins melted cheese, grilled onions, and—what really sets it off—zesty house-pickled vegetables.

Kay says that the Kims’ aim in opening Maru is to share with others the experiences and love of food they grew up with. And they sure are off to a good start.

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Living

Five Finds on Friday with Alicia Walsh-Noel

Alicia Walsh-Noel, Manager of Brasserie Saison. Photo courtesy subject

Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Alicia Walsh-Noel, manager of Brasserie Saison, which celebrates Sunday each week with  an “Eggs Benefit” brunch from 11am-3pm with live jazz and specials from the bar. A portion of proceeds goes to a different charity each month, and this month it is The Charlottesville Free Clinic. Walsh-Noel’s picks:

1) Kao Soi at Monsoon Siam. “This dish is an ultra comforting curry noodle soup. It’s the perfect juxtaposition of flavor and texture: the sweet curry to the funky pickled cabbage and onions and then the slurpy egg noodles to the crunchy noodle garnish. There’s a reason it’s not available from their to-go-go location—you have to eat it in the restaurant for the full experience. I crave this whenever it’s cold outside or I have a cold or when Antarctica is cold.”

2) Peanut Butter Pie at The Pie Chest and an Almond Latte from Lone Light Coffee. “If you didn’t already know about this place, when you’re walking up Fourth Street, the aromas will lure you into their door. When you enter, it’s as if you’ve been transported into a quaint New England town—there aren’t many places in Charlottesville that can do that. Tucked within The Pie Chest is Lone Light Coffee, which makes incredible coffee drinks and their own almond milk in-house. The stuff is delicious! I seriously have a hard time getting coffee anywhere else. Rachel Pennington, the owner/baker of The Pie Chest, is incredibly talented. You can’t go wrong with any of her sweet or savory pies but I really dig the peanut butter because it’s a little of both. The real deal-sealer is that the crust is PERFECT every time.”

3) Commander Chicory Blue Cheese from Twenty Paces. “So apparently studies are saying that cheese addictions are a real thing. I always blamed it on my French heritage but now even my doctor is telling me to stop! Le sigh. I first had this cheese at Lampo. Then again at Lampo. Then again. And then…well, my husband runs the kitchen at Champion Taproom and he put it on…get this: CHICKEN WING TACOS. OMG. I die now. Anyway, it’s stinky and smoky and I would most likely have it as my last meal.”

4) Whatever Lumpia is on special at Champion Tap Room. “Speaking of my husband, Jon Bray has this move where he puts things into Filipino egg roll wrappers and then fries them. Need I say more? Okay, I’ll say more. His original has ground pork and dates that he serves with garlicky vinegar sauce. But lately he’s been getting a little wild, making cheeseburger lumpia for a kids event and a buffalo chicken version another time. This week, it sounds like he’s going with a more traditional pork and shrimp version that should be tasty. Maybe it’s cheating to put your own spouse on this list, but if this is about a memorable and emotional connection to food, Jon’s super-creative twists on Filipino classics are both seared into my memory and make me so happy!”

5) Oyster Mushrooms and Grits at Oakhart Social. “I couldn’t possibly write a Five Finds without mentioning Oakhart. This place is like home to me, and I’m stoked at the love they have received so quickly from the Charlottesville community. It’s rare to find a chef that can execute vegetable dishes with the skill that Tristan does and these mushrooms are one of my faves! They make a delicious star of the show with pickles, buttery grits and crispy, fried chickpeas. Follow that up with all the Fernets and hugs for a foolproof Oakhart evening.”

This article originally appeared on C-VILLE’s At the Table columnist C. Simon Davidson’s website, The Charlottesville 29, Read more Five Finds on Fridays here.

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Living

At the Table: Revamped restaurant shows off Virginia’s riches

Leni Sorensen, retired African-American research historian for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, says Virginia cuisine is a melting pot of influences. Commonwealth Restaurant's ham hock meatballs "scream Virginia," says chef Reggie Calhoun. Photo by Eze Amos

Is there such a thing as “Virginia cuisine”? It’s an old question, and one I found myself revisiting after learning that Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar has a new motto: “modern Virginia cuisine.” What is Virginia cuisine—modern or otherwise? And, is Commonwealth’s any good?

To help answer these questions, I called Dr. Leni Sorensen, who may know as much about Virginia food history as anyone alive. The retired African-American research historian for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello is a Virginia food historian who has cooked her way through much of Mary Randolph’s definitive 1824 cookbook, The Virginia House-Wife.

Commonwealth’s renewed focus on modern Virginia cuisine comes via Will Richey’s company, Ten Course Hospitality, which the restaurant’s owners hired this fall to revamp and manage the Downtown Mall eatery. For the menu that Richey envisioned, he could think of no better consultant than Harrison Keevil, an area chef well-versed in Virginia food. Now the co-owner of Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen, Keevil sourced almost every ingredient from Virginia at Brookville, his former restaurant. Together, Keevil and Commonwealth chef Reggie Calhoun developed a new Virginia menu.

Over a dinner of the fruits of their labor, Sorensen and I dove deep into the question of Virginia cuisine, starting from a premise that, at first glance, might seem tautological: Virginia cuisine is whatever people in Virginia typically cook and eat. But, to follow the logical consequences that flow from the premise is to reach several key insights. First, while history matters, it is not the only thing that matters. Yes, culinary tradition is worth preserving and informs what we eat today. But, to the moniker “true” Virginia cuisine, no period of time—not the 1700s nor the 2000s—can lay sole claim.   

Relatedly, there is no concept of “pure” Virginia cuisine unadulterated by outside influences. From its earliest days, our commonwealth’s food has been a melting pot of other cultural influences, applied to Virginia produce. “What we are really looking at,” Sorensen said, “is a tradition, at any given time, of including what’s available.” In early days, influences came from Europe and, through slavery, West Africa. More recently, our state has seen a burst of immigration of people from El Salvador, India and Mexico, among other places.

Commonwealth’s new menu reflects these concepts well. Keevil’s favorite menu item, for example, pork rinds with spicy pork dip, puts a modern twist on a classic Virginia ingredient. Traditionally prepared rinds, fried until puffy and crisp, are vessels to scoop ground Autumn Olive Farms pork, spiked with punchy flavors from Virginia’s more recent Asian cultural influences: fish sauce, cilantro, chili peppers and ginger. “Brilliant,” says Sorensen, who confesses to being “gobsmacked” by the dish.

Calhoun’s favorite dish, ham hock meatballs, “screams Virginia,” he says. After boiling hocks in chicken broth for four hours, Calhoun binds the picked meat with ground Autumn Olive pork, Timbercreek Farm beef, egg, panko, Parmesan, oregano, parsley, fennel seed and some of the broth. The delicious, plump meatballs were served atop blistered field peas, a classic Virginia crop, says Sorensen.

So too are cabbage and Brussels sprouts, which joined forces in a wintry cruciferous salad. A slaw of raw cabbage leaves and sprouts adorned charred slices of heart of cabbage, in a rich but balanced butter walnut vinaigrette, with crumbles of bacon and more walnuts. “Delicious and complex,” praises Sorensen.

Rockfish is another Virginia staple, and Calhoun gives it the royal treatment. Together with several mussels, a flaky, white filet of fish is bathed in a fumet made by reducing a broth of rockfish bones, onion, fennel, carrot and rosemary. “This is marvelous. Absolutely marvelous,” Sorensen says afer one bite.

And, finally, there was more pork, of course. This is Virginia, after all. The cut of the day was a grilled Timbercreek Farm pork chop that was so full of flavor that Sorensen and I were both astounded to learn it had not been brined. Instead, it had been simply grilled with salt and pepper. “We want the flavor of the pork to really shine,” Keevil says.

So, what to make of Commonwealth’s new take on Virginia cuisine? “If this is what they mean by it, I am impressed,” Sorensen says. “I expected it to be good, but this is better than good. It’s excellent.”

Categories
Living

Tavola’s Michael Keaveny guides young talent in honing their skills

Pappardelle bolognese, grilled swordfish and chitarra-cut spaghetti with jumbo lump crab at Tavola. Photos by Tom McGovern

“Cooking is a young person’s game.” I’ve heard it more than once. As chefs grow older, the daily grind leaves many looking to continue their careers outside a restaurant kitchen. Never easy, the transition can be especially tough for chef-owners, who must entrust someone else at the helm.

Consider Michael Keaveny of the Belmont Italian restaurant, Tavola. When Keaveny opened Tavola in 2009 with his wife, Tami (C-VILLE’s arts editor), the lifelong chef ran the kitchen. His food was outstanding. In 2011 though, the father of two was ready to step back. “Pushing 50, it would’ve been tough to continue in that role for much longer,” says Keaveny. But Tavola after 2011 has been every bit as good as Tavola before 2011. So, how has Keaveny pulled it off?

“I try to make it advantageous for young chefs to come in, learn and better themselves,” says Tavola owner Michael Keaveny. Photo by Eze Amos

Initially, preparation eased the transition. Keaveny had been grooming his sous chef, Loren Mendosa, for the role. With Mendosa’s talent and training, regulars barely noticed a difference.

But, when Mendosa left in 2014 to help launch Lampo, Keaveny found himself with a new challenge: hiring and retaining a talented head chef from outside Tavola who would be willing to cook someone else’s food. Tavola’s dishes are largely Keaveny’s recipes, and their consistent execution has been key to the restaurant’s success. “An established chef who wants to come in and do his own menu is never going to work out at Tavola,” admits Keaveny.

The ones Keaveny has hired sure have worked out. Most recently, Caleb Warr was named the area’s Best Chef by C-VILLE Weekly readers. When Warr left town this summer, Keaveny hired C&O chef de cuisine Dylan Allwood, who took over in July. And, as Mendosa and I learned during a recent dinner at Tavola, the kitchen hasn’t missed a beat under Allwood, continuing the restaurant’s success from one chef to the next.

Vital to this, says Mendosa, is excellent training. “Tavola has done a great job of bringing staff along at their own pace and training properly,” he says. “Not every kitchen has that in mind or the luxury of the time to train.” Allwood has noticed this already. In just three months, “Michael’s experience and knowledge have helped me improve as a chef,” he says. Keaveny does much of the training himself, still spending more than 15 hours a week in the kitchen. “I try to make it advantageous for young chefs to come in, learn and better themselves,” Keaveny says.

That shows in Tavola’s classics, which Allwood’s kitchen already has down. Case in point is the cozzi ai ferri e pane that began our meal. Mussels are skillet-roasted in butter and garlic, and then served in the skillet with slices of Albemarle Baking Company baguette to soak up the briny sauce. Like many of Tavola’s dishes, Mendosa says, the mussels dish resonates because it’s simply prepared but boasts a bold flavor profile.

Allwood’s go-to among the Tavola classics is linguine alla carbonara. “Comfort food,” he says of the pasta tossed with housemade sausage, Olli pancetta, egg, Pecorino Romano, onion and black pepper. For purists who quibble that sausage does not belong in true carbonara, I have advice: Taste it. This is the way Keaveny learned it at the legendary Connecticut restaurant Carbone’s, and there’s a reason chefs and regulars swoon over it. “I love the way the salty pork and sausage work with the egg sauce and a healthy dose of black pepper,” Allwood says.

Dylan Allwood joined Tavola as executive chef in July. Photo by Natalie Jacobsen

Mendosa meanwhile is partial to the bucatini all’amatriciana, which we polished off quickly. Like spaghetti but thicker and hollowed out, bucatini is tossed with marinara, Calabrian chili, onion, Olli pancetta and Grana Padano cheese. “Again, simple, so it has to hit on all the little details,” Mendosa says.

Another key to retaining good chefs is providing an outlet beyond rote replication of recipes: the blackboard menu of specials. “That’s the chef’s playground,” Keaveny says, dating back to Mendosa’s days. “The freedom to create within the realm of the specials gives plenty of creative outlet for most chefs,” Mendosa says. And, it also rewards Tavola’s guests. Among all of the dishes Mendosa and I shared, Allwood’s special entrata was our favorite: chitarra-cut spaghetti with jumbo lump crab, Calabrian chilies, basil and lobster brodo. The squared shape and texture of chitarra pasta enabled the luscious sauce to adhere to it, all the better to savor it. “Fantastic,” Mendosa said. “Rich and buttery, but still light enough to leave you feeling satisfied but not overwhelmed.”

Tavola is one of Charlottesville’s most beloved restaurants. The main reasons for that, Mendosa says, are the quality of ingredients and consistency in preparing them. For the latter, since stepping down as head chef six years ago, Keaveny has relied upon a series of excellent young chefs to fill that role. He’s found another one in Allwood.

“Dylan is doing an incredible job,” Keaveny says. “His food has fit in perfectly with what Tavola does/is.”