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Andrew Pearson is Virginia born and bred, and always thought he would return to his home state one day. When the COVID shutdown found him and his family quarantined in Birmingham, Alabama, he decided it was time. “I’ve always had my Virginia bag packed,” he says, and soon the family had bought a farm between Gordonsville and Cismont.

Soon after, on a stroll through Gordonsville, Pearson passed the recently closed Restaurant Rochambeau, once a highly regarded draw for the town. “I looked in and saw the tables were still set,” he says. “Everyone here wanted the restaurant to reopen.” With a background in hospitality as well as farming—while he was growing up, his family owned an inn that his grandmother ran—Pearson had a conversation with the restaurant’s owners. 

“I expected a long discussion,” Pearson admits, “but within 10 minutes Jacqueline Gupton and her husband said okay.” His new restaurant opened a month later, in August 2023, under a new name: Près des Prés, meaning “near the meadows” (the Pearsons’ farm is called The Meadows).

Pearson was drawn to the idea of bringing fine French dining back to the Main Street site of Rochambeau and its nationally known predecessor, Pomme. While many people may think French dining features stereotypical French dishes, he says, “French cooking is more about ingredients and techniques.” Beyond that, he was really excited at the prospect of “doing something good for Gordonsville and the wider community.”

Luckily for his suddenly short timeline, Pearson found the perfect chef close to home. Abby Duck, a graduate of Johnson & Wales University’s noted culinary program, had worked her way up to chef du cuisine at the Tasting Counter outside Boston, and when she decided to move closer to her family in this area, she was his first choice to help him launch the new venture.

When it comes to preparing French food, Duck says she starts “with what I would like to eat, and then make it French. I like to use lesser-known French ingredients, things that people aren’t as familiar with.” Working from a list of seasonal vegetables, Duck designs each month’s menu to include three vegetarian dishes and three protein-based dishes. She looks for ingredients from the area (including from the Pearsons’ farm and garden), and is working on building relationships with local suppliers. For now, Duck makes every dish from scratch, including the desserts: “I do all the baking, except the bread—that’s from Albemarle Baking Company.”  

For now, Près des Prés is open for dinner Wednesdays through Saturdays. Service is limited to 10 tables or a maximum of 26 guests, with a three-course prix fixe menu of the month posted on the restaurant’s website. As an example of Duck’s mix of tradition and originality, November’s menu featured pistachio soup with squash, crème fraîche, and tuile or Brussels sprouts with yam, lemon, Dijon, and blood orange as starters, followed by fresh spaghetti with yuzu, chive, sea urchin roe, and cream or pommes darphin with chili oil, crème fraiche, and watercress. Entrées were scallops with risotto, hazelnut, sage, and pomegranate, or venison with sunchoke, green peppercorns, and broccoli rabe. 

“We want dining here to be an experience,” says Pearson—but not the intimidating one some people associate with fine French cuisine. The restaurant still looks much like Rochambeau, warm and inviting, a place you want to linger over a meal. Families are welcome, says Pearson, who makes sure to be a visible host. 

Reactions from patrons have been very positive, says the new restaurateur: “It’s a real honor to have people come from D.C., Fredericksburg, and Richmond. We even had a couple come here as their honeymoon treat.” In response to that positive interest, the restaurant will be open for one Sunday this year, on December 31, for a special five-course New Year’s Eve tasting menu.

But Pearson also wants Près des Prés to be a gathering point for locals, and he hopes to be open more days as the business settles in, and wants more people to stop by the restaurant’s bar (open from 5 to 9 every night the restaurant is open). Duck’s bar menu includes crêpes, frites, and French onion soup (naturellement!), as well as desserts and a grazing board. A recent addition is the newest gourmet treat: artisan tinned fish. It goes very well with Champagne.

There’s something special about family-owned establishments. The storied buildings contain years of history, the owners are always hard at work alongside employees, and regulars come back year after year for recipes that are passed down and tweaked through the generations. 

In Crozet, Greenwood Gourmet Grocery has been a roadside staple since 1999. Owners Nina Promisel and David Atwell built the shop on the foundations of a traditional fruit stand, and they’ve worked hard to build it into the sandwich and wine emporium that it is today. 

The shop is bustling year-round with Route 250 roadtrippers looking for a snack, and regulars who stop by to grab fresh bread from Albemarle Baking Co., local produce, or a cold can of craft beer. On the weekends, the kitchen churns out sandwiches like the Blue Slate (smoked turkey, havarti, lettuce, tomato, and ancho lime mayo) and Italian (soppressata and Genoa salami, provolone, diced peppers, lettuce, and housemade Italian vinaigrette) faster than you can count.

Promisel and Atwell’s kids, Zeke, Amos, and Ella, have been instrumental in Greenwood’s success over the years—one of them could usually be found manning the register, managing the kitchen, or moving one of the many impressively large pots that live outside. 

Nowadays, the kids aren’t working in the store as much, and an ever-growing customer base meant Promisel needed to bring in some extra hands. 

Reggie Calhoun and Nathan Hatfield joined the Greenwood team as kitchen managers at the beginning of the year, and they’re helping usher the store into a new chapter of culinary creativity. Their journey to the Greenwood kitchen is almost unbelievably coincidental. Some might chalk it up to fate.

“I was in D.C. up until five years ago,” says Hatfield. “I moved here and was working at Mount Ida until November of last year.” 

After leaving Mount Ida, Hatfield was hired at former West Main Street restaurant Little Star, where Calhoun had been working for four years. Before Hatfield’s first day of work, Little Star closed.

So the two went job hunting, and both landed at Greenwood. Hatfield started just after Christmas in 2022, and Calhoun soon joined him. 

“Nina asked if I would be okay if Reggie came on, I was like hell yeah,” says Hatfield. 

They’ve been tag-teaming Greenwood’s kitchen ever since. Their easy collaboration is obvious watching them move about the space, and their new items fit in perfectly alongside Promisel’s tried-and-true favorites. 

Calhoun’s pizza Sunday special is a big hit for customers looking to grab-and-go, and on the weekends, the limited Reggie Burger appears on the menu, featuring local in-house ground beef, housemade pickles, a relish spread, bacon, and havarti. 

One of their largest undertakings, though, is the Supper Club, a $45 dinner that feeds two people. The menu changes every two weeks, and you can add desserts, sides, and wine pairings. Calhoun and Hatfield collaborate on the menu, with Calhoun usually tackling the savory side and Hatfield making the breads and desserts.

Past Supper Clubs include the Greek Goodness dinner, which featured housemade pita and hummus, with grilled mushrooms and a black-eyed pea stew and a grilled half chicken with lemon, garlic, and za’atar. The Breakfast for Dinner meal had a bacon and potato tortilla española with tomato jam, biscuits, and house sausage gravy, chickpea cakes, and a panna cotta with granola and a fall fruit compote. 

“It’s going awesome. It’s the first time we’ve done anything like this,” says Promisel. “They’ve mastered the stuff that we are already doing and they’re building on it and enhancing it. It’s a great way for these guys to do more interesting and creative stuff than we can offer out of the deli case.”

Hiring two kitchen managers might seem unconventional, but Promisel says it’s been the best decision she’s made. 

“It wouldn’t have worked with other people,” she says. “But between their personalities it’s worked out beautifully and really well.”

The KMs have a ton of ideas up their sleeves that they can’t talk about yet, but in the meantime they’re enjoying sharing their ideas with the Greenwood community. 

“I’m mostly just trying to preserve [the legacy] and add my touches,” Hatfield says. “Nina is open to all of it. I know almost everyone who walks through that door has been here before and I want to make it a good experience for them.”

As the holidays wind down, many of us start to question our copious alcohol consumption. For some, the best way to counter a wet holiday season is with dry January—a month-long hiatus from drinking alcohol. If the thought of giving your body and mind a break from alcohol appeals to you, but you’re worried about missing out on the yummy libations all your friends will be imbibing when you go out, fear not. Charlottesville’s bar scene has developed a surprisingly broad menu of NA cocktails and beer. And guess what? Taking a break from alcohol—even if only for a few weeks—can help improve your body and mind almost immediately. In addition to a clearer head (alcohol consumption is linked to memory trouble, slowed reaction time, difficulty controlling behavior, poor concentration, and even long-term depression and anxiety), you may notice clearer-looking skin, more sound and restful sleep, and better-fitting pants. As you dive into a dry January, try one of these.

Sidle up to the bar at Public Fish & Oyster House for mocktails made with Lyre’s NA spirits. We love the Spritz N’ Giggles because it’s really fun to say and, with its mix of Lyre’s NA Campari, seltzer, grapefruit cordial, and lemon, it’s a tart and tantalizing treat.

Duck into Maya and choose from five different mocktails including the Fleur de Nie. We loved the combination of elderberry syrup (yay, immunity booster!), lime, and soda. Maya’s menu also features Heineken Zero beer, a good near beer option for those craving the hoppy refreshment of a cold lager. 

Further down West Main Street, grab a nonalcoholic margarita at Continental Divide (extra salt, please!) to go with your Red, Hot N’ Blues and Santa Fe Enchilada. 

Kanak Indian Kitchen at Fifth Street Station serves some of the best Indian food we’ve ever had stateside, along with a selection of nonalcoholic beverages to wash down your Sabjiwala. The Cacaowali Thandai mixes milk, cardamom, saffron, iris, and black tea for a spicy, satisfying sip.

At The Bebedero on the Downtown Mall, enjoy modern Mexican cuisine and let the bartender mix up a mocktail to suit you. When we visited, the bartender customized a mocktail for us (slightly sweet and tropical) that perfectly complemented our tacos al pastor.

Just off the mall, Tonic offers several zero-proof cocktails, like the Pom Pom Spritz, a zingy mix of pomegranate syrup, orange, lemon, and soda. (There’s also NA beer on the menu from local Three Notch’d Brewery.) 

Down in Woolen Mills, Selvedge Brewing offers two different mocktails, including one that’s perfect for cold winter nights: the Harvest Mule. The Mule combines apple cider, ginger beer, and lime for a spicy and interesting palate pleaser that’s as close as you can get to a Moscow Mule without the booze. 

Finally, pop into Firefly for a selection of mocktails and other nonalcoholic beverages including kombucha and Crunchy Hydration’s Om grapefruit sparkling water drink with an added 15mg of CBD. Come for the NA drinks, stay for the arcade and board games. 

Pleasing pints

In addition to the array of mocktails you can find in Charlottesville’s restaurants, many craft brewers have also started offering NA beer, or near beer. Three Notch’d brews some stellar NA options, while Random Row sells Athletic Brewing Company beer at its tap room on Preston Avenue. Kardinal Hall also offers NA beer and kombucha, as does Beer Run, where you can take a wide variety of NA beers in six-packs to go.

Chris Humphrey has paid his dues in local kitchens. So when he and restaurateur Stefan Friedman officially open their new seafood spot Bonny & Read, he’ll have earned the right to call the shots.

Humphrey has experience writing menus going back at least a decade to his time as executive chef at Rapture. But there have always been restrictions to his reign. Even when he bought Fellini’s and installed himself as executive chef in 2017, he “had to do Italian.”

Other career stops have been at Maya, Bizou, Metropolitan, Brasserie Saison, and The Whiskey Jar. That last, a soft landing space offered by friend and restaurateur Wilson Richey after Humphrey’s Brasserie travails, ended up being a shorter stay than he’d expected. Just months after going to work at the Jar, Humphrey began talking to Friedman about a concept the chef had been thinking about for 20 years: casual, modern Mid-Atlantic seafood. And just weeks after they started talking, Humphrey had a new job.

According to Humphrey, one reason the timeline was short was the need to jump on the Downtown Mall space Friedman found for the restaurant—namely, the one vacated by Brasserie Saison. Friedman, who bought Ace Biscuit & Barbecue earlier this year, saw in the old Brasserie dining room an opportunity to expand his own growing restaurant group, which he’s branded A Moveable Feast.

Bonny & Read held a soft opening for friends and family in mid-November, but Humphrey and Friedman aren’t ready to announce a formal opening date. According to Humphrey, when they do open, patrons can expect something other than “your classic seafood place,” with a local beef program running alongside features like flounder and crab.

“It’s not a raw bar,” Humphrey says. “A lot of seafood places don’t have many non-seafood options. Being on the Downtown Mall, we want to offer that.” Humphrey points to Public Fish & Oyster to help position Bonny & Read. “They do what they do really well,” he says. “There’s no need for us to replicate that.”

Humphrey, who’s been known over the years for creative southern dishes like Rapture’s Hillbilly Egg Rolls and Fellini’s Pimento Cheese Ravioli, said he’ll be true to his roots at Bonny & Read. Going down-coast to the Mid-Atlantic means he can capitalize on ingredients from below the Mason-Dixon and serve dishes like butter bean hummus, she-crab soup, and whole roasted fish. 

“Really what we are trying to do is modern-feeling but recognizable food in a casual setting,” Humphrey says. 

Humphrey promises the libations at Bonny & Read will be wine-driven but also feature craft cocktails. He and the Moveable Feast team have made some changes to the Brasserie Saison space, but “it was set up for success.”

In addition to the lack of creative restrictions, Humphrey hopes his latest career move comes with some much needed stability. During his three years at Brasserie, he engaged in a public exchange over lack of payment by ownership; that, followed by the quick in and out at The Whiskey Jar, have been difficult.

One upshot is Humphrey and Friedman are content to take it slow with Bonny & Read. Humphrey says Moveable Feast has a few other projects in the works (that he’s not free to divulge), and as Friedman works on those, he’s hoping to set a hard opening date and be cooking at least four days a week by early next year. Humphrey’s in the process of hiring a front-of-house manager, sous chef, line cooks, and bar manager—all the while working on the part of restaurants he loves: menu writing.

“I’ve got this dessert I’ve been playing around with that I’ve never had the right audience for,” Humphrey says. “It’s an old forgotten dessert I discovered 10 or 11 years ago—think key lime pie but made with lemon, and instead of graham cracker, it has a slightly-sweet saltine cracker crust.”

Humphrey’s seen a lot in his decades as a Charlottesville chef, and he says he’s hopeful for the future—and not just his own. He sees the restaurant industry continuing to improve and other kitchens around town bustling.

“You know, the last couple of months, I haven’t done a lot of cooking,” he says. “I’m sort of out of the loop, but all my friends keep telling me how tired they are ‘cause they’re so busy. I think Bonny & Read can fill a spot that needs to be filled downtown. There are a lot of great restaurants and variety, but I think we’ll be unique.”

If it weren’t for the Blue Ridge Mountains, restaurateur Ryan Becklund might not have brought her downtown vegan eatery Botanical Fare to Charlottesville.

A seasoned food service worker with eight years under her belt, Becklund was working at a vegan restaurant with locations in Washington, D.C., and Virginia Beach when the pandemic began. 

“[The restaurant] was starting to grow and it became a much more full-time role for me,” says Becklund. “It was a career path that I wound up loving. And then COVID hit and it gave me time to reprioritize and think about what I really wanted to do long-term. I decided I wanted to do my own thing.”

Becklund had been vegan for years, so she knew she wanted her menu to be entirely plant-based. The challenge was deciding where to go. Becklund and her partner wanted to be on the East Coast, and eventually they were deciding between Charlottesville and Asheville. 

“The decision to come here was the mountains. That was a big draw,” says Becklund. “I could see in Charlottesville that there was a lack of a fully vegan place. There are some great options in a lot of the restaurants here, but I knew there wasn’t a fully vegan one. So I figured it might be a little easier to get in and hopefully excite all the customers here.”

After its March 2022 opening, Botanical Fare quickly solidified itself as one of the city’s most popular new joints, for vegans and carnivores alike. The Crunchy Cauliflower Bowl, a savory dish with sticky rice and garlic ginger cauliflower nugs, has a cult-like following, the seasonal specials are always worth a try, and every now and then the unsuspecting space is transformed into a drag venue. You never know when you’ll see queens dancing between the tables and showing off their moves on top of the coffee counter.

It’s no surprise that Botanical quickly outgrew its kitchen, so talk turned to expanding, and this past summer, its sister concept, Bar Botanical, opened in Crozet. 

Bar Botanical offers the same from-scratch, healthy vegan food that flagship regulars have come to know and love. 

“It’s very similar in terms of the style of food,” Becklund says. “We do a little more ‘bar-style’ food. In Botanical we don’t use meat substitutions, but we use some impossible meats in Bar Botanical. It’s a little more approachable, casual.”

Located in Piedmont Place’s coveted rooftop space, Bar Botanical serves up delectable dishes like loaded hash browns, popcorn chicken bites, and wonton nachos alongside craft cocktails, draft beers, and wine. 

Inclusivity is at the core of Botanical’s mission, so it was always the plan to bring the drag shows out to Crozet, and the performers have even more room to strut their stuff thanks to the larger space. In a small town with little to no nightlife, the drag shows have been a hit. 

Even without performances, diners can still enjoy dinner and a show thanks to the rooftop views, which perfectly capture the sun setting over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Aris Cuadra’s been racing around the local restaurant scene for more than a decade, from The Clifton to Tavola, Pasture, and Cafe Bocce. But these days, he’s content just to loaf.

That’s right, the Puerto Rican native went all in on sandwiches when he opened the Wich Lab in the CODE Building a few months ago.

“I’ve been a chef my entire adult life,” Cuadra says. “I wanted to do something simple using great ingredients and my experience as a chef.”

At the Lab, that means carefully crafting hot and cold sandwiches running the gamut from the traditional to the outside-the-breadbox. Cuadra’s got classics like Reubens, Cubans, Italians, and chickens, but they’re all done his way. The one-time New York City chef prides himself on technique—little things like making sure his buns are always buttered and toasted just so.

Cuadra says the Wich Lab’s Reuben is popular, along with his breakfast sandwiches and the best-selling Gobble Gobble, featuring turkey, bacon, avocado, everything spread, tomato jam, and arugula on homemade focaccia. Cuadra buys ciabatta and rye from Albemarle Baking Company; the focaccia is his chance to flex.

The Wich Lab’s Cubano is a Tampa take, with salami added to the traditional toppings and grilled focaccia providing the base. Cuadra makes bread every day, but he says day-olds are actually better for the pressed sandwich. “I’ve had people say it was the best sandwich they’ve ever had in their life,” Cuadra says. “That’s not my goal, but it’s nice to hear.” 

One change Cuadra’s already made to his menu is eliminating stuff he thought he had to have. And while the obligatory vegan option got the hammer, the Lab still cooks up an off-the-wall vegetarian option with charred broccoli, pine nuts, pecorino cheese, potato chips, roasted garlic aioli, and pickled cranberry.

“We had a group of older people come out, and they were blown away with potato chips on a sandwich,” Cuadra says. “I have fun with menu writing. I’m creative in every aspect of what I do, from menu writing to the menu itself, the atmosphere, the music.”

The self-anointed CVille Sandwich King would rather not tell you his name. But he’s happy to tell you—not to mention listeners to his “Sandwich Minute” on WTJU and 1,000-plus Instagram followers—where to get a good sammie.—Shea Gibbs

Knife & Fork: How did you ascend to the local sandwich throne?

CVille Sandwich King: I’ve lived here for four years—I came down from northern Virginia. I’m originally from Philadelphia, a great spot if you like sandwiches. So when I moved to northern Virginia, I thought sandwiches were kind of a blindspot. I would be frustrated by people willingly eating at Subway. My affinity for Charlottesville sandwiches started in 2006 when I visited my girlfriend (now wife, known as the Queen on Instagram) and tried a different Littlejohn’s sandwich on each visit. When we moved here, I started trying other places and keeping a diary. My wife said, “You should start a food Insta.” I kind of rolled my eyes but started doing it, mostly as a joke. Then it gained momentum.

How often do you eat sandwiches, and how do you choose?

I don’t go out as much as I’d like, but recently as I’ve gained more followers, I’ve tried to keep them coming. I try to get out twice a week, once during the week and once on the weekend. If you look at my feed, there are places I go time and again for convenience—a lot of Dürty Nelly’s and The Market at Bellair. I’ve also started to get inbound recs from people.

What are your favorite local sandwiches?

One place that I think is just incredible is Chickadee. They make their own brioche and these amazing hoagie rolls. The steak frites is sort of a glammed-up cheesesteak: shaved beef, sharp provolone, caramelized onions, garlic aioli, and demi glace, then they take these thinly fried potatoes and call it a “nest.” Another one—La Michoacana. They have a bunch of tortas, and I love the classic Torta Michoacana; it’s steak, chorizo, and smoked sausage all on a huge roll. At Dürty Nelly’s, my favorite is the Blue Ridge, with roast beef, beer cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and horseradish on a kaiser roll. I guess I’m a steak and beef kind of person. Oh, here’s a tip: Mona Lisa Pasta has some really good sandwiches, and most people don’t think of it.

I see you go to Bodo’s often. What’s your order? 

I love Bodo’s, but who doesn’t? I had a follower recommend what’s become my go to: a breakfast bagel with pastrami. Pastrami didn’t register with me at first for breakfast, but I guess it’s just another fatty meat. The way they do it—I think they put it on the flattop—it comes hot and charred a little. I get the pastrami with a deli egg and cheddar on everything, but I mix it up from time to time. If you like breakfast, Multiverse Kitchens has a pancake sandwich that’s sort of a gourmet McGriddle, and I love the tasso ham biscuits at JM Stock.

Know of any healthy sandwich options?

I don’t know if they’re healthy, but for healthier sandwiches, I try to eat some vegetarian options. Greenwood Grocery has a sandwich called the Beauregard with grilled sweet potatoes and kimchi on sourdough with cilantro-chili spread. It’s super delicious and not one of those vegetarian things where you’re still hungry afterward. I’ve only been to Botanical Fare once, but I had the chickpea “tuna” sandwich, and it was really good. I don’t naturally seek healthy options out. If I’m in that mood, I just pop for a salad.

You’re from Philly. Any good cheesesteaks around?

There are a few places that call sandwiches “cheesesteaks,” but they’re not what we would call a cheesesteak. The one place that does it is Lucky Blue’s Bar; they basically do what we call “Whiz with”—just beef, grilled onions, and Cheese Whiz on an Amoroso’s roll. But honestly, I don’t like to be a guardian of the cheesesteak. I can appreciate something outside the traditional.

What is it about sandwiches?

For whatever reason, sandwiches seem to sort of shape a lot of people’s perceptions of a geography. They give them a culinary connection to where they live or where they’re from. With sandwiches, there’s this appreciation and connection that people have with one another, and I don’t know why that is. But every time I post, I have people message me and say “you should try this” or “get it this way.” People just want to chat about sandwiches and connect.