Will Curley, general manager of Brasserie Saison and wine director at Ten Course Hospitality, is ready to sacrifice his stylish “do” for a good cause. Call it Curls for Curley.
Friend and winemaker AJ Greely says Curley’s wife Priscilla, who is the general manager at Tavola, “has been teasing him unrelentingly regarding his mullet.” So several friends launched a fundraising campaign to get Will to perm his hair to raise money for the Sexual Assault Resource Agency.
And thus was born a GoFundMe campaign seeking $5,000 by December 31, after which Curley will get curly. Greely says the perm will be done by Claibourne Reppert of The Honeycomb at one of Ten Course’s venues, where patrons will be able to witness the makeover while donating even more to the cause.
Noodlin’ around
Urban Bowl in York Place is now Noo-do-Ne Noodle and Rice Bowl. Dare you to say that fast 10 times. Owner Saydee Aut, who explains the name roughly means “all things noodles” in French, says they rebranded recently to change things up. While the menu remains mostly the same, there are some new items as well.
Mixing it up
Champion Brewing Company’s now licensed to sell wine and cider, according to president and head brewer Hunter Smith, who says the plan is to offer local wine and cider to accommodate customers with gluten sensitivity or who prefer other beverages.
Whiskey-a-gogo
Virginia Distillery Company was recognized on Whisky Advocate’s annual list that highlights the most exciting whiskies from around the world. Batch #3 of its Cider Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky came in at number 13 in the magazine’s Top 20 buying guide. The whiskey made the cut against hundreds of others.
Manning the burners
John Shanesy is the new chef at Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar, taking over from Harrison Keevil, who was temporarily at the helm in the kitchen. Shanesy, most recently chef de cuisine at Petit Pois, has worked at many local venues, including Parallel 38, Blue Light Grill, Paradox Pastry, Mas Tapas, and the BBQ Exchange, and he launched his kitchen career washing dishes at Continental Divide. In addition, he’s worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in Manhattan.
Trout House turns greens house
Nearing the end of an $11 million renovation, the Boar’s Head Resort has transformed its historic Trout House—where patrons once selected the trout they wanted for dinner that night—into a state-of-the-art hydroponic farm, in collaboration with Babylon Micro-Farms.
The resort will also soon reopen its Old Mill Room, rebranded as simply the Mill Room, with a focus on heritage vegetable varieties sourced from Thomas Jefferson’s gardens at Monticello and grown in the Trout House. The plan is for the resort to produce all of its organic leafy greens and herbs on site.
Brown paper packages tied up with string
As the year comes to a close, it seems a good time to give a shout-out to the staffs of a few of the food-related places in town who make it a pleasure to patronize them on a regular basis. Like JM Stock, where I always encounter genuinely friendly folks who are happy to help out and shoot the breeze while doing so. Albemarle Baking Company and MarieBette Café & Bakery, ditto. Same with Feast! and The Spice Diva.
And props to the many small farmers who show up in the most dismal weather every Saturday at the City Market, and during the week at other area farmers’ markets. I for one am grateful to you all for making the food scene in Charlottesville such a wonderful one. I’m sure I’m forgetting some places, but no worries—I’m keeping a list and checking it twice for next time. Happy holidays, y’all!