Tag: Food & Drink

C-VILLE Weekly’s food and drink writing includes the weekly columns All You Can Eat and the Working Pour, in addition to the most comprehensive food and wine writing in Charlottesville.

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Knife & Fork Magazines

K&F: Six salads we can’t leaf alone

The Salad Maker's Earlysville salad. Photo: Rammelkamp Foto

Craving something fresh and green on your lunch break? These six spots boast a robust mix of ingredients—including local leafy greens. Now you just have to kick your bad habit of eating lunch at your desk.

The Earlysville

The Salad Maker

The newest addition to Charlottesville’s local salad scene, The Salad Maker’s Earlysville combines romaine, Napa cabbage, grilled chicken, cucumber, snow peas, shredded carrots, Asian crispy noodles, spicy peanut dressing.

Superfood salad

Ivy Provisions

Ideal for the busy person who wants to pack all of her nutrients into one bowl. Crunchy kale with sweet cranberries is rounded out with bright miso lime vinaigrette, and cashews for an extra burst of protein power.

Corner Cobb

Roots Natural Kitchen

A classic Cobb salad with a twist. The Corner Cobb adds savory rice, sweet potatoes, charred white corn and kale to the standard chicken, egg, avocado and onion. It’s made to order, too, so you can customize.

Local mixed greens salad

Feast!

Fresh greens are the star of the show here. Feast! sources produce from Local Food Hub and Manakintowne Specialty Growers, with farm fresh greens that are minimally processed. The rest of the salad is simple—sweet and spicy pecans and chewy raisins with a Moscatel vinaigrette.

Salad bar

Whole Foods

Build a bowl to go at the organic salad bar, which features a variety of local greens based on the season.

Rich green smoothie

The Juice Place

Drink your greens! This smoothie has so much packed in—avocado, kefir, almond milk, organic spinach, organic mango, local raw honey, mint—you may want to use a spoon.

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Knife & Fork Magazines

K&F: This time, Melissa Close-Hart’s kitchen is all her own

Photo: John Robinson

Melissa Close-Hart rarely eats breakfast—who has the time? The Junction chef is often in her Belmont restaurant kitchen by 8am and sometimes doesn’t leave until 12:30 in the morning. Such is the price of running the kitchen at one of Charlottesville’s most anticipated restaurants. In the works since 2014, its doors officially opened in January, and Close-Hart is the star of the show, cooking up creative Southwestern dishes like pork tenderloin tostadas and empanadas with sweet potato. She’s used to the spotlight. For 15 years Close-Hart was the executive chef at Barboursville’s Palladio, where she received national and international recognition and earned five invitations to create dinners at the James Beard House in New York City. Opening her own place, though, is a whole new ball game.

Coffee is an important remedy for the long hours, she says, “and, since opening, lots and lots of Red Bull.” Here’s what else she’s been eating and drinking.

Always on the bar: Dark rum

Special-occasion drink: Bubbles of any type, my favorite being pink bubbles.

Lunch spot: Riverside Lunch, Pad Thai, Bodo’s (sometimes for breakfast and lunch)

Chinese restaurant order: I imagine that Red Lantern knows our family from our order; we hardly ever stray from it. Crab rangoons, shrimp egg rolls, wonton soup, hunan chicken, chicken lo mein, crispy beef.

Go-to comfort food: Growing up in the deep South, most foods I had on a regular basis would be considered comfort foods to most people. To me it was just dinner. Anything on a homemade biscuit makes me warm and fuzzy on the inside. Just today I was having a big craving for a comfort food from my childhood—my granny’s pimento cheese on white bread with lots of black pepper.

Sandwich: Bacon, egg and cheese (over medium for the egg, white bread and American)

Unusual ingredient: I love sneaking savory ingredients into desserts, such as a fresh laurel (bay leaf) whipped cream that I made for a dessert special.

Healthy snack: Is there such a thing? Probably hummus and baked pita would be my go-to “healthy” snack.

Unhealthy snack: Again, being from the deep South, if you fry it, I will (most likely) eat it. I do have a sick addiction to Snickers bars.

Condiment: Mayo

Chocolate: The darker the better

Grocery-store cookie: Oreo or Nilla Wafer

Dessert: There are few desserts in this world I don’t like. But if I had to pick just one to call my favorite, it would be warm peach pie with homemade vanilla ice cream. A sun-ripened peach is my all-time favorite fruit.

Beer: I’m more of a cider girl these days. I really like anything from Potter’s Craft.

Ice cream flavor: Peach

Kitchen aroma: Homemade stock cooking Brunch: sweet or savory? Both! I like a savory egg dish for most of it, but will convince those I’m dining with to share a sweet dish.

Always in the home fridge: Condiments, pickles, cider

Always in the pantry: Oreos

Bodo’s order: Breakfast: Everything with cream cheese and bacon. Lunch: Everything with smoked turkey, bacon, cheddar, mayo, red onion and lettuce.

Salad bar toppings: When I was a kid and we would go somewhere with a salad bar, I would come back to the table with all the toppings covered in 1000 Island without a single leaf of lettuce. Imagine a pile of cheese, bacon, croutons, a few veggies (cucumbers mostly), boiled egg, ham, sunflower seeds, etc., drowned in 1000 Island. I’ll admit, to this day, I prefer the toppings to the lettuce.

Cut of meat: Rib-eye, medium rare

Fish: Rockfish or shrimp

Midnight snack: Crunchy peanut butter and strawberry preserves on white bread with plain potato chips crushed up on the sandwich

Knife: Kikuichi 9 1/2″ Warikomi

Appliance: KitchenAid Mixer

Cookbooks: Lately I’ve been reading a lot of Rick Bayless. Much of my personal collection is baking books. I really love the King Arthur cookbooks; every recipe I have used works perfectly. I am on my third copy of Joy of Cooking.

Mentors: Craig Hartman of BBQ Exchange, Frank Stitt of Highlands Bar & Grill, Bottega Café and Chez Fonfon

Dream trip: Anywhere with a beach and an unlimited supply of rum cocktails

Food city: New Orleans

Kitchen shoes: I am actually looking for a new favorite. I may try Vans’ new kitchen line of shoes.

Cooking music: ’80s punk or alternative

First food memory: Cheesy grits

Best meal ever: A staff meal that Luca Paschina cooked at Palladio shortly after I had started. He made a wonderful pot of polenta integra, melted a lot of Saint-André’s triple-cream cheese into it, portioned it, proceeded to shave about 2 ounces of Alba white truffles over the top of each plate. He served it with a great Amarone. Seven ingredients, including water and salt. One of the best meals ever.

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Knife & Fork Magazines

K&F: Brasserie Saison’s Tyler Teass is excited about spring peas (plus: recipe!)

Brasserie Saison's Tyler Teass is looking forward to a salad-heavy spring menu. Photo: John Robinson

What says spring cuisine more than a salad? Answer: nothing.

“I looooove salads,” says chef Tyler Teass. And it shows. From simple greens to grilled endives, his Brasserie Saison menu is overflowing with them (“and I plan on keeping it that way,” he says). But it’s this one, with peas both snap and snow, that he’s looking forward to including this season at downtown’s new Franco-Belgian spot.

“Peas and pork and cheese go well together,” says the former Clifton Inn sous chef. “The snap peas pick up a lot of flavor from the grill and all the other things just complement them.”

Photo: John Robinson
Photo: John Robinson

Grilled pea salad with yogurt, ’nduja dressing and herbs

1 pint sugar snap peas

1 cup snow peas

1/2 cup yogurt

1/2 lb. ’nduja sausage

5 mint leaves

5 dill sprigs

1 lemon

Parmigiano cheese

Olive oil

Simple syrup

Apple cider vinegar

Salt (to taste)

Clean the snap peas and trim off the ends. Grill them lightly over medium-high heat until lightly charred and just cooked. Clean the snow peas and slice them into a very fine julienne.

For ’nduja dressing:

Place ’nduja sausage in a food processor and mix with a little bit of olive oil until homogenous. Season with apple cider vinegar. Reserve at room temperature.

For lemon confit:

Slice lemons into very thin slices. Pour hot simple syrup over them and reserve.

For plating:

Spoon yogurt on the bottom of a bowl. Toss the grilled peas with lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Place on top of the yogurt. Place slices of lemon confit on the peas. Drizzle with ’nduja dressing, then grate Parmigiano over the salad. Top with fresh mint and dill leaves, then toss the snow pea julienne with lemon juice and use as a garnish.

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Living

Small eateries are full of flavor

With just one three-seat table and 10 chairs at the bar, Atlas Coffee can accommodate more caffeine addicts when the weather’s nice—there are 31 additional spots on the patio out front. Photo by John Robinson

Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard it before: For a city its size, Charlottesville has a lot of restaurants. Like, a lot. In 2013, the Huffington Post ranked our city among the top 15 U.S. metro areas with the most eateries per capita, with 460 restaurants for 201,400 residents.

With so many chow options at our fingertips, it’s easy to overlook some of the smaller ones.

Here’s a roundup of some of the tiniest places to nosh in town—the limited number of seats at each spot makes eating (or caffeinating) there a little more special, like you’re privy to some great secret. We’ll keep this list just between us.

Atlas Coffee

2206 B Fontaine Ave., Fry’s Spring

Pop into Atlas Coffee for a cup of joe and a freshly baked Nutella cookie or raspberry triangle and you’ll be lucky to find a seat in this 751-square-foot neighborhood coffee shop tucked beneath the wing of the Fry’s Spring Guadalajara. With just one three-seat table and 10 chairs at the bar, Atlas can accommodate more caffeine addicts when the weather’s nice—there are 31 additional spots at the umbrella-covered tables on the patio out front.

The Spot

110 Second St. NW, downtown

At less than 50 square feet, The Spot is literally a hole in the wall. Actually, it’s a door and window in the wall, but you get the idea. Sidle up to the window to order vegetarian and vegan cuisine from Vu Noodles and Greenie’s. Unless you’re lucky enough to snag one of two seats at the window’s tiny counter, you’ll have to eat your delicious noms elsewhere. It’s a tight squeeze for The Spot workers, too—with only 35 square feet of walkable space, “we’re pretty cozy in here,” says Vu Noodles’ Julie Vu.

Blue Ridge Country Store

518 E. Main St., Downtown Mall

Stop by the Blue Ridge Country Store for a sandwich, or put together a monster salad for your lunch. Expect to take your food to go, but there are two pause-worthy rocking chairs in this oh-so-cozy shop.

The Flat

111 E. Water St. #A, downtown

Technically, The Flat is, as its full name suggests, a takeaway crêperie, but the itty-bitty two-story brick building covered in ivy is so darn cute customers hang around in hopes of eating their sweet and savory crêpes under the twinkly lights hanging above the small outdoor patio. There’s one table, one small counter with a couple of wire chairs and a little bench. The Flat is light on the hours but heavy on the charm, so when the two little windows in front are glowing, you know there’s something tasty happening inside.

Barbie's Burrito Barn. Photo by Amy Jackson

Barbie’s Burrito Barn

201 Avon St., Belmont

A woman named Barbie Brannock serves simple and super fresh CaliMex cuisine from this 721-square-foot rock barn near the Belmont Bridge. Barbie’s Burrito Barn has but two small square tables and eight chairs inside, plus a picnic table and four brightly colored plastic Adirondack-style chairs outside. Brannock is planning to add a community table inside, too, so that more burrito-lovers can chow down together on colder days.

The White Spot

1407 University Ave., The Corner

This late-night Corner haunt serves up its famous Gus burgers in what is more or less a wide hallway with two counters and just 16 stools.

This isn’t a definitive list, by any means—Mel’s Café, La Michoacana, Wayside Deli at Durty Nelly’s, Thai Fresh and Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen are pretty cozy places, too.

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Living

Chardonnay and petit verdot lead the 2016 vintage report

How does 2016 measure up to previous vintages? “In short,” Michael Shaps Wineworks production manager and enologist Joy Ting says, “2016 was pretty typical for Virginia, with all the challenges and surprises that entails.” Photo by Tom McGovern

This is a good time to catch up with winemakers about the 2016 vintage, a year marked by frost events early in the season, and rain near the red grape harvest. By now, ferments have finished and some wines are in barrel or bottle. Wineries have a good idea about how their 2016s are tasting.

“Each vintage in Virginia presents its own unique set of challenges and opportunities,” says Rachel Stinson Vrooman of Stinson Vineyards. “As growers and winemakers we love to hate this unpredictability, but it’s a key piece of Virginia wine’s identity—it keeps things interesting and makes us feel like we’re all in it together, for better or worse. The 2016 season was just as action-packed as we’ve come to expect. A hard frost in April meant lower yields on pretty much everything. Early budding varietals like chardonnay and merlot were hit especially hard.”

Joy Ting, production manager and enologist at Michael Shaps Wineworks, also reports early-frost damage. “Yields were down in some varieties due to spring frost and rain during bloom,” Ting says. “The chardonnays were particularly hard hit by frost early in the season, with 30 to 50 percent reduction in crop load in most of the vineyards that come through our winery. Some sites fared better than others. The quality was good, there was just a lot less of it.”

Matthieu Finot, winemaker at King Family Vineyards, is happy with his chardonnay. “Because of this weather,” in summer, he says, “we were able to harvest the white grapes when we wanted, and despite limited quantities due to frost damage, they have good balance with the freshness and the acid that I am looking for.”

So, for white wines, we can expect lower quantities than usual, with high quality and concentration due to low yields forced by frost.

Red grapes had a better early season, but inclement autumn weather pushed into a few harvests. “Much like last year’s Joaquin,” Vrooman says, “Hurricane Matthew forced our hand a bit when it came to ripening the reds. Rains hit at the very end of September and set off the inevitable mad rush to bring in fruit. While we would have preferred higher sugar levels on the reds, the wines have good concentration at this early stage—and most importantly do not taste underripe.”

Ting notes that during harvest, “intermittent rain posed challenges throughout, but especially when it was time to pick reds. Heavy rains threatened vineyards on the eastern side of the state a few times, while central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley saw less heavy rain. When rain threatens, winemakers sometimes have to decide to either pick early or take the risk of letting grapes hang through the rain. Good vineyard management practices were key to producing healthy grapes that could hang through rain and dry out before picking.”

Which 2016 red wines show promise at this point?

“Petit verdot was the star for us this vintage,” says Vrooman. “It escaped most of the spring damage and the tiny berries ripened leisurely while maintaining good acid.”

Ting also points to petit verdot. “The wines that are most exciting in the winery right now are the petit verdots and tannats. These are showing concentrated fruit upfront with a lot of structure backing them up. With so much tannin they still need time to age in barrel, then in bottle, in order to show their full complexity. But, at this stage, they are promising,” Ting says.

Finot is pleased with his cabernet franc. “Overall, I think the cab franc performed the best. I’m very happy with the way it tastes.”

Finot is also enjoying one of King Family Vineyards’ flagship wines: the 2016 Meritage, a Bordeaux-style blend based on merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. “I was surprised how much structure the Meritage was showing.” After tasting the 2016 Meritage, he says he likes the way the grape varieties complement each other. “It shows how blending can help consistency in the variable weather we get here in Virginia.”

Erin Scala is the sommelier at Fleurie and Petit Pois. She holds the Diploma of Wines & Spirits, is a Certified Sake Specialist and writes about beverages on her blog, thinking-drinking.com.

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Living

On the record: Baggby’s and Miso Sweet enjoy banner days

Baggby’s Gourmet Sandwiches staff cranked out the most sandwiches in a Saturday in the shop’s 22-year history February 18. Tom McGovern

Temperatures topped 70 degrees on Saturday, February 18, and eager eaters descended on the Downtown Mall to enjoy a meal in the sun. And at least two downtown eateries—Miso Sweet and Baggby’s Gourmet Sandwiches—had record business days.

Miso Sweet owner Frank Paris reports that his restaurant sold more than 450 donuts (all of which were made by hand), 184 bowls of ramen and 79 rice bowls (that’s almost 20 gallons of broth) to 276 guests.

Just a few doors down, Baggby’s sold more sandwiches that day than on any other Saturday in its 22-year history. It sold more cookies, too—every Baggby’s sandwich comes with a chocolate chip cookie, and owner Jon LaPanta says they went through more than 50 pounds of cookie dough that day.

LaPanta chalks it up to the mild winter weather and the Discovery Museum’s Kid-Vention event that took place that day, but he’s being humble—we’re pretty sure the delicious food at both spots had something to do with it, too.

Ah, sugar sugar

The heavenly scent of handmade donuts, fritters and cinnamon rolls will soon waft up and down West Main Street: Charlottesville is getting a Sugar Shack Donuts, across the street from the Uncommon Building, this summer. Sugar Shack owner and self-proclaimed “donut nostalgia nerd” Ian Kelley opened his first shop in a small building in Richmond’s Carver neighborhood in 2013 and has been searching for the right place to open a Charlottesville spot for a while. This will be Sugar Shack’s 11th location.

“Charlottesville is the town we always wished we were part of, and now finally get the opportunity to join. The people, businesses and university have created an incredible environment for community-driven businesses like ours and we are proud to bring our handmade donuts to a new home,” Kelley says in a press release.

Per Sugar Shack tradition, customers can earn a free house donut if they participate in the almost-daily quirky challenge posted on the store’s Facebook page. So, Charlottes-ville: What will you do for a free donut? Break out the air guitar and riff along to the chorus of Warrant’s “Cherry Pie”? Wear your clothes backwards (à la ’90s hip-hop duo Kris Kross)? Do the “Single Ladies” dance? Oh, this is gonna be good.

Stick a fork in it

Goodbye grilled pimento cheese sandwiches. On February 18, a drawing of a tombstone reading “R.I.P. South Fork, September 2013–January 2017” was posted to South Fork Food Truck’s Instagram account. The caption read, “After 3+ years of the grind, South Fork is hanging up its hat and journeying to the realm of spirits and rad memories. Infinite thanx to everyone who supported us and showed us love. We love you.”

Pouring on the accolades

The winners of the 2017 Virginia Wine Virginia Governor’s Cup were announced last week. Of the 490 Virginia wines that 40 world-class judges sampled from 102 Virginia wineries, just 24 wines—the 12 highest-ranking reds and the 12 highest-ranking whites—make up the Governor’s Case. Local wines—from Barboursville Vineyards, Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery, Horton Vineyards, Jefferson Vineyards, King Family Vineyards, Michael Shaps Wineworks, Pollak Vineyards, Veritas Vineyards and Winery and Valley Road Vineyards—hold 15 of those 24 spots.

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Living

Sugar Shack to open West Main location

 

The heavenly scent of handcrafted donuts, fritters and cinnamon rolls will soon waft up and down West Main Street: Charlottesville is getting a Sugar Shack Donuts, directly across the street from the Uncommon Building, this summer.

Sugar Shack owner and self-proclaimed “donut nostalgia nerd” Ian Kelley opened his first shop in a small building in Richmond’s Carver neighborhood in 2013 and has been searching for the right place to open a Charlottesville spot for a while; this will be Sugar Shack’s 11th location.

“Charlottesville is the town we always wished we were part of, and now finally get the opportunity to join. The people, businesses and university have created an incredible environment for community-driven businesses like ours, and we are proud to bring our handmade donuts to a new home,” Kelley says in a press release.

Per Sugar Shack tradition, customers can earn a free house donut if they participate in the almost-daily, usually quirky challenge posted on the shop’s Facebook page. So, Charlottesville: What will you do for a free donut? Will you break out the air guitar and riff along to the chorus of Warrant’s “Cherry Pie”? Wear your clothes backwards (a la ’90s hip-hop duo Kris Kross)? Bust an M.C. Hammer move? Do the “Single Ladies” dance? Oh, this is gonna be good.

Categories
Living

The Shack’s chef named a James Beard semifinalist

English muffin pizzas started Ian Boden on his culinary path. He says he loves what he does and doesn’t “know how to do anything else.” Photo by Norm Shafer

The James Beard Foundation just released its list of 2017 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists, and Staunton chef Ian Boden landed one of the coveted spots. He’s in the running for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic; winners will be announced May 1.

Boden, who cooks new American cuisine inspired by rural Virginia at The Shack—named one of the best 100 restaurants in the South by Southern Living magazine—answered a few questions for us about his eating and cooking habits past and present. (Who doesn’t love a good English muffin pizza?)

C-VILLE Weekly: What did you have for breakfast?

Ian Boden: A few cups of coffee and a croissant from Newtown Baking.

What was the first thing you ever cooked?

I can’t say for sure, but I’m going to guess it was English muffin pizzas in the toaster oven.

You have 15 minutes to cook something for dinner. What do you make?

Pasta, most likely.

When you were a kid, what was your favorite school lunch?

I was never a fan of school lunch, really. In high school I ate fries out of the vending machines…that was pretty much it.

Why are you a chef?

I love what I do and I don’t know how to do anything else, really (not that it makes a difference).

Who’s the person you’d most like to cook for, and what would you make?

Edna Lewis and Grandma Tissy; whatever is on hand. I love that Ms. Lewis finally got some due, even if it was from “Top Chef.” It’s unfortunate that so many cooks, and Southern cooks at that, previously had no idea who she was and what she meant to so many. [Editor’s note: Chef and cookbook author Edna Lewis put Southern cooking on the culinary map and was hailed as “the South’s answer to Julia Child.”]

Grandma Tissy is my wife’s grandma; she passed away before my wife and I met. She was the matriarch of her family and raised five kids in a shack in Swoope, Virginia—that shack is our restaurant logo.

Raise a glass

Last month, several local vineyards and wineries earned medals at the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the world’s largest American wines contest:

Afton Mountain Vineyards took home double gold for its 2012 Petit Verdot, while the 2012 Festa di Bacco red blend and the 2014 Cabernet Sauvigon each took home a silver medal.

Barboursville Vineyards earned gold for its 2013 and 2014 Octagon wines and 2014 Cabernet Franc and silver for its 2015 Vermentino and 2015 Vigonier.

DuCard Vineyards in Etlan took home silver for its 2014 Petit Verdot and bronze for its 2014 Cabernet Franc.

Glass House Winery in Free Union won silver for its 2014 Twenty-First (a Bordeaux blend) and its 2014 Chambourcin, and bronze for its 2015 Viognier.

Jefferson Vineyards netted double gold for its 2015 Viognier and gold for its 2014 Petit Verdot.

Stinson Vineyards in Crozet earned silver for its 2015 Sauvignon Blanc and bronze for its 2013 Tannat.

Trump Winery nabbed double gold for its 2009 Brut Reserve, gold for its 2010 Blanc de Blanc and bronze for its 2015 Meritage.

Whitehall Vineyards in Crozet took silver for its 2015 Chardonnay.

Veritas Vineyards and Winery in Afton collected four medals—double gold for its 2014 Petit Verdot; gold for its 2015 Sauvignon Blanc; and two silvers, one for its 2014 Veritas (a Bordeaux blend) and one for its 2015 Sauvingon Blanc.*

Tasty Tidbits

According to a sign posted in the restaurant’s window, Downtown Thai is for sale.

Texas Roadhouse steakhouse will open in Albemarle Square on Route 29 by the fourth week in February.

Feelin’ Saucy Pizzeria will open on 14th Street on the UVA Corner—its menu touts “buy one pizza, get one free (of equal or lesser value).”

Uncle Maddio’s Pizza will open soon in The Shops at Stonefield; according to signs in the window and posts on the restaurant’s Facebook page, they’re still in the hiring phase.

Monsoon Siam Togogo has opened in Main Street Market. Call in your favorite Thai dish from Monsoon’s menu for pick-up (284-7117).

Former Northern Exposure chef Tony Bonanno is the new owner and chef of the Madison Inn Restaurant at 217 N. Main St. in Madison, where he’s cooking Italian and continental infusion food.

*This article was updated at 12:43pm February 27 to include all local wineries that won medals at the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

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Living

Hardywood’s brewers offer taste of creativity

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery lead brewer Kevin Storm is especially proud of their new IPA, Tropication. “We did it unfiltered, just like super raw, mega-hopped IPA. Almost a mimosa-like IPA,” he says. Photo by Eze Amos

Richmond-based Hardywood Park Craft Brewery has opened a satellite tasting room and brewery on West Main Street, becoming the fifth brewery within Charlottesville city limits. At its grand opening last Saturday, 15 beers were on tap. The unseasonably warm afternoon brought out such a large crowd that five taps were off the list by 2pm. The taproom serves as a brewers’ playground and research center, in which varying small batches are brewed and the most popular recipes will be considered for wider production.

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery held its grand opening for the Charlottesville taproom Saturday, February 18.
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery held its grand opening for the Charlottesville taproom Saturday, February 18. Photo by Eze Amos

Head brewer Kevin Storm is especially proud of their new IPA, Tropication. He designed Tropication to deliberately depart from the wave of hop-heavy IPAs that represent the lion’s share of the craft beer market.

“I beat up IPAs,” Storm says. “I drank them until my palate was just roasted. …I wanted to make something that I knew I would appreciate. Tropication, we did all local hops. …You’ve got massive amounts of late-addition hops, and it’s dry-hopped with mosaic and nelson sauvin.”

Those mosaic and nelson sauvin hops bear most of the responsibility for turning the beer in my hand into something that tasted like it had come out of a juicer. Nelson sauvin is a new hop variety from New Zealand, so-named for a flavor profile similar to a sauvignon blanc grape.

Hardywood’s gingerbread stout nails the often-elusive sweet spot between making a flavored stout that is too gimmicky for its own good and something that one would actually want to drink an entire pint of. The ginger is mild, letting the round notes of the malt and hops speak for themselves. The beer is good on its own, but I found myself fantasizing about pouring it over ice cream.

“GBS has ginger, cinnamon, honey, all local to Richmond,” Storm says. “We get this gorgeous baby ginger every year. We have two [Richmond] farmers who supply us with that.”

The gingerbread stout also serves as a basis for other small batches of specialty beers. A variation on GBS with coffee added was aptly titled Kentucky Christmas morning (it was among the beers that sold out on Saturday and it may not be made again anytime soon).

Both the Gingerbread Stout and Virgina Pale Ale serve as a basis for variations of small-batch specialty beers, such as a mango-infused VIPA or the coffee-infused Kentucky Christmas stout. Photo by Eze Amos
Both the Gingerbread Stout and Virgina Pale Ale serve as a basis for variations of small-batch specialty beers, such as a mango-infused VIPA or the coffee-infused Kentucky Christmas stout. Photo by Eze Amos

A flagship of Hardywood’s draft lineup is its Virginia Pale Ale, or VIPA. But don’t let the name fool you. While the ingredients are largely sourced from within the state, this beer is definitely a pale ale rather than an IPA. Super smooth and perfect for a warm spring day; less hoppy and bitter than an IPA. This is an ale that IPA-lovers and lager drinkers may be able to agree on.

VIPA’s hops are Virginia grown, as is the two-row barley from Heathsville, which was malted in Sperryville.

Like the gingerbread stout, Hardywood’s brewers like to play with VIPA and add other ingredients for one-off batches. A mango-infused variety was on tap for opening day, as was a pineapple edition. Both will certainly be gone by the time this article is published but watch for other creative uses of VIPA’s sparse canvas of flavor profile.

Anna Warneke, a brewer from Germany completing a three-month internship, says she was hesitant at first to experiment with unique ingredients, because of the strict German beer purity laws. Photo by Eze Amos
Anna Warneke, a brewer from Germany completing a three-month internship, says she was hesitant at first to experiment with unique ingredients, because of the strict German beer purity laws. Photo by Eze Amos

Maker’s mark

Anna Warneke, a young brewer visiting from Germany for a three-month internship, has been working with Kevin Storm and learning about America’s craft beer culture, which is very different from the staunch traditionalist approach to making beer in her country. For more than 500 years, Germany has had a body of law collectively referred to as the Reinheitsgebot, or beer purity law. It effectively blocks German brewers from using unusual ingredients.

“I’m really excited to try stuff beyond the purity law,” Warneke says. “It was really weird for me in the beginning, putting sugar in a kettle. I can see it’s more creative. More fun.”

“You should have seen her face the first time we used rice hulls,” Storm says.

“Or when I had to put raspberry puree in a tank,” Warneke says. “I’m like, really? …I come from a traditional pils brewery built in the 1800s, and we have our recipe and we aren’t creative at all.”

Warneke was given the opportunity to design a beer of her own for Hardywood.

“I wanted my first beer to be a German style, but I don’t want to go with a pils or whatever, because you’ve all had it,” Warneke says. “We did a pilot batch, a weizenbock. Basically a weizen beer (brewed using malted wheat as well as barley) but made as a bock.”

The weizenbock is still awaiting tapping and a first tasting.

Categories
Living

Valentine’s Day options abound

Arley Cakes’ heart is in the right place with these hazelnut oreos, available at Saturday’s Galentine’s Day pop-up show at Old Metropolitan Hall. Photo courtesy Arley Arrington

Whether you’re looking to toast to true love with a glass of wine, gaze into your lover’s eyes over a four-course meal or treat yourself to the best damn box of chocolates you’ll ever eat, there’s something yummy for you here in town, dear Valentine.

Get your fill

Start the sweet eating at the Galentine’s Day pop-up show at 9am on Saturday, February 11, at Old Metropolitan Hall, where you can find treats from Arley Cakes, Boof Brownies and La Vache Microcreamery.

Place your orders by 10pm on Sunday, February 12, to have a Cupid-on-wheels deliver six heart-shaped chocolate-chip scones and a handmade valentine to the sweetie of your choosing (and, yes, your sweetie can be yourself). All proceeds from the requested $20 donation go to Charlottesville Community Bikes, a nonprofit that promotes accessible, green transportation for all.

“You’re so sweet!” your love will exclaim when you hand over a box of handmade strawberry-glazed, chocolate-filled donuts from Miso Sweet. E-mail hello@misosweetcville.com to order.

Like an arrow from Cupid’s quiver, Grit Coffee in The Shops at Stonefield will launch its dessert-night menu on Valentine’s Day. Couples can pick one of two seatings—6:30 or 8pm—and fork over $30 for two desserts or two savory plates, two glasses of sparkling wine or espresso drinks and, according to the event’s Facebook page, “a special parting gift.” Reservations can be made online at gritcoffee.com/vday2017.

Gluten-free, heart-shaped brownies covered with ganache are in the cases at Albemarle Baking Co., and every Friday in February, the bakery will offer chocolate sourdough loaves.

Bring on the booze

From noon to 4pm on Saturday, February 11, Keswick Vineyards will couple its wine with desserts by the fireplace on the enclosed porch ($10-20 per person). E-mail tastingroom@keswickvineyards.com.

Whiskey- and chocolate-lovers can head to Lovingston for the Virginia Distillery Company’s Dram of Love Valentine’s Day celebration from 11am to 6pm on February 11 to sample Gearharts chocolates (including a special chocolate whiskey truffle made with the distillery’s Virginia Highland Malt). Code Fresh Food Truck will be on- site all day.

If you prefer wine with your chocolate, Horton Vineyards in Gordonsville and Lazy Days Winery in Amherst are doing wine-and-chocolate pairings on Saturday, February 11, and Cunningham Creek in Palmyra will do the same on Sunday, February 12.

Taste of true love

No sweet tooth? No worries. There’s plenty more eatin’ options.

If you’re feeling fancy, Veritas Vineyards and Winery offers a five-course, wine-paired winemakers dinner for $140 per person at 6:30 pm on Saturday, February 11—reservations and cocktail attire required (e-mail contact@veritaswines.com).

Chef Mark Gresge of L’etoile Catering will cook a Valentine’s Day brunch served at 11:30am on Sunday, February 12, at DuCard Vineyards ($59 per person, (540) 923-4206). Each course (such as lemon-ginger muffins with cinnamon cream cheese spread, and beef burgundy with roasted new potatoes and mushroom confit) will be paired with a DuCard wine.

A trio of Charlottesville Jazz Congregation musicians will serenade diners with jazz classics at Café Caturra on the Corner. Call 202-2051 to reserve your $60 prix fixe dinner spot.

The Alley Light is offering a three-course dinner at 5pm for $45 per person, or a $65 four-course dinner at 7 or 9pm, along with wine pairings, special cocktails and a few surprises. Call 295-5003 for a required reservation.

South Street Brewery has a prix fixe menu as well, for $38 per person. The menu promises beer pairings for each of three courses, which include warmed Brie with apricot jam, a mixed greens salad, grilled filet with oyster mushrooms and a red wine reduction over scalloped potatoes and asparagus or a veggie ragout over parsley garlic fettuccine, and a strawberry tart for dessert.

Buck tradition

If you’ve had it up to here with heart-shaped everything and want to flip the bird to the cheese-tastic Hallmark holiday, join fellow haters at Random Row Brewing Co. at 7pm on Valentine’s Day for live music, free sweets, “an aphrodisiac buffet” (their words, not ours), a piñata smash and a new Random Row beer, Oyster Stout.