Ian Redshaw teaches a pasta primavera class via The Happy Cook on Thursday, May 28.
Peas and love:Accomplished chef Ian Redshaw (James Beard Award semi-finalist for Best Rising Star Chef Mid-Atlantic, former partner at Lampo and Prime 109 restaurants) teaches a virtual cooking class on how to make the most of ingredients from your garden or local farm while keeping it simple and artful. Redshaw will cook online, answer questions, and coach you through the process of making a Flexible Pasta Primavera that combines pasta made from scratch with the fresh bounty of late spring vegetables.
Thursday, May 28. $20, 2pm. Zoom registration required. thehappycook.com.
It’s all-you-can-eat time again at Splendora’s. Photo: Andrea Hubbell
Ready to take a breather after the holiday bustle? Sorry—no rest for the weary. Besides, you’ll feel better if you get up and go, go, go with so many good things on tap.
That’s alotta gelato
Forget resolutions, there’s endless gelato to be had. Continuing a tradition started in 2007, Splendora’s Gelato offers all you can eat for $10 a person every Wednesday in January and February, starting Wednesday, January 8. There are a few rules (no re-entry, no sharing, and only one scoop at a time!) but this is still a solid deal. The record for one person is 36 scoops in two hours. Can you say “froze brain”? 317 E. Main St., 296-8555, splendoras.com
Buy one, give one
Eat well and give back at the same time at Great Harvest Bread Company. For every loaf of honey whole wheat bread you buy this month, owners Aileen and Michael Magnotto will donate one to The Haven. Also in January, sign up for one of the bakery’s Knead & Sip events (beer, wine, and bread—nice combo), and 20 percent of the $35 class fee will support The Salvation Army’s Soup Kitchen. 1701 Allied Ln., 202-7813, greatharvestcville.com
What the Belle?
Opened last April, Belmont’s Belle endeared itself to customers with its bright digs, luscious lattes, wine happy hours, and short-but-solid casual menu. But owner Andy McClure is aiming higher, partnering with brothers John and Scott Shanesy to add dinner to the mix, increase bread and pastry options, and revamp the breakfast and lunch menu. The Shanesy duo brings experience from restaurants in Charlottesville, Charleston, and New York City. Now closed for renovation, Belle is due to reopen January 15.
Two words: rare mezcal
Mezcal, tequila’s trendy cousin, has been rising in popularity on bar menus in recent years. Whether you’ve never tried it before or just want to keep trying more, head to the The Bebedero at 6pm, Wednesday, January 15, when barkeeps will pull the rarest mezcal off the shelf (like, normally $50 a shot rare) and serve samples to all who pony up the $50 entry fee. Email thebebedero@gmail.com for tickets. 225 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 234-3763, thebebedero.com
Waterbird hits the bottle
In other booze news, Waterbird Spirits recently announced that the premium potato vodka used to make its canned cocktails will be available in liquor stores early this year. Sounds like a perfect addition for your bar cart.
Editor’s Pick: Self-care
Common Ground Healing Arts kicked off its New Year Class Series on January 6, offering a prime opportunity to jump-start your resolutions to take better care of yourself and engage more with the community in 2020. Held once a week for six weeks, the sessions operate on a pay-what-you-can basis, inviting participation in any of 16 classes, from gentle to “radically restorative” yoga, and mental exercises such as Mindful Communication Toward Racial Justice. Carver Recreation Center at The Jefferson School City Center, 233 Fourth St. NW, 218-7677, commongroundcville.org
Looking ahead
Just announced: Celebrated local chef Ian Redshaw (formerly of Lampo and Prime 109) returns to the kitchen at The Happy Cook’s newly expanded cooking school on Wednesday, March 11, 6-8pm, sharing his secrets for making fresh filled pasta (ramp agnolotti with beurre blanc) from scratch. This is a hot ticket, so book fast for a spot at the table. $75 per person. Barracks Road Shopping Center, 977-2665, thehappycook.com • Feeling crafty? Expand your repertoire with a workshop at The Hive. The brush-lettering basics class takes place 7-9pm Thursday, January 23, and hand-knitted pillow instruction will be offered 2-4pm Saturday, January 25. $65 and $50 per person, respectively. 1747 Allied St. Suite K, 253-0906, thehivecville.com • Get your steps in with a Ragged Mountain Reservoir Hike hosted by Wild Virginia. Starting at 10am Sunday, January 26, the seven-mile loop should take approximately five hours, including a break for BYO lunch. Free, but registration is required at bit.ly/ragged-hike. 1730 Reservoir Rd., contact Dave Carey (dcarey@his.com) for more info
Becky Calvert leads cooking club members at Walker Upper Elementary School as they prep ingredients for orzo with roasted root vegetables, fresh herbs, and fresh squeezed lemon and olive oil dressing. Photo: Eze Amos
On one of the last days of classes before the holiday break, the bell rings at Walker Upper Elementary School, and kids stream for the exits. But Becky Calvert is just getting settled into her “classroom,” a sprawling institutional kitchen with a lot of buffed stainless steel surfaces. “I try to do some of the prep for the kids every week,” says Calvert. The blade of a chef’s knife rings as she swishes it across a honing rod. She cleaves a turnip in two, then a carrot, and then a sweet potato…. “Roasted root vegetables are the main ingredient tonight!” she says, her voice rising over the noise of the convection-oven fan.
Celebrated chef Ian Redshaw, a guest instructor at the cooking class, keeps a watchful eye on the kids as they slice and dice vegetables. Photo: Eze Amos
For an hour on most Wednesdays, from 3:30-4:30pm, Calvert convenes the cooking club at Walker, guiding about a dozen 10- and 11-year-olds through a recipe. Former Charlottesville City Schools dietitian Alicia Cost launched the program in 2003, and it has been running ever since. A real estate agent by day, Calvert began assisting with the club in 2014 and took over as director two years ago. It’s funded by the schools, but Calvert has worked to secure donations and volunteer help to keep the club thriving.
Some food industry folks, friends of Calvert’s, help out. In fact, one has just bounded in and peeled off his jacket. “Hello, Miss Becky,” he says. It’s Ian Redshaw, the star chef formerly of Prime 109 and Lampo. He looks like a rocker ready to take the stage, with black Converse high-tops, skinny jeans, a flannel shirt, and spiky hair.
Redshaw washes his hands, dons an apron, and brandishes a knife. “What can I do for you?” he asks Calvert.
“I want those quartered,” Calvert says, pointing her blade at a mesh bag of brussels sprouts.
“Okay,” Redshaw says, “I am quartering brussels sprouts!”
Now the kids start trickling in and the volume increases, as their voices and laughter join the din of the oven fan.
“Hey, guys!” Calvert says, greeting Alex, Nakiya, Avarie, Maya, Amelia, Si-Si, Alanah, Zeniah, and Gabby. “Has everyone washed their hands?!”
“Yessss!” says the chorus of young cooks, positioning themselves in front of their chopping mats.
“Today we’re going to do orzo with roasted vegetables and olive oil and lemon juice—and you’re going to love it!” Calvert says.
“Oh, goody,” says Gabby, 11, a tall girl with a brown ponytail.
Calvert had warned that the class would be “fast and furious,” and she did not lie. Within 60 minutes—from first slice to plating—the group will have created a big, delicious batch of root vegetables and orzo with fresh herbs, plus the dressing Calvert mentioned. The coup de grâce are thin, delicate, cheese crisps, which Redshaw makes with the kids, using finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. “They taste great,” Redshaw says, “like Cheetos!”
It’s a marked contrast to what’s usually available at the cafeteria, where city schools are reimbursed only $3.43 from the federal government for each lunch they provide. With labor and other overhead costs, the net amount available to provide one school lunch is between $1.50 and $1.75, says Carlton Jones, nutrition administrator for Charlottesville City Schools.
At cooking club, students work with fresh, organic produce and they are learning a lot—new knife skills, the meaning of “chiffonade,” how to juice a lemon, and a special move called the “cat’s claw,” which the chef teaches the kids to reduce the risk of cutting a fingertip while dicing.
“I would say our schools try to do everything we can to expose all of our kids to healthy food choices,” says Krissy Vick, the city schools community relations liaison. She lauds Calvert’s cooking club, while also citing several other programs, including one that sustains vegetable gardens tended by students on school grounds.
After Calvert mixes the vegetables and orzo in a big stainless-steel bowl and adds the dressing, the students line up with plates to be served. Calvert spoons out the meal, and Redshaw doles out the cheese crisps. The young cooks head into the cafeteria to eat. With the oven turned off, the kitchen is quiet now, and the sound of the kids’ chatter filters in.
Calvert dries dishes and straightens up the kitchen. Redshaw gives her a quick hug and bids her adieu.
This was the penultimate class for this group of students (next up: chocolate chip cookies), and Calvert admits in a low voice that she feels a bit sad, knowing that soon she won’t be seeing them every week. “They really are sweet, and so capable,” she says.
She tells the story of one former student whose mother held down three jobs to keep the family afloat. Because of this, she had little time to cook, so the student often prepared dinner. “That’s why I do this,” Calvert says. “It’s a lot of fun, and I love the kids, but the best part is knowing that they leave here with a new skill.”
Redshaw split with partner chefs Loren Mendosa and Mitchell Bereens—C-VILLE Weekly’s Best Chef winners in 2015 and 2019, respectively—reportedly to spend more time with his family (he and his wife, Allie, have two children) and launch a private supper club. Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith
Renowned local chef Ian Redshaw has left the building—or rather, buildings, plural. Redshaw parted ways earlier this month with his fellow partners of two high-profile restaurants he helped put on the map: Lampo, the Neapolitan pizzeria in Belmont, and Prime 109, the upscale steakhouse on the Downtown Mall. Voted Best Chef in 2018 by C-VILLE Weekly readers, Redshaw also received major national recognition as a semifinalist for the 2019 James Beard Awards Best Rising Star Chef of the Year. The Charlottesville 29 food blog reported on Monday that Redshaw split with chefs Loren Mendosa and Mitchell Bereens—C-VILLE’s Best Chef winners in 2015 and 2019, respectively—to spend more time with his family (he and his wife, Allie, also a chef, have two children) and launch a private supper club.
Can craze
On the heels of the successful launch of Charlottesville’s Waterbird Spirits canned cocktails, which sold out hours after a shipment of 42 cases hit the shelves at Kroger, Richmond’s Belle Isle Moonshine announced September 24 that it would introduce a line of sparkling pop-top drinks. Flavors including grapefruit and blood orange will be spiked with Belle Isle’s moonshine.
Nibbles
Charlottesville’s famed Sandwich Lab, which started in Hamiltons’ at First & Main on the Downtown Mall, is making a comeback on Thursday, September 25, at Peloton Station, the new home of former Hamiltons’ chef Curtis Shaver. • Early Mountain Vineyards introduced chef Tim Moore last week at a tasting-menu dinner at the Madison winery. A seven-year veteran of The Inn at Little Washington, a three Michelin star restaurant, Moore will head up Early Mountain’s fine-dining program. • Grit Coffee is officially open in its new Pantops location, in the Riverside Village development on Stony Point Road. • Bonefish Grill in Hollymead Town Center is celebrating National Seafood Month with a three-course lobster meal for $19.99 every Thursday in October. • Over in Staunton, Blu Point Seafood Co., a venture by the fine folks behind Zynodoa restaurant, jumps into the deep end with a grand opening Friday, October 4. “The Chesapeake Bay meets the New England shore,” is Blu Point’s motto. We’re buying it! blupointseafoodco.com
“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).
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.
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.
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.
Executive Chef Ian Redshaw grabs big attention for the cuisine at his little restaurant. Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith
Rising Star Chef of the Year is among the more prestigious accolades at the annual James Beard Awards, and a Charlottesville chef is in the running. Ian Redshaw—a veteran of Tavola and L’etoile, co-owner of Prime 109, and now executive chef at Lampo —has been named a semifinalist in the category recognizing “a chef age 30 or younger who displays exceptional talent, character, and leadership ability, and who is likely to make a significant impact in years to come.” Past awardees include Bobby Flay, David Chang, and Michael Mina, so Redshaw wouldbe in good company if he lands the top honor.
Horton hears a woo!
And the winner is: Horton Vineyards’ 2016 Petit Manseng. The Orange County (near Gordonsville) wine nabbed top honors in the 2019 Governor’s Cup competition, joining 11 others judged the year’s best in Virginia. Non-oenophiles can be forgiven for not knowing petit manseng, a grape grown primarily in southwestern France that acclimates well in Virginia. Aged in French oak, Horton’s winner is a hefty white, with notes of papaya, pineapple, apricot, and peach. Other area wines among the year’s top 12 include five by Michael Shaps Wineworks, two by King Family Vineyards, and one by Barboursville Vineyards.
Grapes divine
A few miles south of Charlottesville, along a dusty, rutted gravel road, you’ll find Loving Cup Vineyard and Winery. It’s tough to get to but worth the effort, largely because of the skills of Karl Hambsch. Recently named Grower of the Year by the Virginia Vineyards Association, Hambsch is the first person in the Commonwealth to obtain organic certifications for both a vineyard and a winery. “Virginia’s wine industry continues to grow, break new ground and plant the innovative seeds for future success,” says Bettina Ring, Virginia’s secretary of agriculture and forestry. “Karl Hambsch exemplifies these traits.” The winery opened in 2012, and now cultivates five acres of grapes.
Happy return
Charlottesville just got a little sweeter. Former Sweethaus co-owner Billy Koenig is back in business with Vivi’s Cakes and Candy. Koenig popped into the C-VILLE office a few days back to deliver samples by baker Rebecca Chambers, so we can vouch for Vivi’s cupcakes—two yums up! Koenig says Chambers will also be working her magic on special orders, including wedding cakes. The shop, named for Koenig’s daughter, is located at 2248 Ivy Rd.
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.
Sultan Kebab, off the Downtown Mall, serves authentic Turkish cuisine. Photo by Tom McGovern
When I asked Lampo’s Ian Redshaw to name the best restaurant in Charlottesville, his answer surprised me.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Sultan Kebab. Even when it was hidden in a nondescript location off U.S. 29 North, I named it to The Charlottesville 29, my list of Charlottesville’s essential restaurants. Now that it has moved to a gleaming new building downtown (333 Second St. SE) and expanded its menu, it is even more worthy of praise. What was once a homey strip mall denizen is now an immaculate, airy restaurant with an entire wall covered by a spectacular mural of Turkish landmarks.
But, still. A chef like Redshaw? At 28, the Culinary Institute of America graduate who once ran L’etoile’s kitchen and now co-owns Lampo is one of Charlottesville’s brightest young talents. His passion for cooking runs deep, as he spends his free time conceiving and executing elaborate 14-course private dinners. Sultan Kebab is wonderful, but, for all its glory, it is not a mecca of culinary experimentation. It’s traditional Turkish cuisine.
To learn what makes Sultan Kebab Redshaw’s favorite, I joined him for a feast there. And, while Redshaw was eloquent, he need not have uttered a word. The food said it all. Dish after beautiful dish made the case, dazzling our palates, and our eyes, too.
Ian Redshaw, co-owner of Lampo, says the crust on Sultan Kebab’s lahmacun appetizer is “so light and crispy it reminds me of pizza on the South Side of Chicago.” Photo: Tom McGovern
A silver bowl of baba ghanoush would not be out of place at a museum of modern art—milky white, studded with purple hues, and strewn with specks and smears of scarlet. It’s delicious, too. Smoky eggplant, roasted over an open flame, is chopped finely and mixed with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and homemade yogurt, topped with paprika. A common Turkish ingredient, eggplant also stars in Redshaw’s favorite dish, koz patlican. Thin medallions of chilled, roasted eggplant flesh sit in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, each piece topped artfully with a rectangle of roasted red pepper. “Perfect,” said Redshaw. “Super balanced.”
Another appetizer, lahmacun, is a thin round piece of dough, the size of a dinner plate, topped with minced beef, onions, tomatoes and parsley, baked, and served with shredded lettuce and lemon. “As a pizza enthusiast I love this,” said Redshaw, who slings world-class Neapolitan pies at Lampo. “The crust is so light and crispy it reminds me of pizza on the South Side of Chicago.”
Behind all of this great food are Deniz Dikmen and Serhat Peker, Turkish natives with backgrounds in hotels and hospitality, who first came to the U.S. in 2006, and met while working at the Clifton Inn. In 2012, they opened Sultan Kebab to showcase family recipes from Peker’s hometown of Adana and Dikmen’s Izmir.
Their favorite dishes are the signature platters, available either vegetarian or with a choice of grilled Turkish meats, and I challenge anyone to keep his mouth dry while gazing at one. Each is a large white oval plate crammed with goodness—long-kernel basmati rice, slowly cooked in butter, canola oil and chicken stock (no stock is used for the vegetarian platter’s rice); creamy homemade hummus; and a refreshing salad in a light dressing of 25 percent olive oil, 25 percent fresh lemon juice and 50 percent pomegranate molasses. Platters also include pita bread made by a Turkish woman who has been with the restaurant since it opened. Among all of the wonderful things at Sultan Kebab, this fluffy bread is the one thing I must eat on every visit.
The vegetarian platter includes samples of the restaurant’s great vegetable dishes, like baba ghanoush, bulgur pilavi and kisir—a tabbouleh dish that rivals any I have had anywhere. Among the meats, the Adana and Izmir kebabs are both stellar, each offering ground beef blended with different seasonings—red-pepper paste for the Adana, and cumin and onions for the Izmir. But, Peker, who runs the kitchen, is partial to the lamb kebab—grilled cubes of leg of lamb, marinated in red-pepper paste, paprika, homemade yogurt and olive oil. It pairs perfectly with a red blend called Doluca Karma, says Dikmen. And, he should know. The certified sommelier once oversaw Clifton Inn’s wine, and Sultan Kebab’s list of beers and wines, drawing largely on Turkey, is so well-chosen that Redshaw calls it an “amazing discovery.” The Doluca Karma blends cabernet sauvignon and a Turkish grape called okuzgozu, with “hints of the sea air and beautiful fruit.” Redshaw said it was an ideal complement to the lamb.
Dessert was doubly delicious. Ice-cold rice pudding is “nostalgia in a bowl,” said Redshaw, achieving something he strives to do with his own cooking: take a diner to a memorable time in his life. Even better was künefe, Redshaw’s favorite dessert in town. Fresh mozzarella is encased in tiny shreds of phyllo dough, baked and drizzled with a sugar-syrup with a hint of lemon. “Totally blew my mind,” said Redshaw.
As a chef, when Redshaw dines out, what he seeks most is food grounded in others’ experiences that he cannot replicate at home. Sultan Kebab nails it. “I have had almost all of the entrées as platters or sandwiches,” says Redshaw. “And, they are all awesome.”
