It’s been a tough year for restaurants, and it remains a serious challenge for many to stay open. Sadly, we’ve already lost some local favorites, and there may be more to come. However, in the midst of it all, there are amazing stories of adaptation, re-invention, pivoting, and even new businesses opening against the odds. Here are some recent Instagram favorites that offer a glimpse of not just delicious eats, but the resilience and heart of our food community. —Paul H. Ting
@ironpaffles
The fried chicken and mac’n’cheese from Iron Paffles and Coffee is a must-try dish. The paffle is unique to Charlottesville, and an invention of resilient chef-owner Kathryn Matthews. During the last week of 2019, Matthews was involved in a serious car accident that left her unable to perform even simple tasks, and just one week after she returned to work, the coronavirus shutdowns began. Her dining room remains closed, but online ordering, delivery, and takeout are keeping the business going.
@little.star.cville
Little Star was really coming into its own as it celebrated one year in business at the beginning of 2020. With the onset of colder weather, tents have been installed over the restaurant’s outdoor patio. This monkfish, beans, and clam dish is representative of chef Ryan Smith’s food, which features unique ingredient combinations, sauces with impactful flavor, and beautiful plating.
@zynodoa
Zynodoa in nearby Staunton has installed heaters for diners who want to enjoy dishes like this one outdoors. Featuring a beautiful pork chop from Autumn Olive Farms (@autumn_olive_farms), a local farm best known for supplying high-quality products to many area restaurants. The farm went through its own pivot during the pandemic, and started selling directly to consumers.
@cville.foodie
Our local farmers’ markets and food trucks have provided many of us with a variety of delicious options. Two favorites are Sweet Jane’s Kitchen (@sweetjaneskitchen_va) and Tacos Gomez (@tacos_gomez). Sweet Jane’s offers freshly made crab cakes at markets in Charlottesville and Richmond, either cooked and ready to eat or ready to prepare at home. Tacos Gomez food truck has a devoted following, and looking at their Torta Cubana it’s easy to see why.
@sshanesy
As much effort and courage as it takes to keep a restaurant going right now, it takes perhaps more courage to open a new restaurant during a pandemic. In January 2020, brothers John and Scott Shanesy announced plans to partner in Belle (@bellecville), and move from coffee to a restaurant and bakery with a focus on breakfast and lunch. It’s truly heartening to see them go from selling baked goods out of a dining room that was closed before it even opened, to becoming a beloved Belmont neighborhood small business.
@rationsandoldfashioneds
The Wool Factory (@the_wool_factory) planned to open its multi-use space by hosting two weddings in April 2020. Despite the setback of having its first several events canceled, the property pressed on with a socially distanced opening of Selvedge Brewing (@selvedgebrewing) in the summer. The kitchen at Selvedge, helmed by chef Tucker Yoder, serves an elevated version of brewpub food. The Selvedge Burger is made with local beef and is as satisfying as it looks.
@coucourachou
Chef Rachel DeJong, who earned her diplôme de pâtisserie in Paris, and serves as the executive pastry chef for The Wool Factory, recently launched her own project, a bakery called Cou Cou Rachou, which will open soon. Until it does, her classic French breads and pastries are available at The Wool Factory, Grit Coffee, and Brasserie Saison. These perfect canelés are beautiful to look at, taste even better than they look, and, like all of her products, have received rave reviews.
@fowlmouthedchicken
Chef Harrison Keevil deserves special mention—and not just for his delicious food, like this boneless fried half chicken with black pepper honey. Keevil started a free meal program in response to COVID-19 to combat food insecurity and feed area residents in need. At last count, he has cooked and delivered over 31,000 meals locally. Bravo Harrison!
ABC is upping its slice game. Photo by John Robinson
By Will Ham
New year, new nosh
Dairy Market continues to expand its offerings with Saturday’s grand opening of Springhouse Sundries. Springhouse is designed by members of the Wine Guild of Charlottesville, including former Tavola wine director Priscilla Martin Curley, as an affordable place to discover high-quality wines and beers with the help of in-house wine experts. Want to make a picnic? The new shop promises an array of charcuterie and fine cheeses to pair with your vino.
If the line out the door is any indication, Albemarle Baking Company is holding steady, despite the economic downturn. The longtime local favorite is now selling cake by the slice in different flavors depending on the day, as well as king cakes for the upcoming Mardi Gras season.
Mellow Mushroom is also adding to its menu with a new selection of health-conscious “lifestyle pies” that include gluten-free, vegan, and keto options. In addition, the Corner mainstay is offering pizza and wing Super Bowl deals, as well as large pies for just $10 on Mondays.
Little Star has expanded its takeout hours, and is now open from 11:30am to 7:30pm, Wednesday through Saturday. And new to its menu is limited availability Italian sports car-themed deli sandwiches, such as the Alfa Spider, a spicy combo of ham, mortadella, salami, marinated tomato, lettuce, onion, aged pecorino, hot peppers, and house dressing on ABC semolina Italian loaf. Be sure to order ahead because these sammies have been racing out the door, often sold out by noon each day.
What is that smoke we smell floating in from nearby? It must be The Whiskey Jar’s can’t-miss Wednesday special: whiskey-infused, hickory-smoked brisket. If you’re equally starved for live music, the Jar remains a great place to hear Charlottesville musicians in a distanced setting.
Bread and butter investment
One local food and drink establishment has adopted a creative strategy to cope with the pandemic strain. The Wool Factory, a polished collection of dining venues inside a reclaimed textile factory, is offering gift cards in the form of investment bonds. This new initiative gives patrons an opportunity to purchase gift cards that appreciate over time: up to 50 percent of their original value after a year. The food and bev cards are redeemable at Selvedge Brewing, The Workshop, and the soon-to-open restaurant Broadcloth, and are available in amounts of $50, $100, and $500.
Closed doors
Last month we published a roundup of the restaurants we lost last year. Unfortunately, the list continues to grow. Littlejohn’s Delicatessen, a staple for UVA students and C’ville residents alike, closed temporarily at the start of the pandemic. While it has not issued an official statement of closure, it seems unlikely that it will reopen on the Corner. We also lost several locally owned and operated franchises, which employed over 80 full- and part-time workers: Wendy’s on Route 29, Hardees on Pantops, and Burger King at Barracks Road. Additionally, Glaze Burger & Donut is closing its doors at the end of the month. These closures once again remind us that our local dining establishments are counting on steady support from the community to stay in business. Check out our list of area restaurants doing takeout and curbside at cville.com.
The Pink Grouse’s Chef de Cuisine Dennis Merritt says he was inspired to become a chef after watching a seed grow into a plant and became something nourishing. Publicity photo
Foodies rejoice! Charlottesville’s high-end dining circuit just got a little larger with the reopening of The Pink Grouse, the signature restaurant at the Quirk Hotel. Initially unveiled along with the hotel in March of 2020, The Pink Grouse’s launch was short-lived due to widespread shutdowns in April. The extra time was used to fine-tune the restaurant’s vision and bring on Chef de Cuisine Dennis Merritt. The result is a contemporary take on American food, driven home by a modern dining room, open kitchen, and creative platings.
Merritt got his start as sous chef at The Clifton, and has spent the last 10 years honing his craft at several of the country’s top restaurants, including Chicago’s Roister. When asked what he was most excited for, regarding his return to Charlottesville, Merritt says, “Being able to show my interpretations of both new and classic dishes.” One example that speaks to the avant-garde spirit of The Pink Grouse is the vivid White Stone oysters topped with coconut, passion fruit mousse, pickled mango, and calabrian chilis.
Keep the Kouign-amann coming
In August, MarieBette Café was awarded a $25,000 grant from Discover’s Eat It Forward program, which supports Black-owned businesses countrywide. It’s no secret that COVID-19 has put tremendous strain on the restaurant industry, especially in Black communities, and the Eat It Forward program aims to protect these “cornerstones of community” by offering awards based on customer nominations. On its Instagram, MarieBette writes, “To say that we are excited for how much this helps us in this difficult time would be an understatement. We are so proud to be part of the Charlottesville community.”
Meet me on the patio
Many of our iconic restaurants have begun to reopen after months of closure, adding or adjusting patio spaces, and dining outside never tasted so good.
Among them is Tavola,* now offering reservations (are pigs flying too?) for limited indoor, plus outdoor dining, where guests can enjoy a new patio along with the much-missed Italian food and wine. Paradox Pastry has repaved its patio into a larger and more accommodating space, and Little Star and Oakhart Social have both tented their spacious outdoor dining areas. Diners have also gained new appreciation for a long list of reopened al fresco spots on the Downtown Mall, including Rapture, The Fitzroy, Chap’s, and Fleurie (check out its beautifully appointed deck!).
New beginnings
Splendora’s, the Downtown Mall gelato café, closed its doors last month after 16 years of creating frozen masterpieces from imaginative ingredients. (We are still dreaming of the Strawberry Pink Peppercorn and the Miso Cherry.)
Owner PK Ross hopes to use this transition as an opportunity to focus on collaborating with other businesses, meaning we may see Splendora’s on some of our favorite menus in the near future. Splendy’s is still offering pickup and delivery through the rest of September, while Ross searches for a new location off the mall. More information can be found on Splendora’s Facebook page.
Bluegrass Grill & Bakery, a favorite brunch spot for locals in the know since 2001, was forced to vacate its downtown location when the pandemic struck. But never fear, the biscuit making will continue. Bluegrass recently partnered with Devils Backbone to operate a pop-up restaurant at The Summit, a repurposed train station on DB’s Roseland property. For the next three months, find BGB’s classic, Southern dishes served by familiar faces, now in the spectacular foothills of the Blue Ridge.
And sadly, BreadWorks Bakery & Deli, which has provided job training and employment to people with disabilities since 1967, will close its doors due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus.—Will Ham
*co-owned by C-VILLE’s Culture editor Tami Keaveny
The Harrison apple, an heirloom variety once thought to be extinct, was reintroduced by Tom Burford of Albemarle CiderWorks—and used to make an award-winning cider. Photo: Courtesy Albemarle CiderWorks
On Friday, January 17, Albemarle CiderWorks and MudhouseCoffee Roasters scored top honors in the 2020 Good Food Awards in San Francisco. Among more than 2,000 entrants, the cidery and coffee producer were regional (South) winners in their respective categories—ACW for its Harrison cider, and Mudhouse for its Geisha Moras Negras roast. Bestowed annually by the creators of Slow Food Nations, the awards recognize “players in the food system who are driving towards tasty, authentic, and responsible food in order to humanize and reform our American food culture.”
Albemarle CiderWorks’ Harrison cider took top regional (South) honors at the annual Good Foods Awards in San Francisco. Photo: Courtesy Albemarle CiderWorks
As the name suggests, the ACW cider is made from the Harrison apple, an 18th-century variety that fell out of use and was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in the late 1970s. Years later, ACW’s Thomas Burford became the first contemporary orchardist to cultivate the yellow, black-speckled Harrison, and today it is widely grown and popular among cider makers (but too ugly for supermarket sales).
The story of Mudhouse’s award winner begins in 1960, when the Geisha coffee variety was introduced in Panama. Mudhouse sources its beans from a third-generation family farm there. Grown at an altitude of about 5,400 feet, the fruit is hand-picked by migrant laborers from the Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous region, and it is quite precious. Eight ounces of Mudhouse’s Moras Negras will set you back $75. That’s more than most of us would be willing to pay. But at the 2006 Best of Panama event, an executive from Vermont’s Green Mountain Coffee remarked, “I am the least religious person here and when I tasted this coffee I saw the face of God in a cup.”
If you’re into that sort of thing, you can buy the stuff at mudhouse.com.
Speaking of awards…
Five local vineyards wowed the judges at the 2020 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, securing prestigious awards and doing the Monticello American Viticultural Area proud. Jefferson and Barboursville vineyards, Veritas Vineyard & Winery, and Trump Winery earned Double Gold designations for five wines, and newcomer Hark Vineyards was the only Best in Class winner from Virginia, singled out in the classic packaging category for its 2017 chardonnay label design. The Chronicle’s annual event is the largest in North America, drawing 6,700 entries from 1,000 wineries this year. Judges dole out Double Gold medals sparingly but found worthy recipients in the Jefferson Vineyards 2018 viognier, Barboursville’s 2018 vermentino, and Trump Winery’s 2016 meritage (a red blend consisting primarily of cabernet franc). Veritas nabbed two double-golds for cabernet franc bottlings, the 2017 reserve and 2017 standard in the $40-and-over and under-$30 categories, respectively.
This is nuts!
Sorry, fans of dairy alternatives like soy and almond milk, you may have to adapt to new terminology. A bill just cleared the Virginia House Agriculture Subcommittee defining milk as “the lacteal secretion, practically free of colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of a healthy hooved mammal.” The measure is intended to protect the commonwealth’s dairy industry from the surge in popularity of plant-based “milk” products. The legislation is moooving up the lawmaking food chain for further consideration.
Munch madness
C-VILLE’s Restaurant Week 2020 kicks off Friday, January 24, with 40 restaurants offering three-course meals for $29 or $39 (plus tax and a huge tip, please)—and presenting some tantalizing dishes. We’ve got our hungry little eyes on a few, including: Little Star’s seared rockfish with escarole, chipotle, manchego, and pimento fundito; Fleurie’s pan-roasted Polyface Farm chicken with braised cabbage and bacon; Kama’s grilled Virginia oysters with uni butter; 1799 at The Clifton’s rainbow trout with sweet potato, kale, and orange emulsion; Three Notch’d’struffled mushroom ragout with potato gnocchi, vegetarian bordelaise, baked kale, and pecorino; and to top things off, Common House(aka Vinegar Hall)’s buttermilk panna cotta with persimmon jam. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, so eat up!
Bird is the word
Bowerbird Bakeshop, that is. The team behind the City Market stalwart recently announced a brick-and-mortar location at the Tenth Street Warehouses this spring. On Monday, co-owners Earl Vallery and Maria Niechwiadowicz surpassed their $5,555 GoFundMe target (by about $500) to defray part of the $70,000 start-up costs. Ten percent of all donations above the goal benefit City of Promise, the nonprofit working to empower underserved populations in Charlottesville.
Movin’ on up
It’s last call at Ace Biscuit & BBQ’s Henry Street location. The charming storefront next to Vitae Spirits will close on January 26 as the kings of carbo-loading move to bigger digs at 600 Concord Ave., just a couple of blocks away. No opening date at the new location has been announced.
Plus ça change
Less than a year after taking the helm at Gordonsville’s Rochambeau, Michelin-starred chef Bernard Guillot has returned to France, citing personal reasons. But the restaurant won’t miss a beat, as Jean-Louis and Karen Dumonet step in to fill the void in early February. The couple met long ago at cooking school in Paris and have been collaborating on restaurants all over the world for 35-plus years. Their latest project, Dumonet, was a popular French bistro in Brooklyn.
It’s mai-tai o’clock somewhere
Now that it’s actually cold outside, Brasserie Saison is hosting a Tropical Tiki Getaway so you can mind-trip to a warm, sandy beach. The intimate downstairs Coat Room will be decorated like a luau (we see a fake palm tree in our future) and paper-umbrella cocktails will be served. Wear your Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops. 6-10pm, Thursday, January 30. 111 E. Main St., Downtown Mall, 202-7027, brasseriesaison.net.
Baloo is the name of this classic panel truck, which is also a kegerator—now serving at Old Trail Golf Club in Crozet. Photo: Aaron Watson
Get your goat
Next Tuesday Caromont Farm, the craft goat-cheese haven, invites you to stop by, take a tour, and enjoy a nosh with your fall weather. While you’re sure to see some of the crazy-eyed critters who make the cheese possible, the real attraction is the chance to meet owner and culinary sage Gail Hobbs-Page and sample some of her creamy creations paired with charcuterie and homemade jams and spreads. October 29, $44, 11am-3pm, Esmont, see facebook.com/caromontfarm for tickets
Foam fight!
Mudhouse Coffee Roasters in Crozet is inviting amateur and professional baristas to show off their latte skills in a benefit for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Contestants buy in for $5 each, and the most artful topping takes all. DJ Thomas Dean will be spinning, and a raffle for prizes from local businesses will benefit the food bank. October 24, registration deadline 6pm; first pour 6:30pm, Crozet, 823-2240, mudhouse.com
Salt and smoke
The wood-fired cooking wizards at Little Star are teaming up with the briny bunch from Public Fish & Oyster for a fall feast of smoked pork ribs, pork sandwiches, grilled corn, vegetarian chili, raw oysters, and—okay, we have to stop now, we’re hungry! October 27, pay as you graze, 11am-7pm, 420 W. Main St., 252-2502, littlestarrestaurant.com
Pints on the green
Crozet’s Restoration restaurant at Old Trail Golf Club is pouring pints from a 1942 Ford F3 panel truck outfitted as a mobile kegerator with six taps. Gaze at the mountains, get a burger and a beer, cozy up to the fire pit after dark—and be sure to practice your Caddyshack jokes, so you’ll have that going for you, which is nice. Through November 1, 11am-9pm Tuesday-Saturday; 10am-2pm Sunday, 823-1841, restorationcrozet.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.
The comfy booths, long banquette, and open wood-fired hearth transform
a former auto-service garage into a warm, inviting dining room. Photo: John Robinson
A rosy glow shone through windows high on the façade of the former service station. As my dining companion and I approached the building, the oaky smoke aroma grew stronger. We turned the corner onto West Main Street and the source of both the light and the smoke revealed itself through tall walls of glass—big sliding doors that once enclosed car-service bays.
Little Star—the Charlottesville restaurant that people were buzzing about even before it opened nine weeks ago—creates atmosphere even from a distance. And after the frosted-glass front door swung open, a sense of warmth and comfort greeted us like a hug from an old friend.
So it began, my first dining experience in Charlottesville meant to produce a review. Although I relocated to the area less than two years ago, I’m familiar with the city’s restaurant scene, having visited for more than 20 years to spend time with my sister, a UVA professor. I’m also experienced at writing about food, which has been a passion of mine since I was a kid, planting and tending the family vegetable garden in suburban New Jersey. As a teenager and throughout my college years, I worked in restaurants and catering.
When I became a writer, I covered food for daily and weekly newspapers, including the late, great Boston Phoenix, and magazines, including Food & Wine and the industry publication Plate. Now, I edit the Living section here at C-VILLE Weekly, along with magazines like Knife & Fork, and reviews feel like a natural fit. I believe a restaurant critic can and should be an important part of the local food culture. His or her role is to explore, explain, and ultimately elevate the art and craft of cooking and serving food.
That’s exactly what Little Star is doing for Charlottesville. Executive chef Ryan Collins arrived at the restaurant by way of Madison’s Early Mountain Vineyards, where he landed in 2016 and created a menu of small plates and sandwiches made with local ingredients. For Collins, Early Mountain was a waypoint between Charlottesville and Washington, D.C., where for eight years he was protégé of José Andrés, a Spanish-American and one of the more influential and acclaimed chefs in the world. Collins spent three of those eight years in the kitchen at Oyamel, where he learned to love Mexican cuisine. In Charlottesville, Collins teamed up with Oakhart Social’s Ben Clore and Tristan Wraight, whom Collins had met while at Early Mountain, to open Little Star. It is here that Collins expresses chef Andrés’ influences, blending Spanish and Mexican flavors.
After my dining companion and I objected to being seated at a table near the foyer and bar, the host graciously led us through the dining room to the long row of tall tables and a banquette along the east wall. The high perch provided a view, to the right, of the chefs preparing food in front of the blazing wood-fired oven, and to the left, of West Main Street through the big glass doors. On a Tuesday night, the room was packed and humming with conversation; old-school hip-hop provided a faint backdrop.
We started with cocktails. I thought I had heard incorrectly when the bar manager said the margarita ($16) would be served with the glass’ rim dusted with salt, red pepper, and smoked, ground gusano, a grub found in the roots of agave. It sounded gross, but tasted rich and earthy, playing off the brightness of the lime juice and the smokiness of the mescal. A second cocktail, the Star on Main ($14), was a twist on an old fashioned, with bourbon, Calvados, orange bitters, and a sweet touch of Lillet Blanc. Both drinks introduced complex, unexpected flavors, which apparently is Little Star’s mission.
The wait staff circulated throughout the room, stopping to attend to diners when necessary and then moving on. They knew when to be present and when to disappear, creating a relaxing rhythm to the evening. While our server said that most of the menu consisted of small plates, the portions turned out to be right-sized for the prices, from $8-24. (The outliers are a pork short rib and ribeye steak, at $70 and $100, respectively.) The price of a meal can escalate quickly, but two plates per person ended up being plenty of food.
Little Star encourages not only a leisurely pace (we spent two hours over dinner), but also the sharing of dishes. The bitterness of the charred endive ($10) was mellowed by a buttermilk-based dressing, and the dish gained complexity with a topping of poppy seeds, slivered scallions, chili, and bottarga, a salted, air-dried fish roe. Mojo sunchokes ($12) were served as a salad, with shaved apple, caramelized onion, and frisée. This was the only off note of the evening. The sunchokes—a sunflower tuber—were cooked to the point of mushiness, and traces of sand or soil in the dish brought an unwelcome grittiness.
Looking over the wine list, I was disappointed not to see more bottles in the $30-50 range. Out of 40 offerings, 31 were priced between $52 and $520.We ordered by the glass and, on the general manager’s recommendation, went with a Spanish white, Gramona Gessami ($12 glass)—a blend of sauvignon blanc, muscat, and gewürztraminer that had the body and ample fruit to stand up to our next two dishes, beef tartare ($14) and pork loin ($18).
Little Star pushes the tartare definition, with grilled cactus, tartar sauce, radish, whole-grain mustard, and a heap of freshly grated parmesan on top. Is it a salad or a meat dish? It’s sort of both, and it’s outstanding and inventive. Sourced from Autumn Olive Farms, near Waynesboro, the pork loin was a generous cut, more than an inch thick, presented with crispy sweet potato and mole manchamanteles, a reduction of pork and chicken stock infused with a paste of dried and fresh fruits (raisins, plantains, charred pineapple), toasted nuts, herbs, and chilis. It was a resounding note to finish the meal.
But wait—dessert! A traditional end to a very untraditional meal (at least for Charlottesville) seemed like a good idea, so we went for the apple pie ($8). It was actually more of a strudel or galette, served with little apple spheres poached with cinnamon, apple caramel sauce, and ice cream richly flavored with vanilla bean.
All in all, Little Star is a significant addition to the local restaurant scene and, hopefully, will provide a strong culinary anchor on West Main as it becomes a dense commercial and residential corridor.
Vitals
Monday-Thursday 5-10pm, Friday-Saturday, 5-11pm. 420 W. Main St. 434-252-2502. littlestarrestaurant.com
Sicily Rose, which opens at IX Art Park in September, will feature made-to-order cannoli and a full-scale Italian coffee bar. Photo by Tom McGovern
Milli Joe owner Nick Leichtentritt has always had a special place in his heart for simple Italian cannoli, and he’s planning to bring his favorite dessert to Charlottesville at Sicily Rose, an Italian coffee and cannoli bar opening in September in the Studio IX space.
“Sicily Rose is a project I’ve actually been working on and thinking about for a couple years now,” he says. “I grew up in an Italian family in New York, so cannoli were always a go-to dessert for us, and now every time I find a good one I’m reminded of my childhood. The shop is named in honor of my Sicilian grandmother, Rose, who shared her love of Italian bakeries with all of her grandkids, and whose kitchen in New York was home to some of my earliest and fondest memories. She was in large part responsible for my lifelong love of food and the desire to share it with friends and family.”
Sicily Rose will feature a full-scale Italian coffee bar as well as American coffee favorites from Milli Joe. The made-to-order cannoli bar will stick to the traditional favorites.
“We’re not going to do a bunch of crazy flavors,” Leichtentritt says. “Instead we will have one style of fresh-made cannoli shells and a simple, authentic cannoli cream, which we will make in-house and fill to order. The cannoli will be topped with a choice of chocolate, pistachio, almond, or candied orange.”
Leichtentritt says he’ll also carry some unique Italian treats as well as local chocolates, local beer, and Italian wine.
Waffling around
There’s a new waffle kid in town: Good Waffles & Co. food truck has been making inroads over the past several months. The brainchild of newlyweds Steven and Danielle Stitz, Good Waffles combines their passions—he’s been cooking in the Charlottesville area for more than a decade, including a stint at the Clifton Inn, and she’s a graphic designer by training.
“We merged our love of both to start a business that we could do together,” Danielle says. “We love Charlottesville and being a part of this wonderful community. Owning our food trucks has allowed us the chance to meet so many great people here, and we hope to be around for a long time, serving up our waffles.”
The style they serve is the bubble waffle—the circular waffles are pocketed with bubbles to better hold accompanying sauces and ice cream, and they come in sweet and savory forms.
“A bubble waffle is basically a Hong Kong Egg Waffle,” Danielle says. “But we’ve adapted it with our recipe to fit our menu. It has beautiful round bubbles all over it. You can fork it, slice it, or my favorite: pull it apart with your hands.”
Steven recommends the classic chicken and waffles, with a mix of housemade Georgia mustard and North Carolina sauces with a homemade pickle. Danielle favors the lemon berry: a bubble waffle with vanilla ice cream, Meyer lemon curd and plenty of blueberries.
“We make what we love, and we love waffles with soul,” she says. “Add some fried chicken or some ice cream atop—you can’t go wrong. You could say that we picked the food, but really the bubble waffles picked us!”
Oakhart Social keeps growing
Oakhart Social has launched a private dining room above Public Fish & Oyster (in the former home of Opal Yoga, which has moved). The space seats up to 52 people, and boasts polished hardwoods and exposed brick, with wood paneling flanking a fully stocked bar.
Benjamin Clore, co-owner of Oakhart Social, says the private space that opened in April was used for overflow seating for graduation, and is now available for those seeking to host private functions.
Clore says the master plan involves a rooftop restaurant above Oakhart Social, in which the back half of the rooftop will be a building with an open kitchen and bar design similar in concept to that of Mas Tapas, with the kitchen on one side, and bar seating on the other. The front half will be open-air patio seating. Clore said all city approvals have been met but the project is on hold while they finalize the opening of their next venture, Little Star (across the street in the old Threepenny Café site).
“Little Star will feature American food with Spanish and Latin influences, and small plates like at Oakhart, largely wood-fired,” Clore says, adding it should open in October or November.
Get ’em while they’re hot
Wegmans will host its Hatch Chile Festival August 24-26. The festival, held over the next several weeks at select Wegmans locations throughout the country, has become a popular annual event, and originated as a way for the grocery store to promote a unique seasonal item, says the store’s media relations manager, Valerie Fox.
Fox says they’ll have a chile roaster set up near the entrance, and various departments at the grocery store will offer products that creatively incorporate Hatch chilies into their selections.
The chilies, grown in Hatch, New Mexico, the chile capital of the world, are a popular ingredient in Southwestern cooking, Fox says. Harvested four weeks each year, the chiles have a thicker wall than more common ones like the Anaheim, thus holding up nicely in recipes and freezing for year-round use.
Tavola bar manager Steve Yang (above) and assistant bar manager Rebecca Edwards are both participating in upcoming national bartending competitions in Washington, D.C. Photo by Eze Amos
Two of Tavola’s bartenders are shaking up national drinks-related competitions. Bar manager Steve Yang was named one of 12 regional finalists in the United States Bartenders’ Guild’s annual World Class bartending competition. “Qualifying is both humbling and terrifying,” Yang says of going shaker-to-shaker with some of the best bartenders in the country.
An expert panel reviewed applicants’ essays and replicated their cocktail recipes. Yang submitted the Inquisitions, which is made up of Bulleit Rye Whiskey, Cynar, Cocchi di Torino, Benedictine, Angostura orange bitters and a rinse of Caol Ila 12 Scotch Whisky. The regional finalists compete on May 7 in Washington, D.C., and three national finalists will move on to compete for the title of U.S. Bartender of the Year.
“I’m passionate about any event that increases the visibility of women in the restaurant industry,” says Rebecca Edwards, Tavola assistant bar manager. Photo by Eze Amos
Assistant bar manager Rebecca Edwards will participate in the Speed Rack Mid Atlantic regional on March 19 at Union Stage in Washington, D.C. Speed Rack is a national, women-only speed bartending competition that spotlights female mixologists who work in a male-dominated field, all while raising money for breast cancer research, education and prevention.
The lengthy application process included essays and even a video component, but Edwards’ reason for wanting to compete is simple: “I’m passionate about any event that increases the visibility of women in the restaurant industry,” she says. There are four rounds total: The first round focuses on speed alone, and the eight fastest bartenders proceed to round two, where they’re judged on speed, technique and overall skill. Edwards says that there’s a list of “roughly 100” cocktails that Speed Rack competitors are urged to know, so she’s been preparing with a series of flashcards and some help from her colleagues. “Busy Friday nights at Tavola are good practice, too,” she adds.
Little Star shines bright
The Oakhart Social duo of chef Tristan Wraight and general manager Ben Clore are teaming up with chef Ryan Collins of Early Mountain Vineyards to bring Little Star, anew restaurant, to the space most recently occupied by Three Penny Café.
The three showcased a sneak peek of the dishes-yet-to-come in a two-evening pop-up at Oakhart February 27 and 28. On the menu: tuna ceviche with kumquat, coconut leche de tigre, almonds, serrano peppers, cilantro and toasted amaranth; dry aged ribeye carpaccio with grilled cactus, Parmesan, chive blossoms and migas; the deceivingly simple-sounding sunny side up eggs with salsa negra green onion, cilantro, sesame seeds, hickory syrup and grilled bread; wood roasted lamb neck with braised cabbage, guajillo chile broth and hominy corn; and soft and crispy pork ribs with salsa naranja, white onion, epazote and crispy ancho chile. The Pen + Knife blog team shares a dispatch from the popup that declares if “you don’t like ceviche, this dish will be your religious conversion.” That’s enough to pique our interest—more details to come on opening day, likely in the summertime.
Our cups runneth over
The winners of the 2018 Virginia Wineries Association’s Governor’s Cup were announced in late February. Of the 442 Virginia wines that a group of world-class judges sampled from 100 Virginia wineries, just 12 wines—the highest-ranking reds and the highest-ranking whites—make up the Governor’s Case. Local wines from Barboursville Vineyards, Early Mountain Vineyards, Jefferson Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards, Veritas Vineyard & Winery and King Family Vineyards hold seven of those 12 spots, with King Family Vineyards’ 2014 Meritage taking top honors overall. All wines entered in the competition were made from 100 percent Virginia fruit.—C-VILLE’s At the Table columnist C. Simon Davidson and writers from the Pen + Knife blog contributed to this column.
