Mellow Mushroom – C-VILLE Weekly

Smoke at the Jar and race-y sandwiches at Little Star

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.

Taste of victory: Markets of Tiger Fuel names sandwiches for football greats

With the UVA football team on an early winning streak this season, The Markets of Tiger Fuel—a favorite for game-day grub—look like marketing geniuses with the introduction of new sandwiches named for head coach Bronco Mendenhall and former University of Virginia and NFL star Chris Long. The service-station deli trend isn’t new in Charlottesville, but Tiger Fuel now works its made-to-order magic at five locations (tigerfuelmarkets.com). The Bronco Buster—turkey, pepper jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and hot pepper relish on a seven-grain roll—is already on the menu, with a $1 game-day discount. Long’s eponymous sandwich—rotisserie chicken, avocado, sprouts, tomato, cheddar cheese, and chipotle mayonnaise on a brioche bun—debuted on Monday, October 7. A buck from each sale goes to Long’s charity, Waterboys, which works to deliver clean water to communities in need.

Artist Georgie Mackenzie’s work will be on display at Milli Coffee Roasters beginning with the exhibit opening, 5-7pm, October 12. Photo: Courtesy Milli Coffee Roasters

Cool beans

“Machines don’t make coffee, people do.” Those words of wisdom from Milli Coffee Roasters founder Nick Leichtentritt have guided new owner John Borgquist, who has carried on Milli’s tradition of building community with caffeine since Nick passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. A longtime customer and friend of Leichtentritt’s, Borgquist officially took the reigns June 1. Now, along with Leichtentritt’s sister, Sophia Milli Leichtentritt, Borgquist is taking things to the next level with a state-of-the-art new roaster that will enable Milli’s to expand its small-batch offerings. “It has a round drum and looks like an old-school locomotive, but in stainless steel,” Borgquist says. “I’ve kept with [Nick’s] philosophy, though it’s great to have the new tool.” The shop—which also offers Belgian waffles, panini, and wine—will use the roaster to produce an organic, fairly traded Guatemalan coffee grown at high altitude in Huehuetenango. (“It’s pronounced way way ten-ango, which I call ‘Hue-Hue All the Way,’” Borgquist says.) Another Milli’s tradition, displaying work by local artists, will carry on beginning October 12, from 5-7pm, with a show by UVA student/painter Georgie Mackenzie. The shop/gallery is at the corner of Preston Avenue and Ridge McIntire Road. millicoffeeroasters.com

Nuggets

In a run-up to National Vegan Day, on Friday, November 1, Charlottesville’s pizza-and-trivia haven Mellow Mushroom is celebrating with Meatless Mondays, on October 14, 21, and 28. Everyone likes a nice gooey pie, so the pizza joint has teamed up with innovative plant-based food producer Follow Your Heart to make its popular Veg Out Pizza fair game (oops, sorry) for vegans, using a non-GMO, soy-free mozz alternative. Prepared on a 10-inch platter of gluten-free dough, the pie is made with red sauce and fresh veggies like spinach, green peppers, mushrooms (not magic ones), sweet onions, black olives, and—oh, you get the picture. No pepperoni, capiche?! The price is $10.99, a savings of about $8, according to a press release. • Looking for a cool way to ease into the weekend? The Wine Guild of Charlottesville welcomes London-based writer Wink Lorch—author of Jura Wine and Wines of the French Alps: Savoie, Bugey and beyond—for a tasting and book signing from 5:30-8:30pm, Friday, October 11. In addition to having one of the best bylines ever, Lorch is a leading authority on wines of the French Alps and Jura, a little-known viticulture region on the border of France and Switzerland. Email wineguildcville@gmail.com to reserve a spot at the tasting, and indicate which book you’d like Lorch to inscribe for you. Book and tasting $40-45, tasting only $10-15. 221 Carlton Rd. wineguildcville.com • The UVA-developed technology that led to the launch of Ian Glomski’s Vitae Spirits is about to bear fruit again with the debut of another local boutique liquor producer, Monte Piccolo Farm and Distillery. The tech, which aids in identifying and quantifying flavor compounds in fruit brandy, has paved the way for Robin Felder, UVA professor of pathology and associate director of laboratory medicine in the School of Medicine, to produce an eau de vie-style pear brandy with his big copper still in Albemarle County. Monte Piccolo grows its own fruit to make the hooch, and Felder says he’s finalizing his bottling, labeling, and packaging for brandy that will be available soon. “With over 4,000 pounds of pears this year, I’ll certainly have enough pear eau de vie-style brandy to sell!” Felder says. montepiccolo.com