Tag: Parallel 38

Categories
Culture Food & Drink

Consummate host

Justin Ross elevated the Charlottesville fine-dining scene with his dedication to the guest experience. Image: Martyn Kyle

The Charlottesville food scene lost a bright and passionate figure when Justin Ross passed away unexpectedly on March 26, at the age of 40. Those who knew the talented restaurateur and wine connoisseur remember him for his beaming smile and commitment to hospitality.

Ross moved to Charlottesville in 2013 to launch modern Mediterranean restaurant Parallel 38 in The Shops at Stonefield, but it was love that brought him here. 

Jackie Bright worked with Ross at José Andrés’ Zaytinya in Washington, D.C., where Ross was the beverage director and general manager. 

“He was probably one of the most exceptional hospitality leaders I had met,” remembers Bright. “He just had this passion for creating an experience for guests, and also brought so much joy to the team.”

Bright left Zaytinya in 2008 to return to her hometown of Charlottesville. She and Ross kept in touch, and reconnected when Bright returned to visit her former restaurant crew. The pair had dinner and fell in love. While trying to decide where to live, one of the employees on Andrés’ team suggested that Ross lead a new concept in Charlottesville, making the couple’s decision easy.

Born in Maryland in 1980, Ross began working in kitchens as a teenager, and spent his whole career in hospitality. “He loved being with people, serving people wine, food—all of the energy around hospitality,” says Bright. He was adamant that his staff use the word guest instead of customer.

Warm, kind, and food savvy, Ross befriended guests and employees alike. They tell stories about his mischievousness—becoming a Red Sox fan in a Yankees family—and whimsy—leading a dinner party into a soaking summer rainstorm.

Former Parallel 38 manager Jesse Fellows met Ross a little less than a decade ago. 

“We became fast friends, and it very quickly felt like he had been in my life forever,” says Fellows. “There are too many stories to pick one, but a common theme among them was Justin’s brilliance, fierce loyalty, and very personal brand of kindness. He always remembered the smallest details and took time out of his busy schedule to make people feel special.”

A wine fanatic who held an Advanced Sommelier certification, Ross frequently delved into his own collection to further a guest’s experience. “When you wanted an excellent bottle of wine and conversation to match, you went to see Justin,” says Tavola’s Michael Keaveny. “And that pork belly dish in the early days of Parallel 38 set the bar for everyone else in town.”

Nothing was more important to Ross than sharing his passions with loved ones. In 2013, he told the Charlottesville 29 food blog: “I’m not sure what’s better about our regular C&O date night, a much-needed break with my lovely lady or the sweetbreads.”

“We had dinner together every single night,” says Bright. “Even when he was working in the restaurant I would wait for him to come home. We always waited for each other.”

He and Bright welcomed a son in 2018, and Ross was thrilled to have a new partner at his side to pursue life’s adventures. An outdoor enthusiast, he took his toddler on hikes at Monticello and Walnut Creek, and kept maps of the trails, marking their progress each time out. When cooking his much-loved Sunday gravy recipe, he’d hold Dash in his arms, teaching him the gifts of his Italian heritage.

“I’ve never seen someone so devoted to a child,” says Bright. “He would refer to Dash as his best friend.”

As Bright reflects on the span of culinary experiences she shared with Ross, sausage and peppers is the dish she will always remember, and she’s especially grateful for their trip to explore the Champagne houses of France, where Ross was playing with dogs, drinking Champagne, and the couple revelled in the extraordinary hospitality of their hosts. In that happy moment Ross was a guest.

At the time of his passing, Ross had recently been hired as the general manager for Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s new fine-dining restaurant at Keswick Hall. He was ready to pour his heart and soul into the high-profile project. “He wanted to create something really special for people,” says Bright.

A celebration of Justin Ross’ life will take place at King Family Vineyards on April 23, his 41st birthday. For information on how to contribute to a college fund for Dash Ross, contact Meredith Coe at coemeredith@gmail.com.

Categories
News

Divide revives

The city shut-down placard sounds a lot worse than a collapsed ceiling. Photo courtesy Sean Tubbs

West Main passersby were alarmed last week to see yellow caution tape stretched in front of Parallel 38 and Gus’ Custom Tailoring, and a sign declaring Continental Divide “unfit for human habitation or occupation.” Despite that dire warning, the problem (a collapsed ceiling) should be repaired and the restaurant up and running again next week, owners say.

Building owner Blake Hurt says no one was hurt when the false ceiling collapsed, dropping drywall into the popular southwestern eatery. When a city inspector checked the ceiling, he also noticed a few other issues with the building that resulted in the temporary shuttering of the other businesses. Among the problems: a groundhog hole under the foundation.

“It certainly got our attention,” says Hurt. “It’s an old building.”

He had a structural engineer inspect the building and says all the issues have been addressed.

Parallel 38 has been granted permission for re-occupancy, according to Neighborhood Development director Alex Ikefuna. Gus’ Custom Tailoring also is open.

The “unfit” sign in Continental Divide’s door has been replaced with a “What the heck haiku” that reads, “Hey y’all. We’re okay. Ceiling fell but not the sky. Don’t fret! Back real soon.”

Divide owner Duffy Pappas says the ceiling is being replaced and a re-opening is in sight. “We’re hoping for the end of next week.”

 

Soon the sign at Continental Divide will say “Get in here.”

 

Continental Divide’s ceiling repair is underway. Staff photo

Categories
Living

The best local bars for each drinking decade

C&O’s barnwood-paneled downstairs bar is like a speakeasy without the secret knock. Photo by Stephen Barling

By Pen + Knife bloggers
eatdrink@c-ville.com

For generations, authorities have buried the lede when warning us about alcohol killing brain cells. Omitted from the tired mantra is the truth that some of our deepest seeds of wisdom are sewn at watering holes and colored by booze. Bars are like classrooms, just more practical, and the life lessons enduring. No matter our demographic, we’re still learning in our 20s, 30s and 40s from a barstool perch. Thankfully, the local scene is abundant with venues for every age bracket. Let’s bar crawl through a few of our favorite decade-appropriate spots.         

Your 20s: Parallel 38

Get your first round at Parallel 38 on West Main Street—a reasonable distance from the Corner and college days (because you’re an #adult now), while still close enough for security blanket purposes. Your new booze cravings are thoughtful cocktails with carefully selected ingredients that your mom’s herb garden would approve of. The downstairs bar at Parallel is perfectly low-lit, has an intimate, sophisticated NYC vibe and is ideal for drinks with the gals or a first post-grad Bumble date. Chat up owner Justin Ross if he’s buzzing around for rich stories of his past life in Washington, D.C., training under internationally acclaimed restaurateur José Andres and the renovation work that went into the recently relocated P38 space. If temps are in your favor, head to the back porch for some open-air imbibing, Mediterranean small plates and to people-watch Amtrak passengers below.

“Um, a cranberry vodka?”: Stop that. You’re past cranberry vodka and ending your drink orders with question marks. Try instead the Akrotiri Heat (Espolòn blanco tequila, piri piri syrup cinnamon berry, hibiscus soda, citrus), a multi-layered cocktail we’ve come to crave, and a P38 staple.

Grape expectations: Wine it up here. Ross, a certified advanced level sommelier, has assembled one of the most extensive and unique by-the-glass wine lists in town, which will allow you to explore your emerging adult palate without breaking the bank.

Alternatives: The Whiskey Jar, Oakhart Social

Your 30s: The Alley Light

This is the decade when you should enrich your cocktail game with sophistication and nuance. Duck into The Alley Light, a clandestine speakeasy nestled in an alley off the Downtown Mall, designated only by a lantern over the door. Dig the mysterious vibe as you ascend stairs to the cozy dark space and behold a wonder wall of obscure spirits. Nervous? Don’t sweat it, because affable AF barman Micah LeMon has mastered the art of baptizing newcomers to the craft. (This cat literally wrote the book on it—The Imbible.) Trouble can’t find you here, so sit back and submit to the spellbinding white noise of booze and ice dancing in the shaker and know that whatever he’s pouring will spike your night with intrigue.

Prime time: Show up pre-dinner rush (5ish) to score a stool and charming conversation with LeMon—it’s basically a TedX talk on mixology.   

Nosh away: Some of the best food in town is right here, and LeMon excels with pairings. Our go-to is foie gras brûlée with The Doctor’s Orders.

Alternatives: Lost Saint, Brasserie Saison, Mas

Your 40s: C&O

By your 40s, if you’re doing it right, you know what you like and don’t bother much with trends. This lands you in the cozy confines of the C&O’s bistro bar. Down a set of creaky stairs, this rustic barnwood-paneled room has harbored sophisticated imbibers for 42 years with a soulful charm achieved through slow, honest evolution. Permeating the scene is a secret society vibe that grips you immediately as you settle in. Behind the stick, clad in dope vintage gear, you’ll find some of the most thoughtful, kind booze-slingers in the business, who will happily guide you through a treasure trove wall of spirit options or their spot-on list of house cocktail creations. We are partial to the Jota Jota, a jolting riff on a drink near and dear to us, the Boulevardier. Whatever your poison, raise that glass to the next 40—yours and theirs—alongside friendly ghosts of patrons past in this landmark watering hole.

Discovery zone: Barman Anthony Restivo curates an eclectic playlist you’ll want to poach from.

Sneaky legit: Hiding out on the late-night menu (after 10pm) is one of the best burgers around for only $6.

Alternatives: Tavola’s Cicchetti Bar, Common House, The Coat Room

Pen+Knife is a blog that celebrates the bounty of food, drink and life in Charlottesville.

Categories
Living

Sandwich spot caters to the classics

KITCHEN(ette), a lunchtime sandwich shop in the Rose Hill neighborhood, offers the classics with dressed-up sides such as curried chickpea salad. Photo by Tom McGovern

You can never have too many sandwich options, which is why Morgan Hurt and Gabe Garcia, the team behind Kitchen Catering, opened KITCHEN(ette), a sandwich shop in their catering facility and event space at 606 Rivanna Ave.

The menu, divided into four sections—sandwiches with meat, vegetarian sandwiches, salads and sides—is reasonably sized without being overwhelming, and includes classic sandwiches like chicken salad, an Italian sub and two kinds of muffulettas (New Orleans-style and vegetarian). Each sandwich comes with a side of either curried chickpea salad or Mediterranean white beans, and will cost you $7-9 (though muffulettas are a bit more). You can pick up a KITCHEN(ette) sandwich or salad from 11am to 3pm, Wednesday through Friday.

Chicken out

Fried chicken fiends who head out to the fifth annual Gordonsville Fried Chicken Festival at the Gordonsville Fire Company Fairgrounds on Saturday will get more than a belly full of cluckin’ awesome food from a place that was dubbed “The Fried Chicken Capital of the World” in the 1800s. They’ll get a taste of history.

When the Civil War broke out, Gordonsville was the main stop on two railroad lines and it was a major hub for produce coming from the Shenandoah Valley. At the time, the railroad was still new and trains didn’t have dining cars. Enterprising African-American women living in Gordonsville would make fried chicken, biscuits, pies and other treats and head to the train platforms to sell their goods to the train passengers.

This year’s rain-or-shine event will take place from 11am to 5pm on Saturday, May 20, and will feature, among other things, cook-off contests for fried chicken and pies.

Unparalleled options

Parallel 38, which closed its Shops at Stonefield location in January, will reopen next month at 817 W. Main St., the space most recently occupied by Mezza and best-known as the former L’etoile spot. Parallel 38 is beloved among Charlottesville foodies for its small plates based on what’s found along the temperate, middle latitude of Parallel 38, which passes through Napa County and Anderson Valley, California; Portugal’s Setubal Peninsula; Melbourne, Australia; Alicante in Spain; Italy’s Calabria; the Greek Ionian Islands; and our very own Charlottesville.

Chow champs

As the saying goes: Where there’s beer, there’s a sandwich craving. Lucky for Champion Brewing Company patrons, they’ll soon be able to get their food fix at the taproom, located at 324 Sixth St. SE, when its commercial kitchen opens the second week of June.

According to a press release issued by the brewery, the kitchen will offer chef’s specials and raclette sandwiches like those served at Brasserie Saison, Champion’s collaboration restaurant with restaurateur Will Richey (The Alley Light, The Whiskey Jar, Revolutionary Soup), located on the Downtown Mall. Champion has not yet hired a chef for the kitchen.

Categories
Living

Local restaurant openings and closings in January

J.R. Hadley, co-owner of Cho’s Nachos and Beer, says the restaurant employs a special distribution method to ensure each chip is covered with toppings—not a naked chip in sight. Photo by John Robinson

In January, four places in Charlottesville opened their doors: Cho’s Nachos and Beer, Champion Richmond, Littlejohn’s at Pro Re Nata Farm Brewery, and Junction. Parallel 38 closed in its Shops at Stonefield location, and announced in May it was reopening on West Main Street.


Categories
Living

Junction brings modern Mexican to Belmont

The modern Tex/Mex menu at Junction includes a variety of dishes such as the grilled shrimp and sweet potato empanadas, oven-roasted chile relleno and Texas cowgirl chili, and housemade cocktails and margaritas. Photo by Ron Paris

When Melissa Close-Hart was in her mid 20s, she was studying to become a high school psychology teacher and worked in the kitchen at Birmingham, Alabama’s acclaimed Bottega Café to help pay for her tuition.

One night, she says she perfectly plated a chicken scallopini—the positions of the components, the garnish, everything—and it hit her. “This is what I should do. I shouldn’t teach high school psychology,” she remembers thinking.

And it seems as though Close-Hart, a four-time James Beard Award semifinalist, was correct: Cooking is her calling. And on Thursday, January 26, she’ll be opening Junction, the long-anticipated modern Mexican/TexMex spot on Hinton Avenue in Belmont, with owner Adam Frazier (of The Local Restaurant and Catering and The Local Smokehouse).

Close-Hart, who cooked at Barboursville’s Palladio restaurant for 14 years before leaving two years ago to join forces with Frazier, and sous chef Amber Cohen, formerly of Continental Divide, will cook up a broad, but not overwhelming, variety of dishes for Junction diners. The yet-to-be-priced menu features grilled shrimp, roasted corn and sweet potato empanadas with roasted jalapeño-cilantro crema and queso fresco; Texas cowgirl chili with 7 Hills Food Co. braised beef, tomatoes, housemade chili powder, sour cream, aged cheddar and corn bread; oven-roasted chile relleno with roasted poblano peppers stuffed with marinated Twin Oaks tofu, sweet potatoes, grilled corn, fire-roasted peppers, seasoned beans, fresh herbs, pineapple-cilantro salsa and lime crema; plus buffalo burgers, cowboy (i.e. very large) steaks, a variety of tacos, guacamole and queso dips; plus tres leches cake, Kahlúa flan and churros with chocolate mole sauce for diners in the restaurant’s four dining rooms.

Close-Hart is aware of the Mexican food boom that has hit Charlottesville in recent years—we have a bunch of taco joints, like Brazos and Cinema Taco, plus our share of traditional Mexican places such as Los Jarochos and La Michoacana. It’s part of why she chose to focus Junction on locally sourced, freshly prepared TexMex. Plus, she says, “I’m a girl from Alabama, so me cooking traditional Mexican is a stretch.”

Junction will offer a wine program, a variety of beers and cocktails developed by bar manager Alec Spidalieri (of The Local). There’s a selection of margaritas, like the simple JCT Marg made with blanco tequila, Cointreau, citrus, agave, cilantro and salt, and the Carpintero, made with fig-infused reposado tequila, Licor 43, hickory syrup, acid-adjusted orange, charred cedar and Szechuan peppercorn bitters; and house cocktails like the Texas Hold Me, made with coffee-infused bourbon, Ancho Reyes Chili Liqueur, roasted walnut, brown sugar and lemon, and a take on horchata, made with Vitae Spirits golden rum, Pedro Ximénez sherry, long-grain white rice, cinnamon, toasted almonds and milk.

The restaurant’s four bright dining rooms, with plenty of windows, copper lighting and exposed brick walls, can accommodate 169 diners and honor the integrity of the building’s late 19th century/early 20th century origins. In one of the downstairs rooms, there’s a large, well-preserved Pepsi-Cola advertisement that was painted on the exterior wall of the grocery store that once inhabited the space.

The blond wood booths in another dining room came from the trees that were cut down to make Junction’s parking lot, Close-Hart says, and other tables can seat parties of varying sizes. The two upstairs dining rooms can be reserved for private parties and events. 

Getting Junction off the ground has been “a labor of love…and licensing,” says Close-Hart. She’s been cooking for The Local’s catering operation for the past two years, and she’s excited to get back to a restaurant kitchen to keep doing what she loves. With food, “I get to nurse the soul and the body,” she says.

Mezze to pizza

As reported by Charlottesville 29 blogger and C-VILLE’s At The Table columnist C. Simon Davidson, Mediterranean mezze spot Parallel 38 will close its doors after service on Sunday, January 29. According to Davidson’s blog, after the original owners of The Shops at Stonefield sold the shopping center last year, Parallel 38 and the new owners could not agree on a new lease, which led to the closing.

A small California-based chain, MidiCi, The Neapolitan Pizza Company, will open in Parallel 38’s spot in late spring or early summer. Its Charlottesville franchise will house two 7,000-pound wood-fire ovens imported from Italy, a live olive tree and plenty of art.

MidiCi is about bringing friends together over high-quality pizza, and franchise owner Maurice Kelly chose to open a MidiCi here in Charlottesville (instead of Washington, D.C.) because of the city’s focus on local, community food. “In D.C., people might meet over cocktails, but in Charlottesville, they meet over food,” Kelly says.

Taste of home

Attendees at the 2017 Inaugural Luncheon on Friday, January 20, had a taste of Charlottesville. Seven Hills Food Co., led by butcher Ryan Ford and based here in town with an abattoir in Lynchburg, provided the meat used in the luncheon’s second course: grilled Seven Hills Angus beef with dark chocolate and juniper jus and potato gratin.