Tag: Restaurant Week

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Living

Silk Thai keeps it authentic

Silk Thai features owner TK Chin’s favorite dishes—the duck roll appetizer and panang curry—from his other Thai restaurants in Manassas. Photos by Amy Jackson

By Sam Padgett and Erin O’Hare

The red house at 2210 Fontaine Ave. that once housed Thai 99 has a new coat of paint and a new inhabitant: Silk Thai Restaurant.

Silk Thai owner TK Chin (nephew of Thai 99 owner Eddy Keomahathai) is bent on maintaining the friendly and welcoming environment that Thai 99 customers came to know, first with the name of the eatery itself. Chin says he’s always associated silk with softness and comfort, and from the moment one crosses the threshold of the restaurant, the warmth is palpable. Silk Thai’s walls are adorned with a variety of antiques and assorted knicknacks. There are also signs that exalt family, wine and football season, and, hidden among the dense decorations that Chin gathered from local antique stores and Craigslist, there is a uniquely Thai relic, a portrait of the late King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Even though Silk Thai is both located in and decorated like a cozy house, it remains an authentic Thai restaurant. Chin owns several other Thai eateries, including Mum Mum Restaurant and Zabb Thai Restaurant, both located in Manassas.

With Silk Thai, Chin plans to bring his favorite dishes from his other restaurants into a single menu. He’s cognizant of Thai 99’s previous standing as a Best of C-VILLE winner, and says he is eager to reclaim that title. Chin credits his co-owner and head chef, Roengsan “Pepsi” Chaichiengphin, with creating an authentic Thai menu. “He puts his heart and soul into the food,” says Chin. Some of those authentic dishes include khao soi, a traditional noodle soup served in northern Thailand, and the hearty pad Thai tempura.

Ultimately, Chin is excited to be a part of the Charlottesville culinary community. “I’ve been around food all my life,” he says. “My family sold palm sugar back in Thailand, so I’m proud to provide the most authentic food.”

Starting with a clean plate

C-VILLE Restaurant Week is upon us once again, and in 2018 the twice-yearly event (it comes around again in July) will benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. One dollar from each meal will go to the nonprofit, which works with community partners to combat hunger in central Virginia. From Friday, January 19, through Sunday, January 28, more than 39 local restaurants will offer three-course prixe-fixe menus at either a $25 or $35 price point (note that this is different from previous years, in which there were three price points). Check out c-villerestaurantweek.com for more information on participating restaurants, menus and reservations.

Sharing a meal

Maru, a Korean restaurant slated to open this week in the former Miso Sweet Ramen + Donuts spot on the Downtown Mall, means “gathering place.” Actually, the Maru staff tells us, it literally translates in Korean to “made from wood,” but, over time, it has become associated with hospitality and community. Maru the restaurant will serve traditional Korean food with modern additions. One of the restaurant’s trademark dishes is a kimchi arancini, a fried dish with both kimchi and mozzarella cheese. There will be a bar serving classic cocktails made with Korean liquors, plus a drink served with soju (a clear liquor from Korea) inside a watermelon. The restaurant’s specially designed tables, which have ice bucket-sized holes to keep your beverages cold while you hang with your friends, say plenty about the type of gathering place Maru aims to be.

Eater’s digest

On Saturday, February 10, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center will hold a Greens & Mac ’n’ Cheese cook-off. Entry is free, and you must submit your recipe for judging based on taste, look, smell and originality. Each participating cook should bring his own food, display and serving material for 100 tasters. The Jefferson School will supply a 6-foot table, plus table covers, cutlery and serving cups. Interested cooks (and taste-testers) can go to jeffschoolheritagecenter.org for more information.

This Friday and Saturday, January 19 and 20, chef André Soltner will cook dinner at Restaurant Pomme in Gordonsville. Soltner, recipient of a James Beard Award for lifetime achievement, is widely regarded as the original superstar chef. All of the dinner seats are filled for both nights, but a call to the restaurant to get on the waitlist couldn’t hurt.

According to a sign posted on the restaurant door, Café Caturra, a coffee shop-restaurant-bar combo located on the UVA Corner, has closed.

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Living

Dig in! It’s a full plate for Restaurant Week

Tommy Lasley, executive chef at Fry’s Spring Station, says the restaurant’s must-have Charlottesville Restaurant Week item is its pizza. Varieties include The Dude Abides, Happy Accident and Piggy Smalls. Photo by Sanjay Suchak

Hope you’re hungry: Charlottesville Restaurant Week is upon us, that glorious, twice-a-year event, this time featuring 42 restaurants (including five new participants) offering three-course menus at different price points: $19, $29 and $39. With $1 of each meal donated to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, you have an extra incentive to eat out July 14 through 23. Need another reason to partake, other than helping those in need? Some of the restaurants dish on don’t-miss Restaurant Week menu items, as well as new favorites. 

Rocksalt

Paul Chinco, executive chef

Don’t miss: Tomato gazpacho with crab salad

Debut dish: The tuna tartare; there might be some changes, but they will be simple changes that will elevate the dish.

Orzo Kitchen and Wine Bar

Pete Evans, chef/partner

Don’t miss: The summer vegetable salad. It’s a mixture of grilled and raw summer veg with preserved lemon, feta and grilled fennel vinaigrette.

Debut dishes: There are a few dishes here that will be on our summer menu: the gazpacho, melon and cucumber salad, fish of the day, the salmon and the risotto.

Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar

Erica Vorhauer, wine director

Don’t miss: Our beet-infused risotto dish is a feast for vegetarians but can also be a delight to carnivores by adding steak.

Debut dish: Fresh, local peaches will be added to celebrate summer. We are the first restaurant to debut our friend Jake Busching’s beautiful viognier and cabernet franc, and Commonwealth will also launch its new wine list in time for Restaurant Week.

The Pub by Wegmans

Branden Cheney, manager

Don’t miss: Our chicken shawarma wrap. Our restaurant chefs spent some time perfecting the spices and ingredients to make them unique and as authentic as possible.

The Fitzroy

Richard Ridge, co-owner/operator

Don’t miss: The peach and cucumber salad. Cooling off by eating chilled fresh produce is my favorite way to begin a summer meal.

Fry’s Spring Station

Tommy Lasley, executive chef

Don’t miss: All of our pizzas. We get a five-day ferment on our dough, combined with our house cheese blend and all in-house made toppings make for great pies.

The Shebeen Pub & Braai

Walter Slawski, chef/owner

Don’t miss: A South African version of the Southern classic shrimp and grits, incorporating samp (cracked hominy), boerewors (our house-made South African sausage) and prawns in a prego sauce.

Timberwood Tap House

Brandon Masters, kitchen manager

Don’t miss: The chorizo fritters. Spanish Manchego cheese and Yukon gold potatoes are going to be the perfect vehicle to experience this traditional sausage.

Debut dish: Chocolate cheesecake bread pudding. We make a vanilla ice cream base as the binder, then fold in chocolate chips, crusty French bread and scoops of our house- made cheesecake with caramel and chocolate sauces, then more ice cream.

Jack’s Shop Kitchen

Eric Bein, chef/farmer

Don’t miss: Our pork belly dish, featuring pork and beets from Jack’s Shop Farm, potatoes from Edgewood Miller and watercress from Planet Earth Diversified.

Debut dish: Our fry pie, in hopes that it will become a mainstay. We would change the filling throughout the year to reflect the season.

The Bavarian Chef

Jerome Thalwitz, chef/owner

Don’t miss: The summer schnitzel. The traditional hand-breaded veal schnitzel is topped with grilled local tomatoes, buttery Gouda cheese and fresh pineapple. It is truly a taste of summer.

Debut dish: The Bavarian cream napoleon has a real shot at earning a permanent spot on our dessert menu. One guest called it “life changing.”

Tavern & Grocery

David Morgan, chef

Don’t miss: The pork shank. We are using a new farm, Buckingham Berkshires, and we are very excited to highlight them.

Debut dishes: Chicken wings and panzanella are late-summer favorites.

Categories
Living

Mudhouse and JM Stock Provisions both named Good Food Award winners and other local restaurant news

Local coffee spot Mudhouse and charcuterie JM Stock Provisions are Good Food Award winners. Photo: Elli Williams

Mudhouse and JM Stock Provisions both named Good Food Award winners

How do you define good food? According to the Good Food Awards, the qualifications are pretty simple: “tasty, authentic and responsibly produced.” Tastemakers across the country submit products that fall under 13 categories, including cider, beer, cheese, confections, pickles and preserves. This year, two local companies were named Good Food Award winners—Mudhouse Coffee Roasters in the coffee category (naturally), and JM Stock Provisions for charcuterie.

The application process began last summer, and Mudhouse roaster Phil Hobbes says a panel of “highly respected people from the coffee industry” evaluated their limited-edition Geisha, among dozens of other submissions. The judges prepared all the submitted coffees in a home brewer “to make it more consumer-oriented,” which caused some anxiety for the Mudhouse team.

“We’re selling this coffee for $55 for a half-pound through our website,” Hobbes says. “This is not a coffee that people will generally be putting through their home brewer.”

It seems the brewer did the locally roasted beans justice. Not only did the coffee pass the taste test, but it’s sourced and produced sustainably and fairly. The bean hails from Finca La Mula, a farm on the side of Volcán Barú, an active volcano in the western region of Panama. The farm isn’t certified organic, but Hobbes says it was designed by a coffee agriculture school nearby, and the “best practices the school teaches and promotes were all implemented directly into the farm.”

Good Food Awards applicants fill out an extensive questionnaire about price transparency, farm workers’ rights and environmentally sustainable practices, which local butcher shop JM Stock Provisions also passed with flying colors.

Last year JM Stock received the award for its country paté, and this year the guys brought home the title for their spicy, Creole-style tasso ham.

“Our pork is pasture-raised, a heritage breed of hog,” says co-owner James Lum. “They’re slaughtered and processed in the most respectful way possible.”

There’s no prize money for winners, but both Hobbes and Lum say they look forward to entering the contest again in the future.

“The drive behind doing it is getting a lot of exposure and respect in the industry,” Lum says.

Good, better, best

Speaking of things that are good, it’s time for the annual Know Good Beer Festival. On Saturday, January 30, more than 20 craft brewers and cider-makers will set up shop at the Ix Art Park for a day of boozing (and eating and music-listening). Local favorites such as Three Notch’d Brewing Company, Starr Hill Brewery, Champion Brewing Company and Bold Rock Hard Cider will be in attendance, plus breweries from all over the country, including Boulevard Brewing Company and Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits.

Blue Ridge Pizza Company, South Fork and Little Manila food trucks will also be standing by, ready to help you soak up all the alcohol.

The festival begins at 1pm, and the $36 ticket gets you limited pours until 6pm. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.knowgoodbeer.com.

Restaurant Week ‘redeux’ 

You may have noticed some cold white stuff that’s accumulated on the ground. Charlottesville Restaurant Week participants certainly did, and to make up for the days they had to close because the chefs and servers couldn’t get out of their driveways, they’ve extended the nine-day event by two days—they’re calling it a “redeux.” The original end date for Restaurant Week was Saturday, January 30.

Threepenny Cafe opted out of the extension, but the other 39 participants will continue to offer their multi-course meals on Friday, February 5 and Saturday, February 6.