Gathered Thread’s carefully curated poultry marinade will pack the perfect flavor into this year’s bird. Photo: John Robinson
In the depths of the pandemic lock-down, independent and small-scale farmers suffered deeply as outlets for their goods scaled back or shut down entirely. There were reports of thousands of pounds of unsold produce rotting in fields while grocery store shelves remained empty, and tanks of perfectly drinkable milk being dumped down the drain.
Amidst the uncertainty, Local Food Hub, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing access to fresh, locally grown food, created a drive-through farmers market to safely reconnect growers to the community.
“Hey, wait a minute! We know all of these local farms,” says LFH Communications Director Portia Boggs about coming up with the idea. “We know this community. We can connect them.”
Since the spring of 2020, Local Food Hub operated the drive-through market on Wednesday and Friday to great success. One of the format’s strengths is its online, pre-ordering system. Shoppers know exactly what they’re getting and vendors know how much food to prepare, which cuts down on waste and allows people to place their orders while literally looking in their pantry.
“Farmers can guarantee that they will have what you want in advance,” says Boggs. “Since our market is pre-order only, there is zero waste for them, and that is something they really appreciate.”
Local Food Hub also covers all costs associated with running the market through a combination of grant and individual donations, allowing vendors to take home 100 percent of their sales. “It’s a really big deal for them,” says Boggs. “During COVID, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that most of our vendors were dependent on the drive-through market to just be able to survive as a business. This market is living proof of the power of local food systems.”
For the winter season, LFH will be open only one day a week. However, there will be a special one-off Everything But The Bird market on Wednesday, November 24, to give shoppers an opportunity to buy farm-fresh goods for their Thanksgiving dinner. With almost 800 different items from 46 vendors, the food hub is putting everything on the table.
For the full shopping experience, go to localfoodhub.org/market Pre-orders can be placed online at localfoodhub.luluslocalfood.com, and pickup is from 4 to 5:30pm at Seminole Square Shopping Center on your selected day. Here is a short list of highlights that will make your turkey day especially tasty.
Room for pie and sides
Here is a short list of market highlights that will make your turkey day especially tasty.
Caromont Farm cheese The popular goat-cuddle haven is offering a cheese-and-more assortment box with a selection of three seasonal cheeses, crackers, and homemade jam or honey.
Bellair Farm Acorn and spaghetti squashes that can be easily adapted to any recipe or used to create something brand new are at the top of Bellair’s fall specialties list.
Phantom Hill Farm Phantom Hill returns to the market with its signature microgreen blends, which can add color, flavor, and nutrition to almost any dish. Or, if you prefer to do some growing at home, the farm offers a grow-your-own shiitake mushroom log. Keep it in a damp, shady area of your yard and reap the delicious rewards for four or more years.
Gathered Thread The market does not sell turkey, but the poultry marinade packet from Gathered Thread includes basil, garlic scapes, oregano, thyme, summer savory, sage, and rosemary, which make for a fragrant, flavorful bird (or plant-based protein if you wish).
The Pie Chest Offload some of the T-day stress by outsourcing your baking this year. Go rogue at The Pie Chest, where the cider-glazed pumpkin cake is a gourd idea.
The Pie Chest owner Rachel Pennington misses the days when customers would sit and relax in her shop, chatting with friends over coffee and a slice.
Photo by Amy and Jackson smith
By Julia Stumbaugh
In 2018, Charlottesville residents Jessica Niblo and Samuel Kane met for a first date at The Pie Chest. But they were both too nervous to eat the shop’s signature dish. Instead, they sipped coffee.
Three years later, in January 2021, Kane proposed to Niblo at the same spot where they’d first met. But like many of Charlottesville’s bakery/cafés, The Pie Chest had changed drastically. It was forced to pivot from the kind of community gathering spot where Kane and Niblo gazed at each other over cups of coffee to a purely commercial exchange of money for take-away boxes.
“I think a big part of The Pie Chest’s identity was the space we provided for people…it would get full pretty quickly, and a lot of people would end up talking to people they didn’t know,” says Rachel Pennington, baker and owner of the shop. “Losing that, going to fully carryout and takeout, it’s just heartbreaking. I think of it every time I’m up at the shop now. We’ve lost the buzz that can happen in the room, the connections that can happen…the whole social component is mostly gone.”
The Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville told NBC29 in December that COVID-19 had sliced business revenue in half through the 2020 holiday season. Even places that have been able to remain open have felt the sting, both from the loss of income and the loss of a place to gather.
In Charlottesville, a town defined by its love for food and drink, bakeries and coffee shops are a core part of the town’s social fabric.
“We’re able to stay open and survive, but it’s become more about commerce than community, which is kind of sad,” says Jason Becton, who opened MarieBette Café & Bakery with his husband, baker Patrick Evans. “Eventually, one day, we’ll come back to that.”
With the current closure of MarieBette’s dining room, what Becton misses most is the conversations and connections he used to find with regular customers. But like Pennington, he knows the changes are necessary to keep the business around.
“I think any business that’s been able to stay open is a comfort to people in our community, just because we crave that normalcy,” Becton said. “Even though it’s not quite normal, we try to be able to keep it as normal as possible.”
Thanks to an endless series of stay-at-home orders, home bakers across the United States have turned to their kitchens for comfort, trying viral recipes to make everything from sourdough bread to whipped coffee. But for bakers like Evans and Pennington, who have spent the last year baking to keep their shops afloat, the art is more about sustenance and less about fun.
Even so, their influence has led other local bakers to discover their own love of the craft. Pennington held a series of baking classes in 2019; now, she can turn to social media to see her students reap the benefits. One student displayed her fresh-made biscuits, still golden from the cast-iron skillet. Another posted an album featuring her Pie Chest-inspired veggie pot pie.
“Before I did it for a living, baking at home was absolutely comforting, not just in the process but in knowing that I was able to do something for other people and give them something that they would enjoy,” says Pennington. “So I still know what that feeling feels like.”
The search for that feeling helped spark a new addition to the Charlottesville bakery scene—Pear, a stall at the IX farmers’ market that opened in January 2021, is a local collaboration by two strangers whose only connection was that they both love to bake for people who love to eat.
Myo Quinn, co-founder of Pear, moved to Charlottesville from New York City this summer. Lonely and homesick, the Food Network test kitchen cook headed to the farmers’ market for a sense of normalcy. There she met Holly Hammond, who was working at the Whisper Hill Farm stall.
Quinn is a culinary school-trained chef, Hammond a farmer from Arizona. This winter, they opened their own bakery stall at the market where they met.
“We’ve had a lot of recurring customers, including friends of Holly’s and customers of Whisper Hill, that keep coming over and over again,” says Quinn. “We had our third weekend and the faces started looking familiar.”
Sharing her baking with newly familiar faces has allowed Quinn to weave herself into the fabric of the Charlottesville community. She and Hammond have learned through Pear what the owners of The Pie Chest and MarieBette know well: Even in a pandemic that forces people apart, baking can bring strangers together.
But for now, most of Charlottesville’s professional bakers are left dreaming of a time when their work involves more leisurely connections with customers.
“I long for the first day I can go into a coffee shop and just sit at a table and read the paper,” says Pennington. “I think about it at least once or twice a week. I just want to be part of the food community.”
Della Bennett has seen the effect that a home-cooked meal can have. She worked as a nanny for several years, assisting as many as four families at a time, and on the occasions when she made meals, she noticed the positive impact it had on her clients.
“PLENTY Cville was born as a solution to a problem,” says Bennett, the owner and chef of the prepared-meal delivery service. “I learned that folks value the idea of a home-cooked meal, but they don’t necessarily have the time, patience, skills, or even sometimes the desire to pull it off every single week.”
Initially created to address the needs of families with small children, PLENTY has grown from a single-person, in-home operation to a small team with a commercial kitchen that supplies meals to busy professionals, students, and others.
Unlike other meal delivery services, these dishes are made right here in Charlottesville, from local farm-sourced fruits and vegetables, with other area small businesses, including The Pie Chest and Lone Light Coffee providing products.
PLENTY also differs from the competition through its commitment to reducing wasteful packaging. Prior to the pandemic, meals were delivered in reusable glass containers, but now single-use, recyclable plastic is used, with a post-COVID goal of moving exclusively to biodegradable packaging. “We want to maintain that integrity as part of our business going forward,” Bennett says.
Each week, clients receive a new menu via email on Wednesday, place orders on Friday, and get their meals on Monday. Contactless delivery is available within a 20-mile radius of downtown Charlottesville, with a pickup option coming soon.
“The menu is inspired by what I’m craving, but also by what people have really enjoyed,” Bennett says. The service offers creative breakfast, lunch, and main courses at various price points. There’s something for everyone—entrées include cauliflower piccata and ginger chicken meatballs. The team is working on a customization option to better serve those with dietary restrictions.
And what does Bennett crave? “Anything with buffalo sauce is my favorite,” she says, noting her roasted cauliflower tossed in buffalo sauce. “We either serve it up as tacos with homemade ranch and pickled onions, or we serve it as a grain bowl with quinoa and crunchy vegetables.”
Bennett and her team plan to host socially distanced workshops in PLENTY’s large kitchen space—build-your-own cheese board workshops and meal prep classes are coming soon.
“The feeling we want to invoke is that food is self-care. We also want to show our care about the community through food,” Bennett says. PLENTY donates a portion of its proceeds to area nonprofits, and provides meals to people who have lost their job or are recovering from COVID-19.
Whether it’s offering food or experiences, Bennett says PLENTY’s mission is ultimately to take care of people. “PLENTY started with a certain group of people who were able to afford the luxury of a stocked fridge,” she says. “I think our audience has actually grown because of the care and love that we put into each and every dish.”
Della Bennett’s prepared-meal service gives busy people an opportunity to eat well at home. “I started PLENTY with the intention of helping families grow and thrive by giving them more time to do what they love,” she says.
Three Notch’d Brewing Company was one of the area establishments that welcomed back customers May 15, under Phase One of Virginia’s reopening. “We’ve really been preparing to do this for eight weeks,” says Scott Roth, the brewery’s president. PC: Sanjay Suchak
On Friday, May 15, a number of Virginia businesses got the green light to reopen (with restrictions), as part of Phase One of Governor Ralph Northam’s plan. But locally, response has been mixed, with some establishments instituting new safety measures to bring in badly needed customers, while others stay shut for now. Though the number of positive COVID-19 tests and hospitalizations in the state have declined over the past two weeks, there has been at least one new reported case of the virus almost every day for the past two weeks in the Charlottesville area.
Under Northam’s plan, restaurants with outdoor seating (along with places of worship) can reopen at 50 percent capacity. With its ample outdoor space, Three Notch’d Brewing Company is in a position to be a “leader in the community in setting a really high standard for what [reopening] should look like in our industry,” says president Scott Roth.
“We’ve really been preparing to do this for eight weeks. We’ve had a gloves-and-mask policy since March, and have required that our employees do daily wellness checks and screenings,” Roth adds. “[We’ve] been able to secure hand sanitizer to put on every table…[and] have 40-something-odd seats spaced appropriately on the patio,” among other health and safety measures.
In-person sales are vital to local craft breweries and wineries, and many have taken the opportunity to reopen. Random Row and Decipher Brewing have implemented policies similar to those at Three Notch’d, while Devils Backbone and Starr Hill are also requiring reservations and asking patrons to wear face coverings when not seated at their table. Champion Brewing announced its two locations will remain closed except for takeout and delivery, while it “continues developing plans for safe outdoor seating.”
Some wineries, like Keswick and Veritas, are also requiring reservations, while Knight’s Gambit allows walk-ins.
Multiple local restaurants have opened up their outdoor seating too, such as Ace Biscuit & Barbecue, The Lazy Parrot, and Martin’s Grill.
Under Phase One, non-essential retail is also allowed to open at 50 percent capacity, and several local retailers are now allowing limited in-person shopping. Customers can schedule a private shopping appointment at downtown boutiques Darling and Arsenic and Old Lace Vintage, as well as at The Artful Lodger and Lynne Goldman Elements. They can also shop (without an appointment) at certain stores, like Mincer’s at Stonefield, which is allowing no more than six customers inside at a time, and is requiring all customers and employees to wear masks.
Following state guidelines, some nail salons, hairdressers, and other personal grooming businesses across town have opened up by appointment only, including Boom Boom Nail and Waxing Lounge, His Image Barber Shop & Natural Hair Studio, and Hazel Beauty Bar. While restrictions vary at each establishment, all customers and employees are required to wear face masks at all times, forbidding services (such as lip waxing) that require removal of masks.
Despite all of these reopenings, dozens of other local businesses have decided to stick with contactless curbside pickup and delivery for now, citing health and safety concerns.
“Some of you may ask what it will take for us to reconsider and open our doors again. Again, in all honesty, we’re not quite sure. Certainly, a much more robust testing and contact tracing policy by our state and country,” said Ragged Mountain Running Shop in a May 12 Facebook post. “Beyond that, the emergence of more effective treatment options, widespread antibody testing, and on the distant horizon, a vaccine.”
While a couple of restaurants on the Downtown Mall, such as Vita Nova and Taste of India, have opened up their patios, many have decided to hold off—including Draft Taproom, The Whiskey Jar, Ten, The Fitzroy, The Pie Chest, The Alley Light, Citizen Burger Bar, and Zocalo.
Some, like Citizen Burger, pointed out that the mall is not the ideal location for safe outdoor seating. Though tables can be spaced at least six feet apart, restaurants have a limited amount of patio space available. Mall pedestrians are also able to walk right next to the patios, making it potentially more difficult to enforce social distancing guidelines.
Brooke Fossett, owner of The Brow House, has also decided not to reopen under Phase One, because she and her employees did not feel it was safe to do so.
“We literally touch people’s faces,” she says. “Salons and spas should not have been in Phase One. I know how bad some of them—and us—are struggling, and I wish that there was more support from the government for our industry.”
Hairstylist Claibourne Nesmith, who will not be opening her salon, The Honeycomb, until Phase Two, also thinks that personal grooming businesses should not be open now, and were thrown into Phase One “to appease people,” she says.
“Right now we don’t have adequate access to PPE…We don’t even have Barbicide or reusable tools that they are requiring for us to have,” says Nesmith. “If we’re getting all these requirements to be this careful, it kind of sounds like we’re not ready to go back.”
And under the state’s restrictions, those in the personal grooming industry who do go back to work will not be able to make much money, due to their limited amount of appointments (and tips), says Nesmith, who is currently advocating with others for partial unemployment benefits for employees who rely on tips (including waiters).
The ham biscuit at JM Stock is a favorite. Photo: Tom McGovern
From bagels to biscuits to burritos, we dig in to the best meal of the day (and where to find it around town).
BY: Brielle Entzminger, Ben Hitchcock, Laura Longhine, and Erin O’Hare
Ace Biscuit and Barbecue. Photo: Amanda Maglione
Best in biscuits
Biscuits are a breakfast staple around here-—but which one is the best? We rounded up our favorites (with top honors to the ham biscuit at J.M. Stock), but biscuits are personal, so feel free to disagree–we know you will!
Bluegrass Grill & Bakery: With a mix of white and whole wheat flour, Bluegrass’ biscuits are denser than most, and slightly sweet—almost muffin-like, but weirdly satisfying.
Blue Moon Diner: Your basic biscuit: pale, soft, and flaky, best with eggs or sausage gravy.
Fox’s Cafe: Delightfully light and fluffy, Fox’s homemade biscuits are the perfect foil for salty country ham or bacon.
The Pigeon Hole: In addition to egg biscuits (avocado is optional) you can get a biscuit basket with honey butter and strawberry preserves.
J.M. Stock: Though they’re only served one way (as a ham biscuit), Stock’s biscuits are head and shoulders above the rest. Made with both butter and lard (from the same local pigs that supply the ham), the Stock biscuit is perfectly golden, buttery and flaky, firm enough for a sandwich, and has a nice salty kick. Add the country ham and a dash of hot sauce and honey, and you’ve got an unbelievably delicious breakfast.
Tip Top: Tender and satisfying, Tip Top’s biscuits stand up to their flavorful sausage gravy—at only $4.10 an order, it’s a steal.
The Pie Chest: Rachel Pennington makes a damn good biscuit: salty, generously sized, and so buttery and rich it’s liable to crumble through your fingers. They’re sold one to an order, with a (stellar) housemade pear butter.
Ace Biscuit & Barbecue: Fans swear by the Ol’ Dirty Biscuit, which turns the classic biscuits and gravy up a notch (or 10) with a fried chicken thigh, pimento cheese, and pickles.—LL
When it comes to breakfast potatoes, The Villa Diner is firmly on team hash browns, while Blue Moon Diner comes down on the side of home fries. Photo: Tom McGovern
The great debate: hash browns vs. home fries
We’re not ones to fabricate a starch—er, staunch—rivalry between two delicious potato-based breakfast side dishes, but we’ve noticed that most restaurants tend to offer either hash browns or home fries, rather than both.
What’s the difference, anyway? And is one better than the other? Hash browns are potatoes, grated or shredded, and pan-fried. Home fries are potatoes, diced or wedged, and pan-fried. Hash browns tend to be crispy, while home fries tend to be soft. Both have plenty of potential to be extremely delicious.
Each cook has her own way of seasoning and preparing her hash browns and home fries, and there’s plentiful offerings of each dish around town. The Villa Diner, The Cavalier Diner, IHOP, and Waffle House are team hash browns; Blue Moon Diner, The Nook, Bluegrass Grill, Tip Top Restaurant, and Moose’s By the Creek are team home fries. (We couldn’t find a local spot that offers both.)
There’s a reason why Georgia-based chain Waffle House has a cult following, and we’re pretty sure the hash browns are a big part of it: You can order them 10 different ways. Get ’em plain (good ol’ potatoes alone), smothered (sautéed onions), covered (melted cheese), chunked (hickory smoked ham), diced (grilled tomatoes), peppered (jalapeño peppers), capped (grilled mushrooms), topped (with the chain’s proprietary Bert’s Chili), or country (sausage gravy). Or, order them “all the way”—with all the toppings—for $5.
For Bluegrass Grill owner Chrissy Benninger, that sort of flavorful hash browns option seems like a rarity. “I get the appeal [of hash browns], but they seem a bit bland to me. It doesn’t seem like people season hash browns. Maybe I’m wrong, but it just seems like French fries in a different form.” For her, it’s all about the home fries: “Chunky, perfectly spiced, onion-laden, crispy potatoes. What’s not to love?”
Interestingly enough, the debate over what to call Blue Moon Diner’s breakfast potatoes has continued for more than a decade. When Laura Galgano and her husband took over the diner in 2006, the menu called the dish—which is cubed potatoes roasted with peppers and onion—”hash browns.” The couple spent more than a year explaining to customers that while they were called hash browns, they were more like home fries. “We changed the name on the menu and thought that would be the end of that.” They were wrong; people still had questions.
But Galgano’s come to an extremely logical conclusion in this debate: “It sure doesn’t matter what you call them, as long as you enjoy them!”—EO
Shenandoah Joe
Who’s got the best cup of coffee in town?
The good news is, every local coffee purveyer seems to have its fans: Our call
on social media brought up everything from Guajiros Miami Eatery to the mobile popup JBird Supply. Here’s how the finalists stacked up in a Twitter poll:
Lone Light 18.3%
Mudhouse 23.7%
Shenandoah Joe 58.1%
Breakfast burrito breakdown
Tia Sophia’s, a diner in Santa Fe, claims it coined the term “breakfast burrito” in 1975. But it seems impossible that no one dreamed up such a simple combination before then. Eggs, cheese, maybe potatoes, maybe some sausage, wrapped up in a tortilla—it makes too much sense to have been invented as late as 1975.
The breakfast burrito is a twist on a twist, an Americanized, breakfast-ified version of a food that was already informal and customizable. As such, a modern breakfast burrito isn’t bound by any strict set of culinary rules. If it’s got eggs in a tortilla, it’s a breakfast burrito. The rest is up to the person with the pan.
Even so, breakfast burritos are deceptively difficult to execute well. If the eggs are too wet, the tortilla can get soggy. With nothing to provide some crunch, the whole thing can turn to mush. Too much filling can overwhelm a fragile wrap. In Charlottesville, plenty of places do it right—and they all do it differently. Here, the breakfast burrito’s delicious versatility is on full display.
Blue Moon Diner’s burrito is a vegetarian dish. Just eggs, cheddar, and beans,served in a spinach wrap, it’s on the healthier end of the eccentric eatery’s Southern-style diner menu. Don’t let that dissuade you—the eggs are fluffy, the cheddar is soft and melty, and the black beans provide some important textural contrast. Add a little of the tangy, flavorful salsa to kick the whole thing up a notch.
The En Fuego at Ivy Provisions. Photo: Cramer Photo.
Ivy Provisions takes the opposite approach. Its breakfast burrito, called the En Fuego, is a decadent, salty, fatty hangover cure. Take a bite, and the En Fuego will send a squirt of orange grease trickling down your hand from the back of the wax paper wrap. Jammed with chorizo and potatoes, everything inside melts together into a piping hot mess, propelled by the spice from the sausage. The En Fuego is transcendent, though not for the faint of heart.
Breakfast burritos can also be quick, on-the-go fast food. That’s what you’ll find at Nuestra Cocina in the Marathon Station at the Rio-Greenbrier intersection. Charlottesville’s gas station food has a well-known reputation at this point, and like the other humble, hidden kitchens in town, this place doesn’t disappoint. Its burrito is rich but not overwhelming; the eggs are scrambled withonions and green peppers, balancing well with potatoes and greasy chorizo.
Quality breakfast burritos can also be found at Bluegrass Grill, Grit Coffee, Firefly, Beer Run, and plenty of other local eateries both on and off the beaten path. Be sure to let us know if we missed any great ones—we’re always hungry.—BH
Something special
Looking for a special occasion splurge? The Clifton’s acclaimed 1799 restaurant serves an elegant breakfast daily, from steel-cut oats with Virginia apples to smoked salmon and roe with a roasted garlic pancake and charred onion crème fraiche. Sunday brunch adds more savory dishes, like escargot and North Carolina trout. Sit on the sunny veranda or enclosed patio, take in the gorgeous view, and start your day off in style.—LL
Juicin’ it: Where to grab a healthy breakfast
Want to wake up on the right side of the bed? A healthy breakfast is the perfect way to start your day. Whether you decide to take in your nutrients via liquid form at a nearby juice bar or partake in a bowl or platter is up to you, but thesefour spots will put a little extra pep in your morning step.—MI
Corner Juice
What you need to know: Corner Juice has two locations: the original on the Corner and another on the Downtown Mall. At both, cold-pressed juices made in small batches are the focus. Beyond juice, the selections include toasts, sandwiches, smoothies, and bowls. Power shots and nut milks round out the menu.
What you should order: With just four ingredients—organic orange, pineapple, lemon, and ginger—the Dr. J juice is a good place to start. The Blue Ridge Berry smoothie is a customer favorite, made with blueberries, mango, banana, avocado, flax powder, and almond milk.
Essentials:cornerjuice.com, two locations at 201 E. Main St. and 1509 University Ave.
Farm Bell Kitchen
What you need to know: Consider this a public service announcement: Farm Bell Kitchen offers brunch every single day of the week from 8am-2pm. The weekday menu and the weekend menu offer some differing selections, but no matter the day, guests will find omelets, salads, and bowls.
What you should order: On the weekday menu, the farm omelet (egg whites, spinach, tomato, sweet potato, cheese) and the grains of truth bowl (tofu or chicken, quinoa, kale, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, peppers, pecans, and avocado dressing) are your best bets for lighter fare. Come the weekend, order the power bowl, served with kale, tofu, and sweet potato with roasted red pepper vinaigrette and a poached egg.
What you need to know: First Watch opened its Charlottesville doors at Barracks Road Shopping Center last April. With more than 200 locations throughout the country, it’s fair to say the restaurant has breakfast, brunch, and lunch down to a science. Dishes range from health-conscious to decadent, and a kid’s menu ensures the whole family is taken care of.
What you should order: In the mood for something savory? The avocado toast is topped with extra-virgin olive oil, lemon, and Maldon sea salt. Steel-cut oatmeal is on the sweeter side, made in-house and served with berries, sliced banana, and pecans. On the seasonal menu, million dollar bacon may not be healthy, but topped with brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne, and a syrup drizzle, there will be no judgment if you can’t resist!
Essentials:firstwatch.com, Barracks Road Shopping Center
The Juice Laundry
What you need to know: Founders Sarah and Mike Keenan started The Juice Laundry in 2013. Today, there are three locations of the cold-pressed juice shop in Charlottesville, one in Richmond, and one in Washington, D.C. The menu goes beyond juice, with smoothies, acai bowls, nut milks, and other healthy goodies in the lineup.
What you should order: The Waterboy, which can be ordered as a smoothie or acai bowl, is the philanthropic choice. It’s made with pineapple, mango, blue majik (an extract of spirulina), and coconut water, and $2 from every one goes to Chris Long’s Waterboy Foundation. On the juice menu, the Gentle Green combines kale, spinach, cucumber, grapefruit, and apple.
Essentials:thejuicelaundry.com, 1411 University Ave.; 722 Preston Ave., Suite 105; 450 Whitehead Rd. (inside the UVA Aquatic & Fitness Center)
Craving pork chops and eggs at 2am? The Waffle House is open 24-7, and the grill is always hot. Photo: Eze Amos
Midnight breakfast
Breakfast for dinner was novel when you were a kid, and it’s no less delicious when you’re an adult. Plenty of diner-type spots in town keep bacon and eggs on the griddle until close—Blue Moon Diner, The Nook, Tip Top Restaurant, to name a few. But sometimes the breakfast craving hits before morning can come again, and that’s when we thank our lucky stars that we live in a place that has Waffle Houses (on Route 29 South and Fifth Street) and an IHOP (at Rio Hill Shopping Center), two iconic 24-hour breakfast spots with extensive menus. And there’s Sheetz on the Corner, too, where you (and plenty of intoxicated undergrads) can get bacon croissants, hash browns, and the Walker Breakfast Ranger sandwich at all hours. —EO
Photo: Morgan Salyer
A local classic
Bodo’s Deli-Egg isn’t just delicious. It also solves a problem.
“You get to a point where you’re slicing deli meat, and you have an undersized heel you don’t want to use for a sandwich,” says Scott Smith, co-owner of the venerable bagel vendor.
Bodo’s didn’t come up with the idea—it’s an old New York Jewish deli trick—but Smith and his team have taken it a step further. Because they’re not kosher, they’ve added ham, capicola, salami and Swiss, muenster and provolone cheese to the traditional deli egg mixture of pastrami and corned beef.
The result is one of Bodo’s most popular items. Indeed, the sandwich shop sells so much deli egg, they end up using far more cured meat than just the stuff that comes from the unused ends.
Smith says most folks are straight down the middle with their egg sandwich orders—Deli-Egg on an everything bagel is most popular. But some add more meat and cheese, usually bacon and cheddar, or balance out the richness with some punchy pepper spread.
Smith’s pro tip? Try the Deli-Egg a couple times before you make up your mind about it. The meat and cheese contents can vary depending on what’s available to chop on any given day.
Don’t forget the donuts
Spudnuts and now Sugar Shack may be gone, but there are still a few spots to get your morning sugar fix.
Carpe Donut: Organic, local, and delicious, Carpe makes what may be the perfect apple cider donut, rolled in cinnamon sugar. In recent years they’ve added a range of other toppings, from maple bacon to blueberry. 715 Allied Ln., and at City Market
Duck Donuts: A fresh donut is a good donut, and this North Carolina chain delivers with made-to-order cake donuts you can customize with your choice of coating, topping, and “drizzle.” The Shops at Stonefield
Dunkin’ Donuts: Homesick New Englanders can get their Dunkin’ fix off 29 North. The donuts? They’re fine. Rivanna Plaza
Krispy Kreme: For a classic old-school glazed, Krispy Kreme is still the king. Get one hot or follow their advice and microwave for eight seconds—you won’t be sorry. 5th Street Station
Savory breakfast pies at The Pie Chest. Photo: John Robinson
Breakfast on a budget:
Five vegetarian morning options—$5 and under
Last November, my boyfriend suggested we go on a pescaterian diet together. He had done his research, and thought it would be a great way for us to eat and live healthier in the new year. And with relationship weight gain being a very real thing, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.
So when it comes to grabbing breakfast in the morning, I’m looking for something vegetarian. This isn’t that difficult, with all of the juice bars, coffee shops, and such around town. But what can be hard is finding something delicious and filling on a budget—I certainly can’t afford to buy $7 avocado toast on a regular basis.
Thankfully, there are plenty of spots in town that have vegetarian options priced at $5 or less, for whatever breakfast mood you happen to be in. Here are some of my favorites. —BE
Something classic
For an affordable breakfast, you can never go wrong with Bodo’s. Made-from-scratch bagels are just 85 cents each (75 cents if you buy a dozen or more), and there are an array of spreads, from plain cream cheese ($2.05) to cinnamon sugar or honey and butter. For a little extra change, get the flavored cream cheese—I recommend the cinnamon-raisin bagel with honey pecan cream cheese ($2.40).
If you’re in the mood for a sandwich, there are multiple vegetarian options for under $5, including egg, veggie patty, three cheese, and PBJ, and all will hold you over till lunch. Everyone has their own Bodo’s order: My favorite is the three cheese (muenster, cheddar, and American) on whole wheat.
Something sweet
While MarieBette Bakery & Café does have a breakfast menu, most of the options are over $5. But no worries—if you’re looking for a sweet breakfast treat, its wide selection of authentic French pastries are a step above your standard coffee shop muffin. I recommend the pain au chocolat for $3.25. But if you’d prefer something salty, try the pretzel croissant. At $4, it’s a little pricey, but it’s fairly big, tastes exactly like a pretzel and a croissant (at the same time!), and will fill you up.
Something (a little) spicy
Here’s something to get you out of bed: From 7-8am at Brazos Tacos, tacos are buy one get one free! But if you’re like me and hate waking up early, make sure to stop by on Tuesday, when tacos are $1 off all day. With either deal, you can get a Flora (sautéed spinach, scrambled eggs, refried black beans, queso fresco, and roasted tomato salsa) and an I Willie Love You (scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, sliced avocado, roasted corn pico, and queso fresco), and still get out for under a Lincoln.
Something cheap
If you’re on the run and want something cheap (but still tasty) for breakfast, head over to Market Street Market for a $1.99 egg and cheese biscuit, which you’ll find wrapped in foil near the checkout. The biscuit is light and fluffy, while the egg has the perfect amount of cheese melted on top. And don’t miss the array of fruits, yogurts, and other breakfasty items available to get the most bang for your (five) bucks.
Something savory
The Pie Chest may be known for its delectable desserts, but it certainly does not slack on savory pies. A selection of hand pies for just $5 is available all day, and includes those of the breakfast variety. On some days, the vegetarian breakfast pie is stuffed with salsa, egg, and cheese. Other days, there’s a spinach and feta pie. With a flaky crust and cheesy filling, both are equally delicious.
“I met a man who had worked in restaurants his whole life but had had a stroke and lost all ability to use his hands. This struck me to the core—this could be me," says Duner’s executive chef Laura Fonner, who recently launched a program to provide PACEM clients with home-cooked dinners every Tuesday night. Photo by Jackson Smith
Duner’s executive chef Laura Fonner has spearheaded a drive to provide chef-driven, home-cooked suppers for PACEM—an organization that provides cold-weather shelter for the homeless—each Tuesday throughout the winter months. She was inspired to take action after helping to serve at a PACEM dinner late last winter.
“I met a man who had worked in restaurants his whole life but had had a stroke and lost all ability to use his hands,” she says. “This struck me to the core—this could be me. I vowed in that moment that this is something I wanted to get involved in.”
Fonner credits her “secret weapon”—a group of some 80 women in an exercise boot camp she runs in Crozet—with helping launch the program, enabling her to run two shelter dinners (one for men, one for women) in two locations (church members feed PACEM guests on the other nights of the week). Members of Charlottesville Women in Food are also helping with cooking and donations, and Fonner has received food from Autumn Olive Farms, Gryffon’s Aerie, and Sam Rust, as well as financial contributions from The Pie Chest, Tin Whistle Irish Pub, Nona’s Italian Cucina, and Vivace.
With recent donations, the group has also assembled baskets of self-care items and a grab bag of holiday cookies for those staying at PACEM, which moves among various places of worship each week.
Fonner is thrilled to see her dreams so readily turned into reality. “I’m blessed to be surrounded by so many strong and caring women,” she says.
To donate or volunteer, contact Fonner at lfonner23@gmail.com.
Tailgating for change
Trish Clinton—who trained at Tennessee’s famed Blackberry Farm luxury hotel and resort and is now executive chef for Zeta Psi fraternity at UVA—has cooked up a Dave Matthews Band tailgate to benefit Charlottesville’s Sexual Assault Resource Agency. The tailgate will be held at Zeta Psi from 2-4pm on Friday, December 14, before the band’s concert at the John Paul Jones Arena.
Clinton, a self-proclaimed “die-hard” DMB fan, conjured up the plan after becoming frustrated watching the Kavanaugh hearings last fall.
“I found myself angry—you could hear in [Dr. Ford’s] voice what anyone that has experienced sexual assault has felt,” she says. “I needed to do something to make those people feel more supported and put my anger to action. I thought ‘why not combine my loves—food and DMB—to give back?’”
Clinton is partnering with Tailgate Caravan, which has held other philanthropic tailgates at DMB shows, and has tapped into the band’s broad fan base to enlist attendees, with over 100 signed up already (she’s capping it at 200). The suggested minimum donation of $35 per person will cover a full buffet spread, open bar with DMB-themed cocktails and draft beer, and raffle prizes. While fellow members of Charlottesville Women in Food have donated beer and services, Clinton is seeking additional help and donations—large or small—of cash and raffle prizes. For more information, email trishtye@hotmail.com.
Timbercreek Market and its affiliated restaurant, Back 40, have closed, but chef Tucker Yoder (pictured) has turned his attention to a big bike ride. Photo by Amy Jackson
Was it really only a year ago that Timbercreek Market in the old Coca-Cola building on Preston Avenue was revamped, split into a retail farm store on one end and Back 40, the farm-to-fork restaurant manned by chef Tucker Yoder, on the other? Both spots have closed, and there’s no word yet on what’s next for owners and sustainable farmers Zach and Sara Miller or Yoder.
“Back 40 was a project that I felt deeply committed to and I am sorry to see it go,” Yoder says, adding, “I can’t wait to get back behind the stoves and make great food with great local products.”
In the meantime, Yoder, a lifelong cyclist, is gearing up for a big bike ride: He’ll bike 300 miles over three days in September for the 2018 Chefs Cycle: No Kid Hungry ride.
“I was approached by [acclaimed Napa Valley chef] Philip Tessier about forming a team to tackle the 300-mile Charlottesville ride,” says Yoder. “Knowing a bit about the organization and their goals, I felt like it was a no-brainer for me to want to help out this organization in any way I could, so the first logical step was to sign up for the ride. We hope to organize a dinner or two in the coming months.”
Rise and shine
The Pie Chest’s Rachel Pennington will spend the upcoming weekend at Flavored Nation in Columbus, Ohio. The annual event is an expo-style festival in which attendees purchase tickets to sample iconic dishes from all 50 U.S. states.
Pennington’s scrumptious ham biscuit—which has a loyal following at The Whiskey Jar—was selected to represent Virginia at this year’s expo.
“I was honored! I put a lot of work into perfecting my biscuit after the Jar hired me in 2012,” says Pennington. “Much of it comes down to the flour we use—we purchase it locally milled in Ashland [from Patrick Henry at Byrd Mill]. I think it’s a perfect complement to a slice of Kite’s ham.”
More Mochiko, please
Plans are underway for Riki Tanabe’s popular Mochiko Hawaiian food stall at City Market to have a more permanent home at The Yard at 5th Street Station. Tanabe, a native Hawaiian who worked as a pastry chef at Albemarle Baking Company for 17 years before returning to his gustatory roots, says the time was right for the business expansion.
“I’ve been seeing the popularity of the food I grew up with taking over the West Coast and parts of the Northeast, and I realized there was nothing here, so I thought maybe there was interest,” says Tanabe.
Customer demand for a storefront nudged Tanabe along, and he plans to design the primarily takeout shop like an authentic Hawaiian deli. He eventually plans to include popular Hawaiian deserts as well, such as malasada (Portuguese fried donuts), lilikoi (passionflower) cream pie, and coconut chocolate cream pie.
Tanabe expects the restaurant to be open by wintertime, and will serve lunches and dinners. He says the plate lunch—a classic Hawaiian meal that harkens back to the 1970s, when food trucks delivered to construction sites—consisting of a serving dish with meat, rice, vegetable, and a side of Hawaiian macaroni salad, will be the mainstay of the restaurant.
A welcome return
The Villa Diner has hung up its shingle at a new spot, having moved when UVA took over the property where the restaurant previously stood. The popular breakfast and lunch spot re-opened mid-June in the busy Emmet Street North corridor, in the former Royal Indian restaurant location at 1250 Emmet St. N.
“We love our new location,” says Ken Beachley, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Jennifer. “It’s been very convenient for our regular customers and we’ve seen a lot of new faces.”
A tart farewell
With the Monticello Dairy Building facing redevelopment this fall, Three Notch’d Brewing Company ended its five-year run on Grady Avenue on July 29. After the brewery moved most of its operations to IX Art Park last year, the space became Three Notch’d Sour House, which focused on funkier beers that aren’t always easy to brew alongside other types of beer.
But lovers of sour beer, have no fear: Three Notch’d brewmaster Dave Warwick promises that his most popular sours will still be available at the IX location.
The Pie Chest’s Rachel Pennington says her second retail location, at 1518 E. High St., will offer hand pies, pies by the slice, biscuits and honey chocolate chip cookies. Photo by Eze Amos.
On March 14, 2015, eager pie eaters lined up along Fourth Street NE on The Pie Chest’s opening day. They were ready to satisfy the cravings triggered by Pi Day, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant pi (you know, 3.14159265359), which the new bake shop opted to embrace.
When the door swung open at 9:26am, customers flooded in and gobbled up every s’mores tart and sweet and savory pie in the glass pastry case that two bakers had worked more than 150 hours combined to fill.
By 1pm, they had devoured every last crumb of pie.
After flipping the “open” sign to “closed,” head baker and co-owner Rachel Pennington and her partner, Tina Morrison, sat down inside the shop. Morrison looked at Pennington with glassy eyes and asked, “What have we done?”
A little more than three years later, Pennington echoes that sentiment as she looks around The Pie Chest’s second retail location, which opened last week at 1518 E. High St. It’s an added feature to The Pie Chest’s new baking facility in the same building, which Pennington says is “at least six times” the size of the bakery’s previous kitchen on Dale Avenue.
It was a necessary expansion. In addition to making by hand tens of thousands of pies each year for The Pie Chest, Pennington and her team make desserts and other baked goods for The Whiskey Jar, El Bebedero, Revolutionary Soup, Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar and Brasserie Saison—all part of restaurateur Will Richey’s Ten Course Hospitality group. Richey co-owned The Pie Chest with Pennington until August 2017, when Pennington became sole owner.
The second location will offer hand pies and Pie Chest favorites by the slice, plus biscuits hot out of the oven, honey chocolate chip cookies (the first thing Pennington ever baked, with her Memaw) and special non-pie items that’ll spotlight the small baking team’s talents. Lone Light Coffee will share the space, offering its full range of coffees and teas at the front counter, and roasting its own coffee approved by the SCAA certified brewers in the back room. Nothing will change at The Pie Chest on Fourth Street.
Pennington, a self-taught baker who years ago applied for a baking gig at The Whiskey Jar on a whim, says this growing operation isn’t at all what she and Morrison pictured when The Pie Chest was still just an idea.
They imagined a low-key endeavor, Pennington baking as Morrison worked the storefront, pouring coffee from a carafe and chatting with regulars over slices of pie. They’d both be home by 5pm.
What they couldn’t anticipate is how the community would shape what The Pie Chest has become. Within a year, the bakery had a regular clientele, those who take a slice to go, and those who order their pie to eat in the shop, a side dish to an hours-long perusal of Time magazine. They hired more staff to keep up with the demand in the kitchen and at the counter.
The Pie Chest sticks to its three original foundations—everything is fresh, everything is seasonal, everything is made from scratch—but Pennington says she’s learned to be flexible on the menu, interspersing what she thinks is good (blueberry nectarine and honey spiced pear) with what customers want (triple citrus, chocolate cream).
The Pie Chest’s Fourth Street location is just one block from both Emancipation and Justice parks, where the white supremacist Unite the Right and Ku Klux Klan rallies, respectively, took place last summer. Those who were tear-gassed by police after the July 8 KKK rally came into the shop asking for water and to use the bathroom—Pennington remembers the tear gas they washed from their skin and faces stained the bathroom sinks—and on August 12, The Pie Chest opened as a safe space, not so much “as a statement against what was happening, [but] a statement about who we are every day,” Pennington says, a humble place offering up some comfort.
Wes Knopp, who owns and operates Lone Light Coffee, which has subleased space from The Pie Chest since 2016, echoes Pennington’s sentiments. “The shop has become for myself and many others a gathering place for conversation, comfort and many new friendships. So much of who we are is the community around us,” Knopp says.
Before becoming a baker, Pennington studied divinity. On her calf, she has a tattoo of a dandelion and its departing seeds, a metaphor for life presented in the Old Testament book Ecclesiastes. “You’re uprooted, you’re going along, everything’s fine, and then the wind blows…you land where you land, figure out what your surroundings are, and you learn to be planted there,” Pennington explains. Amidst it all, “the three things that ground you are good food and wine, partnership with another human and work—that’s where the phrase ‘eat, drink and be merry’ comes from.” The Pie Chest offers all of that. It’s how she’s made sense of this whole baking thing and her shop’s place in the community.
Now, in addition to asking, “How?” Pennington says, “Of course.”
Each purchase of a white, pink or red dogwood tree benefits the Charlottesville Dogwood Festival.
Family Easter celebration Friday, March 30, through Sunday, April 1
Wintergreen Resort’s annual Eastercelebration includes an egg hunt, bonnet parade, craft workshops andegg decorating. Prices and times vary by activity. Wintergreen Resort, 39 Mountain Inn Loop, Roseland. 325-2200.
Food & Drink Salted honey pie class Wednesday, March 28
The Pie Chest’s Rachel Pennington will share her secrets of pie perfection in this hands-on class. Each student will make a small pie to take home and bake. Drinks included. $65, 6-7:30pm. The Happy Cook, Barracks Road Shopping Center. 977-2665.
Nonprofit Dogwood tree sale Thursday, March 29, through Saturday, March 31
Each purchase of a white, pink or red dogwood tree benefits the Charlottesville Dogwood Festival. $35 for each 4-foot tree, 4-7pm Thursday, 7am-7pm Friday and TBD Saturday. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 961-9824.
Health & Wellness 10th annual Pi Miler Saturday, March 31
UVA’s Engineering Student Council hosts this 3.14-mile race, which benefits the Patients & Friends Research Fund at the UVA Cancer Center. Prizes awarded to top finishers; food and drink provided after the race. $10-20, 10am. ThorntonHall, 351 McCormick Rd. picatic.com
Alicia Walsh-Noel, Manager of Brasserie Saison. Photo courtesy subject
Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Alicia Walsh-Noel, manager of Brasserie Saison, which celebrates Sunday each week with an “Eggs Benefit” brunch from 11am-3pm with live jazz and specials from the bar. A portion of proceeds goes to a different charity each month, and this month it is The Charlottesville Free Clinic. Walsh-Noel’s picks:
1) Kao Soi at Monsoon Siam. “This dish is an ultra comforting curry noodle soup. It’s the perfect juxtaposition of flavor and texture: the sweet curry to the funky pickled cabbage and onions and then the slurpy egg noodles to the crunchy noodle garnish. There’s a reason it’s not available from their to-go-go location—you have to eat it in the restaurant for the full experience. I crave this whenever it’s cold outside or I have a cold or when Antarctica is cold.”
2) Peanut Butter Pie at The Pie Chest and an Almond Latte from Lone Light Coffee. “If you didn’t already know about this place, when you’re walking up Fourth Street, the aromas will lure you into their door. When you enter, it’s as if you’ve been transported into a quaint New England town—there aren’t many places in Charlottesville that can do that. Tucked within The Pie Chest is Lone Light Coffee, which makes incredible coffee drinks and their own almond milk in-house. The stuff is delicious! I seriously have a hard time getting coffee anywhere else. Rachel Pennington, the owner/baker of The Pie Chest, is incredibly talented. You can’t go wrong with any of her sweet or savory pies but I really dig the peanut butter because it’s a little of both. The real deal-sealer is that the crust is PERFECT every time.”
3) Commander Chicory Blue Cheese from Twenty Paces. “So apparently studies are saying that cheese addictions are a real thing. I always blamed it on my French heritage but now even my doctor is telling me to stop! Le sigh. I first had this cheese at Lampo. Then again at Lampo. Then again. And then…well, my husband runs the kitchen at Champion Taproom and he put it on…get this: CHICKEN WING TACOS. OMG. I die now. Anyway, it’s stinky and smoky and I would most likely have it as my last meal.”
4) Whatever Lumpia is on special at Champion Tap Room. “Speaking of my husband, Jon Bray has this move where he puts things into Filipino egg roll wrappers and then fries them. Need I say more? Okay, I’ll say more. His original has ground pork and dates that he serves with garlicky vinegar sauce. But lately he’s been getting a little wild, making cheeseburger lumpia for a kids event and a buffalo chicken version another time. This week, it sounds like he’s going with a more traditional pork and shrimp version that should be tasty. Maybe it’s cheating to put your own spouse on this list, but if this is about a memorable and emotional connection to food, Jon’s super-creative twists on Filipino classics are both seared into my memory and make me so happy!”
5) Oyster Mushrooms and Grits at Oakhart Social. “I couldn’t possibly write a Five Finds without mentioning Oakhart. This place is like home to me, and I’m stoked at the love they have received so quickly from the Charlottesville community. It’s rare to find a chef that can execute vegetable dishes with the skill that Tristan does and these mushrooms are one of my faves! They make a delicious star of the show with pickles, buttery grits and crispy, fried chickpeas. Follow that up with all the Fernets and hugs for a foolproof Oakhart evening.”
This article originally appeared on C-VILLE’s At the Table columnist C. Simon Davidson’s website, The Charlottesville 29, Read more Five Finds on Fridays here.
