There’s little that disappoints us more than a well-loved, local restaurant that’s gone before its time. Mangione’s on Main, known for an inviting ambiance as well as the quality of its hearty Italian cuisine, closed its doors just shy of the restaurant’s third anniversary.
“Our lease was ending, and we knew that we did not have it in us to sign up for a long-term commitment,” says co-owner Elaina Mangione. “We are very proud and fortunate to say that we were able to stay open and serve the community in addition to keeping most of our staff fully employed during the challenges of the pandemic. We had an amazing team and we couldn’t be more proud of them.”
While patrons are going to miss everything from the bold linguini with clam sauce to the more traditional spaghetti aglio e olio, Mangione says foodies should “stay tuned!” and teases at something new on the horizon. “Something really amazing is likely taking over the space and we cannot wait to welcome them to the community,” she says.
Brew’s through
The team at Wild Wolf Brewing Company sold its last pint at the end of January after more than 10 years in business. Wild Wolf Brewery was created when entrepreneur Mary Wolf and her son Danny came into ownership of a 100-year-old Nelson County schoolhouse. The pair converted the building into a brewery and event space, and went on to produce a variety of award-winning ales and lagers. After so much success, the Wolf family decided to sell its brewing headquarters and ceased operations on January 30.
It’s like a foodie court on the mall
On the flip side of beer news, Rockfish Brewing Co. is expanding its business to a new downtown location (on one side of the former Downtown Grille). This announcement comes shortly after it won second prize at the Crozet Winter Brews Festival for its Nice Marmot Imperial Stout. Rockfish will be the first brewery to have its own storefront on the mall, and aims to open in April.
Adjacent to Rockfish’s new digs is a neighbor with a familiar menu. The Bebedero has moved its location downstairs to occupy the other part of the former Downtown Grille space, and will be serving its traditional Mexican recipes at the newly remodeled restaurant in February.
Tucked into the CODE Building plaza is the new permanent kitchen from FARMacy Food Truck. FARMacy will continue to serve organic Mexican food to go, with a menu of fan favorites from the mobile edition, while doubling down on its commitment to organic, locally sourced ingredients. Owners Jessica and Gabino Lino’s “food is medicine, so eat good food” philosophy, along with their initial success, proves that you can take the food out of the food truck, but you can’t take the farm out of the FARMacy. Right next door is Ooey Gooey Crispy, the next-level spot for grown-up grilled cheese, soups, salads, and breakfast sammies. Try the Neo-politan, with mozz, tomato conserva, and Parmesan butter, or a buffalo chicken and blue cheese ’wich named for Scott Norwood, the infamous Buffalo Bills’ kicker.
Bordeaux, France. Napa Valley, California. Central Virginia? Possibly. Though Thomas Jefferson first attempted to plant a vineyard back in the late 1700s, our local wine industry is still young, only really emerging in the last 15 years. But in that time, the central Virginia region has become home to the second-highest number of wineries in the state, producing dozens of award-winning vintages each year.
People aren’t just stocking up on bottles. Vineyards are also enjoying the fruits of their labor in the form of agritourism: tourists coming out for the scenery, tastings, events, and tying the knot. It’s clear that our wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries are an important part of commerce in this region, but just how big is that economic impact?
VIRGINIA WINE AND AGRITOURISM
In 2015, The Virginia Wine Board estimated the full economic impact of the Virginia wine industry to be $1.37 billion, roughly the GDP of a small island nation. This marked a growth rate of 83 percent from 2010, and breaks down to 705,200 cases sold, 8,218 jobs, and 261 wineries.
Uncorking the official numbers for the City of Charlottesville or Albemarle County is a bit more difficult. The Charlottesville & Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau doesn’t currently track that information, though they are hoping to have the budget to conduct that research, and other estimates can vary depending on how you define the region.
David King, the King Family Vineyards’ co-founder who died in May, was instrumental in passage of the Virginia Farm Winery Act, which allows wineries to sell their products directly to consumers. / Photo: Jack Looney
What makes it especially tricky is that we aren’t just talking about the number of bottles sold and weddings hosted. The biggest slice of the economic impact pie comes from agritourism.
The Virginia Wine Board calculated the retail value of Virginia wine sold in 2015 to be $129 million, while winery-related tourism was more than $187 million. It becomes harder to estimate the local economic impact of tourism when you factor in other elements of a trip. Imagine a group of friends decides to come down from Washington, D.C. for a bachelorette party with Cville Hop On Tours. They aren’t just spending money at the area wineries they visit, they are most likely staying in a Charlottesville hotel, eating at Charlottesville restaurants, and shopping in Charlottesville stores during their visit. So even though Charlottesville does not have a winery within its city limits, it’s benefiting from the area wine industry.
By using the Virginia Wine Board report (“The Economic Impact of Wine and Wine Grapes on the State of Virginia – 2015,” produced by certified public accountants Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP) to take the average number of visitors for each winery in the state, Neil Williamson, President of the Free Enterprise Forum and editor of The Virginia Wine Journal, is able to roughly calculate the impact of the industry in a given region. With 28 wineries, he predicts that the economic impact will be more than $110 million for Albemarle County in 2019.
“Thanks in large part to David King’s [the late co-founder of King Family Vineyards and champion of the local wine industry] contributions on the state and local level, Albemarle today has some of the best winery and winery event regulations in the state,” says Williamson in reference to King’s advocacy for the Virginia Farm Winery Act, which allows wineries to sell their products directly to consumers. “We fought hard to get them to this point.”
MONTICELLO WINE TRAIL
With the City of Charlottesville at its center, the Monticello American Viticultural Area stretches from the edge of Shenandoah National Park to the James River and was was the first AVA to be established in Virginia. The Monticello Wine Trail, which includes a current membership of 35 wineries within this designated grape-growing region, has an economic impact that is probably closer to $120 million a year. Current President George Hodson believes the region is primed to be the next big thing in wine. “When you look at a lot of the things that are happening in Charlottesville, it becomes a perfect place for the industry to thrive.” Hodson cites the area’s academic culture, natural beauty, and the land’s ability to grow amazing grapes as ingredients for the industry’s organic growth.
What makes the Monticello region distinct in the Commonwealth is the consistently high quality of its wines. More than 60 percent of the wines crowned at this year’s Virginia’s Governor’s Cup were from the Monticello AVA. While Monticello Wine Trail wineries have had success with a variety of vintages, Hodson believes that the region’s petit verdot, petit manseng, and red Bordeaux blends have the potential to define it.
The major challenges preventing economic growth for the region come down to supply and demand. Area residents and visitors are drinking everything the wineries are supplying before it can be distributed to new markets. “We’ve got to make enough to let it leave the Charlottesville area,” says Hodson. He hopes that the continued popularity of events like Starry Nights at Veritas Vineyard & Winery and regular polo matches at King Family Vineyards will bring in the revenue needed to allow wineries to plant more grapes and produce more wine.
Support from state and local tourism boards are also critical to ensuring the industry’s ascent. Virginia’s tourism board makes it a priority to funnel visitors to the vineyards by highlighting wineries, festivals, and wine trails in campaigns. Support from local governments can vary quite a bit by county. Advocates for the industry agree that the best outcomes happen when state and local governments proactively work together. The positive economic impact numbers have helped government officials understand the promise of a rosy future in wine.
“We want Charlottesville and the Monticello [American Viticultural Area] to be the first name in Virginia wine,” says Hodson. “We are wholly committed to and doubling down on making Charlottesville and Monticello AVA a renowned wine growing region.”
VIRGINIA BREWERIES, CIDERIES & DISTILLERIES
Spirit Lab Distilling’s Ivar Aass thinks craft spirits will attain a momentum similar to that of area craft beer and wine: “Prohibition throttled the industry for 80 years,” he says, “and we’re finally getting to the point where craft distilling is gaining steam.” / Photo: Eze Amos
The glass isn’t just half-full for wine. Local breweries, cideries, and distilleries all have plenty to toast about, too. The Virginia Brewers Association reported that 405,465 barrels of craft beer were produced in the state in 2017. That’s two gallons for every Virginian over the age of 21. With 236 craft breweries in Virginia creating a total economic impact of $1.37 billion (the same as the 2015 number for wine), that’s an average economic impact of close to $600,000 per craft brewery.
Local breweries have their own version of the wine trail: the Charlottesville Ale Trail is 2.3 miles, pedestrian-friendly, and includes six participating breweries. They’re plotted along a map that visitors are encouraged to get stamped like a passport.
Virginia’s craft beer scene has been cool for a while now, but Virginia cider is catching up and hotter than ever. Bold Rock Hard Cider currently outpaces almost every other local brewery in sales. The Virginia Association of Cider Makers reports marked growth in the number of cideries opened since 2006, with national cider sales growing an average of 73 percent each year.
Boutique distilleries are looking to be the model for what’s next for their industry. Spirit Lab Distilling became the first distillery to open within Charlottesville city limits in 2015, and owner Ivar Aass sees the potential for craft spirits to attain a similar momentum as the local craft beer and wine market.
“I think all distilleries are basically playing catch-up,” says Aass. “Prohibition throttled the industry for 80 years, and we’re finally getting to the point where craft distilling is gaining steam.”
Just as we saw with craft beer, Aass predicts that the trends in distilling will favor unique, high-quality, and historically-rooted products. He also sees a future in Virginia-made brandy after recently collaborating with local winemakers on a Virginia oak-aged vintage by distilling some of the 2018 grapes that were too sweet for traditional wine processing.
So whether you like to sip, swig, or savor your locally produced spirit of choice, you can be guaranteed to see more varieties and an improved quality in the next few years. And if you haven’t yet been invited to a wedding at a farm or barn where something boozy is made, you can expect that “save the date” to come any day now. Beverage-related agritourism in central Virginia is booming. We can all cheers to that.
WEATHER OR NOT
Winemakers are learning and experimenting with new ways to adapt to the forces of climate change so central Virginia’s wine industry can continue to grow. / Photo: Andrea Hubbell
The summer of 2017 was a gift for wine grapes. The arid days were the source of complex vintages with the kind of balance winemakers aspire to produce. Then vineyards had to deal with the wet summer of 2018, when too much rain too close to harvest encouraged mold and caused the grapes to swell with water, diluting flavors. Increasingly erratic seasons due to climate change mean that if the burgeoning Central Virginia wine industry is going to survive, winemakers need to find new ways to adapt.
“When you plant a grapevine, you want it to [last for] decades, so depending on how quickly things change, it can affect what you’re doing,” says Ben Jordan, who has been the winemaker at Early Mountain Vineyards since 2015. Grapes can be a fickle fruit. And considering it can take three to five years for a vine to produce anything usable for winemaking, planting decisions are fraught. By that time, and especially with climate change, you may no longer have the right grape in the right site. “On top of that, we’ve always had a relatively dynamic climate,” says Jordan. “We can have droughts, we can have 2017, which was dry and hot, or we can have 2018, which is kind of a washout.”
For local winemakers, being in an emerging industry could be a protective factor when dealing with climate change. Unlike European regions, vineyards in central Virginia are not tied to producing certain wines or trademark processes that haven’t changed in 200 years.
The Winemakers Research Exchange, a local research cooperative for wineries, is encouraging experimentation and knowledge-sharing through studies and sensory sessions. Winemakers can invite their peers to try the unfinished results of everything from whole cluster fermentation to wines aged in concrete eggs. Joy Ting, research enologist and exchange coordinator for the WRE, believes the region’s ingenuity is a good thing when it comes to acclimating to seasonal swings. “It does help us to have more options when we think about how to respond to those things,” she says.
When your seasons become unpredictable, it’s not a bad idea for your wines to be too. “The world is changing,” says Jordan, “and you don’t have to make wines that taste one way or grow grapes the same way.” Central Virginia winemakers are integrating modern science in their old world craft. They are looking at how different clones of cabernet franc behave in the vineyard to decide what to plant for the next 10-15 years, and experimenting with breeding to try to make merlot more resistant to mildew.
Ting says that while the WRE isn’t set up for long-term experiments (most of the studies are designed to look at one year at a time), it’s an opportunity for winemakers to get creative with testing interventions. By learning new techniques for different scenarios, winemakers can be more prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at them.
In 2018, several members of the WRE had success with one grape in particular: the petit manseng. Described as a “storm grape” that can take on loads of rainfall, it’s becoming a popular choice for local vineyards in need of a stable crop. “More and more people are looking to petit manseng because it does seem to have a good, consistent expression,” says Ting.
Petit manseng, a French grape typically used to make white wines, can be used to make dry wines, off-whites, and dessert wines. Local residents may not be as familiar with it as they are with a vognier or a petit verdot, but as the manseng grows more popular with winemakers, it has the potential to define the central Virginia region. “It’s something that can be really useful in our industry, and can help us stand out in the country and the world,” says Jordan. “It’s a distinctive grape that makes distinctive wine.”
Tony Wolf, professor and director of viticulture at Virginia Tech, started evaluating petit manseng in 1987. He concluded the grape would have an excellent time adapting to the Mid-Atlantic’s climate due to its hardiness against cold and rot, and consistent yields of crops per vine.
“Disease resistance is high on the list of desired traits,” says Wolf in regards to petit manseng. “But we are also going to need to evaluate new (and old) varieties that are suited to higher temperatures and higher rainfall conditions.”
Critics are taking note. This year was the first year a petit manseng won the top prize at the Virginia Governor’s Cup. The 2016 vintage produced by Horton Vineyards in Orange County was lauded for its dry palate and full body with notes of stone fruit and hazelnut.
Jordan is so confident in the grape that he recently ripped out a site of cabernet sauvignon grapes, vines that were planted with generations in mind, to plant the manseng in their place. “That’s part of adjusting to these changing factors,” says Jordan. “It’s about understanding a piece of land in context to its climate as opposed to just what you like to drink.”
CHANGE AGENTS
Beverage leaders are disruptors by nature. Their willingness to take risks when it comes to flavors and production can often lead them to delicious places—and profits. Several have made big changes in the last year.
Potter’s Craft Cider
Potter’s Craft Cider, which currently operates a 128-acre cidery in Free Union, is expanding, adding a 100-year-old church on approximately 20 acres in Albemarle County. The move comes thanks in part to a $1.56 million injection of funds from the state. This development will allow Potter’s Craft Cider to establish a much-anticipated tasting room, and is expected to quadruple its cider production. Governor Ralph Northam announced the investment in January and cited agritourism as a valuable source of income for rural areas. Renovations to the church will take place over the next three years while the team establishes an on-site apple orchard.
Wild Wolf Brewing Company
“Charlottesville has really become a mecca for great beer,” says Mary Wolf of Wild Wolf Brewing Company, which recently opened another location near the Downtown Mall. / Photo: Sanjay Suchak
The Wolf is also on the move. Wild Wolf Brewing Company, based in Nelson County, recently opened a satellite location near Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. Owner Mary Wolf said she fell in love with the location two years ago and had been thinking about it ever since. When it became available again this year, the company grabbed it.
She knew it was important to have a location within city limits. “Charlottesville has really become a mecca for great beer,” says Wolf. She attributes the city’s thriving industry to the mix of talented brewers who embrace innovation and a population full of young professionals who are willing to try new things.
While Wolf says she might consider opening other locations in the future, she’s not interested in becoming huge. “We’re focused on quality—on great food and beer.”
North American Sake Brewery
North American Sake Brewery may be the most unexpected newcomer to the city. The first craft sake brewery in the commonwealth opened at IX Art Park last year, and started distributing in Virginia last March. Co-owners Jeremy Goldstein and Andrew Centofante, a filmmaker and a web developer, respectively, are a self-described “unlikely [saki] duo,” but they put all of their passion for sake into the products they make. They managed to catch the attention of the Embassy of Japan and were invited to pour their own sake at a reception in D.C. this June.
Nelson County's Wild Wolf Brewing Company will hold the grand opening of its downtown Charlottesville location on June 2. Photo: courtesy Wild Wolf Brewing Company.
The door, kitchen, and taps are open at Wild Wolf Brewing Company’s downtown location, hard by the railroad tracks on Second Street. The brewery and restaurant’s soft opening in the former Augustiner Hall and Garden space precedes an “official” debut on June 2.
But there’s a hitch: Due to federal regulatory snags, the Wolf can’t yet serve its own beer, a lingering mess caused by the government shutdown (remember that?). One manager said he’d been informed that the ban would be lifted on Independence Day. Oh, the irony. In the meantime, while shiny nano-brewing vats stand idle in the dining room, patrons will have to settle for frothy beverages by Deschutes, Champion, and Three Notch’d, among others.
Chef Chris Jack, formerly of Staunton’s Zynodoa Restaurant, says the Wolf’s Charlottesville menu—as opposed to the one at its flagship, in Nellysford—has been “upscaled” to fit in the mix of culinary offerings nearby on the Downtown Mall. “Out in Nellysford, we do a lot of wood-smoking, but we wanted to try something different here,” he says.
So, while you can still get a corn dog ($6) for your kid, you may also tuck into a Candy Bar Steak ($28), with creamy risotto, carrot and roasted beet purée, heirloom carrots, and orange crème fraiche. A good ol’ cheddar burger will set you back $13.50.
Patrons may sit at outdoor tables shaded by bright red umbrellas (the patio shakes a bit when trains roll by), or duck inside, where the interior is dark, sleek, and industrial, with corrugated steel walls, exposed ductwork and ceiling trusses, and lots of wood surfaces. Four big-screen TVs hang above the U-shaped bar, so this will be a haven for sports fans—and eventually, fans of Wild Wolf’s own beer.
Take two
The smallest restaurant in Charlottesville, The Flat Creperie, has re-opened. Soon after it was offered for sale in a March 22 tweet, Elise Stewart became the third owner since the popular spot first opened in 2005. The menu is suitably short at the charming ivy-covered brick box on Water Street, with four sweet and four savory offerings. We tried the Summer Veggies crepe, a thin doughy wrap stuffed with chopped red pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, olives, tomato, feta, and caramelized onions—a tasty, two-handed meal for $8.
Nibbles
Just in time for the heat wave, Greenberry’s Coffee Co. is offering a line of canned cold-brew coffees. Root 29 is open for business at the DoubleTree by Hilton Charlottesville, with small and large plates served in a glass-walled room with a long bar and a trippy fake fireplace. Early Mountain Vineyards will soon announce the arrival of a new chef to fill the role once held by Ryan Collins, now of Charlottesville’s Little Star. Patisserie Torres, the sublime pastry shop of Serge Torres, formerly of Fleurie, is shuttering after less than a year in business. The boutique Oakhurst Inn (owned by C-VILLE Weekly co-founder Bill Chapman) has revealed the imminent arrival of Oakhurst Hall, an annex with eight guest rooms and—most importantly—the Chateau Lobby Bar, where craft cocktails, light fare, and live music will be on the menu.
The pickin’s ripe for local fruits, including peaches, cherries and blackberries, at area orchards.
We’re halfway through June, which means fruit harvest season has begun, and that means now is the time to do our best impression of the very hungry caterpillar. You know the story: A tiny caterpillar eats through fruit after fruit (and a piece of cake, an ice cream cone, a pickle, etc.) on his journey to becoming a big, beautiful butterfly. But rather than nibble tiny holes in a series of tissue-paper fruit illustrations, we suggest you select your own very real, delicious fruits and berries from one of the many pick-your-own spots in the area. And savor every juicy bite.
Pick-your-own hours often change day to day, depending on the weather and the crop, so always call ahead before you make the drive.
Go for strawberries and peaches in June. Later in the summer, they’ll have apricots, plums and veggies picked and ready for buying. 1351 Greenwood Rd., Crozet. 823-1583.
Critzer Family Farm
Strawberries and cherries are ripe now; blackberries and raspberries will be ready mid-July. They also sell ice cream made with fruit from the farm. 9388 Critzers Shop Rd., Afton. (540) 465-4772.
Henley’s Orchard
Pluck nectarines and more than a dozen varieties of peaches. 2192 Holly Hill Farm, Crozet. 823-7848.
Hill Top Berry Farm and Winery
Blackberries galore—picking starts in July. 2800 Berry Hill Rd., Nellysford. 361-1266.
Market at Grelen
Pick your own blueberries, or buy pre-picked strawberries, cherries and peaches from other local farmers. 15091 Yager Rd., Somerset. (540) 672-7268.
Strawberries, cherries and blueberries…perfect for pie-making! 415 Dark Hollow Rd., Roseland. 277-8130.
Spring Valley Orchard
Act fast to pick sweet cherries—picking season ends in early July. 3526 Spring Valley Rd., Afton. 960-9443.
We’ll cheers to that
On Monday, June 5, the 2017 Virginia Craft Brewers Guild announced the winners of this year’s Virginia Craft Beer Cup: Among the 356 beers entered for judging in 24 categories, five local breweries earned accolades for their brews. South Street Brewery’s Virginia Lager took first place in the International Lager and Strong European Beer category; its Astrognomer brew took third in the IPA category. Three Notch’d Brewing Company’s Blackwall Porter placed second in the Scottish and Irish Ale category; its No Veto Brown placed third in the Brown British Ale category. Pro Re Nata Brewing Company took third place in the Historical, Alternative and American Wild Ale category with its Go Johnny Gose. Wild Wolf Brewing Company placed third in the Fruit Beer category with its Area 151. And Stable Craft Brewing’s Britchin Brown Ale took second in the Amber and Brown American Beer category.
Found. Market Co., which doubles as a remade furniture workshop and bakehouse, specializes in cookies as well as farmhouse-style baked goods such as muffins and tea cakes. Photo by Tom McGovern
Calling all cookie monsters: Found. Market Co. at 221 Carlton Rd. (the former Kathy’s Produce spot) is here for all of your cookie needs. In addition to functioning as a gathering space and remade furniture workshop, Found. is a bakehouse specializing in cookies—pick up some salted rosemary shortbread, a batch of classic cookies or frozen cookie dough to scoop and bake at home whenever a cookie craving strikes—as well as farmhouse-style baked goods such as muffins and tea cakes, plus comfort foods like Bavarian pretzels, chicken salad and pub cheese.
If that salted rosemary shortbread sounds familiar, it should—Found. started as a wholesale bakery under the name The Bees Knees Kitchen, and it’s been selling shortbread-style cookies at Feast! and Blenheim Vineyards for a few years. The Bees Knees Kitchen eventually grew out of its certified home kitchen and into this larger, industrial-sized space and new name, says co-owner Kelsey Gillian.
Having managed an organic farm for the last 16 years, the Found. team’s “nature is to cook and bake from the field, gather for family dinners and share good food with friends,” says Gillian, adding that it’s all about creating homegrown, handmade “tasty food, imperfections and all.”
New food pairing
Charlottesville has plenty of cuisine options—Mexican, Italian, French, Indian, American—but even in our chock-full-o-restaurants city, it’s rare to find two very different cuisines under a single roof.
Vu Noodles and Pearl Island Catering have teamed up to serve lunch at the Jefferson School City Center café at 233 Fourth St. NW from 11am to 2pm Monday through Friday. (Don’t worry—Vu Noodles will still be served at The Spot/Greenie’s, and Pearl Island isn’t abandoning its catering.)
The menu is a relief for those who can’t decide on just one type of cuisine for their midday meal (or is that just us?). Vu Noodles’ spring rolls, the banh mi sandwich, tofu caramelized onions and various noodle dishes are on the menu alongside Pearl Island dishes such as the Caribbean-seasoned, slow-roasted pulled pork, Haitian-inspired sweet and spicy chicken with gravy, Creole beans and fried plantains.
One more Reason to love beer
In a town where breweries rival Starbucks in numbers, yet another place to imbibe in new brews will open in June.
Childhood friends and Charlottesville natives Patrick Adair, Mark Fulton and Jeff Raileanu are teaming up to open Reason Beer in a warehouse space next to Costco. Adair, director of sales, says the more breweries the better.
“Charlottesville is getting a reputation as a beer town, and that’s awesome,” he says. “We are fortunate enough to be at a time when craft beer seems to sell itself these days.”
To understand the brewery is to understand head brewer Fulton’s background as former head brewer at the venerable Maine Beer Company. In the early days of craft beer there was a focus on making IPAs as bitter as possible but breweries like Maine Beer Company were pioneers in producing beers with balanced hop and malt profiles. Fulton will bring this perspective to Reason, where they will focus on low-alcohol, fresh, hoppy beers.
The brewery is installing a 30-barrel (that’s 930 gallons) brewhouse and will also put in a bottling line that will package 16.9-ounce bottles, a format Adair says is just the right size for drinking by yourself, but also big enough to share.
“I think our focus on balance, approachability, innovation and food pairing will be what distinguishes Reason Beer,” says Adair.—Derek Young
The toast of Tom Tom
Six of Charlottesville’s top chefs went head-to-head in the Iron Chef City Market competition for which each had to create a 100 percent locally sourced dish with a budget of $50, 20 minutes to shop and 30 minutes to cook. Chef Chris Jack of Wild Wolf Brewing Company took the title with a dish of pan-seared duck heart, spicy chocolate granola-crusted duck liver and sautéed oyster mushrooms with purple scallions, wilted arugula and spicy strawberry rhubarb jam.
In the craft cocktail competition at the Tom Tom Founders Festival, Patrick McClure of Lost Saint won over the judges with his Lil’ Rhuby Fizzle, made from sweet strawberry juice from Agriberry Farm, tart rhubarb juice from Radical Roots Farm, Boar Creek Appalachian whiskey and Homestead Creamery cream and egg white. The Flora, a Baker’s gin, strawberry shrub, mint and basil syrup, lemon, cava and cracked pepper cocktail concocted by Oakhart Social’s Brendan Cartin, was the crowd favorite.
Justin van der Linde (right), owner of Smoked BBQ Co. food cart and Smoked Kitchen and Tap in Crozet, says requests from customers to bring his barbecue back to the Downtown Mall solidified his decision to return. Photo by Rammelkamp Foto
Remember how sad you were in August, when the Smoked BBQ Co. food cart ran out of ’cue on its last day on the mall, and how you had to wait until December to eat it again, after adrive to Smoked Kitchen and Tap in Crozet?
Well, you can forget all about that, because Smoked is returning to the Downtown Mall. I repeat: Smoked is returning to the Downtown Mall.
Starting the first week in April, the Smoked cart will settle back into its usual spot near the glass elevator on the far end of the mall and again dish up its beloved sandwiches, pulled pork and other barbecue specials on weekdays, says Smoked owner Justin van der Linde.
Pitmaster van der Linde and his sous chef, Kent Morris, have spent the past few months “getting things stabilized” at Smoked Kitchen and Tap, located at 2025 Library Way in Crozet’s Piedmont Place building.
Once the restaurant was up and running, the decision to return the Smoked cart to the mall was an easy one for van der Linde. He says customers kept requesting they bring the cart back, and the Smoked crew wanted to keep a presence in the city.
Food hall fantasy
The Yard—a 10,000-square-foot food hall and meeting area with patios, benches, Wi-Fi and restaurants aplenty—is being planned for 5th Street Station. “Charlottesville has such a foodie culture—a great sense of place, good food and places for people to gather,” and The Yard will embrace that, says Jeff Garrison, a partner in the 5th Street Station property who is spearheading the project. He notes it’ll be similar to Atlanta’s Krog Street Market, one of the country’s best-known food halls. Garrison says they’re considering some Charlottesville-based food truck-type concepts, plus concepts from Richmond’s Carytown and elsewhere, but nothing is official. Garrison says The Yard will be the “finishing touch” to the 5th Street Station complex, and will open next to Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in late summer.
So long, Nude Fude
Nude Fude, the restaurant that served fast farm-to-table food at 2800 Hydraulic Rd., closed its doors following service on Saturday, March 4, after a little less than two years of service. Owners Ken and Dani Notari used sustainable, locally sourced ingredients to create their dishes. “We are tremendously proud of the effort we put into providing real, sustainable, nourishing and tasty food to a broader audience at reasonable prices and expand it beyond the domain of the white tablecloth [farm-to-table] restaurants,” says Ken. “It takes incredible effort and commitment and we were fortunate to have such awesome partners in local farmers, suppliers and artisan providers—that made the challenge fun!,” he continued, adding that while Nude Fude “developed a considerable following, slower than expected growth forced us to focus on our higher priorities. As much as we’ve enjoyed being a part of the shift in food culture, our family is the most important thing to us.”
But the Notaris aren’t saying goodbye to local food forever—they’ll reengage at some point, says Ken. “We do believe more people are realizing the benefits to eating (and operating a restaurant) this way to human health, the natural world and our communities. Eventually as more people continue to champion the move to clean food, the demand will tip and drive it mainstream. It is coming!”
Green machine
For the second year in a row, Wild Wolf Brewing Company has been named the Virginia Green Brewery of the Year by the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. The brewery’s practices include sending its spent grain to a local beef farm to be used as cattle feed and using cans rather than bottles. Cans are made of about 90 percent recycled materials and weigh less than bottles, which saves on shipping fuel, and they require less cardboard packing material.
