Everyone’s going agro: How does your city garden grow?
Urban farming is one of the hottest trends in food right now. Maybe it’s the economy, or maybe it’s that nothing beats the satisfaction of eating food that you grew and dug up yourself.
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Oysters meet their match on both sides of the pond
(File Photo) As oyster lovers are already painfully aware, April traditionally marks the end of their slurping season. Until September, when months get their “r”s back, it’s advised not to eat bivalves. Some rewrite this rule, proclaiming it a vestige of the past, but if you’re a seasonal eater, you’ll want to wait until the [...]
Briny bivalves: All about oysters
Oyster purists insist on consuming their sea creatures unadorned and straight from the shell, but the uninitiated might want to work their way up to a slurpfest with these half dozen cooked versions—from poached to broiled—on restaurant menus around town. Rhett’s River Grill serves Oysters Rockefeller—they’re topped with spinach, garlic, cream, Pernod, and breadcrumbs and [...]
Judging a wine by its label
Looks are everything. Wait, what? No matter what your mom tells you, looks do matter—especially in a crowded marketplace. When it comes to wine, unless we’ve had a bottle before, we base our buying decision on its label. And thank goodness there are producers who make downright ridiculous labels. How else would we know which [...]
Sweets by design: A look at the new Paradox Pastry space
Designing your dream house, wedding, or wardrobe is a cakewalk with Pinterest—the virtual pinboard that keeps magazine clippings from cluttering your life—but Paradox Pastry owner Jenny Peterson has always been able to visualize her designs. It’s a handy talent to have when the bread-and-butter of your job is producing an average of five multitiered, highly [...]
Diggin’ doughnuts
What’s not to love about a doughnut? It’s sweet, deep-fried dough for goodness sakes. Here’re a baker’s dozen of Charlottesville’s “holiest” delights. Row by row, left to right: Carpe Donut’s once-roving cart selling irresistible apple cider doughnuts (and pudding-thick hot chocolate) is permanently parked behind C’ville Coffee, but will travel for events. Grab one from [...]
Raising a wine (or pint) glass to spring
Spring’s sprung early everywhere this year and with the buds already breaking on the vines, wineries, breweries, and cideries are ramping up for the year with exciting events and happenings. Here are a few ways to get out this month to drink in the beauty of our backyard. Easter weekend Get closer to nature April [...]
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April ABODE: My other kitchen
Justin Hershey and Vu Nguyen (Photo by Cramer Photo) Not only do owner Vu Nguyen and executive chef Justin Hershey work together at Zinc, West Main’s gas station-turned-shrine to local, seasonal food, but they also live together. Fortunately, the roomies agree on organization and cleanliness and keep all of their pantry staples and spices in labeled glass jars. Their small, square [...]
A look at Bella’s systematic opening process
Opening a restaurant is always risky business. In a slouchy economy like this, it’s downright ballsy.
Chenin blanc’s a charming chameleon
Certain wines confuse people just by nature of their multiplicity. It’s easier when a wine has an overarching flavor to define it—like grapefruit in Sauvignon Blanc or black pepper in Syrah —but why scoff depth when there’s shallow pleasure to be had?
Lessons learned at a wine-soaked writers’ symposium
I’m usually too busy drinking and writing about wine to really hone my craft. But last month, I received a fellowship from Terlato Family Vineyards to attend the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, where I had four days and four nights in the Napa Valley to do some serious navel-gazing. I normally wouldn’t subject you [...]
Virginia winemakers vs. vintage 2011
In a good vintage, the hardest job for winemakers is staying hands-off enough to let lovely fruit speak for itself.
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An evening with Tom Colicchio
The top chef When Tom Colicchio comes to the Paramount on Sunday*, call him the winner of multiple James Beard awards or the no-nonsense judge of Bravo’s “Top Chef.” Just don’t call him a celebrity chef. “I hate that term,” he said in our recent phone interview. But with nine seasons of the Emmy Award-winning [...]
Intoxicated by St-Germain
Move over Campari, there’s a new liqueur in my life. I first had St-Germain, the elderflower liqueur years ago, but it was in some overpriced abomination of a cocktail, so I never noticed its bewitching delicacy until I had it on its own.
C-VILLE Kids! Cooking with your little one yields lessons for you both
Wash, rinse, repeat: Maisie and Megan prepare kale for a pot of minestrone. (Photo by Cramer Photo) Not only does my 4-year-old know the difference between bolognese and besciamella, she knows how to make them too. Since her birth, Maisie’s kept me company in the kitchen. It’s where I spend the majority of my [...]
Alberto Longo’s making wines fit to gulp
There are certain wines that, even without knowing what they are, make you want to drink them happily, heartily, with friends, and without restraint
The Ivy Inn sticks to wine made in the U.S. of A.
Open the wine list at any restaurant in Paris and it will likely represent selections within a 400-mile radius at the most.
The Ivy Inn conjures up an unforgettable meal
I was so elated after a recent meal at The Ivy Inn that I woke my husband when I got home to tell him all about the six delicious courses that chef and owner Angelo Vangelopoulos had served us. My husband fell back to sleep halfway through the second course, but I continued my exaltation [...]
Why red wine and chocolate aren’t meant to be
I have no love advice to offer today, but am in the matchmaking business, so I would like to play cupid to a dysfunctional couple.
Wine is but a dream, or so say the owners of Afton Mountain Vineyards
Afton Mountain Vineyards’ motto is “grapes don’t grow in ugly places,” and a trip up the mountain in Nelson County confirms that. Morning mist tumbles over the estate’s 82 acres and lingers above the 15 acres of grape vines pretty as a picture. It was precisely this romantic scene that wooed Tony and Elizabeth Smith [...]
Crafty light: Tastes great, less filling, and a better buzz?
With 137 calories per bottle (compared to regular Bud’s 145 and Bud Light’s 115), isn’t Anheuser-Busch just reinventing the wheel, shining it up, and then spending fistfuls of money to advertise it?
Why a drink a day may keep the doctor away
Knocking back a stiff drink at the end of a long day makes us kinder, happier, and better looking, but could it be good for our bodies too?
Montepulciano’s a wine for hard times
If ever there were a wine that could answer our prayers in this winter and economy of discontent, it would be Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. It’s red, alcoholic, consistently tasty, meant to be drunk young, divine with weeknight pasta, and best when it’s under $15. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is made from the montepulciano grape—not to be confused with [...]
How to age gracefully
We all know from cleaning out the fridge after a vacation that wine’s ability to improve with age sets it apart from other consumable goods. But not all wine gets better with time. More than 90 percent of the wine produced is consumed within a year of bottling, and drinking many wines beyond a year [...]
Prosecco sparkles on its own
Prosecco is so consistently billed as an inexpensive alternative to Champagne that it’s selling like Miller High Life. Its current 220 million bottle production is expected to double within two years and grow to five times that size by 2035. The U.S. has quadrupled its consumption of the sparkler in the past decade. SIX WAYS [...]
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Spike your holiday with spirits
Nothing takes the edge off the holiday crazies like a mug of something that warms you right down to your grinchy little toes. These winter warmers will light your fire and keep you aglow through all the gift-buying, package-sending, tree-trimming, Christmas-caroling, party-going, a-wassailing, stocking-stuffing, gift-wrapping, and relative-visiting that comes your way this season. Leave a [...]