“We could in the United States make as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe, not exactly of the same kinds, but doubtless as good.” Thomas Jefferson said it best, and we like to think good ol’ TJ would be proud of the ever-growing Napa-esque wine culture in the Charlottesville area. The […]
Food & Drink
Patrick McClure brings Prohibition-era cocktails to new bar on West Main
Patrick McClure knows cocktails. He’s been serving them up since his college bartending days at UVA, and in 2001 he began working with his brother, Andy McClure, when Andy bought The Virginian on the Corner. In the last 15 years Patrick has bounced around between the east and west coasts, working in restaurants and bars […]
Living Picks: To-do this week
Festival Fridays After Five Enjoy the weather, tunes from local jam band Kendall Street Company and eats from numerous area food trucks. Friday 4/22. Free, 5:30pm. nTelos Wireless Pavilion, Downtown Mall. 245-4910. Nonprofit Historic Garden Week Tour The 83rd annual event celebrates the beauty of local gardens, and feature visits to the historic Morven […]
24 hours of yum! Donuts to dolmas, a day of eating in Charlottesville
We love eating. And we love Charlottesville, where there’s more than 400 places (we counted) to satisfy a craving. So we wondered: Is it actually possible to dine here ’round-the-clock? The answer, our grumbling-tummied friends, is yes. We came up with a gluttonous experience for you from sun [...]
Brewery buyout: Big beer company acquires Devils Backbone
Local craft brewery Devils Backbone announced on social media it was being sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev at 10:35am on April 12. By noon, the court of public opinion had tried and convicted the Nelson County company of selling out. Brewery ownership was a bunch of “cowards.” They were “greedy,” [...]
Tavola’s Christian Johnston takes craft cocktail title
Drinking 12 cocktails over the course of six days is a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. Last week the Tom Tom Founders Festival hosted its first local cocktail competition, which is exactly what it sounds like—a dozen area mixologists were tasked with creating an original craft cocktail [...]
Living Picks: To-do this week
Festival The Piedmont Arcades Enjoy a night of food, wine and music at Victory Hall Opera’s spring fundraiser and performance. Tenor Will Ferguson, soprano Sari Gruber and Grammy Award-winning pianist Margo Garrett host a concert accompanied by a four-course tasting of food from Palladio [...]
Spirit Lab Distilling brings craft single-malt whiskey to town, and other restaurant news
Ivar Aass has been in the booze business for years. The Norway native worked for a wine importer and distributor in New York after college, and before he began distilling for a living, he dabbled in making moonshine and whiskey in his own kitchen. His priority when he arrived in Charlottesville [...]
Local fishmongers make fresh seafood easily accessible
Charlottesville may be a couple hours away from the nearest ocean, but luckily that doesn’t stop seafood from making its way into the hands of capable fishmongers here in the mountains. We talked to a few of the guys who are making a splash around town. Donnie Glass and Matt Wolf Banyan Day [...]
Living Picks: To-do this week
Festival Charlottesville Dogwood Festival carnival opening Bring the whole family to the first night of the carnival at this 67th annual event. Enjoy games, rides and more in honor of spring. Thursday 4/7. Free, 5:30-10:30pm. McIntire Park. 961-9824. Nonprofit The Day Soiree Celebrate [...]
Spring is here! And so is the new issue of Knife & Fork…
The spring issue of Knife & Fork is on stands now! Here’s what you’ll find inside (and below, find a digital copy of the issue). Arley Cakes’ strawberry tart. Epicurean Ways blends food and faraway places. Bill Scatena’s favorite chicken recipe. Feast!’s cheesemonger gives us [...]
Carrot gold: Oakhurst Inn’s bangin’ brunch cocktail
With just the right balance of sweetness and spice, Oakhurst Inn’s Bloody Mary is an inventive take on the classic: vodka, fresh-pressed carrot-ginger juice and a splash of Tabasco topped with garlic-stuffed green olives and pickled green beans. Call it orange juice and you won’t feel so [...]
The art of tart: Arley Arrington shares a few baking secrets
Whether Arley Arrington is frying donuts at Brookville or whipping up macarons in her home kitchen, we just can’t get enough of her sweets. We asked the owner of local baking company Arley Cakes a few questions—from her guilty pleasure food to how to make her strawberry tart at home. Knife [...]
Dinner for two: Firefly chef Diana Sbaitri shares meals with her overseas husband
It’s dinnertime at chef Diana Sbaitri’s house. She’s put two plates on the table, one for her and one for her husband, Morad. There’s just one thing missing: Morad. A chef based in Berkane, Morocco, he’s in the process of getting a visa to live in America with his wife. To cope with the [...]
Living history: Charlottesville restaurants we miss (and those we’ll go on loving forever)
The scene of a movie, the site of a mooning, an old inn reassembled from parts: Here are six local restaurants that have set the bar when it comes to keeping things interesting (and standing the test of time).—Laura Ingles, Dan Testa, Lynn Thorne and Caite White 1890 Timberlake’s (322 E. Main [...]
Home sweet home: Bigger is better at Gearharts Fine Chocolates
Tim Gearhart outgrew his space in the Main Street Market five years ago, but it wasn’t until late last fall that he opened his new store in the Vinegar Hill Shopping Center next door to Staples. Gearhart’s business had grown enormously since it opened in 2001, back when he used two forks to [...]
The new bacon? Anchovies take their place among umami foods
They aren’t just the pizza topping you love to hate anymore. Anchovies are showing up on menus all over town, and diners are responding. “I think more chefs are turning to anchovies as an ingredient not just as a topping but as a way to add depth and umami to other dishes,” Lampo co-owner and [...]
‘One cheese led to another’: Behind the counter with Feast!’s Sara Adduci
Sometimes, when it comes to food, it’s best to leave it to the experts—from your brunch omelet to your post-dinner cheese plate. We asked Feast! cheesemonger Sara Adduci to tell us how to do it right. She’s been cheesemongering for 12 years, ever since taking a part-time job at a shop in [...]
Eat, drink and be merry: Epicurean Ways fulfills any foodie’s whim
When Jane Gregg studied in Madrid and Salamanca, Spain, during college, she had no idea it was the start of something wonderful. Epicurean Ways, her Charlottesville-based company that customizes luxury food and drink tours throughout Spain and Portugal, to be precise. “After college I lived in [...]
My favorite bite: Banyan Day’s Donnie Glass gets bare bones
“Chicken necks and backbones right off the rotisserie at The Park-side in Providence, Rhode Island. I worked at The Parkside as the meat cook early in my cooking career, while I was at Johnson & Wales University. We brined whole birds with lemon and garlic, then roasted them slowly on a [...]
The last bite: The Alley Light’s raspberry tart
Some things are almost too pretty to eat, like this raspberry tart from The Alley Light: bright red raspberries shoring up pistachio pastry cream atop sweet shortbread. It hums spring. Too pretty to eat? Somehow we’ll get over it.
Tom Tom Festival is all grown up
As Tom Tom Founders Festival Director Paul Beyer sits in the audience during Founders Summit talks and hears fellow entrepreneurs and creative visionaries speak about the early days of their startups, the successes they celebrated and obstacles they faced, he can’t help but draw a parallel to [...]
Tom Tom prepares for edible events and more local food news
Tom Tom prepares for edible events Tom Tom Founders Festival is just around the corner, April 11-17, and as the annual festival continues to grow, so does the list of food-and-booze-related activities. Farm to Table Restaurant Week For the third year running, Tom Tom will host a Farm to Table [...]