The Hook - The Dish » 2008

Giant cuts ketchup, dressing prices

by Hawes Spencer 12:54 pm February 29th

Food behemoth Giant, which has a Charlottesville store in Seminole Square, announces today that it’s cutting prices on its “flavorful” items, including ketchup, mustard, and relish for the weenie-roasters among us– as well as price on vinegar, olive oil, and marinades for the saute set. These and other reductions are a continuation of the company’s ongoing “Low Prices Every Day” program which has systematically reduced prices throughout the store.

“In the past year, we’ve lowered thousands of prices in over 70 percent of the store on items that customers use most and we’re continuing to lower prices in more aisles in the coming months,” said Andrea Astrachan, consumer advisor for Giant in a prepared statement.

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Coming soon: Waynesboro’s Taste of the Town

by Dave McNair 5:00 am February 29th

March 11, 2008 5:00 pm

$20

The 9th annual Taste of the Town food extravaganza/fundraiser is coming to Waynesboro on Tuesday, March 11. In addition to tasty treats from professional and “celebrity chefs,” there will be a silent auction and live Irish music with Scruffy Murphy. Some of this year’s chefs include Shukri Simmons, Shukri’s BBQ; Juan Ocequeda, Mi Rancho; Heidi Lanford, The Iris Inn; Waynesboro Chief of Police Davis; and Linda Roland, South River Restaurant and Wine Shop.

March 11 at Fairfax Hall, 1101 Reservoir Rd. in Waynesboro from 5:00 �€“ 9:00 pm. Tickets: 12 and under - free, ages 13-18 - $10, adults - $20 and couples - $35. Door or in advance from participating chefs or at the Waynesboro Downtown Development, Inc. office, 301 W. Main St., Waynesboro. All proceeds benefit the WDDI. Information 540-942-6755.

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Wine tasting at Siips

by Hawes Spencer 6:13 pm February 28th

March 8, 2008 4:30 pm

The new wine and champagne bar across from the Paramount Theater is having a tasting.

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Perfectly delicious: online ice cream factory to open

by Dave McNair 10:52 am February 28th

If Perfect Flavor ice cream is as perfect as its website, a lovely Web 2.0 creation that allows you to build your own pints of homemade, organic ice cream, then it’s sure to be tasty indeed. The brain child of local pastry chef and dessert caterer Lynsie Watkins, and local techie Colin Steele, an early employee of America Online and founder of business site WebG2, Inc., Perfect Flavor is the first ice cream processing plant to be opened in Virginia in the last 30 years, according to Watkins. In addition, in the spirit of the slow food movement, many of the ingredients that go into their ice cream are supplied by local farms, including Polyface Farms in Swoope, Holsinger Farm in Waynesboro, and Harvest Thyme Herbs in Mint Springs.

Apparently, it’s been a long, grueling process.

“After almost two years of relentless work, new discoveries, and plenty of teary days, Colin and I finally received our inspectors’ approvals from the Department of Agriculture to officially sell ice cream,” wrote Watkins in a recent post on Perfect Flavor’s blog. ” After a lot of trial and error…we have created the ideal space in which to pasteurize farm-fresh milk, create new ice cream flavors, and serve a product that until now has not existed in our lifetimes…”

Indeed, you can even watch on their Perfect Flavor web cam!

Basically, you pick your ice cream base, add ingredients on the site, and the tasty cool goodness is shipped to you in dry ice. Of course, there’s a price to be paid for all this goodness; 4 pints will run you about $90 and 8 pints go for $120.

If all goes according to plan, says Watkins, they should be fully operational in the beginning of March.

Perfect.

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Box opened, found to contain noodles

by Rosalind 8:23 pm February 22nd

The brown paper covering the former Atomic Burrito location on Second Street for the past few months– you know, the stuff on which some trickster had written “Hooters - Coming Soon”– has finally been pulled down, revealing not jiggly young ladies, but rather wiggly little noodles.

The Box features Asian-inspired cuisine such as noodles and dumplings, and exotic drinks like sake and watermelon juleps. In addition, we now have three sushi joints within a block or two; whether that sufficiently qualifies as another Charlottesville shark-jumping is entirely up to you.

The “sleek, sedated Jetsons” environment of Atomic has been given a full makeover, with much more sensible seating arrangements, a wall-size mural of Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid, and a giant gong behind the register, which co-owner Chas Webster has suggested might come in handy for last call.

If that’s the case, you’ll definitely want to get down here before then!

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Sound bite: City proposes new noise restrictions

by Dave McNair 6:14 pm February 11th

The city of Charlottesville is proposing a series of amendments to its noise ordinance in an attempt to address concerns about late night noise “emanating from such establishments as the Buddhist Biker Bar, the Outback Lodge, LaTaza and Saxx, reported noise incidents on the Downtown Mall, and complaints in residential units,” according to a memo from Neighborhood Development Services Director Jim Tolbert.

Indeed, the Hook wrote about such noise issues at La Taza and Saxx last June.

“After previously considering imposition of uniform restrictions in all mixed use corridors within the City to address the first issue,” writes Tolbert in the memo, which is addressed to Police Chief Tim Longo and City Attorney Craig Brown, “we now believe a more effective method for regulating such noise is to impose a reasonable nighttime restriction upon restaurants and bars within the City.”

Essentially, instead of imposing a noise restriction on a particular area, the city has decided to impose uniform noise restrictions on all restaurants. According to Tolbert, this will make it easier for police to enforce, as they won’t have to spend time determining if a restaurant is within a restricted zone.

The new ordinance would limit sound levels to 75 db(A) when measured outside a restaurant between 10pm and 6am. Tolbert’s memo also calls for a daytime noise restriction in the Downtown Business District. Currently, there is a nighttime restriction of 75 db(A) from 10pm-6am Sun-Thurs, and 12:01am-6am Fri-Sat. The memo also asks if noise restrictions should be stricter in residential areas downtown, based on complaints the NDS has received.

Of course, some might wonder what this means for the Pavilion, a notorious noise maker, which is neither a residence or a restaurant. Would this let the giant clam off the hook?

A public hearing on these proposed noise amendments will be held at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 19.

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