Chocolate can come at a cost—not to our waistline but to our global health. On Saturday, December 6, a small group of activists and friends hope to raise local awareness of human trafficking in the cocoa industry and fair trade products through the World’s Largest Chocolate Fondue Party.

“I love chocolate and there’s no reason to stop eating it! We just have to channel our purchasing power from sources that don’t take advantage of, hurt, or abuse the lives of others,” says Elisabeth Barahona, co-organizer with her sister in-law, Anita Oliver. As she grew up in Ivory Coast in West Africa, one of the world’s leading producers of cocoa, Barahona feels especially compelled to the cause.

Charlottesville’s satellite event is one among many around the world, but the only host in Virginia. The World Wide Chocolate Fondue Party starts at 7:30 pm on Saturday, December 6 at Rapture on the Downtown Mall. Tickets are only $5, and fair trade products will be available for sale, too.

Oliver says that chocolate makes her “very happy,” but once she learned about the human slave trade, she wondered, “at what cost?”

“It is something I had previously done with coffee, and I know I can feel good about supporting farmers and their families. We heard about Stop the Traffik’s fondue party and we wanted to take part,” Oliver explains. “ At first we were just going to do a home party with a few friends, but that didn’t feel like enough, so here we are trying to put together a huge event - hopefully to get more people on board to help change the world one chocolate bar at a time.”

Stop the Traffik is an organization that monitors slavery and hopes to infiltrate industries that still practice it with a mission of education, advocacy for victims, and philanthropy for large-scale action.

Questions? Email or call 434-242-4982.

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Well, at Zinc on West Main at least. Though we don’t get quite as excited as the French do about the quick corking of this fruity red wine, which is fermented in a matter of weeks and officially released on the third Thursday of November every year (that would be TODAY!), it’s not a bad way to get a little happy buzz on as we descend into the depths of winter. As the folks at Zinc remind us, it’s a pretty easy wine to drink…or gulp.

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Bel Rio, the new restaurant/music club in Downtown Belmont that was featured in last week’s Dish, will be having its grand opening this Friday, November 21 with music by the Gladstones, featuring Bob Girard and Charlie Pastorfield. Check out the menu here.

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The greasy underbelly of the Charlottesville restaurant scene is getting sucked up by a new player, as a company called GreenerOil now sweeps in to slurp away waste fryer oil. Using spiffy new 200-gallon tanks, the company comes by local restaurants, such as Bizou, shown here, getting cleaned out by Tripper Christie last month.

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Big Jim’s on Angus Road closed in April, but it has re-opened as Winky’s.
PHOTO BY HOOK STAFF

“It’s a sad day for burger lovers,” civil rights attorney John Whitehead told the Hook when he heard the news that Big Jim’s had closed back in April. Indeed, after serving up their signature burger platters and BBQ for close to 30 years, Jim and Patricia Hope’s small place on Angus Road–and their catering operation on 10th Street–had become a certified local institution, and a favorite hangout of former Senator George Allen, Whitehead, and scores of others.

Sadly, Big Jim’s wasn’t quite the same after Patricia Hope followed her husband and passed away last year, of which the missing “B” and “S” in the name above the door seemed to be a symptom (see photo left). But it appears that Big Jim’s has returned; not in name, but in spirit.

Juanita “Winky” Hunt worked for the Hope’s for 12 years until an asthma condition and Big Jim’s smokey atmosphere finally forced her to quit. She says she discussed the idea of buying the restaurant with Mrs. Hope before she died, but when her estate settled both the restaurant and the catering business went up for sale together. Fortunately for Hunt, the man who bought the operation, Brent Lunnen, decided he didn’t want the restaurant.

“The only condition was that Brent wanted to keep the Big Jim’s name for the BBQ and catering business,” says Hunt. “And people have always known me as Winky, so…”

Winky’s opened on October 15, but as Hunt points out, the menu is “pretty much the same” as Big Jim’s. In fact, the burger platter that Whitehead mourned hasn’t change a bit–a half pound of ground beef, a big pile of fries, side of slaw or baked beans, and a drink for only $9.05. It’s even cooked by the same guy, ten-year Big Jim’s veteran Butch Finch, and served by the same gal, four-year veteran Caroline Barksdale.

What has changed? Well, Winky’s is non-smoking, the place has been spruced up, and they accept credit cards; but other than that it appears to be the reincarnation of Big Jim’s.

“So many people are saying how glad they are that we’ve reopened,” says Hunt, ” and how glad they are its non-smoking…..people are coming who didn’t come before when it was so smokey.”

Winky’s is open every day from 11am to 9pm, with a Happy Hour from 4pm to 7pm sure to make beer lovers happy for hours.

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