The Hook - The Dish » 2009

Deer-hunting class hits NYT

by Hawes Spencer 9:41 am November 25th

food-jacksonlanders-deer Complete with a video showing him field-dressing a deer, Charlottesville insurance exec Jackson Landers, whose deer-hunting class for urbanites has been getting local ink from his mother and other writers, made the big time Wednesday, November 25, in the New York Times.

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Trinity’s trinity: location, atmosphere, and an infamous chef

by Dave McNair 10:04 am November 20th

Goodbye O’Neill’s; hello Trinity. The upscale Irish pub on The Corner opened in October and it’s already making a name for itself.
PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER

After months of renovation, the former O’Neill’s Pub space on The Corner has finally been transformed into Trinity Irish Pub. Apparently, it was worth the wait. According to manger Mackenzie Smith, the Irish and “European bistro-style” pub has been attracting foodies, grad students, young professionals, hospital employees, late-night bar scene types, and just about everyone in-between.

“We’ve brought something a little more upscale to The Corner,” says Smith. “So we’re attracting all kinds of people.”

Indeed, the place has three bars on three levels with eight beers on tap, including Guinness, of course, and three separate sound systems— one for each level. There’s also a balcony overlooking the street on the second floor where folks can step out for a smoke, as the owners decided to make the restaurant smoke-free. When the weather gets warmer, the ground floor’s French doors will unfold “Paris café-style” so that tables can pour out on to the sidewalk.

Trinity, which opened October 27, is the brainchild of two young Chicagoans, Ryan Rooney and Kevin Badke, who may never have opened the place if it weren’t for a one-day visit Rooney made to Charlottesville last year.

“I was literally having lunch outside at the College Inn when they were putting the for lease sign on the building next door,” says Rooney, who says the only prior time he’d been to Charlottesville was for a UVA football game when he was 13. Rooney says he tried to get an appointment to see the splace that day, but wasn’t able to. Back in Chicago, he couldn’t stop thinking about it, so friends told him to go back and check it out.

But Dish’s ears really perked up when Rooney mentioned the name of their chef: (more)

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The Southern: not just another music hall

by Dave McNair 10:57 am November 19th

The Southern’s Andy Gems and Lauren McRaven hope the music hall will also be known for its cuisine.
FILE PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE

Back in 2005, when Lauren McRaven opened The Flat on Water Street, she quipped that she might not have opened the little crêperie if she’d known beforehand how difficult it was going to be. Nearly fours years later, with The Flat having become a Water Street landmark, crepe lovers can be glad that no one warned her. Fans of new music venue The Southern should be glad as well, as McRaven is behind the “Café” in the joint’s tag line “Café and Music Hall.” Initially, McRaven was hired by the owners of Gravity Lounge to head up the kitchen, but when Gravity closed, she took over the space with Andy Gems.

Those early worries about taking on too much seem to have subsided for McRaven, as she says the new gig at The Southern has been a “step up” from The Flat, which she’ll continue to run. “It’s been nice to branch out a little bit,” she says.

McRaven also has ambitions to turn The Southern’s café into a real Downtown restaurant destination, not just a food option during music shows. As she points out, in addition to a late night show menu for concert goers, folks can also eat at the café without buying a ticket to a show. The café is open from 11am to 3pm Tuesday through Sunday, with a brunch on Saturday and Sunday that features live music.

The biggest challenge now, says McRaven, (more)

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Chang lands at Taste of China

by Dave McNair 11:41 am November 17th

Dish’s foodie spys tell him that Taste of China, which recently opened in the Albemarle Square Shopping Center, is the real deal. Apparently, a very itinerant but renowned Szechuan chef named Peter Chang is currently biding his time there until his next big gig. Indeed, fans of Chang have been stalking him from place to place for years, and trying to learn about his whereabouts since he left the Hong Kong House in Knoxville, Tennessee. He specializes in “boldly seasoned” Northern Szechuan cuisine.

A call to Taste of China confirmed that Chang is indeed the chef, but a considerable language barrier prevented us from gleaning much more. This is good news for authentic Chinese food fans, while it lasts. In China, Chang apparently cooked for president Hu Jintao, and in 2000 he became the chef at the Chinese Embassy. He eventually began cooking at DC and Northern Virginia area restaurants and was quickly discover by folks like Tom Sietsema at the Washington Post.

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Staunton’s culinary coup

by Dave McNair 10:33 am November 17th

Zynodoa, Staunton’s stylish contribution to southern cuisine, the local food movement, and big city chic, raised the bar recently by hiring chef Michael Lund, who comes to the restaurant after six years at The Inn at Little Washington, where he trained with culinary icon Patrick O’Connell.

This is a real coupe for Zynodoa. After all, Lund has had to cook for celebrity chefs like Julia Child, Charlie Trotter and Alain Ducasse, not to mention the occasional royal. For crying out loud, the Inn was voted “Best Hotel Dining in the World” by Travel & Leisure magazine readers last year. And if Zynodoa was local food-focused before, it’s even more so now, as Lund works closely with local farmers, including the Staunton area’s most famous farmer— indeed, quite possibly America’s most famous farmer— Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms.

Lund calls his new Zynodoa menu “refined southern cuisine— simplified.” For example, the autumn menu includes a fried green tomato and Surryano Berkshire ham appetizer, Polyface Farm chicken parmesan, and a shrimp and grits that uses Hawaiian prawns and fried okra. You can check out the entire menu on Zynodoa’s website.

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Sustainable sustenance: Maya hosts second ‘local’ dinner

by Stephanie Garcia 4:12 pm November 16th

From left, Richard Bean of Double H Farm, vintner Gabriele Rausse, Peter Castiglione of Maya, Peter Hatch of Monticello, Megan and Rob Weary of Roundabout Farm.
PHOTO BY WILL WALKER

“Creating a relationship is what this whole trip is about,” said Maya head chef Christian Kelly to a full house Monday, November 9, as foodies, farmers, and fans of Charlottesville cuisine filled 60 seats and devoured five wine-paired courses, while learning about sustainability from some of the area’s top culinary names.

Feeding off the burgeoning “local” food movement sweeping across the nation, Maya owner Peter Castiglione hosted the restaurant’s second “Local Food and Spirits Night.” Featuring wine from (more)

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Don’t miss the Pointe

by Dave McNair 2:56 pm November 10th

With over 60 eateries and restaurants in the Downtown Mall area, it’s easy for some places to get lost in the crowd. And when you’re inside a hotel and blocked from view by a forest of urban trees at the far West End of the Mall, it’s especially easy.

“People don’t notice us sitting on the hill,” says Morgan Oliver, the executive chef at The Pointe Restaurant in the Omni Hotel. “I think we’ve been kind of looked over because we’re in a hotel.”

Those logistics have been particularly frustrating for Oliver, who, since taking over the kitchen three years ago, has changed the whole concept of the restaurant and given it a local food and organic focus. For instance, Oliver’s menu includes food from (more)

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Mockingbird rises from the ashes

by Dave McNair 3:41 pm November 03rd

Mockingbird, Staunton’s newest restaurant and music hall, rebounds from an August fire.
PHOTO BY KEVIN BLACKBURN

First it sang, then it burned, and now it has risen again. Mockingbird, Staunton’s new restaurant and music hall, caught fire before it even opened back in August when two trash cans ignited during the renovation of the historic building on Beverley Street.

At the time, stunned owner Wade Luhn was planning on a September opening, but as he stood on the street watching the blaze he was speechless. While the restaurant side of the building suffered little damage, the music hall side took the brunt of the two-hour fire. A day later, though, Luhn was determined.

“We’re uncertain when we will be able to restore the music hall,” said Luhn. “but it will happen as soon as possible, and we will work with renewed determination to complete the project.”

The restaurant, believe it or not, opened (more)

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Family pasta night at Milano Café

by Dave McNair 1:27 pm November 03rd

November 5, 2009 5:30 pm

Family pasta night at Milano Café, Thursday, November 5, 5:30pm to 7:30pm. $5 Pasta, $5 Caesar, $5 Wine. Bring the whole family and draw on the tables.

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The Art of French cheese

by Dave McNair 5:11 pm November 02nd

November 14, 2009 5:00 pm

Though exact figures vary, France boasts between 300-400 different cheeses. Did you know that cheeses are made from the milk of cow, goat and sheep? Or that cheese-crafting started in the Middle age as a way to store milk? Or that most French cheeses are still artisanally produced? Would you like to learn more?

Join Anne and Vincent Arlet at the Speak! Language Center to taste and learn about 8-10 French cheeses, including: Roquefort, Reblochon, Crottin de Chavignol, Bucheron, Ementhal, Comté, and Camembert— and the Ambassador of Stinky Cheeses, Epoisse. Trivia quiz and language games, too.

Saturday, November 14, 5-7pm. Call/email 434-245-8255/speaklanguagecenter.com to make reservations. $45 per person. In the back of the Glass Building.

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