Dish

A second Shenandoah Joe has finally opened up in the old Ivy Road Java Java space. Back in February, we caught SJ owner Dave Fafara off-guard when we sleuthed out his plans, but he was still forthcoming. He said “things will be a little different” over there, with an emphasis on handcrafted estate coffees from personal farms. After roasting coffee since 1995, Fafara opened his existing café location on Preston Avenue in May 2007. 

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“Everybody is upset that it’s gone,” says Scottsville resident Rhonda Snow. “It’s sad to people…when the Dew Drop Inn went away, Scottsville died.”

Snow, who has lived in Scottsville for the last 22 years, says that many folks in town are upset that the Dew Drop, made famous by The Walton’s TV show, has never been revived. Indeed, Dish has always wondered why someone hasn’t re-opened the Dew Drop Inn, given the name recognition. Instead, the owners of the building (who own other spaces on the main drag as well) have tried to open new places, including 330 Valley, which sports the old Dew Drop Inn sign on its wall.

A Scottsville fixture for more than 60 years, and a regularly mentioned locale on the 1970’s television show The Waltons (Jason had his first job playing piano at the Dew Drop), the Dew Drop went up for sale in 2005 but finally closed for good in August 2007. According to one previous owner, tourists visited the old bar from as far away as Europe, where– as they do here on the Hallmark Channel– episodes of The Waltons still air. 

“It would bring the town back to life,” says Snow, who used to work at the old Dew Drop and now works at Donna’s Place. “There’s still stuff in that building that was there when the Walton’s went there.”

Right now the old Dew Drop Inn building is for sale for just $195,000. Any takers?

Considering how many people now live around the Pantops area, Dish has always found it surprising how little fine dining there is east of Free Bridge. While there’s plenty of fast food, other chains like Appleby’s and Topeka Steak House, and better-than-average standouts like Tip Top, Guadalajara, andSticks, the really aren’t any upscale dining experiences to be had.

Karen Laetare hopes to change that.

Two years ago, Laetare opened the Brix Terrace Café next to theHallmark store in the Pantops Shopping Plaza, where she began serving her Mediterranean/California-style food (bruschetta, paninis, antipasti platters), as well as her homemade Italian pastries, with remarkable success.

For eight years before that, she ran the Brix Market near Ashlawn, and was tagged last year by the folks at Monticello to run the café in their new $55 million, 42,000-sq.-ft. visitor’s center. But the ventures all have one thing in common:

“We’ve never done dinner before,” says Laetare, announcing her plans to start serving it at Brix Terrace Café from Wednesday to Saturday, complete with white linens and candles.

Laetare says she had hoped there would be more fine dining options around Pantops by now, considering all the development nearby, but it appears she got tired of waiting.

“We’ll be emphasizing a more healthy, Mediterranean diet,” she says, “no butter, no cream, just fresh, healthy food that won’t be too expensive either.”

Indeed, Laetare, like all restaurant owners these days, knows that folks are reining in their restaurant spending, but she’s trying to strike a happy balance.

“It’s sad to me, I know people are having to eat cheaper food these days,” she says. “But so much of what you find at fast-food places is so bad for you. For a few dollars more, you can eat so much healthier.”

Laetare says she surprised her staff recently by showing up for dinner at Brix (”To keep my kitchen staff on their toes,” she jokes), and says she spent about $50 for a dinner for two on a Saturday night.

“That’s not bad,” she says. “We also have a wine wall where we sell bottles for $11.”

If the response is good, Laetare says she’ll expand dinner to six days a week, but for now she’s just testing the fine-dining waters on Pantops.

Oh, and for all you Pantops visitors with a sweet tooth, Laetare says she’s going to start serving Italian gelato at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, her Monticello visitor’s center gig appears to be blossoming. “They were slammed last weekend,” she says, “and the Washington Post just did a full-page spread on the new center. So we’re gearing up for the April 15 grand opening up there.”

Several law firms in town, including Hunton & Williams, LeClairRyan, and McGuireWoods, have issued a challenge to their litigious brethren in an attempt to collect food and raise money for the hungry. Dubbed the Legal Food Frenzy, the challenge was created by The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network, and is now in its third year.

Basically, the firm that makes the most non-perishable food donations and donates the most money to the Central Virginia Food Bank wins. Apparently, an award ceremony will take place in front of the Free Speech Wall on the Downtown Mall, though no date for that has been scheduled. Firms can sign up online at cvfb.org.

Last year, the food bank reports that over 12.6 million pounds of food was handed out to people in need, and that 36 percent of it went to children living in poverty. So come on, all you legal eagles, put your food and your money where the hungry’s mouths are. And hurry! The contest ends this week.

Still thinking about a place to have Easter Brunch? Well, you’ve got plenty of options. Brassiere Montiel on Commonwealth Drive is serving à la carte Easter Brunch until 3pm; Veritas Vineyards is having a four-course, wine-paired affair for $60 per person all inclusive; the Old Mill Room at the Boar’s Head Inn is serving up a “lavish” brunch and inviting the Easter Bunny to host an egg hunt; The Clifton Inn has a limited à la carte menu including three appetizers, three main courses, and three desserts, with a special kids menu; and over at Keswick Hall they’re having a massive buffet-style brunch with chefs manning “action” stations where’ll they’ll create your entrée on the spot. The Shebeen, Ivy Inn, and the Silver Thatch Inn are also hosting Easter brunches.

On Friday night last week, the doorman at the X Lounge, the chic bar/restaurant in the Glass Building just off the Downtown Mall, made a questionable call concerning a turban wearing Sikh student from UVA.

According to a story that first appeared in the Cavalier Daily, at around 1:30am, the Sikh student tried to join fellow members of UVA’s Indian Student Association at the restaurant for a nightcap, but was told by the doorman that he couldn’t go in “with that thing on.”

Apparently, the ISA’s president tried to reason with the X Lounge’s manager, explaining that it was a requirement of the student’s faith, but the manager stuck to the restaurant’s no head wear policy, a decision that X Lounge owner J.F. Legault now regrets.

Legault declined to make any comments for the record, preferring instead to address the issue in a prepared statement.

“Our most sincere apologies go out the individual, his companions and the entire community,” reads the statement. “The X Lounge has a “no head covering” policy and at times this policy has created difficult situations. In this case, there was a lack of common sense on our part and respect to one’s religion did not prevail.”

Indeed, in a city where someone of the Sikh faith sits on our City Council, the gaffe appears particularly void of common sense. The statement doesn’t explain why the X Lounge has a no head wear policy, and Legault wasn’t willing to elaborate. As you may recall, the owners of the Corner restaurant Jaberwoke, which re-opened as Three-a Kitchen and Lounge, got in some hot-water over a dress code that banned white t-shirts, oversized t-shirts, baggy jeans, sweatpants, and hats without brims– in other words, the threads of choice of hip-hop music fans.

Like the X Lounge incident, furor over the Jaberwoke policy was the result of a story in the Cavalier Daily, which prompted student organizations to demand a meeting with the restaurant’s owners. Nearly 50 students, most of them African American, showed up for the two-hour discussion.

A month earlier, Jaberwoke’s owners explained that the dress code was being implemented to encourage “better behavior” among its patrons.

“It ain’t dress; it’s race,” declared an outraged Rick Turner, local NAACP president and UVA’s former Dean of African American Affairs during the meeting. “You really don’t want black people in your bar.”

After being peppered with such comments, Jaberwoke’s owners offered to change the dress code on the spot. But the crowd wasn’t easily appeased.

“I don’t understand why you need a dress code at all,” said one student.

The X Lounge incident appears to have elicited a similar reaction from the ISA. While Indian student representatives appeared to welcome Legault’s apology, they declared it wasn’t enough and demanded that the X Lounge’s policy on head wear be changed, that the manager be punished, and that the X Lounge explain specifically how they planned to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Even UVA spokesperson Carol Wood got in on the action, saying it “shows that there are still people in our community who do not understand the basic tenants of our country.” Ouch!

In his statement, Legault says that steps will be taken at the X Lounge to make sure nothing like this ever happens again, but did not say if the head wear policy would be reconsidered or altered.

However, the student group is now adopting a more diplomatic approach. In a joint statement received today, the Sikh Student Association and Indian Student Association at UVA informed the Hook that they plan on meeting with representatives from the X Lounge next week to discuss the incident.

“We appreciate the apology from X Lounge and hope they can elaborate on their course of action at this meeting,” the statement reads. ” We would like to utilize this incident to educate the community about minority culture rather than to incur punishment on X Lounge.

“Incidents like this do happen often, even if they go unreported,” the statement continued. “We do not plan on protesting X Lounge’s policy, as it has been written to allow head-coverings for religious and medical reasons. We do, however, believe the application of this policy was not handled appropriately during the incident. Our community as well as X Lounge are taking steps to prevent its misuse in the future.”

Over at Waldo Jaquith’s cvillenews.com, the discussion got pretty heated under a post on the incident, with some folks calling for a boycott of the X Lounge, others saying they have a right to create any policy they want, that it was the fault of one dumb employee, and calling for less hysteria when talking about race. One person pointed out that Charlottesville City Schools have an even more restrictive dress code, but someone else made note of the fact that the X Lounge apology came after the ISA rallied folks at UVA, not when their president explained to the manager at the time that he was required to let the Sikh student inside.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have some of the more memorable protests around– we still haven’t forgotten the naked protester from 2006. On March 30, chicken-suited Kristina Addington takes the knife to Ronald McDonald (Cassandra Callaghan) in front the McDonald’s on Ridge-McIntire as part of PETA’s McCruelty Campaign to draw attention to mass poultry-slaughtering machines that slit the throats of conscious chickens and if the blades miss, the bird is plunged into scalding water while still alive, says PETA. Afterward, the protesters did not dine on Chicken McNuggets for lunch.

At the Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition this year, our own Keswick Vineyards took home top honors for its 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, which was selected as Virginia’s best wine from a list of 250 entries. It was the second Governor’s Cup for Keswick winemaker, Stephen Barnard.

Keswick’s 2006 Heritage Estate Reserve also took home a gold medal, as did Barboursville Winery’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Jefferson Vineyards’ 2007 Petit Verdot, Veritas Vineyards’ 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, and Virginia Wineworks’ 2007 Cabernet Franc.

Barnard says he was “elated” to see red wines do so well in the competition, as Virginia has been known more as a white wine producing State, he says.

“The 2007 season was about as perfect a growing season as we could want and the fruit quality was fantastic, so all credit to our vineyard team,” says Barnard. “My job is easy then, just reflect in a bottle what the fruit naturally gave me. The exciting thing is that the wine is still so young and probably will get better with two or three years additional bottle aging.”

Governor’s Cup judge and local wine expert Richard Leahy appears to agree.

“It’s frankly too young now, will be worth trying at the beginning of winter in nine months, and should reach peak in three to five years,” he writes on his blog. “Excellent balance, very stylish and shows the potential for this grape in long, dry growing seasons in Virginia.”

However, Leahy also says he was “disappointed by a lot of dull, ho-hum and frankly mediocre wine among the gems, “considering the strengths of the 2007 and 2008 vintages.

“The well-made examples of red meritage wines show that others who blew it that year can’t simply shrug and say they were powerless to do better in an off-vintage year,” he says. “The standard for average quality in the Virginia wine industry should be higher by now.”

However, he also said there is a top tier of Virginia winemakers who have soared in front of the grape pack.

“And their wines are not just excellent wines, they are wines that showcase Virginia terroir in exciting ways, showing what is possible,” he says. “From the Puligny Montrachet-like Rapphannock ’07 oaked chardonnay, to the Cote Rotie-like Rockbridge syrah, to the Duoro-like touriga from Barren Ridge Vineyards, Virginia’s top wines are among the best in North America.”

As Dish reported last week, Crush wineshop owner Paul Coleman has sold his Belmont wine store to former manager of Coran Capshaw’s restaurant group, Michael Keaveny, who now says he has a name and a concept for a new restaurant in the space across from Bel Rio.

To be named Tavola, which mean “table” in Italian, the restaurant, Keaveny says, will be a place where Charlottesville residents can eat like an Italian, sharing local, seasonal cuisine and relishing in “one of life’s most basic needs around a table with family and friends.”

“I am creating a home away from home for myself and my family and hope to make it feel like that for our diners’ as well,” says Keaveny, who happens to be a Culinary Institute of America graduate with more than 27 years of cooking experience.

Keaveny says he sees Belmont as the perfect place for a family-friendly, neighborhood restaurant like Tavola, and hopes to become a fixture in Downtown Belmont along with the likes of Bel Rio, Mas, The Local, and La Taza.

Tavola will also maintain a wine store component with a wine list that will feature small batch, artisanal producers from all over the grape-growing map, with an emphasis on organic, biodynamic selections. The majority of the list will be priced between $20 and $50 with a discount on bottles patrons would like to bring home. Wine classes and pairing events will also be held on Monday nights.

Tavola anticipates a May opening, with Keaveny himself manning the burners of the small, yet efficient open kitchen serving “five-star cuisine with two-star prices.” No menu items over $19, he says.

Menu highlights include the spiedino di gamberi (pancetta-wrapped shrimp on a skewer over arugula, fresh mozzarella and tomato-basil vinaigrette); the insalata di finocchio (shaved fennel, blood oranges, oil-cured olives and ricotta salata); the pappardelle (handmade pasta with red wine and pork ragu, basil and pecorino romano); and pesce spada (swordfish over white bean puree with cippoline “agrodolce” and fried rosemary).

Keaveny also says that “passion and hospitality” will drive his search for his staff, who he will expect to treat everyone who visits like a VIP.

“We will remember your face, your birthday, and your favorite wine,” he says.

While rumors have been flying around for weeks that Crush Wineshop in Belmont is being sold, owner Paul Coleman today confirms that he is selling his wine shop to the former manager of Coran Capshaw’s restaurant group, Michael Keaveny, who plans to convert the place into a combination restaurant/winebar/wine shop.

“I would say it’s a done deal at this point,” says Coleman, who has been busy working out the details of the deal. “He [Keaveny] has taken over the running of the shop through this week at least, and will probably shut down shortly thereafter to begin converting the place over.” 

Coleman, one of the partners who opened Orzo in the West Main Street Market, opened Crush in December 2007 with his wife, Nan, and then partner, Gregg Oxley, hoping to “take the snobbishness out of the wine mystique…and create a place where people feel comfortable checking out wines.”

We’ll keep you posted as we find out more. Or perhaps you know something we should know?

As Dish mentioned in the beginning of February, organizer Gwen Goodkin was hoping Charlottesville restaurants would participate in UNICEF’s TAP Project. At the time, only a few restaurants had committed to the project, but now Goodkin reports that 23 local restaurants have signed on. Click on the image of the flyer on the left to see the full list.  

What’s the TAP Project? It’s simple. Order tap water during the week of March 22-28, which happens to be World Water Week, and opt to pay just $1 for that water and the proceeds will go to helping secure clean drinking water for children around the world. Donations are voluntary, but that $1 is enought to provide one day of clean drinking water to 40 children. 

“It’s a small commitment with big rewards,” says Goodkin. ” The key is to get local restaurants to participate.”

So, whatya say restaurant owners, how about visiting the tapproject.org and registering before the March 15 deadline. And foodies, make sure to ask your favorite restaurants if they will be participating in the TAP Project! For more information you can contact Goodkin at 984-46-49 or email her at goodkingw@aol.com

March Madness has begun…March beer madness, that is. For the third year now, the Washington Post has organized a NCAA-style tournament of beers from all over America, complete with a live-action online bracket. And Afton’s own Blue Mountain Brewery has advanced to the Sweet 16 with its Blue Mountain Lager!

Managed by the Post’s beer columnist Greg Kitsock, a call for panelists this year drew 630 emails from folks touting their beer tasting creds, from which eight judges were selected. The panel includes an executive chef, a congressional analyst, an engineer, and even a rabbi, with ages ranging from 68 to 22, who all blind taste the beers to determine the winners. Kitsock is there to break any ties. On March 11, the final eight will advance, and on March 18 the final four will be announced. The finals will be held on March 25.

While Blue Mountain brew master Taylor Smack admits the competition will be stiff, he likes his chances.

“While Classic Lager isn’t the power forward of the Blue Mountain team it’s our solid player who has what it takes to get us into the final four,” says Smack, taking the sports motif and running with it. ” Until the next round we’re just trying to take it easy, keep Classic Lager out of trouble off the court…I don’t mean to comment on its conduct, but, you know, he’s known for being in bars all over the state, so we’re just trying to keep the focus on the game right now.”

The master might also have to do battle with his past.

“If we can advance a little bit more we have the chance to go up against my old Chicago brewery’s flagship beer,” says Smack, who learned his craft at Chicago’s Goose Island Brewing, which entered their Honker’s Ale.

” Seriously, though, it was very flattering coverage and I thought it was a nice nod to the growing beer scene around here,” says Smack.

Indeed, in January, the Post’s Jenny Mayo profiled the area’s growing beer trail [Virginia Is Also for Beer Lovers, January 21, 2009], which now includes Blue Mountain, Starr Hill Brewing Company in Crozet, South Street Brewery downtown, and the Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company near Wintergreen.

Let the beer madness begin!

This St. Patrick’s Day, going green will mean more than green beer and green hats at Boylan Heights, the burger bar restaurant on the Corner, as the owners are offering a $100 gift certificate for the best environmentally friendly idea the restaurant can implement.

“Basically, instead of wearing a green shirt and not remembering it the next day,” says co-owner J.R. Hadley, “were hoping to inspire people to go green on St. Patty’s Day, permanently.”

Of course, this could be a challenge, as the restaurant already uses grass fed organic meats, recycles their bottles and plastics, uses non-toxic cleaning supplies, energy-efficient light bulbs, chlorine free paper products, and contracts with GreenerOil, a company that collects restaurant grease and oil for making fuel.

“But the great thing about being in an educated University community is someone will always have creative input beyond anything we may have considered,” says Hadley.

You can enter the contest by emailing your idea to boylansgreen@gmail.com. One entry will be selected as the $100 winner and also five other entrants will be drawn at random for $20 gift certificates.

Besides exotic food, including its signature chicken pastry, Al Hamraa, the recently-opened Moroccan restaurant in the Ix building, has something few, if any, other restaurants offer: a dual-flush toilet. Yep, this Caroma brand commode— seen here Saturday night in the men’s room— saves the world’s most precious resource by churning out less than a liter of water for fluids and the full 1.6 liters for, ahem, solids.

Tough times? Then partner up! That’s what The Happy Cook and the Charlottesville Cooking School are doing. Soon THC customers will be able to sign up for CCS classes and CCS students will get a $15 THC gift certificate after class. In the spring, CCS teachers will do demos at THC. “The partnership meets a need on both sides,” says CCS founder Martha Stafford (pictured). “So it made sense to try and work together.”

Beer Run and l’étoile have teamed up for a beer dinner on Tuesday, March 10, featuring the beers of Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York. All of the beers being featured have won numerous awards; especially noteworthy was Hennepin’s receipt of the Gold Medal for Farmhouse Saison at the 2007 European Beer Star Competition.

Four of Ommegang’s brews will be paired alongside the cuisine of local food proponent and l’étoile chef/owner Mark Gresge (pictured left). A representative of the brewery will be in attendance to introduce and discuss each beer as well as answer any questions relating to their craft and distribution.

The event is priced at $45 per person, excluding tax and gratuity, and will be presented as a communal dining experience. Seating is limited. Call (434)979-7957 for reservations

When the Dave Matthews Band returns home April 17 for their JPJ show, the first here since the loss of sax player Leroi Moore, the Ants will be marching down to Mono Loco after the show. Last year, AntMarching.org, the DMB fan community, held their first annual AntsMarching.org After-Party at the PGA National Resort in West Palm Beach, Florida, which drew 600 happy fans over two nights. This year, the fan group plans to descend on downtown Charlottesville after the show, and according to organizer Joe Maliszeski, it could be even bigger.

“Last year, the party venue was 20 minutes away via a toll road, and we still had 300 people each night,” says Maliszeski. “But Mono Loco is only a stones throw away from JPJ, so it may be quite big.”

Maliszeski says that the folks at Mono Loco will be setting up a second patio and clearing out the “alley” next to the building for the party. He also says that DMB band manager Coran Capshaw’ s Red Light Management is securing some rare early DMB recordings for the event to set the mood. In addition, Starr Hill Brewery (another Capshaw venture) will be offering specials on its hand-crafted beers for the event. The official DMB fan association, The Warehouse, will also be partnering with the Ants to give away prizes and have special contest, and the whole party will be broadcast live on ustream.tv. And continuing the DMB empire theme (Capshaw also owns the restaurant), Mono Loco will also be serving up some tasty treats made with produce from Matthews’ Best of What’s Around farm.

“We’re excited to go back to Charlottesville,” says Maliszeski. “We went to the shows in 2006 and loved the city and the atmosphere. I think this year will top it, especially with the After-Party.”

If you’d like to attend, Maliszeski suggests you RSVP on the site’s After Party page.

There’s a new place in the McIntire Business Park, just beyond Saigon Café and Kathy’s Hair, to get homemade BBQ and breakfast burritos made with local organic ingredients. WahooRidge Company(home of WahooQ BBQ Sauce), described as a “hole in the wall” by owner Mike McBlair, just recently began opening up its whole sale frozen food business to walk-ins. No, the food isn’t frozen, as McBlair has a working kitchen on the premises. In several weeks, McBlair will be offering his frozen homemade food at Whole Foods, but for now he’s offering up some of his specialties to anyone who wants to stop by. “The breakfast burritos are to die for,” he says.

Crozet’s only music venue shut its door February 22 on the corner location whose longest-running business in our memory was a drugstore. Next to try that spot: Mudhouse has a lease, according to an Uncle Charlie’s owner.

The best-known son of Swoope and the star of Michael Pollan’s diet-changing book The Omnivore’s Dilemma will speak at PVCC in Charlottesville on the topic of starting your own farm. He is Joel Salatin, an outspoken thorn in the side of the industrial agricultural complex who practices what he preaches at his Polyface Farm. (Other speakers on the bill; pre-registration required.)

Then, at 7pm on Saturday, March 14, he comes back to Charlottesville to speak at the Montessori Community School on Pantops Mountain.