The Charlottesville 29

If there were just 29 restaurants in Charlottesville, what would be the ideal 29?

Category: Two for Tuesday

04/23/2013

Two for Tuesday: Hill & Holler and KimKim Sauce

Food 245

1)  Dinner with Hill & Holler.  Hill & Holler founder Tracey Love describes it best:  “a roving farm dinner event company bringing farmers, chefs, winemakers, and the community together with the goal of enjoying a farm crafted dinner while raising funds for local food and agricultural organizations.”  The dinners she puts together several times a year have quickly become legendary in the Charlottesville food community.  We had the pleasure of enjoying the most recent one – a four course family-style dinner (menu pictured) at the newly opened Old Metropolitain Hall, prepared by one of the most accomplished chefs in Charlottesville, Dean Maupin of C&O.  A benefit for Beyond the Flavor, the meal featured products from a bevy of outstanding local purveyors, including Potter’s Craft Cider, Pollak Vineyards, Sausage Craft, Border Springs Farm, Free Union Grass Farm, Silky Cow, Rare Lynx, Albemarle Baking Co., and Shenandoah Joe.  One in our group remarked that it was some of the best food they could ever remember eating.  Hill & Holler is a Charlottesville treasure.  For updates on upcoming dinners, follow along on their Facebook page.

Food 246

2)  KimKim Sauce and Coco Pop.  Watch out, this Virginia-made sauce is addictive, based on the habit-forming Korean paste gochujang, made of fermented chilis, rice, and soy beans.  After first discovering it at Feast!, we have been wolfing it down with almost anything – bulgogi, pork, chicken, rice, eggs, etc.  It complements all of these things beautifully.  But, the sauce is so good that it can even play a starring roll.  To wit, it is great on Coco Pop, the airy cakes made from popped wheat flour, rice flour, and corn flour.  The neutral, nutty flavor of the cakes allows the delicious KimKim Sauce to shine.  KimKim Sauce is available at Feast! and Whole Foods;  Coco Pop is available at Whole Foods.  This would be a very healthy snack if it were possible to stop eating.

04/16/2013

Two for Tuesday: Paradox Pastry and Kabab & Curry

Food 243

1)  Pignoli Cookies at Paradox Pastry.  Ever since a bad case of pine mouth several years ago, we have approached pine nuts with trepidation.   Yes, they are tasty little seeds, but do not seem worth risking another week of misery.  After years of avoiding anything with pine nuts (pesto!), we recently took the plunge with Paradox Pastry’s Pignoli cookies.  We are glad we did.  No pine mouth (phew!), and some mighty fine cookies.  Made of sweet almond paste and dotted with pine nuts, these soft and chewy Italian cookies are one of the better renditions we’ve ever had.  Unless you have a mouth full of sweet teeth,we highly recommend having them with a glass of milk or, better yet, a cup of coffee.  They are sweet.  Another success at Paradox Pastry.  Delicious.

Food 242

2)  “Pakistani Dip” at Kabab & Curry.  OK, it’s not on the menu.  But, this riff on a French Dip sandwich is easily assembled.  Here’s how.  First, order the goat curry, which comes with a side of rice, a vegetable curry of your choice, and tandoori bread.   Next, de-bone the goat.  This is easy.  It falls off.  Then, tear off a piece of bread and fold it around some of the goat meat.  Now, dip the whole thing into the goat’s heady sauce.  Enjoy.

04/09/2013

Two for Tuesday: Moto Pho Co. and Beer Run

Food 241

1)  Banh Mi at Moto Pho Co.  Moto Pho Co. is not our typical experience with banh mi sandwiches, which we are accustomed to eating in more downscale digs.  We have enjoyed extraordinary banh mi sandwiches at bare bones bakeries, foul-smelling Asian grocery marts, and holes-in-the-wall that were filthier than our college dorm room.  While these Vietnamese sandwiches can take many forms, they are almost always served on crusty baguettes, and filled with some sort of meat, such as pork liver pate, head cheese, pork meatballs, or pork belly.  Garnishes often include cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, chilis, chili sauce, and mayonaisse.  Like Banh Mi Boys in Toronto or The Box here in Charlottesville, Moto Pho Co. takes these humble sandwiches to slightly snazzier digs – a sleek, airy dining room and a welcoming patio on West Main Street.   Despite the upgrade in surroundings, the sandwiches themselves stay true to form, with just the burst of flavors that makes banh mi sandwiches one of our most irresistible cravings.   We’ll be back again and again.

Food 240

2)  A.M. Biscuit at Beer Run.  For years, one of our favorite parts of Sunday has been Conchi’s Biscuit Basket at Beer Run’s brunch, which contains three biscuits that are so light that they seem to defy physics.  The biscuits are worth waiting all week for.  Now, we don’t have to wait anymore.  Beer Run has recently made the biscuits part of the daily breakfast menu.  The A.M. Biscuit ($3.75) includes a freshly baked cheddar-scallion biscuit with egg and a choice of cheese.   A delicious and hearty start to the day, particularly when you’re not sure if you’ll have time for lunch.

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