Five Finds on Friday: Jason Boorman
Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Jason Boorman, General Manager of Kardinal Hall, and winner of this week’s reader drawing to participate in Five Finds.* “Picking just five things in this town is extremely difficult,” says Boorman. “The amount of talent and offerings in Charlottesville are deserving of their own novel, each chapter dedicated to one restaurant or menu. I was tempted to do my five finds on just fried chicken alone! If it was my last day in this town though and I had to choose, these would be the first five things I would have to check off my list.”
1) Pastrami, Swiss and Mustard on Everything Bagel at Bodo’s. “You can put just about anything on a Bodo’s everything bagel and I will eat it, but I will wait in line on a Saturday morning for this sandwich!”
2) Tuna Tartare at Zocalo. “One of my favorite things to do is app hop on the downtown mall and it always starts with the tuna tartare. I’ve tried to duplicate this at home and gave up.”
3) Capellini Frutti Di Mare “Fra Diavolo” at Tavola. “Seafood is fresh, pasta is cooked perfectly, and that sauce . .. . my favorite pasta dish hands down. Order a side of bread with it, because leaving any sauce in the bowl is an absolute sin!”
4) Porchetta Panuozzi at Lampo. “I could do a five finds on just Lampo, but I’ve had dreams about this sandwich before. The house made porchetta is phenomenal, house bread is the perfect vessel and the crunch from the broccoli rabe ties it all together. If you haven’t had it yet, go there now, it will change your life.”
5) Nachos with Beef and Extra Tomatillo Salsa at Beer Run. “I started dating my girlfriend right around the time Beer Run opened. This was the first dish we had there and now we can’t go there without ordering it. It’s pretty bad when the bartender doesn’t even have to ask how you want them.”
*(The random drawing was open to all readers, whether in the restaurant industry or not. But, non-industry readers deserve appreciation, too, and so next week’s Five Finds on Friday will come from a non-industry winner of the drawing.)