The Charlottesville 29

Listening to chef-owner Ryan Collins talk about his plans for Little Star brunch, it’s hard not to get excited.

For one, there is the concept. “Come on in. We’ll take care of you.” Choose a protein for your tacos, and Little Star has got it from there – a limitless family-style feast of tacos, sides, and house-made salsas. Order some pitchers of sangria or margaritas, and settle in. This is your Sunday now.

Then there’s the food itself, with all of the attention to detail you’d expect from a longtime employee of Jose Andres. No restaurant in town makes corn tortillas from corn itself. Those that make tortillas typically use masa harina — pre-made, dehydrated corn dough. But, Little Star will make tortillas from scratch.

Dried corn from Masienda

The first step is a mysterious process called nixtamalization, which transforms dried corn into something that can be used for tortillas. On Saturday, to prepare for brunch the next day, Collins and his staff cook dried corn from Masienda at a near boil and then leave it to soak overnight in a calcium hydroxide solution called cal, or pickling lime, which breaks down and transforms the corn into nixtamal.

The next day (Sunday!), they drain and rinse the nixtamal, removing the outer shell. They then grind it into ground masa with a stone mill called a molino, imported from Oaxaca. Finally, they form the masa into balls and, with a hand tortilla press, make one tortilla at a time, ready for the griddle.

Molino from Oaxaca.

All that is just for the tortillas!

Why all the effort? Anyone who has had a tasted a tortilla made from scratch knows the answer. To accompany the tortillas, the opening menu offers four protein options, served family-style:

Chicharone en salsa ranchera – guacamole, white onion
Huevos con machaca – scrambled eggs, Mexican dried beef, sofrito
Bistec a la parilla – avocado, lime, tajin
Lamb barbacoa – onion, lime

Parties of two choose one protein, parties of four choose two, parties of six choose three, and parties of eight get all four. And, no mater your party size, you get all of the sides and salsas. On the opening menu, the three sides are Frijoles Refritos – refried beans with crema and onions; Arroz Negro – rice with huitlacoche, poblano, crema, and pickled onions; and Fideos – noodles with passilla Oaxaca chiles, mushrooms, and cactus. The three salsas, meanwhile, are Salsa Verde Cruda, Salsa Chipotle, and Salsa Habanero, made with plenty of sweet citrus and a touch of pineapple vinegar to tame the heat. 

All of this food comes for $35 per head.

Still hungry? Just ask for more of anything. They won’t let you leave wanting more, Collins says.

To wash it down, order pitchers of sangria, house-made agua fresca, or, better yet, agua fresca margaritas.

If the full Little Star Taco Brunch is not your thing, Collins plans a la carte options as well, like his already famous pan tomate, an Eggs Benedict riff on a Spanish tortilla, bread pudding French toast with a Corn Flake crumble and hickory syrup, or “Green Eggs and Ham” — Autumn Olive Farms pork pounded thin and breaded, served with a thick salsa verde of chiles fermented overnight in salt and sugar.

Brunch hours are 10:30 am – 2 pm.  Starts this Sunday, August 18. See you there.