The Charlottesville 29

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

Category: Two for Tuesday

07/02/2013

Two for Tuesday: Brookville and Wolf Creek Farm

1)  Mom’s Favorite at Brookville.  The lunch menu at Brookville, introduced today, does not leave much choice.  Sure, many options sound delicious, like a corned beef sandwich and slow-roasted duck buns.  But, if “Mom’s Favorite” is on the menu, who in their right mind is going to turn it down?  House roast beef and  slices of beautiful local tomatoes are piled high on grilled fresh bread, slathered with Duke’s mayo.  Mom knows best.  If we have ever had a better roast beef sandwich in Charlottesville, we’ve forgotten it.

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2)  Bulgogi from Wolf Creek Farm at City Market.  Grass-fed natural beef, seasoned by a Korean woman who knows what she’s doing, Mihye Whiteside.  Take it home and cook it for just seconds on a hot griddle.  Then, you can do as she recommends and enjoy it wrapped in lettuce leaves.  Or, do as we do, and try it on an indulgent sandwich on a roll from Albemarle Baking Co., topped with a fried egg.  Either way, it’s a seriously delicious, easy, local meal.

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06/25/2013

Two for Tuesday: Brookville and Bashir’s

1)  Lamb Bolognese at Brookville.  Not many people look at a rib-sticking dish like bolognese and think: “You know what this needs more of?  Richness.”  But, then again,  Brookville has always marched to the beat of its own drum, and has never held back.  In a recent addition to the “Munchies” menu, Brookville replaces the ragu’s traditional beef plate or veal with an even richer cut:  ground leg of lamb.  The preparation reveres the dish’s roots, as the lamb is cooked for six hours with carrots, onions, rosemary, white wine and cream.  It’s then served over grits and topped with smoked Piedmont cheese and a few leafs of micro basil.   In typical Brookville fashion, it’s all local:  lamb sourced from Autumn Olive Farms, carrots from City Market, onions from Local Food Hub, wine from Veritas, herbs from Manakintowne, cheese from Everona Dairy, and grits from Woodson’s Mill.  The result is astounding.  The lamb seems a natural fit.  Created by sous chef Dylan Allwood, this is one of the best things we’ve eaten all year.

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2)  Algerian Spiced Chicken at Bashir’s Taverna.  Bashir’s has been dishing out good sandwiches on the downtown mall for so long that it is easy to take it for granted.  We can remember Bashir’s in its original hole-in-the wall digs on the mall, what seems like ages ago.  While we go through phases as to our sandwich of choice, one of our current favorites is the Algerian Spiced Chicken, an occasional special.  Moist, heavily spiced, slices of chicken breast are served on crusty house bread.  Say yes when they ask if you’d like tzatziki.  It is house-made, delicious, and helps mellow the zesty spices.

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04/23/2013

Two for Tuesday: Hill & Holler and KimKim Sauce

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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.

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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.