The Charlottesville 29

A MarieBette baker is bringing a Jersey-style donut shop to Charlottesville.

It was not even four years ago that Melissa Sbrocco (pronounced “sprock-oh”) began exploring the idea of turning her passion for baking into a career. But, after joining the MarieBette baking team in August 2020, she was hooked.  “Over the next three years, my knowledge of bread-making transformed from the basics that everyone picked up during the lockdown sourdough craze to a comprehensive understanding,” said Sbrocco. She had a knack for it, too — such a knack that, by 2022, she became Manager at the MarieBette manufactory. Now, she is taking the next step: running her own place.

Why donuts? The idea came from MarieBette’s owners, Patrick Evans and Jason Becton, who have fond memories of donut shops from their time living in Jersey City, where seemingly every strip mall is sprinkled with them. Sbrocco has similar memories from visiting family in New Jersey, and spending summers on the shore. “Donut shops and local bakeries were a staple for every trip,” she said.

Besides, donuts have become a bit of a tradition behind the scenes at MarieBette. Since cakes abound at a bakery, a practice evolved of celebrating employee birthdays with something different: donuts. That got the wheels turning about creating a donut shop like the ones they remembered from Jersey. “It didn’t hurt that there is a real demand for donuts, especially yeasted ones, in Charlottesville,” And so, Sbrocco’s was born.

This is not the first time MarieBette’s owners have teamed up with an employee to open a new place, who did the same with Petite MarieBette. “We have been lucky over the years to have such a wonderful team at MarieBette,” said Becton. “When Melissa started with us, we knew early on that she was a talented baker, great leader, and someone we would want to partner with to make Patrick’s donut shop idea a reality.”

Sbrocco’s donuts are yeast-style, using a basic brioche recipe shaped into donut rings, proofed, cooled, and then fried. As a baker, her emphasis is on attention to detail and quality, not elaborate toppings. Case in point is her personal favorite: the classic vanilla bean glaze. “The best part, of course, is the vanilla bean glaze,” said Sbrocco. “Heavy on the vanilla.”

Vanilla glazed donuts

Beyond those, Sbrocco says to expect “no frills classics, like glazed, chocolate cake, and crumb buns.” And, she is nearly as excited about the location as she is the donuts. Sbrocco’s will occupy a portion of the former home of Anna’s Pizza #5, the beloved spot that closed in 2022 after a five-decade run. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to open in such an iconic space, and hope to spread the same joy Anna’s did, but with donuts,” said Sbrocco.

Look for Sbrocco’s to open by Summer 2024. Meanwhile, follow along on Sbrocco’s Instagram.

Pawpaw gelato, a September tradition at Splendora’s.

Tastes vary, but there is one one thing on which Charlottesville chefs agree: Splendora’s Gelato is world class. For the fourteen years that PK Ross has run it, her passion and attention detail have ensured that you can’t go wrong. That said, if you freeze with indecision gazing at the case of flavors, these chef favorites may help.

Cardamom

Loren Mendosa (Lampo): “The cardamom is absolutely heavenly – the perfect floral, refreshing bite. If I could only have one flavor for the rest of my life I’d choose cardamom.”

Cookies and Cream

Charanjeet Ghotra (Milan and Kanak): “It’s so delicious and creamy.”

Dulce de Leche

Benos Bustamante (Conmole): “Super delicioso!”

Travis Burgess (Bizou, Bang!, Luce, Crush Pad) “Split pints of Dulce de Leche and Stracciatella used to be my go-to. All her flavors are so creative and well thought out, but for me it’s always the texture she achieves in the gelato that blows me away. So rich and decadent yet somehow still light.”

Gianduja + Pistachio

Melissa Close-Hart (Mockingbird): “My go-to order is always a scoop of gianduja and a scoop of pistachio. I’m pretty classic on my gelato choices. But, I’m always up for trying PK’s amazing flavor combinations that her imagination comes up with.”

Jalapeno Corn Cookie 

Norkeita Goins (Caked Up Cville): “It had a beautiful and natural sweet corn scented flavor with the addition of Baker No Bakery’s jalapeño sweet corn cookie for added texture. Absolutely delicious.”

Miso Cherry

Scott Smith (Bodo’s Bagels): “PK’s inventiveness, brilliant sourcing, and palate are on full display in this perfectly balanced, apotheosizing twist on a standard flavor. Transcendent.”

Pawpaw

Laura Fonner (Common House): “All of her flavors are amazing, but it is the locally foraged and unique flavors PK creates that are the best.”

Craig Hartman (The BBQ Exchange, Exchange Cafe): “Crazy good. I wish I had invented it myself.”

Jen Naylor (Umma’s): “My favorite flavor is pawpaw during pawpaw season.”

Popcorn

Harrison Keevil (Multiverse Kitchens): “My favorite was a popcorn flavor based on the popcorn that we used to start dinners at Brookville.”

Raspberry

John Shanesy (Belle): “PK’s raspberry gelato is the signifier of the retreat of winter and moving forward into enjoying spring and summer with my family eating frozen treats.”

Salted Caramel

Gail Hobbs-Page (Caromont Farm): “I crave the salted caramel. PK knows that and leaves care packages in my freezer during kidding season. I eat it for supper after a very long day of farming and cheesemaking.”

Sampler Flight

Sober Pierre (Pearl Island): “My favorite flavors are the flexibility of the Sampler Flight. A wonderful option that feeds my family’s unique preferences.”

Strawberry and Rose Petal

Gerry Newman (Albemarle Baking Co.): “My favorite was the pairing of strawberry and rose that she once served me. It was one of the most M.F.K. Fisher experiences I’ve had in Charlottesville.”

Thai Iced Tea

Chris Dunbar (The Alley Light owner): “For the past 8 years, PK has surprised The Alley Light staff with impromptu deliveries that illustrate not only her talent, but her generosity.  For people like PK, hospitality isn’t a job, it’s part of who they are. If I had to pick though, I could eat the Thai Iced Tea flavor forever.”

Great restaurants are often chef-run. All but six of the restaurants in The Charlottesville 29 have an owner in the kitchen. One of the few exceptions is Public Fish & Oyster, where owner Daniel Kaufman draws on a background in wine and hospitality in following a simple formula for success: hire good people and take good care of them.

Kaufman’s latest venture, Black Cow Chophouse, is no exception. For it, he partnered with one of the good people he had hired at Public, chef Gregg Dionne. The result resembles everything great about Public, but with a focus on land creatures instead of ones from the sea. Stellar service. A lively and eye-pleasing setting. And consistently delicious food.

Another similarity is sourcing. Just as Public curates the best seafood it can find, so too does Black Cow Chophouse for steak. A chalkboard displays the daily selection of steaks, many of them local, which, under the guidance of grill expert David Brichta, are all kissed with flavor by a wood hearth. Beyond the steak, Dionne’s team brings passion and attention to detail to every item on the menu, from steak tartare, to Caesar salad, to fried Brussels sprouts tossed with apple, pickled fennel, aioli, and honey-bourbon gastrique. The result fills what some have considered a void in Charlottesville’s dining scene: a great steakhouse. As Steely Dan might say of a meal there: “so outrageous”!

Among a great group of finalists, the Charlottesville 2024 Best New Restaurant is Black Cow Chophouse.