The Charlottesville 29

Where to eat in Charlottesville
02/25/2022

Introducing The Piedmont: Family Restaurant on Pantops from the Team Behind Ivy Provisions and Fry’s Spring Station

Notorious P.I.G. comes East of town?

In the past, Charlottesville’s F&B Restaurant Management did not draw much attention to any connection between the restaurants they run. Over time, though, they have gradually embraced the synergy among their four restaurants, with cross-marketing and even some common menu items. This trend has worked well, especially given the talent behind F&B, which includes a Culinary Institute of America graduate who once cooked at The French Laundry and Per Se.

Next week comes another big step forward in that regard, when their new restaurant The Piedmont Bar & Kitchen opens on Pantops, in the former home to Shadwell’s, which they closed this week. The Piedmont will draw heavily from siblings Ivy Provisions and Fry’s Spring Station, with a menu to include Fry’s Spring’s pizzas and appetizers like the mezze plate, along with Ivy Provisions favorites like the Gobbfather, Notorious P.I.G., and Superfood Salad. Plus, other crowd-pleasers like loaded tots, wings, burgers, and milkshakes.

The idea is to be a place for everyone. “We want to be a fun, tasty, approachable spot to have any meal from a family dinner when no one wants to cook, to post work drinks for the great staff at Martha Jefferson, to catching a game on a Saturday afternoon with a group of friends,” said F&B’s Jim Drost. In addition to providing common menu items, Drost says, the synergy among F&B’s restaurants better enables the group to leverage local purchasing power and highlight favorite Virginia products.

The Piedmont Bar & Kitchen opens March 1. And, for those still holding on to Shadwell’s gift cards, The Piedmont will honor them.

02/24/2022

Introducing Arepas on Wheels: Family Brings Venezuelan Food to Charlottesville

With more than 200 countries in the world, each with their own diverse cuisines, a city Charlottesville’s size could never begin to scratch the surface of them all. But, one by one, our food scene continues to expand, offering more cuisines than ever before. The latest addition is Venezuelan, brought here by a family still passionate about the food of their native land.

Arepas on Wheels, a traveling trailer serving arepas and other Venezuelan specialties, launches next week. When the Salazar-Gil family arrived in Virginia in 2016, they began sharing their food with friends and family. Feedback was so positive that they decided to turn it into a business. With Arepas on Wheels, Maria, her husband Fernando, and daughters Mafer and Ana are “wishing for the beautiful Venezuelan cuisine to be known around central Virginia,” said Maria.

The focus are arepas. What’s an arepa? It’s the iconic dish of Venezuela, often enjoyed at least once a day, whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Many Venezuelans don’t even need a recipe. They know just how the dough should feel after combining warm water, salt, and precooked corn flour (such as Harina P.A.N.). From there, the dough is formed into a small ball, flattened into a circle, and cooked on a griddle until crispy on the outside with a soft and light interior. You can enjoy it as you wish, but Venezuelans tend to keep it simple – sliced open, and topped with margarine and cheese. In recent years, though, more elaborate fillings have become popular, like chicken salad or shredded beef.

Arepas on Wheels debuts this Wednesday, March 2, at Decipher Brewing, a brewery known for hosting top food trucks. For future dates, follow Arepas on Wheels on Facebook or Instagram.

The arepa is so beloved that decades ago, when a woman launched a family business selling arepas from a trailer in Queens, NY, she became one of the first food sensations of the internet. People called her The Arepa Lady. Her real name? Maria.

 

02/18/2022

Five Finds on Friday: Jaclyn Shaffer

Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Jaclyn Shaffer of Jaclyn’s Cookies, which makes stunning custom-designed cookies for birthdays, weddings, corporate events, and other celebrations, as well as offering private cookie decorating parties for both kids and adults. Shaffer also creates holiday cookies for sale to the public, with her next batches planned for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter. Follow along on her Instagram page. Shaffer’s picks:

1) Basan Paitan from Basan. “Hands down the most delicious bowl of ramen that I’ve eaten. I’ve spent a lot of time stalking this food truck the past couple of years, and I can’t wait to see what Basan and Mama Bird do with their new space at Umma’s.”

2) Kao Soi Chicken from Chimm. “If you haven’t tried Chimm yet, you need to visit. I love this curry so much because it’s the perfect combo of spicy broth, rich dark meat chicken and crispy fried wontons.”

3) Financier from MarieBette.  “Everything from MarieBette is fantastic, but the buttery, crunchy outside and sweet, tender inside of their financier makes it my favorite.”

4) Funghi from Lampo. “I don’t even like mushrooms that much, but this pizza is the bomb. I always try to branch out when I visit, but I find myself coming back to this pizza every time. The earthy mushrooms with cream sauce and cheese, cooked in a woodfired oven is pizza perfection.”

5) Banana Bread from Green House Coffee. “I have to shout out my local Crozet coffee shop. Every time I’m there I can’t help ordering their addictive banana bread with an iced coffee.”