The Charlottesville 29

Where to eat in Charlottesville

Tag: Ace Biscuit & Barbecue

06/05/2022

#2: Stock Ham Biscuit – Stock Provisions

What else is there left to say about the Stock Ham Biscuit? Dish of the Year. Charlottesville’s signature dish. One chef said: “dish of the universe,” while another said: “so good I stare at it while I chew.”

Indeed, it is common to wonder how something that looks so simple can evoke such a reaction. Here are 1,314 words on the biscuit that still do not explain it. You just have to see for yourself.

#2: Stock Ham Biscuit – Stock Provisions
The Charlottesville 29 of Sandwiches

Others of Note: #CvilleHamBiscuit at The Ivy Inn, The Oakhurst Biscuit at Oakhurst Inn Café

05/30/2022

#8: Cheesesteak – Belle

The Cheesesteak 

Usually you have to choose. Do you want an original cheesesteak? Or do you want a riff by a great chef? As delicious as the original rendition is, it doesn’t exactly require a culinary degree. And so, when a great chef takes a stab at a cheesesteak, the experience can differ from the sandwich made famous by former hot dog stand owners in Philadelphia.

Belle chef John Shanesy somehow does both. The cheffy tweaks he makes to one of America’s favorite sandwiches manage to enhance it while also staying faithful to the original. No, he doesn’t use Amoroso rolls. He has access to hoagie rolls baked fresh every day by a world-class baker: his brother Scott, with whom he co-owns Belle. As for the cheese sauce, Shanesy makes an upgraded version of “whiz” by combining Tillamook cheddar and American cheese, which he steeps at 180 degrees in Mt Crawford milk and heavy cream with dried chilies and herbs, fresh thyme, black pepper, and salt. For the sandwich, he griddles sliced steak, mushroom duxelles, bell pepper, and white onion, and chops them all together.  For assembly, he smears mayo on the top bun and adds iceberg lettuce. On the bottom bun, he adds the steak mixture and cheese sauce. The result is a classic made even better.

#8: Cheesesteak – Belle
The Charlottesville 29 of Sandwiches

Others of Note: Beef Cheesesteak at Farmacy, Cheesesteak at Fabio’s, The Whiz at Lucky’s Cheesesteak and Sub Shop, Rib-Eye Steak & Cheese at Miller’s, Cheesesteak Hoagie at Revolutionary Soup. Vegetarian Alternatives: The Godfather with Shrooms at Lucky’s Cheesesteak and Sub Shop.

05/26/2022

#11: Ace Dip – Ace Biscuit & Barbecue

The Barbecue Sandwich

It is easy to think of sandwiches as simple food, ready in seconds. Open the fridge, put some cold cuts on bread, and you’re done. But, for a chef as passionate as Brian Ashworth of Ace Biscuit & Barbecue, a great sandwich can take hours or even days to make.

For his Ace Dip, Ashworth transforms an ordinary pork barbecue sandwich into one that some call the best sandwich in town. He starts by smoking whole pork shoulders for 8-10 hours, placing them in a half pan as they smoke, to capture all the drippings, the condensed essences of pork and smoke. When the pork shoulders are done, he removes the bones and makes a stock from the bones, drippings, and aromatics like mirepoix, black peppercorns, garlic, and bay leaves. To that he adds roasted garlic, crushed red pepper, house-made hot sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar, brings it all to a boil, and thickens it with a simple roux of flour and butter. He then purees it and, voila, “smoky gravy.”

Meanwhile, Ashworth cooks yellow onions over very low heat for up to eight hours, slowly removing all of their water, and gently caramelizing them. For sandwich assembly, he smears house-made parsley-garlic butter on a bun and griddles it. On that, he piles pulled pork shoulder, caramelized onions, and provolone, and serves it with a cup of the smoky gravy for dipping.

Pork smoked all day. Eight-hour onions. Gravy redolent of smoke and swine. A bun with toasty butter and garlic. One bite of the sandwich dripping in gravy and you’ll never call sandwiches simple again.

The genius of smoked pork in liquid smoked pork dates back even further than Ace Biscuit & Barbecue’s opening in 2012. When Ashworth was a sous chef at Zocalo, he would lie awake at night and dream up ideas for a restaurant of his own, sometimes jumping out of bed to jot them down so he would not forget. Thank goodness for the Ace Dip he didn’t just roll back over.

#11: Ace Dip – Ace Biscuit & Barbecue
The Charlottesville 29 of Sandwiches

Others of Note: The Hot Mess at Vision BBQ Vegetarian Alternatives: The Vegetarian Option at Vision BBQ, BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich at Firefly (GFA)