The Charlottesville 29

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

Tag: Cafe 88

09/22/2017

Five Finds on Friday: PK Kamath

ramath

Photo by Jen Fariello

Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from PK Kamath, co-owner of Fry’s Spring Station and Ivy Provisions. Fry’s Spring Station has just launched DoGood Mondays, where each Monday the restaurant donates 10% of sales to a local school or non-profit. This Monday, it will be Hoos Heal 5K, benefiting the UVa Nursing School. Eat, drink, and be charitable. Meanwhile, for Sunday’s Concert for Charlottesville, Fry’s is hosting Dough for Charlottesville, a Starr Hill Brewery tap takeover where $1 from every Fry’d Dough will go to the Concert for Charlottesville fund. And, if you don’t have tickets, Fry’s is livestreaming the concert. Kamath’s picks:

1) Pork Rib Chop at The Ivy Inn. “The pork rib chop is my go-to, but the amuse bouche that magically appear at the table are also part of what takes this place from great to really special. Add Angelo and Farrell’s personal touch and well, it’s as good as it gets.”

2) Tuna Nori Roll at Bang! “Ok, here’s the thing. It has NOT been on their menu in a while. I’m bringing it up here, with the simple hope of someone at Bang seeing it, feeling terribly regretful for the mistake they have made (sarcasm!!) and putting it back on the menu (not sarcasm!!). In all seriousness, this is our go-to weekday date night spot. The menu is filled with great flavors and textures and the dressed vegetables/salads in most of the dishes are what makes it for me.”

3) Kibbeh Platter with Fire-roasted Red Pepper Sauce, Eggplant and Sesame Green Beans at Sticks. “The entire menu is delicious and it’s simple food, done right. Without question, my 11-year old daughter’s favorite restaurant, from even before she had a full set of teeth (hummus is amazing).”

4) Peri-peri Wings with a side of Peri-peri sauce at The Shebeen.. “Hot, spicy, meaty, spicy delectable goodness. Walter’s wings and an ice-cold Narragansett Lager put me in my happy place. I’m pretty sure my spirit animal is a chicken wing.”

5) Taiwanese-style Pork Chops with Scallion Pancakes at Cafe 88. “Although this place is very unsuspecting, Li is about as talented as it gets, and she cares about what she’s feeding her customers and it shows. Really damn good. Really, really damn good.”

02/12/2016

Five Finds on Friday: Amber Cohen

Cohen

Photo by Bethany Bandera.

Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Amber Cohen, the former chef of Continental Divide and sous chef of Hamiltons’, who will be Melissa Close-Hart’s sous chef at Junction, set to open this summer.  “I have had a professional crush on Melissa since I met her when I first moved to town,” says Cohen, who has cooked in Charlottesville for 14 years. “I feel like I got asked to prom in a John Hughes flick.”  On March 15, Cohen will join Close-Hart for a special Junction preview dinner, benefiting the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and The International School of Charlottesville.  Check back here Monday at 10 am for an announcement on how to get tickets, which will be sure to go fast.  Cohen’s picks:

1) Canelés at MarieBette Cafe and Bakery.  “I am seduced into stopping and getting those decadent, evil, irresistible mini canelés every time I drive by MarieBette.”

2) Red Hot Blues at Continental Divide.  “It’s been a short two months since I gave up my kitchen residency at the Divide and I have already started missing and daydreaming (and sometimes actual night dreaming) of the Blues. Accompanied, of course, by a margarita.”

3) Prosciutto Pizza at Lampo.  “I’ve always felt that pizza is a perfect food, in this case, made somehow more sublime by cured meat and lightly dressed arugula.”

4) Pork Star Taco at Brazos Tacos.  “Perhaps just the words ‘pork belly’ make me giddy, but I have to have it on every visit.”

5) Absolutely Anything at Café 88.  “Their crispy tofu is perfectly seasoned, their veggies are never overcooked, the wonderful chicken is as advertised in the name (wonderful), and I would happily marry the hot sour soup.”

 

06/12/2015

Five Finds on Friday: Patrick Evans

Evans

On Fridays, we feature five food finds from local chefs and personalities.  Today’s picks come from Patrick Evans, baker and co-owner of MarieBette, and creator of the bakery’s many delicious pastries, like, our favorite, the canele, as well as the brioche feuilletée, which has become a bit of a sensation since being dubbed a bronut, leading some even to call for a “national movement of bronuts.” Evans’ picks:

1)  Pizza with Pepperoni and Red Onions from Mona Lisa.  “This is a custom order pie usually, but sometimes they have it by the slice.”

2)  A dinner of Rosé from Blenheim Vineyards, a Sesame Baguette from MarieBette, and an entire wedge of Delice de Bourgogne from Trader Joe’s.  “Sometimes I’ll share some of the cheese with my daughter Betty, who we lovingly call ‘the cheese monster!'”

3)  Weekend Sandwich Special from JM Stock Provisions.  “Whatever it is, it’s gonna be good, and it’s usually on MarieBette Virginia Sourdough!”

4)  Burger Cooked “Red” with Fries and a Pickle at Citizen Burger Bar.  “They don’t do the traditional rare, medium rare, medium, well done here . . . but I realized that RED is the closest to medium rare, and it hits the spot.”

5)  Crispy Tofu Bento Box from Cafe 88.  “I once called to order this on the phone and Lee, the owner, responded by saying ‘OK Patrick, it’ll be ready soon!’ I didn’t know she knew my name, but this kind of small town familiarity is one of the great things about Charlottesville.”