The Charlottesville 29

Where to eat in Charlottesville

Tag: Cafe Frank

03/21/2025

Five Finds on Friday: Megan Hereford and Jocelyn Kuzelka

Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Megan Hereford and Jocelyn Kuzelka of Daring Wine & Cider Co, whose Crab Apple Blend won Cider of the Year at last week’s Governor’s Cup. The duo will be at Café Frank this Sunday for a Virginia Women in Wine Dinner – a four-course feast paired with wines from them and Veritas Winery. A few seats still remain. And, they will be pouring samples April 5 at Charlottesville City Market and April 12 at The Workshop. Hereford’s and Kuzelka’s picks:

1) Caesar Salad and Pomme Frites at Café Frank. (Megan) “This is my favorite girl dinner when I get home from being on the road slinging wine and cider or traveling for my day job. Paired with a dirty martini, it fulfills all of my bar food needs in a boujee way. The salad has just the right amount of dressing, a fantastic three-year-aged parmesan and white anchovies. I hold the croutons but I am sure they are amazing as well. The frites are always perfectly cooked and come with a delicious charred onion aioli. It is the perfect meal to enjoy with a drink at the bar.”

2) Gluten-Free Muffins at Cou Cou Rachou. (Megan) “No matter the season these muffins never disappoint. I don’t know how they do it, but these have to be the best gluten-free baked goods I have tried in 15 years of eating gluten-free. They are always fluffy and light and I always look forward to new flavors. The current variation is citrus sesame and is an inspired flavor combo.”

3) Chili Milli Gobhi at Kanak Indian Kitchen. (Megan) “This is a go-to add-on to my carryout order here. These zesty cauliflower florets are crispy and have this amazing spicy, sweet and sour flavor from chili garlic sauce. They are the perfect appetizer for any meal here.”

4) Coat Czech at Selvedge Brewing. (Jocelyn) “When you grow up in the U.S. with Czech relatives telling you, ‘Jocie, you are Czech! You drink beer for breakfast!’, you better believe the search for a Czech-style pale lager sometimes feels like a perpetual quest that normally leads to disappointing emptiness. That is until a fellow cidermaker and beer lover took me to Selvedge Brewing. Their Coat Czech is absolutely superb. The earthy floral aroma and delicious Saaz bitterness that cleanses the palate after every sip just feels like going home. A proper pour from their Lukr faucet, watching the bartender keep the faucet submerged under the cap of foam which results in a fresher tasting pint, and believe me you will understand what all the fuss is about. The perfect pint for any reason.”

5) Kolače at Praha Bohemian Bakery. (Jocelyn) “No trip to Charlottesville is complete unless I find myself at Praha Bohemian Bakery in Crozet. I love the vibe of this cozy café that feels like a sidewalk café in Prague. The farmer cheese kolače are my favorite, the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. Honestly, everything I have had here is high-quality and delicious.”

11/10/2023

Five Finds on Friday: Lisa Richey

Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Lisa Richey, the very supportive ex-wife of Charlottesville’s most prolific restaurateur Will Richey. Lisa suggested Will provide her background:

“I have shared many of the greatest meals of my life with Lisa. We both share whatever that thing is that makes a person seek out great, authentic, well made cuisines. We have traveled extensively together, and we started a farm together. It was not to produce food alone, it was to produce food that was interesting to us in ways that we connected with. We still reach out to each other for travel tips knowing that the first priority when traveling for each of us is researching the best places to eat. Lisa’s recommendations are always at the top of my list.”

Lisa Richey’s picks:

1) Gulf Coast Salad as a Wrap from Revolutionary Soup (owned by Will Richey). “Look, I want to eat healthy, but eating a salad with a plastic fork is a bummer. The combo of shrimp, hard-boiled eggs and avocado makes this my healthy go-to lunch, and putting it all in a wrap makes it easier to eat at my desk. And yes, I do frequently order the Lisa Quesadilla. I’m a sucker for anything with goat cheese.”

2) Fried Chicken and Collards at The Whiskey Jar (owned by WIll Richey). “Sure, I love the BBQ Nachos, and The Jar Salad, but if I’m craving something from The Jar, it’s fried chicken with the honey jalapeno dipping sauce. The collards remind me of how we used to eat when we lived on the farm, but now I don’t have to actually harvest anything which somehow makes this recipe taste even better. I also adore the Creamed Spinach and Sweet Potato Dumplings. I also think The Jar is the best place for a business lunch with out-of-towners – you can get French or fusion in most cities, but the client who seems shocked at how small CHO is definitely needs the full Southern experience, sweet tea encouraged. (And yes, I am from NJ.)”

3) Dealer’s Choice at The Alley Light (founded and formerly owned by Will Richey). “I think this place has the best ambience of any restaurant in town. Robin and Chris continue to make The Alley Light shine, so much so that it’s hard to pick just one dish. However, I always start with the Anchovy Toast, as it is the perfect way to set your palate for everything that’s to come. Then I order whatever carpaccio is on the specials board, followed by something braised. Micah and team make magic at the bar. Their attention to detail, down to the glassware, is evident and joyful. I usually request some sort of high ball with a gin base, and I love how the bar incorporates local fruits and herbs.”

4)  Wine List at Cafe Frank (owned by Will Richey). “The great irony that Will’s first sit-down restaurant (The Jar) sells basically no wine wasn’t lost on us. Cafe Frank is the bistro I always assumed he’d want to run. It’s a great spot to go for happy hour and order an assortment of snacks while splitting a bottle of wine with that friend you’ve been meaning to make plans with for months. Also, the Mushroom Fritters go perfectly with a bottle of Burgundy.”

5) Classic Burger at Högwaller Brewing (owned by Will Richey). “I live right down the street from Högwaller, which may buy my future cardiologist a beach house someday. But until then, my idea of a perfect weekend day is a sauna at Rivanna River Company, followed by a Classic Burger and a Rives Street Lager. It’s just a burger, sure, but it’s the platonic form of a burger. And I love a beer that is both delicious but also low enough ABV that I don’t need to take a nap later. Mark makes awesome beer, and it has been a blast checking out the new taps each Thursday and chitchatting with folks around the firepit.”

“Wait, Other People Are Crazy Enough to Own Restaurants?!”

1) Banh Mi at Vu Noodles. “This may be the official sandwich of Apex Clean Energy employees. This is the only tofu I have ever craved and I probably eat this once a week.”

2) Clam Pizza at Lampo. “If I had a bat signal, it would be checking Instagram to see if this pizza is on special. When I was little, my grandfather made me linguine with clams for any special occasion, so you could say this flavor profile is my Ratatouille moment. Tavola’s linguini con vongole also makes me feel like I’m back home.”

3) Omakase at Ten. “Let the chef choose the fish, and feel like you’ve been transported out of Charlottesville to a city large enough to have a subway. Don’t sleep on the seaweed salad. I’m also a fan of the harami miso.”

4) Lobster Roll (Connecticut Style) at Public Fish & Oyster. “My oldest friend in town and I frequent this happy hour, splitting a lobster roll and a dozen oysters. She gets a Negroni and I go with a Negroni Sbagliato. The french fries that come with the lobster roll are ideal with the oysters, especially if you get a side of horseradish.”

5) Shaved Salad at Oakhart Social. “Few salads are craveable. This one clears that hurdle easily, and it’s usually the reason I end up at Oakhart. Also, their tuna crudo is fantastic.”

08/26/2022

Five Finds on Friday: Mike Davidson

No fan of the limelight, my father might have declined an offer to appear in Five Finds on Friday. Everything he did he did without fanfare, like coming to America and quietly achieving his life’s dream: provide his family everything they need.

Of all the things my father gave me, one of the greatest was a love of food. When I was ten years old, he invited me to Manhattan to see his office. A commuter train from Connecticut full of men in business suits. After we visited his office building, he took me to see Beverly Hills Cop, which I thought was particularly cool since there were swear words. Even cooler was afterwards when he took me out for dim sum. I was floored. Chinese ladies who didn’t speak English pushed around carts of foods the likes of which I had never seen, let alone tasted.

My father and I first visited Charlottesville in 1991, on a college tour. Over the next three decades, he returned often, and food was always at the center of our itinerary. This week I found myself wanting to celebrate his favorites. And, he’s no longer around to stop me. How I wish, though, he could join me for them again:

1) Ham Biscuit at Stock Provisions. My father didn’t ask for things. He didn’t believe in it. So, the fact that he would gently mention the possibility of getting this ham biscuit in advance of Charlottesville visits speaks volumes to how much he loved it. So good he would swallow his pride.

2) Gyro at The Ivy Inn. There’s something about Brits and lamb. But, my father’s fondness for lamb is not the only reason the list includes this gyro sometimes served with rack of lamb at The Ivy Inn. Since his death on Sunday, my siblings and I have had many conversations about “what Dad would have wanted.” And, one thing I am sure he would have wanted is to include Angelo Vangelopoulos in this list. Though my father did not know Angelo well, he was a great admirer of kindness, which, come to think of it, may explain why I have always strived for it. In the Charlottesville food community there is no one kinder than Angelo, whom my father admired from afar. Long live Angelo and my father’s favorite gyro at The Ivy Inn.

3) The Davidson at Beer Run. While some may think I am the namesake of this Beer Run blend of double IPA and pale ale, its true originator was my father. He loved both beer and problem-solving, and this was his shrewd way of maximizing the amount of beer he could enjoy in one sitting, without overdoing it. The flavorful double IPAs he loved were too high in alcohol to have in large quantities, so he would cut them, 50-50, with a pale ale. The best of both worlds – lots of flavor, without excessive alcohol. Always served in a 20 oz glass, because anything else is not a “proper pint.” Some brewers, deeming their beers to be finished products, object to blends like The Davidson. As someone who believed in minding one’s own business, my father’s concern for their disapproval could not be understated.

4) French Green Beans at The Alley Light. A good measure of my father’s enjoyment of a food was how long he extended the second syllable of “extraordinary,” in his erudite British accent. And, this signature dish of The Alley Light he always called extraOOOOOOOOOOOOrdinary. The dish of green beans topped with grated foie gras was so beloved by him and my mother that it was served at a dinner in our home on their 50th wedding anniversary. About his favorite foods, my father liked to imagine that he had something more profound to say than that they taste good. His most common attempt was: “It’s the combination of textures and flavors,” a line this dish would evoke every time.

5) Steak Frites at Petit Pois. I was born in England. And, in some pockets of British society, “French” and “fancy” were once one and the same. When I was growing up in Connecticut, to go out to a “nice” restaurant just meant to go to a French one. As a man with no greater love than the woman he called “My Darling,” my father was always happy to oblige my mother’s wish to drop in to Petit Pois whenever in Charlottesville for her beloved chicken liver mousse. It also gave him a chance to enjoy the steak frites that reminded the well-travelled man of a French bistro. Not only was the steak delicious, the fries always arrived “piping hot,” the highest praise a Brit can pay food.

Bonus: Burger at Ciboulette. I tried to avoid including places that no longer exist in my father’s Five Finds, but the list would not be complete without this burger. My father would tell everyone about it, managing to sneak it into conversations that have seemingly nothing to do with burgers, or even food. “That reminds me, . . .”. My father must have had a good sense for talent because the owner of this gourmet shop and eatery that closed in 2006 went on to big things, like James Beard accolades, a job at Inn at Little Washington, and running Charlottesville’s best new restaurant. Who knows, maybe “Mike’s Burger” will resurface at Café Frank?

To honor him: My father was a more avid reader of The Charlottesville 29 than anyone. Donations to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank may be made in his honor here. (Check the box “Dedicate my donation in honor or in memory of someone.”)