The Charlottesville 29

Where to eat in Charlottesville

Tag: Conmole

01/19/2024

Five Finds on Friday: Chris Collins

Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from ACAC trainer Chris Collins. As the New Year brings new fitness goals, few are better to help meet them than Collins. If you’ve ever been at ACAC and noticed a buzz of energy near the exercise class room, chances are Collins is the source. His training is so inspiring that he has earned a following of Collin-istas. If you could use a fitness boost, and would like to learn why so many swear by Collins and ACAC, you can reach him at Chrisco@acac.com.

Collins also has a passion for food. Collins’ picks:

“Might not be the healthiest picks, but I usually order steak when I go out, especially during colder months when I cannot grill it outside at home. I cook a lot at home, where I keep things basic and try to stick to single ingredient foods. I am spoiled too because I get a loaf of homemade sourdough each week from my mom.  My vices other than my mom’s bread are popcorn and avocado-oil lime tortilla chips.”

1) Carne Asada at MAS Tapas. “Racion portion, because there’s never enough to go around. I can eat this as an entree, but it is meant to be shared. In a group of four or more, if this dish comes too early while dining, you might order it again for dessert.”

2) Prime NY Strip with the Golden Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts and Broccolini at Black Cow Chop House. “Go with a small group and come hungry.”

3) Two orders of the Polpettine Panuozzo at Lampo. “Cut each in half – four halves. When I’m with another person, I eat three halves in house and share the remaining half or take it home. I am sensitive to lactose, but this sandwich is that good and worth it.”

4) Hanger Steak and a Orange Spice Hot Toddy at Oakhart Social. “On a cold winter evening, after dry January that is. Or, order the cocktail virgin.”

5) Coliflor at Conmole. “One of the tastiest small dishes in town. Pan seared cauliflower and farm eggs in mole verde.”

01/23/2021

Holy Mole: Mole from Conmole Makes Dinner Easy and Charlottesville’s Bounty Even Better

When “Comal” became “Conmole” last year, a main reason for the change was the restaurant’s plan to begin offering its signature moles for sale. A mole is a slow-cooked Mexican chile sauce typically served with a protein or vegetables. Conmole’s outstanding moles are the backbone of its menu, and when the restaurant changed its name last February, its aim was to launch sales of its moles by the end of the year. Not even a pandemic could stop it from doing so, as online mole sauce sales are now underway.

This is excellent news for Charlottesville diners. While Conmole’s moles take hours to develop their flavor, making dinner with them at home can take just minutes. Just sauté a protein or some vegetables, smother it in your favorite mole, and you’ve got a world class meal.

The Culture of Takeout Meets Charlottesville’s Bounty

A great plus of the Culture of Takeout is convenience. Place your order, pick it up, and a delicious dinner is yours. Sometimes, though, it can be fun to spend a little more time to use foods from the Culture of Takeout as ingredients to create your own dinner. With Charlottesville’s bounty, the possibilities seem endless. And always delicious.

Tonight’s dinner began with a soup of turnips and butternut squash from Whisper Hill Farm. As much as we miss Whisper Hill Farm’s tomatoes in the warmth of the summer, the farm’s beautiful winter vegetables sustain us through the cold. By themselves, the turnips and squash would have made for a delicious soup. The addition of Conmole’s guajillo mole made a great thing even better.

Guajillo peppers are a classic ingredient of Oaxaca, where Conmole co-owner Benos Bustamante is from. The recipe for Conmole’s guajillo mole comes from his mother Yolie Bustamante, using toasted guajillos, onions, tomatoes, and Yolie’s secret blend of spices. For our soup, to accent the smokiness of the peppers and spices, we added a little Mezcal. Why not? Turnips, butternut squash, and guajillo mole. Thought it came together in just minutes, the result, wow:

Next was a simple sauté of shrimp and chorizo in the same guajillo mole. The shrimp came from Surfside Sustainable Seafood, a business re-launched last year by restaurant industry veteran Lenny Craig. Craig’s business model is simple: source sustainable seafood from Virginia’s coast and deliver it to Charlottesville restaurants and consumers. Craig posts offerings each week, takes orders, and then makes a run to the coast to retrieve them. Our shrimp were fresh — never frozen — shell-on Carolina shrimp, 16-20 per pound.

The shrimp were sautéed in Mexican chorizo from the charcuterie wizards at JM Stock Provisions.

Pour over Conmole’s guajillo mole, and ahí está!

10/30/2020

Five Finds on Friday: Kelleigh Hughes

Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from reader Kelleigh Hughes. In celebration of the Culture of Takeout, all autumn long Five Finds on Friday features readers selected at random in weekly drawings. Also part of the prize is a $100 restaurant gift certificate, like Hughes’ to Ivy Inn. Check back Monday to enter next week’s drawing, which includes a $100 gift certificate to MarieBette. Hughes’ favorites from the Culture of Takeout:

1) Bacon, Egg, and Cheese from MarieBette. “This is the best of both worlds. You can get it on a croissant or their famous prezzant which means you get to have your breakfast sandwich AND pastry. Can’t forget to grab a cup of coffee with it.”

2) Coliflor from Conmole. “I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect with this cauliflower dish but I am so glad I tried it. The green mole sauce with egg and cauliflower, mmm.”

3) 40 Mile Philly from Three Notch’d Craft Kitchen & Brewery. “I love a good Philly cheesesteak. This one never disappoints especially with all the beer cheese on it. To be able to pick up dinner and great beer from the same spot, definitely a win.”

4) Shrimp Scampi with Risotto from Vivace. “It was hard to pick just one dish from here, especially not a pasta one, but the risotto is to die for. Paired with the seared shrimp and asparagus, I can normally get 2 meals out of this.”

5) Fat and Sassy from Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie. “Cheesy, garlicky, deliciousness. Don’t forget to add a jar of their homemade ranch to go.”