The Charlottesville 29

Where to eat in Charlottesville

Tag: Early Mountain Vineyards

03/03/2017

Five Finds on Friday: Ryan Collins

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Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Ryan Collins, Executive Chef of Early Mountain Vineyards. This weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday, is Early Mountain Vineyards’ popular Spring Oyster Festival, with live music, Rappahannock oysters, and an a la carte menu by Collins including fried chicken, clam chowder, and corn chowder. Info and tickets here. Collins’ picks:

1) Marañón Paletas from La Flor Michoacana Ice Cream Shop. “With my kids, I normally get a fruit-based one like Guanábana (soursop) or Piña Colada. When I don’t have to share with my kids, I get the Marañón flavor (cashew). All of them are great but that is my favorite.”

2) Pickled Shrimp at Oakhart Social. “This dish hits on all points for me. It’s salty, sweet, spicy, acidic, oily and herbaceous with lots of textures. I can eat it with my hands, a fork or just make little lettuce tacos with it. I love this dish.”

3) Spam from JM Stock Provisions. “So it’s spam, but not like what you think. It’s made from beautiful Virginia pork, and the care that is taken to make this spam is not like what you get in a can (although I’m not knocking the canned stuff either). It’s made by hand with attention to detail and attention to flavor that comes from meat instead of mounds of salt. Now that you’re okay with spam, I like to get it with a jar of Gordy’s pickles and some bread from Marie Bette and bring it home to make a sandwich. I slice thick slices and use plenty of mustard. If you are feeling fancy then feel free to crumple some potato chips on top of the sandwich.”

4) Crispy Tacos at Barbie’s Burrito Barn. “I go here not necessarily craving the traditional Mexican tacos on hand-pressed corn tortillas but the crispy tacos.  Her pork, chicken and beef fillings are all great – but with the crispy tacos I always go with the beef filling.  It’s like the best version of the ground beef taco filling you grew up with. I get the tacos with everything on them – I want all the sliced radish, cilantro and lettuce you can give me. I put some crema and Tapatió on top and crush everything with my fork and eat it like a taco salad. I crave the taco salad nostalgia. With Barbie’s fried daily tortillas and awesome meat and salsas, I really can’t get a better version of this any other place in Cville.”

5) Martinez at Tavern & Grocery. “I don’t know if this is printed on their cocktail menu, but they have the best cocktail program in town so I order whatever I want. That doesn’t mean I go crazy, but I like to order a classic three-ingredient drink called a Martinez (gin, sweet vermouth & maraschino liquor) and they make it perfect. I might have three or four of these and an order of the caviar service with extra house-made chips. It’s a great start or end to my night in Cville.”

02/24/2017

Five Finds on Friday: Mike Hollar

 

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Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Mike Hollar, sous chef of ZoCaLo. Next Saturday, March 4, ZoCaLo is hosting an exclusive five-course tequila dinner, paired with special tequilas and mezcals. ZoCaLo says it will “teach you about tequila’s origins, confirm why sipping it is the way to go, and proclaim it is completely sane to pair with lobster.” Seating is very limited, so call to reserve yours at (434) 977-4944. Hollar’s picks:

1) Foot-long Hot Dog, Old Bay Fries, and a tall Dr. Pepper at Jak’n Jil. “My father used to work there back in the 60’s and one of my earliest food memories is going to Jak’n Jil and eating two or three hot dogs with my father and grandfather.”

2) Boquerones con Ajo at MAS Tapas. “Little fishes drizzled with olive oil, little lemon, and some salt. Really simple but awesome.”

3) Polpette at Vivace. “Just the meatballs (one may want to add pasta but it’s not needed) made with pork and beef, seared perfectly and served with probably the best marinara in Charlottesville.”

4) Novum 2013 from Early Mountain Vineyards. “Great bottle of wine. Zocalo management and I toured the facility back in November and then had a tasting. All the wines were great but the Novum is, in my opinion, the best.”

5) Chicken Wings from Red Lantern. “This is a great Netflix and chill food. Just want do some couch sitting on a Friday? Curl up with your loved one and chow down on these gems.”

12/04/2015

Five Finds on Friday: Jenny Paurys

On Fridays, we feature five food finds from local chefs and personalities.  Today’s picks come from Jenny Paurys, author of The Virginia Table, the new book about Virginia’s great food and drink created by Our Local Commons in collaboration with Early Mountain Vineyards. You can still order copies for delivery by Christmas at virginiatable.com.  Paurys’ picks highlight some of her favorites from the book:

1)  Hop Cider from Potter’s Craft Cider.  “The cider chapter showcases ciders from across the state, and Potter’s Craft chose to highlight their new Hop cider. I admit, I was both curious and nervous to try it. Cider is my jam, and I wondered how hops, which I am not particularly fond of in beer, would affect my beloved Farmhouse Dry. The answer: perfection. Floral, aromatic, divine. I grab mine from Beer Run.”

2)  McLaurin from Spring Mill Farm. “Spring Mill Farm is the artisan featured in the cheese chapter. HB Hunter is creating some excellent goat’s milk and cow’s milk cheeses at his farm in Concord, Virginia, near Lynchburg. The pimento chevre is addictive, and the McLaurin — a tomme — makes my toes curl. Cheesemonger Nadjeeb Chouaf at Timbercreek Market can hook you up with this goodness.”

3) Andouille Sausage from JM Stock Provisions. “The meat chapter includes a list of artisanal butchers across the Commonwealth, and products they carry that are raised in Virginia. Charlottesville’s JM Stock chose to highlight their 60 rotating varieties of house-made sausage, featuring pork from Autumn Olive Farms. I am especially fond of the Andouille, which has a full, yet balanced flavor.”

4)  Oysters at ROCKSALT.  “Each chapter includes chef-authored recipes, and for the wine chapter, ROCKSALT Executive Chef Dylan Allwood created oysters three ways — baked, fried and raw, each paired with white and sparkling wines from Virginia. The Rappahannock River Oysters served at ROCKSALT are a fabulous example of how Virginia producers can leverage the state’s natural resources to produce incredible food and support rural communities.”

5) Three-Grain Pancake Mix from Woodson’s Mill.  “For the grain chapter, we visited Woodson’s Mill in Nelson County, where they are producing flours, cornmeal and grits from Virginia-grown grain. Their pancake mix includes wheat, corn and buckwheat — the latter grown at Steadfast Farm, just south of town. My children love pancakes, but if you had asked me if they would ever eat anything labeled “three grain” I would have questioned your sanity. Yet, when I brought home a bag and whipped up a batch, they ate every last morsel. The pancakes are rich and so very satisfying, even the baby loves them. I get the mix from Foods of All Nations — and I now make a double batch each time, so I have a better chance of scoring one or two for myself.”