Open for business
In a word, the invite-only opening dinner last week at chef Peter Chang’s new Barracks Road restaurant, Peter Chang China Grill, was delicious. Seventeen menu items arrived at the table from the elusive chef himself, including tofu skin rolls, shrimp and mushroom hot pots and a bevy of dishes for meat lovers. Our favorite was the dessert: a red bean and rice ball covered in sesame seeds. Local realtor and restaurant mogul Stu Rifkin, who was in attendance, called it “a Chinese jelly donut.”
Just before the last dish—a whole fish cooked in such a manner that it pops open and forms small bon-bon-sized lumps—Chang emerged to a standing ovation from happy guests of his new eatery and stated his goal to bring traditional Chinese cuisine to Charlottesville.
The restaurant is officially open to the public for lunch and dinner.
Noodle scoot
Popular pasta spot Carmello’s is on the move. The Emmet Street location officially closed Monday, February 28, but, says owner Bill Hedges, the new location on Fontaine Avenue (in the former Arirang Restaurant and Ludwig Schnitzelhouse space) will be “bigger and better.”
Hedges says the 19-year-old restaurant wasn’t given the opportunity to renew the lease on its former spot, owned by the UVA Real Estate Foundation, but that the new free-standing location will allow for more parking and better access. Other than that, Hedges says the Italian eatery will be exactly the same, menu and all.
Expect the restaurant to open no later than March 20, if not sooner.
