When Hassan Kaisoum was 11 years old, he lost both of his parents. Nearly homeless and roaming the streets of Morocco, someone handed him an eggplant, which he put on the stove and promptly burned. But he was hungry, so he sprinkled some vinegar on the scorched eggplant and ate it anyway—it tasted good, he […]
When Georgia Webb draws, she tends to draw things that are close to her—her mother, Ali, her grandpa Jim or her friend Sidney. She draws her favorite cartoon characters, iconic items like Spam cans, and often reinterprets famous paintings, such as Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” in her own distinct black line-and-marker style. A […]
Although Blue Moon Diner is closed during construction of 600 West Main, the six-story mixed-use building going up behind the restaurant, that hasn’t stopped owner Laura Galgano from serving her customers. “I am a social being, and quite simply, [I] want to know what folks are up to, how their lives are and what new […]
Arnie Popkin says that people look at him funny when he tells them his ideas on playing piano. “I think you play 90 percent with your brain and 10 percent with your fingers,” says Popkin, who’s been playing piano for more than 75 years. True, he has a pianist’s long, slender digits—and people often remark […]
Just in time for Halloween, The Candy Store has opened at 114 Fourth St. SE (the space that formerly housed O’Suzan-nah, which moved to 320 E. Main St., next to Timberlake’s Drug Store and Soda Fountain), and the slightly sour sugary aroma is palpable even from the doorstep. The Candy Store, with a second location […]
Last April, J.R. Brown stepped onto the wooden stage at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center and looked out at the small-ish audience that had gathered in the auditorium. With the house lights on, he could see everyone’s faces. All of their eyes—and ears—were on him. He was nervous. He closed his eyes. The […]
Bottoms up, y’all. It’s Virginia Spirits Month here in the commonwealth, sponsored by the Virginia Distillers Association and meant to spotlight Virginia-made spirits. Many local bartenders do so all year ’round, but there are a few special cocktails this month that are worth sidling up to the bar for. Junction’s Alec Spidalieri is shaking things […]
You know the saying—“secrets secrets are no fun, unless they’re shared with everyone”—and though it’s likely been a while since you singsong sassed that to a friend on the playground, we’ll remind you that secrets are no fun unless they’re shared with everyone, and we have one to share: There’s a tiny little restaurant tucked […]
Eli Cook picked up the guitar one fortuitous summer when his older brother went to baseball camp. Cook’s brother had been taking lessons and left an electric guitar—which actually belonged to their older sister—behind in Nelson County. “It seemed cool,” says Cook of the idea of playing guitar. He picked up the instrument and worked […]
Lights go up on the wood-paneled stage in the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center auditorium to reveal the inside of a jitney cab station in Pittsburgh. It’s early fall 1977 and the Hill District, a group of neighborhoods that have long been the cultural center of black life in the city—full of black-owned homes, […]