If you feel like this is a busy time of year, what with end-of-school events, class reunions, graduations andâdon\’t forget!âall of those June weddings, just think about the busy caterers who are keeping all of these revelers well fed. Fred Bossardt, owner and chef at Simply Delicious Catering, is one of those hard-working culinary masters. From weddings to university events for 600, June is keeping Bossardt on the move.
If over 20 of your favorite local restaurants, bars and food shops joined with wine and beer purveyors to offer samples of their wares under one roof, you’d be hard-pressed to find an excuse not to go, right? And, if 100 percent of the proceeds benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, there should be […]
A couple of weeks ago we shared a delicious recipe for Citrus Mint Tea. In the spirit of fairness, we figured it was diplomatic to give coffee lovers equal time. Thus we placed a call to Renee Martin, proprietress of Mermaid Express, the coffee and juice bar just inside the entrance to Foods of All Nations. Open 7:30am until 5pm during the week and 8am to 5pm on weekends, Mermaid Express offers everything from lattes to smoothies. And, to delight coffee drinkers\’ tastebuds, Martin was happy to share the recipe for her “most popular coffee summer drink,” Frozen Mocha. As Martin exclaims, it\’s “our sure-fire way to cool off on a hot summer day!” So bring out your blenders and let summer begin. \’ Pam Jiranek
Brothers Dan and Charles Epstein are the friendly faces behind the counter at Eppie’s, which opened on the Downtown Mall at the end of April. Dan says the Mall location is “perfect for what we want to do.” Namely, “to provide counter service at reasonable prices really quickly.”
The first time this Northerner ordered iced tea in a restaurant south of the Mason-Dixon, we didn\’t understand the funny looks from other diners when we stirred in a spoonful of sugar. One sip made it clear: This was sweet tea, and the sugaring had already been done. Now, for some there\’s just a little too much sweet in sweet tea.
Any “Brady Bunch” groupie will fondly remember Sam the Butcher, Alice’s longtime boyfriend, who took her on bowling dates and kept the Bradys well supplied with his best cuts of meat.
We love reader recipe requests around here, and we hate to disappoint loyal fans. So, when a reader asked us to “track down the absolutely delicious red pepper sauce from Sticks and publish it for the benefit of everyone’s taste buds,” we immediately placed a call to busy restaurateur Bill Hamilton. Not only is Hamilton co-owner of the Preston and Pantops Sticks locations, but he also oversees, with his wife, Kate, their eponymous establishment on the Downtown Mall. While Hamilton was incredibly gracious and willing to share a recipe with us, the red pepper sauce was, unfortunately, a bit too top-secret for that. He did choose a fine substitute, however, that also has red pepper as an ingredient: Sticks’ Grilled Vegetable Gazpacho. “This soup is very popular, and seasonally appropriate,” Hamilton tells us. It’s also easy and delicious, as well.’Pam Jiranek