Vino valor

The Monticello American Viticultural Area won Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Region of the Year award at the end of 2023, and according to Brantley Ussery, it was not only for the area’s juice, but also for the squeeze. “The things that Wine Enthusiast really liked about our region is the approach, our inclusivity,” says Ussery, director […]

One man’s reach

Alicia Walsh-Noel met Wilson Richey under difficult circumstances. She was part of the team opening Brasserie Saison in 2017, and it was a cutthroat crew. “Upper management was a toxic boys’ club,” Walsh-Noel says. “The restaurant industry can be a very cruel place, and Wilson was someone that really stood up for just the smallest […]

Humph’s day

Chris Humphrey has paid his dues in local kitchens. So when he and restaurateur Stefan Friedman officially open their new seafood spot Bonny & Read, he’ll have earned the right to call the shots. Humphrey has experience writing menus going back at least a decade to his time as executive chef at Rapture. But there […]

Between the buns

Aris Cuadra’s been racing around the local restaurant scene for more than a decade, from The Clifton to Tavola, Pasture, and Cafe Bocce. But these days, he’s content just to loaf. That’s right, the Puerto Rican native went all in on sandwiches when he opened the Wich Lab in the CODE Building a few months […]

The one and only king

The self-anointed CVille Sandwich King would rather not tell you his name. But he’s happy to tell you—not to mention listeners to his “Sandwich Minute” on WTJU and 1,000-plus Instagram followers—where to get a good sammie.—Shea Gibbs Knife & Fork: How did you ascend to the local sandwich throne? CVille Sandwich King: I’ve lived here […]

Get in mah belly, CroZeli

When Mason Hereford opened Turkey and the Wolf to widespread critical acclaim in the city of New Orleans, it was like a butter knife to Charlottesville’s back. It was like Dave Matthews saying he got his start in Nashville. Hereford, a Charlottesville native and University of Virginia graduate, has won scores of awards for his […]

The making of Taking

Danny Wagner knows he’s a baby in the modern movie biz. The young filmmaker has worked as a production assistant for major television studios on shows like “Young Sheldon” and as a production coordinator on multiple feature films. But he says he’s still “not there yet” when it comes to making it in Hollywood. Wagner’s […]

Super suds

For years, new brewers all said it: I brew what I like. But times have changed, and spots like SuperFly Brewing Co., which opened this summer at 943 Preston Ave., have changed with them. “The thing that excites me is drinkability,” SuperFly owner Ed Liversidge says. “But when a band writes a record, it’s hard […]

One more for the roads

Andre Xavier knows booze tourism. As owner of Cville Tours, he’s seen what banding together can do for co-located breweries like those on Route 151. So when Xavier helped open Patch Brewing Co. in Gordonsville, he got together with other purveyors of fine beverages and branded their alliance Route 231. Along with Patch, the founding […]

Table setter

Merrie Mill Farm & Vineyard owners Elizabeth and Guy Pelly bought the 21-year-old deli and specialty grocery lovingly known as Feast! in January. Now under new direction, the Main Street mainstay is surrounded by pressing questions. (For one, what about the exclamation point?) Elizabeth Pelly recently talked to Knife & Fork about her budding stewardship […]