Picking the right cheese can be overwhelming—there are so many choices—so we had a quick cheesy chat with local cheesemongers Ivan Rodriquez from Foods of Nations and Elias Reyes from Feast!, on what they look for in the perfect fromage. Hint: Manchego for the win. C-VILLE: Cow, sheep, or goat’s milk cheese? IR: To me, […]
Picking the right cheese can be overwhelming—there are so many choices—so we had a quick cheesy chat with local cheesemongers Ivan Rodriquez from Foods of Nations and Elias Reyes from Feast!, on what they look for in the perfect fromage. Hint: Manchego for the win. C-VILLE: Cow, sheep, or goat’s milk cheese? IR: To me, […]
Charlottesville is famously late to the trend game (anyone remember the national cupcake craze of the early aughts…which hit the ’ville about 10 years later?), but we’re (almost) right on time with this one: Birria—a regional Mexican stew of goat, garlic, cumin, bay leaves, thyme, and chili peppers, slow-stewed—has taken Charlottesville by storm, with nine […]
A functioning—thriving—wine culture like the Monticello AVA requires participation on both sides of the equation: winemakers cultivate varieties of grapes while locals curate and encourage community. But when oenophile Tasha Durrett relocated from northern Virginia to Charlottesville for a job opportunity, she found herself craving more social and educational opportunities at local wineries. Hoping to […]
Small business owners push hard to keep the gears of entrepreneurship moving and oiled, and Mohammed Alazazi is no exception. Originally from Iraq, Alazazi doesn’t have a background in the grocery business—encouragement from his culture, wife, sons, and in-laws inspired him to represent and sell the food that feeds them. Hummus Grocery is his first […]
This one’s as old as the hills, but feels so fresh among a sea of brownie skillets and crème brûlées: Künefe, the Middle Eastern dessert invented in the 10th century AD, combines layers of shredded phyllo dough with mozzarella cheese, melted in the oven then drizzled with a lemony sugar syrup. At Sultan Kebab, it’s […]
What do Oliver’s Dream, a Wilson, a Gus, and a Raucci have in common? The names can be heard, hollered by cooks, in some of our favorite kitchens around town. Chefs get attached to their creations, and many pay tribute to ones they love when naming those dishes. Here’s the story behind some popular insider-named […]
A student with a 15-year history of incarceration set a goal of getting a job in restaurant management during a cooking class conducted by Culinary Concepts AB at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Within two years of graduating Antwon Brinson’s training program, the student was a manager at a restaurant, where she hired another former inmate. “I’ve […]
What beats tucking into a big ol’ plate of Huevos BlueMoonos? Tucking into a big ol’ plate of Huevos BlueMoonos while enjoying a rooftop view of the city. Always a stellar bet for breakfast, the Blue Moon Diner now boasts an open-air space with primary-colored tables and chairs beneath large umbrellas atop its recently renovated […]
Katie Kishore’s vision—to create a welcoming and inclusive space where adults with cognitive disabilities could flourish—came to life at the height of COVID, when she opened Kindness Café in the lobby of the Brooks Family YMCA. Serving Grit coffee and treats from found., the coffee shop employs eight workers with disabilities and big hearts.
T he return to playing his trumpet in front of a live audience was emotional for John D’earth—and for the crowd that had gathered once again for Thursday Night at Miller’s earlier this year to see him perform. “The minute we played the first notes, they were yelling and cheering,” D’earth says. “And we were […]