Simply in Season

Celebrate good food and seasonal recipes with Mary Beth Lind, co-author of Simply in Season. Now in its 10th anniversary edition, the cookbook invites novice and master chefs alike to embrace the art of sustainable and mindful cooking, and offers up stories, tips, serving suggestions, and substitutions alongside over 300 recipes organized by season. Foodies […]

‘What can I get ya?

By Mary Esselman, Maeve Hayden, Tami Keaveny, and Susan Sorensen Walking in to a busy diner is an exciting sensory experience. The clang of silverware and dishes banging around, orders called from front-of-house to back, and air laden with the savory perfume of the kitchen. Trays go by filled with warm toasty waffles, deliciously greasy […]

Ikore Festival

Bring your appetite and sweet tooth to the Ikore Festival, a farm-to-table celebration of Black food, cooks, and farmers. Using fresh produce and ingredients grown by Black farmers, participants will whip up delectable dishes for sampling and judging. Grab a plate, chat with a farmer about seasonal gardening, then cast your vote for best in […]

New places for familiar faces and drinks all around

Wisdom from the grill If you’ve visited The Ivy Inn in the last two years, chances are lead line cook Noel Hayden had a hand in preparing and plating your dinner. Hayden began his culinary career at age 14 at Greenwood Gourmet Grocery, and joined The Ivy Inn’s close-knit staff in 2021, training under chef/owner […]

The Drink Issue

For this year’s Drink Issue, we asked local bartenders what wets their whistles at the end of a shift, queried winemakers on their favorite brews, and raised a toast to the time-honored drinks we’ve featured over the years. Negroni from The Alley Light .38 Special from The Local B. Moss from Bang! Murano from Maya […]

Chill master

As temperatures rise, wine enthusiasts naturally adjust their drinking preferences. Besides the desire for something chilled, lighter, and more refreshing in the glass, the culinary options tend to be lighter as well. Seafoods, salads, grilled chicken, and similar dishes pair better with lighter-bodied wines with higher acidity.  Opting for a red wine, instead of white […]

Put on your pint glasses

Spring has brought us a burst of foodie news, and we can hardly keep track of what’s new, what’s gone, and what we can’t wait to try. Taco the town Brazos Tacos has officially opened a second location at Barracks Road Shopping Center. The Texas-style taqueria is open from 11am–8pm daily, with a menu Brazos […]

Shored up

By Carrie Meslar The story of Siren is a love story. Maybe not a typical love story, but like many authentic ones, the path that led chef Laura Fonner to open her own restaurant was full of unexpected twists and turns. And some major bombshells. If you haven’t dined at Siren, located in the former […]

Growing home

To call Michael Carter, Jr. a farmer would just barely scratch the surface. He does raise crops, but mostly what he grows are connections—to history, to other Black farmers, to markets and opportunities. It’s all encompassed in the term Africulture, also the name of the nonprofit he heads. Sitting in a farmhouse in Orange County, […]

Michael Ketola

Michael Ketola Chef and general managerMas Tapas, mastapas.com A steak in the biz Without formal training, I entered the world of professional cooking in 1996, when some college friends from JMU mentioned that the steakhouse they worked at was looking for a cook. So, eager to try something new (and not move back home) I […]