Subverting with Verdi

The Nazis at the Terezin concentration camp took a cruel sort of pleasure in hearing the motley chorus of Jews sing a dramatic piece of music about death. The Jewish prisoners, for their part, relished the opportunity to sing a passionate work to their oppressors about what awaits sinners come judgment day. Both emotions were […]

It's what's for dinner

Meat makeover The all-American hamburger is a) named after a German city and b) contains no ham. If thoughts like these keep you awake at night, it may be time to visit the Main Street Market’s Organic Butcher, where manager Robert Collins and his staff can hook you up with a variety of locally raised […]

Pick your peppers

If you feel that signing up for one of the six local CSAs is a bit like playing a game of musical chairs, one Albemarle farm is doing its part to make sure everyone finds a seat at the Community Supported Agriculture table. Says Bellair Farm CSA Manager Jamie Barrett, “Our goal is to connect […]

Street, meet gallery

Reko Rennie’s (pictured) graffiti installation opens at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection this week. Rennie and Native American Artist Frank Buffalo Hyde will also collaborate on a mural, which will be unveiled at The Bridge/PAI in February. High drama was in the air at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection last week when I went to […]

The bitter end

The mere mention of an after-dinner drink to an American seems to elicit queasy memories of a night ending with a White Russian or shot of Goldschläger and the harrowing hangover that followed; however, unlike these sweet and viscous drinks that add to your level of intoxication, taking you from comfortably content to grotesquely gorged, Europe’s bitter digestives actually subtract from your feeling of fullness.

Any way you slice it

  From top: Olive Thyme, Pain de Mie and Yeasted Cornbread. Bread matters If clothes make the man, then bread makes the sandwich. Too flimsy and your fillings fold under the pressure, but too crusty and your jaw begs for mercy. Albemarle Baking Company Owner Gerry Newman weighs in on this most strategic decision. For […]

PCA aims to find out how much local arts are worth

If you’re leaving a concert this year, and some stranger walks up to you to ask what you had for dinner, or where you’re sleeping that night, do not—I repeat—do not be alarmed. It’s only a study, spearheaded by the Piedmont Council for the Arts, which aims to determine just how great an impact spending […]

Bon Apéritif

In Europe, where eating is the evening’s main event, a drink served before dinner is de rigueur and the perfect way to prime your palate (and bloodstream) to the gustatory pleasures that lie ahead.

January 2011: Green Scene

 A greener view Some older PVC or vinyl blinds contain lead, so replace if installed before 1997. The windows in your home likely offer a beautiful view of the great outdoors, but did you know that they may be costing you as much as a fourth of your total heating/cooling expenses? So after you’ve caulked […]