‘My favorite bite’: Hamming it up with Jon Bray

While Jon Bray says he can’t pinpoint which particular dish got him into the food industry, he can specify a time (he was 14), a reason (“my parents repealed the Weekly Allowance Act”) and a place (Bellair Market). It was the beginning of a nearly 20-year career in Charlottesville kitchens, bars and dining rooms (you’ve likely […]

In good spirits: Ragged Branch is ready to pour

On a picturesque, 92-acre hillside ranch in southern Ivy, native Virginian Alex Toomy and two partners have launched an enterprise centered on a perfect pairing: bourbon and beef. Craft distillery Ragged Branch, now open for business after five years of preparation and two more of whiskey-aging, is poised to make its mark on the Virginia […]

Worth the wait: An orphan amber Pinot gets a second life

It all began with a little generosity from Mother Nature. “We had a Pinot Gris block come in heavier than expected,” says Joy Ting, enologist and project manager at Michael Shaps Wineworks. “Since the excess had not been slated for a specific wine, and it was early in harvest, we realized we had the time […]

The last bite: Split decision

It may not look like anything fancy, but the old-school banana split at Chandler’s Ice Cream (that throwback soft-serve stand by the Tractor Supply store on River Road) is a summertime must-have. Served in a styrofoam container, it’s two bananas, split down the middle and piled high with ice cream, whipped cream, walnuts, pineapple and […]

A taste of Hawaii: Your new favorite flavor is…spam?

Spam musubi is a dish in which the aforementioned Hormel pork product is grilled, laid on a block of sticky white rice and wrapped together with nori, in the Japanese style. In Hawaii, where more Spam is consumed per capita than any other state in the union, Spam musubi is ubiquitous: available everywhere from gas […]