Fruit of the vine: Wine events for November
Afton Mountain Our tasting room is open year-round. Here you can taste our wines with our friendly and knowledgeable tasting room staff, enjoy a glass or bottle of our wine […]
Give brew its due: Bring beer back to your holiday table
Beer and Thanksgiving. The words conjure fond memories: an uncle asleep in the La-Z-Boy with a pile of cans on the end table; the Lions game on TV; a semi-interested […]
The locavore chef’s dilemma: What it takes to cook local through the off-season
Nowadays, restaurant menus are more likely to tell you where the chicken was raised than how it’s prepared. Four years running, the National Restaurant Association has voted locally sourced foods […]
Carmello’s closed, gingerbread at Sweethaus, and Thanksgiving prep
Under construction Nothing says “holiday season” like decorating a gingerbread house. Just as it did last year, Sweethaus is offering a gingerbread workshop at its new West Main location. Drop […]
Professor Apple: How Tom Burford sowed the seeds of the Virginia hard cider revival
It is tempting to imagine that the resurgence of Virginia hard cider had its genesis in a single moment: Monticello’s Director of Gardens and Grounds Peter Hatch and Virginia gentleman Tom Burford kneeling together with their grafting knives to re-propagate the Virginia Hewe’s Crab apple tree in Thomas Jefferson’s north orchard.
Loco for tacos: Craving Mexican? Try these three
I’ve eaten tacos from propane-fired griddles outside my apartment near downtown Los Angeles, and from the street grills off Garibaldi Square while mingling with mariachis between sets in Mexico City. […]
Secret ingredient: Along came some cider
Fresh apple cider is the quintessential autumn drink in Central Virginia, and has a long and relevant history here that predates even Mr. Jefferson. When European colonists arrived in the […]
Cider-palooza: First annual Virginia Cider Week is coming to a restaurant near you
Cider may be indelibly written into American history, but no matter how many pints John Adams drank with breakfast, it’s a beverage that confuses us. Cider, to everyone but Americans, […]
Who will save Merlot? The fate of a much-maligned grape
Merlot is making a comeback. Or so the prediction has gone for the past three years. According to retailers though, sales haven’t even begun to rebound, yet we keep reading […]
Savor the season with squash
With its hard skin, seed-filled cavities, and often unruly size, winter squash can intimidate even the savviest cooks. It’s absolutely worth tackling though—not only is squash inexpensive and packed with […]