Food that’s free: Plants to forage in this strangest spring

Years ago, in the spring, I was out for a run in a rural spot and encountered an elderly man who told me he was hunting “dryland cress”—an edible plant. I was enchanted; it was like he’d stepped from the pages of that 1973 Foxfire volume on my shelf, in which Appalachian old-timers shared secrets […]

Kids who cook: An after-school club teaches kitchen skills and more

On one of the last days of classes before the holiday break, the bell rings at Walker Upper Elementary School, and kids stream for the exits. But Becky Calvert is just getting settled into her “classroom,” a sprawling institutional kitchen with a lot of buffed stainless steel surfaces. “I try to do some of the […]

Our Favorite High-Octane Eats

“This may sound weird, but the gas stations are really good,” a co-worker told me when I moved to Charlottesville four years ago. And he was talking about the food. Until then, my gas station dining had been limited to the occasional childhood slushie or a breakfast sandwich from Sheetz, ordered in desperation on a […]

Style points: Vitae Spirits scores design award

Vitae Spirits just added another accolade to its pile of awards, but this one is for its design, not for its excellent craft liquors. A converted schoolhouse, Vitae’s tasting room and production facility on Henry Street is half laboratory and half chic cocktail lounge. This combination earned Vitae’s design/build contractor, Charlottesville’s Alloy Workshop, the award […]

Milli Coffee Roasters founder dies at 34

Nick Leichtentritt, founder of Milli Coffee Roasters and Sicily Rose, died February 17 at the age of 34. Pursuing a passion for food and drink, Leichtentritt left a corporate job in 2012 to open the coffee shop, followed by his cannoli shop, Sicily Rose, in 2018. Both developed loyal followings, and Leichtentritt became a beloved […]