We would like to extend the greatest of thanks to two amazingly talented culinary artist for their hard work, as both Chul Kee Ko (Ten) and Josh Hutter (Blue Light Grill) are no longer with the Capshaw restaurant group. Both executive chefs brought more than a decade of experience to the table, with Ko having served as Chef de Cuisine for Jean Georges N.Y., one of the cities few restaurants to consistently be ranked four stars by the N.Y. Times, and Josh having worked at Arterra, the Marriott’s flagship restaurant, before returning to Charlottesville to head up Si Tapas, and later becoming the driving force behind the rejuvenation of Blue Light Grill.
The Ten torch is being passed to Pei Chang, who has spent nearly 3 years sharpening his skill in preparation for the challenge, while Blue Light will move from a head chef design, to a team oriented structure.
Both departing chef’s are destined for D.C. pastures, as Ko has accepted the executive chef position for the not yet open Buddha Bar (there is already a 30 day wait, which is rapidly approaching 60), and while Josh is keeping mum for now, he promises to fill us in once settled.
If you never had the opportunity to sample the creations of these two talents, you sorely missed out on some of the best that Charlottesville has had to offer.
Our friends at Camino will be hosting an informational benefit dinner to promote awareness of the Chesapeake Clean Water Act in conjunction with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. There will be information, and CBF representatives to answer any questions. The CCWA will be voted on later this month.
We will have two seatings on Tuesday, March 9th. One from 5:30-6:30, and the second 8:00-9:00. There is room for about 40 people at each seating.
The menu will feature sea/bay food that is affected by by the water that runs into our streams and rivers to the Bay. The menu is being fine tuned as we speak, and will feature such tasty items as Rappahannock River Oysters, Bay Scallops, Hog Island Clams, Wild Stripe Bass, and Poached Flounder with Blue Crab.
Come enjoy a great meal, and find out what you can do to help promote clean soil, water, and food.
Our friends over at Speak! shot us an invite for one of their cultural events, which typically pair regional foods with their counterpart drinks. This should be a great way to stay warm for the last few weeks of winter.
Za zdorov’je! To your health! : A Cultural Workshop on Russian Food and Drink
The stereotypical Russian is most often associated with vodka. Is this accurate? What is the history of drinking in Russia? What is the current attitude in Russia towards alcohol, and towards vodka in particular? Dr. Rachel Stauffer, an expert on Russian language and culture, will explain why, when, and how Russians drink. Attendees will have the opportunity to taste the foods that are most often paired for drinking throughout Russia and Eastern Europe in conjunction with a tasting of premium vodkas from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, and Canada.
With the second restaurant week preparing to fire up on the 25th of this month, many of the eighteen participating locations are already starting to accept reservations, and a few have released their prix fixe menus for the event. This round has more than doubled the number of choices from 8 to 18, and some owners are wondering if this may be too many.
“The idea has always been to turn people onto restaurants they may not have experienced before, and try to build repeat customers,” one participating owner informed us (off the record), “but with this many places, it’s quite a bit less selective, and we didn’t know there would be this many involved when we signed up.” »Read More
There has been a longstanding rumor that Charlottesville, with it’s plethora of dining establishments, actually may have more places to eat than Washington D.C., and possibly even New York City per capita. We’ve quoted this on occasion publicly, and overhead quite a few friends and acquaintances asserting it as legitimate fact. So how does it stack up? Any truth to this rumor? »Read More
For weeks before I finally went, the amount of positive buzz I’d heard about Peter Chang and his new Taste of China in Albemarle Square was staggering: he’d cooked for presidents; he’d been all over the world; he could feed the masses with but a fortune cookie and glass of plum wine. Normally I’m pretty cool about such things, but I’ll admit, I got caught up in the hype.
Before the holiday season, I had no idea who Peter Chang was, and I was just fine for it. I had my regular take-out Hunan chicken and I was content. Over the course of December, however, as I heard more and more, I began telling my friends and family, “Oh, you’ve got to go eat at Taste of China…I hear it’s great!” What began as excitement, however, turned into outright hypocrisy by the end of the month. “What!? You’ve never eaten Peter Chang’s food before? Get out of my sight, you hay-chomping hick. Come back when you’ve had some real Chinese food.” Yes, I exaggerate, but as the holidays rolled on I knew I was getting past due for a visit to Chef Chang’s new eatery; thankfully some friends gave me the perfect opportunity to visit on New Year’s Eve. »Read More
Our favorite recent edition to the downtown mall, Camino Restaurant, is perfectly situated to play host for Vinegar Hill, and that is exactly what one of the owners is planning. Sean Thomas has more than a passing interest in the local & sustainable farming movement, and he opened his doors for an early tasting event after the screening of Fresh!, a film focusing on the reinvention of our food system, in July.
The Mediterranean bistro will be continuing this trend, as Sean has invited the director of Food Fight, Chris Taylor, to town for a screening. With the holiday & then Oscar season firing up, it may be a short wait before Vinegar Hill can schedule a slot.
Boylan Heights, the upscale gourmet burger bar on the corner, is hosting the first in a series of “Party With A Purpose” events tomorrow December 1st (World AIDS Day), to benefit The AIDS/HIV Services Group of Charlottesville. 10% of your lunch or dinner check will be donated to the ASG, as long as you have a Red Party event flier (print out from here or pickup from your server/bartender). They will also be donating proceeds from the sale of red ribbons ($5.00), which will give patrons access to drink specials throughout the evening. Everyone is also encouraged to wear red in support of AIDS awareness. [Info]
Joshua & the rest of the Blue Light Grill crew put on a really amazing display last Thursday for our fifth Club Villain event. From the new paint scheme, to the big screen TV’s, BLG is certainly making moves in the right direction.
Considering that very few people reading this actually know who I am, I could probably get away with claiming some fancy-pants background in reviewing fine restaurants and upscale cuisine. In the spirit of integrity, however, I’ll admit that I am in no way qualified to critique the winner of a AAA Four Diamond Award. Actually, given my fondness for making inappropriate jokes in inappropriate places, I’m not sure I was qualified to even go there. But go there I did, along with my wife, sister, brother-in-law, aunt, and parents, who were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Needless to say, it was really good. »Read More
We would like to extend the greatest of thanks to two amazingly talented culinary artist for their hard work, as both Chul Kee Ko (Ten) and Josh Hutter (Blue Light Grill) are no longer with the Capshaw restaurant group. Both executive chefs brought more than a decade of experience to the table, with Ko having served as Chef de Cuisine for Jean Georges N.Y., one of the cities few restaurants to consistently be ranked four stars by the N.Y. Times, and Josh having worked at Arterra, the Marriott’s flagship restaurant, before returning to Charlottesville to head up Si Tapas, and later becoming the driving force behind the rejuvenation of Blue Light Grill.
Boylan Heights, the upscale gourmet burger bar on the corner, is hosting the first in a series of “Party With A Purpose” events tomorrow December 1st (World AIDS Day), to benefit The AIDS/HIV Services Group of Charlottesville. 10% of your lunch or dinner check will be donated to the ASG, as long as you have a Red Party event flier (print out from here or pickup from your server/bartender). They will also be donating proceeds from the sale of red ribbons ($5.00), which will give patrons access to drink specials throughout the evening. Everyone is also encouraged to wear red in support of AIDS awareness. [
Considering that very few people reading this actually know who I am, I could probably get away with claiming some fancy-pants background in reviewing fine restaurants and upscale cuisine. In the spirit of integrity, however, I’ll admit that I am in no way qualified to critique the winner of a AAA Four Diamond Award. Actually, given my fondness for making inappropriate jokes in inappropriate places, I’m not sure I was qualified to even go there. But go there I did, along with my wife, sister, brother-in-law, aunt, and parents, who were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Needless to say, it was really good. 
