A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.
Central Virginia may not sound like the place to find a great beer bar. And as home of the University of Virginia, where thrifty college students are more apt to ask for inexpensive macrobrews, Charlottesville, Va., would seem to have two strikes against it for beer connoisseurs. Maybe that explains why Beer Run has stood out, earning national praise during the less than 2 years it's been open.
"The concept was originally just doing a bottle shop," says co-owner John Woodriff. But financial concerns led them to selling draft beer, which "opened a can of worms."
State laws required Beer Run to add food service and things quickly snowballed. "We were up early in the morning to make fresh bread for our sandwiches, so we morphed into an espresso bar and coffee shop," explains Woodriff. "Things got kinda wild."
Take a peek at the 14 beers Beer Run currently has on draft after the jump.
Chez Dolley and James Madison. Photo: Mark F. Levisay
There's no telling how Dolley Madison, celebrated for her exceedingly proper social graces, would have felt about folks sifting through her midden.
But that's just what the archaeologists at Montpelier -- the onetime Virginia home of former President James Madison -- have been doing since 2007, when they first uncovered the (very first) First Lady's trash heap. Their findings, many of which pertain to the Madisons' culinary habits, will likely be supplemented this summer by a new excavation of the estate's North Kitchen. According to spokeswoman Beth Morrill, interpreters at the historic site are planning to use their discoveries about how and what the Madisons ate to engage a new generation of hungry visitors.
"We're teaching children about recycling," Morrill says, pointing to a recently unveiled hands-on exhibit that teaches children about the Madisons' penchant for using every part of an animal (every part except, it seems, for the shell: Dolley Madison's midden was well-stocked with discarded oyster shells, the fruit of which likely paired nicely with the Champagne she served her guests.)
When President Obama took over the White House last month, the wine world was abuzz with, well, the buzzword of his administration: hope. Storyafterstory declared him to be the savior, the messiah, of wine. He would rescue the White House from its teetotaling predecessor and bring the cellar back to its glory.
My two cents? Obama has bigger things to worry about. But 200 years ago, when the country was a lot smaller and depressions, world wars, and recessions were unimagined events of the future, Thomas Jefferson did not. After touring Europe, Jefferson returned home convinced that our county could produce wines on par with Europe's best. He imported vine cuttings form some of the best vineyards in Europe and planted them at his Virginia estate, Monticello.
Jefferson actually put wine on par with national issues, saying, "By making this wine vine known to the public, I have rendered my country as great a service as if I had enabled it to pay back the national debt."
Perhaps its the lingering after-effects of my mother's Jewish heritage, but every winter I get an uncontrollable urge to make chicken soup. However, having been raised in the South, this seasonal instinct is channeled into the production of a thicker, richer, and generally more transcendent food: Brunswick stew.
Virginia and Georgia both lay claim to the ubiquitous stew; personally, I favor Virginia's claim, but that's only because I grew up there. In both areas, it is a standard accompaniment to barbecue, although it often finds its way to the table as a stand-alone meal.
Recipes for Brunswick stew tend to be somewhat idiosyncratic. For example, many chefs use potatoes, and others use barbecue sauce to increase the richness of the broth. By that standard, my Brunswick stew (recipe below) will strike some people as blasphemous. I go heavy on the tomatoes, keep out the potatoes, use light olive oil and skinned chicken to keep the fat down, and hold off on the barbecue. Still, regardless of your personal tastes, this should be a pretty good starting point for your own recipe!
Lately I have been very interested in the small craft distillery scene in the US. Not to long ago I got an email from a friend discussing how the Mid-Atlantic States are getting on the map for its craft distilling scene. Then I read this article about three small distilleries in Virginia and their new, premium, small batch, handcrafted spirits. These distillers are bringing back the distilling tradition to Virginia that hasn't been seen since before prohibition, and doubling the number of distilleries in the state.
There have been three distillers of liquors that could be considered long time native Virginian: Laird & Co. distilling since 1780 makes Bonded Apple Brandy and Apple Jack from apples grown in the Shenandoah Valley (A branch of the same company whose headquarters are in NJ); A. Smith Bowman distilling since the 1930's known for Virginia Gentleman bourbon; and Belmont Farm Distillery, distilling since 1987 which makes a version of corn liquor/moonshine called Virginia Lightning.
I guess I had s'mores on the brain after writing about them yesterday, since I was inspired to look up the record for the world's largest s'more. The Guinness Book of World Records lists a s'more made in 2003 as the largest. It was constructed in California from 20,000 marshmallows, 7,000 Hershey's chocolate bars, and 24,000 graham crackers. All totaled, it weighed about 1,600-lbs.
The Guinness category was retired, however, which means that an even larger s'more made this year went unrecorded!
The current largest s'more measured 1,936-sq feet and was constructed to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Virginia State Parks. It was made with 8,000 Hershey's chocolate bars, 40,000 marshmallows and 55,000 graham crackers - nearly double the size of the previous record holder, though it didn't use quite as much chocolate.
From the Virginia-based Daily Press comes a story of Partha Peddi, a 28-year-old vegetarian from birth who will soon compete in a qualifying round of the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Championship. Peddi, originally from India, has been a casual meat eater for the last four years, according to the DP. It was only recently that he made the decision to step his game up and begin "training" to eat meat competitively. Aside from shedding a few pounds, Peddi apparently tries to stretch his stomach by rapidly drinking a gallon of water. The regional event in which Peddi will compete decides who will go on to face such well-known competitive eaters as Takeru Kobayashi (right) and Sonya Thomas at the July 4th event at Coney Island.
A teenage Taco Bell employee in Virginia has received a sentence of six months in jail for spitting in a loyal customer's Mountain Dew, according to the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. After the customer raised a stink about the lack of iced tea, Shaleesheya G. Ford, 18, decided to lace his second choice with something of her own. According to the victim, Ford giggled and told him to have a nice day as she handed him his drink. The victim discovered the "loogie" shortly after leaving the restaurant. "Once I touched it, I knew exactly what it was," he told the FFLS. The spit in question was turned over to police. Charges stemming from the incident include assault and battery, obstruction of justice and filing a false police report. It's unclear from the FFLS story how the charges are related to spitting in a drink.
When my boyfriend said the Pacific Northwest was "cool," I thought he meant it was "cool" in the sense of "hip." I didn't realize he meant "cool" in the sense of "bone-chillingly cold."
It turns out that May in the Puget Sound is a lot like February here in Virginia. In other words, wintry.
I should explain. We were just at a wedding on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. After a day of cross-country flights, shuttles and rental cars, we then had to take a ferry for an hour-and-a-half from the mainland to Orcas itself.
I suppose that if you live in the Pacific Northwest, you understand the trade-off: beautiful landscapes for chilly weather.
Thankfully, for everybody else, there's Portofino Pizza in the village of Orcas. We ordered the Tuscany: gouda, garlic, fresh roma tomatoes and salami.
Maybe it was just my hypothermia talking, but I think it was one of the top ten pizzas I've ever had.
In any case, if you're on Orcas, get a pie at Portofino. Even if you're not freezing, you'll be glad you did.
Though I lived in Virginia for nearly six years, I never visited Virginia Beach. It's not exactly the most glamorous corner of what's a decidedly unglamorous state. But Mimi Sheraton claims that there's "beautiful eating" to be had in this Chesapeake Bay tourist destination. Her seafood tour of the area starts each summer at Chick's Oyster Bar for spiced crab, fish fries and beers, then moves on to Virginia Seafood Company's South End Pub for spiced crab, spiced shrimp, coleslaw and New England Clam Chowder. Of the other spots she mentioned, Lucky Star deserved the finest of Sheraton's food poetry: "sublime crab cakes, rich with lumps of the dewy, ivory meat, are gently sautéed and then quickly gilded under a broiler." OK, Mimi, you've got me - next chance I get, I'm going to Virginia Beach.
When President Obama took over the White House last month, the wine world was abuzz with, well, the buzzword of his administration: hope. .jpg)
Lately I have been very interested in the small craft distillery scene in the US. Not to long ago I got an email from a friend discussing how the Mid-Atlantic States are getting on the map for its craft distilling scene. Then I read 
I guess I had s'mores on the brain after 
From the Virginia-based Daily Press comes a 
A teenage Taco Bell employee in Virginia has received a sentence of six months in jail for spitting in a loyal customer's Mountain Dew, according to the 
When my boyfriend said the Pacific Northwest was "cool," I thought he meant it was "cool" in the sense of "hip." I didn't realize he meant "cool" in the sense of "bone-chillingly cold."
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