"virginia" news and stories

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.

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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.

See a close-up of the s'more's construction after the jump.

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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.