Feast - Charlottesville

You can really do a lot worse for lunch (and pay a lot more) than a baguette from the Albemarle Baking Company and a nice piece of triple cream French cheese -- a Délice de Bourgogne or a St. André, or even a small piece of properly-well-aged Bucheron, possibly supplemented by a bowl or a cup of extremely tasty soup -- from Feast, at 416 W Main Street in Charlottesville.  Feast offers some elegant and very tasty charcuterie, including a slender little Italian salami with fennel.  Feast has a truly wonderful selection of interesting cheeses including Grayson, an outstanding red mold Taleggio-like offering from the Meadow Creek Dairy (located down in Grayson County near Mt. Rogers (which I haven't climbed yet) and a wonderful hand-dipped ricotta that seems way too good for lasagne.  If the ricotta survives the trip home, you might try dishing it up in dollops next to a great red-sauced pasta.  The terrific Albemarle Baking Company baguettes are properly crispy outside and yet tender within.  Snag one or two as you walk in the door, especially if it's well after lunch time, or they might be gone by the time you reach the register.  Adding a bowl of soup from Feast's kitchen, which also offers tasty sandwiches and salads, might be all most people will need for lunch.  With a bottle of Pellegrino from the cooler, you'll be very happy.  Feast is a great place for an easy, no pressure, no problems lunch.  You can find the menu online at http://www.feastvirginia.com/cafe.pdf.  But my advice is just walk in -- Feast is on Main Street behind Orzo -- sample some cheese and olive oil, wander around, see what the kitchen's specials are, eat something and ... go home very happy. Thank you, Feast! Thank you very much indeed!
Feast | 416 West Main Street | Charlottesville, VA 22903
(434) 244-7800
 

Downtown Thai - Charlottesville

Jessie Jane and I went out for early dinner Tuesday evening, March 27 at Downtown Thai (at 111 Water Street just off Charlottesville's Downtown Mall, catty-corner across from the ever-popular Mono Loco).  Jessie Jane and I found the food terrific.  I was a bit doubtful, at first, because when we first walked in there was literally no one else eating in the well-appointed modern dining room , but hey! The Vegetarian Spring Roll -- freshly prepared, all ingredients fresh, the skin supple -- was great!  The Tom Yum soup with shrimp was the best I ever ate in a restaurant, and far, far better than a rather mediocre offering I worked my way through most unwillingly at Tara Thai in Short Pump not so very long ago.  And the Pad Thai Tofu was ... one of the best Pad Thais I've ever eaten.  Tasty, tasty, tasty!  And we finished with dessert -- Sticky Rice with Mango! (the rice was tinted light green) a great finale -- the mango slices were fresh and the sticky rice, also, seemed very freshly prepared.   Exactly the right texture ... And delicious!  Dinner for two did not seem expensive.  My main question would be -- why wasn't the place filled up with happy people eating great Thai food???  Does Downtown Thai need a happy hour tradition?  Should they try welcoming diners with a small pot of tea and maybe an ever-varying amuse-gueule (on the house) to help lure more customers?   Maybe they just need a little more  effective advertising?  A takeout window?  Our meal seemed relatively mild in chili heat -- which I thought a plus.  But possibly that doesn't appeal to the legions of Thai-fire-tiger-eaters?  Would selling spring rolls from a cart on the Mall be feasible? Or even -- offering samples from a tray?  during the busy lunch hour?

Byrd Mill Old Tyme Grits - Terrific!

From Virginia -- these stoneground grits, available in yellow or white -- are terrific!  The grains are larger and taste better than the ordinary fine ground grits you may be used to. Legend has it that young Patrick Henry visited the mill often at its original site, bringing corn, wheat and buckwheat from his father's nearby plantation.  Byrd Mill's original location burned untimely in 1968 and the company is now located in Ashland, Virginia.  Change your mind about grits! -- try these next time you see them on the shelf.  Available at Martin's in the Richmond area, or online at $7.90 for a 5 lb. bag (plus shipping, I reckon) or $3.45 for a 12 oz. package.  Making up your mind between white or yellow grits might be your only problem.  You can find Byrd Mill Old Tyme Grits and other products online at www.byrdmill.com.