Capturing the freshness of food from an array of farms makes a good antidote to burnout or boredom. Coupled with an overnight or weekend getaway, the antidote can become an elixir.
I chose Virginia’s agricultural lower Eastern Shore — Northampton County, a three-hour drive from Midlothian — for just such a farm-to-fork trip. I grew up on a farm less than an hour’s drive north (outside of the Accomack County town of Greenbush), but I chose the lower Shore for this solo journey because two adjacent attractions made a complete culinary experience: The Barrier Islands Center and Chatham Vineyards at Church Creek, about 12 miles north of Cape Charles in Machipongo, on U.S. Highway 13.
Photo courtesy Barrier Islands Center
The Center of Things
The Barrier Islands Center — with a mission to preserve the unique culture and history of Virginia’s Barrier Islands through education and the collection and interpretation of artifacts — has renovated its 1725 Quarter Kitchen as a foodways gallery and demonstration kitchen. Taking note of its “Conversations in the Kitchen” series, I had seen online the talk between author and UNC professor Bernard Herman and Janice Weatherly Walters, who grew up in a large family that worked on the water and in Willis Wharf oyster shucking houses for generations. Walters’ story centered on hard work, family and truths such as “Smile when you don’t have to.”
I signed up for a culinary demonstration, “Cooking With the Seasons,” which changes with the produce available during different seasons, for $55. Local sheep farmer Matt Ertle (seasidelamb.com) not only demonstrated the making of Philly steak sandwiches (with pulled pork), roasted sweet potato halves and wild fennel pesto, he also provided sources for all ingredients (the majority of them local) as he went along, as well as recipes afterward. We got to eat the results — everything hand-picked and -processed and produced without artificial ingredients.
Ertle, who later said he “grew up in western Pennsylvania among nonfarmers,” opened the class by saying, “We have a pseudo-Mediterranean climate in Northampton, with water on both sides,” providing an abundance of greens (wild fennel grows everywhere), which cooks use throughout the year with varied meats and carbs. I followed through later at home, sauteing chopped broccolini in oil and garlic as a pizza topping.
During and after class, participants browsed the exhibits, art and gift shop at the center, which was originally the Almshouse Farm. I remembered, from my childhood in the 1950s, Accomack County’s almshouse (now a nursing home). My father had explained that this was the home for poor (he might have added “white”) people who had nowhere else to live. A much smaller frame building behind the Northampton County almshouse was a residence for poor Black people; it’s now the facility’s education center.
Photo by Rachel Stevens courtesy Visit Virginia
A Flight of Wine, a Loaf of Bread
Just a 10-minute drive from the center lies Chatham Vineyards — a working farm for four centuries. Jon Wehner, a second-generation winegrower there, says, “I learned about grape-growing from my parents, who operated Great Falls Vineyard,” in Great Falls, Virginia, for more than 30 years. He and his wife, Mills, and their three children own and operate the vineyard and winery.
In my tasting ($15 for a flight of 2-ounce glasses of all six wines), I liked the 2017 Church Creek Merlot best — it’s a well-balanced wine full of cherry and cranberry flavors, with a hint of brown spice left on my palate. Visitors seated at outdoor tables were enjoying bottles of wine with cheese boards, breads, olives and charcuterie.
The next morning, after breakfast at Sting-Ray’s — a truck stop and diner popular among locals that is across from the motel where I had stayed, I went into Cape Charles before heading back across the 17.6-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. I bought a fresh baguette at The Bakery on Mason. It had been a hit as part of the pork sandwiches the previous day. If time allows, also check out the other shops in town, Shockley’s Farm Stand, and nearby Kiptopeke State Park and the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge.
Food for Thought
Homework: Enhance your trip with a reading of Bernard L. Herman’s book “A South You Never Ate: Savoring Flavors and Stories From the Eastern Shore of Virginia.”
Bring it on home: Fresh food, local produce, seafood and flowers are features at Pearl Market, 4198 Latimer Siding Road in Cape Charles. It’s open 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays through Oct. 30.
