Tour the King of Pops factory on Sunday for only $5. (Photo by Jay Paul)
It’s the first week of August, and we’ve got cool pops, sweet nectar, and loaves of dire wolf bread. Here goes:
Busy as a bee
Mead is a drink that is almost universally known but relatively few have sampled. If you’re curious about what the “nectar of the gods” tastes like, this weekend is for you. Black Heath Meadery (1313 Altamont Ave.) is marking National Mead Day (Aug. 5) with a weekend of tastings starting today and running though Sunday. Truckle Cheesemongers will be on hand to pair the perfect cheese with your mead. Medieval garb not required.
Ready to pop
Take a moment to chill out, tickle your taste buds, and learn something new. King of Pops (3001 W. Clay St.) is opening their doors this Sunday for a tour inside their pop factory. Learn how they’re made and sample flavors. You’d be hard pressed to find another way to spend a cool hour for only $5.
Change is in the air
Sometimes new restaurants need a little tweaking and even old favorites need some freshening up now and then. With that in mind, two downtown places are shaking things up. At Kabana Rooftop (700 E. Main St.), Mike Ledesma is taking over as executive chef and is preparing to roll out a new menu. Maybe one playing up on his Filipino heritage?
Meanwhile, Comfort (200 W. Broad) is preparing for its 15th anniversary in September. Most of its favorite menu entrees will remain, as will the ability for guests to choose their sides, but there will be a whole new array of Southern-inspired small plates (confit chicken wings with a pepper vinegar anyone?) plus bar snacks, including Jason Alley’s famous pimento cheese. The kid’s menu will feature real food, not chicken nuggets fresh from the freezer…
Riding off into the sunset
There are some things you think of as permanent fixtures here in RVA. For my family, prior to road trips, that meant a mandatory breakfast at River City Diner on 17th Street. Sadly, they announced their closing on Aug. 2 and made their last milkshake a few hours later. Chris Tsui of Eat Partners (Foo Dog/Fat Dragon/Beijing on Grove/Red Salt) will be taking over the space with details to come. I wonder if they’ll be serving breakfast?
Food critics in the wings
This week, I had the pleasure of speaking to and eating with a group of young students as part of a Food Critic Camp. Jonathan Gold, watch out!
You snooze, you lose
It might be hot and muggy outside, but it isn’t too early to think about the cooler days of fall, specifically four days in early November when Fire, Flour & Fork comes around again — a seriously fun series of events for people who are curious about food. While some dinners and classes sold out in minutes, as they have in previous years, many of the major signature events still have tickets available, including the Carnaval Latino on Clay (a Latin-inspired party with food, drinks, dancing and guest chefs including Zarela Martinez from New York City) or Chaat It Up (an Indian street food celebration hosted by Lehja’s Sunny Baweja).
News From Beyond
Winter is coming
Well, we wish it were. In the meantime, Ben Hawkey, Hot Pie on Game of Thrones, is cashing in on his character’s profession and gone into baking. His pop-up bakery makes dire wolf- shaped loaves for those living in the UK. Careful, though, the name might make you choke a bit — You Know Nothing Jon Dough.
Germophobes, beware
There’s may be something else to worry about — bacteria-laden birthday cakes. The culprit is the old tradition of blowing out the candles. But is it bad enough to really worry about? Actually, unless the birthday boy or girl has the plague, not so much.
Machines v. humans
Looking back, automats were a 20th-century quirk, created from American’s fascination with shiny, futuristic solutions, right? That may have played a part, but a closer examination reveals that they were an invention to deal with a problem — a disdain for waiters and tipping. Of course, it was a bad solution. There was the universal shock when the people filling the little machines went on strike, confounding customers who never really considered how all the food actually got there in the first place.
