Monday mishmash
Blog Mom doesn’t feel like fixing dinner tonight, kids, so she’s pulling a bunch of odds and ends out of the refrigerator and letting you pick whatever looks good to you.
Your choices are:
* The new menu at Le Bistro in downtown Roanoke
* An update on the Duke’s Mayonnaise jingle winner (a local boy)
* A local cider house gets name dropped in Bon Appetit
* Fork in the City opens tomorrow. I got a sneak peek last night…
1. We will go backwards. Last night, I was able to attend a pre-grand opening party at Fork in the City, the new location of Fork in the Alley restaurant. The original is located in Crystal Spring in South Roanoke; the new one is at the corner of 6th Street and Marshall Avenue in Roanoke.
Lots of local figureheads were on hand at the party, including Roanoke City Manager Darlene Burcham, developer Ed Walker, Roanoke City School Superintendent Rita Bishop and well-known banker Warner Dalhouse. But there were also lots of other folks just having a great time.
The interior has a lot of the Fork in the Alley flair, but the setting is much larger. The cooks were turning out wood-fired pizzas, french fries and different soups, including a creamy crab soup loaded with huge chunks of lump crab meat.
Fork in the City opens officially tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. They’ll be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast menu includes dishes like breakfast pizza and huevos rancheros. The lunch and dinner menus are similar to those at the Alley. When you go, let me know if you agree with the t-shirts that owners Dave and Ann Trinkle were sporting last night: “I (heart) New Fork.”
2. Foggy Ridge Hard Cider, which is made by Chuck and Diane Flynt in Meadows of Dan, has been listed as a don’t miss in this month’s issue of Bon Appetit. Congrats to the Flynts. If you want to see the story I wrote about their cider house, find it here. If you haven’t tried their cider, I know you can find it at Wine Gourmet in Roanoke or on the Foggy Ridge Web site.
3. Michael Inge, who grew up in Bedford County, was recently chosen as the national co-winner of the Duke’s Mayonnaise jingle contest. Here is the story I wrote about it not long ago. Well, the mayonnaise jars sporting Michael’s picture and the lyrics for his jingle are on store shelves now. If you are curious, pick up a jar.
4. Finally, Tony Pope’s new restaurant, Le Bistro, opens at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the former location of Nico’s in downtown Roanoke. Pope has posted his first dinner menu in the front window and e-mailed a copy to me. I don’t have the lunch menu yet, but Pope says it will be more casual and it will feature pizzas, sandwiches, salads, catch of the day and more.
Here’s the dinner menu. I think it will change according to the seasons and what is fresh. Let me know what you think:
Soup & Salad
P.E.I Mussel Soup
with saffron
$6
Puree of Cauliflower Soup
with truffle & chives
$6
Bibb Salad
with Green Goddess dressing and heirloom tomatoes
$7
Mixed Field Greens
with pears, cashews and Laura Chenels goat cheese
$7
Appetizers
Prawn Cigars
with Thai chili dipping sauce
$8
Potato Ruffles
with gorgonzola cheese sauce
$7
Duck Confit
with cannelini beans & spicy duck broth
$9
Seared Georges Bank Sea Scallops
with brown butter cauliflower and orange caper dressing
$11
Bacon Wrapped Quail
with chestnut polenta and plum compote
$10
Creamy Wild Mushroom Toast
with madiera
$7
Entrees
Potato Crusted Rockfish
with littleneck clam and chorizo stew
$25
Double Cut Pork Chop
with bourbon mustard glaze, bacon, arugula and pear
$22
Snake River Farms Wagyu Flat Iron Steak
with crushed Yukon Gold potatoes and mushrooms agrodolce
$26
Pappardelle Pasta with Prawns
Fresh herbs, tomato confit and parmesan
$22
Stuffed Pouisson
Cooked under a brick with “Catalan style” spinach and romesco
Bistro Burger
with apple smoked bacon, hoop cheddar and potato ruffles
$10
Dessert
Plum Tart Tatin
with vanilla ice cream
$6
Strawberry Crème Brulee
$6
Chocolate Hazlenut Torte
with toffee crème anglaise
$6
April 20, 2009 - 12:05 PM
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My husband and I have had the Serious Cider from Foggy Ridge, and we loved it. For Christmas, we sent my in-laws in California a Virginia food package, and included the Foggy Ridge’s First Fruit along with some other Virginia wines and foods. My FIL reported that he really enjoyed the cider and that guests at their New Year’s party were rather inquisitive about it.
If Tony Pope emails the lunch menu, would you mind posting that as well?
Sure thing!
Thanks very much Lindsey for letting people know that they can find Foggy Ridge ciders at Wine Gourmet here in Roanoke.
We carry all four of the ciders that Foggy Ridge produces, the superb and very dry “Serious Cider”, the beautifully balanced “First Fruit”, the delicate and semi-sweet “Sweet Stayman”, and finally, their rich and extravagant port-style still cider, “Pippin Gold”.
If folks haven’t tasted these, they should know that Foggy Ridge ciders are hand-crafted beverages of very high quality. These are not industrial, alcoholic soda pops as so many ciders on the market seem to be.
Tony Pope’s menu was never the problem. It always reads fabulous.
And I’m going to give an additional plug to Wine Gourmet, located just before or just after Ukrops on Franklin (depending on your direction). We purchased our cider from Wine Gourmet and the staff was very helpful. We have been to the store several times, both on Franklin and when they were located in Daleville at the Kroger shopping center. They have a great selection, and when we explained that we wanted to send the California family a taste of Virginia, the staff member helped us choose some labels we hadn’t heard of and gave a great description of each wine. Our family enjoyed all of the selections (we sent 4 bottles).
They also have a great beer selection, too, and offer tastings quite regularly.