Photo by Lindsey Nair.

The Taubman Museum of Art in downtown Roanoke announced today that Blue Ridge Catering, a 10-year-old Roanoke company, is taking over management of the museum restaurant, Norah’s Cafe.

The cafe, which is currently closed for cleaning in preparation for the takeover, will hopefully reopen about July 9 — that’s if no unexpected delays occur.

The museum’s chief operating officer, Kathryn Garvin, said last week that the museum put out a request for proposals for the cafe management a few months ago. Blue Ridge Catering submitted a proposal, as did the management company at that time, Quest Management LLC. Blue Ridge’s proposal more closely fit the model that has been successful at other museum cafes, Garvin said, so Norah’s chef Jerome Bonds Jr. and Quest were let go.

Bonds said last week that he’d likely take some time off to rest before seeking other opportunities.

Mark Baldwin, a 35-year-old Roanoke native, is the owner of Blue Ridge Catering, which is headquartered at 522 Salem Avenue. Baldwin said he worked for a family friend who owned a BBQ catering business in that space while he was growing up. After Baldwin graduated from Appalachian State University with degrees in anthropology and sustainable development, the family friend passed away and Baldwin took over the catering business.

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Two of our best friends were married on Saturday in a beautiful ceremony at Santillane in Fincastle.

The wedding may have been perfect, but the couple was in a nightmarish situation the day before. Because of Thursday’s storm and subsequent power outages around the area, they had to scramble at the last minute to find a new location for their rehearsal dinner for 60 people on Friday night.

The rehearsal dinner was originally planned to occur at Montano’s. Unfortunately, for the second time in a year, Montano’s fared particularly badly in the aftermath of a storm. You may recall that the owner lost $12,000 to $14,000 after the derecho last year. They lost power again because of Thursday’s storm and had no way to accommodate our friends’ party.

On Friday morning, I got a call from my friend and helped him brainstorm ideas for where they could quickly move the dinner. I even suggested (half joking) that he take everybody to the Salem Red Sox game and buy them a hot dog. Fortunately, someone else was already working to find a better solution to the problem.

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501 Speakeasy is open for business. Photo by Lindsey Nair.

The little cafe at Fifth Street and Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke has opened, and I’ve got a sneak peek at the menu for you.

As previously reported, this restaurant is owned by Jerry Duncan and his business partner, Jerry Rush. Duncan said the word “speakeasy” is included in the name not as a reference to the prohibition-era illegal bars but as a play on words, because they want their cafe to be a place where people can relax and “speak easily” among themselves. Right now, it is open for breakfast and lunch.

They’re coming out of the gate with a pretty ambitious and good-looking menu that includes small plates/tapas, salads, sandwiches, breakfast (served until 10 a.m.) and a few selections for the kiddos. Adult menu prices range from $3.25 for a chicken taco on the small plates list to $7.50 for a roasted pork sandwich with chipotle slaw and vinegar BBQ sauce served with a choice of blue corn chips, slaw or a side salad.

Other small plate choices include roasted red pepper hummus, marinated olives with fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, an antipasto plate, a Cuban taco, and chili con carne with cornbread. Salads include a basic house salad, Greek, grilled chicken, and a burek salad (Turkish spinach and cheese pie over mixed greens with tomato, roasted red pepper and cucumber).

In addition to the pork sandwich, the restaurant offers a grilled chicken sandwich, a grilled veggie sandwich, a muffaletta and a grilled feta sandwich. Breakfast selections include egg and cheese croissant, French toast, a bagel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, onions and capers, fruit salad and oatmeal. Kids can get cheese bread, a grilled cheese, a chicken quesadilla or some chips and salsa ($3 to $4.50).

I can’t wait to start by trying the grilled veggie sandwich. I’m a sucker for a great grilled vegetable sandwich, and this one comes with roasted red pepper, onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, avocado, mayo and provolone. Yum!

If you go to 501 Speakeasy, let us know what you tried and what you thought.

501 Speakeasy
501 Campbell Ave. SW
540-400-6377

The Roanoke Times | File photo.

Today (Friday, June 14) will be the last day Norah’s Cafe at the Taubman Museum of Art in downtown Roanoke will operate under its current management company, Quest Management LLC. According to Kathryn Garvin, the museum’s chief operating officer, Norah’s will be closed for a couple of weeks for cleaning and will hopefully reopen in early July.

When it reopens, it will be under new management. The new company has not been publicly identified by the Taubman because the two entities are still in contract negotiations, Garvin said, but the change came about after a request for proposals was issued about the end of March.

Garvin said several local companies, including the current management company, sent in proposals for the future operations of Norah’s Cafe. They were all very different, she said. While Quest’s proposal focused largely on doing more with the cafe, such as expanding its hours of operations, the chosen company suggested a model that more closely resembled those of other successful museum cafes. That includes operating the cafe mainly during museum hours and focusing on attracting customers for catered events at the Taubman.

This is not the first time Norah’s Cafe has undergone a management transition since the museum opened in 2008. In December 2010, the original management company, Pennsylvania-based SMG Food and Beverage LLC, pulled out of its contract with the museum, launching a brief legal battle. The museum sued SMG in order to prevent them from leaving, but the two parties were able to reach a settlement. Under the terms of the settlement, SMG absolved the museum of the remainder of a $125,000 loan debt and allowed the museum to keep the restaurant equipment.

The current chef, Jerome Bonds Jr., has managed the restaurant since February 2011 under his own LLC, Quest Management. Bonds said he was notified about 15 or 20 days ago that his proposal was not accepted, which means he will now be unemployed and searching for a new job.

“They just said they wanted to take the food service in a different direction,” he said.

While the cafe is closed, the ventilation system will be cleaned and any necessary minor repairs will be done, Garvin said. She suspects that since the new management likes to source local ingredients, the cafe menu will probably change on a more regular basis. Otherwise, she said, they plan to keep simple, inexpensive offerings including sandwiches, soups, salads and the like. The new management company will also be in charge of catering Taubman events and will cater events outside the museum, as well.

The museum’s summer concert series, Thursday Night Live, will go on as planned while the cafe management is in transition. I’ll let you know as soon as I learn the identity of the new management company.

Fried dumplings and a steamed bun from Marco & Luca in Blacksburg. Photo by Michael Shroyer | Special to The Roanoke Times.

By Christi Wayne and Charlie Whitescarver
Special to The Roanoke Times
candceat@gmail.com

At University Mall in Blacksburg, in a space once occupied by a sandwich chain, a new cuisine is being served. Marco & Luca is an Asian restaurant that, because of its simplicity and affordability , makes for a pleasant stop for a quick lunch or dinner.

Owners Da Sun and Dragana Katalina-Sun came to Charlottesville in 1999; he is from China and she from Bosnia. After opening the first two Marco & Luca locations in Charlottesville, they recently opened the one in Blacksburg and are preparing to open another inside the Roanoke City Market Building.

The interior setup of the Blacksburg store is similar to that of the previous business, but with Asian embellishments hanging on the walls. The dining area is clean and more comfortable than most fast food establishments. Tables and chairs replace the booths, and the menu hangs over the counter.

Marco & Luca offers a mere six items on the menu: dumplings, spicy noodles, sesame noodles, steamed hot buns (pork or vegetarian) and hot and sour soup. It is the only restaurant we have reviewed where we ate everything on the menu, some twice. We enjoyed every item.

To read the rest of this review, please click here.

In last week’s column, I shared a list of local restaurants with outdoor seating for warmer months. I asked readers to let me know if I forgot any restaurants and several people contacted me with suggestions.

Those additions are listed at the end of today’s (June 12) column. Our wonderful online intern, Katherine Borgerding, created a map of all these places to make the list more user-friendly. If you click on the dots, it even includes the restaurant’s address and website address. Thanks, Katherine!

You can take a look at that map here:

Last week’s excellent editorial cartoon by Chris OBrion | The Roanoke Times.

The Krispy Kreme company has not yet decided whether a new location in the Roanoke Valley would manufacture hot doughnuts on site or be a retail-only store that sells doughnuts delivered from another facility, according to spokesman Brian Little.

“As we have yet to identify a suitable location for a new Krispy Kreme shop and it is very early in the process, no final decisions have been made regarding specifics about the new shop,” Little wrote in an email.

He said it is also unclear what will happen to the Melrose Avenue building that housed Roanoke’s Krispy Kreme heritage store since 1957. That store caught fire May 30, and the damage was so great that the company decided it would make more sense to pursue a new location than to reopen there.

A blog reader going by “Candy-cat” expressed love for the structure and fear about its future: “My concern is the fate of that wonderful brick building. It is an iconic 1950′s architecturally historical landmark that should be saved…in it’s ’50′s glory, almost every square foot original material. Please, someone with money, and respect for brick, mortar, chrome and neon, buy it and save it for Roanoke. There’s too much cheap crap and vinyl in modern construction.”

Although Little said Krispy Kreme is “very early in the process” of seeking a new location, a local commercial real estate agent has said Krispy Kreme has been looking for a new site “for years.” In retail business reporter Amanda Codispoti’s Sunday column about finding sites in Roanoke for major retailers, Matt Huff with Poe and Cronk Real Estate Group said finding the perfect spot for the doughnut makers has been difficult. Read Amanda’s story here.

I emailed Little about Huff’s comments but have not heard back.

To continue reading this blog entry, click “Read more.”

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Bryce and Dena Anderson dine at Fork in the Market with their dog, Zoey. Photo by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times.

Some of my most memorable restaurant experiences didn’t take place inside a restaurant at all.

Drinks on the greenery-draped patio at Macado’s in Salem; lunch under an umbrella along the marina in St. Martin; fish and chips at a picnic table in the Shetland Islands — these meals are accompanied by gentle breezes, warm beams of sunshine and other ambiance that only outdoor dining can allow.

It’s no wonder, then, that people love eating al fresco.

Five to 10 years ago, finding restaurants with outdoor tables in Roanoke was far more challenging than it is today. I did a round-up of the best spots in the city in 2006 and came up with a whopping 10. Sure, that wasn’t a comprehensive list at the time, but today it takes more effort to list places that don’t have outdoor seating.

There are no official statistics to explain the increase in options, but in this case I’m not sure it’s necessary. When the weather is pleasant, human beings enjoy being outdoors. There’s just something magical about open-air dining.

“I think it adds to the vibrancy and to the fun of dining,” said Lisa Soltis, an economic development specialist
for Roanoke.

Plus, she said, outdoor dining is “a huge revenue producer.”

To continue reading this column and to see my list of outdoor dining options, please click here.

I’m already getting emails from readers about places that didn’t make the list. I’m going to do a follow-up list very soon, so if you think of a place I forgot, don’t hesitate to let me know!

Straight from the horse’s mouth (in other words, a press release):

On June 16, The Palisades Restaurant is hosting their first Father’s Day Food and Music festival from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the old Eggleston School in Eggleston. Former White House Chef Walter Scheib is teaming up again with The Palisades Restaurant, following two stints as guest chef at the Celebrity Chef Tour events in 2010 and 2011. He will be serving a Father’s Day Feast of barbecued ribs with firecracker dipping sauce, fiesta jalapeno lemon barbecued chicken, beef and pork sliders, herb potato salad, veggie kabobs and much more.

Live music will be performed throughout the day by Liam Kelly, Sugar Run and the Giles Mountain String Band. For children, the festivities include Play-doh making, cookie decorating and face painting. In addition, Big Nazo, an international performance group of artists, musicians and puppeteers from Rhode Island will be entertaining the crowds with their hilarious larger-than-life sized characters and spectacles.

Food is available to purchase and proceeds from the sale of beer, wine and soft drinks benefit the Giles Animal Rescue Fund and the Eggleston Fire Department.

“We are bringing The Palisades Restaurant outside for a fun day for fathers and their families,” says Shaena Muldoon, owner of The Palisades Restaurant.  “I am so excited to have Chef Scheib back – eating his food will help every dad feel special.”

For more information about The Palisades Restaurant’s First Annual Father’s Day Bash, please contact Shaena Muldoon at (540) 250-3337 or email smuldoon@egglestonsprings.com.

The Roanoke Times | File photo.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts announced Monday that the store on Melrose Avenue in Roanoke will not reopen following a fire in the building’s attic Thursday evening.

In a news release, a spokesman said the company will seek a new Roanoke location for a Krispy Kreme store, but no location or opening date is known at this time. The Melrose Avenue store was more than 55 years old.

About 50 employees will be impacted by the closure, the release said, but some will be assigned to other stores. The closure will not interrupt delivery of doughnuts to grocery stores and convenience stores in the Roanoke Valley that currently sell the product.

Roanoke Fire-EMS responded to a fire call at the shop at 4141 Melrose Avenue NW about 7:45 p.m. on Thursday. Deputy Chief Ralph Tartaglia said smoke was coming from the eaves of the building when firefighters arrived. The blaze was under control within 15 minutes and nobody was injured, but the building sustained about $100,000 in damage.

Roanoke Fire-EMS spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury said the fire was caused by an electrical failure in the attic.

________

I just wrote about this store when I did a 75th anniversary story about Krispy Kreme in October 2012. I think my grandfather is probably rolling over in his grave right now.

Does this make you sad? If you have memories of this shop, please share them here on the blog.

Photo by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

By Kim Shrader
Special to The Roanoke Times
kim.roanoke@gmail.com

Mirko Pasta opened at Roanoke’s Towers Shopping Center in October, offering a casual, affordable menu of house-made sauces and fresh pasta. The interior of Mirko is pleasant, with clean lines and simple d ecor meant to provide the feeling of a modern Italian cafe.

On my first visit, my date and I were greeted at the door and shown to a seat near the kitchen. Our server asked if we’d been there before and, when we said we had not, offered to bring a tray of sample pastas so we could see our options firsthand. The tray displayed three categories of pasta — short, long, and filled (raviolis). The long pastas can be ordered as either egg or spinach, and there is one gluten-free option.

After the presentation, the server brought two small white, crusty rolls and a white bean dip topped with rosemary, along with a tall glass bottle of water for the table.

To begin our meal, we ordered the bruschetta classica ($5), slices of grilled bread topped with diced tomatoes, garlic, black olives and basil tossed in olive oil. To the side of the plate was a small salad of baby green tossed with balsamic dressing. We enjoyed the fresh tomatoes and basil but noticed that the grilled bread was a bit too oily .

To continue reading this review, please click here.

Have you been to Mirko Pasta? If so, what did YOU think?

Diners enjoy the courtyard at Billy’s in downtown Roanoke. The Roanoke Times | File photo.

When I first started covering food in 2007, we did a round-up of the best outdoor dining sites in our coverage area. We listed 10.

It was a short list in part because we wanted to focus on the cream of the crop. But at that time, it was also much harder to think of outdoor dining spots than it is today. When I look back, I am amazed by how many new outdoor dining options have popped up in the past six years.

Part of the boom can be attributed to the growth in downtown Roanoke. We now have outdoor dining at all of the Roanoke City Market Building restaurants, and places that have opened since 2007 — including Beamers, Billy’s and Fork in the City — were built or renovated with patios included.

But I think it has generally become a more popular experience to dine outside, so even established restaurants have caught on and added al fresco seating.

I’ve been working on a new list of outdoor dining places. So far, it’s ridiculously long. It ranges from the sprawling, huge deck of Mac ‘n’ Bob’s in Salem to the tiny handful of tables at places such as Local Roots and 202 Market.

I’d love to hear your input on this topic, including:

1. What’s your favorite place to dine outside (besides home)?
2. What do you think makes an outdoor dining location great?

Jersey Lily’s, Orange Avenue, Roanoke

Who has been around Roanoke long enough to remember Cheers, the bar that operated for a long time in the building across from Lewis-Gale Medical Center on U.S. 419? Later, Western Sizzlin’ shared space in the same building.

Well, after T-Bone Jack’s failed to succeed in that location, the owners have decided to open a second Jersey Lily’s there later this year. Jack Winston is a spokesman for Line Management, which owns the Salem property and the original Jersey Lily’s Roadhouse and Grill at 2843 Orange Avenue, which will stay open.

The Orange Avenue Jersey Lily’s has been open for 15 years, Winston said. The new location will be very much like the original, serving steaks and comfort food such as pot roast, shrimp, fresh flounder and organic chicken tenders. The new location will be bigger than the first at 8,300 square feet, and it will include a large bar.

At one point in time, Line Management used to own the entire Texas Steakhouse chain, which included 43 restaurants at its height. The company sold the restaurants and some have shut down, including the ones in Roanoke. Winston said there are about 19 left and Line Management still owns a lot of the property on which they sit.

Winston said they have a good bit of work to do on the Salem space, so the new restaurant will likely not open until after Labor Day. We’ll keep you posted.

The Roanoke Times | File photo.

For the second year in a row, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is working with restaurants to raise money for the country’s most visited national park — that’s right, the Blue Ridge Parkway attracts more visitors every year than Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon combined.

But it lacks funding, so it needs our help. The Blue Ridge Parkway brings in an estimated $2.3 billion in revenue to localities situated along its path, so it makes sense that some local businesses are giving back. The money raised through this fundraising effort, Plates for the Parkway, will be used for various projects such as the ones described here. Last year, Plates for the Parkway raised $8,000.

Here’s how this works: Participating restaurants agree to donate a certain percentage of their profits between June 10 and 13 to the foundation. Some restaurants plan special events to raise money for their donations. All you have to do is go out to eat at a participating restaurant during the designated time.

Here are the participating restaurants for 2013 and their donation amounts. The foundation is still looking for additional restaurants to support this cause, so if you are a restaurateur reading this and you’d like to help, click here.

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Cheddar corn chowder and a pimiento cheese sandwich on potato sourdough at Mockingbird Cafe. Photo by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times.

My companions for a recent visit felt the same. We took our time studying menu choices, local art and quaint floral tablecloths. Staff went out of the way to explain menu options, ingredients and flavors. A number of items, such as salads, sandwiches and certain baked goods, are available every day. Changing entrees, soups and baked goods are also offered on a daily basis.

To continue reading this review, please click here.

Correction: An earlier version of this blog entry said Freckles, where Jerry Rush previously worked, was on Luck Avenue. It was on Kirk. Our corrections policy.

The space on the corner of Campbell Avenue and Fifth Street in downtown Roanoke hasn’t had a tenant for a year or more, but it will soon be bustling with the smell of coffee and scratch-made food.

Jerry Duncan and his business partner, Jerry Rush, hope to open 501 Speakeasy in the storefront by June 15. Duncan said the word “speakeasy” is included in the name not as a reference to the prohibition-era illegal bars but as a play on words, because they want their cafe to be a place where people can relax and “speak easily” among themselves.

Both men have experience in the restaurant business — Duncan has worked as a cook in multiple local establishments, including Howard’s Soup Kitchen, Awful Arthur’s, the Happy Belly Deli at the co-op and Bread Craft. He has also worked with Across the Way Productions, which puts on FloydFest each year, and is an artist. Rush co-owned a coffee shop called Freckles on Luck Avenue before it closed. Both men are originally from Roanoke.

501 Speakeasy will serve espresso and other coffee drinks, herbal teas, handmade soda-fountain-style soft drinks, and lunch and dinner fare. After they’ve been open a while and they get their ABC license, Duncan said, they want to open for dinner and serve Virginia beer and wine.

Read more »

Billie Raper. Photo courtesy Hotel Roanoke.

Walking through the Roanoke City Farmers Market with Billie Raper on a recent Friday was like being spotted with a celebrity.

The manager of Blues BBQ came outside to chat him up, as did a chef at 202 Market. Farmer Mark Woods said hello, and a woman in a sport utility vehicle on Campbell Avenue slowed down to wave enthusiastically from the driver’s seat.

“Hey, Billie!” she called. “We’re going to miss you!”

Raper heard that sentiment a lot after news got around that he was leaving his job as executive chef at Hotel Roanoke. By the time you read this, Raper will already be in southwest Florida helping to open a posh $70 million retirement community called The Terraces at Bonita Springs.

But Raper, 42, truly left a mark on our community. Through 18 years and multiple roles at the hotel, he reassured countless brides, put touches of perfection on banquets and galas, mentored many a young cook and established ties with local farmers.

All of this was done with a calm demeanor unlike the stereotypical image of a screaming, red-faced chef.

“Kitchens can be absolute places of chaos, and he really had a way about him of keeping everybody focused on the task at hand, with emotions and everything in check,” said Hotel Roanoke general manager Gary Walton . “No matter how tense things got, Billie seemed to always be pretty steady.”

To continue reading this column, please click here. At that link, you’ll also find Billie’s recipes for easy chicken and dumplings, as well as macaroni and cheese.

Did any of you know Billie? Got any stories or thoughts you’d like to share?

The Roanoke Times | File photo.

Thanks to blog reader Debbie, who shared with me a link to a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about Roanoke. This is the most comprehensive travel piece about our fair city I’ve ever read. The writer, Gretchen McKay, apparently traveled here with her family to run the Blue Ridge Half Marathon in April.

While here, she squeezed in an amazing amount of experience. The article covers outdoor activities, historic places, museums, shopping, and our favorite topic – FOOD!

I’m going to share a restaurant-related excerpt from her article. I’d encourage everyone to read the entire piece and tell me what you thought of her assessment of our region.

“My husband and I? We hit Roanoke’s dining scene pretty hard, squeezing in more than a half-dozen meals over the weekend. We started on Friday morning with breakfast at Thelma’s Chicken & Waffles on Market Street, and by Saturday night we’d also sampled the peanut soup at the Roanoke Hotel, wood-fired pizza at Corned Beef & Co., fried-green-tomato BLT’s at Billy’s and incredible sushi at Formosa Lounge (served in glowing martini glasses). Helping to wash it all down were some top-notch mojitos at Habana Cafe, a Cuban restaurant on Market Square, and local craft brews at Blue 5. (All the running makes me hungry! At least that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.)

Roanoke also has gourmet bakeries, sandwich and ice cream shops and restaurants focused on sustainable cuisine. On Sunday, I had one of the best brunches of my life at Local Roots, a farm-to-table restaurant in charming Grandin Village, a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Two miles from downtown, it also has a restored 1930s theater, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and vintage shops.”

Alexander’s, a downtown Roanoke stalwart for 33 years, has been named one of OpenTable’s Top 100 Restaurants for Service in the United States for 2013. According to the restaurant reservation website, the award is based on more than five million user reviews of some 15,000 restaurants across the country.

Only four other Virginia restaurants made the list, and none are in our part of the state. The other Virginia restaurants named are The Ashby Inn in Paris, Bistro L’Hermitage in Woodbridge, Cafe Renaissance in Vienna, and L’Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls.

Alexander’s owner Bridget Meagher commented on the win in a press release:  “We are very pleased by this acknowledgment from OpenTable diners and to be included among the most legendary restaurants in the country. It’s wonderful to know that these diners who visited Roanoke from all over the U.S. thoroughly enjoyed their overall experience and gave us such high marks.”

Meagher praised general manager Boni Mills Webb and members of the senior service team, Bjorn Lindholm, Kelly Ontiveros Gearhart and Ryan Cook, assisted by Chris Blankenship. She pointed out that this award puts Alexander’s in some very fine company; also on the list were The French Laundry in California and Per Se in New York.

I don’t say often enough how lucky we are to have Alexander’s in our city. The fact that they even have a “senior service team” says a lot about their commitment to excellence. There’s a reason Alexander’s has waitstaff who have made the job a career — it’s because they are treated well, they have pride in the place they work and they have a beloved cast of regular customers.

Meagher and Webb are not the type of restaurateurs who seek attention. They don’t call me asking for stories (not that there’s anything wrong with that) or advertise specials to lure diners. In short, they don’t have to. They need only keep doing what they’re doing, which is staying fresh, changing what they need to change to stay relevant, and not touching the aspects of the business that don’t need to be disturbed.

Congratulations to Bridget, Boni and the staff at Alexander’s.

The beef rib soup at Rico Pizza in Roanoke. Photo by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times.

By Ivonne Wallace Fuentes
Special to The Roanoke Times

Rico Pizza on Williamson Road is a small, family-run restaurant with a large and varied menu of pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches. What many Roanokers do not know, however, is that Rico excels at preparing and serving authentic Colombian cuisine.

Ramiro “Rico” Guacheta opened Rico Pizza about 14 years ago, but he said he decided to add cuisine from his native country five years ago, after noticing that a lot of Latinos were moving to the area. Sharp-eyed guests can find Colombian folk art on the walls, but there are few other clues about the Latin food that sets Rico apart from other pizza and sub shops. These offerings range from blended fruit drinks to the almuerzo completo, or “complete dinner.”

During two recent visits, my family started by sampling the milk and fruit smoothies called licuados. These are simply not to be missed, and are a good value at $2.50 for a 12-oz. drink. The hardest part is choosing your poison — banana, melon, mora (blackberry), lulo (kiwi), maracuja (passionfruit), tamarindo (tamarind) or guanabana (soursop). The drinks are blended to order, so if you are concerned about sugar, ask for less. Banana is the most traditional and is a good place to start; for the more adventurous , I would recommend passionfruit or tamarind, both of which have a tartness perfectly complementing the sweet milk base.

To continue reading this review, please click here.

Did you know Rico Pizza had a Colombian menu? Until recently, I sure didn’t and I can’t wait to try it!

A dish of sushi at Cafe Asia’s original location in Bonsack. The Roanoke Times | File photo.

Bonsack’s hugely popular Asian restaurant, Cafe Asia, is getting a sister location in south Roanoke County late this summer. It will be located in the space that formerly housed Baja Bistro in the Shops at West Village.

Owner Feng Chen said he decided to open a second restaurant because so many of his customers at the Bonsack location drive all the way across town for the restaurant’s unique blend of different Asian cuisines.

The first restaurant has simply outgrown the crowds it draws, he said, and this will allow many of his regulars to enjoy the food without making the drive.

At this time, a lot of work is going on inside the new space to change the Baja Bistro look to a “very modern Asian restaurant” look, he said. The second location will offer food that is much like the original menu, including a sushi bar.

Chen said he hopes to be able to open the second Cafe Asia by August or September if the renovations go smoothly. We’ll keep you posted.

The salsa bar at Alejandro’s in Radford. Photo by Mike Shaw | The Roanoke Times.

Instead of being decorated like most Mexican restaurants, this restaurant is decorated like the hotel — it is clean, with bright walls and homey wood and brick touches. With two large sections for dining and a bar area, it can accommodate a lot of diners. During our visits, we were seated in a section furnished with a mix of tables and booths, and large windows facing the parking lot .

Although seating was a bit slow for a not-too-busy restaurant, the servers during both of our visits were pleasant and quick to bring a basket of warm tortilla chips to the table. Instead of delivering salsa to the tables, Alejandro’s features a self-serve salsa bar with a variety of salsas and a stack of small ramekins. Diners make their own choices, whether it be a mild salsa with a hint of cilantro, a fiery hot blend, or a cool and creamy dip . Our favorites were the mild red and the white , which is similar to a sweet ranch dressing. Best of all, you don’t have to feel guilty about double dipping in your own salsa.

To continue reading this review, please click here.

Have you been to this Alejandro’s location? How did you think it compared to the others?

The Sriracha grilled cheese is the newest flavor at Pop’s. Photo courtesy Pop’s Ice Cream & Soda Bar on Facebook.

Esquire magazine honored National Grilled Cheese Month in April by blogging about grilled cheeses from across the map on its Eat Like a Man blog. A former Roanoke Times online intern, Katrina Tulloch, freelanced one blog entry for Esquire about Roanoke’s finest location for grilled cheese sandwiches: Pop’s Ice Cream & Soda Bar in Grandin Village.

Specifically, Katrina wrote about the $6.50 Swiss Melt at Pop’s, which is made with Swiss cheese, artichoke hearts, horseradish and Dijon mustard. It is one of about a dozen different kinds of grilled cheese made at Pop’s.

Other grilled cheeses featured on the blog during the month were the pecorino and almond pressed sandwich from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, the ropa vieja from Sugarcane Raw Bar & Grill in Miami, the Caprese at Cheesie’s Pub & Grub in Chicago, and the grilled cheese at Bouchon Bakery in New York City.

To round out the month, Esquire put all of the sandwiches featured for the month up to vote by Esquire.com readers. The winner was recently announced, and Pop’s came in THIRD place behind only Cheesie’s of Chicago and Roxy’s Grilled Cheese Truck in Boston. According to the bar graph on Eat Like a Man, Pop’s pulled in about 17 percent of the vote.

I know part of that is because Katrina promoted the heck out of the contest on her social media channels, which likely drove a lot of Roanokers to go on Esquire.com and vote for Pop’s. Thanks for all the love for the Roanoke food scene, Katrina. And congratulations to Pop’s! Maybe this is the place for Diners, Drive-ins and Dives?

Anybody familiar with Pop’s is probably not surprised they can hold their own against grilled cheese makers across the country. If you have never been to Pop’s, get thee to the shop in a hurry to see why people love it so much. You can read more about Pop’s on their Facebook page here.

Photo by Lindsey Nair.

We drove up to Bath County on Friday night to visit with my father and stepmother. On our way home on Saturday, we passed Ikenberry Orchards on U.S. 220 in Daleville and saw the Original French Creperie truck set up.

I’ve seen the crepe truck there before when we whizzed by, but we were always in too much of a hurry to stop. I’ve heard from folks that the crepes from this truck are very good. Since it was lunchtime when we cruised by on Saturday and we were hungry, we stopped in to check it out.

This crepe truck is run by a couple, the Lemoines, who said they’ve been making crepes for 15 years. They have a nice setup with two crepe makers and a long list of filling options. Amazingly, all crepes are $5 including tax!

Howard went with a ham, cheese and asparagus crepe and I ordered a spinach and ricotta crepe. The crepes were generously sized and well-made, soft with lightly crispy edges. My only complaint was that the asparagus was canned – it was still good, but fresh would be soooo much better, especially this time of year when it is in season. They used quality ham and cheese, and the spinach and ricotta filling was well-blended and peppery.

Photo by Lindsey Nair.

As you can see from looking at the menu, the Original French Creperie sells a bunch of dessert crepes. The next time I drive by, I’m going to treat myself to a sweet crepe. I’d definitely recommend trying this place for breakfast or lunch one day. According to their Facebook page, they are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

They do not accept credit cards.

Have you tried the creperie? If so, what did you think of it?

Veggie gumbo at Firefly Fare in Roanoke. Photo by Joel Hawksley | The Roanoke Times.

By Kim Shrader
Special to The Roanoke Times
kim.roanoke@gmail.com

With the much-awaited days of spring finally upon us, the Roanoke City Market is bustling with shoppers and sellers eager to provide produce and plants for dinner tables and backyard gardens. On days like these, there’s nothing more fitting than a meal comprising the best our region has to offer, and that’s exactly the type of meal you’ll find at Firefly Fare.

Chef Chris Parkhurst opened Firefly Fare in the Roanoke City Market Building in 2011, welcoming the opportunity to bring his culinary experience and support for the farm-to-table movement together in a historic space.

To continue reading this review, please click here.

Have you been to Firefly Fare? If so, are you a fan?

Photo illustration by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times.

It wasn’t long ago that the word “app” meant something entirely different in the restaurant world.

“Let’s order some apps before our entrees,” one might say, or “Could you bring us some app plates, please?”

Now, millions of people turn to “apps,” or application software, on their smartphones to help inform their decisions about dining out.

According to the online industry magazine FastCasual.com, an April study of smartphone users found that 81 percent had searched for a restaurant on their smartphone in the past six months and 80 percent believe it is important to look at a restaurant menu before dining there.

In a far less scientific poll on my blog at roanoke.com, 60 percent of 40 responders said they have used restaurant apps on their phones.

Clearly, it would be prudent for restaurant owners to consider the effect of smartphone apps on their businesses.

One man, Bill Trifiro of Roanoke, is hoping he can capitalize on this trend and make a living selling customized smartphone apps to local restaurants. He is so excited about apps that he built one for his upcoming wedding.

“Every major chain has an app,” Trifiro said. “But there’s no reason smaller restaurants shouldn’t be able to afford to do this.”

To continue reading this column, please click here.

Photo by Mary Stafford | Special to The Roanoke Times.

Review by Mary Stafford
Special to The Roanoke Times
marypstafford@gmail.com

The small town of Pembroke in Giles County has long been known for its speed traps and waterfalls. For those looking to grab a bite to eat between hiking and racking up speeding tickets, Cascade Cafe provides satisfying meals at a reasonable price.

Cascade Cafe sits inside the Tangent Outfitters shop, a hybrid retail space that looks like part modern convenience store, part Cabela’s showroom, and part bistro. There is something for everyone at Tangent — fly rods, fuel, outdoor apparel, beer, chainsaw sharpening, kayak rentals or river guide service — one can find it all at this unique destination.

The shop’s busy location on the corner of U.S. 460 and Cascade Drive makes it a convenient stop for both locals and passers-by.

My recent visit to Cascade Cafe followed a Saturday hike to the Cascade Waterfalls with a group of friends. We headed from our hike to the cafe with tired legs and growling bellies.

To continue reading this review, please click here.

Have you been to The Cascade Cafe? If so, what did you think?

Cellphone apps are extremely popular, and that’s no different in the restaurant world.

Currently, there are apps that help you make reservations at restaurants, find restaurants in unfamiliar territory, seek out sources for special dietary needs, show user reviews of restaurants, find your way to specific restaurants or allow you to see other people’s food pictures. I’m probably just scratching the surface there.

Everybody has an opinion about the best restaurant apps out there. Chow.com thinks the top nine apps are Open Table, Vegout, Menu Pages, Around Me, Foodspotting, Urbanspoon, Yelp, Near+Now, and Citysearch. About.com adds Zagat to Go, Alfred, Tipulator, Wine Ratings Guide and Oysterpedia to the list. That last one is an app devoted entirely to the popular seafood item; it offers “listings for over 200 oyster varieties. Each listing includes detailed information including flavor, size, harvest location, and tasting notes,” according to About.

Mashable.com put its 35 favorite restaurant apps in a graphic chart that you can see here.

In addition to apps that help readers choose between the many dining options available in this world, some restaurants are having their own specific apps created. These allow customers to do things like place take-out orders or advance dine-in orders, make reservations, peruse the menu and map the location.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts on restaurant apps. Which ones do you use, and why do you like them so much?

An order of dumplings from Marco & Luca. Photo courtesy Marco & Luca Facebook page.

A Charlottesville-based dumpling shop that recently opened a location in Blacksburg is also expanding to downtown Roanoke, according to Jim Deyerle with Hall and Associates real estate in Roanoke.

Deyerle said the owners of Marco & Luca Dumpling Shop, Da Sun and his wife, Dragana Katalina-Sun, have signed a lease for one of the new kitchen spaces recently added to the market building. Their business will be located next to Hong Kong Chinese restaurant on the Market Street side of the building.

Marco & Luca has three locations in Charlottesville and opened a fourth at University Mall in Blacksburg earlier this year. The restaurant specializes in dumplings and noodle dishes. It features a very short, simple menu. Although the business does not have a website, its Facebook page lists the following menu items:

Dumplings $3
Spicy Noodles $3.50
Sesame Noodles $3.50
Hot Pork Bun $2
Hot Veggie Bun $2
Hot & Sour Soup $1.50

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Pinto beans, turnip greens, mashed potatoes and a biscuit at Veggies To Go in Salem. Photo by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times.

By Betsy Cook
Special to The Roanoke Times
bcook3627@gmail.com

If you’re always on the lookout for a quirky Mom-and-Pop place, you should check out Veggies To Go in Salem. Open since November 2011 and located in the old Salem Donut Shop, Veggies To Go still offers homemade doughnuts each morning, as well as an ever-changing menu of vegetarian specialties and classic Southern vegetables.

Daily specials and veggie choices are posted each morning on the restaurant’s Facebook page. While you will find chicken and fish on the menu, including the option of adding grilled chicken to any salad, this restaurant mostly caters to folks who love their vegetables and side dishes.

I recently had lunch with a friend at Veggies To Go. The parking lot was packed, and we were lucky to get the last couple of stools at the counter. The restaurant is bright and clean, and the formica counters and stools give it a diner vibe. There’s also a small dining room with a handful of tables.

When we walked in the door we were warmly greeted by owner Jeff Snyder and his staff. As soon as we sat down, our fellow diners struck up friendly conversation about how much they love the food and the people who run the business.

To continue reading this review, please click here.

Have you been to Veggies To Go?

A cheeseburger and fries at Jack Brown’s. Photo by Lindsey Nair.

Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint opened very quietly at 4 p.m. on Monday, but by 11:15 a.m. today, the word was out and the small restaurant on Market Street in downtown Roanoke was filling up rapidly.

Jack Brown’s is located in the space that formerly housed the beloved downtown diner Ernie’s. Those who loved Ernie’s will probably be happy to see that the basic footprint of the restaurant is the same, with the bar running down the right side of the long, narrow room and tables lining the left wall. Otherwise, a lot has changed.

Jack Brown’s sells 100 beers, including some local craft brews, and has a basic menu of hamburger ($4.99), cheeseburger ($5.49), grilled cheese, French fries, sweet potato fries and fried Oreos. Every day you can also choose from one of seven $6.99 gourmet burgers such as the Danny Laruso with cream cheese and jalapeno jelly, The Elvis with peanut butter, mayo, Applewood-smoked bacon and cheese, or the Jack on Piggy Back with a split griddled hot dog, pickled jalapenos and cheddar cheese.

Click “Read more” to keep reading and see a few more pictures.

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A calzone at Mamma’s Pizza in Salem. The Roanoke Times | File photo.

Salem’s favorite Italian restaurant is bringing its crave-worthy garlic knots and other Italian specialties to Roanoke. Dominic Marletta, owner of Mamma Maria’s in Salem since 2006, said he hopes to open the second location at Picadilly Square on Franklin Road in June.

The Salem location, at 2025 West Main Street, has been open since 1996. In 2011, Marletta opened a pizzeria at Lakeside Plaza called Mamma’s Pizza, so this will be the third restaurant he owns or co-owns.

The Roanoke restaurant will be located in the space that housed SoRo Chill & Grille, which closed at the end of 2012. Marletta said he also looked at the space that used to house The Library (that restaurant closed in September), but the other was more updated on the inside and more visible from the road. Now, the SoRo space is being “freshened up” inside, he said, with new paint and some new decor.

Antonio Zuccarelli, a friend of Marletta’s father, has moved to Roanoke from Boca Raton, Florida to manage the restaurant and cook. Marletta said Zuccarelli has 40 years of experience as a chef. Much like the Salem version, the Roanoke restaurant will serve Italian entrees and pizza, with the addition of steaks. Marletta also wants to start serving homemade gelato and might have a family-style service on Sundays.

He said he’s still considering what to call the Roanoke location and whether it will have a buffet. The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner every day except Monday, when it will be closed.

I’ll let you know more when it gets closer to the opening date.

Photo by Lindsey Nair.

Retail business reporter Amanda Codispoti has obtained some information about a new restaurant that will open soon on Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke.

The restaurant, Cedars Lebanese Restaurant, will occupy the space that most recently housed Binaba Shop. For more information, including a look at the menu, go to Amanda’s blog entry by clicking here.

I’m pretty excited about this because it bummed me out when Hummus House had to close last year. I really enjoy Lebanese food, so it’ll be interesting to see how theirs is.

Photo courtesy Mountain Lake.

I wrote earlier this week about preview hours for Mountain Lake’s new restaurant, Harvest, and its new casual bar/restaurant, Stony Creek Tavern.

Some readers were curious about the menu and price ranges. While these menus and prices have not been finalized, Mountain Lake did share with me some examples of dishes you might find on the menu at Harvest and what they might cost. This should give you a general idea of the type of cuisine and price range, but keep in mind that things may change.

Appetizers:

* Smoked Virginia ham, cauliflower and parsnip bisque, $5

* Mixed greens and berry salad with toasted almonds, cracked tortillas and poppy seed dressing , $6

* Roasted Portobello mushroom with lettuces, feta and balsamic, $7

* Cornmeal crusted oysters with creamy spinach and leeks and bacon,  $9

* Pan roasted clams and mussels with andouille sausage tomato broth, $9

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