It’s here! It’s here!

After lunch at Wasabi today (more on that later), we wandered down the street to see if Chocolatepaper‘s second location had indeed opened today, and lo and behold, it had! Now those of us who live across town from Southwest County or work downtown have easy access to one of the coolest shops in Roanoke.

As I have mentioned before, Chocolatepaper is owned by some of the same folks who own Mongrel, a fun, kitschy gift and card shop in Careytown in Richmond. The downtown Roanoke version features a wide range of cards and three display cases filled with beautiful chocolates, which range from 33 cents up to about $3 apiece.

They also have a lot of Roanoke and Virginia-centric gifts, like solid chocolate Mill Mountain stars and Virginia state-shaped cookie cutters. It would be a great place to make a basket for someone who is new to the ‘noke.

Image source: Chocolatepaperroanoke.com

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According to recent news reports, Kabuki in Roanoke, which is undergoing extensive remodeling, will have a good-sized sushi bar when it reopens. It’s also supposed to have a big koi pond, but that’s beside the point. Although interesting…

At any rate, it’s got me thinking about the state of sushi in Southwest Virginia.

Once upon a time, the only two places to find sushi in Roanoke were Sake House at Lakeside Plaza in Salem and Tokyo on Franklin Road or the city market building. For a while, I had a love affair with Sake House and it’s little carpeted tea rooms. Not so much a fan of Tokyo, however. I think it was the atmosphere more than anything else.

Then, along came Metro! with its Asian-fusion thing and a whole menu of pretty good sushi. A bit more expensive, perhaps, than the competitors, but certainly not short on imagination. I’m thinking of the Angry Tuna roll here, and it’s not making me angry at all. It’s making me hungry.

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Bittersweet news from the So Salem blog on Roanoke.com: Michele’s On Main, which operated for 5 years out of the old post office on Main Street in Salem, has closed its doors.

Now, the sweet part: Chef Michael Wright and his wife are opening a Spanish-themed restaurant called Cafe Madrid in the same location!

Michele Carder, the former owner of Michele’s on Main and her own catering biz, has gotten out of both businesses altogether so she can spend more time with her children. For more info on the closing of this restaurant and the new Cafe Madrid, check out the So Salem blog.

In other restaurant news, Orange Dog has reopened on Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke after a brief closure. They’ve got a new menu that looks decidedly more interesting than the old one. Not that there’s anything wrong with a chili and cheese dog, but it’s nice to have more variety and somewhat healthier options on the menu, as well.

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Happy Monday, folks! I hope everyone had a tasty weekend.

My guess: it involved tomatoes in one way or another. But enough about tomatoes, let’s talk about restaurants.

I’ve been a bit slack on the ins-and-outs of the restaurant scene in Roanoke lately, in part because it hasn’t been a very active front. The economy has affected every business owner in some way, and restaurants are no exception. It seems, at least anecdotally, as if we’ve had less new openings than we typically do in the course of several months.

But it’s not all dry as a bone out here. Jenny Boone has reported some changes recently on her Storefront blog. I’m stealing some of that and adding a bit of my own:

– New York Pizza is not expanding anytime soon, despite a sign advertising that they are. Jenny said that sign has been up for “several years,” but I’m pretty sure it’s been there for going on 10 years. I could be wrong, but I know it’s been a long time since we were first promised a larger venue to enjoy that delicious Italian food. New Yorker cheese steak = pure heaven.

I hope they get it together enough to either take down the sign or move forward with the expansion.

– No Bonefish Grill will go up at Keagy Village.

– Bojangles is either almost open on Peter’s Creek Road or it’s open. My husband is tickled pink about this. He’s been praying for a Bojangles to open somewhere near our house for years. Bojangles, as we have previously discussed, has some of the best (if not THE best) breakfast biscuits in the fast food world.

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I love Fourth of July weekend, but if I don’t see another hot dog or hamburger for a month, I’ll be a happy camper. Ditto that on pasta salad, potato salad and deviled eggs.

Well, I guess I could always force down a couple of deviled eggs.

If you’re like me and are ready to move on to more exotic flavors, perhaps this news is for you: Doreen Sidor, a personal chef who formerly taught cooking classes at Twist & Turns in downtown Roanoke, has opened up her own restaurant at 4210 Brambleton Avenue called Doreen’s Gourmet (in the former High Point Coffee building).

Not only does Doreen plan to sell gourmet meals to go, sandwiches, salads, coffee and tea, smoothies and more, she also wants to continue having cooking classes from time to time in her new kitchen. Keep an eye on our Foodie Calendar in each Thursday’s Inside Out for details about those classes.

Doreen is having an Grand Opening celebration at her new restaurant tomorrow and Wednesday night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event will feature free wine tastings from Valhalla Vineyards, free gourmet food samples and live music!

I’m betting there will be no hot dogs on the menu…

And now, for your occasional round-up of random, food related news:

* Update: The online local food guide has been updated with about a dozen new farms! If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do. You can search by the type of local food that interests you, such as eggs or fruit or pork, as well as your location. You could even search by both!
I will continue to update the guide as new farmers contact me with information.

* White Lily, the queen mother of all light, fluffy Southern biscuits, has been produced in Knoxville, Tenn. since 1883. But the new owner, the J.M. Smucker Company, has seen fit to move production of this Southern specialty to two Midwest plants. It’s a change that has some biscuit lovers recoiling in shock. As blog reader Deb, who sent me this tip, put it: “Oh, the horror!”
To read more about this, check out this piece in The New York Times.

* Chocolatepaper, Southwest County’s trendiest sweet shop, is opening a second location in downtown Roanoke. Matt Burkett, who owns the card shop/chocolate shop with his uncle, Mark Burkett and Stan McCulloch, says they hope to open the new store by September 1.
Mark Burkett and Stan McCulloch also own Mongrel, one of the coolest little gift shops I’ve seen anywhere. Mongrel is located in Carytown in Richmond.
Matt said they hope the downtown foot traffic and tourism will drive business at the new store. You can bet that as soon as the new location opens, I’ll be stopping in to satisfy my post-lunch sweet tooth.
As an added bonus, there will now be a spot downtown for cool greeting cards, as well. I often find myself needing to pick up a card on my lunch break, so Chocolatepaper will make life a little easier.

* Finally, Thai Orchid, which was formerly housed at the Jefferson Motor Lodge, has re-opened in downtown Roanoke. The new location is in the former Swagat Indian restaurant spot on First Street near Florabella.
Since I’m fighting off a summer cold, I plan to head over there for lunch today and order the most hellishly spicy dish that I can tolerate. Die, germs, die! Update: After having walked down there to have lunch, I realized it isn’t open just yet. It opens July 1.

Last week, while driving through Mt. Pleasant, S.C. on a Tuesday evening, my husband and I happened upon a big fiesta in the middle of a school baseball field.

At least, it looked like a fiesta. There were tents set up, live bluegrass music was playing and we could smell barbecue. But then we saw the sign “Mt. Pleasant Farmer’s Market” and decided to check it out.

Obviously, it was a temporary farmer’s market. But we were excited by the mix of fresh vegetables and seafood, canned goods, honey, homemade tea bags, prepared barbecue dinners, baked goods and music all in one spot.

There were even people cooking huge, gourmet crepes to order at one booth (see pic)!

It got me thinking about farmer’s markets and what makes a good one. It’s an important question now as Roanoke leaders ponder the very best use of our market space. Should it be all food? Should prepared food be available? What about the crafts? Do they have a place there?

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Check out the birthday card my boss made by hand and had all the co-workers sign. Isn’t it a hoot? Since my head has been superimposed over Gordon Ramsay’s head, I have very large arms and, as Seinfeld would say, “man hands.”
I love it.

If you’re looking for a place to eat dinner tonight, consider heading out to Three Lil’ Pigs in Daleville. They’re celebrating their fifth anniversary by offering free food to every fifth table. Here’s a little more info. Test your luck!

Also this weekend: Festival in the Park in Elmwood Park in Roanoke. Head out there for a variety of food and other activities. And if you’re from out of town, be sure to swing by the farmer’s market in downtown Roanoke and check out all the local products.

Finally, please don’t forget to chime in on the hamburger discussion we started yesterday. In case you missed it, the Texas Tavern has been named in a new book, “Hamburger America” by George Motz.

Do you agree with the TT’s inclusion? If not, where would you go to find the best hamburger in Southwest Virginia?

I’m taking Monday off. Thanks to all the soldiers and their families who have sacrificed for us. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

The Washington Post recently did an interesting story about the burgeoning food scene in Charlottesville.

If you haven’t had a chance to read it, click here.

After seeing the article, I can’t wait to check out Mas, a Spanish restaurant that supposedly serves up great tapas.

Anyone else have a favorite restaurant in Charlottesville? Or any thoughts on what makes the dining scene better than Roanoke’s, if anything?

While I’m sharing random tidbits, I’ll share a random recipe. I found this recipe for Mango Chicken Curry on Simply Recipes. Yellow curry…golden raisins…mangoes…heavy cream…what more could you want?

Since Swagat, one of downtown Roanoke’s Indian restaurants, has apparently closed down, maybe it’s time to perfect some Indian food at home. Enjoy!

Before I go, I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be in Florida this weekend and the first part of next week visiting my grandmother for Mother’s Day. When I get back, we can dish about grouper sandwiches and conch fritters and key lime pie.

Until then, please enjoy the guest blog entries on Monday and Tuesday by my colleague Nona Nelson, who can typically be found over at Happy Wag, the Roanoke Times pet blog.

Thanks, Nona!

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New York Times food writer Mark Bittman has debunked a few kitchen myths on his blog, Bitten.
One of them? That you shouldn’t rinse mushrooms because they’ll soak up the water. Turns out that’s just not true.
Check out the other myths debunked here.
Although the one about baked potatoes isn’t really a myth, I certainly agree that the only perfect baked potato comes out of an oven, not a microwave!
News of the weird: According to the Serious Eats blog, the founder of Wisconsin cheese company Roth Käse has bought a huge, underground cave north of Nashville that he plans to use for aging cheese.

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Well, today would have been a great day to share some of those cornbread recipes from “The Cornbread Gospels,” except that book is sitting on my desk in downtown Roanoke and I’m sitting in front of my home computer wearing fuzzy kitty cat slippers.
Never fear, though! I have plenty of writing to do today from home. It sure is nice, however, to sneak a peek outside and watch the birds fight over my feeder.
Moving on to two very important topics: football and food! Of course, more than any other time of year, the two topics are closely related right now as we approach the Superbowl.
A co-worker yesterday drew my attention to a fascinating feature over at Epicurious called “Taste of the NFL.”
The actual event takes place in Phoenix, Arizona on Feb. 2, the day before the big game. At that time, 24 pro football players, both past and present, will serve up their favorite recipe. Proceeds for the event go to America’s Second Harvest food bank.
There is a benefit to all of us, too, though — 24 recipes straight from the mouths of famous football greats! And even if you don’t like football, I know we ALL love food. Celebrity recipes always fascinate me. If you want to see them for yourself, from Atlanta Falcons star Tommy Nobis’ “Forgotten Cookies” to Cowboys player Chad Hennings’ “Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas,” hit the Epicurious site here.
And now, in the interest of warm, belly-filling food on a cold snow day, I give you this easy, wonderful Paula Deen recipe for goulash. Enjoy!

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One of my eagle-eyed readers has reported that tomorrow is Customer Appreciation Day at Blues BBQ in downtown Roanoke.
I couldn’t get owner Patrick Maggi on the phone to verify, but I did speak with someone else at the restaurant who confirmed the special event.
Tomorrow only, you can get your choice of a pulled chicken or pulled pork BBQ sandwich, fries and a drink for $6. If you want to substitute one of their other tasty sides, it’s a buck extra. Having had their fries before, I’d suggest sticking with the taters.
I’ve also tried their pulled pork BBQ, Carolina style, and thought it was tops.
There’s no way to know when Maggi will decide to do this again, so if you haven’t tried Blues BBQ yet, now’s your chance to get a great deal!

On this New Year’s Eve, I want to raise a glass to Billy’s Ritz, which is closing after tonight.

Billy’s has occupied an elegant, solid corner of downtown Roanoke for about 20 years. During that time, I surprised my mother on her birthday at Billy’s, had many lively discussions about journalism and celebrated the marriage of two wonderful friends, all over some very fine food.

Good luck to the new owner of this beautiful space. And Happy New Year to all!

As you can see from this picture I snapped this afternoon, Blues BBQ beside 202 in downtown Roanoke has opened for business. Monday was their first day of serving up pulled pork BBQ, brisket, grit cakes, succotash and other tasty fare.

Owner Patrick Maggi (pictured below) tells me they had 50 customers at lunchtime on Monday, which completely blew the fuse on their tiny kitchen. Since then, he has scaled back the menu in an effort to get food out faster, saying he has plenty of time to expand his offerings later.

A buddy of mine (from Tennessee, so he ought to know some decent Q), ate lunch there today and said the Carolina style pulled pork sandwich was the best he’s had in these parts.

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Looks like the salad joint I talked about with much excitement in a previous blog entry has shut down. Over the past week or so, the Adobe Salad Works in the Roanoke City Market building has closed.
Not only have they closed, they’ve removed just about everything, including– or so it appears from the upstairs balcony– the countertops.
So much for my build-your-own-salad extravaganzas. And to think it was just May when I was rejoicing over the garbanzo beans and artichoke hearts.
I hate to see another restaurant fail in the market building. But the restaurant business in Roanoke has seen many failures before and will see many more, I’m sure. There are also simple retirements from the biz (in the case of Green Dolphin Grille) or the decision to move on before a business completely tanks.
Next week, I’ll write about a new place in downtown Roanoke that’s promising healthy dining options.
Meanwhile, do you know of any other restaurants that appear to have bitten the dust? You guys can be my eyes and ears.