STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS | The Roanoke Times
There’s new black-and-white tile in the buffet area of the Regency Room, which could have a soft reopening Saturday.

Good morning!

Today’s Front Burner column is about the renovations going on at Hotel Roanoke’s 74-year-old Regency Room. Expect the same elegance with an update, plus a menu with new locally sourced offerings.

The column begins below.

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Hotel Roanoke is the grand old lady of the Star City, but it recently became clear that one of her most elegant features was in need of a face-lift.

Remodeling the 74-year-old Regency Room, however, required some difficult decisions by hotel management. They had to strike the perfect balance between modernizing its interior and menu while preserving the qualities that diners expect, including a tasteful, formal atmosphere and signature dishes.

Since the hotel reopened in 1995 after an ownership change and a long closure, the main dining room has had only minor upgrades. The menu was reworked in 2007, but changing times called for an overhaul that could showcase the hotel’s commitment to local food sourcing and contemporary preparations.

While the restaurant is widely known for its lavish buffets, the hotel’s executive chef, Billie Raper, wants diners to also be tempted by the menu offerings.

“We are really hoping that a la carte becomes more of a player,” he said.

If R.L. Lucas Construction of Roanoke continues to work at a rapid clip, the Regency Room will have a soft reopening on Saturday.

Read the rest of the column

Photo courtesy The River and Rail

The River and Rail, a new restaurant located inside the storied building that once housed Lipes Pharmacy in South Roanoke, will officially open on Thursday night (June 14) at 5 p.m.

The owners, two couples named Whit and Lauren Ellerman and Lee and Karri Atwood, have had the entire interior redone, right down to the beautiful hardwood floors. Everything was sourced as locally as possible, according to Whit Ellerman, including the furniture. You can see photographs of the finished interior on The River and Rail Facebook page.

Although they have not yet loaded photos onto the official website, you’ll find other information about the restaurant there, including a sample menu (meaning that it has likely completely changed since it was posted). Head Chef Aaron Deal is a rising star with a 4-diamond restaurant rating and a James Beard award nomination on his resume. He could also boast about his appearance on CBS’ “The Early Show” or accolades in such national publications as Gourmet, Southern Living and Travel + Leisure, but Deal is not that kind of guy.

In fact, when I asked him about that for this November 2011 article, he said, “I’m just a cook. Truthfully, the thing that makes me really excited about being a chef is doing it for other people and, I think, realizing that I can be creative and learn different things every day, every minute, by cooking.”

Here are a couple of highlights from the sample menu (likely to be different when you go, but this gives you an idea of the kind of food they’re doing):
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Why don’t people like beets? I pondered this question last night as I slowly chewed and savored my tiny, baby beets.

It made me think of how my mother used to serve us sliced, boiled beets for dinner and I would scarf them up with just a little salt to complement their naturally sweet flavor. What kind of little kid eats beets without complaint? Well, maybe I’m recalling a rosier version of the tale, but I’m pretty sure that kid was me.

Fast forward to earlier this month, when my story about local food producers was published in the newspaper. Splashed across the front of the Extra section was a picture of Richard Ursomarso up at Waterbear Mountain Farm holding a big clump of dirt-covered beets that he had just pulled from the earth.

Somewhere along the way, they were incorrectly identified as turnips in the caption. By the time the proofs came around, I was on vacation. Would I have recognized them as beets instead of turnips? I’d like to think so, but since it’s been a coon’s age since I ate a fresh beet, I decided that I had better reacquaint myself.

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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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It’s one of those days when I have a bunch of little food news items to pass along. So, without further ado, here goes:

1. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts are at it again; dreaming up yet another crazy doughnut flavor combination. This time it’s the Caribbean Kreme doughnut, which features “the intense flavors of freshly ripened tropical fruits.”

If that sounds good to you, keep reading: The new doughnut is filled with a blend of mango, pineapple and passion fruit and topped with white frosting and shortcake crunch. The KK company suggests that you pair the doughnut with their new Caribbean Kreme Chiller, a blend of pineapple, mango and orange flavors that can be ordered in the creamy version or a frozen fruit version. I’m guessing the latter is a bit healthier, and as soon as I hear back from the PR folks, I’ll let you know.

UPDATE: Boy, when I figured the creamy version would be more fattening than the fruity version, I never imagined just how big a difference there’d be. According to the Krispy Kreme spokeswoman, the fruity Chiller has 170 calories in the 12 oz. size and 280 calories in the 20 oz. size — and 0 grams of fat in both. By comparison, the 12 oz. creamy version has 620 calories and 28 grams of fat, while the 20 oz. has 960 calories and 40 grams of fat. So if you’re on a diet, choose the fruity one!

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The annual newsletter from Weathertop Farm in Check arrived in my mailbox about a week ago.
It held the usual promise that comes with spring: “Already our brooders are full of little chirping critters and the grass is greening up a bit,” wrote Sarah and Cedric Shannon.

The Shannons make a living raising and selling pastured chickens, pork, turkeys and rabbits. They also sell chicken eggs and will be selling duck eggs this summer. I met with the Shannons for a local food project and they sold me the most delicious Thanksgiving turkey I’ve ever had.

A little ways down in the newsletter, after the Shannons described their new products and their children’s involvement in the farm (Sami is raising ducks for eggs and Natasha is starting her own little flock of Bourbon Red turkeys), they moved on to prices.

Here’s the part that made my heart sink:

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I spent much of the day on a farm in Pittsylvania County, so I’m just now checking back on the blog.
Apparently, the grilled cheese topic is still going strong. I even got a note from a friend and Kroger employee who jokingly requested that I give them a heads up next time I plan to write about grilled cheese so they can stock bread and cheese. I’m pretty sure he was joking, anyway.
In addition, my mother found herself at the West Virginia Welcome Center yesterday afternoon, where one employee said, “Aren’t you Lindsey Nair’s mother?” and proceeded to chat with her about grilled cheese sandwiches.
Since I’m short on time today, I think I’ll just introduce our next Cookbook Giveaway.
This week, the book isn’t exactly a cookbook but it sure is packed with good food talk. It’s called “Roadfood” by Jane & Michael Stern, and it has recently been updated with 200 new listings.
The Sterns call their book “The coast-to-coast guide to 700 of the best barbecue joints, lobster shacks, ice cream parlors, highway diners and much, much more.”
The Sterns did make their way through Virginia, but I won’t tell you if they highlighted any local food joints. That would just spoil the fun of reading the book!
To win this book, however, I’d love for you to tell me the best roadside joint you ever stumbled upon, and why. The deadline is 5 p.m. next Wednesday.

Okay, I realize it’s not exactly the same, but if Saveur can find 100 extraordinary food finds around the world every year, we should be able to list at least 25 of our favorite dishes, restaurants, markets, chefs and more here in Southwest Virginia.
I’ll go first. Here are five picks. Give me yours!

1. Carlos Brazilian’s Artichoke-Brie Soup.
2. El Palenque desserts (which are still available, in case you didn’t know.)
3. Southwest Virginia Farmer’s Markets. The fingerling potatoes! The heirloom tomatoes and beans! The tiny cabbages! The fresh peaches! The possibilities are endless.
4. Floyd County. Face it, they rate high in fine local food producers.
5. Roanoke- and Blacksburg- area ethnic markets. Must explore more.