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Check It Out:
What are your favorite local places for shopping, pampering or entertaining? Vote now in this year's Best Of Holiday Shopping readers' choice poll.
Verona Gourmet brings Italy to Dublin
Verona Gourmet Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria in Dublin occupies the building that for decades was known as the Ranch House. The Ranch House closed and for awhile it became a Mexican restaurant, but now the aroma of garlic and oregano greets you when you enter. Even though vestiges of it s Mexican past are visible, the spacious interior of booths and tables has the feel of a casual Italian pizzeria.
Lebanese flavors star at well-run Cedars
A few years ago, while living in Washington , I enjoyed frequenting a small Lebanese tavern close to my home. Friends and I would spend evenings drinking wine and sampling small plates filled with spiced meats, stuffed grape leaves and savory feta. After moving, I thought such visits would be reserved for weekend getaways, but I was pleased to discover a new Lebanese restaurant in downtown Roanoke . On a
FRONT BURNER: Changing course at Taubman's Norah’s Cafe
Last Thursday evening, jazzy notes from the Marc Baskind Duo floated across the railroad tracks behind Norah’s Cafe as the audience sipped wine from water-beaded glasses and nibbled on smoked trout cheesecake and gourmet flatbread. It wasn’t the kind of scene that typically comes to mind when one imagines a museum cafe, where prepackaged sandwiches and bottled drinks are more the norm, but the cafe at the Taubman Museum of
Review: Cafe Mekong dishes up the flavor
Wedged between eclectic Oasis Food Market and the all-American Famous Anthony’s restaurant in Blacksburg sits a New River Valley treasure, Cafe Mekong. Cafe Mekong’s name comes from the Mekong River, the waterway that separates Laos and Thailand. This geographical landmark inspires the cafe’s fare. The menu at Cafe Mekong has changed since it was last reviewed, so I decided to check it out. On a summer Friday afternoon, I met
GOOD LIBATIONS: Riesling not just for sweet wines
When I was young I assembled a Dynaco stereo power amplifier and pre-amp from a kit. My goal was to achieve the high quality of components such as Marantz without the high price tag. The assembly process required detailed soldering and wiring. An analogy could be made to the popular chardonnay grape. Lots of winemaker manipulation is required for interesting results. Its neutral flavors provide a blank canvas for a
FRONT BURNER: Small businesses, big impact on Floyd food scene
Jon Beegle starts a lot of work days tinkering with logs on his Floyd property and ends a lot of them loading an 84-inch smoker with Boston butts. The shiitake mushrooms he grows with his wife, Dana, have little in common with the barbecue they sell at Bootleg BBQ, but both jobs help to support the couple and their five children — and that’s pretty important to them. Like a
Review: Abrakababra is a small spot with big flavor
The old saying “good things come in small packages” certainly fits Abrakababra, a Greek and Mediterranean take-out restaurant that opened in Salem in November. Abrakababra is located at the intersection of Apperson Drive and Colorado Street, in the same red brick building that houses Hammerhead Hardware. The blue “GYROS” banner outside the door makes it easier to spot this tiny place, and leaves no doubt as to the star of
FRONT BURNER: Leftover makeovers: How to turn last night's remnants into tonight's delectable dish
School’s back in session for much of Southwest Virginia, which means kids everywhere are groaning about homework and parents are moaning at the thought of putting dinner on the table every night. My friends with children all describe the same conundrum: By the time they get home from work and the kids get home from extracurricular activities, how do you fit in dinner, homework and a reasonable bedtime? The key
Blackstone Grill proves elegant bistro for Hokie fans
Blackstone Grill, just past the New River Valley Mall in Christiansburg, describes itself as an elegant, relaxed, modern bistro. It’s also the winner of a number of The Burgs’ Best of the NRV 2013 awards. With this in mind, I scheduled some visits to try their fare. The interior makes a strong first impression. While not blatantly decked out with Hokie paraphernalia, Blackstone’s orange walls and maroon accents will please
FRONT BURNER: A guide to commonly mispronounced food terms
They show up at the grocery store, in recipes, at food festivals and on restaurant menus — those pesky food terms that are a mouthful to pronounce. Digging into a tasty dish of moussaka, charcuterie or vichyssoise is a lot more fun than trying to order them without butchering the pronunciation like that pig someone butchered to make the charcuterie. Some folks are perfectly content to say those words however
Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
The plump local peaches with their velveteen skin looked too good for LaRue Dickerson to pass up on a blistering July afternoon. After picking up his 2-year-old daughter, Lynessa, from the Total Action for Progress HeadStart preschool on Shenandoah Avenue in Roanoke, Dickerson, 30, stopped at a farm stand outside the school and bought his family some fruit to supplement the tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and peas he grows. “Peaches is
Review: Roanoke’s newest Fork sticks to the standards
Those who frequent dining establishments in and around Roanoke are probably familiar with the Fork restaurants — a string of three local eateries that dot the Roanoke landscape and feature items such as brick-oven pizzas, hot dogs, burgers and salads . The flagship location, Fork in the Alley, can be found in south Roanoke, while the second, Fork in the City, is located at Sixth Street and Marshall Avenue. In
Out & about: Get free samples at Roanoke City Market Building on Sunday
A little food, a little beer and a little bluegrass will combine to lure citizens to the Roanoke City Market Building this Sunday for a meet-and-greet with vendors. At “Meet the Market,” shoppers will have a chance to taste free samples provided by the food court’s nine vendors: Queso Southwestern Grill, Habana Cafe, Allsports Cafe, Euro Bakery, Firefly Fare, Fork in the Market, Bayou Snowballs, New York Subs and Hong
FRONT BURNER: Enter our Instagram food photo contest
If someone whipped out a camera at the dinner table 20 years ago, they’d probably attract some funny looks. Today, thanks to the proliferation of cellphones and our obsession with food and cooking, taking a picture before eating is almost as normal as draping a napkin across our laps. We plate and style our food at home as if we work for Bon Appetit. We snap a picture of every
Review: Grady’s BBQ a good catch near Claytor Lake
If you fish on the New River, you’ve probably heard of The Sportsman, a gas station, convenience store and campground located right on the river below Claytor Lake Dam near Radford. But maybe you don’t know that Grady’s BBQ, a restaurant located inside the store, is a pretty nifty stop for vittles that can be eaten in a natural setting. Neither of us is a fisherman, but we traveled to
GOOD LIBATIONS: Exploring Thomas Jefferson’s Italian connection
The study of how forged friendships have influenced the course of history can be fascinating. Consider the 40-year friendship of founding father Thomas Jefferson and Philip Mazzei. Mazzei was born in the Italian region of Tuscany (home of Chianti) in 1730. After school he practiced medicine in Turkey before moving to London in 1755 to become a wine merchant. He was introduced to Benjamin Franklin and Virginia businessman and politician
FRONT BURNER: Pearisburg native shows there’s more to s’mores
Roasted marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers combine for a flavor that instantly transports many of us to happy times spent perched beside a campfire with a sharpened stick in hand. For 38-year-old Pearisburg native Susan Whetzel , the taste of s’mores means so much more — it is the flavor of success. Whetzel’s cookbook, “The S’mores Cookbook,” was recently published by Adams Media , with a foreword by TV food
Review: Classics on the menu at Hometown Family Restaurant
Hometown Family Restaurant on Brambleton Avenue in Roanoke County has been serving generous portions of American favorites since they opened in September 2012. The restaurant, which is styled like a log cabin, is located in the former Pitt Boss BBQ location. My first trip to Hometown was for dinner on a Sunday evening. The interior has a casual, homey feel with a spacious dining room and a choice of booths
FRONT BURNER: Umami: The 5th flavor
Let’s pretend for a moment that we are contestants on “Jeopardy!” The category is “The human body” and the answer Alex reads is “The five distinct flavors detected by human taste buds.” This is easy, you might think, because we learned this in grade school. You can even picture the diagram of the human tongue labeled with the flavors picked up by each region of the organ. You frantically buzz
Review: Jim’s offers tasty, solid roadside fare
Longtime residents of the New River Valley may remember the “old” Cloyd’s Mountain Road, a twisted stretch of asphalt that made Virginia 100 seem like a near-certain death trap. In the late 1990s the mountain received a face-lift that changed the entire landscape and straightened out those tight turns. One landmark that survived the massive road project was Jim’s Drive-Inn . The drive-in is nestled at the base of Cloyd’s
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2. Roanoke resource officer's quick action saved young girl
3. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke
4. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football
5. Captive in Roanoke County describes harrowing time with angry friend
6. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death
7. Roanoke County electrical short quiets 5 Wheeler radio stations
8. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win
9. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech
10. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd
THE ROANOKE TIMES
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