Maya chef Christian Kelly champions locally grown food and spirits.
FILE PHOTO BY LINDSEY BARNES

In a effort to educate local folks about sustainable agriculture and local foods, and to serve up a tasty meal, Maya on West Main is hosting a special Local Food & Spirits Night on Monday, October 5 at 6pm. The event will feature special guest speakers and food and wine from Polyface Farms, Barboursville Vineyards, and The Food Hub. According to Maya’s owners and chef, this could be a regular monthly event.

“Although we have always supported local farms and use local foods on our menu, we’ve been inspired recently by the books of Michael Pollan and the movies Fresh and Food Inc.,” says owner Peter Castiglione. “Our goal is to bring local farmers, growers, and spirit producers together once a month to share their knowledge, ideas, and produce with the community.”

Contact Maya to make your reservations.

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Given the state of the economy, one of the most remarkable aspects of the 2008 Year in Food was how many brave folks decided to take the plunge and open a restaurant or some type of eatery. Still, the local restaurant world is bracing itself for 2009, which appears to be shaping up to be a rough one economically.

But as one local restaurateur pointed out this year, following the auctioning off of OXO on Water Street, which went for a mere $3,000 after the owners ran into some financial problems, starting a restaurant isn’t necessarily all about the Benjamins.

“Everybody thinks you get rich in the restaurant business, but you don’t,” said Hot Cake’s Keith Rosenfeld, who had hoped to score some catering equipment at the auction. “It’s often more a labor of love and a way to have a job that let’s you stay in Charlottesville.”

But Rosenfeld said it had become a tougher playing field.

“We used to have very few good restaurants,” he said. “… but now we have many, plus tons of chains. In my opinion, Charlottesville has been over-restauranted for some time, and I’m afraid we may see more of these auctions before the economy turns around.”

So far, there hasn’t been a rash of auctions, though Ponderosa’s equipment was auctioned off soon after Rosenfeld’s comments, but the economy hasn’t turned around yet either.

But enough of this gloomy talk! On to the Dish stories of the year… (more)

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Singer-songwriter Lauren Hoffman (right) hangs out with Lynchburg’s Starlight Café owners, Carri Sickmen and her partner, Julie Kotowski and their daughter, Ruby.
PHOTO BY COURTENEY STUART

It’s been over a year since we checked in with the Starlight Cafe down in Lynchburg, the funky coffee house, music venue, and eatery that Ché-ville transplants Caroline Rawls Sickmen and Julie Kotowski purchased from developer Oliver Kuttner, who appears to be trying to single-handedly revive the former home of Jerry Falwell, a beautiful small city over-looking a river that just hasn’t been able to find its groove.

Well, apparently things are going pretty good. Sickman says there are major renovations going on at its Fifth Street location–when we visited last year, there were alot of unoccupied spaces–and the entire 500 block where the cafe is located is open for business.

“We’ve been very busy and we are happy to have several old Charlottesville people living in downtown Lynchburg,” says Sickmen. ” I got an ABC license back in the spring and I carry all of the Blue Mountain Brewery Beer, and just got some excellent Sake in.”

Sickmen also reports that local coffee Roaster Doug Escalera, who created the 50 and 90 blends for the original Higher Grounds, moved his operation from Charlottesville to Lynchburg last year. “We’re very happy to have his excellent coffee roasts available to us, excellent freshness,” she says.

Hmm…Lynchburg…road trip, anyone?

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Our favorite tapas place is teaming up with C-Ville Weekly to put on a New Year’s Eve ” Sugar ” party (Hey, how come we weren’t invited?). Apparently, they’ll be introducing new “molecular gastronomy tapas” (do we need to know calculus to eat that?) and partying all night long with DISUNSHINE. Doors open at 9:30pm on December 31, and dress is chic, or formal, or Charlottesville Chic. Cover $10.

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Holiday Pet Food Drive: Voices for Animals is collecting donated cat and dog food for pet owners in need December 20 and 21 at Kroger’s on Emmet Street. Check their website for more information.

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