sweet talk: syl’s delights.

Posted on September 17, 2019 by junebug

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When my kids were little, I would try to give them a thematic birthday party based on something they were really into at the time. Then I’d *attempt* to bake a cake that included that theme, or make a banner, or at least have some kind of activity. Only, I could never execute these ideas the way they looked in my brain at the time. One year, Cal wanted his birthday to be “spiders and origami.” The octopus/weird starfish cake I ended up baking was quite the disappointment. Another year he wanted cupcakes with vanilla frosting and big red dot on the top of each one. In the heat of the day, those red dots melted and the cupcakes looked like a group of large, disgusting bloodshot eyeballs. Or the year Bree wanted a “pirate party.” One of the kids looked at the cake and asked, “Why is Charlie Brown wearing an eye patch?”

I wish I’d had the help of Syl’s Delights back then. From now on, when your kid asks you for something unique, unusual, or tricky, enlist Syl’s help. I mean, when her daughter wanted a llama-and-cactus-themed party, Syl didn’t bat an eye. JUST LOOK AT HOW CUTE THESE ARE!

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You might notice that Syl’s treats look more sophisticated than what you’d usually get for a birthday party. They are. They are cleverly designed, baked, and decorated, and you won’t find anything quite like them anywhere else. They *almost* look too beautiful to eat, but don’t be intimidated. You deserve a beautiful cupcake or a perfect cake pop just as much as anyone.

Syl’s been selling her creations at the Harrisonburg Farmers’ Market since December 2017. Her business started as a result of a birthday party she was planning for one of her six children. Guests loved her treats so much that she was asked to cater a wedding. Feeling like she might be onto something, she secured a spot at the Farmers’ Market. Customers of all ages are excited to see her on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month.

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On the day we visited, she had a lot to choose from. The Ferrero Rocher cupcakes with Nutella buttercream icing featured a hidden Ferrero Rocher candy baked inside! The Oreo Cookies & Cream cupcake contained a whole Oreo cookie as its base. She also had two adorable cake pops, an assortment of cakesicles (these are shaped like a popsicle), chocolate covered pretzels, coconut truffles, and a Caramel Macchiato cupcake.

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In addition to her unique and whimsical sweet treats, she sells savory Surinamese delicacies, too, such as pastei (puff pastry with peas and carrots) goegerie (chickpeas in a spiced tomato paste), and a made-to-order gyro. Wash it down with two traditional drinks: orgeade (a sweet almond drink) or Dawet syrup drink, which contains coconut milk.

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If you cannot get to the Farmers’ Market, you can visit Syl’s Etsy shop, where you’ll see many more of her adorable creations, including Wonder Woman pretzel sticks, Easter bunny/chick cake pops, and even Aladdin rice crispy treats! One way or another, visit her soon!

Copyright © 2012-19 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Words by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

full blast: rocktown bites.

Posted on April 8, 2019 by junebug

As creatures of habit, sometimes we tend to patronize the same restaurants and order the same items. I know I do: when I go to FoodBarFood, for example, I almost ALWAYS get that Thai curry noodle bowl. At Cuban Burger, it’s the Buenos Dias. I’ve ordered the Japanese Breakfast so many times at Beyond that they usually assume that’s what I’m there for.

Why is this? I guess for one, all those items are perfect and satisfy my craving so well there’s no need to explore other menu options. Another reason is value. On the rare occasion I feel like I can spend money eating out without regret, I don’t want to try something I’m not sure about. At the same time, I really do like variety. And I’m a grazer. I like to eat a little of this, a little of that.

So the Rocktown Bites food tour, recently commandeered and resurrected by Hotel Madison, ticks all of those boxes. For a moderate fee ($49), I can sample (and the samples are larger than you’re imagining right now, I guarantee it) several dishes and drinks from multiple restaurants, get a full belly, try something new, get in a nice walk and learn some local history, be surrounded by good company, and feel good about how I’ve spent my money. As one Rocktown Bites guest said, it’s a way you can get that Taste of Downtown experience in smaller portions. Love that idea!

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On the day of our tour, we were probably all wondering whether we’d see rain, sun, snow, sleet, hail, hurricane-force winds, fireballs falling from the sky, lava, or even a rip in the space/time continuum because VIRGINIA’S WEATHER WILL NOT CALM DOWN… but at the stroke of 1:30 when the tour started, the sun was out and we were somehow all appropriately dressed and all was fine.

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Rocktown Bites food tours start at the Hardesty Higgins House, which houses the Harrisonburg Visitors Center. Brandy, I, and eight or nine other “food tourists” met tour guide Eddie Bumbaugh there, where he explained that the HH House was built in the 1850s, started by Higgins and finished by Hardesty, who was Harrisonburg’s first mayor. In addition to the educational Valley Turnpike Museum, Virginia Craftsmen Showroom, and Civil War Orientation Center, the HH House also offers a great gift shop and the Heritage Bakery and Cafe. Our fellow food tour guests hailed from as far away as Texas (!) and ranged in age from infant to grandparent. I’d like to pause here and tell whoever is the mom with kids on our tour that they were SO well behaved the whole three hours. The tour itself is not a long walking distance, and there is ample time at each stop, so patrons of all ages can feel comfortable and accommodated. Truly family friendly.

Earlier I referred to Eddie Bumbaugh as the tour guide, which he was. But he is a next-level tour guide. Eddie served as the Executive Director of the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance for ten years, ushering in very important changes to downtown that we all enjoy today, and now he serves as the Public Relations Director for Hotel Madison. As such, Eddie knows every inch of downtown Harrisonburg and seems to know the inside scoop frequently, too. You’ll learn a great deal about our Friendly City along the way, and Eddie can answer most any question you might have. Eddie spoke a little about each place we’d stop on our International Foods tour, and then we headed out.

First stop: Taj of India. This restaurant is located near Jess’ Downtown and I can attest from previous experience that their lunch buffet can’t be beat. If you want to expand your Indian food horizons, please choose a day this week and get in there for lunch. They purposely go light on the spice on the buffet so you can customize it to your taste. At Taj, we were presented with naan straight from their clay oven, succulent chicken skewers, momo (steamed chicken dumplings), and vegetable fritters. We sat at a large table and passed gorgeous platters of food to one another while the chef spoke to us about each dish.

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[It’s important to note that all the restaurants we visited on this day can and do accommodate vegetarians and people who don’t eat gluten. When you sign up for the food tour, just mention any dietary restrictions you have and you’ll be taken of, no worries at all.]

Next, Brandy and I were thrilled to be back in Beyond again, one of our favorite places and the site of so many fun experiences we’ve had together, from birthdays to consolation sessions to blogiversaries and costume parties, First Friday openings, end-of-school celebrations, and absolute feasts after spending a day on the river. This place has fed our souls and bellies well, and today was no exception. Praserth served us pineapple cheese wontons with pineapple salsa, their famous craving-inducing meatballs, a fresh and light vegetable roll, and an exclusive roll (just for the tour!) made with grilled salmon, cucumber, onion, and Sriracha mayo. Beyond turns 10 this September (woot!) and in case you didn’t know, the same folks own and operate Taste of Thai (it’s on 42 S), which has been open almost twenty years. Harrisonburg just wouldn’t be Harrisonburg without these two restaurants and the precious people who run them.

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Destination #3: Cuban Burger. Cuban Burger has one of those menus where there’s not a single item you don’t want. Every single plate, burger, and sandwich is exquisitely prepared, fresh, juicy, flavorful, and just decadent. Cuban Burger had humble beginnings, though. At first they were just a tiny food operation housed in a small wine shop/tasting room. Ultimately the wine shop vacated and Steve Pizarro (owner) snatched it up. Steve met his wife Shami, who co-owns the restaurant, years ago when she was leading Rocktown Bites food tours. The two of them greeted our sprightly group with several delicious samples: the Cuban Chop Chop salad, the original burger served on a gluten-free bun, the classic and town favorite El Cubano, Yucca Frita con Salsa Verde, and flan (which was someone’s grandmother’s recipe and the silkiest thing ever). We also got to try their Papa Doble cocktail — the “Hemingway Daiquiri” made of white rum, maraschino liquor, simple syrup, lime, and grapefruit. AND, CubanBurger will soon offer margaritas on draft! First in the city!

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While we nibbled away (yes, that is a euphemism. We were totally pigging out.), Shami commented on the genuine cooperation that occurs among the downtown restaurants, and we have noticed this before, too. Our restaurants love to collaborate — tap takeovers with local breweries, breweries collaborating with food trucks, all restaurants pitching in for huge events like the Downtown Dinner Party (coming up on May 18), the annual Taste of Downtown, participating as First Friday art venues… there is way more cooperation than competition. Harrisonburg is special like that, and we are all better for it. As the conversation shifted to some of the photos and artwork on the walls, Steve talked about his family’s life in Cuba and how his parents got out of there via “Operation Peter Pan.” It’s really cool to get to know the people behind the food you’re eating, and Rocktown Bites food tours are a great vehicle for such interaction.

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Our fourth stop was such a treat: Boboko Indonesian Cafe. Mark Mitchell, who co-owns the restaurant with Chef Ridwan, guided us through one glorious delicacy after another. It’s amazing what they can produce in that tiny kitchen — everything that comes out of there looks like it could be on the cover of Bon Apetit. The entire place is small. The dining room seats maybe twenty people, and tables are positioned close to one another to reflect the importance of community and food in Indonesian culture. If you happen to go there and can’t get a seat, don’t let that stop you. Get the food to go and walk yourself up the ramp to Pale Fire Brewing. Or order from Pale Fire and Boboko will deliver it to you! Easy peasy.

A large colorful map of Indonesia hung on the wall right in front of us, and before long, Chef Ridwan was telling us about Indonesia. I was surprised to learn that Indonesia is the 4th most populous nation, comprised of more than 17,000 islands, and representing 580 different languages. Chef Ridwan immigrated from a small village in Indonesia and became a US citizen two years ago. He and Mark worked on this restaurant for ten years before opening it. That is a long time, but their careful planning has paid off.

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We got to try the fried spring roll and the rice paper summer roll, both filled with fresh vegetables and served with a sweet soy peanut sauce. Then we ate a salad of mango, cabbage, and cucumber, followed by a tempeh skewer and a chicken satay skewer and homemade soy sauce.

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We swung into the Green Hummingbird for our 5th stop. This fair trade boutique is another great place to consider next time you’re buying a gift for someone. I was hypnotized by the selection of gorgeous scarves. And I think I touched every single one of the little handmade change purses. They also carry products made from upcycled leather, like belts and wallets. Of course, they have a huge variety of women’s clothing, handbags, and jewelry, all made by artisans across the globe who’ve been paid a fair wage for their work. Before leaving, we got to try coconut-wrapped rice cookies from Thailand. During the entire tour, the hosts at each stop talked about where their food comes from, where their clothing or jewelry comes from, and how they are honoring time-old traditions while engaging in a level of sustainability that is important right now.

From the Green Hummingbird, we continued south on Main Street, heading toward our 6th and final stop: Hotel Madison. On the way we passed several houses where college students live, and it happened to be St. Patrick’s day weekend, so you can imagine the scene. Kids everywhere, lots of green, balconies being pushed to their limits, music of all kinds, laughter and good cheer. We locals walked on through like it was just another day in the Burg, but I had to wonder what the guests from Texas were thinking.

We arrived at Montpelier and were greeted by Matt Caruthers, who told us about the scrumptious food that would finish our tour. We got a big ol’ plate of Montpelier Nachos with their signature bourbon bbq smoked brisket and that amazing queso blanco, a couple of pots of Loaded Mac (loaded with tomatoes and bacon), and a gorgeous charcuterie composed of assorted cheese, meat, house-made chutney, pickles, honeycomb, flatbread, and more. Montpelier has a few events coming up: they regularly host art workshops (there’s one coming up on the 13th and 28th); they’re having an Easter Brunch on the 21st featuring a Southern buffet feast and appearances by the Easter Bunny, Mickey, and Minnie Mouse! They have Social Hour Monday – Thursday at 5; Date Night on Wednesdays; and they’re in the process of putting together an open mic night.

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~ the currently controversial story of the Harrison House,
~ the story of the Spring House and what purpose that spring served in Harrisonburg’s early days,
~ the municipal building,
~ the Joshua Wilton House,
~ Rosetta Stone and Jenzabar,
~ the history of the Ice House,
~ the Farmer’s Market,
~ the Smith House and what’s cool about its location,
~ the Elks Lodge, a.k.a., the vineyard that never was,
~ how a 15 year old became Clerk of Court and then governor,
~ and Richard Dreyfuss’ wedding.

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None of us wanted the tour to end, but we managed to stand up and waddle out of there anyway. If you’re interested in taking a Rocktown Bites food tour, they’re offered every single Saturday from now through November, with special Culinary Arts Tours offered on First Fridays. You can register and pay online; then all you have to do is loosen your belt a couple notches and show up hungry!

get IN the comfort zone: hotel madison and montpelier restaurant & bar.

Posted on February 5, 2019 by junebug

Some people travel frequently, for work or for pleasure. Others rarely venture out and travel only for very special occasions. Whichever category you fall into, and whether you’re staying in a hotel for one night or one month, comfort somehow takes on a new level of importance. A quality mattress, technology like Wifi that prevents irritating interruptions to your life, plenty of hot water for your morning shower, a satisfying meal, and access to coffee are simple things we take for granted at home but are glaringly obvious when missing. It’s like we all turn into the Princess and the Pea and notice every little discomfort.

Harrisonburg’s newest hotel, Hotel Madison, takes every measure to ensure their guests are, at the very least, comfortable. Brandy and I know this first hand, because we got to spend a night there checking out all it has to offer!! And we’re gonna break it all down for you, right now.

Then, Now, and Beyond

Hotel Madison has been in the works for years, starting with a local developer and JMU graduate from Bergton. Although the hotel has a 50-year land lease from JMU, it is privately owned and financed by investors. Designers from P3 Design Collective operated around four words when envisioning the hotel’s style: subtle sophistication and rustic elegance. This vision touches every inch of the place, from the southern style seating in Montpelier Restaurant and Bar and the sharply dressed lobby, to simple and clean adornments in the 230 guest rooms and suites.

Unlike many chain hotels, Hotel Madison is deeply invested in the local community and mindful of its impact on Harrisonburg and the Shenandoah Valley. Hotel Madison collaborates with JMU’s Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management by providing classrooms, offices, and on-site academic instruction to students pursuing a degree in hospitality management. To put this in perspective, 45 schools in the United States offer this kind of partnership, and JMU’s Hart School is the only one with on-site classrooms at a hotel.

Another way Hotel Madison thought of the Harrisonburg community during its planning was to make sure to honor the recently approved Northend Greenway’s path by allowing extra space on the MLK Way side of the hotel. And, the hotel is certified Virginia Green. Hospitality businesses who earn this distinction have shown that they’re reducing their carbon footprint by adopting a host of environmentally friendly policies (such as not offering plastic straws, using recyclable carryout containers, and even installing electric car charging stations in the parking deck). Director of Public Relations Eddie Bumbaugh hopes to install solar panels in the future. For now, the hotel will be hosting the Virginia Green Annual Conference in April. One last note about partnering with the local community: DECA students at Broadway High School are currently designing a “Keys to the City” perks program specifically for Hotel Madison. Hotel guests will be able to show their room keys at various local businesses and receive a discount or reward of some kind.

Eating and Drinking

I realize it’s entirely possible that you skimmed/scrolled right on past the first section of this article just to get to the food photos, and I don’t blame you one bit. Shew doggie, we ate til we couldn’t see straight.

We opted for an early-ish dinner (okay, Golden Girls early – 4pm) at Montpelier Restaurant and Bar because Brandy needed that gorgeous sunlight to fall in perfect slants on that gorgeous food. When we arrived, we were presented with two appetizers prepared by Chef Ryan Youngman: the Montpelier Nachos and the Fried Green Tomatoes (more of that southern charm!). The nachos’ secret ingredient that makes them better than all other nachos combined is Bowman Bros Bourbon BBQ smoked brisket. Along with the smoked queso blanco, serrano chiles, black beans, slaw, avocado, and pico, we found it extremely hard to stop eating them. The portion is ample (and that’s a euphemism for “How do I eat this whole thing without the other customers noticing?”) and served on a really pretty live edge wooden pedestal. The Fried Green Tomatoes with tobasco aioli, roasted corn, cilantro, piquillo peppers, and cotija had a kick I wasn’t expecting but was just right nonetheless. Our cocktails arrived in festive mason jars, and the long, sexy bar with its 3-inch granite anchors the space.

We also ordered the Seafood Pappardelle with scallops (SO TENDER), shrimp, Virginia crab, house chorizo, roasted peppers, charred heirloom tomatoes, and foraged (!) mushrooms; the New York strip (could not have been cooked better) with two sides of our choice — we chose loaded mac and crispy Brussels sprouts; and one more appetizer, because why not? The Goat Cheese Brulee with a big beautiful hunk of local honeycomb right in the middle of it.

The restaurant has a private dining room named for Dolley Madison that you can reserve for large groups or events where you need privacy. On the Main Street side of the restaurant is the coffee bar serving Chestnut Ridge Coffee. This is a full-service coffee shop with coffee drinks, smoothies, pastries, and the like. All of this — Montpelier Restaurant, the bar, and the coffee shop — is available to the general public AND to hotel guests alike! So yes, this can be your new happy hour or morning coffee spot!

Other little things that make this restaurant and bar special:
• There’s a charging port at every seat.
• There’s a communal table in the center if you’re alone or just want to meet someone new. You could also spread out your laptop there.
• They reserved space for some loungey, comfortable seating in between the bar area and the dining room. I mean, really, they want you to be comfy.
• The coffee shop accepts the JAC card and is right there next to campus, students!

Making the Most of Your Stay

Sure, you could leave the hotel and walk to a zillion awesome downtown locations, and Hotel Madison would totally endorse that decision. But let us show you what you can do inside the hotel. (And by the way, we did these things right after eating a giant meal at Montpelier.)

You can go burn it off in the Fitness Center, lol.

All kidding aside, this is a really nice fitness center for a hotel. Multiple cardio machines, plenty of weight lifting machines, plus dumbbells, medicine balls, and mats. And with several TVs and fancy A/V equipment on the cardio machines, you don’t have to forego entertainment to keep your mind off of how much your thighs burn.

Then you could go to the salt water pool. A large garage-style door lets in tons of natural light and opens onto a sunny patio.

You can take a relaxing bath in your clean and modern hotel room bathroom. I’m almost six feet tall and fit in there just fine!

Or you can hang out by the fireplace in the lobby and indulge in a little snack or drink at Quills Casual Dining.

Hotel Madison’s mezzanine offers more lounging space and a long wall for art work. Hotel Madison is one of the First Friday gallery locations — not only will they showcase local art, but local musicians will fill the lobby with live music.

Don’t forget to stop by the gift shop. There you’ll find lots of JMU apparel and merchandise (hats, keychains, ornaments, for example), Shenandoah Valley shirts and hats, wine glasses, leather coasters made by Lineage Goods, Shirley’s Popcorn, Route 11 Chips, Warfels Chocolates, and other snacks and beverages, some of which in biodegradable packaging. Soon to come: products from Blue Ridge Dog.

What Else?

Other notable features include a Business Center should you need some office time, complimentary valet parking in the Mason Street deck (and this is for hotel guests AND Montpelier Restaurant and Bar customers!), and tons of space on the north side of the hotel for conferences and other large groups. There are three ballrooms, the Madison Boardroom, and the Blue Ridge Room. The carpet in the Grand Ballroom is actually an aerial view of the Shenandoah Valley.

Down the hall from our room on the 7th floor is the Presidential Suite. This 2-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom apartment (1546 square feet, y’all) sleeps 6 and is perfect for folks who are here for an extended period and want to be able to cook their own meals and feel right at home.

Ya didn’t think we left there without having breakfast, did ya?! We stuffed ourselves with Griddled French Toast Sliders with vanilla custard, peach jam, whipped cream, and pure maple syrup…

… the Shenandoah Breakfast, which is two farm eggs any style, house potatoes, toast, and your choice of house thick-cut cherry smoked bacon, country style pork sausage, chicken apple sausage, or Edwards ham steak…

… AND the Blue Ridge Sandwich, a perfectly gooey concoction of griddled ham, house cherry smoked bacon, fried farm eggs, and Hoffman smoked cheddar on buttered ciabatta!

You might be saying to yourself, “This place is amazing, clearly, but I already live in Harrisonburg. Why would I want to stay at Hotel Madison??” Well, you don’t have to. But think: next time you have relatives coming in whom you really don’t want in your house, you can direct them to a very nice hotel and not feel bad about it! Or maybe your college buddies are coming in for Homecoming festivities. Or maybe your employer or organization wants to hold a conference of some kind. Or maybe you’re getting married and need a venue that can do EVERYTHING — the wedding, the reception, and the lodging! Or maybe you just want to have dinner and a nice glass of wine. They’ve even initiated a reward points system to encourage folks to leave their usual hotel chain and stay in a local, green, community-minded, modern, and gorgeous new facility.

Mark Your Calendars

– February 14 – 16: Valentine’s Dinner. Montpelier Restaurant and Bar will be serving a Valentine’s Tasting Menu including 5 courses and optional wine pairing. Reservations are encouraged. The menu will be available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.
– February 22 – 24: Winter Wine Weekend. A learning, tasting, experiencing weekend dedicated to wine and the transformative grape. This is a one of a kind event, for beginners and connoisseurs alike featuring seminars, speakers, wine and culinary events, wine films, a blending workshop and more.
– March 4 – 10: Taste of Downtown. Montpelier Restaurant and Bar is excited to participate in Taste of Downtown this year! Watch their Facebook page for details.
– Monday through Friday, 3 – 6pm is Happy Hour at Montpelier Restaurant and Bar!

Thanks, Eddie!

eat like a burg: downtown dinner party.

Posted on June 1, 2018 by junebug

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For fifteen years, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance has been working to restore vitality to our history-rich downtown and turn it into the economic and social center it used to be. Millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours later, Harrisonburg residents and visitors can enjoy living, working, playing, eating, shopping, and beer-ing in buildings and streets that were largely empty when I first moved here 25 years ago.

A Great American Main Street Award recipient, Harrisonburg can show other localities a thing or two about challenging suburbia and its glut of corporate-owned chain businesses and getting money back in the local coffers.

One way HDR has paid for all these improvements is through fundraisers. To be honest, that word — fundraiser — makes me cringe a bit. No one likes to ask others for money. No one likes being asked. HDR has a knack for raising money from generous folks who also get something great in return at events like Valley Fourth, the Friendly City Fortune, Skeleton Fest, Rocktown Beer and Music Festival, Renaissance Night, and more. Brandy and I got to attend the newest event — the Downtown Dinner Party — and it did not disappoint. Even the Turner Pavilion put on its fancy duds — long elegant drapes, plants and floral arrangements (from Fine Earth Landscaping and The Wishing Well), and string after whimsical string of twinkle lights. I heard many people refer to the evening as “enchanted” and “fairytale” and “magical.” Yes, the end result might have been magical. But the months of organizing this event involved no wands or potions — just innovation, grit, and sheer will.

It started as a crazy idea, pitched to HDR by Jen Sodikoff and Kirsten Moore of Sub Rosa Supper Club. If you’re not familiar with Sub Rosa, it’s a secret supper club that (roughly once a month) hosts fantastic gourmet dinner parties for 24 people. Guests pay a flat fee, find out only the day before where the dinner party will be, and have no idea who else will be there until they arrive. Then they gobble up a five- to seven-course upscale meal, washed down with cocktails and wine and coffee. Bellies are filled, friendships are formed, and a professional photographer captures it all. Got it? Now multiply what I just described by twelve. (And a half.)

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Yep. Kirsten and Jen, over the course of several months, recruited and met with fifteen local restaurants to coordinate dinner for 300 people. Kirsten, you may or may not know, is behind The Hub Coworking space which won the Virginia Main Street Best Business award a couple years ago. Before that she owned and operated the food tour business Rocktown Bites and catering outfit Taste. Jen’s immense management, marketing, and event planning experience (she’s currently the Revenue and Marketing Manager at the brand new Hotel Madison) and hardcore can’t-NOT-do work ethic made this new endeavor a deliciously accomplishable challenge for them both.

Okay, let’s get to the food because GOOD GAWD I want to relive it!

Some of the restaurants represented that evening are new to Harrisonburg. Urgie’s Cheesesteaks, who have basically taken over Harrisonburg’s cheesesteak game, served up their authentic Philly Cheesesteaks with onions, peppers, mushrooms, cherry peppers, pepperoni, Griffin’s hot sauce, American cheese, provolone cheese, and — spoiler alert — Cheez Whiz. Hotel Madison chefs Michael Collins and Brian Bogan offered smoked + sous vide pork belly, pickled foraged ramps, with a damson plum gastrique, charred ramp bbq, and popped sorghum berries. Is your mouth watering yet?

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Chef Dilli Dangi of Taj of India brought warmth and comfort with his Chicken Malabar — chicken with coconut cream, Indian spices, onion, and garlic, served with rice and a clay oven-baked garlic naan. If you haven’t had their lunch buffet yet, gimme a call and I’ll join you. And new to Harrisonburg’s bakery scene is Bittersweet Bakery. Pastry Chefs Erica Ray and Alicia Barger presented a beautiful and delicious Ginger Blue-Barb, a ginger cremeux with blue-barb compote, white chocolate and a blueberry crunch. And Shirley’s Gourmet Popcorn was not going to miss this party! They brought their Cheddar Pretzel Ale, Polar Pop, and Afterburner varieties, made with non-GMO kernels from Green Acres Farm in Dayton. Whoever said you shouldn’t snack before, or through, dinner obviously hasn’t tried Shirley’s.

It was fun to see whether Harrisonburg’s “old dogs” had any new tricks. Turns out they did! Matthew Clancy and William Bleeker of Clementine/Ruby’s Arcade showed up with an impressive five-spice beef brisket with shiitake mushroom slaw, wasabi aioli (I mean, daaaaang), sticky rice, chili gastrique, and shaved nori, served with a frisee, citrus, and endive salad with toasted almonds and goat cheese. Somehow, all these things worked together in an exceptionally delicious way. I ran into Kevin Gibson at that table and I literally saw him drool. Straight out of his mouth. Bella Luna’s chef Jacoby Dinges pulled out a much simpler but equally delicious spiced lamb hand pie that was the crispiest, butteriest thing ever, filled with succulent spiced lamb, currants, spinach, and feta.

It was great to see the Friendly City Food Co-op in the house — Melissa Lapp prepared a light and refreshing radish and quinoa salad with mint, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese. In addition to usual grocery store items (which, by the way, come from more than 150 local vendors), FCFC offers bulk items like dry beans and spices AND a fantastic deli and hot bar where you can get a surprisingly fresh and delicious lunch.

When I saw Thom Metroka of The Artful Dodger serving up artisanal French toast, I was first a little surprised since this was a “dinner” party… but good grief, how many of us have been at the Dodger late enough that it was practically time for breakfast?? So it made sense. And it was absolutely dinner-worthy: fresh hearth bread with a fruit compote, whiskey maple syrup, whipped cream, and nuts. On a side note, the hearth bread came from Bella Luna. I love to see these supportive collaborations among local restaurants.

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Chef Cameron Grant of Union Station Restaurant & Bar brought his Louisiana roots to the dinner party with his alligator sauce piquant containing alligator tale and smoked andouille sausage, highlighted by tomatoes, green pepper, onion, and celery, and served over rice, a perfect warm-up when the sun was getting lower and the wind was growing cooler. Old dog Jacktown (Billy Jack’s/Jack Brown’s) REALLY stepped out of its usual game with Chef Mike Sabin’s Jacktown Poke, a beautiful and flavorful dish featuring Hawaiian big eye tuna, macadamia nuts, hijiki, avocado, shoyu, and sesame oil. Not sure they’ll add this dish on their regular menu, but I predict it would be a big hit. Maybe they can make it an occasional special and Aaron can wear his Captain Stubing outfit again.

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Even Harrisonburg classic Tim Richardson of Pulp Organic Acai Bowls and Smoothies whipped out a new sensation: the Vegan Acai Cheesecake, with a date and walnut crust (and perfect cheesecake-to-crust ratio, I might add), cashew and coconut milk, mixed berry sauce, and cacao nibs. Amanda Cannon, owner of one of my fave’s Food.Bar.Food, also brought dessert: an Irish chocolate milkshake make with Kline’s ice cream. Kline’s uses an old-school continuous freeze method that results in an exceptionally smooth and creamy product, perfect for blending into a milkshake. And Kline’s makes their ice cream every single morning so it’s as fresh as it can get. The “Irish” part of the milkshake was housemade Irish cream. All the cocktails being passed around that evening also came from Food.Bar.Food: a sparkling rose with roasted rhubarb-strawberry sorbet, a hibiscus ginger greyhound, and an Indochine soda mocktail with lemon, ginger, and Thai basil syrup.

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And rounding out the restaurant offerings was Chef Isaac Coles of Jimmy Madison’s Southern Kitchen and Whiskey Bar, serving his Hand-Pulled Mozz Caprese with whole wheat focaccia, perfectly sweet-tart rhubarb jam, Turner country ham, and basil grown right on the roof!

It’s worth noting that all of these restaurants and chefs make every effort to use ingredients that are local, fresh, and high quality. That night, we ate products from 18 local or very nearby producers, including Seven Hills Food, Golden Angels Apiary, Edgewood Farm, Wayside Produce, Season’s Bounty Farm, Green Haven Farm, Main Street Farmstead, Turner Ham House, Woods Edge Farm, Wade’s Mill, Autumn Olive Farms, Virginia Vinegar Works, Hickory Hill Farm, Radical Roots Farm, North Mountain Produce, Mt. Crawford Creamery, Virginia Distillery, and Green Acres Farm.

Also in the house were Bluestone Vineyard serving a chardonnay, a vidal blanc, and their 2015 Market and Main, Old Hill Cider pouring Yesteryear, four Harrisonburg breweries (Pale Fire, Restless Moons, Brothers Craft Brewing, and Three Notch’d), and coffee drinks from Black Sheep, Broad Porch Coffee, and Shenandoah Joe. As I milled about, eating and drinking, it struck me that this is like, you know, having a friendly potluck dinner at your house. Everyone brings something to share. Except in this case, all your friends are professional chefs with access to amazing ingredients, a wealth of knowledge and experience, and exceptional talent. Miles and miles and miles beyond a crockpot of meatballs, y’all.

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I was so distracted by all the tastes and smells surrounding me that I didn’t notice the cute little photo booth at first. The Rosy Co. mobile photo booth is a bright red 1968 Shasta Lo-Flyte travel trailer outfitted with a camera, a bunch of props, and a printer. All night long, guests of the dinner party enjoyed getting in that thing and being silly, sexy, or serious and were thrilled when they got to take their photos with them for free! You can rent this adorable vintage photo booth for your event, too. It’s great for outdoor events and the rental fee includes free prints for everyone. If your event is indoors, you can opt for the open air photo booth, which can accommodate larger groups than the trailer.

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The musical stylings of Ryan Clark provided the soundtrack for the evening. While everyone was eating, his original piano compositions filled the pavilion, punctuated by laughter and conversation and excitement.

You know, this evening IS starting to sound magical, but we can’t forget the reasons for this event: to celebrate HDR’s 15th anniversary AND to raise funds for their continued efforts. It was time for the auction, hosted by auctioneer John Puffenbarger. Each announcement of an auction item brought hoots and cheers from the crowd — seriously some of the most unique auction items I’ve ever seen, and ALL LOCAL. Local items made by local people being used to raise money for local initiatives. It’s a new level of local. It’s, like, meta-local. Auction items included a beer-brewing session from the Friendly Fermenter where you get to leave with your own unique beer accented by a custom label created by Matt Leech. Pottery sensei Kassy Newman offered a 25-piece pottery set plus six private lessons for four people!! If you haven’t seen her work, you must.

Mossy Creek Fly Fishing and Jacktown owner Aaron Ludwig donated a full-day fishing trip for two, dinner at Jacktown, and a free night in the all-new Jacktown loft. AND there’s beer in the fridge waiting for you. !!! How about a private Off the Eaten Path Ride and Dinner for ten? This bike-to-farm-to-table event was generously provided by Dusty Burchnall. Next up, an item from event co-planner Kirsten Moore, Amy Nesbit, and Taste catering — a day enjoying the Shenandoah River followed by a low country shrimp boil and gourmet s’mores around the firepit. Other outdoor items included a farm-to-table dinner for twelve at Second Mountain Farm accompanied by live music from The Walking Roots Band, or a 3-hour plein air painting lesson from local artist Erin Murray at Showalter’s Orchard, plus a French picnic provided by Heritage Bakery and Cafe.

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Not feeling so rugged? Hotel Madison and the Arts Council teamed up to donate a private 8-person dinner prepared by chefs Collins and Bogan at the Smith House Gallery with music by Mark Whetzel. The Romantic Downtown Getaway, provided by Hugo Kohl, Local Chop & Grill House, and the Joshua Wilton House, starts with AN ACTUAL PIECE OF JEWELRY! Put on your new sterling silver and blue sapphire bracelet and take your hungry self + 1 to the Chop House for a fantastic dinner, followed by a night at our beloved Joshua Wilton House. What a treat!! Rounding out the auction items was something that got all the Dukes in the crowd pumped up — twelve football tickets to the season opener in September, parking passes for tailgating, and Urgie’s Cheesesteaks catering just for you!

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After the auction, Ryan Clark stood up from the piano and put on his DJ-ing hat, spinning vinyl while we all spun on the dance floor. Sometimes, there are no words.

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Things were winding down. Everyone was feeling exhilarated and exhausted and joyful and a bit sweaty. Maybe Ryan felt we were all too hepped up to get any sleep that night, or maybe he thought we’d never leave if the music kept playing, or maybe he was just inspired by the energy in that moment, but his piano serenade at the end of the night was pretty magical. Everyone fell silent and just listened, buzzing with connection.

What the HDR team and the Sub Rosa Supper Club were able to create using only locally- available resources was not “magical.” It was not lucky or superhuman or miraculous or even unbelievable. It was innovative. It was intelligent, creative, intentional, and inspired. It was meticulously planned and organized by a group of smart, dedicated individuals willing to commit to a large project and donate their time and goods and services to their community.

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Innovation is not new to Harrisonburg. I remember when Calhoun’s first opened. I thought, “Holy cow, we have a BEER FACTORY right downtown!” It made Harrisonburg unique. And since then, lots of folks have introduced all kinds of innovative ideas, products, services, and experiences. Like Harrisonburg’s new Pedicab. New shopping experiences at Agora Downtown Market and Bring Your Own. New art experiences like Art Lotto and the Super Gr8 Film Festival. New community initiatives like the Northend Greenway and improved bike lanes. I can buy beer at a movie theater, and there’s a living, breathing permaculture community on the north end of town, Vine & Fig. All because people had an idea and worked hard to make it happen.

If you missed the Downtown Dinner and would like to contribute to the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, you can do so in multiple ways. You can purchase Downtown Dollars — gift certificates that can be redeemed at many downtown locations. Keep your dollars local! You can also by a Friendly City Fortune raffle ticket — $100 buys you a chance at winning cash, a vehicle, a vacation, a shopping spree, and more! Or you can just click the big ol’ Donate button and give what you can!

The next HDR event is Valley Fourth. See y’all there!

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Copyright © 2012-18 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Words by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

a little rough and ready: the shack.

Posted on May 3, 2018 by junebug

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When you arrive at The Shack on Coalter Street in Staunton, please do not expect it to be something else.

It is a shack.

It was a very windy day.

It sits somehow level on a hilly street, its numerous layers of paint no doubt cutting in on its already scant square footage. Mismatched light fixtures illuminate mismatched chairs, and no one is fooled by that bright red rug — it does not hide the haggard concrete floor.

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What you see is what you get at The Shack, with no coy pretenses or disguises.

Take the artwork: real, actual photos of the chef’s (Ian) wife’s (Leslie) grandmother’s (Tissy) family. These faded, haphazardly hung, mostly out-of-focus runes of memory will carry you to a previous reality: one of corded phones and Corning cornflower coffee percolators and hideous plaid pants I think everyone my age was forced to wear at some point. Grandmother Tissy’s home in Swope, Virginia, was nicknamed “the shack,” and this modern iteration reflects all that is real and true about her life and her Southern and Appalachian cooking.

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What you see on the menu, and on your plate, is what you get, too — no hidden chemical warfare or unpronounceable ingredients that’ll blow holes in your coronary artery or cause a processed-food hangover the next day. Despite the size of the building (room for roughly 26, not including the patio space), the menu is by no means skimpy or lacking variety. And it changes frequently, sometimes day to day, depending on the availability of local ingredients and what’s naturally in season, which Chef Boden makes a point of integrating into the eclectic menu. Brandy and I ordered four items (two starters and two main dishes) and shared everything. First up: Creamed Ramps on Toast with lardo and a fried egg. Ramps are a variety of wild onion/wild leek that have an oniony and garlicky flavor and are used widely in Appalachian cooking. Such a simple recipe… but all the ingredients were so fresh that the flavors shouted on full blast.

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For our second appetizer, we didn’t know what to choose, so we asked them to bring us the prettiest one, lol. Out came the Salmon Gravlox with barbecue beets, benne seeds, goat’s milk yogurt, mandarinquat, trout roe, and dill. It was definitely pretty, as you can see, but the taste! Those flavors! The dill contrasting with the mandarinquat, the creaminess of the yogurt with the tender salmon! And the barbecue beets — what the heck? The beets are smoked and then dehydrated and chopped into little bits. Sort of a beet jerky. Sooooo good.

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For main dishes, we had to try the burger, topped with cheddar, schmaltz roasted onions, bacon, and black garlic mayo. The Shack gets its beef from a co-op, and this particular grass-fed, black angus beef came from Monrovia Farm in Westmoreland County. The Shack cuts and grinds all its meat on the premises. Our burger arrived in a rectangular metal tray next to a giant heap of fries and it was gone in a flash.

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The other entree we chose was the Monkfish Schnitzel with soft boiled egg, arugula, mandarinquat, and lime pickle aioli. Honestly, this was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. Firm texture but not tough. Perfect ratio of breading to fish. Crispy without being greasy or dry. And that freaking lime pickle aioil — I want it on everything now.

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At this point we were thanking our lucky stars we were wearing things that were high waisted or just shapeless. No room for dessert, unfortunately, but that Apple Sorghum Bourbon Fry Pie with thyme custard was damn tempting.

To give you an idea of the variety available at The Shack, the rest of the menu included Fried Mortadella Sandwiches, Country Pork Cracklin’, Chestnut Spaghetti, Squid Ink Rigatoni, Southern Fried Quail, Wild Blue Channel Catfish, and several other items. They offer 30 (!) varieties of wine and cider, including the Ferreira Late Bottled Vintage Porto that was DELISH, and five beers from Full Steam, Alewerks, Champion, and Port City. All in that teeny tiny shack and that tight space of a kitchen.

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On your way out, you can snag some candy, stored in old Cafe Du Monde coffee cans, a Shack tee shirt, or a sticker. Chef Boden also sells two varieties of homemade southern-cuisine inspired Sorghum sauces. The Sorghum BBQ sauce is a mustard-based sauce with a kick, and the Sorghum Hot Sauce will heat up whatever you’re eating with serrano and ghost peppers! You can order these online, too, and soon, Black Sheep Coffee in downtown Harrisonburg now sells both of these sauces!

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So, here’s your to-do list.
1. Get out your planner and choose a date to go to The Shack.
2. Visit their web site to make a reservation. You can also call them.
3. Put on some loose-fitting clothes and go stuff your face.
4. Bring some sauce home with you!

The Shack is open Wednesday through Saturday 5 – 9pm and Sunday 10:30 – 2.

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trash talk: bring your own.

Posted on April 19, 2018 by junebug

Sometimes I get really discouraged about the state of our planet. We have made a huge mess, plain and simple. Our selfish, profit-driven actions have killed entire species, polluted entire oceans, destroyed entire ecosystems, and threatened all manner of life, large and small.

And we’ve all seen how hard it is to enact environmental protections and regulations on industries that harm the environment. It’s excruciating how slowly change happens, because 1) you can’t legislate morality, and 2) as long as we put profits over people (and nature), pipelines will exist. Carbon-based fuels will exist. Gas-guzzling SUVs will exist. None of that will change until we, collectively and globally, put the health of the planet at the top of the priorities list.

Until that magical day, it’s all about personal choices. And one relatively new business in town has placed control back in the American consumer’s hands by providing easy access to better, more eco-friendly choices. It’s called Bring Your Own, and it’s a literally shining example of zero-waste living.

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Yup, that gleaming 1975 Airstream trailer parked between Taj of India and Jack Brown’s holds dozens of ways you can reduce the amount of trash you generate. On average, Americans produce 4.4 pounds of their own personal trash every day. To me, that sounds like a staggering amount, and it is, but really it’s no surprise considering how many disposable items can be found in the average household. I’ve always tried to be conscious of how much junk I’m throwing in the trash, but sometimes I get numb to what’s in front of me. After visiting Bring Your Own, I went home and really looked around at what my 4.4 pounds is made of, and I think I can make some changes. For example, packaging. Thirty-two percent of municipal waste is packaging. It’s not even the thing inside the package, which might also be disposable! And how many times have you ordered something online, and it arrives in a box inside another box with a giant plastic air bladder? Ugh. We can do better.

Here’s just a sampling of what owner Allie Emerick sells in her shop:

• Bamboo toothbrushes. Apparently we throw away 850 million plastic toothbrushes every year. !!! Allie sells toothbrushes with biodegradable handles and recyclable bristles.

• Diapers. More than 27 billion find their way to the landfill each year. Thirsties brand diapers can be washed and line-dried and used over and over.

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• Feminine hygiene products. A woman uses upwards of 14,000 disposable fem-hy products in her lifetime. Or, she can stock up on GladRags brand pads and a Lunette menstrual cup and drastically reduce her trash!

• Cups and bottles. Geez, do we ever have a disposable beverage container problem. Twenty-five BILLION styrofoam cups end up in the landfill every year… and that does not include paper/cardboard cups. Plus 2.5 million plastic bottles get trashed every HOUR! For heaven’s sake, buy yourself a bamboo coffee cup and a stainless steel pint and take ‘em everywhere you go!

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• Razors. Can you believe we throw away 2 billion disposable razors every year?? Allie’s got a great selection of razors and shaving accessories.

• And by the way, bring your own dang bag/jar/container when you go to Bring Your Own! A TRILLION plastic bags are thrown out every year, and they’re only used for an average of 12 minutes each. This makes me want to puke a little bit. Allie sells bags, too: shopping totes; wet bags that are handy for wet swimsuits, dirty diapers, toiletries; produce bags; soap bags; and “ditty” bags for organizing items in larger (reusable) containers. This is a way you can NEVER use a plastic bag again.

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Sunday is Earth Day, and I’m issuing a challenge. Commit to one new eco-friendly action every month for a year. Ditch plastic bags altogether. Use a metal razor. Switch to a biodegradable toothbrush. Install LED bulbs. Trade your disposable water bottles for some kind of filter system. Purchase more environmentally responsible shampoos, soaps, and detergents. You could make it a First Friday thing. Head downtown to see the new artwork, and swing into Allie’s place for your latest eco-upgrade.

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She’s got some books for sale in her shop about eliminating plastic from your life and reducing the amount of waste you produce, and here are some additional resources to help you identify changes you can make to your lifestyle that you can sustain:

From The Guardian

From Real Simple

From CNN

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Bring Your Own is open Thursday – Saturday 11am – 6pm. It’s also a First Friday art venue, and Allie hosts interesting events from time to time. In fact, Saturday (4/21) she’s having an Earth Day celebration with sales and giveaways. Here’s the itinerary:

~ 12:00-5:00 Light snacks/refreshments will be provided by Friendly City Food Co-op. Please plan to BYO cup/bottle for beverages.

~ 1:00-3:00 The City of Harrisonburg will have staff on-site to answer questions about ongoing environmental initiatives and share specific information about: the residential stormwater utility fee credit application process, rain barrels, red osier dogwood whips, and the new recycling center.

~ 1:00-6:00 Native plants will be available for purchase from the Natural Garden.

~ 3:00-4:00 Don’t miss “Ecological Gardening: Niche Work If You Can Get It” with Wick from the Natural Garden.

~ 4:00-5:00 Composting Workshop with Eric from Black Bear Composting. Learn how to compost in your backyard and/or with Black Bear!

Talks/workshops will be held outside the store as “standing workshops.” Please bring your own chair if you would like to have one! See you there!

burgIMG_4780 Copyright © 2012-18 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Words by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

gaining ground(s): black sheep coffee.

Posted on April 11, 2018 by junebug

Remember when Black Sheep Coffee was tiny? It was so cute, this little fledgling coffee shop testing the water in downtown Harrisonburg. The barista was also the cashier; money changed hands on the same sliver of countertop as coffee was served; and you were freaking lucky if you were able to get a seat in the itty bitty internet cafe area. Another reason for the cuteness is that Black Sheep’s wife, The Yellow Button, was right next door! That’s right, Black Sheep and The Yellow Button are owned by Harrisonburg’s power couple, Chance and Miranda Ebersold. But after a while, relationships change. The Yellow Button wanted some new scenery, and Black Sheep Coffee needed space. So the two businesses separated. Don’t worry: Chance and Miranda are still very much married (with two children who make their story even MORE adorable)… they just work a couple blocks from each other now.

So Black Sheep was able to stretch its legs into the old Yellow Button space, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Now, directly in front of you when you walk in is the cashier — she’ll take your order. The baristas at the old counter on the right will make your crafted espresso drink, drip coffee, or pour-over and serve it to you there. And you’ll have MULTIPLE seats to choose from. There are a couple of cozy areas with armchairs and coffee tables and chess sets and such, plus a looooong counter along the wall of windows on the left side of the place. They even installed a counter and stools around a concrete pillar in the middle of the space, maximizing the number of folks they can seat. And, the old Yellow Button dressing rooms are now cute little cubicles for when you need to buckle down and get something accomplished. There’s even space for a Multicade arcade-style video game.

Their food selection expanded with the space. On the Sunday we were there, the pastry case held biscotti, banana bread, cinnamon buns, oatmeal creme pies, sundried tomato pesto goat cheese wheels, Nilla wafer cupcakes (!!), grapefruit pound cake, vegan powerballs, scones, cookies, muffins, donuts, coffee cake, quiche, and veggie pies, ALL of which are made in house, and some of which are gluten free and/or vegan. PLUS, they have a made-to-order menu, too! Breakfast and lunch, including items like salads and paninis. And if you don’t want coffee, you can get Rishi brand tea or a soda — they carry Fentiman’s, Maine Root, Harmony Springs, and Blenheim.

All this new space allows them to sell some retail items, as well. They have Chemex supplies and coffee mugs, plus bags of coffee like Mudhouse, Bob & Tom’s, Lone Oak, and Red Rooster. The newest addition to the shelf are sauces from The Shack in Staunton — Sorghum BBQ Sauce and Sorghum Hot Sauce, made by Chef Ian Boden. Miranda and Chance were so impressed with the sauces when they tried them at The Shack that they just had to bring a whole bunch back to share with Harrisonburg.

Get into Black Sheep soon! Order something fresh and stay a while. There’s plenty of room for ya.

Black Sheep Coffee is located in the Ice House building, 217 S Liberty St, and are open every day from 7am – 7pm.

love nest: gray jay provisions.

Posted on March 21, 2018 by junebug

burgIMG_2721 A chef walks into a sandwich shop… and creates something Harrisonburg hasn’t had before.

You might notice the light first, streaming in through the wall of plate glass windows. To the right you’ll see the glory of a 1950s living room, an old console stereo flanked by handsome books and two mid-century chairs. Local artwork compliments the simple, uncluttered space. It’s the perfect place to grab a sandwich and hunker down with your laptop or a good book, or meet a friend for food and conversation. It’s Harrisonburg’s newest: Gray Jay Provisions.

burgIMG_2605 burgIMG_2611 burgIMG_2675 Both a market and a sandwich shop, Gray Jay has what you need if you’re hungry now or will be later. On the market side, there are dry provisions and chilled provisions and provisions for every occasion. Like charcuterie provisions. And I’m-Not-Sure-What-To-Bring-To-This-Party provisions. My-In-Laws-Are-Coming provisions. Or I-Just-Need-A-Damn-Bloody-Mary provisions.

burgIMG_2720 burgIMG_2685 They’ve got crackers and salami, assorted vinegars and oils, multiple flavors of Backpocket Provisions Bloody Mary Mix. They’ve got mustard and honey and cheeses and sausages. Prosciutto spread and jars of kimchi and curtido.

burgIMG_2703 burgIMG_2680 burgIMG_2628 They’ve got Gearharts chocolates and Tate’s Bake Shop cookies, Field Trip brand jerky, veggie burgers, and ice cream. And a wide selection of Grown Up Sodas, Maine Root sodas, and Fentimans botanically brewed sodas.

burgIMG_2695 At the counter, you’ll see their small but sophisticated and thoughtfully designed menu. It changes with the availability of fresh, local ingredients; on the day we were there, they offered a roasted tempeh sandwich with sweet potato, pickled red onion, and mushrooms; a sliced pork sandwich with sweet potato and kimchi; a line-caught tuna sandwich with caper aioli, pickled red onion, and arugula; a baked tofu sandwich with shiitake aioli and kimchi; a chicken confit sandwich with herb mayo, arugula, and pickled red onion; and a sunflower butter open face sandwich with honey and crème fraîche. On the side, they offer tots, chick peas, and soup — that day, lentil and creamy tomato. Gluten-free bread and vegan options are always available.

burgIMG_2656 burgIMG_2645 burgIMG_2643 burgIMG_2640 burgIMG_2636 All sandwiches are served on their house-made sourdough bread. This sourdough goes back a long time. Its starter is a blend of co-owner Michelle’s starter from Austria, created from wild airborne yeast and spring water, and co-owner Seth’s starter. The bread holds up to the demands of a hefty sandwich, yet gives easily between the teeth. And you can take a loaf of your own home with you: $6 for a small loaf and $9 for a large. And when I say large, I mean it’s the biggest dang loaf you’ve ever seen in real life.

One Saturday per month, Seth gets to flex his culinary muscles in pop-up dinners with wine pairings. After learning to cook in his mom’s kitchen, Seth worked as a sous chef and head chef in high-end restaurants in Boston for 14 years. Michelle’s passions lie in the intersection of centuries-old food traditions of cultures around the world and today’s need for sustainability achieved with local and seasonal ingredients and organic growing methods. Together they conjure dishes that are delicious, creative, and responsible. Indeed, their menu items boast simple yet integrated flavors not found at your usual sandwich shop.

burgIMG_2699 burgIMG_2616 In case you’re wondering about the name, the Gray Jay is a mascot of sorts. While reading about this little bird, I came across words like friendly and loyal, clever and playful, tough. An apt mascot for Seth, Michelle, and Soula, who embody all these traits and work them into everything they make. Trust me: you’ll go in for a sandwich and come out with something spectacular.

Gray Jay Provisions is located at 1311 South High Street in Harrisonburg, and they’re open Monday – Friday, 11am – 7pm. Follow them on social media for menu updates and be sure to join their mailing list so you’ll be informed about events like their pop-up dinners!

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sweet and simple: heritage bakery and cafe.

Posted on February 6, 2017 by junebug

burgimg_8161 You know how in old TV shows like I Love Lucy or The Brady Bunch, one character would visit her friend across the street after the kids left for school, and they’d sit together at the Formica kitchen counter and drink coffee? Maybe the hostess would whip out a coffee cake or some Danish and the two friends would leisurely laugh and chat as they sipped and nibbled, with several hours of sunny, blissful banality before them.

<sigh>
I want that.

Instead, my mornings start with the God-awful honk of my alarm clock, my hips and feet cracking as I rise from bed and stumble around in the dark, followed by a good eye rub and some Visine in front of the bathroom mirror. Next I wrench my beautiful children, dreaming of lollipops and unicorns, from their warm nests to start a new day of rushing around, yelling at my son about why he hasn’t put on pants yet and insisting to my daughter that her hair looks FINE. No one offers me Danish, and I usually don’t get a sip of coffee until I’m in the car.

But there was a morning recently where I got to visit a dear lady’s kitchen and sit with a sweet friend and languidly sip and nibble, and I felt for a moment like Betty Draper. It was freaking GRAND.

Heritage Bakery and Cafe, opened two years ago by Isabelle Treciak and her mom, sits on the first floor of the Hardesty Higgins House in downtown Harrisonburg, and the nostalgia in there is overpowered only by the smell of freshly brewed Lucas Coffee and all the goodies she’s baking that day. She admits that the pastries offered each day are dependent on her mood, but based on the selection we saw, I think it’s safe to say that Isabelle is generally happy and optimistic.

burgimg_8226 burgimg_8167 In her polished glass case that day was chocolate chip shortbread, hummingbird bread (banana, pineapple, and coconut), lemon ginger scones, King Kong cookies, chocolate walnut chubbies, and peanut butter chocolate sandies. She always has gluten-free options available, plus a wide selection of tea, juices, and soda, in case coffee’s not your thing. Brandy, Blake, Ella, and I ordered sticky buns, raspberry coconut bread, spinach quiche, and a spinach, egg, and Havarti cheese croissant, which we salivated over — patiently, for time was on our side that morning — until Brandy was done photographing it.

burgimg_8204 burgimg_8195 burgimg_8208 burgimg_8200 The snow lining the windows of the old building somehow made the sticky buns a little sweeter, the spinach quiche a little more decadent. Maybe because we were subconsciously dreaming of simpler times, we started talking about minimalism. A discussion of the book Everything That Remains and its documentary counterpart Minimalism (available on Netflix) led to a rant about fossil fuels and how America can’t seem to give up those extravagant habits for cleaner, more sustainable, simpler options. And this led to a slightly depressing chat about how we really could simplify our lives… find more time for rest and nature and family and love… spend less time working and running ourselves ragged.

burgimg_8169 As if you need more reason to go in there, much awaits you at the Hardesty Higgins House (which my kids have called the “Higgy House” ever since they were tiny and couldn’t say it correctly). You can find hundreds of maps, brochures, and publications about the goings-on in the Shenandoah Valley, from Civil War museums and re-enactments, to the Artisan Trail, the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail (yes, please), and the Shenandoah Spirits Trail. You can watch a video about the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley and learn about various battles, battlefields, and monuments. The Rocktown Gift Shoppe offers lots of Virginia-made products like candy, food, soy candles and handmade soaps, beautiful items from Blue Ridge Pottery, assorted Valley-related apparel, and those little hiking guides Brandy swears by.

And of course, the Valley Turnpike Museum has that adorable scale model display of Harrisonburg way back in the day, before internet scams, before cars and their noxious fumes, before cell phones, before even deadlines and exorbitant debt and bad credit ratings and Wall Street screw jobs. Right now, those simpler days feel like ancient relics enshrined in a tomb… days we’ll never return to.

But for now, you can visit Isabelle and enjoy the simple pleasure of a cup of coffee and a homemade pastry served on a pretty plate. Find simplicity where you can.

burgimg_8175 Heritage Bakery and Cafe is open Monday – Saturday, 8:30 – 5pm, with a monthly Sunday afternoon tea.

See you out and about!

burgimg_8191 burgimg_8219

Copyright © 2012-17 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Words by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

center fold: dj hyfi and the center.

Posted on April 14, 2016 by junebug

I retired from distance running not long following the birth of my son. After 20+ years of high mileage, my body finally started to rebel: my hips got wonky, I developed a bum knee, my hamstrings would tie themselves in knots over nothing… even my feet are… well, they’re just disgusting. Even with all these reminders of my physical limitations, I still think of myself as some 25-year-old running phenom (ha), dive headlong into new exercise programs or physical challenges (such as carrying a few dozen 40-pound bags of stone up and down the hill in my backyard), and then find myself arrogantly surprised when I get tired, or my muscles (ha) start shaking, or I’m too sore to even lie down the next day.

Thank goodness for yoga. I mean it. One, it can be as challenging as you need it to be. If you’re an elite athlete and think everything’s too easy for you, there’s a yoga for you. If you’re a beginner who needs to work on balance and flexibility, there’s a yoga for you. Two, if you tend to be a stress ball all day and need to be emotionally untangled, there’s a yoga for you. Three, if you’re an old washed up athlete who struggles to do any kind of exercise, there’s a yoga for you.

And now, if you love yoga but also love electronic music, there’s a yoga for you! Yep. Brandy, Ella, and I, along with about twenty-five other folks, recently attended a 90-minute (!!!) yoga class with a DJ, the Friday Night Live: Cool Music, Groovy Yoga class AND happy hour at The Center.

The DJ arranged his sound and light equipment at the front of the yoga studio; as we all filed in and placed our mats on the floor, I felt like I had a little subwoofer in my chest. I worried for a few minutes that the music would be too loud, but before long, the movements and the sound fused together in a way that connected all the senses. The music was so much a part of us and our movements that it seemed to both predict what we were doing and respond to it, simultaneously. I lost all track of time. It was a RAVE of relaxation, if you will.

DJ Hyfi works as a “nomadic DJ, on the road, fusing fresh beats with vinyasa.” I admit, when I saw this event come across my newsfeed, I wondered how it would work and thought it sounded strange. How would I quiet my mind in a loud environment? I still don’t know the answer to that question, but having now experienced it, it seems completely natural. Yoga is rhythmic. Breathing is rhythmic. One’s heart beat is rhythmic. Why not give those things a rhythmic soundtrack?

The session started with multiple sun salutations and warrior poses, followed by balance work. Suzanne McCahill Perrine’s instructions and cuing were, as always, impeccable. If I couldn’t see anyone to mimic his or her movements, her verbal descriptions saved me. If anyone needed help getting into a pose, she was right there. My favorite part was when the entire group formed a circle and held hands during Warrior III. I got to hold Ella’s hand and the hand of a complete stranger — what a beautiful thing! Another notable moment was how gooood everyone looks doing what I call the “pretty pose” (i.e., Half Lord of the Fishes pose) — all those whittled torsos and strong shoulders and piles of messy hair. During one of the inverted poses, I could see Brandy through my legs and Ella beyond that through Brandy’s legs, and it made me smile the way, even upside down, those two gals look so much alike.

Just when I thought I couldn’t hold any pose for even one more second, sweat was pooling in awkward places all over me, and every muscle fiber burned with constant exertion, Suzanne instructed us all to lie down. I closed my eyes and let myself be carried away by the throbbing music. I might have fallen asleep… I’m not really sure… but for several minutes I thought of absolutely nothing. When I opened my eyes, the lights were dancing all over the room, and I saw faces in the ceiling. First there was a lion. Then I saw a man with a beard, until the beard morphed into a baby, being held by its mother. To the left I saw a caricature of John Lennon, while a man and his cat sat over to the right. Brandy remarked that she had an out-of-clothing experience where she snapped out of her trance and thought she might be nakey… but then she checked and realized she did indeed still have pants on. We really did lose track of time… and space.

After peeling ourselves off the floor, we quietly emerged into the lobby of Ice House Studios, where Suzanne had arranged a buffet catered by Food Bar Food and Pale Fire Brewing. Starving from our efforts in the last ninety minutes, we devoured the delicious snacks: falafel fritters with tatziki; tofu and shiitake mushroom croquettes with Thai caramel sauce; and black bean & goat cheese hummus with corn tortilla chips. For the next hour we enjoyed chatting about the class, the DJ, and our lives, making this workout as much emotional and spiritual as it was physical. I also got a chance to check out Ice House Studios: I admit, I had not set foot in there before tonight!

The space houses both The Center and Breathe Pilates and Yoga. There are two yoga studios with mats, bolsters, blocks, and blankies. The Pilates room contains mirrors and ample equipment, while the Barre room offers mats and balls to its users. Large windows and soft lighting contrast the concrete columns and exposed block walls throughout the old factory. There’s also a terrace — you can make yourself a cup of tea in the lobby and enjoy it outside.

Ice House Studios also hosts services provided by several other professionals: Four Seasons Harmony Massage Therapy and Healing Arts; Mary Straub Pargas Yoga Therapy and Holistic Coaching; Kate Miller’s “Be” Bodywork, Yoga, and Aromatherapy; Blue Heron Healing Arts owned by Grayson Pritchard; and Becky Bartells Massage Therapy.

And, the merchandise. You can find beautiful jewelry by Rhoda Miller of Rhodarts, Lily and Laura bracelets made by artisans in Nepal, colorful tote bags, essential oil kits, and candles. Body products, journals, mats, socks, and headbands. Icehouse, Breathe, and The Center shirts and other crucial apparel, just in case you arrived without something.

And if you’ve never really explored the Ice House in entirety, you can take a class or get a massage at Ice House Studios, grab a perk-up at Black Sheep Coffee, shop for clothing and jewelry at The Yellow Button and Hugo Kohl’s, eat dinner (or breakfast or lunch, for that matter) at Pure Eats, and then savor a beer at Pale Fire Brewing. Too bad you can’t just move in there. Oh wait, YOU CAN.

Ice House Studios are located on the second floor of the Ice House, which is located in downtown Harrisonburg on Liberty Street across from Turner Pavilion. Coming up on April 30, it’s the return of Detox Retox — an outdoor yoga class in the circular drive of Pale Fire Brewing! Click to see the classes offered at The Center and Breathe. See you there!

Copyright © 2012-16 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

epic proportions: 6x6x30.

Posted on March 14, 2016 by junebug

I remember last year’s 6x6x30 Art Show, hosted by Spitzer Art Center, more vividly than I remember most things these days. Maybe that’s because experiences that evoke an emotional response take root in one’s memory, and one’s heart, more firmly than superficial, run-of-the-mill events. And that show was anything but ordinary. I remember seeing thirty of Trip Madison’s iconic ships lined up in rows together — a massive, colorful fleet. I remember Brandy’s daring and innovative experiment in which photography met needlepoint — thirty photographs, printed on fabric, enhanced with bright stitches. One of them was a photo of me, my earrings embellished by vibrant orange thread. I remember Denise Allen’s collection of thirty paintings — my son was one of them! I remember Jewel Hertzler’s glistening encaustic paintings — especially the ones of owls and trees. Trees are my people. And so I remember all those images, burned into my frontal lobe, easily recalled from the deepest regions of my memory — not the same feeling as remembering something because it’s been scrawled on a post-it note and hangs on my computer screen. I remember it because I want to, not because I have to.

When Spitzer’s 6x6x30 show rolled around again this year, I decided to give it a try. I knew going in that making one six-inch-square piece of art every day for thirty days would be intense, especially given that I’m not an artist, I’ve had very little experience making art, I’ve had absolutely no training, I had limited supplies and budget, and as always, time would be a huge factor. The biggest lesson I learned over the course of the thirty days is that I was indeed capable of completing the task — even on time! — and so can you. My exhibit was not nearly as breathtakingly beautiful as some of the others, and that’s okay. No one can expect to produce veteran-quality work their first day on the job. And hanging my work next to the work of those veterans, being invited to participate, being welcomed into the fold of all those beautiful people, was truly humbling.

Envelopes by Katie Mitchell

At the start I wasn’t exactly sure what my abilities were, so for my exhibit, I avoided things I KNEW I couldn’t do. Oil painting — forget it. Realistic drawing — nope. Watercolors — uh uh. Anything involving clay — haha!! But… I’d been making and decorating envelopes for my pen pal for a few months and I felt okay about that.

Each of the thirty days, after tucking my kids in for the night, I would unfurl my giant roll of white craft paper that I’d pilfered from the kids’ easel downstairs, cut out the shape of an unfolded envelope, fold it to the proper dimensions, and glue the seams. Then I’d sketch (ha) a rough outline of the image I wanted to achieve and rip up random pages of discarded magazines from my school library, gluing down little bits and pieces until it sorta looked like what I’d imagined. For some of the envelopes, I did very rudimentary drawings colored in with marker or colored pencils. I decorated both sides of the envelopes (though not evenly) and invited exhibit attendees to handle the envelopes so they could see the front and the back.

I also learned that I am capable of improving. The last envelope I made features a guitar fashioned out of tiny bits of National Geographic magazine. The guitar’s neck wraps around the the back of the envelope where I included a line from the song “Crazy Heart.” The first envelope I made, on the other hand, features an awkward, crooked, wonky-looking record player. Ugh. Despite that frustration, I got better and more efficient at the craft each night. I also got farther and farther behind with EVERY OTHER part of my life. I avoided cooking so I wouldn’t make more dirty dishes, clean clothes were out of the question, and sleep was whittled down to a 4-hour nap each night.

Finally, the day of the opening arrived. The show was so huge — 47 artists and 1410 works of art!!! — that no downtown location could host it. Instead, Park Gables Gallery, on the campus of Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, graciously offered their walls. Each artist had a wooden panel on which to display all thirty pieces. The panels hung throughout the spacious gallery, each accompanied by an artist bio/statement. Hundreds of people attended. Hundreds. Throngs, if you will. The opening was 5 – 8pm but easily could have gone later. So, so much beauty and talent and ding dang perseverance to take in — more than can be digested in one evening. It’s a good thing the show will remain up the rest of this month.

As you can see from the photographs, artists used a variety of media, techniques, and themes. There was charcoal and acrylic and vintage fabric. There was photography and watercolor and pastels. Magazines, needlepoint, pencil drawings and mandalas. There was even melted crayon + nail polish, fused glass, and cyanotype photograms on watercolor paper. There was calligraphy and handmade tiles and thirty sculptures made of things like screws and rebar and hooks! Themes ranged from spoons, hands, and plants, to pugs and bunnies, to the story of Creation.

photos by Brandy Somers

Collage by Cindy Greene

Collage by Cindy Greene

Encaustic Painting by Jewel Hertzler

Sculpture by Michael Hough

Paintings by Padma Jennifer Ann Kockim

Fused Glass by Rebecca Brydge

Pugs by Zach Gesford

And the evening would not have been complete without awarding much deserved prizes. First place, sponsored by Blakemore’s Flowers, went to Brenda Hounshell.

1st Place Brenda Hounshell

2nd place, sponsored by E. Miller and D. Albright, went to Erin Murray.

2nd Place Erin Murray

And 3rd place, sponsored by A Bowl of Good, went to Barbara Gautcher.

3rd Place Barbara Gautcher

The show is still up, and will remain up until the end of the month, so there’s still time to get in there and see it. If you’re interested in purchasing art work, please check with the receptionist at the desk just to the right of the staircase near the entrance. This is Spitzer’s biggest fundraiser of the year; twenty percent of art sales from the 6x6x30 show goes straight to Spitzer Art Center so they can continue providing art to our local community and support to our local artists. It’s a small investment with hefty dividends! Yet another night to remember, another opportunity of a lifetime, a thousand more notches in my prefrontal cortex — all right here in our little Burg.

Here’s a list of all the participating artists. Join them next year!!

Copyright © 2012-16 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

we new it: ride along.

Posted on January 4, 2016 by junebug

When I sit down to write my list of New Year’s resolutions, it usually goes like this:

Things I Should Do in the New Year:
1. Exercise more.
2. uuuuuuuuuggggghhh.

Things I Want To Do in the New Year:
1. Read.
2. Learn an instrument.
3. Be more creative.
4. Make my own sushi.
5. Do a better job of keeping in touch with people.

Things I’ll Most Likely Actually Do in the New Year:
1. Netflix.
2. Fish tacos.
3. Funny cat videos on YouTube.

I guess the three lists show a trend… that I don’t like to resolve to do things I’m simply not interested in, and that sometimes I feel I’ve accomplished NOTHING, that I’ve wasted yet another year not doing what I want, doing more working than playing, more frowning than smiling, more scrolling than learning, more spending than saving, blah blah blah. But, when I truly look back over 2015 as a whole, I see it was not a waste at all. Not a minute. Indeed, 2015 was marked by unprecedented newness and adventure, for both Brandy and for me. She and I both traveled to new destinations — she to Alaska and Oregon, and I to several national parks as far west as Yosemite. We also started an awards program called Harrisonburg Action Figures and presented the first one back in September. We were interviewed for a podcast — another totally new experience — by Kai Degner (Hello Harrisonburg), and because of that experience, we offered our first I Love My Burg prize to listeners who shared that podcast– a ride along with us, wherever he or she wanted to go, our treat! We covered the opening of two new breweries and a restaurant (Pale Fire, Wolfe Street, and Jalapeño), we attended Megan Tiller’s first ever pop up show featuring Bradford Lee Folk, and we finally tried some lavender ice cream. I’m teaching a class I’ve never taught in my seventeen years of teaching, and Brandy documented nearly twenty hikes all over Virginia and the US in her Took a Hike, Took a Camera series. Our lives are full of new things, not necessarily previously written down on a list of resolutions, but things that arise organically because we’re friends. So I think my “list” this year will simply be this: Continue doing new stuff.

This post is about a whole night of new things! Our ride along winner, Sharon Skates, wanted to try out Harrisonburg’s newest brewery, Wolfe Street Brewing. The brewery is located on Wolfe Street (duh) between Liberty and 42 and adjoins the Rock’n Wolfe Food Truck Park, which is super handy. The building was, at one time long ago, a chicken slaughterhouse, then a mechanic’s shop, and then it sat empty for a bit before the owner of the property decided to convert it to a brewery. Inside it’s a cozy space. The dropped ceiling directly over the bar holds Wolfe St. growlers re-purposed as lights. A split-level seating area leads to a homey and sizable yard out back. On the left side of the space, nine thousand pounds of malted grain in neatly stacked sacks is all that separates the general public from the brewing area. The entire brewery is cloaked in gorgeous woodwork by Benevolent Design, lending a Scandinavian cabin feel to the whole place.

We sampled four beers that evening. The Winter Lager is their seasonal brew, and Hop Pocket has a crisp, piney flavor. The Scotch Ale is a full-bodied, smokey beer, and the Nut Quacker is spicy and refreshing.

Our next stop was the grand re-opening of The Mark-It in its new location at 125 West Water Street, right in front of the wooden bridge. You might be surprised to know that the business has been around for about 20 years — starting as a little kiosk in the mall, moving to several locations, and finally being operated by its current owners, Susie Diehl and Jeff Guinn. The walls of the store are filled with the work they’ve done over the years, for people and companies ranging from the Super Gr8 Film Festival and Pale Fire Brewing to Uncle Bengine and the Restraining Orders. The store looks great, the location is awesome, and we wish them happiness and prosperity in their new location!

Brandy and I had been to Food Bar Food several times, but for Sharon it was a new experience and we were so happy to take her there. Seriously. The food is absolutely exquisite, and the prices are so reasonable. Plus the bloody Mary menu — sheesh! I might have to update my resolutions to include “try every singe item on the Food Bar Food menu.” For now, I ordered the haddock burger with a fried egg on top (omg, I’m drooling as I type that); Sharon got the duck leg, and Brandy got the Thai curry noodles. We talked about all sorts of girly topics that I can’t really share here, but we did discover something we have in common: we’re all old enough to know what a “pager number” is. If you don’t, you could always add “learn about obsolete technology” to your list of resolutions.

It’s a new year in our beautiful city and there’s so much to look forward to. This city is FILLED with people who “do new stuff” all the time, and that’s why Harrisonburg is so rich in art and music, gourmet food and top notch beer, unique shops and excellent, efficient service. So, thanks for helping me keep my resolution, Friendly City. I couldn’t do it without you.

If you’re looking for something new to do this year, here are the highlights of our 2015:
Hot Ticket: Jalapeño Southwest Grill
All In: unJURIED Exhibition
Freezer Burn: Pale Fire Brewing
Take Your Pick: Bradford Lee Folk and the Bluegrass Playboys
Follow Your Hearts: Bryan Elijah Smith and the Wild Hearts
Here’s the Deal: Harrisonburg Pokemon League
Tap Dance: Brothers Craft Brewing Music Festival
Grass Roots: Our Community Place Annual Lawn Jam
Cold Off the Press: Old Hill Hard Cider
Field Day: White Oak Lavender Farm
Full Alert: Edible Fest
Be In the Running: VA Momentum
Royal Treatment: 2015 Progressive Party

full alert: edible fest.

Posted on September 9, 2015 by junebug

Trying to schedule an outing usually goes like this:

Katie: We need to get out soon.
Brandy: Agreed. How about Tuesday?
Katie: No can do, Bree’s got a meet. What about Wednesday?
Brandy: I’ve got a photo shoot.
Katie: Okay. Friday?
Brandy: Blake’s got a band thing. How about next Monday?
Katie: I have a hair appointment.

Still, as you and the rest of our readers can see, we do manage to get out occasionally. And on a very rare occasion, we are able to attend an all-day event. When that happens, man – do we milk it for everything it’s worth!

So a few weeks ago Brandy, Blake, Ella, and I were fortunate enough to attend the Fourth Annual Edible Fest in Orange, Virginia. Driving from Harrisonburg, careening through Shenandoah National Park, traversing the curves and mountains of Greene County before crossing into Orange County, home of Montpelier and Barboursville and punctuated by corn fields and kudzu dinosaurs, provided ample and much-needed time to talk and catch up with each other, to breathe and simply sit – restricted by the seatbelt from doing anything at all but sitting side by side. There’s something beautifully restful about a drive.

Once there, we parked and took a shuttle just a couple blocks to the site, right on Main Street in downtown Orange. Presented by edible Blue Ridge Magazine, the Orange Downtown Alliance, and the AV Company, the day-long festival includes Chef Demos with food tastings, a huge open-air market, live music, food trucks, beer and wine, DIY seminars, and kids’ activities. The whole time we were there, we kept saying, “Harrisonburg could TOTALLY do this!” and we really hope that happens soooon!

Here’s how it was set up: On one end were two large tents with a closed-circuit TV, a microphone, and about 100 seats in each. These were for the Chef Demos, and the two tents took turns so that patrons wouldn’t miss half of the demonstrations. Running at staggered times in a third tent were DIY seminars on topics ranging from making Kombucha to cooking with mushrooms to beer brewing. The chefs included Dwayne Edwards from Keswick Hall; Jason Daniels from Vintage Restaurant at The Inn at Willow Grove; Curtis Shaver from Hamiltons’ First and Main; Craig Hartman from The Barbeque Exchange; Ralph Brown from RBC Institute; Tucker Yoder from Eljogaha; Angelo Vangelopoulos from The Ivy Inn Restaurant; Pete Woods from Merrior and Rappahannock Oyster Co.; Ken Notari from Nude Fude; and Martha Stafford from Charlottesville Cooking School. The chefs’ demos lasted from 10:30am until 4:45pm, so if you wanted to, you could just scoot back and forth between those two tents and spend the entire day watching these incredibly talented chefs and sampling TONS of amazing food.

On the other end of the festival site was a covered dining area with plenty of tables and chairs and a bandstand for the three bands who played (Michael Coleman, John Kelly, and Erin Lunsford). Between the two ends (chef tents and dining area) were ZILLIONS of vendors of most anything you can imagine. Plus food trucks (nine of ’em!!) and a beer truck. I can’t remember all the beers offered, but Pale Fire was one of them, and I remained faithful!

And so finally getting to the story, here’s what we did:
First we saw Chef Dwayne Edwards and his assistant from Keswick Hall make a succulent watermelon salad with lavender, sea salt, chili flakes, goat cheese, heirloom cherry tomatoes, tangerine oil, oak barrel aged vinegar, fennel pollen, and basil. Mind you, I didn’t know what HALF those things were, at all, but this tattooed chef in his pinstriped apron narrated every step and it was quite educational. I learned a lot – a new way to chop up a watermelon (my way is pretty efficient, too, I must say, but his added a ninja element), a new way to choose a watermelon (I’ve been drumming on it like a bongo all this time, but apparently you should look for bumps on the “ground side” of the watermelon), and a crazy amount of information about all the different kinds of salt, and even the origin of the word “salary,” which appealed to the word-nerd in me.

Next in Tent 2, Chef Tucker Yoder and his assistant Angelo were whipping up Sprouted Grain Salad with Seasonal Veggies and Duck Ham from a local farm. All the chefs used locally-sourced ingredients in their dishes, and Chef Yoder makes most all of his sauces and spreads from scratch – a nice nod to sustainability and craftsmanship that’s usually absent in chain restaurants – resulting in fresh and vibrant flavors.

Back in Tent 1, Chef Jason Daniels and his assistant Anthony put together a Pan Roasted Pork Loin (dear gaaaaahhhhd) with Yellow Squash Casserole, Baby Spinach, and Blueberry Salsa. That dish smelled SO good while it was cooking I could barely resist climbing onto the countertop. The casserole included sauteed yellow squash, olive oil, butter, scallions and onion, salt and pepper, sugar, flour, a whole bunch of cheese and heavy cream. While that baked, he made the salsa from red onion, jalapenos, blueberries, garlic, mint and cilantro, and simple syrup – all smushed by hand. The pork sizzled in its skillet in brine. Then it all went together in a happy little cup. Unbelievable.

After that demo, we ventured out into vendor-land. So many products. So many samples. So much gooooood. I couldn’t possible list them all, but we saw insect repellant soap by Eastham Farms, Bloody Mary mix (three varieties) by Back Pocket Provisions. Their “Bloody Bangkok” is a throat kicker! Hot Jelly Pot brought 72 flavors of jams and jellies, including their number one seller, Pineapple Pepper. There were Wakefield Peanuts and Hickory (not maple!) Syrups. Mushroom spawn kits. Barefoot Bucha and culinary herbs. Beautiful wooden and ceramic products from Madeira and Lifeware. Tea for all occasions from Fairweather Farm Tea with names like “What the Fxxx Happened,” “Chill the Fxxx Out,” and “Calm the Fxxx Down.” No, I’m not kidding. It was awesome. Coffee, cheese, wine, vinegar, honey, produce, meat, pies, all of it!

We made it to the end of the marketplace and found the food trucks. We all found something refreshing and reviving and sat down together to enjoy the music. Kids who’d gotten a smoothie from Maui Wowi flashed blue smiles at each other, knowingly, like a secret handshake. Feeling rejuvenated, we decided to try to catch one more chef demo.

This time, it was Chef Craig Hartman from The Barbeque Exchange and his Sweet Corn and Bacon. It was after 2pm. People had been there a while and were relaxed and jovial. You could feel the excitement; the tent seemed hotter. We all clapped when he pulled out the giant slab of bacon; we cheered when he said “butter”! His biggest piece of advice when cooking the meat was to “control the flame” at all times. Don’t let the pan get too hot; don’t lose control of that flame. So it was especially funny when his towel caught fire. And when he handed out the sample of that sweet corn and bacon, it was like Oprah’s Favorite Things: “YOU get bacon! And YOU get bacon! AND YOU GET BACON!” People went crazy! Lots of laughing and clapping and yum-ing – what an awesome day.

All in all, this was a fantastic festival and something WE KNOW Harrisonburg could pull off. Who’s in?

Copyright © 2012-15 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

best buds: white oak lavender farm.

Posted on August 26, 2015 by junebug

More photos of our trip to White Oak Lavender Farm!

field day: white oak lavender farm.

Posted on August 24, 2015 by junebug

Driving along highway 276 south of Harrisonburg, you might not even notice it’s there. I didn’t, and I’ve driven that road innumerable times. But with a speed limit of 55 and a hypnotic and familiar landscape of corn fields, cow pastures, and rustic barns, that road has a way of inducing zoned-out daydreams. And so I don’t know, exactly, how many times I’ve driven by it. This is not to say I’d never heard of it – The White Oak Lavender Farm has been on my list of things to do for seemingly ever… I just never realized how close it is to my house.

Brandy, her sister Marcy, I, and an excited gaggle of six children spent a leisurely afternoon there not long ago. As our friendly and patient guide told us, White Oak Lavender Farm is “all about R&R.” We first listened to her compelling explanation of the benefits of lavender and how it’s grown and harvested. The farm is home to some 9000 lavender plants (some of which are available to purchase) from which ALL the products sold at the farm are made. She allowed all the kids to touch the fragrant plants, pointing out their “bud heads,” which of course the kids heard as “butt heads” and subsequently tried to suppress their giggles.

After the plants are harvested, They’re sent to the steam distillery to extract the essential lavender oil from the fresh lavender buds or sent to dry out in the Drying and Disbudding Barn. A machine removes the buds to be used for all the soft good or cooking items. White Oak’s gift shop sells all the products made from the buds and the oil. This gift shop is a place you need to remember when you’re ready to do some birthday or holiday shopping. I had visited their booth at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market before, but I was floored by the number and variety of items in the shop, all made (with the exception of, say, dishware) with lavender. Lavender tea, sugar, coffee, mulling spices. Lavender candles, oils, soaps, body products. Lavender vinegar, jellies and jams, and even cooking oil. They make and sell lavender brownies and ice cream: blueberry, vanilla, and strawberry. Brandy barely got a photo of it before the kids inhaled it.

If you still haven’t heard what a wonder-herb lavender is, it’s all about relaxation. It soothes bug bites and burns. It helps you sleep. It calms the digestive system. It clarifies your skin and repels bugs. It relieves pain and increases circulation. There’s absolutely no reason you should not live a more lavender life, people.

But the farm has far more to offer than just lavender fields and a gift shop. You can stroll the grounds of the farm and pet some animals, like Flemish Giants (bunnies), ponies, goats, and sheep. You can play giant checkers and contemplate in the labyrinth. You can sit by the Bottle Tree (helps ward off bad spirits) or enjoy the Peace Circle for Enhanced Communication. You can rest in a rocking chair on the covered porch. You can listen to the waterfall at the duck pond, and watch the alpacas on the hill.

You can pick your own lavender, and they even offer workshops and classes from time to time. And you can end your visit there as we did, sitting under their picnic shelter and just being happy to be together on a rare respite from life’s race.

White Oak Lavender Farm is open Monday – Saturday 10am – 6pm and Sunday 1pm – 6pm and is located at 2644 Cross Keys Road. That’s just a bit south of the intersection of 276 and Port Republic Road. They’d love to see you, whether you’re chaperoning a school field trip, exploring as a family, or just ready to slow down a bit by yourself.

here’s the deal: harrisonburg pokemon league.

Posted on July 6, 2015 by junebug

The kids and I returned from a 24-day tour of America this week, and my original plan was to publish this post sometime during that trip. However, because I was driving a lot and doing a lot in places with little or no Internet connection, I just never got the opportunity to put it all together, until now. But, you know, it’s a good thing, because my knowledge of Pokemon increased about 200% during the trip.

The size of my car severely limited what each of us could bring on the trip. Just a couple changes of clothes, a tent and sleeping bags, a few books, and one – ONE – toy per child. So Bree and Cal decided to bring their Pokemon cards. Every night, wherever we were camping, I insisted that we all be in the tent before dark, and since we weren’t always ready to sleep at that time, we stayed up playing Pokemon. And I joined in, too.

Before the trip, if I had tried to write about the game, it would have sounded very much like this post about roller derby, when I didn’t understand a dang thing that was happening. All I knew about Pokemon just a few short weeks ago was that cards are dealt, characters battle each other, points are deducted, and players speak in some weird Star Trek language, saying things like “charizard” and “kyogre,” “gengar” and “voltorbe.” Now I understand, and I owe my new-found knowledge not just to our trip, but to the group that started it all for my family: the Harrisonburg Pokemon League.

The League was created nine years ago by a Harrisonburg couple, William and Juanita. They have six sons, the oldest of which is now 21. In essence, they created the club for him, and they have generously continued it for any kid who’s interested. When their first son was little and became interested in Pokemon, William and Juanita looked for a place where he could practice and play with other Pokemon fans. Along the way there were some groups; one group met, for a short time, at the library. Then a few groups formed at stores like Books-A-Million and Toys ‘R Us. William and Juanita learned the game, they took their boys to the club, and it sort of became a family hobby. But eventually, all the local clubs closed. At that point, with a growing family of Pokemon fans, the couple took it upon themselves to start their own league.

The League currently meets on Sundays from 1 – 3pm at 8Bit Oasis, a gaming store owned by Lauren Davis in the Cloverleaf Shopping Center. Anyone who wants to play Pokemon is welcome. It’s completely free and open to all people of all ages. Even if you’re not ready to sit down and play with the others, a visit to the store to check out the scene is a must. Walking into 8bit Oasis gave me an overload of sense memories. They’ve got a huge inventory of vintage gaming systems, equipment, accessories, and games. I was an Atari girl, myself. My childhood friend Kathy and I would play Missile Command and Frogger and Yars Revenge for like twelve hours straight, eating nothing but Dr. Pepper and pixie sticks. We’d have thumb cramps and bloodshot eyes and all. So seeing that wall of Atari cartridges – wow! It made me swoon. Other vintage items include Gameboys, Gamecubes, joysticks, and old games like Top Gear Rally. They also carry new and used games for current systems – Wii, Xbox, Playstation, and the like. At the back of the store is small gaming lounge. You can borrow a game to try out on their system, or you can play one of their arcade games, like Donkey Kong Jr., Mario, Galaga, or PacMan.

The League is very organized. On our first visit, William sat down with all our kids and led them through a battle, explaining all the official rules in detail (believe me, Bree and Cal had improvised at home A LOT before learning the proper way to play). Even though there were several other players there, William took the time to patiently coach each child. One of William and Juanita’s sons also helped answer questions and strategize with the kids. All the kids picked up really quickly and have been able to play independently ever since. A battle starts with the dealing of cards. Each player gets seven cards for his hand and six for his “prize cards.” The rest of the 60-card deck remains face down. The deck is composed of a variety of Pokemon (characters), energy cards (you need those to make your Pokemon be able to attack), and trainer cards, which usually grant a player some special advantage for a single turn or for the remainder of the battle. Next, each player chooses which Pokemon will battle. Then it’s a series of picking cards and discarding, attaching energy cards to the Pokemon, attacking (things like “peck,” “stomp,” “continuous headbutt,” “hopeless scream”), and deducting points for each attack. Once a Pokemon’s “health” score is decimated, it’s been defeated, and the winner gets to pick up one of his prize cards. The player who gets through all six prize cards first wins the battle.

While William walks around to facilitate the battles and serve as referee as needed, Juanita keeps track of everyone’s wins. After you’ve accumulated a certain number of wins, you get a prize. And once every three or four months, they hold what’s called a Booster Pack Tournament. They purchase newly released cards in packs of ten. Each kid pays $20 and gets six packs of cards. They sit at tables, open one pack at a time, take their favorite card from that pack and pass the rest to the left. The cards keep moving around the table until they’ve all been distributed. Then they all open pack #2, and repeat the process. By the end, each kid has more than 50 new cards, which they use to create a 40-card deck and play two battles right then. It was really fun for everyone, and a cool way to add excitement and anticipation to an already challenging and complex game.

Brandy and I have been so impressed with William and Juanita that we felt compelled to share this with you. They are just the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. Their patience and friendliness to all the kids… their willingness to create and maintain this league for nine years with no compensation… their relaxed demeanor and acceptance of anyone who wants to play is exactly what should come to mind when one thinks of The Friendly City. Thank you, William and Juanita (and their sons!), and 8bit Oasis, for providing a fun, educational, and wholesome activity for kids of all ages.

If you haven’t been to 8bit Oasis or the Harrisonburg Pokemon League, you should come Sunday and check it out!

back in jack: billy jack’s. again.

Posted on December 15, 2014 by junebug

When the weather turns colder, I’ll do just about anything to get and stay warm. In the winter I sometimes take three showers/baths A DAY. I wear double socks. I keep my coat on at work. I have an electric blanket on my bed. And I want spicy food.

And since our favorite wings joint had recently experienced some upgrades, Brandy and I decided to do a SECOND post about Billy Jack’s Wing & Draft Shack. That’s right, folks — this is the first time we’ve ever returned to a business for the sake of reporting on it AGAIN. So this’ll be a short-ish little ditty about what’s new at BJ’s.

Of course, I usually start with the backstory. On the way downtown, Cal asked how old he would be when Bree started high school. This led to a discussion about what high school would be like, and whether Bree would be driving herself. And I replied that yes, I would probably get her a car so I wouldn’t have to drive her all over the place. And she said, “Well, I’d really like a VW Bug. There’s so cute, and I bet they get good gas mileage.” My practical girl. And Cal said, “Really?? They’re so small! I want a limo. …Because I’m gonna have LOTS of babies.” And apparently he wants them to travel in style!

So the big news is that Billy Jack’s now has an oyster bar! They had to remove the Donkey Kong arcade game, but I think we’ll be okay. You can order 1/4 dozen, 1/2 dozen, or a baker’s dozen, and you can get them with champagne if you’re feeling really dignified. They’ve added other things to the menu, too. Like a 10-napkin burger with 25 toppings to choose from. And the BJ’s Boxes (which maybe aren’t that new, but I didn’t know about them) — including a Sticky Nuggs box, Fried Pickle box, Fried Mac-n-Cheese box, and a BOX FULL OF JUST APPLEWOOD SMOKED BACON. And of course, they’re now serving brunch, which I haven’t yet tried but I heard it’s off the heezy, so you can just go ahead and count on a third post about Billy Jack’s.

Copyright © 2012-14 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

bite me… please: rocktown bites.

Posted on October 16, 2014 by junebug

You know, I feel I know my city pretty well. I’ve been to lots and lots of local restaurants and businesses, many of which you’ve read about right here. But recently Brandy and I did something we hadn’t done before: we went on a culinary tour of our city. Hosted by Regina Hissong, Rocktown Bites conducts twice monthly walking tours to seven (!) local restaurants, shops, and businesses where you get to sample their best food and drink offerings, plus learn a LOT about those establishments and the history of the buildings they’re in. Back in January of this year, Harrisonburg became the FIRST city in Virginia to be designated a Downtown Culinary District! Rocktown Bites will show you exactly why.

We met at the Hardesty Higgins House, all twelve of us — Lindsey, Brandy, Blake, Ella, Ben, Heidi, Aiden, Cal, Bree, Denise, Sean, and me — plus our happy host, Regina. The kids enjoyed the gift shop and the 1862 model of Harrisonburg with all those teeny tiny animals. Once all assembled, we ventured out into the sunshine, a traffic-stopping pedestrian food procession.

Our first stop was the newly opened Midtowne Bottle Shop. Owner Lauren Penrod greeted us and quenched our thirst with two Brew Ridge Trail Collaborations — Moon (an India Pale Lager) and her sister beer, Earth (a double IPA). The kiddos indulged in Flathead Lake Gourmet Soda in black raspberry and strawberry orange. I was kinda excited that Cal, my little soda virgin, had his first soda in my favorite new store. I see a tradition forming.

Not only does Midtowne Bottle Shop offer lots of bottles, but they also have eight taps. You can bring your growler or purchase one of theirs (1-pint, 2-pint, or standard size) for frequent fill ups with no trash. Regina’s husband has a growler holder on his BIKE. WHAT AN IDEA. Despite seeing him often, Lauren didn’t realize this… but she did say she notices he’s sweaty when he comes into the shop.

Our next stop was just across the street and the site of the first ever Rocktown Bites love connection. Cuban Burger. Owner Steve Pizarro met his lovely lady when SHE was on a Rocktown Bites tour, and now a year later, they’re proud parents of cutie-pie Charles Harrison! At Cuban Burger we nibbled on… well, the Cuban Burger, and garlicky cuban toast with black bean dip, and we enjoyed Jupiña pineapple soda and a classic daiquiri.

On to Clementine we went. If this stop is on your tour, come hungry. I was surprised (pleasantly, of course) at how many “samples” we got to try. First they served us homemade lemonade, which was a real treat for all of us on this warm, sunny day. They estimate that they squeeze 750 lemons per week to make their citrusy concoction, which also contains limes, sugar, water, and mint. Then we “sampled” some food… but really, it was a whole plate of food, including seared scallops with a saffron risotto and spinach pesto, served with roma tomatoes and A.M. Fog mushrooms in a balsamic drizzle. Drooling occurred. Also, I forget what we were talking about, but Denise was trying like the dickens to say “Snap, crackle, and pop,” and she kept stumbling over the words and burst forth with a “Crap Snackle!” which has become my new profanity replacement.

Next we meandered over to Jack Brown’s. We got to eat their AMAZING Wagyu beef cheeseburgers with their addictive special sauce, plus Sticky Nugs from Billy Jack’s, and we got to sample the Apocalypse Ale. We sat sorta near the back… usually when I’m in there I’m at the bar, at basically the first seat I can get my honey on.. but back there, near the back… is DONKEY KONG. As soon as I heard the sounds coming from the machine, my head turned as if in slow motion… I dropped everything I was eating and drinking and shoved the children outta the way: “Watch the master…!” And I saw something else I didn’t know about, too: Jack’s Hideaway.

Remember the scene in Goodfellas, near the end, when DeNiro’s character tells Lorraine Bracco’s character to “go down there,” down the sidewalk to some door where there are some dresses she could have? And Deniro’s standing back there gesturing and looking around, and she’s looking around, and you get this bad feeling… and she does, too…? Well, I had a flash — just a flash! — of that when we were walking to the door of Jack’s Hideaway. It’s around the corner from Jack Brown’s, on Water Street, and it’s down the sidewalk, and it’s just this nondescript door you knock on. But no malevolent force will greet you, you won’t get “whacked” or anything; instead you’ll be escorted into a really, really cool space. It’s where Aaron and Patrice lived when they first opened Jack Brown’s. It’s another bar, quite lounge and swanky, with a lovely view of the street below, a bar, a menu, a second room, and restrooms. It’s open Thursday through Sunday, and I could see spending a lot of time in that secret little place. But the capacity is only a couple dozen, so it’s possible you’ll be turned away if it’s a busy night. Still, put on some fancy duds and knock on that door. It’s truly special, a Harrisonburg treasure.

There was more to see, and so we hit the pavement once again. Our pace, and especially the kids’, increased as we got closer to our next destination: Kline’s Dairy Bar. Yesssssss! Did you know they’ve been in business 71 years?? Regina told us that. Mr. Kline would hand frozen custard out the window of his home. The business is no longer owned by the Kline family, but the yumminess continues, as well as the tradition of passing frozen custard through a tiny window. On this day they had one of my favorites — Raspberry — plus the usual chocolate and vanilla.

I thought for sure the tour had to be over since we’d had dessert… but no! There was more! We stopped in to Friendly City Food Co-op for a tour and samples of delicious peach poundcake made with local peaches. Steve Cook conducted the tour and told us all sorts of interesting info. For example, local products can be found in every department and on every aisle of the store, from Lucas Coffee to Polyface chicken, from maple syrup from Highland County to popcorn from Dayton, from milk from Mt. Crawford to soap from Charlottesville. They now sell beer and wine (no corporate beer!), and they’re planning a big expansion — the meat and produce areas will double in size and the kitchen will serve hot food. It’s a great place to shop, whether you need full-on groceries, or just lunch.

And still, there was more. Regina was really wowing us today! Our last stop was Bella Luna, Harrisonburg’s fairly new wood-fired pizzeria. We ate ravioli with pork, peaches, jalapeño, lemon, and arugula (what a combination!) covered in a smoked paprika sauce, and THEN two kinds of pizza cooked in their 900-degree oven in just three minutes. Plus their chocolate torte — flourless and gluten free — with orange whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. Kate, the manager, talked to us at length about each dish and also about their effort to support local agriculture. They actually ask local farmers to produce certain foods. In fact, just that morning she’d bought grapes at the farmer’s market for that evenings specialty cocktail. The kids tried their vanilla cream soda, and the rest of us got to end our tour with Regina’s all-time favorite cocktail — the vanilla old fashioned. She certainly earned it! Lordy. This wasn’t the first time Brandy and I have been “full up to the collarbone,” as she says, but it was one of the best times, for sure.

In summary (ha), you’ve got to go on this tour. The next one is October 25 — the Goons, Goblins, and Grub Tour, in honor of Halloween. It starts at 2pm at the Hardesty Higgins House. But, you have to get tickets in advance, so Regina can let the restaurants know how many to expect. To purchase tickets, just go to the web site and click on the Tickets tab at the top. You’d easily spend the cost of the ticket at just one restaurant; the tour is a great way to sample a bunch of different places, learn a lot, and enjoy the company of Regina, my favorite Harrisonburg ambassador! You’ll have a fine time!

See you out and about!

bonus tracks: red wing roots music festival, 2014.

Posted on September 8, 2014 by junebug

There are always leftovers :) Enjoy these final shots from the Red Wing Roots Music Festival!

Copyright © 2012 – 2014 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers.This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

time flies: red wing roots music festival, 2014.

Posted on September 5, 2014 by junebug

Day three brought a new element to the Red Wing Roots Music Festival: my children.

Honestly, I was so excited they’d get to attend that I couldn’t get there fast enough that Sunday. In case you didn’t know, kids get in free at Red Wing, and there’s plenty for them to do. But I really wanted Bree and Cal to hear some music. So many times when bands perform, it’s way past bedtime. Great music shouldn’t be reserved for just the 18 and older crowd. I prefer to start influencing/molding/controlling their music interests EARLY. You’ll never find “Barney’s Greatest Hits” in this mama’s car. EVER.

We parked and started the trek to the Local Roots Stage, where we looked forward to seeing Bourbon Barrel Congress and Bryan Elijah Smith. I worried for a moment that the walk from the car would be a little long for the children… but who am I kidding? They’re young and strong and enthusiastic. Cal found a walking stick and that’s all he needed. Bree was fascinated by the sheer number of people and their cozy campsites. At the gate, one of the volunteers recognized the three of us — she’d seen our faces right here on this web site — and said she feels like she’s watched Bree and Cal grow up and then asked, “Do your kids just never argue?” And I could proudly say, “It’s rare.” Another volunteer suggested I write my cell number on the kids’ wristbands in case they get lost. But… my cell phone was useless out there, so I quickly scrawled “BRING ME TO THE STUMP” and said a quick prayer about the kindness of strangers.

On we went. We were a bit early for Bourbon Barrel Congress, so I showed them where the stump was — our meeting place should we get separated — and we got some Kline’s ice cream and an iced coffee from Lucas Roasting Company.

JP Harris and the Tough Choices were on the South Stage, with that voice that could melt steel and sounds that could slice through it. I could see Brandy snaking her way closer to the stage, and the kids and I wiggled our way through the sweaty crowd to join her. We caught the last few numbers of JP’s performance, including the very first song he ever wrote, “If There Ain’t No Honky-Tonks in Heaven.” It made me think of Harper Lee and how she won the Pulitzer for her very first book. Why bother writing anything else when you hit a home run the first time at bat? Perhaps in JP’s case, because PEOPLE WANT MORE, for one. That band was awesome. Their new album, Home Is Where the Hurt Is (amen) comes out in a couple weeks, and you can catch them TONIGHT (!!) at Clementine in Harrisonburg. And I will see you there :)

Then we moved to the Local Roots Stage for Bourbon Barrel Congress. Thankfully we were able to sit in the shade, but still it was hot enough to shed about eight pounds of fluid while performing. But the heat didn’t slow these guys down; rather, it seemed to ignite their spirit and, likewise, the crowd’s. Soon everyone was clapping and stomping to the bellow of Chris Davis’ upright base, the squeals of Rene’s Devito’s fiddle, and the laughter of John Spangler’s banjo. On and on they barreled indeed, through an impressive eight numbers… lively instrumentals alternated with songs embroidered with Ethan Hawkins’ like-freshly-Windexed-glass voice. Cleeeaaan. Bourbon Barrel Congress will play at Harrisonburg’s Local Chop and Grill House October 17!

When at last Bryan Elijah Smith and the Wildhearts, accompanied by singer/writer Krista Polvere, climbed up on stage, I felt both happy and sad. For me, this was the finale of the festival. After their performance, the kids and I would have to hit the road. So we savored every last note of their set. Their sound was huge — almost too big for the Local Roots Stage — and it felt like the amps would blow the tent down at times. But the warm sound lassoed us, hugged us all, and like a hypnotist’s spell, compelled us to stay put.

Since that performance I’ve purchased every single album of theirs, and I can’t help hear a bit of Dylan — both Jakob and Bob — in Bryan’s love-worn-leather voice and timeless words, paired with the band’s unique yet diversely broad instrumental style. If you liked what you heard that day, too, you can celebrate the release of their latest album, These American Hearts, at Clementine on September 12th. The show is proudly presented by our local Friendly City Food Co-op, Lucas Roasting Company, WMRA, and Three Brothers Brewing. It’ll be a good ol’ hometown party.

On the way back to the car, the kids’ broad smiles and cute comments brightened each step.
“I want to see those bands again!”
“I can’t believe how loud that was!”
“When can we go to another festival??” and
“Mom, can I bring this rock home?” No. (Because, we sorta have a lot of rocks already at the house, you see.)
“Okay. See you next year, Rock!”

See you next year, indeed!

i love my burg.

happiness is harrisonburg shaped.

Category Archives: retail

sweet talk: syl’s delights.

full blast: rocktown bites.

get IN the comfort zone: hotel madison and montpelier restaurant & bar.

Then, Now, and Beyond

Eating and Drinking

Making the Most of Your Stay

What Else?

eat like a burg: downtown dinner party.

a little rough and ready: the shack.

trash talk: bring your own.

gaining ground(s): black sheep coffee.

love nest: gray jay provisions.

sweet and simple: heritage bakery and cafe.

center fold: dj hyfi and the center.

epic proportions: 6x6x30.

we new it: ride along.

full alert: edible fest.

best buds: white oak lavender farm.

field day: white oak lavender farm.

here’s the deal: harrisonburg pokemon league.

back in jack: billy jack’s. again.

bite me… please: rocktown bites.

bonus tracks: red wing roots music festival, 2014.

time flies: red wing roots music festival, 2014.

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Then, Now, and Beyond

Eating and Drinking

Making the Most of Your Stay

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