Welcome to our food column, Corner Booth, where each month Layla Khoury-Hanold will guide us through what’s happening in Roanoke’s food scene. We’ll feature restaurant openings and closings, trends, changes in cuisine concepts or locations, a first impression of a new eatery, and our Ask Layla section, where Rambler members can get their burning questions answered on the best places to eat or drink for any occasion. Simply leave a comment with your question or email us at editor@roanokerambler.com. Enjoy! 😋

Asher’s Coffee to Serve Espresso Drinks and Waffledillas in Grandin Village

Roanoke’s specialty coffee scene is getting another upgrade, this time from local roaster Asher’s Coffee. Owner Jacob Asher Galbraith, who founded his company in 2020, says the move from their west downtown Roanoke location on Fifth Street to 1302A Grandin Road SW, formerly home to On the Rise Baking in Grandin Village, fulfills a longtime desire to serve espresso drinks and food in addition to pour overs and cold brew showcasing their small-batch roasted beans.

Asher's built a following at LEAP’s Grandin Village Farmers Market and the Salem Farmers Market starting in 2021 and at area pop-ups and events. The company will continue to retail bags of beans, including the best-selling Cuddly Llama and long-time favorites such as Blue Sky Blue and Black & Gold, at both their new location and farmers markets. 

Asher’s’ new cafe coffee menu will feature espresso drinks like lattes and a signature cinnamon-maple cortado. Galbraith is currently working on a house espresso blend featuring beans from Ethiopia, Mexico and Honduras, roasted separately to create a nuanced yet balanced flavor profile that he describes as fruity, chocolatey and smoky. 

There will be a dozen different coffees available as pour overs, depending on what’s being roasted that week and what the staff is particularly excited about, like the Tanzanian Peaberry, a light to medium roast that Galbraith describes as juicy with notes of pineapple and guava. And Asher’s’ popular nitro cold brew will be on tap, including the fan-favorite S’mores version, topped with vanilla cold foam, dark chocolate mocha drizzle and graham cracker crumble.

As indicated by the new location’s signage, Asher’s Coffee is home to the waffledilla. “It’s going to be a quesadilla made in a waffle maker, but the cheese is on the outside, so it gets crusty, then we use that cheese-encrusted tortilla to make a wrap,” Galbraith says. One of the signature waffledillas features a Mexi-Cali-inspired filling of roasted turkey, thick-cut bacon, and a housemade avocado mash. Other savory options might include bacon, egg and cheese or buffalo chicken. On the sweet side, Asher’s plans to serve Belgian-style Liège waffles, and pastries baked in house as well as by a rotating roster of local bakers.

There will be about 30 seats between indoor and outdoor seating, inviting folks to linger over bites and sips, though the menu has been designed to facilitate grab and go orders too. Right now, the team is targeting an April 20 grand opening. In the meantime, customers can place orders for bags of beans and subscriptions online for local pick-up.

New Beers, New Food: Big Lick Brews Next Chapter

Back when Brian Summerson founded Big Lick Brewing Company in 2014, he was a pioneer in the local craft beer scene. Now it’s time for the next generation to oversee Big Lick Brewing’s future: Sydney Nicholas, Chris Nicholas (Sydney’s husband) and Greg Matherly, who worked together at Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company and were early, loyal patrons of Big Lick Brewing. Since the trio took ownership last September, they’ve steadily made changes to improve the drinking and dining experience as well as better structuring distribution with an eye toward local growth.

One of the biggest changes centers around food, which Matherly, who oversees operations, considers a key hospitality opportunity and a way to attract more consumers, especially families and large groups. At the time of press, the team was finalizing hiring an executive chef to oversee the elevated brew pub food that will be prepared and served from a food trailer outside the tap room starting in May. The chef will have creative freedom but will ultimately focus on dishes that travel well from trailer to table, whether that’s in the beer garden or in the taproom — and of course, food that goes well with beer. Sydney Nicholas, who oversees brewing and quality, is a fan of curated pairings and says she looks forward to doing more snack and beer flights and beer dinners. (Customers will still have the option to order delivery from other food vendors or bring in their own food.) 

Best-selling Big Lick Brewing beers like White Bronco, Smith Mountain Lager and Vienna Lager are now branded as flagship beers and part of the year-round core offering. “[Brian] used to have a saying back in the early days of ‘they never brewed the same beer twice,’ After a while, they had to start doing that just from demand—and you start running out of ideas,” says Chris Nicholas, who oversees finance. “I think he had over 500 recipes or something when we took over.” 

There are 24 taps at Big Lick Brewing, so there’s plenty of room for experimentation, including adding more low-ABV (Alcohol by Volume) session beers to the mix and wild cards like a Chai Cream Ale and a seasonal chocolate covered strawberry-esque Baltic porter for Valentine’s Day. In addition to satisfying current fans and craft beer drinkers looking for their next favorite pour, the team is focused on catering to non-beer drinkers, too.

“I like providing surprising recommendations to guests who think they don’t like beer, so I want us to maintain a variety of different styles on the menu,” Sydney says. “For example, many people who enjoy red wine will also enjoy a Baltic Porter but new beer drinkers are typically afraid to try darker beer styles. Someone who enjoys a margarita would likely want to try the Gose.”

Big Lick Brewing also sources products such as non-alcoholic beers from Athletic Brewing, ciders, seltzers and wine from Virginia producers such as Barboursville Vineyards.

In addition to making Big Lick Brewing more approachable for a broader demographic through food and drink offerings, the team says they’ll continue cultivating relationships with community organizations, whether it’s as a hub for comedy stand-up nights, biking or running groups or nonprofit pop-ups. “One of the things we’ve identified as a key thing with community, is to be a gathering place for everybody,” Chris says. “You don’t have to drink beer if you don’t want to.” 

The team has also streamlined distribution and is focused on building on their Roanoke and Salem portfolio, which includes the Roanoke-Blacksburg airport and restaurants like Lucky, Fortunato, Martin’s and Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint.

Follow Big Lick Brewing on social media for menu updates and event announcements.

First Impressions: Covenant Coffee Company

On March 14, my daughter and I stopped by Covenant Coffee Company to check out the coffee trailer’s grand opening at 1911 Franklin Rd SW. It was a sunny, crisp spring morning, and the trailer and brand logo were gleaming with an inviting allure. Behind the window, owners Jeff Baxter and his wife, Meredith, were all smiles and teeming with new business owner energy. Baxter predicted I would order a honey lavender latte; I was impressed that he remembered it was one of my favorite flavors, but pointed out that during our February interview, he’d said that a cappuccino is his litmus test for evaluating coffee shops contending for repeat customer status. 

It was a good sign when I saw Baxter reach for a glass jug of Homestead Creamery milk and I was pleased that the resulting cappuccino ($5) struck an ideal balance between coffee, milk, and froth. It boasted a deep coffee flavor and velvety texture, featuring medium roast Colombian espresso beans from Gladheart Wine & Brews, and a pleasing, rich bitterness that was the perfect foil to the sweet almond-cream filling in my Breadcraft almond croissant. The only thing that could’ve possibly made it better was drinking it from a small ceramic cup and having a spoon to scoop up the foam. My daughter ordered the hot chocolate ($4.50) to go with her chocolate croissant; she enjoyed both, but she said that the hot chocolate could’ve been more chocolatey. 

While we sipped and snacked at one of the picnic tables, a steady stream of customers pulled in or filtered by from the nearby Roanoke River Greenway, to line up for lattes and pastries and peruse the branded shirts ($30) and hats ($25) on display. I’m looking forward to becoming a repeat customer; next time I think I’ll try a flavored latte ($6 for an 8-ounce, $6.50 for a 12-ounce) with housemade syrups like the Cubano syrup (crafted with a brown sugar-cinnamon syrup, an homage to the Cubano-style coffee Baxter enjoyed while living in Tampa), or Violet Hour (honey lavender syrup). Baxter notes that he originally proposed offering prices significantly lower to Starbucks, but a week before opening, decided to source milk from local outfit Homestead Creamery, which is four times as much as store-brand milk and ultimately made the prices higher than he had anticipated. (Mooala almond milk can also be subbed in for $1.)

Covenant Coffee will be open Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Greenway Park and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in front of Bison Head Cigar Lounge. Breadcraft pastries will be available Tuesday through Saturday ($5 each); affogato ($4), crafted with espresso and Rookie’s ice cream, will be available by the end of April.

Ask Layla: Where to Eat

“I’ve been on the hunt for a delicious crab bisque as well as calamari. I would love to know a good spot to find either of these.” –Samantha M., Roanoke

My favorite crab bisque in town is the She Crab Soup at the Regency Room at Hotel Roanoke. According to the recipe posted on Hotel Roanoke's website, the rich, creamy soup base is crafted with heavy cream, but crab (or seafood) stock and dry sherry keep it balanced and give it flavor dimension. The bisque is seasoned with paprika, Old Bay seasoning and a little cayenne for kick, and garnished with briny-sweet crab meat. I first tasted it during a food tour with Larry Landolt, owner of Tour Roanoke; he admitted that when goes to the Regency Room for its locally famous Sunday brunch buffet, he makes room for bowl after bowl of She Crab Soup—and with one slurp I understood why. (She Crab Soup is $14 at dinner; Grand Sunday Brunch Buffet is $38 for adults, $16 for kids under 12, complimentary for kids under 5.)

Most restaurants in town feature fried calamari on their menus, so I’ve focused my response on this preparation. An excellent dipping sauce is non-negotiable as well. I love the fritto misto appetizer at Fortunato, which features fried calamari with artichokes, lemon and pepperoncini paired with pepperoncini-garlic mayo. For calamari with mountain views, snag a table on the outdoor patio at OTH Chophouse & Oyster Bar. The fried calamari here are tossed with peppadew peppers and scattered with herbs, served with sweet Thai chili sauce. Pair with a seasonal spritz or a glass of something bubbly.