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! 😋

The Haven Opens in Downtown Roanoke

The Haven, a new bar and restaurant located in the former Awful Arthur’s space in downtown Roanoke (108 Campbell Ave SE), opened its doors on Jan. 29. The menu spans appetizers ($10 to $14), flatbreads ($13 to $14), handhelds/sandwiches ($12 to $16), salads ($11 to $14), plated entrees ($15 to $34) and desserts ($6 to $12). I’m bookmarking two early menu additions to try: the hot honey dip ($15), a creamy mix of roasted Boursin and cream cheese blended with hot honey and served with ciabatta, and The Haven burger ($16), in which the patty is topped with cream cheese, fried jalapenos and bacon jam, all piled onto Texas Toast. I’ll wash it down with a Hot Honey Margarita, which sits alongside signature sips such as a peach bourbon Arnold Palmer, an Old Fashioned and an espresso martini. 

There’s also a separate kids menu, which comes with a main course, such as mini flatbreads, a burger and chicken tenders, and a side, including seasoned fries, mac and cheese or seasonal vegetables ($7.99). The Haven has also announced a line-up of events including a SuperBowl party (Feb. 8) and live music from local acts such as Jared Stout (Feb. 5) and Abbey & Andy (Feb. 12). The Haven is currently open Monday from 4 p.m. to midnight, and Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to midnight. 

Covenant Coffee Company to Bring Espresso Beverages to Greenway Park

Ever since Jeff Baxter met his wife, Meredith, at The Muse Coffee Company in Lynchburg, they’ve dreamt of opening their own coffee shop. That was 12 years ago; since then, they’ve refined their vision and brought it to reality. By early March, the pair will open Covenant Coffee Company, a mobile coffee trailer that will be permanently parked on Franklin Road (there is no address; Baxter says it’s located across the street from what's known as Greenway Park, just past the bridge when you’re heading south). 

Baxter has an affinity for traditionally made espresso beverages, so initially he’ll focus on cappuccinos, lattes, cortados, Americanos and double espresso shots. There won’t be any drip coffee or cold brew to start with, though you can order iced Americanos and lattes. He said he wants simplicity while "also giving a modern flair." He added: "Essentially, I love everything rooted in traditionalism. There are very few shops that make a traditional cappuccino; it’s my litmus test for a shop I would like to be a repeat customer at.”

Baxter will source coffee from roaster Philip Hatter at Gladheart Wine & Brews, featuring a rotating roster of beans depending on cost and seasonality, like a vibrant, light- to medium-roast for spring and summer and a cozy, hearty and darker roast profile for winter. “My promise and my covenant to my people is you’re going to get the highest quality product at the lowest possible price with absolute transparency,” Baxter says.  Although Baxter is still finalizing pricing, he says that it will be significantly lower than Starbucks’ pricing.

Housemade syrups can be added to any beverage, including staples like vanilla, mocha and caramel, and specialty flavors like Bee Golden (honey-cardamom), Violet Hour (honey-lavender), La Vie en Rose (lemon-rose) and Cubano (brown sugar-cinnamon; a nod to the Cubano-style coffee he enjoyed in Tampa, where the pair lived prior to relocating to Roanoke last year).

The beverage menu will be rounded out with specialty loose leaf teas from Azure Standard (in the future, Baxter hopes to partner with a local herbalist to offer custom herbal blends), tea lattes, matcha, espresso soda and homemade Italian sodas. Sweet treats will also be offered, including locally sourced pastries and affogato, with espresso poured over a scoop of local outfit Rookie’s vanilla ice cream. Although the menu is built for to-go orders, there will be picnic tables set up in the grassy area adjacent to the trailer so that folks can linger or savor drinks best enjoyed on the spot.

Follow Covenant Coffee Company on Instagram and Facebook for pop-up event dates, schedule changes and a grand opening date. 

First Impressions: Greco’s Pizza

Greco’s Pizza lives up to its billing offering New York-style pizza, which I measured against the classic benchmark: a plain cheese pie ($8.99 for an 8-inch; $14.99 for a 14-inch; $16.99 for a 16-inch). All the hallmarks of a good New York slice are here: a pliable, foldable crust, and a judicious amount of housemade pizza sauce that’s in correct proportion to the crust and cheese. It’s no wonder — as I reported last September, co-owners Alfonson and Josephine Greco immigrated in 1986 from Calabria to Long Island, New York, where Alfonso’s family owned a pizza shop. They eventually settled in North Carolina, where Greco owns three locations of Franco’s, another pizza shop. (The Grecos wanted to open a shop in Roanoke to be closer to family in the area.)

If you’re a toppings maximalist, you’d do well to order the Franco’s Special Sicilian pizza ($24.99), which is baked in a square pan and boasts a puffier crust, and features pepperoni, ham, sausage, beef, green pepper, black olives, onions and mushrooms. The Sicilian pie also reheated like a dream in the oven the next day, crisping up the bottom to achieve more of the crunch I associate with a Sicilian pie, making it a strong contender for takeout status.

Under Italian specialties, you’ll find a roster of dishes, including homemade lasagna, a homey, comforting dish featuring a large slab (the menu states over one pound of lasagna) stuffed with lean ground beef, mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan cheeses, cloaked in a blanket of bubbly, blistered mozzarella ($17.99), though I found myself wishing for more savory depth, either from a fuller-fat ground beef or seasoning. Our server mentioned that the baked spaghetti is another popular pick ($14.99) and if you’re debating the baked cheese ravioli, I overheard another server say that she prefers the toasted ravioli option listed under appetizers ($8.99).

Greco’s is a family-run establishment; I saw Alfonso saucing pies in the kitchen and his wife Josephine running salads and learned that the servers were their granddaughters. The service is very friendly but having been open for just a couple weeks at the time of my visit, they have some service kinks to work out (part of the inefficiencies stem from balancing dine-in customers and takeout orders, I think). And if you’d like to leave a tip, you’ll need to pay your check at the counter versus handing your card over, as at the time of my visit, a final copy was returned with no write-in tip option.

At the time of my visit, Greco’s was still awaiting their liquor license; once granted, they’ll offer a small selection of wines by the glass ($7.49 for an 8-ounce pour) and beer, including domestic brews such as Budweiser and Michelob Ultra ($3.95) and imported options like Peroni ($5.95). I can see myself leaning toward ordering takeout versus dining in, but if I’m in the mood for just a slice ($3.49), I’ll stop by in person and treat it like my favorite slice shop in NYC (Joe’s Pizza, in case you’re wondering).

Ask Layla: Where to Eat

“Where can I find vinegar pie near Roanoke? I yearn to taste the history of Appalachia.” –Shannon S., Roanoke

If you’re unfamiliar with vinegar pie, Madison Ruckel, co-owner of Mama Jean’s Barbecue, describes it as “desperation pie, from the Depression era.” Indeed, it was a pie born out of desperation, when ingredients were scarce, and resourceful Appalachian folks subbed in vinegar in place of citrus for custard pie filling. “It sounded a little different, not just chocolate like everybody else has,” Ruckel says of his choice to add it to his menu. “It’s one of those forgotten about old pies I thought would be cool to bring back.”

He tells customers that vinegar pie ($2.95 per slice) eats like a cross between a custard pie and pecan pie, without the nut topping. “I tell people that most pies have lemon juice or something in them. It’s not an exorbitant amount of vinegar, it’s not just tart and gross,” he says. “It’s sweet and delicious but very balanced, but the vinegar makes it taste not as sweet as a dessert.”

Ruckel admits that desserts are a stretch for him, but he researched and read as many vinegar pie recipes as he could, taking a little bit of intel from each to craft his ideal sweet, tart and tangy flavor profile. Ruckel’s filling features apple cider vinegar, both brown and white sugar, vanilla, a touch of salt and a lot of eggs, and is crowned with a pillowy cap of whipped cream. For now, he uses a store-bought pie crust, but he aspires to make his own pie crust using beef lard from Autumn Olive Farms, one of his protein purveyors. To kick things up a notch, he’s debating making pie crust with bourbon-infused lard — a byproduct from fat-washing bourbon with lard and tallow, a technique that dulls some of bourbon’s spiciness and gives it a velvety mouthfeel. This strikes me as a resourceful and innovative approach to usher vinegar pie into its next era.