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, changes in cuisine concepts or locations, a first-impression review 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! 😋

Star City Bodega rolls out New York chopped cheese and garbage plates

You can get a Philly cheesesteak just about anywhere these days, but Star City Bodega food truck co-owners Titus Doyle and Andy Connor wondered why they didn’t see another East Coast specialty on more menus: chopped cheese, a staple of New York City bodegas. Doyle describes chopped cheese ($12) as “a cheeseburger on steroids.”

Here, it features three American-cheese-topped hamburger patties that are griddled with onions, then chopped and piled onto a hoagie roll with lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mayo. In a nod to many bodega owners’ Latin American heritage, you can opt to have your chopped cheese seasoned with adobo or sazon.

The pair started serving chopped cheese and other regional comfort food fare in early May along with a line-up of smash burgers, hot dogs and baked potatoes. Some of the menu items nod to the Star City part of the truck’s namesake, including the Tavern Smash ($10 single, $12 double), featuring adobo seasoned beef patties topped with American cheese and a fried egg (à la Texas Tavern’s Cheesy Western) plus thinly sliced onions, chow chow and burger sauce. Or the Star City hot dog ($6), which comes topped with Dr. Pepper-spiked beef chili sauce, mustard and minced onions. The chili sauce also takes a starring turn on the Gahbage Plate ($13.50), a nod to a Rochester, New York specialty, in which a mess of crispy battered fries are topped with seasoned beef patties (with American cheese), a split griddled hotdog, then covered in Dr. Pepper chili sauce, and festooned with shredded cheddar, minced onion and mustard, served with a side of macaroni salad.

Next, Star City Bodega will add events to their schedule, including NokeFest June 13-15 where they’ll debut bodega breakfast sandwich specials like a BEC (Bacon, Egg and Cheese) and one with Taylor Ham (aka pork roll, a New Jersey specialty), subbing in Martin’s potato rolls for bagels.

Roots & Rhythms: A celebration of Black farmers and food traditions

Mark your calendars for Friday, June 7 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. for Roots & Rhythms, a free community event that celebrates the legacy of Black farmers, food traditions and cultural roots in the Roanoke region. The event line-up includes an African American foodways potluck, a screening of the acclaimed documentary Rhythms of the Land, plus a Q&A with filmmaker and cultural anthropologist Dr. Gail Myers, and a Black Farmer panel discussion with Peter Lewis of Apple Ridge Farm, Stephanie Miller of Mystic Pine Farm, and Cam Terry of Garden Variety
Harvests.

The event will be held at commUNITY ARTSreach (3025 Frontier Rd NW, Roanoke, VA 24012) and is hosted by the Roanoke Foodshed Network (RFN) and partners with funding from the city of Roanoke Arts and Cultural. Register to attend here.

Atheling Meadworks schedules taproom grand opening

Atheling Meadworks will celebrate the grand opening of its downtown Roanoke taproom on June 14 from 2 to 9 p.m. with live music from Root 2 Music from 6 to 9 p.m.

On tap you’ll find many of Atheling Meadworks’ signature meads (4-oz. pours vary by product, or there is a four 1-oz. sample flight for $9.99) , including two crafted with raspberry blossom honey, Lyres Song, which boasts a complex floral flavor profile with notes of citrus and balsam, and Shield Maiden, a blackberry-forward number with an aromatic finish. Other interesting pours demonstrating the range of mead styles and flavors include Eir’s Song, a semi-sweet mead crafted with wildflower honey and merlot grape that’s billed as having a crisp and fruity flavor, and Rheda’s Longing, made with vanilla and redolent of warming spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves.

“We’ve been doing our soft opening for three weeks, expanding our days open each week. We had our first board game night last week,” says Atheling Meadworks’ owner Stephen Ausband. “The response from the community has been great.  We’ve really enjoyed meeting everyone who has come by.”

To demonstrate the versatility of mead, Atheling Meadworks will also offer mixed drinks (prices vary), like a New Old Fashioned featuring Vambrace, a wildflower honey–plum mead aged in spiced rum barrels, teamed with citrus and aromatics, or the Appalachian Lyre, where Lyre’s Song mingles with apple juice and ginger ale. A selection of non-alcoholic beverages and brewed coffee from Roanoke roaster Gladheart Coffee ($3.25 per cup).

On the food front, you’ll find charcuterie boards from $4 to $16, including meat-and-cheese (pepperoni, jams, honey, salted almonds, honey cashews, Brie, mozzarella, goat cheese, cream cheese and specialty crackers); fruit (grapes, strawberries and blueberries); and chocolate (dark orange, dark raspberry, honey almond and salted dark chocolate), as well as a honey sampler ($12; sourdough bread with four specialty honeys) and a bread and honey platter ($12), both of which are served with Breadcraft bread.

Roanoke chefs to participate in SAVOR: Chefs, farmers & friends

Three Roanoke chefs and makers will head to Mountain Lake Lodge June 13-15 to participate in a “root-to-table” food event celebrating southwestern Virginia food, Appalachian foodways and sustainability, held in partnership with the not-for-profit Root to Table and Virginia Tourism.

The talent line-up, which is heralded as including some of the region’s best chefs, farmers, brewers and artisans, includes Quincy Randolph, co-owner and culinary director of RND Coffee, Bryn McDaniel, owner of Kind Baking Co., and John Park, food photographer and content creator.

Randolph and Park will be part of the opening welcome reception on June 13, all three will participate in culinary demos on June 14, and McDaniel will prepare desserts for Saturday’s Roots & Relax Dinner and baked goods for Sunday’s Artisan Breakfast Table event.

“What a great way to be able to showcase the people who are feeding our communities,” McDaniel says. “I’m so excited to be a part of it.”

First Impressions: The BiblioPub

The BiblioPub, one of spring’s most anticipated Roanoke openings, opened its doors on May 17. The space exudes eclectic charm, with bookcases lined with mostly used books and a small selection of new titles up front, thrifted artwork on the walls, vases of fresh flowers, and vintage furniture arranged in multiple seating vignettes throughout the space.

Snag a window side table for a coffee catch up with a friend or post up on one of the two couch-and-chair combos, either as a solo reader or small group.

Next time, I think I’ll snag a stool at the wooden bar top, where I imagine a glass of wine paired with a notebook will make for an ideal writing date. The drinks menu skews local (save for a pre-made chai mix) and includes lattes ($4.50 for a 12-oz.) and americanos ($3.00 for a 12-oz.), available hot or iced, crafted with coffee from Roanoke micro-roastery Two Roosters.

Local and regionally sourced sips include beer from Beales Brewery, Three Roads Brewing and Basic City Beer Co. ($6-$7.50), plus wines by the glass from Chateau Morrisette and Biltmore Estate Winery ($7-$9).

On the food front, you’ll find an assortment of regionally sourced fresh pastries like turnovers, muffins ($4.50), and Danishes ($5), and although my daughter enjoyed her lemon muffin (the last one available at 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday). I found myself wishing the glass domed stands were stocked with goods from local outfits like Breadcraft, Kind Baking Co. or Bread Run, though owner Ellen Seay says that she’s working on securing local sourcing.

Seay is also working to add charcuterie and snacks to the mix, but for now, there’s a tidy selection of serviceable sandwiches ($12) like Chicken Caesar, BLT, or Italian, with salami, prosciutto, provolone, arugula, red onion, and pepper relish (several sandwiches were listed on as being served on baguette but a ciabatta-style roll was on offer when I dined). A rotating roster of soups by the cup ($4.50) such as chicken noodle, broccoli-cheddar, and baked potato, rounds out the menu.

All-in-all, The BiblioPub is a welcome addition to downtown Roanoke’s West End district for locally-sourced sips and is poised to become a cherished community gathering spot. I look forward to seeing the food menu evolve to hopefully make The BiblioPub a dining destination, too.

Ask Layla: Where to Eat

“What’s your favorite kid friendly (a 10- and 12-year-old), veg friendly, picky eater friendly restaurant downtown or in the vicinity for a birthday dinner after a recital?” - Megan B., Roanoke

My family really enjoys Fortunato, an Italian restaurant downtown that’s known for their Neopolitan-style pizzas and handmade pastas and works for both special occasions and laid-back dinners out alike. We’ve been taking our daughter here since she was eight years old (though I wouldn’t recommend it for kids much younger than that). My favorite pie is the Speck and Fennel, but there’s also an excellent Margherita ($18), with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, and basil, which picky eaters can pick off. Among the primi, there’s a fan-favorite Lumache al Forno ($17), baked three cheese-and-spinach-stuffed shells, or the seasonally sought-after Spaghetti al Limone ($18) that exemplifies the deliciousness of simple Italian cooking (the spice-averse can ask for the Aleppo pepper on the side).

If your kids aren’t on board with pizza (‘How will they make it through college?!’ my Dad would joke), opt for the house made bread ($8) with olive oil for dipping and smoked ricotta for scooping, or the Formaggi ($15), a selection of cheeses with bread and accoutrements. And if you ask nicely, the kitchen has also been known to accommodate requests for noodles with butter and Parmesan. There are a handful of dishes among the antipasti and contorini (sides) that are vegetarian-friendly, though maybe not necessarily kid-friendly, including my favorite
roasted Castelvetrano olives with orange and rosemary ($8). And the gluten- and dairy-free diner in our family raves about the whole roasted branzino with olive tapenade and fennel ($28), which I agree is the sleeper hit of the menu.