-By Lisa
I finally got around to eating at Brookville, the sorta new-ish restaurant with an admirable obsession with all things local.
There are so many things that I loved about the experience that I don’t know where to start.
I guess I’ll start with Twitter.
The Brookville menu changes daily (sometimes more than daily) and as is clear, these folks love their pig. From the Ham Fritters to the Bacon Waffle, it’s pig galore in there; not always so appealing for a vegetarian.
Noting that they had a twitter feed, I thought I'd be all social media savvy and tweet them, asking about veggie options. They replied within about five minutes, assuring that they had several vegetarian items on the menu that night and could accommodate me. Damn, I thought, these folks really care.
And accommodate they did. I was well taken care of as I cleaned my plate for every one of my three courses. There were not a ton of options but I'll always take quality over quantity. I don’t love pimento (I painstakingly pull them out of olives) but serve me a beautiful, tasty and adorably named Pimento Cheese Sammy and I’m all over it. The Rosemary and Olive Bread Pudding with Fried Egg and Oyster Mushroom and Spaghetti Squash and Arugula Pesto were also astounding.
Appologies for the crummy photo. I feel too conspicuous pulling out anything bigger than my iphone camera in a restaurant. But here is my Rosemary Olive Bread Pudding with a Fried Egg...just before I demolished it.
Husband was in heaven with his whole meal but my visual favorite was his Bacon Brittle amuse bouche. Come on, even I was amused by that. Maple Pork Belly Bites, Polenta Terrine and Garlic Confit and Lamb Bolognaise with Pappardelle and Parmasean rounded out his dinner.
The icing on the cake?? Our (totally adorable) server informed us that about 90% of the foods were local, meaning within 100 miles. The ingredients that are not local are the exception to the rule and are indicated by an asterisk on the menu.
Demonstrating just how devoted the owners are to supporting our local agriculture, I noticed this on the homepage of their website:
“Effective tomorrow we will be postponing lunch until April, when the weather warms up and the spring bounty begins.”
I love that they acknowledged this much overlooked fact: food comes from somewhere. It's seasonal and it ebbs and flows. Rather than substitute food trucked in from who-knows-where, the owners have chosen to pare down on daily seatings to maintain their local integrity. That rocks.
The place was warm and cozy, and though the food was elegant and beautifully presented, there was nothing stuffy about the place. A sweet little nook in the corner offered up cozy chairs and all the books that have ever been published about bacon (there are a surprising number in existance) and other foodie literature. There was no pretentious vibe, just great food offered up by people who care about the sourcing.
Also making me swoon is their social conscience. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, they donate $1 for every customer who eats at Brookville. They cycle through different charities, like Local Food Hub, V Foundation for Cancer Research, M.J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Brookville is on the pricier side, so it’s more of a fine dining splurge for us. But the fact that it is locally owned and operated and almost all the food is from around here -- allows me to feel great about where my money is going.
I know restaurants have come and gone from that space, but this vegetarian really hopes the pork place sticks around.
Brookville is located on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall, across from the ice park and above Escafe.
For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com
Recent Comments