Edacious

Why is the dishwasher the "a**hole" of the restaurant? Who is the Duner Lunar? Who is Lil' Skittles? Just a few of so many vital questions we tackle in Episode 114 with Chef Laura Fonner of Duner's in Ivy.

As you can see from the important issues listed, our conversation was lively and warm. Much like a visit to Duner's, where since 1983 owner Bob Caldwell and his staff have served up warm food and ambience to locals and tourists alike. Only open Wednesday to Sunday. With a menu that changes daily. A place where a person can be a regular. A place where you feel taken care of. A true neighborhood establishment. A combination becoming increasingly unheard of in such a competitive food region.

Their oldest waitress has worked 30 years. The rest of the staff have been there at least 15. Again, something unheard of in an industry where revolving doors are common. Why the longevity? One reason is Owner Bob, who allows kitchen staff to spread their wings, experiment, try out stuff. He trusts them. Which means their incredibly large menu changes on a dime. That yummy thing you ate 3 weeks ago? Laura probably doesn't remember. This variety keeps staff from getting bored and it turns customers into regulars. Because it's a different restaurant every night.

Working in a kitchen takes a toll. There are 16-hour days. Backs get injured. There are scars and bad knees and plantar fasciitis. Laura almost died giving birth. She experienced terrible physical and emotional pain, but survived with a renewed sense of reflection and purpose, eventually finding solace in her work once again. Cooking on the line. Feeding people. All of it has made her a stronger person and a better chef. Laura shares this amazing story with me, speaking with such courage and vulnerability. I'm honored and grateful to have heard it.

Part of Chef Fonner's continued self-care is giving back to the community. Organizing weekly shelter meals through PACEM, working alongside Charlottesville Women in Food, has shown her that having your dream job, feeding people and hanging out with friends, can also be shared within a bigger arena. As Laura says, not all of us have a lot of time. But we all have a little bit. Put all those little bits together and you have quite a lot. Contact Laura Fonner at Duner's if you'd like to help serve, or have a food or monetary donation. Let's spread some of that upbeat feeling around as much as we can. Being around Laura's energy for an afternoon helped me understand why she and her kitchen staff work so well together. Because it was all just so damn much fun. Cheers.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Support this podcast! Be Edacious! Patreon is EDACIOUS about supporting creators, helping each one achieve a sustainable income through monthly sponsorship. Thank you to my Edacious Sponsors, who donate so I can save up for a new desk and chair. Because currently, my ass is sitting on the floor ;) Help my back. Click the link.
• Subscribe. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait sometimes for days depending on the Apple Podcast Gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Leave a review! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute Be well. Big Love.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and welcome to another episode of 3dacious, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked, Cool Collaborations, and events I'm excited about, but will probably miss because I'm in my jammies.

This week? The Little White Party 2018, a restaurant with a milkshake that's a part of my DNA, a turkey pot pie to DIE for and I get all mushy about friendship and gratitude. Plus my recommendations for binge-watching over the holidays. Yes, folks, Edacious is WEEKLY. Because it's never just about the food.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Support this podcast! Be Edacious! Patreon is EDACIOUS about supporting creators, helping each one achieve a sustainable income through monthly sponsorship. Thank you to my Edacious Sponsors, who donate so I can save up for a new desk and chair. Because currently, my ass is sitting on the floor ;) Help my back. Click the link.
• Subscribe. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait sometimes for days depending on the Apple Podcast Gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Leave a review! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute Be well. Big Love.

What brand of special food porn is this? I guess you'll just have to listen, won't you? Wishing you health, pie, and BIG LOVE. Happy Turkey Day!

Welcome to Episode 112 of Edacious and a conversation about success. How that doesn't necessarily mean having your own show or managing a bunch of line cooks. Meet Chef Trish Clinton, chef for Zeta Psi fraternity at the University of Virginia. Yes, it's a thing. Yes, I had questions. And yes, she manages a team but instead of checking mise en place, she's guiding her group of 45 young men into being better, self-actualized individuals, using food as a starting point.

"I've done tweezer food. I didn't get the reward that I get from this."

I met Trish at one of the first Charlottesville Women in Food gatherings and was eager to find out what a typical day is like for a chef in charge of feeding 45 hungry young men every single day on a tight budget. How she has to make do, get creative, work with what she has in front of her. Make magic.

Being a single mom, she uses a lot of the same skills. Her menus are planned to the penny. Just like a Mom with 45 kids needs to do. Trish is a self-taught chef who started her cooking career at the esteemed Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. Yes, you heard right. THAT Blackberry Farm. The story of how she went from baking dog treats in her kitchen to that multiple-award-winning-no-pressure restaurant is inspiring and a testament to her positive attitude.

What's it like to cook for a large group of people as opposed to being in a restaurant? Like catering but not. The math is different. The menu planning too. Trish does it all. Menu planning, budgeting, stocking, cooking. No sick days because if she doesn't make the food, those boys don't eat.

"You are everything. You're the dishwasher. You're doing the inventory. It's like running a small restaurant where you feed 90 people a day."

Food waste is a constant concern, something she uses as an example to teach Zeta Psi, who often have eyes bigger than their stomachs. Come-to-Jesus moments about the value of a food dollar happen on the regular. Trish is a Mom Away From Home, teaching Zeta Psi about food, laundry, even running a dishwasher because as part of her contract, the boys are responsible for cleanup. Every Fall there's a new crop of boys who eat her out of house and home and need to be told where the "ON" button is.

"I received a note from one of the parents that said, 'You are the best Rent-A-Mom ever.'"

And this ain't fish sticks. How about roasted pork tacos with sherry pickled red onions, jalapenos, and a jalapeno cream sauce? Trish is teaching Zeta Psi not just food, but cuisine.

"I specialize in Dude Food and stuff you'd want your Mom to make."

How has being a frat house chef made her a better mom? What about #MeToo? I'll admit when I first heard what she did all I could picture was Animal House. We talk about this perception at length, and Trish's answers are both surprising and incredibly enlightening. Bottom line? Those boys are in good hands. This week, Chef Clinton will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for her boys, complete with stuffing, and pumpkin and pecan pies. We should all be so lucky. Thanks, Rent-a-Mom! May your Thanksgiving be as filled with delicious as theirs is going to be. Be well. Big Love.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Support this podcast! Be Edacious! Patreon is EDACIOUS about supporting creators, helping each one achieve a sustainable income through monthly sponsorship. Thank you to my Edacious Sponsors, who donate so I can save up for a new desk and chair. Because currently, my ass is sitting on the floor ;) Help my back. Click the link.
• Subscribe. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait sometimes for days depending on the Apple Podcast Gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Leave a review! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute Be well. Big Love.

Welcome to another episode of 3dacious, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked, Cool Collaborations, and events I'm excited about.

This week? An overnight wine gathering that was also a homecoming, a ceviche to die for, and a rant about why I'll never apologize for the number of books I own. Yes, folks, Edacious is WEEKLY. Because it's never just about the food.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the Apple Podcast Gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Welcome to a conversation about perception. Because whether you believe vinegar is a supreme condiment or an item best left to the depths of your dusty pantry shelves, whether or not you think all Norton wine should be vinegar, or whether you're still under the perception acid is a secondary notion when it comes to flavor profiles, my talk with Jay and Stephanie Rostow of Virginia Vinegar Works is not one to be missed. And I cannot even believe I just typed out the words "flavor profiles".

But here, and rightly so, acid is a flavor that is king. It's the brightness, the lightness, that extra kick at the back of your throat on top of a fatty dish heavy with butter, that zing which makes your taste buds cry out. Acid elevates every other flavor in a dish. I still say, "Gild the lily..." to myself when I spritz lemon juice or vinegar on just about every prepared dish in my kitchen, even though the source of the quote, a chef known for his Orange crocs, still turns my stomach. Because that's what acid does. It adds gold to golden. It adds more to more.

Virginia Vinegar Works vinegars are definitely more. Hand-crafted using the centuries-old Orleans Method at a small warehouse in Shipman, Virginia using wine the Rostows select themselves. Consciously and carefully, using their decades of winery experience. These guys understand terroir. They also understand in order to make great vinegar, you start with great wine. That particular conversation between producer and vintner sometimes requires a bit of counseling. After all, no craftsman wants to be told their wine isn't just right. In the early days, phones calls often ended abruptly, but over the years, perceptions changed. Now vintners call them. And for good reason, because the Rostows just won four medals in their first competition.

"You can't make a really good vinegar out of a really bad wine."

Perception. Using face-to-face connection to sell rather than relying solely on big box stores. The Rostows do it all from production to bottling to selling, which helps tell the story of their business, something so important when you exist in a virtual sea of artisanal food products.

"We don't like to waste anything. It's part of our business. If we can take some wine that isn't going to make the grade for minor reasons, those are the wines we're going to take...Those are the ones we're going to work with...The vinegar that comes from that is going to be delicious."

How is a vinegar maker like a farmer? How does being married affect the business? Why is most balsamic vinegar you find in the store fake? What about their 2012 vintage? When will it be ready to taste? All this and more. Give a listen then get you some. Pour it liberally. Taste the terroir. Elevate your taste buds.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the Apple Podcast Gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Welcome to another episode of 3dacious, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked, Cool Collaborations, events I'm excited about, and as an extra special extra this week? My conversation with Lilia Fuquen of Virginia Humanities. I-Collective and UVA are partnering with Virginia Humanities to offer the 2-day symposium: Our Evolving Food System: From Slavery to Sovereignty. Which starts TOMORROW, October 17th. Two days of fun talks, roundtable discussions, cooking demonstration, and a lunch by Native American chefs using foraged ingredients and cooked with ancient methods. Now THAT'S both an event and collaboration not to be missed!

Stay tuned next week for my conversation with Stephanie and Jay Rostow of Virginia Vinegar Works. Yes, folks, as of October 4th you will get your Edacious fix WEEKLY. New day, new digs, new attitude. Hope you'll join me on the next leg of this journey of connection and community. Because it's never just about the food. Stay Edacious!

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the Apple Podcast Gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Welcome! In this episode of Edacious, we meet a former magazine art director turned baker. A man who used the skills acquired in his old career to set the look, feel, and intention for his current one, creating a new community in the process. I became acquainted with Brian Noyes of Red Truck Bakery when I wrote about him a few years back for Unite Virginia magazine. Flash forward to a farm dinner at Caromont where we became fast friends. It was SUCH a treat to sit with this busy man and talk. About cake, pie, the people we've met, and what it means exactly to take that extra step of care, whether it's writing thank you notes to customers or making sure that cake on your plate is the best you've ever had.

Brian's attention to detail is so evident from the art on the walls to the sprinkle of salt atop the focaccia on my ham sandwich. Before we met he sent me a "How Do You Do?" cake! This level of curation makes every customer feel cared for whether they're enjoying a Dutch streusel crumb apple pie at the shops in Warrenton and nearby Marshall or ordering a double chocolate cake to send to a loved one. I believe it stems from his previous career as an art director for the Washington Post, House and Garden, and Smithsonian magazines, among others, where an eagle eye is paramount to success.

Red Truck has won accolades from Garden & Gun, The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, and countless others. With good reason. His Shenandoah apple cake brought tears to my eyes. And it's not just pies and cakes. Both locations offer breakfast and lunch with muffins, biscuits, sandwiches and countless other goodies. His celebrated granola is the only cereal my picky friend will eat. I still dream about that sandwich and Brian's chocolate cake is a constant request at family get-togethers.

There are guaranteed future honors because the Red Truck Bakery cookbook comes out October 23rd! It's a destination bakery. Folks travel from as far away as Florida. So the cookbook is not just about recipes, but a feeling. The story of a place. What it's like to work and bake and live here in our part of the South. I cannot WAIT to make his okra pickles and pepper jelly and all the rest of the stuff that makes me loves Southern food the most.

How did all of this begin? Flashback many years when Brian and his partner Dwight bought a farm, which of course needed a truck to make it complete. Brian found a beautiful candy apple red 1954 Ford F-100. Little did he know the seller was Tommy Hilfiger. To feed his creative passions, Brian started making jams, loaves of bread, and pastries, selling them at local farmer's markets. When Marian Burros profiled his wares in The New York Times a small business quickly turned into a larger one with a readymade logo perfectly suited to the theme of "Rural Bakery". Word spread quickly, so quickly they could barely keep up with demand. Brian found a space, some investors, and developed the look and feel for the bakery, of course making that beloved red truck the centerpiece. He eventually expanded to Marshall, adding a lunch counter to a historic mercantile space. It's four times the size but once again, retains that homespun, friendly, country feel. All relating back to that red truck.

His expertise is a result of his training at CIA, L'Academie de Cuisine, and King Arthur, all of which Brian completed while working as art director. Former President Barack Obama considers Red Truck's Sweet Potato Bourbon Pecan Pie his favorite. A hand-delivered letter hanging in the shop says so. Robert Duvall cut the rope on the Marshall store. Tom Hagen and Sonny Corleone had lunch there once. Literally, half of The Godfather just eating sandwiches. Wow!

You can order online for shipping through Goldbelly, but everything is baked and handled in Red Truck kitchens. Brian still looks at the orders himself, signs the card, and makes sure every order goes out perfectly. Which at Thanksgiving and Christmas can mean thousands of orders. He will only ship mincemeat pies because fruit pies don't ship well. Pies and cakes are seasonal to keep it fresh. Ingredients like apples, peaches, moonshine, and sorghum are sourced locally and selected carefully.

What happened when Brian agreed to made madeleines for Jacques Pépin and his daughter Claudine? What happened when his moonshine cake was profiled by The Today Show right before Christmas? What happens when weather threatens but you're a nationally-recognized bakery with orders that still need to arrive on time? How do you keep your business going with skilled staff when you live and create in a small town? Is the revitalization of Warrenton and Marshall a blessing or a curse? Did Brian help art direct the cookbook? You'll just have to listen. Then buy the Red Truck Bakery cookbook when it comes out October 23rd. Brian's story has so much connection to it, how a chance meeting led to an opportunity, then another, and another. Just love that. Almost as much as I love that Shenandoah apple cake. Stay edacious!

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the Apple Podcast Gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

OMG what?! Yes, it's ANOTHER new segment here at Edacious that's a reconfiguration of a newsletter I created last Spring. Instead of quippy-quip words it's the-closest-I-can-manage-to-dulcet tones for your ears. Who am I kidding? I'm more Becky from Roseanne than Terry Gross. Nevertheless here it is, a bi-weekly compendium of the top 3 regional Foods I Forked or events I'm excited about (but probably missed because I'm old and tired), cool collaborations I can't wait to crow about, and as an extra special cinnamon roll this week? That comment I made on Instagram. It's all here in the October 4th edition of 3dacious. Stay tuned next week for my conversation with Brian Noyes of Red Truck Bakery in Warrenton and Marshall. Yes, folks, as of October 4th you will get your Edacious fix WEEKLY. New day, new digs, new attitude. Hope you'll join me on the next leg of this journey of connection and community. Because it's never just about the food. Who created the foods in the pictures? You'll have to listen to find out. Stay Edacious!

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the Apple Podcast Gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to the 3dacious newsletter! - The Top 3 listings for food writing, events, and food I forked delivered weekly to your inbox with minimal fuss in a nice and neat to-go package.
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Tribute Work. With Much Grief and Gratitude. Yet another tribute. On September 16th La Taza closes its doors. They'll be having a huge party to celebrate and I encourage you to get there as soon as your little feet can carry you. Because La Taza rocks. La Taza is badass. La Taza is a motherfucking motherlode of brunch and camaraderie goodness and I'm sad as hell that it's closing. Because La Taza has been my go-to for coffee, breakfast, and deep soulful insights on a patio that is people-watching heaven for a decade. On a recent Saturday morning, the city market was a zoo. Panic attack inducing crowds of folks looking to stuff their maws with artisanal delights and stuff their tote bags with Sunday supper produce. But La Taza was quiet. Just the regulars. Eating, reading the paper, sipping coffee, discussing life's big questions. Just how I like it. Just like this.

It's becoming so I'm writing so many obituaries for beloved restaurants I'm starting to feel like the Dave Attell of restaurants. Check out his Facebook page. You'll see what I mean. Funny man, maybe the funniest comedian alive, but Lord, he's worse than my grandmother with the death announcements!

There I go. Digressing again. Trying to distract myself from the very real white privilege pain of losing another place where I'm a regular. I realize in the grand scheme of things, especially with a hurricane possibly barreling down on us, this doesn't mean much.

Or does it? When community spaces like La Taza close in favor of multi-unit condo high rises and newfangled restaurants with clever concepts from big corporate companies, what are we left with? Will these new places allow us to sit and stare at the street on a hot summer day? Contemplate our next steps? Or will they give us the side-eye and tell us to move along please, pay your check, because we have to turn this table now. Like now. Right now.

How can community spaces, restaurants like La Taza, be a source of comfort and steadfast solace during difficult times? Places where you know the name of the waitress, you always order the same thing, and they don't mind if you sit over your coffee afterward for three-plus hours? What are those places to you? Sure in coffee shops they don't mind if you nurse a cortado all afternoon (ick, not sure why you do that, oh stop it monkey mind), but in restaurants? It's rare. And becoming rarer.

To me, during a time this summer when my whole world blew up in an instant, places like La Taza offered an oasis in the storm. A place where you know what to expect, you know what will happen, and you know you will be back. Often. Because it's that sense of comfort that makes you a regular.

In places like La Taza, I have business meetings, spend hours brainstorming in a notebook over a cheap cup of coffee, or just meet a friend to vent about the difficulties ahead. In places like La Taza, I come to life realizations, I share laughter with friends, pour over a challenging year ahead with someone very close to my heart, or just stare into space and watch the people walk by. Usually with dogs. It's very Parisian actually. And Italian. In places like La Taza, with its Guatemalan cuisine diner service, I am allowed to celebrate the concept of dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing. In places like La Taza I'm allowed to just be.

I get that Melissa Easter is allowed to sell and close and move on with her life. BELIEVE me, today, on the cusp of making a huge life decision myself, I get this. People change. People move on. But I'm allowed to grieve a little bit. Yes, change is the only constant. All you can change is your attitude towards it. Your perception of it. I just hope the new owners will get to know the community first. Take a minute. Don't shoehorn some glamorous concept into a space that has been a source of comfort and steady presence for so many. For twelve years. Get to know your guests, the folks who loved La Taza. I'm already worried upon hearing they'll be expanding to the space next door. Which means they'll have to fill more tables, which means they might have to turn them over quicker. And on and on and on.

But I'm catastrophizing. Something else you do in grief. Perhaps this restaurant death hits me closer to home, hits me a little harder because I did find out about it so suddenly. While buying a soda in Belmont market with a friend the proprietor said, "Isn't it a shame about La Taza?" And just like that, my steady anchor in my Summer Storm of Sudden Changes went poof. That's gone too, Jenée. Surf the wave. Surf the wave of your life. Here's the Hurricane Florence that will finally upend everything so you finally surrender. Ride it. And I promise things will settle down soon. You'll find another La Taza. And when that one closes, you'll find another. Because while this kind of restaurant isn't always the most glamorous or the most desired when it comes to investors, there's always a need for it. A place to gather for as long as you like. A place where folks ask after you.

Like Castiglia's in Front Royal, where the food is Italian, the chef is Mexican, and the Russian waitress Natasha always asks after me, my dad, and my sister, to Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, where I know I can always get the best chai milkshake on the planet and hide with my thoughts on their back patio, to Blue Ridge Country Store where they don't mind if my salad is mostly giant hunks of fresh-roasted chicken chased down with a $2 cookie to Blue Moon Diner where they understand that I want extra extra extra powdered sugar on my brunch beignets please at no charge of course to Bodo's where my order has become a holy catechism I recite by heart. Pastrami swiss on an everything with lettuce tomato mustard cut in half to go, please. The order may change a few cents here or there depending on the quality of the tomatoes but the order? I'm like a monk with a holy scroll. This order is in INK baby. Places like Dr. Ho's Humble Pie where a to-go Bellissima cures all ills. Those of you who've eaten there know what the fuck I mean.

These are the places I run to when I need a food hug. Not the places with $32 entrées and silly drinks and leather banquettes and the attitude that comes with them. Places I can no longer afford anyway. Yes, when I need help, I find comfort in the form of places I can metaphorically throw my shoes off in and toss all my cares in the corner to be picked up on my way out. Places like La Taza. They are important to communities. And it's so important that we keep them.

Thank you Melissa Easter and your entire staff. For feeding me. For the caffeination. For the hours spent staring into space deciding what the fuck it is I want to do with the rest of my life. For having enough coffee and avocado toast in me to realize I was staring into space and maybe I should just fake it til I make it, pretend like I knew what I was doing until I actually did. Not sure if it was the ambiance, or the food, or the great coffee that helped. I just know it did and for that, I'm forever grateful. May your future journeys be as comforting as La Taza was to me. Thank you.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• La Taza is having a party this weekend. You should totally go. It's the Last Dance people!
• Appalachian Food Summit. Also this weekend. Also in West Virginia. During a hurricane. Pray for them. Good food, good folks, great cause. Big Love for AFS!
• Oxford American's Profile of Robert Gipe. By Beth Macy, author of "Dopesick." You'd be hard-pressed to find a better author, a better conversation, a more serious epidemic than this one. What are you waiting for? Go read it!
• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the Apple Podcast Gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to the 3dacious newsletter! - The Top 3 listings for food writing, events, and food I forked delivered weekly to your inbox with minimal fuss in a nice and neat to-go package.
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Navigating Hospitality. With Dedicated Food Folks. Welcome to a special episode, the second in a segment I like to call the Edacious Round Table. Instead of learning one person's journey, area Food Folks discuss a topic. The first covered #MeToo. Today we're talking hospitality. How do we traverse these waters in the stormy Age of Outrage? Are there folks just not allowed in the restaurant because of their choices? My co-hosts are Chef Laura Fonner of Duner's in Crozet and Chef Harrison Keevil who with his wife Jennifer runs Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen while also taking the reins at Commonwealth Skybar on The Downtown Mall.

It's a volatile topic with many recent ties to this region. In February, Chef Scott Crawford refused service to a restaurant critic at Crawford and Son in Raleigh. In May, Boylan Heights was taken to task for their "No drugs, no thugs," policy which has since been discontinued. Then in June Sara Huckabee Sanders tried to eat at The Red Hen and we all know what happened there. Lines are being drawn and tempers are high. Are restaurants still safe spaces? Places of refuge for food and intelligent, thoughtful discourse?

The employees of a restaurant can be family in the right situation. A chosen family. This is the case at Duner's where some employees have worked there for 30 years. Family and hospitality go hand in hand. All of us agreed family dinners and celebrations were so important growing up, setting the tone for the rest of our lives. Why is hospitality important? It can change a person's day. It's a gift we give to folks. Restaurant hospitality is taking care of you, feeding you good food, and making sure you leave happy. Can the restaurant remain a judgment-free zone? A safe space where you leave politics at the door and your only goal to be fed and fed well? Maybe socialize a bit? That's what we're here to work out. Over food of course.

We all agreed a customer causing an outright disruption is a pretty simple problem to solve. The customer needs to be quietly handled. And shown the door. Hopefully without too much disruption. But what about someone in the public eye with extreme political beliefs who just wants to eat? We discuss the pros and cons of the various decisions business owners made in the past, then work out what we would do. Which isn't always easy. Choice is a privilege. It's easy to choose to serve someone if you own the business, not so much if you're washing dishes or scraping plates in the back for an hourly wage and no benefits.

Think about this for a minute. Simple hospitality. Even at the Red Wedding, Walder Frey served the Stark family a meal before the knives started flying. We're so divided. Hate begets more hate. Can't we do the same with a smile? Take the hard road and make the effort to be nice. Being mean, showing them the door, is easy, being hospitable takes way more effort. Charlottesville is a crazy quilt of folks, from old hippies and punkers to Lulemon Moms to Farmington Fridas to Belmont Bettys, students, folks of color who have lived here for decades, or recently arrived as immigrants from far shores. Plus every Dad, frat bro, techie startup preppie and freshman student in flip flops just navigating Bodo's for the first time. We've always served them. Why wouldn't we now? Be kind. Serve all.

"Life is about dealing with the hard stuff, working through it, and making yourself a better person." ---Harrison Keevil

How do you navigate self-care in this volatile age? We spend a great deal of time discussing this, sharing tips, including two chefs working hard to create a better culture in the kitchen so folks will stay for more than a year or two. What works? Exercise is good. As is sleep. Good food. Which is hard when you spend all your time making it for others while navigating hate. Like we have to do this weekend if Nazis show up August 12th. We talk about this too, our preparations, our hopes. We all agree that what Brian Ashworth did last year when scumbags starting throwing the heil around Ace Biscuit was the very right thing. He showed them the door. Disrupt my place? Don't need to see your face.

"Customers do expect us to be superhuman. Remember, we're humans just like you are. We have bad days too. And then we have to deal with your bad day." ---Laura Fonner

What two famous opponents just dined opposite one another at Duner's without incident? Who is the Duner Lunar? Who do we all agree has the most important job in the kitchen? Listen to find out. I'm so grateful to these talented folks for sharing their day off as well as their thoughtful responses. I'll remember this conversation for a long time. Be safe out there Charlottesville. Big Love. One of the most thoughtful conversations I've ever been a part of. Makes me proud to live in this town. Stay edacious.

"I'm going to be at Commonwealth (August 12th). I'm going to be there to serve anyone who wants to walk through those doors...I hope people come out. I'm not scared. I'm going to do my job. I'm going to open the kitchen." ---Harrison Keevil

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