The food memories I have from my four years at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia revolve more around the adventures than the food. For example, mine was literally the first dollar spent in the Taco Bell when it opened in Staunton, and I may very well have skipped class to make that happen. It is possible that I may have participated as an accomplice in a revenge-tossing of an egg. There may have been an incident that involved throwing pancakes off a balcony like Frisbees.
So, when I returned to Staunton over the weekend for my 15th college reunion, I was approaching it from a much different place of foodieness than I occupied as an undergrad. Thanks to a friend who had visited the town with his wife a few months before, I had an inkling there might be some new outposts to try, and though the weekend was packed with reunion activities, I managed to squeeze in some experiences that were, by far, more about the food than the adventure.
On my first night in town, I walked down to Zynodoa, a restaurant that offers a seasonally-rotating Southern-inspired menu. “Try the grits,” texted a friend who, I discovered on the drive from the airport, had recently moved back to Staunton.
The grits, ground at Wade’s Mill in Raphine, VA, showed up as a side dish, as a cake with the flat iron steak, and as the base for Zynodoa’s take on Shrimp and Grits, made with Hawaiian jumbo prawns (they weren’t local, but they were tasty…), sautéed spinach and white wine garlic butter. It was a fairly rich take on a Low Country standby.
I considered ordering the grits on the side and getting one of the entrees that featured Polyface Farms products, made famous by the farm’s appearance in Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Even while reading the book, I hadn’t quite mentally located Polyface on a map, but it’s in Swoope, VA, a mere eight miles from where I went to school. Zynodoa serves a roasted Polyface chicken breast, and also offered Polyface sausage in the stuffing for Virginia rainbow trout. But in the end, the bartender’s suggestion that the shrimp and grits was one of the best items on the menu meant I decided to save the Polyface dishes for another time.
Before that, I had the featured salad, which was made with local watercress, shaved shallots, toasted pine nuts, a white balsamic vinaigrette, and topped with feta from Caromont Farm in Esmont, VA. The bartender steered me in that direction because of the cheese, which was pretty fabulous.
It was a great dinner with which to kick off the weekend, and it put into perspective for me how much Staunton…and I…have changed. Fifteen years ago, the conversation about food was totally different, and I wasn’t even participating in it. Now restaurants have learned they can make money by listing their producers. It’s a welcome change, not just because it’s great for the small farms and local food artisans in any given food environment, but because it was so much fun to return to this town that helped shape me and to be able to re-engage with its food at an entirely different level.
In Part II, meet Staunton Grocery, where Chef Ian Boden is committed to locally-sourced, seasonal organic food.
on Apr 1st, 2009 at 10:50 am
Egg-tossing, what egg-tossing? I didn’t know that pancakes would fly…until I threw one. And, not just the food at Zynodoa is good. Knob Creek Manhattan, anyone?
on Apr 1st, 2009 at 11:36 am
Jen-Ben, I’m not commenting any further on the egg-tossing. No one can make me talk. And the pancakes, well, I think we should all just consider that to be an experiment in physics and motion and gravity.
Indeed, they do know how to mix a mean Knob Creek Manhattan at Zynodoa. I am, however, still chuckling at their absolute and utter lack of knowledge of the existence of rye whiskey. Soon, they’ll learn. ;-)
on Apr 1st, 2009 at 11:53 am
Do you remember how hard we laughed when we saw those pancakes floating through the air? And, how horrified we were when the oncoming car almost wiped out?
Yes, the lack of knowledge of rye whiskey was truly disturbing…uh, do you own a bar or what?
on Apr 1st, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Jen-Ben, we’re lucky that driver didn’t try to get us arrested. We scared the crap out of them with our UFP (unidentified flying pancake). :-)
on Apr 1st, 2009 at 10:05 pm
[...] I said in yesterday’s post, when I went to college in Staunton, VA, I didn’t spend any time getting to know local food [...]
on Apr 2nd, 2009 at 6:22 am
Great to hear your thoughts on Staunton’s food scene…Zynodoa and Staunton Grocery are two of our favorites!
I hope you also managed to drop in at the recently “re-opened” George Bowers Grocery. Our mission is to offer as much local and regional foods as possible (with the occasional “fancy grocery” thrown in, too). If not, looking forward to seeing you next time you’re visiting and show you the shop in person. Good luck with your urban gardening. :)
on Apr 2nd, 2009 at 8:52 am
I have to admit, I absolutely didn’t know about the George Bowers Grocery until you left this comment! I’m happy to put it on the must-visit list for the next trip — the website looks fantastic, and again…it’s the kind of place that most definitely didn’t exist when I was going to school at MBC. Thanks for the alert about it, and I’m so sorry I missed you guys on this go-round!
on Apr 5th, 2009 at 8:41 am
In the recent years, western Virginia and nearby areas have been a local foods hotspot, so it’s not too surprising that Staunton has some locavore operations.
Western Virginia is where Barbara Kingsolver and her family live and farm, and PBS’s NOW had a program about the region in 2007, to which Jen Maiser contributed a “10 steps to becoming a locavore” piece.
Link to full video and additional material: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/344/
on Apr 6th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Ah, yes — college food memories (having much or little to do with eating)! I might be going back to Portland, OR (my college town) this summer, and I’m already making a list of meals. First: jalapeno cheese fries at Dot’s. Though I’d better check if any of my places still exist!
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 10:45 am
I love Zynodoa! Next time you are here you have to try the pomegranate martini! So yummy!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Marc, that’s awesome — and yes, while I had been aware that the region was gaining in locavore prominence, it wasn’t until I saw it for myself that it really clicked in.
Marie, um, jalapeño cheese fries? Um, YUM.
Sarah, the one thing that I noticed about the Zynodoa cocktail list is that it looked like all the drinks might be way too sweet for my particular taste. That being said, you’re absolutely right — I’ll have to give at least one of their signature cocktails a try on the next trip through.