Buzz Bites: Wine with dinner, wine with books and history of mac and cheese | Dining Leave a comment

At Broadcloth Reservations are required at Resy.com for Thursday’s Spring Wine Dinner at Broadcloth at The Wool Factory, which features Ankida Ridge and Early Mountain Vineyards. The repast begins at 6 p.m., and there’s a limit of four people per party.

Select a four-course meal for $60 per person, a six-course meal for $90 per person or the Chef’s Tasting Menu for $135, which comes with eight to 10 courses selected by chef Tucker Yoder. Beverage pairings are available.

Learn more at thewoolfactory.com/broadcloth or call (434) 270-0555.

At Revalation VineyardsAuthor Andy Straka will be at Revalation Vineyard in Madison from 3 p.m. until sunset Friday for the latest Book World Meets Wine World series event. It’s an opportunity to watch the sunset, meet the author of “Split City” and help support the adult and family education services of the Literacy Council of Madison County, which will receive 10% of the day’s proceeds.

For details, call (540) 407-1236 or email info@revalationvineyards.com.

At Charlottesville Melting Pot

Charlottesville Melting Pot’s Thursdate experience is getting a boost from some tasty talking points. Sweet Talk uses digital conversation starters to build anticipation of the date-night dinner, which can enhance the evening for new couples who are getting to know each other and relationship veterans who still love learning new things about their loved ones.

After you make an online reservation, you’ll receive an email inviting you to send a digital invitation to your date through social media. Once you’re both seated at the dinner table, you’ll use a QR code to find questions ranging from “What is your favorite item dipped in melted chocolate?” to “What can I do more often to make you feel more appreciated?”

All that food for thought can make you hungry for a four-course dinner of cheese fondue, fresh salads, entrées and sparkling chocolate fondue. Entrée choices include filet mignon, teriyaki-marinated steak, herb-crusted chicken breast, shrimp, Atlantic salmon and wild mushroom pasta. Also available are the Love Martini, which gets its flavors from Malibu Rum, Peach Schnapps, cranberry juice and fresh strawberries, and the Pink Crush, which combines New Amsterdam Pink Whitney Vodka with orange liqueur, white peach, orange juice and strawberries topped with Prosecco.

For reservations and details, go to https://www.meltingpot.com/charlottesvillle-va/thursdate-menu.aspx.

Chef James Hemings and Thomas Jefferson often get credit for building popularity for macaroni and cheese in the new nation. From 1 to 3 p.m. April 23, fans of one of the country’s favorite comfort foods can learn more about the origins of the dish from Karima Moyer-Nocchi, professor at Siena University in Tuscany, Italy.

Gayle Jessup White, Monticello’s public relations and community engagement officer, will serve as moderator for “The History of Macaroni and Cheese.” Her new book, released in the fall of 2021, is “Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy.”

Guests can decide whether to attend the hybrid event in person or online. Either way, you’ll receive recipes to try at home, but if you attend the in-person event in the Howard and Abby Milstein Theater at Monticello’s David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center, you’ll get a chance to sample mac and cheese as prepared in a live cooking demonstration by David Bastide, Monticello’s executive chef.

The event is $40 for in-person attendees and $25 for virtual guests. Head to monticello.org for details and registration.