Floyd County Live

About these reviews...

I have no financial interest in any of the establishments in Floyd that I write about. My sole purpose in recommending them is to enable others to take advantage of the unique food and services that these restaurants provide. If you would like to add your own observations about any of these restaurants, please send me an email or leave a comment at the end of the article. You should also send me an email if I have failed to include one of your favorites. - David St Lawrence

You will notice that the articles about these restaurants cover a span of many months. To see all articles about any one establishment, use the category list at the top of the left sidebar.
 

You know you are in the country when...

Breakfast looks like this

This is what breakfast looks like in the Blue Ridge Restaurant in Floyd, VA, just north of the only stoplight in Floyd County. They serve typical American fare with a generous dose of local hospitality. This is not a Yuppie, or hippie hangout and they do not serve lattes. Almost everyone wears a trucker hat and most of the diners wear their parkas while eating breakfast.

Gretchen and I are not heavy eaters. At our age, we generally do not go in for the "Farmer's Special Breakfast" or anything like it, because we do not do enough physical work in the normal course of events to eat more than a light breakfast like Yoghurt or cereal. Today was definitely different.

More Floyd food...

I keep telling Sally Walker of the Cafe del Sol that she could do amazing things to her business volume if she would just make her Sausage and White Bean soup a regular part of her daily menu.

This soup does wonders for your disposition when you have had a hectic morning and are running on empty. It warms the heart and soul in addition to making your hungry body very happy.

Another reason to visit Cafe del Sol in Floyd

The Baristas at the Cafe del Sol in Floyd, VA, are constantly seeking to improve themselves. They are not content with producing excellent espresso-based drinks, they insist on making them attractive as well. I am in favor of experimentation especially when it comes out like this.

A young woman named Tiger created this chocolate design on top of our two lattes. It not only decorated the drinks, it added a subtle taste of chocolate.   :)

I will definitely order this again.

Many thanks to Sally and Frank Walker, owners of the Cafe del Sol, for encouraging their staff to produce a superior level of service.

Seafood Night at Over the Moon Cafe & Gallery

Over the Moon Cafe owner Tom Ryan came up with an irresistible combination tonight: He had Scott Perry playing blues and roots while Tom and his staff served up Indigo Farm's incredible seafood.

The doors opened at 6 o'clock and ten minutes later an overflow crowd was lined up at the counter with more people coming through the door. The crowd was an interesting mix of tourists and families with children.

The parking lot was full, the outside dining area was full, and people were having a marvelous time chatting with strangers and tapping their feet to Scott Perry's infectious rhythms.

Fortunately, the Over the Moon Gallery offers a perfect place to browse and socialize while waiting for an open table. The artwork is constantly changing and the Gallery is worth a visit anytime.

Wine Down the Music Trail 2006

Across the Way Productions put on another remarkable event this weekend. Their Wine Down the Music Trail Festival was a delight from start to finish.

From the moment we drove onto the well-kept site it was apparent that this team knew their business. We were politely and efficiently guided to a parking spot on a gently sloping grassy meadow and it took only a few minutes to pick up our Tyvek bracelets and our wine glasses.

We walked through a wooded grove to the music of The Beggars Circus, one of many musical groups playing in tents around the festival site.

We strolled out of the woods onto a broad grassy field dotted with tents serving savory food, free wine, bluegrass music, pottery, and craft work. It was a treat for the senses. There were garden pools, jugglers, giant flowers, picnic tables and farm tractors.

Meanwhile the band on the great Dreaming Creek stage kept playing music for the happy crowd.

The sun was bright, but a cool mountain breeze kept us reasonably cool while we wandered from tent to tent sampling wines and meeting old friends. The food concessions were the best I have seen at any wine festival in Virginia. I had tenderloin tips on a gourmet salad and it rivaled the offerings of our best Floyd restaurants.

I complemented Chris Bower, the general manager of the festival, on the general feeling of warmth and hospitality that we were experiencing at every step of the way. Like any well-run affair, it all looked effortless, but there was a large team of dedicated staff members keeping an eye on things and staff members on miniature trucks who kept circulating through the crowds.

They did an excellent job and as a result this was a perfect family affair, one I would recommend to anyone.

Some people were playing bocce ball while others relaxed and enjoyed the music while sitting under tents they had erected in the middle of the festival grounds.

We had a fine time visiting with musicians Mack and Jenny Traynham and having lunch with Scott and Lisa Perry. We certainly plan to come back next year, hopefully with friends and family in tow. This is a festival that we want others to experience. It was uniquely Floyd.

Check out the photographs in the Wine Down the Music Trail photo album.

Two Performances for the Price of One

Last Friday, Gretchen and I broke away for a few hours and managed to catch Mac and Jenny Traynham playing at Oddfellas Cantina. They are fine performers and have been active in the performance and preservation of the music of Appalachia. We make it a point to hear them whenever we can.

Mac is a true professional. This particular night he was playing up a storm even though he was feeling poorly. But he brought along a young couple to play the second set and they did a great job.

Jackson Cunningham and Anya Hinkle played a set of high energy country music.

I was not able to find out much about Jackson other than he is a competent guitar player with a good singing voice.

But, like so many of the people we meet in Floyd, there is far more to Anya Hinkle than a violinist with a great country voice. An avid cyclist, she competed in NCCA road races while she was getting her Ph.D. at UC-Berkely. She is now a post-doctorate fellow in the Department of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech.

I hope we have a chance to hear Hinkle and Cunningham again. Their performance was a nice follow-on to the Traynams.

Tuggles Gap Restaurant

You never know what you are going to find along mountain roads.

Friends had told us about Tuggles Gap Restaurant. They said, "It looks like an old gas station. you can't miss it."

Located on Route 8 in Southern Virginia where it crosses under the Blue Ridge Parkway, this mountaintop restaurant and motel has been open 7 days a week for many years.

The menu states, "All American Cuisine Featuring "Down Home" Country and Southwestern Cooking." We found that to include generous portions of good food served in comfortable rustic surroundings.

They offer wines from Chateau Morrisette and Villa Appalachia and a selection of imported, domestic and Non-Alcoholic beers. Being a fancier of non-alcoholic beers, I was pleasantly surprised to find this out-of-the-way restaurant offering more than one variety. It also has work by local artists on the walls.

Swordfish at Oddfellas Cantina

Ah, mercy! This swordfish was amazing! It was unlike anything I have ever eaten.

Paulina pan-seared this swordfish and finished it with olives, capers, and a light marinara sauce according to the menu.

Since it tasted nothing like the usual marinara sauce, I had to go into the kitchen and ask how she achieved that result. Paulina explained that the sauce is more like a puttanesca sauce.

A treat for the eyes and ears at Oddfellas Cantina

Last Wednesday, Gretchen and I wandered into Oddfellas Cantina to hear Bernie Coveney and Chris Luster playing with Rob Neukirch. 

We never know what we are going to hear on Wednesday nights because that's the night the musicians try out new songs and invite musicians in the audience to participate.

We were sitting there enjoying the music when we were joined by photographer and blogger Doug Thompson and his wife Amy. The band kept jamming and were having so much fun that Doug and I started shooting pictures.

It was one of those nights where the music was so good and the songs were so entertaining that I began to lose track of time.

Sally Walker dropped by from the Cafe Del Sol about then and we persuaded her to join us.

We were having a great old time and it felt like the evening couldn't get any better, when Rob and Bernie persuaded Sally to take the stage and sing.

The fact they were playing something she had never sung didn't stop Sally. She took the mike and swung into action without missing a beat. She is an expressive and talented singer and her singing that night was just magic.

We had such a great time that we stayed until closing. I think we are making up for years of living in places which didn't have any local entertainment.

That seems to be one of the big differences between Floyd and other places we have lived. We can live, work, and play in Floyd. We don't have to drive miles into the big city to hear top rate musicians. Furthermore, there is live music in this town six nights a week.

The biggest problem we seem to run into is deciding which of our friends do we listen to on any given night. When you have good friends playing at several places, it makes for an interesting dilemma.

While the band was warming up, we noticed that one wall displayed watercolors by a new artist, Chris Bazeley. Chris is an English illustrator with a touch of cartoonist in his makeup. According to the artist's brother, who lives in Floyd, the exhibit will hang on the wall for two months.

I would cheerfully hang any of these watercolors in my office, but this one, Reading Light, was one of my favorites.

You can see from the detail that his pictures have a subtle humor. I find it quite appealing.

Go to Chris Bazeley's website to see more of his fine art, including Flying School and Inflight Refueling.

Friday Night at Oddfellas Cantina

It's Friday night at Oddfellas Cantina and we are listing to smooth jazz from the Floyd Montgomery Jazz Project. Gary Everett on saxophone, John Winnicki on guitar and Bob Thomas on bass have just finished playing a tasteful rendition of Bye, Bye, Blackbird.

I caught them in a light moment that captures the relaxed way they handle themselves onstage and off.

One of the joys of listening to music at Oddfellas is that you are up close and personal with the performers. You not only get to watch superlative performances, you get to experience the musicians as people. There is usually a lot of interaction between the performers and their friends in the audience.