Food Notes

By The Daily Progress Staff

Published: September 30, 2008

Pancakes for Parkinson’s returns on Saturday

The fifth annual Pancakes for Parkinson’s breakfast will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday on the Lawn at the University of Virginia.

Pancakes for Parkinson’s, a nationally recognized student-run organization that has raised more than $100,000 for Parkinson’s disease research.

Breakfast is free, but guests are encouraged to make donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Co-chaired by UVa fourth-year students Evie Hall and Will Jungman, the event will include entertainment by a cappella groups, dance groups and other UVa organizations. Guests can customize their pancakes with custom add-ons, such as powdered sugar and chocolate chips.

More than $1,500 in prizes will be raffled off at the event, which has been featured on “Rachael Ray’’ and in USA Today.

Mary McNaught founded the event in 2004. When asked on a UVa application essay question what her favorite word is, she replied, “Pancakes.’’ She promised that if she were accepted, she’d create an event that would use her love of pancakes to support a good cause and unite the university and the community. In her third year, she raised more than $6,000, with no single donation of more than $100.

Learn more at http://www.pancakesforparkinsons.org.

Get your blues fix at Mountain Cove’s festival

Mountain Cove Vineyards will have its annual Blues Festival from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Corey Harris, a MacArthur Fellow and W.C. Handy Award-winning blues artist, and Victor Cabas, a Nelson County farmer, professor and slide and blues guitarist, will perform.

Thai-Mex II in Nellysford will cater the food, and the winery’s entire selection of wines will be available. Bring lawn chairs if you wish, but please leave pets at home.

Tickets are $10, free for children younger than 12. The winery is on Route 718 (Mountain Cove Road) off U.S. 29 in Nelson County. For details, call 263-5392.

Tickets are on sale for Food and Wine Experience

Tickets for the inaugural International Food and Wine Experience of Charlottesville are on sale now at http://www.ifweoc.com.

The 2½-day event from Jan. 23 to 25 will include about 100 world-class wineries, fine-dining restaurants, gourmet foods, celebrity chefs, champagne breakfasts, 14 wine-tasting seminars, a live auction and a silent auction.

A Grand Ticket for $759 includes a two-night stay at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel, choice of three seminars, champagne breakfasts, the Grand Tasting, the Blind Tasting, the Gala Dinner and the Sunday Brunch. Without the hotel room, the ticket is $559.

Terre Sisson will lead cooking class at First Colony

Guest chef Terre Sisson of Charlottesville Wine and Culinary will lead a cooking class from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at First Colony Winery.

Students will prepare and enjoy a three-course meal paired with First Colony wines.

The event is $65 per person, and reservations are required. Send e-mail to or call 979-7105.

Weekly brunch unveiled at Clifton this Sunday

Clifton will launch a new weekly brunch offering on Sunday.

The brunch, featuring a different tasting menu provided each week by executive chef Dean Maupin and his team, will offer diners three offerings each for appetizers, entrees and desserts.

Starters include chickpea pancake with poached egg, smoked salmon, asparagus and Hollandaise; brioche French toast stuffed with savory cream cheese; or Virginia ham and a fried egg.

Main courses include bouillabaisse; Carolina shrimp, mussels and crab in a rich saffron broth; and braised beef short rib, potato rosti and fontina fonduta.

Sweet treats include vanilla creme brulee, homemade strawberry preserves and warm lemon pound cake.

Diners also have the option of booking the Chef’s table, which seats 10 and offers access to Maupin and his team.

The three-course meal is available for $28 per person, not including tax, gratuity or alcohol.

For information or reservations, visit http://www.cliftoninn.net or call 971-1800.

Taste of Carytown festival starts at noon Sunday

The fifth annual Carytown Food and Wine Festival, “A Taste of Carytown,’’ will be from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday in Cary Court in Carytown in Richmond.

There will be food from Carytown restaurants, craft vendors, a children’s area and live music.

Tickets are $20, $15 in advance, and include a souvenir wine glass. Designated-driver tickets are $10. Children ages 6 and younger get in free with paying adults. Proceeds support the Carytown Merchants Association.

Visit http://www.carytown.org or call (804) 422-CARY (2279).

Sign up now for the Appetizer Party class

Jim Winecoff, owner and chef of Mona Lisa Pasta, and Terre Sisson of Charlottesville Wine and Culinary are presenting a series of fall cooking classes.

Appetizer Party will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday. The participation-style class will focus on seared tuna wontons with wasabi cream, turkey empanadas with espanole tomato sauce, lamb lollipops with mint mojo, pork sates with peanut sauce and eggplant yogurt dip with herbed pita wedges.

The class is $62. To reserve a space, call 295-2494. For details, send e-mail to or terre@wwine

andculinary.com.

From staff reports