News of The Barge's resurrection generated so much buzz that I'm back this week with a few new developments, including this big one: The once-popular floating restaurant is reopening THIS Friday - just a few days away!
That's the good news. But it looks like those hoping to enjoy the fine-dining experience once offered on the boat's upper deck are out of luck. I just took a peek at the new menu online and, while it looks tasty, it's definitely limited to traditional bar-and-grill fare.
Appetizers include smoked chicken wings, boneless wings, calamari, shrimp, fried pickles, fried avocado, bacon bleu cheese fries, pulled pork "loaded" fries and, get this, crispy fried pig ears with house buffalo sauce.
There are a handful of salads, flatbreads and raw, fried or baked oysters, plus an expansive "build your own sandwich" section. You chose your meat (chicken breast, burger, pulled pork, smoked brisket, fried fish, crispy shrimp) and select your bread (sourdough, brioche, potato bun, wheat wrap).
Then you can add your choice of a crazy array of toppings and sauces - 53 of them, in fact - including everything from traditional lettuce, tomato and mayo to things like a fried egg, bacon, sprouts, spinach, avocado, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, fried pickles and more.
Finish it off with your choice of seven different cheeses and 15 assorted sauces, then you're good to go.
What's not listed online is any selection of adult libations to enjoy, which could be a real problem. But there is a photo of empty beer taps shown, so let's hope this is just an oversight or temporary situation.
Either way, I can't wait to see if the new Barge floats my boat.
IF YOU GO: The Barge Restaurant, 1414 MacCorkle Ave. near the Patrick Street Bridge, will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday-Saturday, with those same hours on Sunday but an 8 p.m. closing time. The restaurant will be closed on Monday. For information, call 304-744-2628 or visit www.bargerestaurant.com.
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Reader and local artist Helen Chilton reached out to give me a heads-up that South Hills Market and Café chef/owner Richard Arbaugh has been invited back for a rare encore performance to cook at the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York City next Friday.
Being selected once is quite an accomplishment, so this is definitely worth raising a glass.
Richard and his wife, Anne, who teamed up to prepare a "New Appalachian" menu at the James Beard House back in 2015, will this time offer a "Modern Appalachian Spring" dinner featuring:
Hors d'oeuvres: chicken liver pâté with preserved peach gelée; three-onion biscuits with Benton's Country Ham and red onion marmalade; crayfish chicharrones with J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works Salt and smoked mustard; Spangler Farms popcorn with duck fat and black lava salt; and assorted garden vegetables.
Entrees: Grist Mill corn spoonbread with braised pork belly and local chanterelle ragout; smoked West Virginia Brook Trout with Pandero lettuce, Tat Soi, local herbs, trout roe, housemade ricotta, dehydrated citrus and blood orange vinaigrette; early spring pea-Kanawha County morel risotto with lemon chantilly and pecorino; West Virginia lamb rib-eye with early broccoli, broccoli purée, pickled ramps, smoked cipolline, preserved kumquats and lamb neck jus.
Dessert: spiced carrot cake with cream cheese, pickled raisins and currants; black walnut ice cream and rosemary brittle
Now if only I can convince my editors to fly me up to the Big Apple to cover this ...
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Once consisting primarily of farmers out in the country tending their open fields, the world of agriculture has since expanded into the city - and sometimes even indoors.
The popularity of this trend is the subject of next weekend's fourth-annual West Virginia Urban Agriculture Conference at Camp Virgil Tate in Charleston on April 28-29.
A collaboration of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, Capitol Conservation District and the West Virginia University and West Virginia State University extension services, the conference brings together farmers, gardeners and homesteaders interested in learning more about urban agriculture practices and initiatives.
Workshops during the two-day event will focus on learning how to build, manage and market an urban farm; setting up youth, kitchen, raised bed and backyard gardens; and growing everything from blueberries, strawberries, hazelnuts and mushrooms to cultivating aged cheeses, making bread and experimenting with aquaponics.
Attendees also can learn more about the history, art and process of distilling and wine making; how to grow hops for beer; and the overall state of the craft beverage industry.
As they say, there really is a little something for everyone here. For information, contact info@urbanagwv.com or visit http://urbanagwv.com/.
Steven Keith writes a weekly food column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and an occasional food blog at blogs.wvgazettemail.com/foodguy/. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or by e-mail at wvfoodguy@aol.com. You can also follow him on Facebook as "WV Food Guy" and on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as "WVFoodGuy."