Yes, my friends, there’s yet another Mexican restaurant coming to the Kanawha Valley. What makes this one unique, however, is the location where it’s going.
On the heels of the three new Mexican restaurants I’ve revealed over the past month, I’ve now learned that La Roca plans to open a third regional location at the former site of Top Spot Country Cookin’ at 7139 Sissonville Dr.
That beloved homestyle diner closed last spring after 37 years in business and the building is now being remodeled to become La Roca’s newest restaurant.
It will join two other locations just outside the casino at Nitro Marketplace and at the entrance to the Shops at Trace Fork at Southridge.
A sign out front announces the new La Roca is coming in Sissonville, but there’s no word on an opening date just yet.
Frank’s Pizza purchases, remodeling The Grill
On the heels of last week’s news about a new Sergio LugoMata restaurant coming to the old Books & Brews on Charleston’s West Side, it appears the owner of popular Frank’s Pizza in Montgomery has also purchased The Grill just down West Washington Street.
The new owner is currently remodeling the existing restaurant space, with plans to offer favorite dishes from both restaurants on The Grill’s new menu when it reopens in the near future.
Stay tuned here for more details!
1010 Bridge hosts special cookbook dinner
The Junior League of Charleston is partnering with a local restaurant and James Beard-nominated chef to offer a specially crafted dinner menu full of classic Charleston dishes that have been elevated for modern tastes.
The third-annual “Modern Mountain Measures” dinner returns to 1010 Bridge Restaurant in South Hills on May 5 with seatings at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. that day.
The three-course prix fixe dinner features new twists on classic recipes featured in the Junior League of Charleston’s popular fund-raising cookbooks Mountain Measures and Mountain Measures: A Second Serving, published in 1974 and 1984 respectively.
The menu created by Chef Paul Smith will include:
A salad of arugula, fried feta, mandarin oranges, toasted almonds, honeycomb and a citrus-herb vinaigrette, inspired by “Mandarin and Lettuce Salad” from Mountain Measures, submitted by Mrs. Craig M. Wilson.
Appalachian roasted chicken with lemon-herb risotto, roasted spring vegetables and white wine jus, inspired by “Chicken with Herbs & Wine” from A Second Serving, submitted by Marta D. MacCallum.
Soy-glazed pressed tofu, mushroom dashi, sauteed edamame, snap peas and pickled vegetables, inspired by “Vegetable Casserole” from A Second Serving, submitted by Joellen A. Kerr.
Chocolate mousse bomb with mixed berries and honeysuckle anglaise, inspired by “Chocolate Mousse” from A Second Serving, submitted by Bavarian Inn and Lodge.
The meal, which costs $100 through April 19 or $115 thereafter, will also include passed hors d’oeuvres and a pomegranate sparkling drink. Proceeds will benefit the Junior League of Charleston, a nonprofit women’s volunteer organization established in 1923 to help build a better community.
Producing cookbooks featuring regional favorites and family recipes was a common fundraiser for Junior League chapters across the country starting in the 1950s. As such, these cookbooks have become cultural treasures that preserve the culinary heritage and community spirit of their respective regions.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://bit.ly/mountainmeasures.
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Steven Keith is a food writer and restaurant critic known as “The Food Guy” who writes a weekly column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and has appeared in several state, regional and national culinary publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or at wvfoodguy@aol.com.