I read this week that the United States Mint will no longer produce pennies. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the last of the 1-cent coins came off the assembly line. The penny’s demise was inevitable as it now costs nearly 4 cents to produce a single penny – and with fewer and fewer cash transactions, the penny is no longer in great demand. But it once was. There was a time when a penny would … [Read more...]
Drumming Up Business
Remember when you were a kid and someone asked, “Which piece of chicken do you want?” A drumstick, right? We loved drumsticks when we were young, then our preferences gradually evolved to thighs, breasts, and wings – like Hot Wings at a sports bar. But you know what?Drumsticks are still as good as ever, they are easy to eat, they are inexpensive, and quite versatile when it comes to … [Read more...]
Always Order the Grouper
If you ever see Grouper on the menu at a seafood restaurant. Order it. There is no better eating fish that swims. One of the best meals I’ve had in my life came about 25 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. A group of us went out to eat at The Sandpiper Restaurant– at the time near Gwynn’s Island. The owners were always at the restaurant – the husband at the Front and the wife in … [Read more...]
Suet Time
My two suet feeders have been getting more and more attention with the arrival of cold weather. I have had nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, red bellied woodpeckers, sparrows, chickadees, titmice, bluebirds, and wrens squeezing in and out of the suet cages. Cardinals, and mockingbirds will also come to suet feeders, but I haven’t seen them at the feeders in my yard. Maybe later. Suet is an … [Read more...]
2005 Best of Charlottesville Recognition
By Nancy B We are so excited to receive the 2025 “Best of Charlottesville” award AND this amazing recognition from our local Congressman John J. McGuire, III! I’m so proud of our staff and so thankful for them and our many customers who voted for us. As we head into the holidays, with lots of great food on the menus, family visits, shopping for the perfect gifts, and wrapping, let us … [Read more...]
The Price of Oysters
When our group first started going to the Oyster Festival in Urbanna about 20 years ago, a quart of oysters was $10. Then they went to $11, then $12, and higher. Last week, I bought a quart of oysters and paid $39.95. But they were really good. When I was a child, oysters were cheap. My Uncle Sidney would go down to Morehead City and return to Raleigh with a bushel of oysters for $3 or $4. Then … [Read more...]
Variety is The Spice of Fishing Life
If you like variety, now is the time to hop aboard a charter boat and dunk some bait off Virginia’s coast. Reefs and wrecks offshore are loaded with black sea bass, triggerfish, blues, and some big flounder. Venture deeper, and tilefish are waiting in the depths for the patient angler. Captain Jake Hiles (above) reported seeing bluefin tuna busting the surface multiple times while fishing … [Read more...]
Drug Stores and Soda Fountains
There was a time in America when drug stores didn’t occupy an entire city block. They weren’t part of corporate empires. This was a time when Boomers remember the local pharmacist as a family friend and a trusted adviser on most things medical. If a youngster in the family was running a high fever, the pharmacist would often meet a distressed mom or dad after closing hours to fill an important … [Read more...]
Cajun (Not Fried) Chicken
I used to fry turkeys. I had a big pot with a basket inside, a solid base for the pot and a flame thrower that would boil the peanut oil in a matter of minutes. I would inject a turkey, lower it in the oily cauldron and it would be done in about 40 minutes. And I have to say that a Deep-Fried Turkey is better – way better – than a turkey cooked in the oven. But frying a turkey created a mess – … [Read more...]
Signs of Our Times
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