Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

Natasha scores with curried salmon

This is curried salmon, as prepared by Natasha Shishkevish for the fortunate patrons of Oddfellas Cantina in Floyd, Virginia.

Two huge strips of salmon filet in a roasted curry sauce were accompanied by a pyramid of fragrant rice and sliced carrots. Indescribably delicious! Not at all what I expected of a curry dish.

I have had salmon at Oddfellas many times and this was the best version ever.

Natasha is a well-known chef in the Floyd County area and I have had the pleasure of sampling her offerings before. This was the first time I had the presence of mind to take a picture before eating.

As you can tell from my unbridled enthusiasm, I am not a food editor/ reporter/ critic or anything like that. I love good food and feel that excellence is best rewarded by promoting it widely.

I just have to keep telling myself, "shoot first - eat later". Fortunately the camera jumped into my hand and I got off several shots before hunger took over.

Kudos to Natasha! May good fortune follow you in all your endeavors.

Another reason to visit the Floyd Country Store

Woody Crenshaw, proprietor of the Floyd Country Store, has expanded the food offerings at the Country Store to include an entire selection of simple country foods.

After sampling them thoroughly, I think he has raised the bar considerably on what I have long considered "comfort foods".

To launch the new venture, Woody invited a few people to a "taste test and kitchen exercise" to help test the menu and the food service before opening it to the public.

The taste testers had a great time greeting old friends and ate everything in sight. As you can see, Woody, Jackie and a host of helpers behind the counter were very busy keeping up with the eager taste testers.

The menu contains a variety of simple foods prepared with great care. Woody and his wife Jackie have spared no pains to make every menu item memorable.

If you can imagine grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon on home baked buttermilk bread, you can get an idea of the attention to detail that went into every menu item.

The classic fifties-style sandwiches range from Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato as shown at left to pimento cheese sandwiches to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Wonderful homemade soups included country style pinto beans served with chopped onions.

Their new menu included such specialties as Chicago Style Hot Dogs with choice of toppings, Buffalo Sloppy Joes, and Classic Carolina Style pulled smoked pork barbecue.

This hot dog connoisseur was highly appreciative of the five different toppings available on the hot dogs.

Homemade desserts and five ice cream specialties like their Grasshopper provided the ultimate temptation. The Grasshopper contains mint chocolate ice cream, hot fudge sauce, crushed chocolate mint cookies and chocolate pieces. It was dubbed a raving success by the happy taste tester shown below.

I went back today and had lunch at the Floyd Country Store and it was every bit as good as it was the night before. I enjoyed a Classic BLT and their homemade Cream of Tomato soup and used their high speed WiFi service to good advantage.

Their menu offerings fit in a niche that was not being served by any of the other restaurants in town, inexpensive and carefully prepared comfort food in a casual atmosphere.

You will have to try it to fully appreciate what Woody and Jackie have created here. I think this will be very successful.

UPDATE: I didn't make it clear that the Floyd Country Store is only open Friday and Saturday for now, but will be open all week after June 22nd. See you there!

I have taken on an assignment to redesign the Floyd Country Store website so that it will fully reflect the expanded offerings of the Floyd Country Store. The website needs to provide answers for prospective visitors so that they know who is performing, what special events are planned, where to stay and what else to see while they are in town. There will also be more information on the musicians who perform at the store and how to contact them.

One last bit of information: I heard that Woody plans to sell Carhartt Work Clothes in the retail shop inside the Floyd Country Store. That's great news for Carhartt fans!

Doug Thompson has more photos of the taste testing on his weblog.

Simple pleasures are the best...

Stopping for lunch at a favorite place for comfort food and conversation is life at its best, especially when you are on the run and have more tasks to do than time to do them,

Sally Walker's Cafe Del Sol in Floyd Virginia offers home made soups that hit the spot. I enjoy their sandwiches and salads every week, but it is the soups that bring a smile to my face and restore my sense of harmonic balance.

Sally prepares these soups from scratch and her friendly staff makes sure that we get served with care. The net result is comfort and contentment.

Saturday's special soup was roasted red pepper with Gouda cheese. It was as tasty as it looks. Life should always be so good!

Keep up the good work guys!

The Last Hurrah, or was it?

On Friday night, Gretchen and I joined a goodly crowd of regular patrons at Tom Ryan's Over the Moon Cafe for a last celebration of our favorite end-of-the-week entertainment and foodfest.

Michael and Kari Kovick and Phil Woddaill kept the music coming while patrons swapped stories and had the usual good time. Tom's food and hospitality have kept us coming back week after week and it was a shame that it was all coming to an end.

According to what Tom had told me earlier, the new owners were going to reopen the Over the Moon after a short closing for redecoration.

While I was writing this article, I was told by a reliable source that the deal has not gone through and we may have a few more hurrahs left to celebrate. According to the latest news, Tom will reopen after a short vacation and we can expect more Friday night parties and weekday service from the deli.

I hope this works out well for all concerned. The Over the Moon Deli and Gallery are favorite destinations for visitors and local citizens alike.

Floyd County Food and Entertainment

Conventional wisdom says that Floyd closes down after Christmas, but the recent warm weather has brought more tourists down the Blue Ridge Parkway than anyone expected. We may still have a few more weeks before the town begins its annual hibernation for repairs and revitalization.

For those who are new to Floyd, I have created a website which contains my articles on the fine food and entertainment that you can find in Floyd.

In this Floyd County Food & Entertainment website, you will find pictures and stories of many places Gretchen and I have personally visited and can recommend to visitors.

I still have a few more sites to add, so don't be concerned if your favorite establishment does not appear on the site yet.

Bookmark this website and send it to your friends so that when the weather warms up and the roads to Floyd open again in the Spring, they will have all of the food news in one place. The link also appears in the right sidebar under Other Useful Sites.

UPDATE:For those who enjoy late breaking news, Doug Thompson has the latest scoop on which venues are closed as of today. Read his article Not This Month.

Indigo Farms Seafood Night at the Over the Moon Cafe

This was a Saturday night to remember. I am sure that  people will be talking about it for weeks. The Over the Moon Cafe in Floyd, VA, was jammed with happy customers for the first-ever Indigo Farms Seafood night.

Scott Perry played a masterful set of blues and roots while  owner Tom Ryan and his staff hustled to serve Indigo Farm's marvelous seafood to a horde of eager customers.

Within 10 minutes of opening the doors, customers were lined up at the counter and the overflowing crowd was spilling into the adjacent Over the Moon Gallery.

This bowl of spicy boiled shrimp is just one example of the food we enjoyed. For the full story and a menu, go to Floyd County Live which includes a photo album of food and gallery images. Enjoy!

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.

Paulina is back 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.

For instance, anchovies were crushed into the olive oil until they disappeared, then she added a little wine and lemon and a few other ingredients...and there you have it, perfection!

This was the first time the dish was served and it will stay on the menu until next Wednesday. If you are withing driving distance of Floyd, I strongly suggest that you take advantage of this dish while it is still available.

Reservations are necessary because Oddfellas Cantina is packed solid every night from now til Sunday. Call 540-745-3463

Full Disclosure: Many thanks to Sally Walker for letting me photograph her swordfish dinner. She joined us after I had fallen on my swordfish and eaten it. One of the minor problems with food-blogging is you have nothing to photograph by the time you discover the dish is unusually delicious!

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.

Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in the Cafe or 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 services that these establishments provide.

You can't always get what you want

But sometime you get what you need

When we left California in 2002 and moved to Virginia, I had only one regret. This beautiful state of Virginia had No In-N-Out Burgers!

For four years I have tried to reconcile myself to the fact that the nearest In-N-Out Burger was more than 2600 miles away.

Well, today I discovered Five Guys Burgers on 880 University City Blvd in Blacksburg, VA.

After stuffing myself with one of their bacon burger and fries, I no longer pine for In-N-Out Burger. I am ready to begin my new life in Floyd, VA, secure in the knowledge that comparable burgers are available only a few miles away from home.

It's really very simple, actually, Five Guys Burgers follows the same formula that has made In-N-Out Burger a cult favorite on the Wast Coast:

Bright, friendly employees cook fresh high quality beef before your eyes and serve French fries that come from potatoes peeled, cut, and expertly deep fat fried on the premises.

There are slight differences, of course. They put sacks of potatoes out where customers can see them, but you don't have the French fry making show that In-N-Out puts on. Nonetheless, you will find  memorable french fries and fine burgers under this sign.

So, if you are an expat from California, rest assured that you can get something comparable to that ineffable In-N-Out experience here in Virginia. One visit to Five Guys Burgers will make you stop yearning for California burgers.

Tag: burgers

Oddfellas Reopens

There was joy and celebration in Floyd this weekend when Oddfellas Cantina reopened after a month of renovations. Rob Neukirch had closed the restaurant during most of January to carry out much-needed renovations to the restaurant's storm-damaged kitchen.

On Friday night, Gretchen and I enjoyed a fantastic new Oddfellas crab cake recipe while Kristopher Hale, Professor of Music & Director of Guitar Studies at Emory & Henry College entertained us. The food and the guitar playing were superb.

On Saturday night, we were joined by Doug Thompson and we demolished some Delmonico steaks and a curried salmon dish that was absolutely delicious. The entertainment consisted of the multi-talented Billy Miller, on the left, backed up by Chris Luster, on the right. On several of the tunes, Billy accompanied himself using his Harmonium as a drone. The effect was startling, but quite pleasant.

Billy sings in a wide variety of styles ranging from folk to scat singing. He and Chris provided hours of enjoyable music that never seemed to dominate the room. The audience was intently scarfing up their food, but soundly applauded each piece performed.

John Winnike sat in for a while and played lead guitar while Billy played the flute. I had a great time taking pictures of the performers, but you need to see what Doug Thompson accomplished using only a cellphone camera.

Rob Neukirch is the driving force behind Oddfellas. A talented singer, actor, and all-around nice guy, he makes every customer feel special. Here he is checking on Doug Thompson, blogger and frequent customer. Rob is the clean-cut guy on the left.

Rob has created an outstanding menu which is constantly being updated. I find it hard to categorize the menu because there are southwestern dishes, Middle Eastern dishes, vegan dishes, and Southern favorites. I think I can sum it up by saying that there are dishes for every taste and the presentation and service are excellent.

Rob has Chris Luster booking live music performances four nights a week, so you get to hear the best regional talent, no matter when you go there. There is an abundant supply of professional talent in the Floyd area, so you are always in for a treat.

Go there! Eat well and enjoy yourself. Tell Rob I sent you. He is a good guy and deserves all of the business he can handle.

You know you are in the country when...

Breakfast looks like this

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.

Since we moved to Floyd, the weather has been in the 20's and we have been schlepping heavy boxes around in biting wind. Even short spurts of activity can leave us gasping for breath. After a long day of such activity we find that we have huge appetites and can fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

Yesterday morning, we were eating breakfast 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.

I normally order a vegetable omelet with a side of bacon, but this particular morning, the menu had pork tenderloin strips, eggs, and home fried potatoes. I was so hungry that I wanted nothing else. It was no surprise that Gretchen opted to follow suit.

The breakfast appeared in a few minutes and was too striking to pass up as a photo opportunity. It is a good thing that I took the picture quickly. The plates were clean in minutes.

May you find a place like the Blue Ridge Restaurant when you need it.

Extreme cooking - deep fat frying a turkey

On Thanksgiving Day, we had the opportunity to watch a neighbor fry a 13 pound turkey in deep fat. The results were spectacular, but I would rather watch someone do this rather than try it myself. This is a highly dangerous procedure. Any carelessness can result in serious bodily harm.

This gas-fired cooking pot holds several gallons of peanut oil heated to 350 degrees F. The trick is to lower a 13 pound turkey into this hot oil without getting splashed and severely burned. The task is made more difficult by the fact that the turkey contains moisture which generates steam when it hits the hot oil.

The chef must lower the turkey very slowly and ignore the spatters of hot oil which are ejected when moisture bursts into steam.

Dave Raymond, pictured here, has at least five deep-fried turkeys to his credit. He demonstrated flawless turkey handling technique, never flinching when eruptions of hot oil shot several feet into the air.

He carried it off beautifully, but I would suggest wearing a heavy, long-sleeved jacket if you were to attempt this stunt yourself. Dave is wearing long barbecue gloves, but his arms are bare. One good splat of searing hot oil and his grip on the turkey hook could have been severely tested. If he had dropped the turkey instead of lowering it slowly, he would have been hard-pressed to avoid the resultant shower of hot oil.

Once the bird was in the oil, Dave said cooking time would be about three minutes per pound, which meant the thirteen pound bird would be done in 39 minutes.

We returned just in time to see the turkey come out of the oil as scheduled. As you can see, the skin is quite brown and appears to be well-done. Dave's father tested the bird's internal temperature and pronounced the bird done. Three minutes per pound is an amazing acomplishment!

Here you see Dave holding his turkey aloft in a final victorious gesture. Once again, man has overcome all obstacles to achieve the perfect Thanksgiving turkey!

Tag:  Thanksgiving

La Taza Coffeehouse - a new treasure in Charlottesville

Sometimes you walk into a warm and inviting restaraunt for the first time and magic happens. You immediately know this is the place you have always been looking for.

Melissa Easter's La Taza Coffeehouse is one of those extraordinary places. They serve the best lattes I have ever tasted and they have WiFi. What more can I say? Other than the fact that the hospitality and the food are on a par with the coffee.

Melissa has traveled extensively and has brought back marvelous food and design ideas from distant places. The food is Cuban and the coffees are from Costa Rica, Columbia, Panama, Guatamala and Mexico. The hospitality is genuine and the service is amazing, considering that the coffeehouse has only been open since August 3rd! early July.

Melissa knows how to do things in style. She has a beautiful website, the coffeehouse ambiance is laid-back Latin American elegance and the overall effect is enchanting. She intended this to be the kind of place where friends congregate frequently to socialize and enjoy themselves, and has succeeded admirably.

Gretchen and I had the opportunity to meet Melissa's husband Jeff Easter while he was doing some work at the La Taza.  Jeff is a contractor who does high-end remodeling. He is a self-made man who has a great deal of insight on what it takes to assist others. He and Melissa exemplify the merits of self-employment in a time of increasing corporate instability. Jeff, Melissa, and Jeff's brother Barry run several businesses in the vicinity of the La Taza Coffeehouse. All are worth checking out.

I realize that I may be ruining a good thing by letting you all in on this hidden treasure, but I cannot in good conscience keep it to myself. You will find the La Taza Coffeehouse at 407-B Monticello Road Charlottesville, VA 22902. The phone number is 434-296-TAZA (8292). You will know you are at the right place when you see this:

Enjoy yourselves and remember to tell them that you read about La Taza in this blog.

I have no connection with La Taza other than the fact that I really enjoy eating there and like the people involved.

Food & Music Blogging in Charlottesville

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Sam's Kitchen

There are few diners as anonymous as Sam's Kitchen. You could drive by it for years, as we did, without noticing it. Finally, someone took pity on us and let us in on the secret. Sam's Kitchen is a great place for country breakfasts!
(click on images to enlarge)

I still remember the first breakfast I had at Sam's. I ordered bacon and eggs and a side of country gravy and biscuits. When the waitress brought me a huge plate with a two-inch high mound of gravy on it, I stared at it in disbelief. Finally, I looked around at neighboring tables and saw how the regulars handled this dish. They would saw away at this creation until they reduced it to bite-sized pieces and then would attack it with gusto. I followed suit even though I wasn't able to get to the main dish.

Since then, I have been a little more considerate of my waistline. Gretchen and I tend to stick with the Steak and Eggs Breakfast or the Eggs Benedict. Both are delicious.

Sam is the cheerful host who always has a friendly word for his customers. He and his experienced staff make our breakfasts in town a uniformly pleasant experience. Sam's is located at the intersection of Route 250 and Highway 29 at the Southwestern corner. Even with this information, you will probably find it hard to locate. Keep trying!

A Rock Group in Sam's Kitchen?

You never know who you will find in Sam's. This particular morning, I saw five members of  a hard rock group with an unidentified business associate. These musicians were quietly minding their own business, yet they were attracting attention from all over the restaurant. They created such an effect that I knew I had to capture the moment  for this weblog.

As you can tell, these five guys look alert and confident. They are rugged, good-looking young men with an unmistakeable air of competence. In the few seconds I spoke with them, I was impressed by their ability to communicate easily and the sense that they are comfortable with themselves as individuals.

They have great presence as if they are used to owning the space they occupy. They have none of the snarky, alienated attitude I have seen in other rock musicians. They were extremely polite when I, a total stranger with a Hawaiian shirt and a camera, interrupted their breakfast and asked them questions.

Although I caught them off guard, they quickly rallied and gave me the information I needed. The group is "Red" and their web site is http://dropofred.com.  They seem to be out of Minnesota, by way of several other places, but are currently based in Nashville. I went to their web site which has several cuts from their soon-to-be-released CD. I was impressed with the music and with their logo.

They have an uncommon sound for a hard rock group, a wide dynamic range of vocals backed by piano, strings, and heavy guitars. These guys have been doing their homework. I expect to hear more of them.

I think they have what it takes musically. I hope they have the marketing skills that will enable them to succeed.

Update: The biggest barrier I notice is that they have chosen a name that doesn't search well on Google. It will be interesting to see how they plan to overcome that. RED is a great pre-internet name. How do you keep the significance and make it distinctive enough to show up on search engines?

Food blogging again - 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.

You walk in the front door and find yourself in a tiny bar area which seats a dozen people in a long narrow space which also includes shelves of motor oil, transmission fluid and other medications for your motorcycle or truck. If you look carefully, you will see a door to your right which leads to a series of dining areas which seat about 70 people.  The place is much larger than it appears.

Entering the first dining area, you see the specialties of the day. (Click on image to enlarge.) Everything we tried was satisfying and filling, but there are a few specialties you need to leave room for, if possible. Their beer batter French fries are delicious, the Tuggles Gap pie is irresistible, and we intend to try their famous Pan Fried Chicken which is served every Sunday.

The atmosphere is a surprising mix of country and high-tech as this is a favorite rendezvous for bikers, hikers, and local people. You hear discussion of marketing strategies, crop problems, and gear ratios.

Seven huge bikers came in while we were eating and sat at a table near us. A hard-looking group wearing worn riding clothes, they immediately launched into a booming discussion of mechanical problems interspersed with chatter with the waitress. A few minutes later, we were struck by a sudden silence that lasted for about a minute. Turning around, I saw them with heads bowed, praying over their food. When grace was done, they resumed their boisterous discussion of motorcycle arcana.

At another nearby table, two cyclists discussed hamstring problems, blisters, and their progress along the Blue ridge parkway. I watched them limp out into the night with more than a little sympathy. They have many miles to go in order to reach the nearest town.

Gretchen and I went back the next night to meet with Doug Thompson of Blue Ridge Muse and his wife Amy. Slowly but surely we are working our way through the Tuggles Gap menu and it has not failed us. This is fortunate because it is the only restaurant open seven days a week near Floyd, Virginia. It also has work by local artists on the walls.

Rhett's River Grill & Raw Bar

Some times when you least expect it, you walk into a restaurant and a miracle happens. Everything hits you just right and you immediately start to decompress from the events of the day.

You enter an understated entrance at the end of a strip mall and you break into a broad smile because you just know you are going to enjoy the place. Rhett's River Grill and Raw Bar is one of those places.

Rhett Craddock is a soft-spoken fellow who smiles easily. He is also one of the most unassuming, yet knowlegeable restauranteers I have met. This is his first restaurant and it has a charm and a reputation that many other restaurants must envy. The dark panelling, mahogany tables, and lazily turning ceiling fans make you feel you are in one of the great restaurants on the outskirts of New Orleans. 

The lighting is easy on the eyes, but your food is brightly illuminated. This is highly desirable if you are like me and want to see what you are eating. Rhett's food is beautifully prepared and well-presented. It is a treat for the eyes and for the appetite. I prefer to start every meal with the Chef's Signature, She Crab Soup. After that, anything goes. It is all good.

Rhett categorizes his cooking as American, but there is a strong French influence, some Southwestern accents, and some Cajun touches. The restaurant has been open since January 2002 and many of his patrons come in several nights a week.

The restaurant is packed during lunchtime and the place is bustling, but it's not noisy. The booths are spacious and the tables are spaced far enough apart that you feel isolated from conversations at other tables. As a result it is a favorite spot for business lunches. The efficient staff make you feel welcome and provide superb service. They are so good that you have no attention on them from the beginning of the meal to the end. The check comes promptly, the prices are reasonable, the experience is memorable.

If you are ever in the Charlottesville area, head up Route 29 to 2335 Seminole trail, Suite 100 and visit Rhett's River Grille and Raw Bar. You are in for a treat.

By the way, Rhett doesn't know me from Adam. I was eating there last week and I met his father and mother who were helping the staff to set the place up for lunch. When Rhett arrived, I told him I wanted to do a story to thank him for two years of good eating. I figured the least I could do was acknowledge the skill that went into creating a restaurant of this quality.

I hope this post doesn't come back to haunt me. I would hate to find the place filled whenever I go to have lunch there. :)

Cafe Del Sol - a new social center in Floyd

The temperature in Floyd is still in the low teens, but a cheerful fire is burning in the fireplace at the Cafe Del Sol. This extraordinary coffee shop demonstrates some highly sophisticated business practices in a low-key way.

Some people visit the Cafe because of its excellent coffee and food, but my interest today is in their wireless internet connection.

I am checking email and blogging effortlessly, thanks to their free WiFi connection. I'm not the only one on the internet, because they also offer a computer system with free online access. While I blog, a bearded fellow in a mackinaw and wool cap comes in and logs into Google for an extended search session.

When he leaves, he is replaced by another seeker after truth, who obviously left his truck running while he stopped in for an update on the state of the blogosphere. After a flurry of keystrokes, he grunts his approval, gets up and leaves with a cheery greeting to the owner, Sally Walker.

Sally and her husband Frank have created a colorful and cheerful place for the people of Floyd to congregate and enjoy themselves. Original art by local artists covers the walls. CDs by local musicians are available at the counter. They seem to have done all the right things to make the Cafe a gathering place. We need more places like this, in every small village, for example.

There is an enormous amount of talent here in Floyd, VA. You strike up a conversation with a stranger and find out that they are a well known artist or a photographer with a national reputation. They don't seem to stand on ceremony and they all seem to have come to Floyd as an antidote to high-pressure life in big cities. Everyone comes eventually to the Cafe Del Sol, 100 feet south of the only traffic light in Floyd.

Floyd is on the cutting edge of small towns. It has fiber optic lines running all over town and a great internet cafe. I hope they can keep this place a secret for a little while longer, so we can afford to move here.  We may not have time to dally...

Oddfella's Cantina does it right!

It's freezing outside, but the warm hospitality and great food at Rob Neukirch's Oddfella's Cantina has captured our hearts. While we eat roast duck, Rob and a trio of local musicians are filling the place with joyful sounds.

The group above consists of Chris Luster on bass, Rob Neukirch at the microphone, Abraham Goorskey on mandolin and Bernie Coveney at the far right on guitar. Bernie Coveney played with Emmy Lou Harris for several years.

They played selections ranging from Route 66 and Tipsy Gypsy, to original compositions like Young Ladies I Used to Know.

We can thank the 1987 Northridge earthquake for giving our host the necessary nudge to move from Playa Del Rey, in sunny southern california to the one stoplight town of Floyd, in southern Virginia.

Rob, a former actor, is a singer/songwriter/restauranteer who provides a weekly venue for live music and poetry at his colorful restaurant at the intersection of routes 8 and 221.

The groups I've heard at Oddfella's have shown an effortless ability to entertain without overwhelming. Their phrasing and talent has been a welcome relief from the barrage of sound that passes for music in some venues.

The audience had some sleepers. A woman at a nearby table was persuaded to sing with the group and she was belting out songs in a matter of moments. Her name is Sallie Walker and when she is not running a nearby coffee house, she sings with a group called, Diva and the G Strings.