Welcome to the inaugural edition of our new food column, Corner Booth, where each month Layla Khoury-Hanold will guide us through what’s happening in Roanoke’s food scene. We’ll feature restaurant openings and closings, changes in cuisine concepts or locations, a first-impression review of a new eatery, and our Ask Layla section, where Rambler members can get their burning questions answered on the best places to eat or drink for any occasion. Simply leave a comment with your question or email us at editor@roanokerambler.com. Enjoy! 😋

Kind Baking Co. Expands to Old Crème Fresh Space in Wasena

Wasena’s Kind Baking Co. is taking over the space that housed Crème Fresh (1116 Main St. SW), which last month shuttered its non-dairy dessert business that opened in 2021. Kind Baking owner Bryn McDaniel says relocating to the larger space across the street next month will allow for increased production and expanded hours. She’ll install her own ovens (rather than work out of bloom restaurant’s kitchen) and create separate prep and retail spaces. 

In addition to signature bakes like chocolate chip cookies, scones, seasonal bars, and quiche, McDaniel hopes to offer a limited savory menu of fresh local salads and sandwiches. She also plans to bring on a bread baker to offer artisan style breads more regularly and to supply loaves for sandwiches. She also wants to expand the grab-and-go mini cake selection; the four-inch cakes (serves 4 to 6; $25 to $35) have proved popular for showers, small gatherings, kids’ birthday cakes and dessert birthday gifts. Chocolate Chocolate will remain a staple, along with carrot, citrus-curd-filled and seasonal fruit mini cakes. 

There will be limited outdoor bistro table seating, but McDaniel says she may periodically offer a limited, reservation-only afternoon tea service indoors, building on the popularity of her pop-up tea parties. She’d also like to offer to-go tea baskets, which will include pastries, tea, cups and saucers, ideal for small gatherings or a tea picnic in one of the nearby parks.

Food Truck Birrieria La Vaca To Open First Brick-and-Mortar in Old Southwest 

Fans of Birrieria La Vaca’s superlative namesake tacos rejoice! The popular food truck will add a brick and mortar location in the Old Southwest neighborhood at 604 5th St. SW this May or June. “We’re super excited because it’s a new thing, it’s more authentic,” says owner Sandy Sifuentes. “You know we have a lot of Mexican restaurants but they are more Tex-Mex. The reason that I opened this is because in my experience I always want to go and eat something that is homemade.” Sifuentes has operated Birrieria La Vaca for four years, starting with catering and adding a food truck two years ago. 

The restaurant will feature the full food truck menu including staples such as birria, quesabirria tacos, crazy fries and horchata, along with expanded taco offerings like lamb birria, grilled shrimp with cabbage and chipotle mayo, vegetarian al pastor (made with soy-based meat) and beer-battered fish, all served on made-to-order corn tortillas. Fresh guacamole, soups like Menudo, sopes, flautas, tortas and a char-grilled Mexican burger topped with ham and pineapple will round out the food menu. They plan to serve wine, beer and micheladas. 

Sifuentes also plans to hire an in-house baker to make cookies such as birotitos tapatios  (from her native Guadelara) to serve with café de olla, Mexican spiced coffee. On weekends (Friday – Sunday) the restaurant will be open for breakfast service with an a la carte menu, so you can mix and match to make custom dishes. 

In the run-up to opening the restaurant, Sifuentes hopes to park the Birrieria La Vaca food truck more regularly at On The Edge Salon on Fridays and Saturdays for folks to get their birria fix.

Full Moon Cafe’s Owners Delay Retirement Plans

Full Moon Cafe’s owners, Francis and Veronica Moon, have decided to postpone their retirement a little longer. Initially, they announced that they would close on January 31, 2025, then signs posted on the door indicated a closure in mid-February. But Francis says they have plans to relocate their business within The Shoppes at West Village complex, taking over the old Elderberry’s space next to Cast Plates & Pints at the end of June (3555E Electric Rd.) They plan to continue offering their breakfast, sandwiches, scratch-made bagels and chocolate chip cookies, but reduce the menu to offer the most popular items. Francis says he will add Korean dishes such as kimbap (veggies, cooked rice and meat rolled in dried seaweed, like sushi) and japchae (stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables), along with other dishes inspired by his upcoming travels to Korea. The Moons will operate five days a week instead of seven, Wednesday through Sunday. Why did he decide not to retire? “Because my customers would miss me too much,” Francis said.

Award-Winning Craft Mead On Tap Coming to Downtown Roanoke

Atheling Meadworks will open a tasting room offering mead on tap, tasting flights and bottle sales in downtown Roanoke at 123 Campbell Ave. SE this spring. Owner Stephen Ausband established Atheling Meadworks in 2019, producing various styles of mead (a fermented beverage crafted with honey) with raspberry blossom honey, including signatures like the citrus-leaning Lyres Song and the oak-aged, blackberry-forward Shield Maiden. He will continue producing mead at the original facility on McLanahan Street; the downtown location will produce tasting room exclusives and small-batch meads, like one made with Christmas Berry honey and another infused with Carolina Reaper chili peppers. Atheling Meadworks downtown plans to serve charcuterie boards. Ausband intends to distill mead products and gin on site. The tasting room plans to host events and live music; local act Kinfolk is currently slated to perform on March 21.

Rookies Relocates to Cave Spring with Signature Ice Cream Sandwiches

Rookies relocated their dessert shop from downtown Roanoke to The Shoppes at West Village and held a grand reopening on Friday February 21. The build-your-own ice cream sandwiches remain a staple with a mix-and-match menu of cookies, including chocolate chip (classic, gluten-free and vegan versions), triple chocolate, red velvet, sugar and graham cracker, and house-made ice cream in flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, espresso chip, black raspberry oreo and vegan coconut chip. Personal-sized cookie skillets, which come with a warm cookie, ice cream and topping, as well as scoops, pints, cookies and milk, affogato and flights round out the menu. Every Wednesday is Family Night, when kids scoops are $2.50.

First Impressions: Show Pony

If the crowds and quoted wait times are any indication (1 to 2 hours when I went on the first Saturday), the hype for Show Pony is real. Fans and curious foodies lined up down the block at the Grandin Village bar. I’m here to report that the hype is warranted. The cocktail list feels fresh and exciting, anchored by several tropical libations that reflect co-owner Cas Moser’s experience working at tiki bars in Florida and the Cuban-centric Manolito in New Orleans. My favorites include the Head Hunter, a mix of Planteray dark rum, falernum (a spiced syrup with notes of lime and ginger that’s often used in tropical drinks), lime and guava, served over crushed ice garnished with an orchid, and the Gold Velvet, where the richness of Planteray 5 Year Rum are countered with Cynar, an herbaceous artichoke-based amaro, all rounded out with lime, honey and ginger. Cocktails run $14, though classics like Old Fashioneds are $12 and there’s always a $10 Freezer Martini available. 

Co-owner and chef Jeff Farmer oversees the food side. I sampled plump Wellfleet oysters from Massachusetts ($4 each; $2 Mondays) which arrived expertly shucked, nestled into a tray of crushed ice along with mignonette, cocktail sauce, crystal hot sauce, fried Saltines and a bag of Zapp’s potato chips. Since the Trout Reuben ($15), made with pastrami-seasoned seared Smoke in Chimneys trout was sold out, I opted for the fried half chicken with hot pepper slaw and mac and cheese. The chicken had a nice crispy, craggy crust and juicy flesh, but it was under-seasoned and the hot pepper slaw and mac and cheese were just okay. The French fries with garlic and piment d’espelette drizzled with a fresh herb ranch paired nicely with the refreshing cocktails and the staff obliged my request for additional dressing ($8.25). The Kung Pao Cauliflower, one of the vegan options, arrived in a pool of a soy-and-black-vinegar sauce spiked with lip-tingling Szechuan peppercorns, though the plating was a little haphazard and I think was missing the cashews. I wanted more heat from the Indian-inspired Chili Cheese Toast but the accompanying achaar ketchup was a nice touch.

Bottom line: The refreshing, well-balanced cocktails are an excellent match for the savory bar food (which I suspect will be dialed in a little tighter in the coming weeks). The vibes are laid-back cool with a warm, gelled service and the low-lighting, eclectic décor and sound track bring a welcome rock-and-roll vibe to Grandin. 

Ask Layla: Where To Eat

“Do you have a rec for the best Thai in Roanoke?” - Kristin D., Smith Mountain Lake

City Corner 2 (3005 Plantation Rd NE, Roanoke) is my pick for best Thai restaurant in Roanoke. It’s got a homey, mom-and-pop vibe, friendly service and boldly flavored dishes. There’s loads to choose from, but some of my favorite dishes include Thom Kha Kai, a spicy soup with a lemongrass-scented coconut-broth base (I like it with shrimp rather than chicken); the green papaya salad, sluiced with lime juice and unabashed lashings of funky fish sauce; the whole fish, deep-fried tilapia with perfect flaky, succulent flesh and a flurry of fresh herbs, paired with steamed rice and chili-spiked special sauce. On a recent visit I opted for Miang Kham (from the specials menu), a DIY salad plate with fresh lettuce, dried shrimp, peanuts, lime, ginger, jalapenos, red onion and a sweet-savory sauce.