This is the logo that Jon came up with. Let us know what you think :)

We're Getting Branded!

A Mr. Jonathan Newman is currently working on making us an official logo. We decided to enlist his services to help launch his career in graphic design. The publicity this project will create should land him with a swanky job in New York City. Since he has conned me for years he has offered his services free of charge. Soon you may even be able to by mugs, t-shirts, and stationary embellished with the mark of Blacksburg's favorite food critic.

Soon it will be even easier to follow The Blacksburg Contessa

Soon you will be able to follow us on twitter @TheLoveofFood and become a fan on facebook. Today you can email us at theblacksburgcontessa@gmail.com. We would love to hear your stories and thoughts. If we find them entertaining or applicable to our audience we might even publish them.

Family Fears and Food

First week back blogging:

This week we went to Lefty’s Main Street Café. The place was filled with old locals. The menu was extensive with a long list of specialty sandwiches that all sounded great. After much deliberation we ordered. Katherine went with the Philly cheese steak with onion rings, Olga got a barbeque sandwich, and I got a grilled ham and Swiss. I am having a difficult time recalling the details of this lunch not because it was mediocre but because life got in the way of eating.
While Katherine and Olga were joyfully chatting over our exceptional meal I was concentrating hard on eating my sandwich. I looked up unsure if I wanted to pull them into what was upsetting me. Yes we are the Blacksburg Contessas and outside of recreationally eating we have lives that bring us joys and hardships.
I was not myself that day because I was scared for my father’s health. Skin cancer runs rampant in my family and has taken the lives of many of my relatives. Over break, I found out that my dad had a mole on his back that was so precancerous looking he wouldn’t show my mother and me. I had first noticed it two years earlier and he still hadn’t gotten it checked out. During lunch thoughts of being the girl whose father was dying of cancer were running through my head.
I was so overwhelmed with fear that I started crying. Olga and Katherine were stunned. My tears had come without warning. Long story short my father is perfectly healthy. Actually he is better than before. The scare of cancer caused him to stop smoking and all of break he flooded my mother and me with questions about what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He told me recently over the phone he wants to be a changed person and have his life be glorifying to God.
My Lefty’s Café scare was just another testament to how fully God is in control and how mysteriously he works. If it takes a week of fear for me, my mom, and my dad to get my father to see that God wants to be the focus of his life I am all right with that.
I strongly recommend Lefty’s for lunch. Also the wait staff seems to know how to handle emotionally distraught customers.

I am pretty sure you have noticed by now but this blog is about more than just food. It is about the lives of a Blacksburg Contessa. This week Alpha's Pizzaria!

3 week Hiatus

This past week is the first time the contessa’s were able to meet in quite sometime. We would like to apologize to our readers for taking such a long break from recreational eating. Do not fret the Blacksburg Contessa is back.

First week of no blogging:

Katherine and I went to Cabot fish taco. While Olga had to stay home and finish her letter of intent for Teach for America. Since that letter of intent, she has had a phone interview and visited TFA class rooms. Her daylong interview is scheduled for February. With her native Spanish speaking skills and her genuine love for helping others I am certain she is the best thing TFA has going for them this year.
It was hardcore raining out for this lunch endeavor. Which might explain our somber mealtime conversation. We decided to chat about where we were when we found out about the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Which led to us talking about other times we had been afraid. As if conversation wasn’t enough of a buzz kill we were disappointed with Cabot’s lunch spread. The menu was no different than what they offer for dinner. There were no specials and we were basically the only people in the dimly lit restaurant. Cabot is great for dinner not so much for lunch.

Second Week of no blogging:

This week the contessa’s did not meet because I had three 8-10 page papers due. I averaged about four hours of sleep a night. Thursday at 9:30 am was when I turned in my last paper. To celebrate our week of torture I picked up Olga on campus. While listening to John Mayer’s new album we decided to revisit Hokaido Buffet. At the Buffet we were seated in the Asian only room. Most likely because they were pleased with the Contessa seal of approval we gave them the weeks prior. Olga and I proceeded to feast on all things mysterious and Asian.
On Friday Katherine and I visited Gillie’s for Lunch. We both ordered focaccia pizzas and planned out the rest of the semester’s Contessa outings. We decided for the last couple of weeks we wanted to have guest appearances. We thought it would be funny if our blog invited The Tour de Blacksburg to lunch while he was on tour. We giggled over the thought of our blogs blogging about each other.

Third week of no blogging:

This may come as a surprise but the contessas parted ways for Thanksgiving break. Olga went to Franklin County to celebrate with the Reed's, Katherine went to Atlanta to dine with the Bruder's, and I ventured to Richmond to mingle with the Donohue’s.
Dinner with the Donohue’s was entertaining as always. This seems to be fairly common in family circles but the same three stories are told every year at dinner. The first story is about the time my 24-year-old cousin was attacked by “Monster Ponies”. As usual he neglect to mention that he was inebriated during the said attacks and proceeds to be irritated that we call the beastly horses that crushed his cooler and tent Ponies. This story always leads into my dad talking about the “Great Beaver” and how the beaver built the floodwall. Everything about this story gets more exaggerated every year. We then start talking about Christmas presents and how we need to steal Uncle Jim’s keys so that we can take a couple cds out of his trunk to give him for Christmas. Uncle Jim keeps American flags, bullets, and easily a hundred CDs in his trunk he has yet to realize his son’s steal his presents every year.
The food was excellent even though I had to enjoy it from a bread plate. But my favorite part was when the family discovered that my eldest cousin had soaked the turkey wings in hot sauce and proceeded to eat them like hot wings dipping them in ranch. During post dessert coffee that same cousin tried to persuade me to put an oven mitt on my foot. All the other cousins joined in. I nearly gave into the peer pressure but I am glad I maintained my dignity.

At least our drink was free...

The Backstreet's lunch buffet was a disappointment. 

I realize I started this blog with a very direct if not harsh statement but using elaborate language here would only contradict how unelaborate (if that's even a word) the buffet was.  We met up at 12:30 as usual. Katherine and I were wearing our favorite t-shirts which was the first indication of a great day. Upon arrival we realized that our lunch included a drink.  Yay for Diet Coke! However, our drinks were not refilled as often as they were at Hakkaido Buffet.

I don't know the name of anything I ate today other than the pizza.  And even the pizza was odd.  We didn't find the common pepperoni or olives or even plain cheese that you would expect.  Instead we were greeted with pineapple, huge chunks of green pepper, immense pieces of onion, and a mystery ground meat.  We all tried some interesting sandwiches which consisted of meat and onion.  My favorite part of the meal was a sausage like dish with marinara and melted mozzarella, but for a lactose intolerant all the cheese was not a good idea.

One of the best parts of lunch was hearing the waitress shout out "the owner of a silver VW, you left your lights on!" I laughed hysterically, which made Katherine laugh, which made Molly say "guuuyyyss."  Molly later informed me that she did this again at Mill Mountain.  Although I would not recommend anyone spending 6.95 for such a mediocre lunch, this was, once again, the highlight of my week.  The three of us engaged in awesome conversations about girls weekend, and our DTR's with TC Montague, among other topics that are better left undisclosed.

To our followers, you might have noticed that we go through phases.  Our Asian phase ended last week and we have now embarked on an Italian phase.  Unfortunately, it kicked off badly and not even the free drink (which is probably not so free considering we didn't have too much on the buffet) was enough to make us want to recommend this restaurant for lunch.  Next week, we hope to encounter an even better freebie.  Gelato with the purchase of any lunch buffet. Believe me, we hope to bring you happier reports after that.

I was in a rush to head to work so I skipped out on our usual trip to Bollo's only to find out that today, yes my friends, today Bollo's had pumpkin chocolate muffins.  I would have been crushed, but at work I checked my junk mail folder before deleting the contents carelessly and realized that a bit of bright news for my future sat there waiting for me.  My skipping out on Contessa last week was well worth it because I was invited to a phone interview with a Teach for America representative!!!!!!!  And it only got better... Sarah Carlson showed up at work with a celebratory muffin for me.

Thank God for good friends and good food...

Asian Beer and Drunken Noodles

What better way to continue the celebration of my birth than to spend another Wednesday with the contessas? This week’s choice was mine to make, so I chose to revisit the site of our end of the year freshman dinner: Café de Bangkok. It was my first experience with Thai food almost three years ago, and has led to a love of all things Thai.

I apologize now for the rambling that is soon to follow.

Lunch started a little… uncomfortably. Molly and I almost walked in the wrong door but corrected ourselves in time, and proceeded to stand awkwardly in the entrance while we attempted to figure out whether to seat ourselves or wait. It wouldn’t have been bad if we knew who the random character was standing by the counter. Was he working? Hanging out? Lost? Against my instincts we asked him whether to sit or wait, and translating the look on his face… and the box of food that the waiter brought him, we deduced that he did not, in fact, work there, but was utilizing the restaurant’s convenient take-out system (a plus in our book). The waiter rushed by in a fury and led us to our seat. To say the least, this guy terrified me. Now that I think about it, he kind of reminded me of Iron Chef America’s chairman. Finally seated, we were able to relax and put our entrance behind us.

For lunch, Molly chose the Pad Ped Thai and I tried the Drunken Noodles. Lunch prices are reasonable, until you decide to add spring rolls, soup, and Thai iced tea. Actually, the soup and tea can be added to any lunch special for a mere $2. The soup was extremely interesting. I couldn’t thoroughly enjoy it until I could pick out what was in it. The blend of flavors was incredible. We decided that it consisted of chicken broth, fish sauce, mushrooms, and a variety of spices. My favorite part of our appetizer was the spring rolls and sauce. I think I would be content eating an entire meals worth of them. We enjoyed the Thai iced tea… when it came. Being that we were terrified of our waiter, it was very difficult to ask if it was ever coming out, but luckily I’m getting better at confrontation. I made Molly do it.

While we waited for the main course, Molly and I flipped through the pages of a magazine she gave me for my birthday. Basically, it’s full of menus and recipes for every kind of holiday event you can think of. The best part? I can’t decide. It’s a toss up between the pictures and the fact that every other recipe included bacon. My mouth was watering as we read through the recipes and picked out what we wanted to make some day.

My favorite part of the conversation was discussing our culinary pasts. It came down to the realization that Molly’s parents are from San Francisco and New York, and mine are from Grand Rapids. Enough said. Molly once described me as “the girl who eats like a truck driver”, and while I’m still pondering the meaning of that, I’d like to think that through the years my appetite has been refined.

Finally, the third contessa was able to join us. Olga had come from finishing her Teach for America application, and could breathe a little easier knowing it was complete. It hadn’t been the same without her, so we were delighted she could join us. Molly and I finished our meals while Olga played with my leftover soup. Mine was delicious and I enjoyed every second. Molly enjoyed hers but had the meal been any spicier, her hair would have had some tough competition from her cheeks. As she complained about the spice, Olga gracefully mentioned that it would “come out the same way”. Later reports confirm Olga’s suspicions.

When we paid for our meals, I needed something like 85 cents back. Our lovely waiter brought back change in all nickels. While I realize returning 85 cents is not ideal for a waiter, I have no use for a pocketful of nickels. I left a decent tip, but can’t say I felt guilty for leaving behind some of those nickels.

On our way out, the three of us admired their fridge stocked full of Asian beer. Tsing-Tau, my personal favorite beer of the orient, was among them. While we admired, we came across one with a slightly inappropriate name that resembles an American swear word. We had fun being 12 again and giggling on our way out of the restaurant.

After Olga tried to get into the wrong car, failed, and was made fun of, the three of us headed to Bollos and the farmer’s market as always. It was a beautiful day for Bollos to disappoint us. While there were no pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, Molly chose a chocolate chip scone, and I splurged on a gigantic cinnamon roll. Seriously, I think my arm is still sore from carrying that thing around. There was no dispute as to which bag was Molly’s and which was mine the second we picked up the bags. Moral of the story: You need to try one of Bollos cinnamon rolls. They’re amazing.

Although we were hit with the sad realization that the Dahlia Guy is no longer at the farmer’s market (because it’s too cold for his poor flowers), I would call the day another success. I don’t think anything could actually ruin a day with my favorite contessas. Their company alone makes my day, and I wouldn’t trade this part of my week for anything. Until next time!