Chef Cravey came to Lynchburg via Liberty University, recently having been honored as a head chef in Charleston, SC.. and together with his wife, Cynthia, they chose to offer the Underground Supper Club for local residents.  Utilizing fresh, local ingredients, Chef Cravey makes materpieces of unusual tastes and textures for his participants to enjoy.    Appetizers such as Fried Deviled Eggs nestled on Sweet Potato Straws, and Bison Chard with spring onions tempt your taste buds for the 5 additional courses to come.

The concept of the Supper Club is to enjoy the wonderful selections, as well as enjoy conversing with other surprise participants.  Everyone gets to know each other in the casual setting, and at the Culina‘s event, was able to watch as Chef Cravey put the finishing touches on each of his chosen courses.

The main entree of the night was Bison, from our own area Medford Bison Farm with Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes that melted in your mouth.  The addition of sauteed Kale provided the perfect accompaniment while the satifying sounds from diners told the story of how absolutely delicious the food was.

Chef Cravey has indeed found a niche in the area and the Lynchburg Underground Supper Club is a hit with everyone so far that has attended.   Other participating vendors offer their expertise such as table centerpieces by Dancing Leaf Florists consisting of broccoli, artichoke, carrots and beatiful cut flowers.  Dessert provided by Culina’s own Katharine Ledoux, who now offers specialty cakes for events-Saturday night’s cake was a chocolate  with chocolate ganoche that was so divine! And, coffee was provided by The Muse Coffee Company.

Other events have been offered at Auburnlea Farms-a wonderful creekside affair, Dinner/Movie Night at Legacy at Linden Park, The Raes at The Parlor Lofts penthouse, Valentines at The Lynchburg Art Club, and a fabulous menu at Terrace on the James for Mardi Gras!!

If you are looking for that one of a kind dining option, try to acquire an invitation.   Check out the website at http://www.lynchburgsupperclub.com, and don’t pass up the opportunity to attend.

Unique styling, delightful decor, and out of the box design..all of these things will amaze you in Lynchburg with the 6th Annual Downtown Loft Tour to benefit the Free Clinic of Central Va.!     February 27, 2010 is the date to catch a glimpse into living downtown  in a specially designed space while contributing to a good cause.   The  fully furnished lofts with their inviting warmth, open space living areas,  custom lighting, and special features will be a treat and you can also shop, dine and enjoy downtown Lynchburg.

What is a Loft?

It can be many things to many people-  starving artists used to sleep in their studio spaces to alleviate paying rent, but now the popluarity has expanded  and is “in style”.  Loft interest remains very appealling for both gallery and working space, as well as for chosen living quarters for artists, as well as many others.  Usually housed in large, old buildings, lofts are refurbished living areas that offer its inhabitants spaciousness, quiet and comfort!

Natural Light enhance Living Areas

Are You a Loft Person?

The benefits far outweighed the negatives with a loft lifestyle.. high ceilings, brick exterior walls, large windows for natural light, wooden flooring, open plans easily customizable.  Attracting varying age groups of people, lofts are intriguing to young professionals that desire convenience, and have an artistic flair.  Lofts generally are located in downtown or inner city areas, where old buildings show a desire to be revitalized and have minimal residency.

 See for yourself

Tours begin at 9:00 AM and continue througout the day, with a tour bus shuttling ticketholders between loft locations.  Ticket prices are $20 per person in advance, $25 on the day of the tours.  All monies raised from this delightful event will benefit the Free Clinic of Central Va who is dedicated to the belief that everyone should have access to health care services. The Free Clinic provides medical, nursing, dental and pharmaceutical services to those in need in Central Va.

The Parlor Lofts

While the lofts on the tour may not be available for sale, others like Kemper Lofts, The Parlor Lofts, and City Market Lofts are available for lease.  Rental units are avilalble in 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms, and start at $750/month.  Lofts available at Riverview Artspaces are mainly for studio or gallery space, but also offer living units as well.

Would you like living in a loft?

For more info on the 6th Annual Downtown Loft Tour….

Experience the fun of taking a day trip from Lynchburg, Va. to Washington, DC.  With the newly offered daily round trip service between Lynchburg, DC and Boston, you can enjoy a rail excursion!  From the time you arrive at Lynchburg’s own newly renovated Kemper Street Station, you can’t help but feel like you are stepping back in time, just a wee bit!  Free parking is offered next to the cobblestone street fronting the combined bus terminal and rail depot. Descending to the lower level, you are able to catch your first glimpse of the rails.

As you enter the terminal for ticketing, you can asborb the period decor and read a little of the history of train travel in Lynchburg. While waiting for the announcement of your departure, you can’t help but notice that many are taking advantage of this method of transportation as a way of travel.  With suitcases in hand, the large group proceeds to the cars for boarding.

The interior of the train is what you typically expect with dual seating on both sides of a center aisle.  Each individual car has connecting walkways.  Our group (the Divas of the Dow) took our seats to await the departure, and after leaving the station, we relocated to the “snack car”.   This car has table seating and we were able to converse more easily, and enjoy a light breakfast. 

As the train jostled along, we were able to take in the area scenery not normally seen from the heavily traveled roadways, and delighted in the quaintness of the various depots of our stops along the way- Montpelier, Culpeper, Mananssas, Burke Center, Alexandria and finally, Union Station in DC.  As this was our destination, the train itself traveled onward to Boston.

Arrival at Union Station, Wash. DC

Upon arrival at Union Station, you have many choices of locations for your adventure.  We choose to hop onto the Metro for a manificent lunch at Rosa Mexicano, where we feasted on homemade tableside guacomole with fresh torilla chips. The menu is fabulous and I can definitely recommend this new find!  Having spent 2 hours for our leisurely, social lunch, we again hopped the Metro to nearby Pentagon City Mall.  With three levels of shopping pleasure, it was much too hard to see it all, so we prioritized our time and had no trouble making it back to Union Station by the 4:50 PM boarding time back to Lynchburg.

Our trip home went by quickly as our seats in the “snack car” allowed us to enjoy card games and pass the time.  Occasionally, we took in the small town lights along the way, which offer a warm, inviting look into those areas that we take for granted. Since our games were competitive, the stewards had to encourage us to finish up our game as the train was approaching our final destination.  We gathered our belongings, and as stopped rolling, we all shared the feeling that we had been able to be a witness to one of the little secrets that our wonderful area has to offer. From the welcoming of the crew, to the relaxing accomodations, our excursion for the day was truly a awesome adventure, and one that I can highly recommend.     

The first “All Aboard” of the weekday is at 7:38AM, while weekenders will have to wait until 9:59AM. The route is part of Amtrak Virginia, a program created by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and Amtrak.  This service is in a three year demonstration period, and recent news stated that the income from the service had exceeded projections.

Would you like to see the service stay in Lynchburg?