A brand new Roanoke Food Tour just happens to include the Grandin Village market. Plus, a recipe for Honey Blackberry Sangria!
Love being a locavore? Then you’ll love the new food tour in town! The Grandin Village Market To Table Tour is hosted by Roanoke Food Tours and the amazing chefs and staff at Rockfish Restaurant. Located in the Greater Raleigh Court neighborhood in Roanoke, Rockfish is a modern bistro specializing in fresh fish and seafood, menus that reflect the season and a robust and well priced wine list. This tour takes place on Saturdays beginning on May 12, 2018 and you can book your tour on the website: roanokefoodtours.com
Olivia Byrd, Rockfish owner and Chef Tom Sosnowski greeted our group with a toast of Contessa Carola Dedicato Prosecco. Smooth and creamy with notes of peach and pear. Reasonably priced at $10 a bottle.
We stepped out of the restaurant into the sunshine to begin our tour with a leisurely stroll down the main avenue that flows through the Grandin Village. We were surrounded by restaurants, coffee shops, lovely boutiques and the iconic Grandin Movie Theatre that opened in 1932 where they pop their own fresh popcorn every day. Our tour guide Amelia shared with us the romantic story of how the main thoroughfare Grandin Road got its name. I won’t spoil the story here but please know you will learn that nugget of information and much more history of Greater Raleigh Court on the tour.
We finished our lovely tour with a fabulous lunch that Chef Tom prepared especially for us with ingredients from the Grandin Village Farmers Market…Pickled Shrimp fresh from Topsail Island, North Carolina nestled in a bed of Thornfield Farm (Botetourt County) Spinach with House-made Pickled Vegetables and Avocado Vinaigrette and for dessert…Mocha Truffle Torte!
One of the special treats that day was served when we returned to Rockfish. A lovely lavender and lemon sangria made with Olivia’s house-made simple syrup. Here’s her recipe:Â
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1/3 cups dried lavender buds
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and refrigerate until service.
After tasting Olivia’s Sangria, I was inspired to make my own batch of Sangria with the local honey I bought at the farmers market to replace the traditional sugar in the simple syrup. I used the Prosecco that I purchased at Rockfish for my sangria. Rockfish sells their wine to drink on premises or take home. This sangria has lots of honey flavor intermingling with the fruit, somewhat reminiscent of mead wine.
Honey Blackberry Sangria
Honey Blackberry Simple Syrup:
- 1 cup honey (I used Hungry Hill Apiary honey from Shipman, Virginia available at the Grandin Farmers Market)
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups blackberries
Combine honey and water in a saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes then reduce heat to simmer. Add blackberries and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Mash blackberries into honey syrup with muddler or back of a wooden spoon. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (I keep my simple syrups in mason jars in the refrigerator.)
Sangria:
For each 12 ounce glass of Sangria, mix ¼ cup Honey Blackberry Simple Syrup with ½ cup Prosecco and top it off with ¼ cup ginger ale. Garnish with mandarin orange slices, blackberries and raspberries and lots of ice. Lots of ice is key to a tasty sangria. Buena Salud!
