A Passion For Food

Upscale Chilhowie Eatery Cooking Up Dishes With Plenty Of ‘Heart And Soul’

CHILHOWIE, Va. – Come spring, the blue crab must let go of its tough armor and stand exposed in the tidal currents. It sheds its old shell, after growing a larger one underneath.
And then, to catch a soft-shell crab, in turn, is to nab a delicacy.
Crabbers must be diligent. And quick. In only a matter of hours, a soft-shell crab can turn hard, making the plans of any seafood cook change dramatically.
Sean Brock, for one, is used to dealing with such sudden turns of nature.
Not only is this 1996 graduate of Abingdon High School an award-winning chef, he is also a farmer. On Wadmalaw Island, S.C., Brock, 31, raises crops across a three-acre plot, including corn, squash, melons, cucumbers, peppers and 15 varieties of tomatoes.
Lucky for about three dozen diners in Chilhowie, Va., Brock also has a friend who catches soft-shell crabs just off the South Carolina coast.
Last week, Brock grabbed as many of the two-clawed crawlers as he could. Then, he rolled north to Chilhowie to star as the guest chef at the Town House, an upscale restaurant serving cuisine that has attracted out-of-state diners and all kinds of attention.

BENEFIT DINNER
Food writers for The New York Times and The Washington Post have called on this Main Street eatery in Chilhowie’s downtown district.
So have patrons from as far away as Canada – and bloggers all across the Internet.
Last week, diner Shelley Goad strolled in from the Northern Virginia suburbs. In the region, as well, to visit relatives in Hillsville, Va., this 35-year-old attorney didn’t mind making a 130-mile roundtrip from Hillsville to eat at the Town House with her husband, Anthony Payne, 39.
“We’d been reading about this place on the foodie blogs,” Goad said. “It’s such an experience. And the food is wonderful.”
Once a month, the Town House holds dining events to benefit the Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD), an Abingdon-based outreach group helping regional farmers and loggers.
“And, at each series,” said Jo Anne Hairston, the development coordinator for ASD, “we feature local food producers.”
Last week’s dinner featured Brock’s soft-shell crabs plus bacon cured by Allan Benton, a Scott County, Va., native who now runs a pork-producing farm in Madisonville, Tenn.
“I’m really fortunate I’ve been invited up here,” Benton said. “I’m just a hillbilly making hams and bacon.”
Patrons pay $55 per plate for the ASD dinners, with $20 of the price going back to ASD. In turn, the Town House owners donate another $20 to ASD, said the restaurant’s co-owner Kyra Bishop. “So we give $40 of the $55 that people pay to ASD.”
On average, Hairston said, each dinner raises about $600.
And, Kyra Bishop said, “Every one of these dinners takes on the character of the farmers and producers that we have here.”

‘BEST OF THE BEST’
Open since 2002, what was once called the “Town House Grill” has now been re-christened simply “Town House,” and named in reference to a circa-1754 structure that once stood on a hill overlooking Chilhowie near the Middle Fork of the Holston River.
“We changed the name when we changed chefs and changed the style,” said Kyra’s husband, co-owner Tom Bishop, 56.
Originally from Tampa, Fla., executive chef John Shields, 32, came to the Town House in late 2007 with his fiance, Karen Urie, 30, another executive chef, who grew up near Philadelphia, Pa.
Now, this couple – formerly of Chicago – often scouts the produce of local farmers to fill the Town House pantries.
In Southwest Virginia, the Town House cream comes from Boyer Milk of Rural Retreat; the coffee originates from Dark Hollow Micro Roasters of Sugar Grove; and the cheese comes from Meadow Creek Dairy, near Galax.
“It’s a beautiful thing having the farmers delivering to your back door,” Urie said. “We’re about seeking out the best of the best. Everything has a rhyme or reason.”
In turn, in the course of cooking lamb or rabbit, or Brock’s soft-shell crabs, these chefs rely on the help of their kitchen staff, Urie said.
“We keep things very intimate here. This is a group effort,” Urie added. “Consistency is the key to the success of a restaurant, to keep guests coming back.”

‘SO LUCKY’
More than a business, the Town House appears to be a love affair for Shields and Urie as well as owners Tom and Kyra Bishop.
The Bishops speak of their other business ventures, including Berry Home Center locations at Abingdon and Chilhowie, and an auto salvage yard in Chilhowie.
“We’ve got a lot of things going on,” Kyra Bishop, 53, said, “but food is our passion.”
Now, too, the couple plans to open a bed-and-breakfast-style lodge near the Town House to help attract patrons who would consider an evening meal an event worthy of an overnight stay.
To Brock, that is just what a meal at the Town House should be considered.
“They’re just really going out on a limb and cooking food that is so intellectual and so far out and so far above everybody else’s head,” Brock said. “I just admire the fact these guys are cooking with their heart and soul.”
Brock, who grew up near Pound, Va., addressed patrons gathered at the Town House for last week’s ASD benefit dinner.
“You guys are so lucky to have this restaurant here,” said Brock, the executive chef at McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston, S.C. “I have traveled the country, cooking and eating. And nobody is cooking food like this.”
Urie smiled, saying, “Our style of cuisine and thought processes have adapted to this region. Here, we were eco-conscious ... and inspired by the rolling hills and purple mountains.”
Brock called the Town House menu’s creations “intellectually stimulating.”
Later, in a telephone interview from Charleston, S.C., Brock added, “If I lived there, I’d have a standing reservation once a week.”

YOU SHOULD KNOW
What: Town House
Where: 132 E. Main St., Chilhowie, Va., just off I-81 Exit 35
When: Open Tuesday-Saturday, 5-9 p.m.
How much: The three-course tasting menu is $38; the four-course tasting menu is $48; and the seven-course tasting menu is $78. Wine pairings are also available, with selections ranging from $6 a glass to $700 a bottle.
Web: http://www.townhouseva.com
Info: (276) 646-8787

UPCOMING
What: Dinner to benefit Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD)
When: May 21, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Town House, Chilhowie
Cost: $55 per person (with $20 of that price going to help benefit ASD)