A variety of dining experiences were available to Mount Vernon residents this past week. From a free buffet to a barbecue to a pizza eating contest, there were plenty of different eating venues to enjoy.
Last Thursday, hundreds of diners gathered at the grand opening celebration at The Village Wharf. Wali and Akbar Zadran greeted approximately 1,200 guests during the three-hour free buffet that was offered to area residents. Early in the evening, the line wrapped around the adjacent Rite-Aid store; it became a little more manageable as the evening wore on.
The buffet line had a nice variety of selections, including nautical pasta, crunchy coconut shrimp, roast beef, crab balls, cat fish steamed shrimp and more. Diners filled their plates and sat in the outdoor patio or in one of the dining areas. Guests who were inside enjoyed the sounds of saxophonist Joshua Carr and his band in the newly renovated lounge area. Wali Zadran said that they plan to have live music there at least three times a week.
ON SATURDAY, St. Luke's held their annual barbecue. This event, which is always held the first Saturday in May, needs no advertisement. There are people who have been coming for the past 20 years to get their fill of barbecue and fried chicken.
Rev. Tuck Bowerfind, who was experiencing his first barbecue with his new church, said, "They have a great system here. All the guys take over, there's a place for everyone, whether they're serving, chopping or cooking."
Bowerfind said that the barbecue was originally started as a way to defray the costs of the church's annual retreat; it has grown much larger than that, bringing in anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000. While Bowerfind pitched in with the chopping, Mike Moore, associate rector, had the job of praying for good weather.
Richard McFarland, who was supervising the cooking, said that they used 650 pounds of pork and 300 pounds of chicken this year. As usual, the pork had been cooking since the night before. Because the event is so popular, they increase the quantities a little every year, although McFarland said that they were getting maxed out on the cookers.
"We had a cast of thousands," said McFarland, of all the volunteers who helped.
Catesby Jones, who is known for his famous South Carolina sauce, has been helping with the barbecue since it started. He can remember when they only used one cooker; now they have three.
"The beautiful thing about these cookers is that when you get through [cooking], all the fat is gone. They always insist on starting it the night before."
Bowerfind has already discovered that "the slower you cook, the better it is."
Jones said that McFarland, Ben Griffin and Harry Shackelford continue to be the key people running the show. Shackelford's job is to turn the bone to make sure that the ham (pig's thigh) is done.
"They have the institutional knowledge," he said.
Along with the traditional overnight cooking, there's the beer drinking before and the mint juleps (for Derby Day) after.
"We've had a good time," said Jones.
ON RICHMOND HIGHWAY, hungry contestants lined up for The Pizza Eating Championship at the new Domino's. Amir Shami, who finished two and a half pieces of pizza in three minutes, came in first in the kid's contest; he was followed closely by his brother, Yousef.
His prize was free pizza once every two weeks for a year. David Carroway, representative from Domino's Pizza, said that this was the first championship that they had held. Their former location in Huntington had closed seven months ago due to the construction of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project. This new store will take over that business. Managing the store is David Grissard.
"We wanted to make a big deal out of our reopening. We were one of the top producers. This is a good location at a busy intersection," he said.
Competing in the adult competition was Jeff Gaumer, Brian Alston, Abib Zion, Felipe Rosario, Jeff DeFries, Mike Maxwell, Dan Conrad and Rafael Castillo. With sodas and waters on hand, four contestants competed at a time. The number to beat after the first round was four slices, but Gaumer and Castillo tied for first by eating the winning number of five pieces apiece in the next round. They will each receive free pizza for a year. Other contestants received certificates and onlookers were given free pizza, soda and prizes as well.