Cooperative Living July 2019 - 31

While there might not be 4,500 restaurants in Virginia; however, the restaurant
business in small towns is still competitive. One of those special restaurants is
the Corner Kitchen in Blackstone, Virginia.
The husband-and-wife team of Laurie and Sam Allen owns and operates the
Corner Kitchen restaurant. Sam is a Southside Virginia native and decided early
on that he wanted to devote his life to the culinary arts. " I learned from my
grandmother the joys of being in the kitchen creating dishes that people loved, "
says Sam. The day after his final exam in high school, Sam enrolled in the New
England Culinary Institute in Vermont, concentrating on classic French
cooking. As I will mention later, this training is on full display with Sam's
extremely delightful and tasty sauces. After culinary school, Sam gained an even
deeper, wider experience with Southern cooking from chef experiences in New
Orleans and North Carolina. When an opportunity appeared that he could come
home and open his own dream restaurant, Sam and Laurie could not resist.
After receiving several emails about Corner Kitchen, I decided to visit to try
lunch and dinner. The drive from Richmond to Blackstone is nice this time of
year with rolling hills and rich farmlands. My lunch experience was very
delightful. I tried the prime rib sandwich with a side of extremely yummy
tomato and red pepper soup. I enjoy great soup and this one really hit the spot.
Their lunch dessert special was homemade margarita ice cream, which was very
creamy and good. At this point, I was beginning to discover Sam's delicate
cooking style: rich, but not overpowering, which is a savory approach.
For dinner a few days later, I was primed for a great dining experience. I spent
a considerable amount of time reviewing each item on the menu with Sam and
Laurie. I was torn between the blackened catfish with cheese grits, homemade pasta,
or Virginia-style shrimp and grits. The ribeye steak also looked interesting. After
a lot of consideration, I chose the shrimp and grits. My dinner companion selected
the pan-roasted yard bird. To arouse my taste buds, Sam recommended a caprese
salad, which had a variety of tastes from the fried green tomatoes, local tomatoes,
mozzarella, tapenade and basil pesto swirl. The combination of the different tastes
did the trick and ratcheted my taste buds in high gear. The rich, brown bacon
sauce accompanying the yard bird was the result of a complex, extensive eighthour
cooking process. I have long known of this French cooking process, so you
can imagine how excited I was to taste my companion's dish. The sauce on my
shrimp and grits was a beurre blanc wine and cream delight, which was rich, but
not overpowering. The grits were cheese Byrd Mill grits and cooked with tomatoes,
mushrooms, green peppers and Virginia ham - all my favorite food groups.
I cannot complete my article without mentioning bread pudding, Sam's favorite
dessert, which was prepared the way his grandmother taught him. Bread pudding
is a classic Southern dessert and Sam does it with reverence. It is baked and served
in a small skillet where the individual bread chunks are both a little crunchy and
soft with a sauce made of caramel, lemon and sugar that was topped with homemade
vanilla ice cream. I thoroughly enjoyed Corner Kitchen, not only the food, but also
its hospitality. I can truly say Sam's talents are on a level equivalent to any restaurant
in Virginia, especially as good or better than my recent experience in San Francisco.
This is one of those hidden gems of delicious Southern cuisine you must try!
I want to thank Irvin Moran for his emails recommending Corner Kitchen.
While I receive hundreds of emails each year, I read each one and research
each restaurant for consideration. Mr. Moran's voice was the foundation of my
article, so let me know your favorite restaurant at dwalker123@comcast.net. n
CORNER KITCHEN
101 South Main Street, Blackstone, VA 23824
Phone: (434) 298-0001 * cornerkitchenva.com
Lunch: Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner: Tuesday to Saturday 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
1. Margarita ice cream. 2. Virginia-style shrimp and grits. 3. Pan-roasted yard bird with bacon sauce. 4. Caprese salad. 5. Bread pudding
with caramel sauce and homemade ice cream.
co-opliving.com
July 2019 | Cooperative Living | 29
3.
1.
2.
5.
4.

http://www.cornerkitchenva.com http://www.co-opliving.com

Cooperative Living July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living July 2019