Zynodoa

We called Zynodoa at 5, as it was a Sunday, knowing they were open until 8 p.m.

The greeter answered, and when we asked for a reservation, she put us on hold for a moment (which was odd). She had checked with the chef (!), and he would take us right at 8. I protested because I thought they closed at 8 (they were closed monday, so this was our last chance to go since we left tuesday morning), but she said that he stated he would take us.

At this point in the story, I would like to point out that no one had any idea who we were or why we were there. They only knew that we had called, and just wanted to have dinner. They went far out of their way to accommodate us.

We took the 8 p.m. Slot, and edited until it was time to leave. We left around 7:15, since Staunton (pronounced STAN- TON) was about half an hour away.

We arrived to find a cute little town, a college town at that, SWAMPED with bicyclists. There was a large group ride that day, which had shut down the whole town. We found free parking in a nearby garage, and prepared ourselves for another part of the adventure.

We actually arrived at 7:45. I felt bad enough that they were taking us after closing time, the least we could do is be prompt or early. While we were waiting to be seated (they were SWAMPED), we read articles outside the door about Chef Mike Lund. He is highly esteemed as a chef, and has worked in several highly competitive restaurants.

We were seated right in front of the window, the opposite direction from the street. Our view was the whole restaurant, looking back into the kitchen. The ambiance there is casual and relaxed, and I flt like I could just chill out for a bit.

The waitress who greeted us (no fancy dress for them, just black), started by apologizing. They had been overwhelmed by all of the bikers in town, and only had a few dishes left to serve (none of which were Joel's). We were bummed, but we figured that we would buy some of his food and take it home to cook it ourselves anyway.

I ordered salmon and Vince ordered pork tenderloin. One of the things that fascinated me the most about the restaurant is their focus on local food from the valley. They have a chalkboard up that shows all of the ingredients they source, and the farm the ingredient is from.

Now, bear in mind that we are FOODIES. That means we are very difficult to impress with food.

The brought us freshly warmed bread with honey butter. Bear in mind that I don't eat dairy. If dairy would have tasted like this my whole life, it may have been harder to quit. There was a VERY noticeable difference between the fresh milk used for this butter, and what I was used to back in Columbus.

Our salad then arrived, and I have to say that they understand how to structure a salad. It was a perfect balance between the fresh greens, vinaigrette, fruit, and nuts on the salad.

Now, what I thought would be the best part of our meal arrived: The entrees. I absolutely could not believe how different, and fresh, the food tasted. The salmon had peas in it, and I didn't know that peas could actually taste like something! My sister in law law (not a typo, her name is Laura Lyons) had been complaining about peas the other day. I texted her because I was shocked at how good all of this tasted.

Perfect portions meant that I was stuffed! We had chatted with our waitress about where we were from, and why we were there. She had read most of Salatin's books as well. As a daring moment, I asked if we could meet the chef and thank him for our wonderful meal. I know that a lot of chefs are jerks (perhaps it's part of the restaurant environment), but I wanted to meet him anyway. The waitress edified him on the way out, saying that he is both humble and hard working.

Out came the youngest looking gentlemen I had not expected. I believe he is still a few years younger than us, and has had significant time cooking for big names. Turns out that he's from Toledo, so he knew all about The Ohio State University, High Street, and Ohio, in general. We told him about Joel, and he praised Joel for a “Meat and Beer” night they had just done together a few weeks ago.

To end the conversation, he offered us some desert. I declined, but he told Vince, “I would like to bring you something special.” A few minutes pass by, and out he walks with a piece of chocolate cake. He puts it in front of us and says “This is a cake that I make for my mother for her birthday every year. I hope you enjoy it!”.

Vince says that it was, and let me quote him, “Spectacular”. It was a chocolate torte.

He told us to stop by if we ever come through the area again, and there will be a completely different menu.

This was the first example of a restaurant I have seen that uses local food, touts it, and makes it absolutely outstanding. This showed me that it can be done!

We went back to the hotel, barely able to move we were so full!

Chip oat lay

I cannot express to you how excited I was! Chipotle is one of the few “fast food” places I can actually eat!

If I could guess, they took us to the following Chipotle:
1615 Reservoir St. Harrisonburg, VA 22801

On the way in, we discussed franchising (I thought Chipotle was a franchise), and cell phones. He has a cell phone, but hadn't checked it in several weeks because they don't have service where they live. But they do get cell service near Chipotle!

We walked in together, and there were signs posted indicating that they serve pork from Polyface Farms. Joel introduced himself to the burrito server as “Joel Salatin from Polyface farms, good to meet you.” Everyone smiled on the way through the line, and by the time we got to the end of the line, the manager had come out to greet him. He really wanted to comp all of the food, and Joel flat out refused. In the end, he comped some chips and guac, but Joel really wanted to pay for the rest. He made it clear to us and to the manager that he doesn't visit places trying to get free food.

I've debated about how much of the following conversation to share. As much as I believe that faith is a deeply personal thing, I believe there is also a place for sharing it with others for both your own benefit and theirs. I won't share much about Teresa and Joel's story, but I will say that they were high school sweethearts, and came to know Christ several years ago. Their faith is part of the reason why they try to be good stewards of animals, and the land. Vince and I then shared about when God became personal to us, through Christ, and some of the incredible circumstances surrounding how God has provided for us. It was a great time of personal sharing, uplifting each other, and learning about other people's perspectives. I knew at that time, if nothing else came from this, we were brought together to encourage each other in our faith, and to continue good work throughout our lives.

I couldn't believe we were sitting at Chipotle, with a famous farmer and his wife, talking about God.

They dropped us off back at the hotel, and I continued editing the audio book with my laptop, until dinnertime.

We had taken to heart Joe's suggestion to try a local restaurant called Zynodoa, which serves his food. We had searched their website, and agreed to call them around 5 to make reservations. Their site said “Reservations suggested but not required.”

Good info!

Hi Teresa--

I have a 10 a.m. radio show Monday so I'll be free before then or after 10:45.
I think I'd prefer to see you earlier, unless that's too confining for you.

I don't have any accommodation suggestions.  I assume you're not camping.
If you were, you could certainly stay here.  Otherwise, Staunton has all sorts
of places.

Hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway is a favorite around here.  Several very
scenic and enjoyable vistas and geographic points of interest.

Churches:  Daniel and Sheri go to (******) in Staunton.  Teresa and I go to
(******) in Weyers Cave--would be glad
to take you with us.  Not sure what your tastes are.  We're a nondenom group
of believers.  That's all.  But the area has everything from Catholic to Lutheran
to Episcopal to Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, etc.

Local restaurants:  Zynodoa (but that will eat up $60 of your $150 allowance).
Generally, restaurants that serve our stuff are pricey--good, but pricey.

If you like museum/living history stuff, the American Frontier Culture Museum
is quite a place, and I don't think very expensive.  It's in Staunton and a very
neat place.  I'm sure you could google it and see all about it.  Plan on half a
day there if you go.

Our farm store is open Saturday's 9-4 so somebody is around all day.  Not sure
what we'll be doing.  Sunday we rest, except for doing chores.  Sunday evening
a college friend and family come (7 of them in all) to spend several days with us,
so our accommodations are pretty taken during that time.

Look forward to meeting you and catching up.  Pleasant travels.

Best regards,

Joel Salatin

-- end of message --

Please note that I have taken out the names of their churches, to protect their own privacy. They did not ask for me to do this, I just wanted to respect their choices. If you really want to know, you can figure out how to get a hold of me.