The Southern Café and Music Hall — a joint bar, restaurant and concert venue — has quickly gained recognition in Charlottesville as a top-notch performance venue since its opening in Sep. 2009. Known for featuring some of the hottest indie-rock acts the industry has to offer, the restaurant side of The Southern has garnered nowhere near the level of public praise as its musical counterpart. That is, until The Southern’s “Gourmet Grilled Cheese” menu was born.
Kitchen Manager William Flagge and others proposed a menu change in hopes of streamlining food production and giving the Café a more versatile, interesting reputation.
“[We] looked around at the barbeque market and found it was a little saturated,” Flagge said as to why the classic grilled cheese sandwich was chosen as the menu’s focus.
Flagge said replacing entrée options with the simplistic sandwiches makes for a “more efficient menu” and easier portion control.
“[We wanted to] emulate food you would be getting at a festival,” he said, calling the beloved American sandwich a “convenience food.”
Though the menu is simple, the plates are quite diverse and elegant; these aren’t any run-of-the-mill, flimsy, lunchtime sandwiches. With six different types of cheese, and extra options like onion jam, black pepper mayonnaise and bacon, even the pickiest of eaters will find their mouths watering as they bite into these creations.
Flagge said “The Walter” is the most popular choice with patrons. Comprised of sliced turkey, bacon, apple, cheddar cheese and onion jam on wheat bread, it’s got the “most going on,” he said.
The menu’s old appetizers, desserts and salads remain largely the same, and the full bar isn’t going anywhere. With added flair from the newly revamped lunch and dinner offerings, concert-goers can expect to see The Southern Café and Music Hall thrive well into the future. For a complete listing of menu options, visit the venue’s website.
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