ICYMI: PIMENTO CHEESE ON TV

Earlier this week on Virginia This Morning, Robin Allen of Birdie's Pimento Cheese shared her recipe for Birdie's & Bowties, an easy, cheesy mac & cheese recipe that uses, you guessed it, pimento cheese. And while you're VTM'ing it up, check out Longoven's Megan Phelan, on the same episode, sharing a chocolate-pumpkin holiday trifle.

CHARMED, I'M SURE

There's a new ice cream shop in town now that Charm School has opened its doors in the former Quirk Gallery space at 311 W Broad Street! The shop, owned by Meryl Hillerson and Alex Zavaleta, offers creative flaves and both vegan and non-vegan treats, but they're only open Thursday through Sunday for now, so find a way to work them into your weekend plans.

PUT A BÛCHE IN YOUR BOUCHE

Whisk has taken a modern approach to the traditional yule log, with three flavors that will no doubt wow your holiday visitors. There's chocolate/coffee/caramel, which has the added bonus of being gluten-free; then there's a toasted-coconut covered variety, filled with mango mousse, coconut whipped cream, passion fruit pastry cream, almond sponge cake, and pineapple jam; and finally, raspberry/vanilla/pistachio, with layers of raspberry mousse, pistachio cake, vanilla panna cotta, pistachio meringue, raspberry jam, and toasted pistachios finished with a red raspberry glaze--it just happens to be perfectly red-and-green if you're into the whole Christmas colors thing, and it also happens to be absolutely stunning if you're into THAT kind of thing.

SNEAK PEEK: CHESTNUT WEEK

We'll be talking all about Virginia Chestnuts next week on the Cavalier Produce blog and Facebook page, but here's a taste of what's to come: Check out this recipe for Chestnut and Lobster Soup, via Epicurious, and then follow along next week for even more chestnutty goodness.

IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE...

Get drunk with Santa! He and a bunch of holiday cocktails will be at Quirk's Boozy Santa Brunch this Sunday. Remember, Santa can't get too mad about you being naughty if he's right there with you...

EAT HERE NOW

Eater released their list of the Best Restaurants in America this week, and while it's loaded with amazing spots like Rose's Luxury in DC, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, and Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore, not a single Virginia restaurant made the list. Bummer! I guess this means we'll be taking some longish road trips in the near future.

THE CAMERA EATS FIRST

Which restaurants get all the love on Instagram? Thrillist compiled a list of their picks from around the country, which raises the question - What are your favorite RVA restaurants to Instagram? We asked the question on our Facebook and would love to hear your thoughts. Our list includes Metzger Bar & Butchery, Perly's, and Stella's, among others.

We'd love to get a conversation going about what restaurants can do to make their atmosphere and food gram-worthy! Tell us in the comments where you find yourself absolutely compelled to snap a pic of your food.

Cheesy, charming, and chestnutty -- It's this week's food news!