Feature Articles

Rivah Rewind: Yard sales – A great way to spend a Saturday morning

In honor of 30 years of The Rivah Visitor’s Guide we are featuring stories that have previously been printed throughout our 30 year history. This feature story appeared in the August 2013 issue. by Tom Chillemi -  A dollar doesn’t buy much any more, but it’s amazing how far your dollars...

Chef’s life passion: training ‘awesome’ chefs

Chef Gary Whitecotton is a cook who teaches others how to hone their craft. After 30-some years in the hospitality industry as a chef, Whitecotton said he now finds “more passion in the giving back and teaching young people how to do this.” That’s why he left the Country Club...

DeltaPie: not your typical pizza place

When you walk into the cleverly named DeltaPie Pizza and Specialty Market, you immediately know you’re in for a treat. Or should I say treats, since nearly half of the restaurant is devoted to specialty foods and drinks designed to encourage sampling and pairing. Gourmet cheeses, antipasti, pickles and...

Crab pickin’: food for the body and soul

It’s a common sight this time of year: a newspaper or brown paper “tablecloth,” a time-worn pile of wooden mallets and knives, a bottle of apple cider vinegar, a jar of Old Bay (or J.O. Scroll down), melted butter and plenty of paper towels. As the bright red steamed and...

Sandlot action along the Rappahannock

When weekends begin looking like hot summer nights beneath stadium lights, sounding like country music coming through the speakers, tasting like concession stand cheeseburgers and Old Bay French fries, and feeling like a neighborhood reunion in the stadium bleachers…you know the boys of summer have come back to town. Deltas When...

The Seafood Shack: habit-forming

Occasionally, a brick-n-mortar restaurant can trace its roots back to a diner on wheels. That’s the case with The Seafood Shack in Mathews, where Amy Blanock Hudgins’ and Robert Martin’s mobile seafood market evolved into a food truck and then a popular eatery. The transformation took less than five...

Boat operating tips for a safer, happier experience

Experience is a good teacher. Here are a few things learned the hard way in my 40 years of motor boating in a 20-foot boat. This list was compiled with the help of J.C. “Bo” Burton of Mathews, who was a Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) law enforcement officer for...

Chef Vittorio Castiglia provides Italy-influenced Chesapeake Bay flavor

The nostalgic, delicious taste of seafood from old Lowery’s Restaurant in Tappahnnock is back as 528 Prime Steak and Seafood. The restaurant has recently opened in the old Lowery’s building with a Chesapeake Bay flavor and an Italian twist. Chef Vittorio Castiglia immigrated to the United States from Miseno, Italy...

Floating above the Bay

You can feel the salty breeze from the Chesapeake Bay as you let wind catch sail in open waters, you can see untouched forestry in nature as you explore the woods by foot, and you can be encapsulated by historic charm driving down any town’s Main Street. However, nothing...

Flat Iron Crossroads: A musical revival

  There’s a musical movement happening where the crossroads meet in Gloucester County. Think family reunion meets Woodstock, a place where strangers greet each other like long lost friends and the stresses of everyday life seem to disappear. It’s a place where you get lost in the sounds and the...


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