CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – A new restaurant has bloomed in downtown Charlottesville’s Glass Building. Named after the native Virginia flower, Aster is a fine-dining restaurant with a focus on “New Virginia” cuisine, as described by co-owner and Executive Chef Drew Dunston, and beverage program manager, Caleb Russell, who are also from Virginia.
Dunston came from a lineage of cooks and started his career in food at a restaurant while he was in high school. Dunston brings 15 years of experience working in the country’s top restaurants, such as the two Michelin-starred restaurant Acadia in Chicago, where he was Chef de Partie and Executive Chef at Marigold by Jean-Georges in Keswick.
Aster’s food is meant to feel familiar, but with a menu to stand out from the crowd and have guests try unique pairings like fried chicken and koji hot sauce or fluke crudo with buttermilk curry…