I came here for the first time with my family and regret not coming sooner! For years now, I have…read moreheard wonderful things about Rising Silo Brewery and their farm-centric kitchen food. They focus on using fresh, local ingredients from the Glade Road Growing farm as well as local vendors/producers. Along with their food/kitchen, Rising Silo creates their own brews and has quite the selection of beers on tap. The food menu isn't super extensive and they change it monthly based off what is in season. It consists of several wood fired pizzas, burgers, fries, bowls, and more. Ordering is very simple, you order at the kiosk up front, they will hand you a buzzer, it will go off when your food is ready, and you pick it up at the front where you ordered. This ambiance is relaxed and the space is super family-friendly. There is some indoor seating, but definitely more outdoor space available. They have outdoor games for people to enjoy as well. The service is good and friendly. When we visited, it was the weekend of graduation and was quite busy due to graduation parties, etc. There was a longer wait on the food, pizzas specifically, but this wasn't an issue. We were notified in advance on the wait on the pizza before fishing our order, which I appreciated. We snagged a table inside the barn space while we waited and enjoyed some "starters" and brews.
To share with the table, we ordered the chips & salsa and the salted pretzel with pimento cheese. The chips & salsa consist of a large bowl of their house-made fresh salsa with mild jalapeños and a basket of chips. The salsa had more of a "minced" consistency with more finely diced tomatoes and was less chunky. The jalapeños added a slight kick and I appreciated the freshness of the salsa. The chips were warm when they were served to us, with a lot of salt. The salted pretzel came from a local vendor, Blacksburg Bagels, and was served with either pimento cheese or dijon mustard. We opted for the pimento and thought it paired well with the pretzel. The pretzel had a good texture, but more doughy/softer texture than a traditional pretzel. The pimento cheese had more prominent flavor from the red peppers, but was still quite flavorful. After sharing these items, we waited about 20-25 minutes for our buzzer with our pizzas! This wasn't a huge deal as it was super busy and we could see them making all the pizzas in front of us. The pizzas are roughly 12 inches, are made with homemade dough, and fired in a wood-fired oven. They are served right of the oven and are super fresh. We ended up ordering the Chicano Pie, Ramp Pesto Pie, and two pepperonis. Both the chicano and ramp pesto pie were monthly specials. The Chicano Pie included tomato sauce, burrata, chorizo, roasted corn, bell pepper, and cotija cheese. I thoroughly enjoyed this as it was very unque. The burrata was creamy and flavorful, the chorizo was smoky, and the corn & bell pepper added a slight sweetness. All these flavors paired very well together, creating a really great pie! The Ramp Pesto Pie had locally foraged ramp pesto, fresh mozzarella, and oyster mushrooms. This pie was also phenomenal with really bold flavors. The ramp added a strong element of onion, but it wasn't too overpowering. Accompanied by the slabs of mozzarella and mushrooms, this pie was also a hit! The pepperoni pie included tomato sauce, pepperoni, and silo blend of cheese. While this was a more simple pie, it certainly didn't lack any flavor. I appreciated that they use the cup n' char pepperonis. The pie had ample amounts of both cheese and pepperonis too. I absolutely loved all the pies we ordered and none of them fell short.
Overall, Rising Silo is an awesome place in Blacksburg. The food is extremely good and I love that source their ingredients from local producers. Everything is so fresh and it is evident in the amount of flavor the food has. The star of our meal was easily the pizza, totally worth the longer-than-usual wait! I can easily say it is some of the best pizza I've had in Blacksburg. The char on the crust is perfect from the wood-fired oven. Their menu changes monthly, so look out for new pizza specials! The ambiance is great and really scenic. I truly cannot wait to return and try more.
Chips & Salsa - 7/10
Salted Pretzel w/ Pimento Cheese - 8/10
Chicano Pie - 9/10
Ramp Pesto Pie - 9/10
Pepperoni Pie - 9/10