Food & Drink in Cave Spring

It was 1978. A college dropout and a failed medical-school applicant had just brought together their combined life savings to rent an old gas station. Their plan was to resurrect the empty station and open their own restaurant. Their specialty: ice cream. So begins the story of legendary entrepreneurs Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who are better known across the globe as Ben & Jerry. Their small, old-fashioned ice-cream parlor eventually became a Burlington, Vermont favorite, and before long, shops popped up all over the US and in 25 other countries. Their brand easily attracted customers?homemade ice cream churned from wholesome, natural ingredients and blended into creative flavors. Some of their popular scoops include Cherry Garcia, Chunky Monkey, and Coffee Caramel Buzz.

Since infusing their first rich and creamy batches of ice cream with natural chunks of fruit, nuts, candies, and cookies, Ben and Jerry have also operated with a commitment to improve the quality of life locally, nationally, and internationally. They practice sustainable food production and business practices that respect the earth and environment. Ben & Jerry?s cartons are made from FSC-certified paper, which comes from forests that are managed for the protection of wildlife, and waste from Ben & Jerry?s plants generates energy to power farms. The company works tirelessly to reduce its carbon emissions; it strongly encourages customers to eat their ice cream in the darkest dark.

Soro Chill and Grille's glass-lined door stands as a gateway to creative drinks, contemporary Southern cooking, and the sounds of local bands strumming familiar tunes. The menu unfolds to reveal appetizers brimming with seafood and creole sauces meant to be sopped up with crusty french bread or unusually absorbent mustaches. Entrees of pasta, steaks, and roast chicken follow the same Southern traditions by donning Cajun blackened spices or piquant barbecue sauce, inspiring diners to finger paint plates with love letters to the chef. Soro's commitment to supporting the community extends past menu ingredients to locally made furniture and live music performed by Roanoke artists. The welcoming stone fireplace warms guests, and a large communal table encourages mingling or 30-person games of patty-cake.

Like a good book, the frozen-yogurt flavors at Frogurt can transport you to another time and place: there are flavors from exotic locales, such as Hawaiian pineapple and Tahitian vanilla. There?s a hint of summertime in their pink-lemonade sorbet, too, and it?d be easy to imagine celebrating your birthday in a cryogenic chamber with the birthday-cake-flavored frozen yogurt. Every day, 10 of these flavors occupy self-serve machines set against Frogurt's colorfully tiled walls. Many of them are sugar-free, low-fat, nonfat, or dairy-free and provide a healthy boost of probiotics. Feel free to personalize each serving with any of 95 kinds of toppings, such as peanuts, fruit boba, berries, and even breakfast cereals; at the register, you?ll be charged by the ounce.

Beyond the Green Indoor Golf & Sportsbar grants players the chance to play a round at a virtual recreation of a famous course with its high-definition golf simulator and refuel with pub-style fare. Playing partners set off without need for a cart and smack real golf balls into a highly realistic image of their chosen course. The screen captures each stroke's distance and spin rate and analyzes the mechanics of the player's swing to identify the causes of any undesired results. The onsite grille's lunch and dinner menus refuel golfers with Chicago–style hot dogs and sourdough sandwiches, which are much more satisfying than their virtual counterpart—bananas stolen from unsuspecting Donkey Kongs.

With a commitment to using healthy recipes, the chefs at the Holiday Inn's casual eatery Elephant Walk Restaurant & Lounge have put together a menu of internationally inspired dishes. Some are comfort-food classics, including cheeseburgers with homemade potato chips and quesadillas stuffed with veggies and jack cheese. Others are a bit more elegant, such as filet mignons, wild-mushroom ravioli, or chicken cordon bleu layered with swiss cheese. The dessert list is similarly diverse, including everything from tiramisu to a new york cheesecake that pays a lot to rent the plate it's served on.

Begun as a means to help young families save money, KidsDineFree.net lets kids aged 11 and younger eat for free at hundreds of participating restaurants across Virginia and South Florida. Each 90-day card works at participating local and chain restaurants and entitles the holder to one complimentary kids' meal with the purchase of a full-price adult entree. Families can use the cards an unlimited number of times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but, like a studio-apartment playhouse, each card is only good for one child.