The aroma of tangy cherry tomatoes and perfectly melted pimento cheese has been drifting out of Third Year Village’s Fieldside all throughout last week. Harkening back to warmer months, this week’s flatbread special incorporates classic southern ingredients, inspired by memories from a local Lexington garden.

Named “Blistered Tomato and Pimento Cheese,” the current flatbread special boasts a generous spread of homemade pimento cheese, adorned with fresh arugula, cherry tomatoes and crisp dill pickles. Hannah Glick, Fieldside’s manager and head chef, explains that this week’s flatbread stemmed from memories of her garden in southwest Virginia.

“I think a lot about dishes that use fresh foods like tomatoes and lettuces and cucumbers –  which, of course, we use to make pickles,” she said. “Additionally, pimento cheese is such a Southern staple that pairs seamlessly with those other garden ingredients.”

The flatbread comes partitioned into six pieces, ready to be shared. The tomatoes burst with a sweet yet acidic juice. On the edges, the pimento cheese is perfectly toasted to a brown crunch, but the middle remains soft and melty. Finally, the dill pickles round out the flavor pallet so that each bite is balanced.

“The dill pickles are the backbone of the flatbread because their crunchiness and acidity counter-balance the creaminess of the cheese,” said Josh Poole, who works at Fieldside.

Not only did Glick create this week’s flatbread special, but she manages the curation of Fieldside’s entire menu. Spending summers traveling with her husband, who is Washington and Lee’s Executive Catering Chef, she always looks for new flavor inspiration to bring back to Washington and Lee.

“I remember one time when I had out-of-town guests from New York and I made them the sandwich equivalent of this week’s flatbread – they were raving about the harmony of the flavors,” Glick said. “Of course, to me it’s just another delicious southern recipe. But I realized the power of incorporating local flavors and cultural food traditions into our recipes.”

Glick spends most of her time on the ground building relationships with her employees and the students. Understanding dietary requests of students, she alternates meat and non-meat flatbreads with each rotation. Additionally, Poole noticed a demand for the turkey and brie sandwich from the old menu, so Glick is working on recreating the recipe in flatbread form for the next special.

“The third-year dining staff are creative, personable and always catering to us with the utmost respect,” Bridget Bartley, ’21, said. “You don’t necessarily think about how each recipe and toppings are chosen, but it makes it that much more interesting to know that everything is decided internally and with intent.”