This year, Charlottesville Restaurant Week was a huge success, not only for the restaurants involved but for the charity effort. Organized by vmv brands, 28 restaurants had a spectacular week and helped raise over $9,000 to help the Virginia Institute of Autism rebuild a rundown playground. Read More
Assuming his new post as executive chef of Glass Haus Kitchen this past fall, Ian Boden had big shoes to fill—but they were all his own. The Northern Virginia native who put his New England Culinary Institute degree to use for 10 years in the kitchens of top New York restaurants, opened Staunton Grocery in early 2007 as an ode to our embarrassment of locally produced riches. Read More
If you’re hankering for something sweet, you can soon visit Pearl’s Bake Shop at 711 W. Main St. Co-owners Laurie Blakey and Laura Condred specialize in 140 iterations of cupcakes, wedding cakes, macarons, and plenty of other tantalizing baked sundries. This will be their second outpost, after the popularity of their Richmond location, Pearl’s Cupcake. Serving local sweet teeth 1,200 cupcakes daily, with eight standard cupcake flavors, five rotating, plus vegan and gluten-free options. We recommend the Salty Mermaid: vanilla cake topped with chocolate buttercream and sea salt. Soon-to-come yum! Read More
The Downtown Grille, located on Charlottesville’s historic Downtown Mall, serves only the finest in Midwestern corn fed beef and fresh seafood, including live Maine lobster. Read More
Visit Fleurie Restaurant for a contemporary French fine dining experience. Located just off Charlottesville’s downtown mall, Fleurie’s elegant atmosphere, stellar wine list and innovative menu are sure to produce an unforgettable meal. Read More
Come enjoy your Friday evening at Paradise Springs Winery, the closest winery to Washinton DC and the first in Fairfax County. After a hard week at work, relax with a picnic, good friends, and a great bottle of wine. Featuring LIVE MUSIC every evening. Please check our website for the schedule. Open until 9pm! Read More
Maybe the reason we never noticed Sultan Kebab, which has been open almost a year, is its not-so-great location, tucked in back of the Rio 29 Plaza. Read More
The first thing that many of us do when we sit down at a restaurant or belly up to a bar is pick up the beer menu, the wine menu, and/or the drink menu. Some of us take a break from old faithful and try something new on occasion. It is for these reasons that we (bartenders and bar managers) develop menus and lists. Read More
Rick Wasmund and Dan FitzHenry sit at a small table in a Stay Charlottesville rental house arrayed with plastic cups holding fluids of hues that range from clover honey through amber to the color of cherry juice, a natural reddish brown. You’ve heard about the surge in the craft distillery movement? Now you’re in it. Read More
With days this cold and dark, a little trickle of sweetness goes a long way to cure a mean case of cabin fever. But reserving syrup for breakfast is selling the elixir short. These places around town are seeing the forest through the trees (and they’re not just maple) by treating us to syrup in everything from beginnings to endings. Read More