Smoke 'em out

Down in Texas, there’s a three-tier system for judging good barbeque. If the restaurant’s logo contains an animal, it’s good. If the logo shows an anthropomorphic animal (a cow in a chef’s hat, for instance), the ’cue is even better. And if you come across a restaurant wherein the logo has an animal cannibalizing itself […]

Small Bites

And everything nice Now open up 29N: Yoder’s Sugar & Spice, an ingredient and snack shop straight from Amish Country. Owner Glenn Yoder and his family relocated from Ohio to open Sugar & Spice located next to Arby’s in Forest Lakes.   Look for deli meats and cheeses (and fresh sandwiches made while you wait), […]

Eat your hearts out

Eating fresh artichokes is as much about the journey as the destination, since the delicious heart is protected by tough, spine-tipped leaves (artichokes are actually thistles) and the “choke,” a clump of hairy fibers at the center. Though the heart and the thick stem below are considered the prize, artichoke aficionados use the fleshy outer leaves as a vehicle for butter or vinaigrette, scraping the thicker flesh at the bottom between the teeth and discarding the tough part.

Checking in with Ari Berne

What were you doing when we called? Sleeping. You woke me up.   Tell us about your day job. I don’t have a job. Every day, I wake up, and then I write and practice lyrics for at least two hours. And then what I usually do after that is go to the Music Resource […]

Small bites

One local bakery is preparing to change hands. According to Craigslist, a spot with “growing retail sales as well as established wholesale accounts” is on the market for $130,000. Trouble is, it’s unclear which bakery it is. Here are the context clues: The ad mentions nearby soon-to-open professional offices and retail spaces, and says the […]

My Fair Lady; Heritage Theater Festival; Culbreth Theatre at UVA

 There are times when a reviewer is taken down a peg. Admittedly, the outstanding quality of the Heritage Theatre Festival’s season opener, My Fair Lady, was one of those moments for this critic. As Henry Higgins transformed Eliza Dolittle from a screeching Cockney “guttersnipe” to softspoken lady, my “citified” theater snobbery—I hail from New York, […]

Small Bites

’Round these parts, we foodies aren’t strangers to waiting a while for a restaurant opening. (We’re looking at you, Semolina, Fry’s Spring Station and, ahem, Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar.) Historically, it’s been worth the wait. Balkan Bistro & Bar, which opened June 21, is hardly an exception. The new West Main restaurant from Anja Cetic […]

Checking in with Nick Strocchia

I was sending out some coordination e-mails. I’ve been running the Charlottesville Photography Initiative since August of 2009. We’re a group of about 270 amateur and professional photographers in town, and we’re largely involved with education and community outreach.