“I’ll never forget it,” said Ivy Inn chef Angelo Vangelopoulos after a once-in-a-lifetime dinner last week at The Space Downtown. On the birthday of Mount Rushmore’s Thomas Jefferson, Vangelopoulos was joined by four other chefs named last year to Charlottesville’s own Mount Rushmore of Chefs in our annual C-VILLE food issue. These chefs had done […]
The Shack is all the rage. In the short time since its late-January opening, chef Ian Boden’s tiny Staunton dive has already won raves from Esquire magazine and The Washington Post, among others. The Esquire article was titled: “Found: The Incredible Restaurant in the Middle of Nowhere that Nobody Knows About.” Staunton residents might be […]
India is home to more than 1.2 billion people, with 28 distinct states, each with its own history of diverse cultural influences. Yet, here in the U.S., we have a single term for the entire country’s cuisine. As in: “Honey, do you feel like Indian food tonight or Greek?” To be fair, restaurants in the […]
Often when I eat out, I ask if the chefs would make whatever they like. While the request can perplex some servers, a little persistence can usually have it delivered to the kitchen. I figure that no one has a more reliable opinion of a restaurant’s food than those who prepare it. The Japanese have […]
Some call it Dr. Ho’s Challenge: Try to make it out of Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie without entering a food coma. The menu at the popular North Garden restaurant is so loaded with greatness that it’s almost impossible not to over-order. Even if you get past the best pizza in the area, the wings will […]
Does authenticity have a place in the food world? Four top local chefs and I discussed the question over a recent lunch at Pad Thai restaurant, located at 156 Carlton Rd., next to Beer Run. The venue was appropriate. Pad Thai enjoys a huge following among area chefs, and is said by many to serve […]
Only about 50 restaurants in the country belong to Relais & Chateaux, the global group of luxury hotels and restaurants famous for its strict standards of admission. One of them is right here in Charlottesville, the Clifton Inn, which has been a member since 2006, alongside culinary giants like The French Laundry and The Inn […]
There are no women on the real Mount Rushmore. Since there still hasn’t been a female U.S. president, there are not even any candidates. Although the realm of restaurant chefs is not quite as male-dominated, it’s not far off. For whatever reason, in Charlottesville as elsewhere, the top restaurant kitchens are still usually run by […]
Although no one could have known it at the time, September 10, 1988 was a big day for Charlottesville food. It was the first day of work in the area for two young cooks: Tim Burgess at Silver Thatch Inn and Vincent Derquenne at The Galarie in Crozet. Not long after, Burgess moved to The […]
Food trends can be slow to reach Charlottesville. Diners in big cities often enjoy (and maybe tire of) the latest fads years before we even get a whiff of them. This is not all bad. For one thing, it gives us some discretion over which trends to embrace. The city’s deliberate pace allows us to […]