Like chocolate chip cookies and post-it notes, pickleball’s invention was a happy accident. One summer day in 1965, three dads were tasked with entertaining their desperately bored kids. Finding a nearby badminton court but no badminton rackets, theyscrounged up some ping-pong paddles and a plastic ball. Thus, an enduring sport was born. Pickleball can be […]
Eating vegan is great and all, but where’s the flavor? Lots of folks find it hard to let go of meat and dairy—or, rather, their taste buds find it hard. Since she opened Vu Noodles in 2013, Julie Whitaker has been trying to make it easier. Her Vietnamese noodle shop, serving almost totally vegan meals, […]
Picture a pair of people. One’s jonesing for coffee. The other’s ready to unwind with a glass of malbec. Where do they go? The Workshop—a combo coffee shop/wine shop that’s part of The Wool Factory complex—wants to be the answer to that dilemma. It’s all things to all craving-afflicted people: a café serving locally roasted […]
Walk into Soul Food Joint and the first thing that hits you is the smell—tangy, greasy goodness fills the air. The menu features all the classic soul food favorites, from fried chicken to pulled pork to mac and cheese. And if the food didn’t tip you off, the decor screams “I’ve got soul:” A photo […]
Sometimes it’s a side dish that makes a place special. That’s the case with Otto Turkish Street Food’s rosemary fries. The menu is loaded with good stuff, but it’s the long slim cut of yellow potato, fried to a crispy gold exterior and dusted with a palate-pleasing mixture of salt and minced fresh rosemary, that […]
Nothing ends the day like a cocktail at one of your favorite bars—especially if it comes with a spectacular view of Charlottesville. Here’s where you can grab a drink overlooking our beautiful city. Quirk Charlottesville You don’t have to be a hotel guest to enjoy the rooftop at the Quirk. Nested above the four-story West […]
Those smoked tomatoes! If you’re a Charlottesville foodie, you know the ones. The Tomates Asados at Mas Tapas in Belmont are transcendent—warm, zesty, rich, drenched in salty oil. Mas has far more complicated items on its broad tapas menu, but no matter what else you order, the tomatoes are always a highlight. Hearing Mas’ head […]
February is the month of love, but forget the cards, flowers, and candy—we want hot chocolate. MarieBette feels that too, with its annual celebration of Hot Chocolate Month: a different flavor each of the month’s 28 days, from cheesecake to chipotle chili. Don’t forget the (housemade!) marshmallow.
Jennifer Naylor, affectionately known as Mama Bird to those who frequent her Sussex Farm stall at area farmers’ markets, serves up a wide variety of Korean kimchi. It changes with the season, from cabbage or cucumber to apple or radish (to name just a few), and Naylor swears by what she grows on her farm: […]
Joy Ting made the first barrels of her own wine in 2014. She wanted to experiment with crushing and fermenting grapes still on the stem—a technique called whole-cluster fermentation, common in Cru Beaujolais (which Ting loves) but less common in the U.S. How would it work in Virginia? Ting was still very new to the […]
Strawberry, peach, or classic lime, there’s nothing fancy about the margs at Guadalajara—and that’s what keeps us coming back (well that, and the half-price special on Mondays and Wednesdays). Frozen or on the rocks, we’ll grab the salt-rimmed goblet with both hands and never let go.