Best hangover menu 2013: Bodo’s Bagels

Bodo’s Bagels 505 Preston Ave. 293-5224 1609 University Ave. 293-6021 1418 Emmet St. N 977-9598 bodosbagels.com Runner-up: Blue Moon Diner 513 W. Main St. 980-6666 Sheep lungs and two owl eggs; raw, pickled herring wrapped around pieces of gerkhin and onion; dried bull penis. Those are all hangover “cures” in other parts of the world. […]

Best BBQ 2013: Belmont Bar-B-Que

Belmont Bar-B-Que 816 Hinton Ave. 979-7427 belmontbarbq.com Runner-up: BBQ Exchange 102 Martinsburg Ave., Gordonsville (540) 832-0227 bbqex.com A tradition at the White House since Thomas Jefferson first opened up the South Lawn for entertaining, barbecues are a summertime staple—especially in Virginia. In our area, there’s no better spot to get the Q than Belmont, where […]

Best outdoor dining 2013: Blue Mountain Brewery

Blue Mountain Brewery 9519 Critzer Shop Rd. (Afton) (540) 456-8020 bluemountainbrewery.com Runner-up: MAS 501 Monticello Rd. 979-0990 mastapas.com Negative 128.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the coldest temperature ever recorded, taken at the Russian research station in Vostok, Antarctica in 1983. Fortunately, temps at the Nelson County brewery, which you say is the best seat in town, never […]

Best bar 2013: Whiskey Jar

Whiskey Jar 227 W. Main St. 202-1549 thewhiskeyjarcville.com Runner-up: Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar 422 E. Main St. 202-7728 commonwealthskybar.com Omigosh, you guys. I love you. I love you like soooo much. And you know what else? I love Whiskey Jar. I like drinkin’ all the whiskey, and I like the live music, and, like, I […]

Best visual artist 2013: Isabelle Abbot

Isabelle Abbot isabelleabbot.com Runner-up: Kris Bowmaster bowmasterart.com Keen observation. That’s what it takes to win in this category—and Isabelle Abbot knows it. As she says, “It is by moving through the world that we understand its particularities.” Her impressionistic oil paintings zero in on local scenes with slashes of color on canvas or muslin. Kris […]

Best winery 2013: King Family Vineyards

King Family Vineyards 6550 Roseland Farm (Crozet) 823-7800 kingfamilyvineyards.com Runner-up: Veritas Vineyard & Winery 151 Veritas Ln. (Afton) (540) 456-8000 veritaswines.com You know how, at a pig roast, people sometimes say the pig gave its life so that we could eat? Well, for every bottle of wine you drink, approximately 2.8 pounds of grapes gave […]

Best service 2013: The Local

The Local 824 Hinton Ave. 984-9749 thelocal-cville.com Runner-up: Maya 633 W. Main St. 979-6292 maya-restaurant.com The promise of a good menu gets people into restaurants, but great service keeps them coming back. No one knows this better than Peter Shankman, a devoted fan of Morton’s Steakhouse who once jokingly tweeted that the restaurant should meet […]

Best local band 2013: Sons of Bill

Sons of Bill sonsofbill.com Runner-up: Love Canon lovecanon80s.com It was only five years ago that Sons of Bill (three literal sons of UVA philosophical theology and southern literature professor Bill Wilson, plus a drummer and bassist) took to the stage for a UVA battle of the bands and won three days of recording. Since that […]

Best local photographer 2013: Jen Fariello

Jen Fariello jenfariello.com Runner-up: Sarah Cramer-Shields cramerphoto.com It must be nice to see the world through the eyes of Jen Fariello. It seems every frame she captures is more beautiful than the last, which is why readers voted the wedding and lifestyle photographer into the top slot this year. Sarah Cramer-Shields, who for the past […]

Best noodle soup 2013: Revolutionary Soup

Revolutionary Soup 105 14th St. NW 979-9988 108 Second St. SW 296-7687 revolutionarysoup.com Runner-up: Moto Pho Co. 511 W. Main St. 293-6685 motophoco.com A most interesting No. 1 choice, readers. Rev Soup isn’t necessarily known for its noodle soup, unless you count the chicken noodle that occasionally graces the menu. Still, we can’t argue with […]