MAS 501 Monticello Rd. 979-0990 mastapas.com Runner-up: The Local 824 Hinton Ave. 984-9749 thelocal-cville.com Hashtag nosurprisehere. Tapas spot MAS wins again, just ahead of its Hinton Avenue neighbor, The Local. Both Belmont eateries serve up delectable menus—the former with Spanish-style small plates and a sizable drink menu; the latter with comfort food and, according to […]
Bang! 213 Second St. SW 984-2264 bangrestaurant.net Runner-up: Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar 422 E. Main St. 202-7728 commonwealthskybar.com More than 30 cocktails comprise the menu at Bang!, with options like the Secret Garden (Absolut Wild Tea, organic green tea, and fresh rosemary), the Esquire (Makers Mark, Firefly sweet tea vodka, Cointreau, and white cranberry juice), […]
Thai 99 2210 Fontaine Ave. 245-5263 Runner-up: Lime Leaf Thai Rio Hill Shopping Center 245-8884 limeleafsiam.com Here’s a tip: Traditionally in Thai culture, the left hand is not used for eating. Hold your spoon in the right hand and a fork in the left, using the fork only to rake food into the spoon. Of […]
This summer, I’ve noticed art in unlikely places around town: local hospitals. McGuffey Art Center member artist Lindsey Oberg had new mixed media works on display at Martha Jefferson Hospital in June. “In the Country” by Richard Bednar and “Sightings,” a collection of photographs by Frank Feigert, have been featured in UVA Medical Center’s Main Hospital lobby […]
It’s a good thing the heart of Lee Daniels’ The Butler is Forest Whitaker, because the movie has a great story to tell but gets in its own way. Whitaker keeps the movie centered amid the barrage of huge star cameos, corny dialogue, and choppy storytelling—plot threads come and go, unresolved—as Cecil Gaines, a White […]
Forbidden lovers cross under the starry sky in a live theatrical production of The Dark of the Moon inspired by the timeless folk favorite, “The Ballad of Barbara Allen.” A mountain backdrop provides the perfect setting for this eerie story of an unusual young man who becomes enraptured with the beauty of his beloved. Laden […]
Swinging just comes naturally with the exotic rhythms from local musicians Humberto and Madeline Sales, known as the Beleza Duo. Drawing from their Brazilian roots, they mix traditional samba and flamenco with funk and a touch of soul, set off by virtuoso guitar playing and sensual, playful vocals. The dance floor awaits, and the evening […]
In a world of hit singles, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals shed new light on the art of the LP. The ’70s rock-inspired group is touring on its latest release, The Lion The Beast The Beat, a profoundly conceptualized tapestry of songs that, although strong enough to stand alone, weave together in a refreshing musical […]
Ian Svenonius has been one of the major figures in D.C. punk for the past 25 years. He began in the late ’80s with Nation of Ulysses, who along with other Dischord label contemporaries like Fugazi, was rethinking what a “hardcore” band was supposed to sound, look, and act like. Ulysses was simultaneously backward-looking and […]
An Op-Ed style manifesto and general response to the McGuffey Summer Show Art in Charlottesville can be characterized by a sort of conservative tameness. Local artists combine quaint country craft with universally pleasing aesthetics to create an experience that is enjoyable but limited to a limbo world of perpetual charm. Limitless talent is channeled into oil, […]