Sweet cycle

By Carrie Meslar A jar of honey seems like a simple thing. One ingredient, most often drizzled or spooned out in those hazy first hours of the day. Yet, to bring that honey to the table is an involved year-long process that offers little rest for those who decide to take up the challenge. For […]

Easy as local, fresh-baked pie

By Chris Martin With the holidays fast approaching, bakeries are sifting through 50-pound bags of flour faster than you can open a can of cranberry sauce, and pie is cooling around every corner. Local pie maker and young entrepreneur Megan Adams is facing down another holiday baking season. Adams sells sumptuous apple hand pies, mini […]

Farm-to-trunk

In the depths of the pandemic lock-down, independent and small-scale farmers suffered deeply as outlets for their goods scaled back or shut down entirely. There were reports of thousands of pounds of unsold produce rotting in fields while grocery store shelves remained empty, and tanks of perfectly drinkable milk being dumped down the drain. Amidst […]

Granular on granola

Brian Nosek is into numbers. He’s also into breakfast. Nosek, a psychologist at the University of Virginia, is a well-known champion of “open science,” a movement to make academic research and its findings accessible to everyone. “A lot of the public perception of psychology is about treatment and management of wellbeing,” Nosek says. “But a […]

Small bites: Provisions, pumpkins, and Peruvian

Proven Peruvian After receiving rave reviews from patrons at two Inka Grill locations in Roanoke, chef Percy Rojas and his partners-in-lime are bringing their famous ceviche and traditional Peruvian dishes to a new location on the UVA Corner. We are especially excited to try the fried-rice chaufa, chef-selected seafood soups, and tuna tartare. Reservations are […]

Drink in color

As summer disappears and temperatures begin to drop, wine drinkers look for more weight, more depth, and more complexity in their glass. This is, in part, to temper the chill in the air, but it also means wines that will better pair with the food of the season. Autumn leads to more roasting, smoking, stews, […]

Go ahead, bake our day

By Chris Martin Based on the astonishing number of bakers and bakeries in Charlottesville, the city appears to have a voracious appetite for carbs. A quick search on Google lists almost 30 area bakeries, cake spots, bagel makers, patisseries, and farmers’ market stands that offer a wide variety of floury treats. What follows is a […]

Pick: Pride Party Happy Hour

Rally around the rainbow: Every day is pride day, but especially on Thursdays in June at Vitae Spirit’s Pride Party Happy Hour. The bartenders serve up rainbow-colored cocktails as they bop to a fabulous playlist, and you can peruse a selection of queer prints and artwork made by staff or enter a raffle benefiting the […]

Slinging mud

Visitors to the new Mudhouse Coffee Roasters shop on 10th Street may find themselves unsure they’re in a Mudhouse location at all. The striking, sleek space is a departure from the more rustic approach proprietors John and Lynelle Lawrence have taken alongside their design team at Formwork Architecture for their previous cafés. According to John […]

Beers in the wild and wine in your trunk

A Woman with Backbone How’s this for a job description: Hike East coast mountains, drink beer, take pictures, and get paid $20,000. That’s the deal Devils Backbone Brewing Company announced this year, and unsurprisingly, outdoor enthusiasts flooded the brewery’s inbox with applications. After reviewing thousands of eager hiker-drinkers’ pitches, DBBC appointed UVA alum Kristen Musselman […]