Best new creations When it comes to Charlottesville food and drink, there is no such thing as a bad year. In 2018, MarieBette Café & Bakery unleashed its prezzant, a sorcerous pretzel and croissant hybrid, where buttery, delicate pastry gets an addictive umami boost from a dip in lye. Not to be outdone, Albemarle Baking […]
Best new creations When it comes to Charlottesville food and drink, there is no such thing as a bad year. In 2018, MarieBette Café & Bakery unleashed its prezzant, a sorcerous pretzel and croissant hybrid, where buttery, delicate pastry gets an addictive umami boost from a dip in lye. Not to be outdone, Albemarle Baking […]
Little Star, the sophomore dining venture by Oakhart Social’s Ben Clore and Tristan Wraight, is slated to open its doors December 30, when its warm hearth and welcoming vibe should be a respite from the chill. Joined by third partner and executive chef Ryan Collins, the team has put together a restaurant they hope will […]
Zocalo has undergone a number of major changes recently, with owner Ivan Rekosh buying out his longtime partner and then bringing in a new executive chef, Zynodoa’s Josh Hutter, who’s been shaking up the menu with a variety of surprising new offerings. “I’ve been cooking the same food for 15 years, and it’s great to […]
Angelic’s Kitchen On Wheels food truck has taken to the streets, a mere four years since owner Angelic Jenkins began cooking professionally, after her husband urged her to find a hobby other than shopping. “I love cooking for people and always wanted to sell fried fish at a festival,” Jenkins says, “So I started off […]
Sometimes the good stuff is hiding right under your nose. For decades, Mel’s Café has sat near the center of town on West Main Street, with a bright blue sign that is impossible to miss. Yet, even some of my most food-loving friends have never set foot in the place. As a longtime fan, this […]
When Ivar Aass moved to Charlottesville six years ago, he had one purpose in mind: distill high quality spirits. And at Spirit Lab Distilling, the distillery he runs with his wife, he does just that. From a bare bones warehouse facility on 6th St. SE, Aass distills tiny batches of spirits that already have a […]
We’d imagine the life of a wine importer to be nothing but romance—all long nights, barrel laughs, and plates of beautiful food in good company. Turns out, we were wrong: It’s better than that. We asked Williams Corner Wine co-founder Nicolas Mestre to recount a recent wine-tasting trip to Spain. The CEO spends about 12 […]
The family meal is a restaurant tradition, where chefs take turns cooking a meal for the entire staff to dine together before service. At an Italian restaurant like Tavola, you might expect that meal to be a fat bowl of pasta and maybe some garlic bread. But, in fact, one of the more memorable family […]
After a long night of waiting and bussing tables, cooking meals, serving drinks, and washing dishes, most restaurant staffs are usually ready to unwind. But in a town in which the sidewalks tend to roll up after 10 or 11pm, where’s a hard-working, thirsty server supposed to go? A regular haunt for those needing a […]
Around here, the folks cooking your favorite foods are as close to celebrities as some of us get (unless you’re lucky enough to corner Dave Matthews on the mall). So, for this year’s annual Food & Drink Issue, we decided to take a look behind the scenes—beyond your pork belly tacos and pain de campagne—at […]