The cellar of your dreams (Or, just a nice collection of wine, stored well)

The first thing that pops into your mind as an everyday wine drinker who’s looking to start laying down a few bottles is, inevitably: “Don’t I need a big temperature-and-humidity-controlled dungeon, replete with rustic stone walls, candles, and old first-growth Bordeaux?” The answer is “No.” Cellaring wine is, really, all about understanding the rules and […]

Overheard on the restaurant scene… This week’s restaurant news

Now open in the former Pita Pit space on 14th Street: Onyx Lounge, a crêperie, sandwich shop, and hookah bar. It’s open until 4am Thursday-Saturday, giving Littlejohn’s a little competish on the late-night scene. Also open? The C’ville Cheese Store on Fifth Street SE in the former Downtown Deli spot. There’s more than 30 different […]

Five Finds on Friday: Melissa Close Hart of Palladio

On Fridays, we and The Charlottesville 29 feature five food finds selected by local chefs and personalities.  Today’s picks come from four-time James Beard award semi-finalist Melissa Close Hart, chef of Palladio Restaurant at Barboursville Vineyard.  On June 9, Palladio will be celebrating the release of Barboursville’s 2012 Vermentino Reserve with a multi-course dinner with […]

Bistro chic: A Downtown Colonial gets a modern kitchen for the ages

If you own a house in a historic district, it turns out that implementing any kind of renovation project is tricky business. Mark and Caroline Shaffrey knew this when, in 1997, they decided to buy their 1902 Colonial in Downtown Charlottesville. And it meant waiting to make any changes to the space until they were […]

Full bloom: A Madison tulip farm extends its reach

The story of how Keriann Koeman came to have upwards of 50,000 tulips planted on her property starts with love, but not necessarily a love of tulips. Koeman, a self described “green girl,” met Jeroen Koeman, who hailed from a Dutch family of tulip growers. They fell in love, got married, and started the first […]

Sowing trouble: When pets and plants collide

With an overdue spring finally coming into its own, it’s time for many of us to start spending some time in the garden. Whether you’re planting vegetables for the table or decorative plants to brighten up the yard, you can be pretty sure that your pets are going to be keen on inspecting the greenery. […]

Five Finds on Friday: Pei Chang of TEN Sushi

On Fridays, we feature five food finds selected by local chefs and personalities.  Today’s picks come from Pei Chang, chef of TEN Sushi.  And, on Mother’s Day weekend, the mother of his three young children made the list!  Chang’s picks: 1)  Meatloaf Sandwich at Stonefire Kitchen.  “Artisanal sandwiches and salads engineered by Jeremy Butterfield, a […]

Hanu Truck bets on SoCal recipe for C’ville success

“I’m trying to bring two things that people don’t see a lot of in Charlottesville or the East Coast,” said Patrick Kim, who has been making waves in the city’s food scene ever since he arrived in Charlottesville in February to open his Korean taco truck, Hanu. Kim, who grew up in Southern California and […]