Cool beans: The buzz on local iced coffee

When a hot afternoon turns sleepy, iced coffee’s the perfect pick-me-up to get you through the rest of the day. Aficionados seem to be split over which method makes better iced coffee. Some say coffee needs to be cold-brewed to temper its bitterness. Others insist that hot coffee-turned-cold is the only way to maintain its […]

Object of my affection: the wedding chapel

“This painting was a wedding present from my husband’s uncle and aunt, who commissioned it for us. The church shown is Chapel of the Cross, the church in Chapel Hill where we were married. The church is so special to us, aside from the fact that we were married there: We actually met each other […]

In historic Louisa County home, the past lives in layers

Stylized tradition In May 2011, after Burgess and Shapiro moved in, DBO broke ground on the addition and that window became a doorway, leading through a narrow passageway to the expansive master suite. “The most important thing Ted brought was that bridge,” said Burgess. “Instead of putting the addition flat on the back, he mimicked this” […]

Bodacious burgers: Get your hands around one of these

When a burger craving strikes, little can be accomplished until you’ve got your hands around a bun with meat juices dripping down your chin. Here’re 10 big-league, non-chain burgers that satisfy (and inspire) the meanest of cravings. Boylan Heights’ Room 121 tops an organic beef patty with American cheese, bibb lettuce, beefsteak tomato, bacon, diced […]

King of cluck: our judges rate the town’s best fried chicken

Buttermilk or brine? Floured or battered? Peanut oil or lard? Pan-fried or deep-fried? These are just a few of the secrets behind fried chicken so crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside that it’ll make you weep. Each method has its devotees, and nary a one of our 11 contestants spilled the beans […]

Meet the man who’s quietly bringing ancient Tibet to Charlottesville

Gyaltsen Sangpo Druknya was born in the northeast corner of the Tibetan Plateau in a region called Amdo, a land of arid grasslands, huge blue lakes, and deep, pine covered valleys. Three of Asia’s most famous rivers—the Yangtze, the Yellow, and the Mekong—have their beginnings in the snow-covered mountains that ring the area. Amdo is […]

Who/What/Wear: All maxi’d out

I ran into local student PANSY on UVA Grounds while she was taking a walk with friends. Seen here wearing a maxi skirt from Urban Outfitters and a simple black tank, this easy, breezy summer look is elevated with a vintage Coach bag handed down from Pansy’s mother —and Pansy’s own outstanding curls. I saw EMILY, a floral […]

Gettin’ sweet on sweet corn

Garrison Keillor once said, “Sex is good, but not as good as fresh, sweet corn.” To which we add—especially when it’s slathered in lots of butter. Corn tastes like nature’s candy, but it loses 50 percent of its sugar in the first 24 hours after it’s picked, so start gorging yourself now on these dishes […]

A biography of Charlottesville’s coal tower

A partly cloudy day, late March, unseasonably warm. Two men look up as I step into a small clearing in the woods beyond the coal tower. “Hope I’m not bothering you.” “It’s cool,” one of them says. He moves over on the makeshift bench so I have room to sit down. “I saw you taking […]

Barboursville Vineyards’ Luca Paschina takes a chance with different grapes

A good deal of winemaking is experimentation. Inoculating with different yeasts, opting for shorter or longer maceration periods, inciting or preventing malolactic fermentation, aging in new oak or neutral oak—these are just a handful of the decisions with which our Mr. and Mrs. Wine Wizards are faced. Something not commonly experimented with are the types […]