An ode to pizza and wine

When I really want to delve into a person’s soul, I ask him what he would have as his final meal on earth. My answer? Pizza and wine. Just writing it sends a shiver down my spine. What makes this prosaic combo so celestial for me? Well, I’m not talking your ordinary congealed-cheese, cardboard-crust slice […]

How does Charlottesville use podcasts?

At about 5’8", in jeans, faded Mets t-shirt and almost tube-brimmed Giants hat, Mike Bisceglia is an unlikely media mogul. But he is perhaps the first, at least locally, to monetize an emergent media form: the podcast. “At the radio station, we like it,” says Bisceglia, who rounds up the local sports scene on WINA’s […]

Small Bites

Trader up soon? Your wildest dreams are coming true. No, not an Olive Garden. But, real estate company Edens & Avant confirmed last week the impending arrival of a 12,500 square foot Trader Joe’s at upcoming Hydraulic Road shopping center The Shops at Stonefield. That project used to be known as Albemarle Place. The groundbreaking […]

For the love of Beer

When we suggest cooking with beer, we don’t mean stand by the stove with a Bud Light in your paw. Like wine, beer lends itself well to cuisine. Techniques like braising, deglazing or even just adding a slog to a pot of soup can enhance flavor the same way a fine Cabernet can. It adds […]

By the book

Festival basics Wondering how the festival comes together? Festival Director Susan Coleman spilled the beans. I won’t ask you to pick a favorite, but what is one event that you are particularly excited about this year? Among my favorites are the programs that don’t get a lot of attention. “Voices of Adult Learners,” held March […]

Harlem Renaissance renaissance

Barbara Buhr opened Warm Springs Gallery on Third Street—it’s that bright little room with the wood floor opposite Fleurie—a year ago as a show-case for challenging art. Warm Spring’s latest bit of eye candy, “Asymmetry and Abstraction,” by the noted African-American painter and etcher Joseph Holston, is a welcome challenge. Joseph Holston’s (below) “Two Fishermen” […]

Small Bites

Open for business In a word, the invite-only opening dinner last week at chef Peter Chang’s new Barracks Road restaurant, Peter Chang China Grill, was delicious. Seventeen menu items arrived at the table from the elusive chef himself, including tofu skin rolls, shrimp and mushroom hot pots and a bevy of dishes for meat lovers. […]

Here's to a happy Fat Tuesday

It’s too late to celebrate in the Big Easy, but you can still live it up right here in Rivanna River City by spending today enjoying decadent, earthly pleasures—especially if Lenten restriction is in your future come tomorrow.

The Big V

You don’t have to forgo flavor just because you’re going Vegan (if only temporarily). Here, four local dishes even carnivores will love.  The Valedictorian, Boylan Heights On the Corner, gourmet burger joint Boylan Heights has a choice homemade vegan burger. The Valedictorian is made from brown rice, toasted pecans and carrots. Slathered with hummus and […]