Silk Thai keeps it authentic

By Sam Padgett and Erin O’Hare The red house at 2210 Fontaine Ave. that once housed Thai 99 has a new coat of paint and a new inhabitant: Silk Thai Restaurant. Silk Thai owner TK Chin (nephew of Thai 99 owner Eddy Keomahathai) is bent on maintaining the friendly and welcoming environment that Thai 99 […]

Sound off: Hearing loss in pets

It was odd the first time it happened. My dog, an aging Lhasa Apso, failed to greet me at the door. I found him snoozing in the middle of the living room and tapped him on the head. In a flash, he popped up onto his feet and regained his usual wriggling enthusiasm. Clearly, he […]

LIVING Picks: Week of January 10-16

FAMILY Monticello student art exhibit Saturday, January 13 Bring the family to view artwork from more than 400 second-graders who visited Monticello last fall. Exhibit opening includes family activities and light refreshments. Free, noon-2pm. David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center and Smith Education Center, 931 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. 984-9822. NONPROFIT Hope’s Legacy fundraiser Thursday, January 11 […]

Aromas Café returns to its beginnings

When Hassan Kaisoum moved Aromas Café from its original location in the Virginia Department of Forestry building to Barracks Road Shopping Center in 2007, he returned often to Fontaine Research Park to walk the nature trails he’d come to know well since first opening the restaurant in 1998. On those walks, he thought about the […]

Local dance groups help people shake up their routines

By Natalie Jacobsen and Jessica Luck From swing to salsa, ballroom to hip-hip, tango to tap, Charlottesville’s dance scene is alive and kicking. Over the last few decades as the groups have grown in popularity and size, the communities themselves have transformed: They’re safe spaces to not only master the steps of a dance, but […]

Fan favorites: Charlottesville’s signature dishes and drinks

By Nathan Alderman, Shea Gibbs, Jackson Landers and Caite White Much in the way that giving directions to a newcomer will never not be thrilling (or is that just us?), recommending an essential dining experience is also a rite of passage: It ups your townie cred and, if you’ve steered the novice correctly, shows off […]

Local restaurants were on the rise in 2017

We’ll admit it: Last year’s end-of-year restaurant wrap-up was tough to write as we bid farewell to our beloved Spudnuts and to Brookville’s baked egg breakfasts. Little did we know that 2017 would be a boon for eatery openings. This might finally have been the year that convinced us that our eyes are, in fact, […]

Restaurants open on Christmas Day

By Sam Padgett Contrary to popular belief, for the holidays, you can beat home sweet home. While the world seems to shut down on Christmas Day for family bagel breakfasts and traditional roast beef dinners, there are still a few places to eat for those who either don’t celebrate Christmas or want a temporary respite […]

At the Table: Revamped restaurant shows off Virginia’s riches

Is there such a thing as “Virginia cuisine”? It’s an old question, and one I found myself revisiting after learning that Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar has a new motto: “modern Virginia cuisine.” What is Virginia cuisine—modern or otherwise? And, is Commonwealth’s any good? To help answer these questions, I called Dr. Leni Sorensen, who may […]

Restoration effort: The rebirth of the American chestnut

Nestled in Nelson County’s Lovingston hill country lie the orchards of one of the East Coast’s newest nut-growing operations, Virginia Chestnuts. Spanning 45 acres, the farmstead rests at the end of an isolated stretch of unpaved backroads that culminate in a steeply winding mile-long gravel driveway. Overlooking a series of knolls carved into the mountainside […]