The last bite: How apeeling!

We’ve picked this poached pear dish from Red Pump Kitchen for two reasons: First, it’s pretty enough to appear on a holiday postcard. But mostly because, with Marsala wine, saffron, cocoa and hazelnut, it’s the perfect punctuation to a winter meal.

Food & Drink Pick: Top of the Hops Beer Festival

Top of the Hops Beer Festival Saturday, September 26 Enjoy two-ounce samples of more than 150 craft beers from around the world combined with great food, education seminars, music, food and games. $50-80. 21-plus. 3pm. nTelos Wireless Pavilion, 700 E. Main St. betsy@redmountainentertainment.com. For the complete festival guide, click here.

Clean your machine: The Juice Laundry opens a coffeehouse-style vegan hangout

Mike Keenan has a message for all the carnivores out there: Being a vegan doesn’t mean gnawing on carrots all day. In fact, it turns out vegan grub is actually pretty tasty when done right. Keenan introduced The Juice Laundry’s cold-pressed fruit-and-vegetable juices to Charlottesville in 2013. He started out making small batches of nutrient-dense […]

ARTS Pick: Tom Tom Fall Block Party

Looming sculptures and creative spaces serve as the landscape for the annual Tom Tom Fall Block Party featuring music, food trucks, crafts, performances and a beer garden. Music by Michael Coleman, Moonlight Circus, Disco Risque and Galaxy Dynamite will keep the event lively. Amid the groovy backdrop there will be a tech mixer where some […]

Party on: South Fork food truck reinvents dining at home

I grew up in the dinner party era. Among my favorite childhood memories is falling asleep to the mysterious sounds of my parents’ parties—roars of laughter, clanging glasses and high heels across wooden floors. My parents loved them, too. When preparing for their guests’ arrival, they always floated around the house with a gleam of anticipation. […]

Torch bearer: Bizou carries on great food without the fuss

In the fall of 1993, in a booth at an unassuming new restaurant on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, I dug into a plate of rabbit quesadillas. I was floored. “Who puts rabbit in quesadillas?” I thought. “And, how could they taste this good?” In an era when fine dining meant white tablecloths and fussy French cuisine, […]

Ranked amateur: Homebrew for Hunger winner brings wares to market

Amateurs are making some darn good beer in this town. Amateurs, dude. Anyone who had the opportunity to attend the Homebrew for Hunger event at Fifth Season Gardening last fall knows about the quality of ale-shine C’ville has to offer. The only problem, assuming you’re able to get past your hang-ups about drinking unregulated beer […]