Bang!'s Second Chance

The first time I went to Bang! I wasn't all that impressed. I don't know if it was because I had heard so much hype about it, or because the service wasn't that great, or even because we didn't order the right things, but the second time around made up for it. I met my friend Meg for dinner there the other night. We sat outside (which I loved - except for the major mosquito bites I woke up to the next morning) and I noticed that they have new menus. I think they may have cut out some of their menu items and scaled it down a little. We tried a mushroom ravioli/dumpling thing, pork tacos, coconut rice, and a vegetable noodle dish. Each one was really yummy and I love the tapas/family style way of eating.

Two thumbs up for Bang! the second time around.


They also seem to have really good cocktails...at least they looked good :)

Mono Loco

We had been to Mono Loco for breakfast, but hadn't made it over for dinner yet. That all changed last night. Another visitor - another restaurant, so we checked out Mono Loco. The food was really good...not up to Continental Divide standard or even El Puerto, but it was still good. There is a lot on the menu and it is hard to choose just one thing. They have a lot of seafood options too which I found a little surprising. Our friend, Randy, had a salmon burrito and thought it was very tasty. I wasn't as impressed with my dinner (so much so, that I forgot what I ordered). I thought it would be a contained dinner (like a taco or burrito) but it ended up being a loose salad-type of dish. They do serve a lot of food in terms of quantity and I would go back just for the atmosphere. Randy pointed out how many restaurants take advantage of outside seating in Charlottesville, and Mono Loco is no exception. I really like their outdoor area.

Boylan Heights

Speaking of burgers, the Econ Dinner Club ventured over to Boylan Heights on the Corner for our last get-together. Thumbs up all around. The burger varieties are so fun and different and not to disappoint. Charlie had some crazy concoction with onion rings, chili, wing sauce, everything on it - and it was goooood! I had a plain cheeseburger with avocado on it - delish! And their fries are delicious which automatically adds points in my book (they also have sweet potato fries - a good choice).

Service was a little off - granted we had 12 at the table - but overall another repeat restaurant in Charlottesville!

Henry's

Last weekend, we had a couple of visitors and decided to check out Henry's on the downtown mall. Charlie and I had seen it a couple of times while walking around (it's kind of hard to find since it's downstairs, under another storefront). We all had burgers and they were really really good. I had the Henry burger with an egg on top and it surprisingly wasn't very greasy or heavy.

A fun place to go for a casual dinner.

Dr. Ho's

Yummm Pizza...

Today, Charlie and I went on a yard sale search. We drove out towards Scottsville and on the way back decided to check out Dr. Ho's. I first heard about this little pizza place on the way to my sister's wedding when we got a little lost and ended up out by Dr. Ho's instead of at King Family Vineyards - whoops!

Anyway, the pizza makes up for the name. Charlie thinks it might beat out Mellow Mushroom and Christian's. The crust is great - very light and fresh. They have great toppings and I think they use all local vendors to supply their ingredients.

Worth getting lost for.