Betsy and Charlie in Charlottesville

new home

2011-04-10T15:57:00.001-04:00

we moved over to wordpress!

please visit us at http://bandcincville.wordpress.com/

also loving this....

2010-10-21T23:20:00.002-04:00

blows my mind

2010-10-21T22:55:00.002-04:00

...seriously...

...that's a person...actual...
found here...you need to read about this alexa meade character...

Jefferson Theater

2010-10-21T14:21:00.002-04:00

We've been so good at going to concerts recently! I've been wanted to see more shows, but can never bring myself to spend the money. We have been to the Jefferson Theater twice in the past couple of weeks. We decided to see Stephen Kellogg (we saw him last year at Fry's Spring Station when Charlie won tickets on the radio) and he was awesome! The acoustics and the mix were phenomenal and I was really impressed. Then last weekend, we took my little sister to see Ingrid Michaelson. Her openers, the Guggenheim Grotto, were really good and again, the Jefferson impressed me with the sound. I really like all of Ingrid's songs and was super excited but ended up kind of disappointed in the show. The energy was kind of funky. They used tracks. And the mix was off for some reason. Ingrid is still very talented and I still love all of her songs, but maybe not live.
I do greatly appreciate living so close to such a quality concert venue...

apple picking at Carter Mountain

2010-10-21T14:17:00.002-04:00

My parents were in town this past weekend and we took a quick trip up to Carter Mountain for some apple picking, donuts, and fall air. The donuts are worth the trip alone. We did get some delicious apples too. I generally have no idea what apples I end up picking at orchards as I get so excited to find apples that are ripe, beautiful and ready for plucking, but they ended up all being delicious. We did end up with mostly granny smith apples (which are my personal faves) and I will have to make some loaves of apple bread to freeze (or eat, whichever comes first).

trader joe's kettle corn...

2010-09-21T13:51:00.002-04:00

...is absolutely delicious and could be my new favorite snack food.

charlie and i stopped by the trader joe's in richmond on the way home from the beach and picked some groceries including this kettle corn. let me tell you that it will be bad news bears when trader joe's opens in c'ville (hopefully soon). i have a feeling our grocery bills could go way up!

fellini's

2010-09-20T15:32:00.002-04:00

charlie has played here a few times, but neither of us has ever eaten at fellini's #9. across from skylight studios on the downtown mall, fellini's offers a non-stuffy atmosphere with really hearty pasta. 5 of us enjoyed dinner on friday night. we all opted for pasta even though fellini's also offers entrees (like salmon, eggplant, chicken, etc.). the best thing is that the restaurant offers half-portions of most of the pasta (which is more than enough). my favorite pasta of the night: Orecchiette - “Little Ears” pasta italian sausage and rapini with vodka cream sauce 14.95 1/2 order 9.95.

i've heard good things about the bar as well..so we'll be checking this little place out again!

new things all weekend

2010-09-19T20:48:00.006-04:00

we just pulled in after a day at the beach.

a one day trip to the beach? in september? why yes, we just pulled in after a day at sandbridge beach near virginia beach.we discovered the beach last weekend. i told charlie that the day was one of my favorites. ever. it was so nice to get away - like really away - for the day, catch some sun and listen to the waves. the weather could not have been better. the beach is about a 3-3.5 hour drive east on 64. there is free parking after labor day, a public restroom and a market right nearby and i am a huge fan. charlie mentioned today that it's probably a good thing we didn't discover this sooner, or we would be total shut-in beach bums.

part of what made today so lovely, was the busy busy day we had yesterday. phyllis, a wonderful lady who works over at t&n printing (printed our wedding programs and could not be more helpful when i need something printed for work), and her husband own the korner restaurant and invited me and charlie to stop by for breakfast. the place is a little hole in the wall on the corner of 9th and cherry, that we have driven by often and never stopped in. word is they have some killer bbq, but it isn't a regular menu fixin' so you have to know when to stop by. charlie had a western omelet that was huge and came with home fries and biscuits. i could have eaten these biscuits all day, friends. they were delicious! i had an egg with some bacon, home fries, and of course more than my share of biscuits. the plates are around $5 and it is a whole lot of food. we'll have to check back for dinner. the menu had burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches listed and we loved the vibe. i felt like an insider just being in the place!

after breakfast, we drove out to ashlawn-highland, the home of james monroe. after a $5 resident ticket fee (sweet deal and you get in for free if you bring a guest), we joined a short tour of the house. charlie says this is now one of his favorites as it wasn't pretentious at all and it felt so accessible. there are no ropes on the furniture and the tour guide mentioned that ~80% of the furniture in the house actually belonged to the monroe's.

charlie decided on a whim to swing by blenheim vineyards (owned by the matthews family - i.e. dave matthews) just to see it. our nuvi took us the back way through a very rough looking part of town, so we were extremely surprised to see the beauty of the property when we arrived. the view of the area is absolutely stunning!

being the non-wine drinkers that we are, we ended up not tasting any wine ($5 for a tasting), but instead just admired the building and view. we'll have to go back and actually drink some wine. it was pretty pathetic if you ask me!

on the way out, we passed simeon market. i had driven by the market a few times and was intrigued by the quaint little place and it's funny name (my dad's name is simeon). it ended up being quite the find and the roast beef sandwich we split was delicious! my dad will be asking us to stop by the next time he's down i'm sure.

to round out the day, charlie and i decided to check out a couple shops we hadn't been to before. we drove down 250 to the barn swallow. i had seen the place on my drives out to crozet and was always intrigued by the rustic looking building and the sign touting artisan crafts. this may be one of my new favorite shops in c'ville. they had the best assortment of pottery, artwork, jewelry, furniture, accessories...i loved it and have my eye on a few things (...charlie...).

we also stopped by ivy corner, by the post office in ivy. this place was really cute! they have some great plants (at good prices) and really nice gift items. apple trees were half price and were very tempting.

and last but not least, we finally made it to and george! i loved just about everything in the store. it felt like a luxury just to walk in and i admired every knick knack, cup, vase, candlestick, and chair in the place. i especially loved erika jack's stationery.

it was a busy weekend and i'm feeling much more in the know about c'ville!

j crew warehouse sale in lynchburg

2010-08-22T23:48:00.003-04:00

while sitting at bodo's saturday morning, charlie and i decided to take a road trip down to lynchburg. i've been having the shopping itch (much to charlie's delight) and wanted to check out the j crew catalog store (and possibly covesville antiques). our friend dao tagged along for the adventure. as we pulled into the warehouse parking lot, my heart started to flitter just a bit at the sight of all those cars. we stumbled onto a warehouse sale without even knowing it! i'm sure charlie was cringing, but he was such a trooper. after a long wait in line and hours of tearing through boxes and boxes, i found charlie loaded down with clothes. he did quite well for himself. and dao made his first j crew purchase (not sure how this is possible). we ended up having a blast and snagged some amazing deals.

all for $120!!!

*those shoes are listed for $159.99 on the jcrew website and i grabbed them up for $30!

new friends

2010-08-19T23:48:00.002-04:00

so i've been needing some new blog friends post-wedding. my regular blog cycle is all off since all i was looking at were wedding blogs.

here are some new friends that i'm enjoying:
swiss-miss
poppytalk
a cup of jo
dress design decor (not new but rediscovered)
coco + kelley (not new but rediscovered)
black eiffel (not new but rediscovered)

let me know if you have any that i should add to my blog roll.

would you be your own friend?

2010-08-18T09:22:00.003-04:00

I was reading my most recent edition of "Glamour" magazine and there was an interesting article posing the question "would you be friends with you?".

Valid question.

i love everything about this...

2010-08-16T12:55:00.002-04:00

my dear friend alison is fabulous. she's one of those people who always looks cool and put together, is beautiful, smart, and fun, and has amazing taste.

i just discovered her tumblr account and i'm obsessing.

amazing

2010-08-08T19:25:00.002-04:00

don't you wish your life had this soundtrack and the pictures to go with it?

evolve

2010-07-29T14:56:00.002-04:00

i needed a hair cut pretty badly after the beating my hair took from the wedding (growing it out and then all that hairspray) and the sun this summer. i usually go to bristles but saw this post on the scout charlottesville blog about the brand new evolve - eco friendly hair design studio right near my office. willow (barbara) was able to fit me in pretty quickly due to a cancellation and i'm enjoying my new do. i asked willow to give me a healthy trim and if she wanted to do something drastic or exciting, i would be open to it. my hair looks much the same as it did when I went in, but much healthier, a little shorter, and better shaped. she recommended we brave some bangs on my next visit.
the salon is beautiful. very sparse and open and quiet - new for a hair place. the geranium oil head massage after the shampoo was quite lovely and i'm sure would be even better after a long day of work than before the day begins.
i do love bristles, so i'll have to see how i feel when i'm due for my next hair cut, but evolve is definitely recommended for a good quality hair cut. standard cuts run ~$55.

some additional vendors

2010-07-29T09:40:00.003-04:00

There are some additional people/vendors from our wedding that cannot go without a review/recommendation:

Instead of little knick-knacks as wedding favors, we figured people might want a little bit of deliciousness at the end of the long evening. I contacted Spudnuts in Belmont (blogged about here) months ago to see if they could make enough donuts for all of our guests. Lori, who I think owns the store with her husband, was so lovely to work with. The store actually wasn't open on the 3rd, but she came in early in the morning to bake us 130 donuts and have them ready for our big day. The donuts came out towards the end of the reception and were a huge hit! We had Clifton put individual donuts in wax bags with a sticker saying "Enjoy". People grabbed them up as they were leaving for the night (or grabbed about 20 and brought them down to the pool area). Spudnuts was fabulous!

When I was working at rockpaperscissors, I fell in love with Heather Rolfe's calligraphy. Heather Rolfe of Heather Belle Ink does some of the calligraphy for Monticello (or did at one point) and was able to print escort cards for our wedding. I met Heather down at Caspari and gave her the list of names and the cards. She could not have been sweeter and was even able to print out the text for our program covers. They were beautiful!!!

I had a lot of trouble deciding what to get Charlie as a wedding gift (and to be honest, considered not getting him one). Amy, over at scarpa, has the most amazing painting of her late dog Bruiser. I've been admiring it for quite a while and finally figured out that I should get Charlie a painting of Bayley. The painting of Bruiser was done by Sharon Shapiro. I love her work and contacted to see if she could do the painting of Bayley. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford a Sharon Shapiro painting, but I remembered that my friend Erin knew Kathryn Barton of Skylight Studios and actually had just received a painting as a wedding gift from Kate of her dog, Suki. Kate was so wonderful to work with and the painting of Bayley is awesome. Charlie saw it and fell in love (he may have cried a little).

announcing betsy and charlie murry in charlottesville

2010-07-23T12:51:00.002-04:00

charlie and i were married (finally) 3 weeks ago in charlottesville and the celebration could not have gone better. everything was beautiful and we had such a blast.

the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception took place at clifton inn. we've written about clifton inn before and their spectacular food and the wedding was no exception. the food was delicious! the design of the cake was not spectacular (and not close to what we asked for), but it tasted fabulous! the staff was on top of every detail and really took care of things for us. i really could not recommend the venue more especially for a wedding. our guests loved taking advantage of our exclusive use of the property. some people went on hikes around the grounds, played croquet, tennis, and horseshoes, and almost everyone went swimming at some point during the weekend.

our flowers were provided by couture design (formerly patterson's) in crozet. they did an awesome job and for a great price. the roses were spectacular and they even provided the peaches and apricots we used so that charlie and i wouldn't be running around before the wedding. unfortunately we didn't end up with some of the flowers i requested - the boutonnieres were not the correct roses and the cake flowers were wrong, but couture design could not have been more accommodating and ended up doing more centerpieces for us and included them into the negotiated price.

we used john garland as our dj. he had guests up and dancing before dinner even started. granted my friends are absolutely nuts, but regardless john did a phenomenal job. the coordinator at clifton even commented about how on top of things john was in terms of transitions, announcements, etc. he is a super nice guy and we really enjoyed him. highly recommended.

t&n printing printed our ceremony programs and they were perfect. i work with t&n through my job and i love each person who works there that i have had the privilege to meet. they could not have been more helpful, friendly, and wonderful. they even folded to programs for us!

by far, our favorite vendors are unfortunately not local. the parsons photographed our wedding from start to finish. we invited them to our rehearsal dinner as guests so they could get to know our guests and we could get to know them. halfway through the night, charlie came and found me holed up in my guest room with two of my favorite people, meg runion, erin white (formerly known as erin mcdermott), and the parsons rather than hanging out with our other guests. we had a blast with ashley and jeremy and cannot wait to see our pictures.

fry's spring station

2010-06-28T12:14:00.002-04:00

my new favorite place in c'ville. fry's spring station opened up across from durty nelly's recently and i had heard great things about it. the pizza is delicious! charlie and i didn't have any of the appetisers or even the beer, but everything looked awesome and we're ready to go back for more.

definitely a regular in the rotation!

l'etoile

2010-06-28T11:46:00.002-04:00

we are so behind on posting...

for charlie's birthday earlier this month, we went out for a nice dinner at l'etoile - just a hop, skip, and a jump from our house. it was very nice. charlie started the evening with the foie gras that was garnished with cherries and was rich, decadent, and delicious. i was having trouble deciding between the goat cheese gnocchi (i have heard they are awesome), the scallops, and the tenderloin. on the waitress' recommendation, i had the tenderloin. it was very good. well cooked and nicely flavored, not too rich, and the garnishes were perfect. charlie's duck breast was so delicious that he is de-throning zocalo as the best duck in charlottesville. check out the menu and don't forget that l'etoile has a $30 chef's menu available on wednesdays and thursdays - awesome deal that we will be checking out later on.

Cazon Tropical

2010-05-28T11:43:00.003-04:00

Last night we visited Cazon Tropical on the recommendation of a friend. There was no one in the restaurant (off 29 north behind Kohr Brothers) and only 1 more person came in while we were eating. The menu seems pretty authentic - but not being from El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, or Honduras, I don't think I'm the authority on the matter... Their website says "Come and feel like you are eating at any grandmother's house in El Salvador, The Dominican Republic or Honduras, right here in Charlottesville, or just come and feel like you are on vacation, either way you will enjoy fresh natural food with the flavors of ours homes. We take pride in the tropical taste of our cooking and we just want to share with you ." and I feel like this is an accurate description. The food definitely tasted home made and there was nothing fancy or stuffy about it. As a heads up, they don't serve any alcohol, which was kind of a bummer. I would have loved a cold Corona with my dinner. Charlie enjoyed some authentic Pica Pollo and Tostones and we noticed that there weren't many vegetable options on the menu at all. Overall, a fun little discovery.

bashir's taverna

2010-04-11T22:09:00.002-04:00

the econ dinner club was at it again this weekend. we haven't met for a while, so charlie and i called an "emergency get together" at bashir's taverna on the downtown mall. number one - i really love when it starts to get warm here and everyone is out on the downtown mall - including the musicians (good or bad). number two - bashir's is a fun place to eat. i think our tables tasted almost everything on the menu. charlie loved the lamb. the moussaka special looked delicious and comforting. the couscous trio served in a tagine looked colorful and delicious. the ham (raved about in the new york times, apparently) was melt-in-your-mouth tasty. not cheap - but the belly-dancing is free!

ten

2010-04-11T22:02:00.003-04:00

ten out of ten in my book for ten on the downtown mall. this is some seriously good sushi. some friends of ours wanted to go out one night the other week and were delighted to stumble up the stairs into the high-ceiling'ed, mirror-walled, hip urban decorated restaurant. the seaweed salad - awesome, and the rolls were really really delicious - super-fresh, and light. i'm a big fan.

scarpa - take 2

2010-04-11T21:50:00.006-04:00

with rockpaperscissors under new ownership, i've started working at scarpa part-time (very part-time and only on random saturdays that aren't already consumed with wedding appointments or other crazy to-dos). i have to say that the stock amy has right now is so fun! there are so many great sandal options for the warm weather. i bought myself a pair of the kelsi dagger colleen sandals:
and a fabulous lemlem scarf:

the jewelry is killer and i wish i had more parties to go or i actually wore the high heels that i have so i could buy more.

really - there's a lot of good stuff! check it out

rockpaperscissors

2010-04-11T21:46:00.002-04:00

the new owners of rockpaperscissors have done a wonderful job with the shop. the new location on the downtown mall is wonderful (and a walk from my office). maybe i'm a a little bit nuts, but walking into the store was so soothing - it really was a breath of fresh air. the walls are a calming blue, the store is so clean and bright, and of course the products are too much fun. i love love love paper goods and the new inventory is lovely!

congrats dani and heather! i can't wait to stop in again soon!

mas tapas

2010-04-07T22:28:00.003-04:00

After over a year and a half in Charlottesville, I finally went to Mas. Betsy has been there a couple of times. For those who don't know, Mas is essentially the foodie mecca of Charlottesville (maybe along with C&O), which I think is saying a lot for a town filled with great restaurants. One of the things about Mas is that you can't make reservations. We got there at 6pm on a Friday and got a seat right away, but a little later in the night there was a long line out front. We got a lot of food and most of it lived up to the hype. The thing that impressed me the most was that for all the hype, the food or the service did not seem pretentious. For instance, the chorizo was just that, a plate with three patties of homemade sausage (I probably would only recommend this dish to accompany a cheese plate). Mas is a true tapas place in the sense that its food is certainly Spanish. Seafood, goat cheese, Manchego cheese, cured pork, and other traditional flavors are prevalent on the menu.

Some of our favorite dishes included breaded halibut with grapefruit, Monte Enebro goat cheese with apricot preserves melted over brioche , and lamb chops with a mint mojo sauce.

I am not sure any restaurant is worth an hour wait, but this is a place that I would like to go back to. I feel like we barely touched the menu. Maybe all of the offerings are what get people coming back.

Belmont BBQ

2010-04-07T22:20:00.004-04:00

We finally visited Belmont BBQ the other weekend. It was a beautiful day, so we got the food to-go and had a little picnic. The food was great. I got a rib a sandwich. Betsy had a pulled pork sandwich and we shared some french fries. The BBQ is delicious. The style of BBQ is definitely Virginian. The pork sandwich was a little juicy with a thicker sweet sauce. They also have spicier sauce options. The rib sandwich was very "wet." Generally I prefer more of the North Carolina style BBQ (which is an option too), but I really thought the BBQ we had was great. One option I think we'll have to get next time is a this bucket which they put essentially all of their kinds of BBQ in with a side. The french fries were good, but maybe a little too flavorful. In short, this is definitely a place we will be going back too. The best BBQ I have had in a while.

spring may be on her way

2010-03-07T21:33:00.003-05:00

it turned out to be such a beautiful weekend here in charlottesville and charlie and i wanted to make the most of it. after a restful friday evening (definitely needed), we decided to check out monticello. just an fyi, they have resident discounts and student discounts, so make sure to check out the deals. monticello really is such a cool place and jefferson is a fascinating individual. we walked around the grounds and i was thrilled to see some tiny purple crocuses popping up all over the lawns. what a beautiful site! while we were driving up to the visitor center, i realized how beautiful charlottesville is and how many amazing things there are around here.

we stopped to get our favorite market sandwiches on the way back and decided that we wanted some trader joes goodies for our pantry. too bad the closest trader joes is in richmond, but we made the trip and it was really fun (rumor is there are plans to open a trader joes around c'ville soon). charlie and i haven't really explored richmond since we moved here and will have to do so soon.

today we enjoyed the sunshine with bayley and some burgers with friends.

can't wait for warmer weather!

taste of china

2010-03-07T21:06:00.002-05:00

on the recommendation of one of charlie's professors, we decided to check out taste of china in the albemarle square shopping center. the place was packed and i was extra excited to see a large group of chinese students in the back corner of the restaurant, clearly loving what they were tasting. there was a steady stream of diners through the evening and i understand why. the food was delicious. the restaurant lures you in with the cheesy neon light outside and the wall of menu photos right inside the door. the decor is minimal and the restaurant is really just a large room with as many tables as can fit. we tried the crispy beef, some dumplings, and a duck pancake dish. they were all great but we'll have to go back so we can taste some more of the options.

the chef, peter chang has quite the disappearing act and has attracted a devout group of followers who have followed him from tennessee to georgia to virginia - anywhere they can taste chang's food. no one knows how long he will stay in a location, so once located, people flock to his restaurants.

rumor is to ask for the authentic chinese menu!

tavola

2010-03-07T21:01:00.002-05:00

our friends, dao and sarah, wanted to go out to dinner in belmont the other week. we focused on mas since charlie had never been. it turned out there was a super long wait at mas - which is a pretty standard occurance, but we were hungry. so we made the walk up the road to choose between tavola and the local. we ended up at tavola and it was fantastic! tavola makes their own pasta (delicious) and i have an awesome red beet risotto with huge sea scallops. it really was perfect. really great atmosphere, great wine, amazing food. definitely a nicer restaurant - but it comes highly recommended!

escafe

2010-02-13T23:02:00.002-05:00

new fun hang out spot!

last night, one of our good friends asked charlie and i to join him at eloise to see kiki slaughter's work (part of the first fridays series in c'ville). first of all - how cool is the name kiki slaughter?! kiki's work is beautiful. very textural. i'm definitely a fan and hope one day to be a millionaire art collector with a beautiful house with so much art that some is leaning against walls rather than hanging.

anyway, after the art "gathering" and after admiring the ever lovely collections of clothing and accessories at eloise, dao, his lovely friend sarah (who i thoroughly enjoy), charlie, and i meandered across the downtown mall to escafe. charlie and i have never been and were very excited to try something new. apparently sarah and her lady friends from darden are frequent visitors and for good reason. i had a bison burger (based on sarah's recommendation) and it was delicious! the sparkling wine was enjoyable as well. what's fun about escafe is the laid-back atmosphere. they have awesome specials including 1/2 price wine bottle deals and a 20% off food discount for students!

what a good night.

The Southern

2010-02-10T16:21:00.001-05:00

One of my new C’ville friends invited Charlie and I (really just me, but Charlie tagged along) to a free show at the Southern to see Charlie Mars. The place is actually pretty cool. The bar area and stage area are separated by a small entryway. The bar staff was very friendly (not a ton of drink choices) and the bar menu looked really good (sweet potato biscuits with apple butter – yum!). The show was really good too. There weren’t too many people there, but it was a fun night with some new music. Good job C’ville on opening up a new music venue after so many have closed.

C&O Restaurant

2010-02-10T16:15:00.002-05:00

Charlottesville started hosting Restaurant Week last year. Charlie and I were fans of restaurant week while we lived in DC and unfortunately missed out on Charlottesville’s inaugural year last year. We’ve been meaning to check out C&O for a while now and figured this was a perfect chance to go. We met up with friends, Joe and Patten, on a super cold Thursday the other week. The restaurant apparently used to be a stopover for the train passengers and the wooden beams and bricks and crackling fire when you walk in are so comforting.

After sitting down, each of us chose our three courses off of the preselected menu.

First Course: Charlie was the brave one and tried the pate. Patten and I had the mushroom risotto (I can’t turn down risotto especially with mushrooms) and Joe had a beautiful salad. 4 stars all the way around

Second Course: I was the loaner on this round. Charlie, Patten, and Joe all selected the well-known Steak Chinoise (we have heard great things about this C&O classic) and I braved the trout. Let me tell you that the potatoes that accompanied the steak were to die for! So rich and creamy and could warm even a hypothermia victim. Really awesome! I was not so impressed with my trout. In fact, I barely ate it. The first bite I took had me crunching on some serious bones that were big enough that I needed to think whether they could belong to a trout. The starch was a mixture of black eyed peas and some grains. It was definitely a home cooked taste, but not my style. Bummer. 4.5 stars out of 5 for the steak – Charlie adds this to the top five list of things he has tasted in C’ville (along with an zucchini amuse bouche from Clifton, duck from Zocalo, halibut from Clifton, and ribs from Maya). No star rating for the trout.

Third Course: Joe and Charlie finished off the evening with a chocolate espresso pot de crème (“good…real good”). Patten had gingerbread with apples – smelled divine, and I had some vanilla ice cream with a chocolate dish and raspberry sauce. I think I struck out again. The chocolate dish was not flavorful and the ice cream just wasn’t very delicious.

I understand the appeal of C&O and how many people claim it is one of the best restaurants in C’ville. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt and saying that because they were swamped and it was restaurant week – maybe not the best showing. We’ll have to try it again.

in preparation

2010-02-03T21:32:00.003-05:00

I just spent almost 2 full hours at the grocery store along with the rest of Charlottesville. I didn't even think about the predicted snow storm and what that would mean for the lines at Kroger. Instead of getting frustrated, I figured that Charlie and I should share some of our snow fun from December's big storm.

zinc

2010-01-21T23:22:00.002-05:00

Considering this place is right up the street from our house, it is amazing to me that we haven't checked it out until now. I invited the "dinner club" to join us at Zinc tonight for some good company and good food. It did not disappoint. Our waitress was great and very patient with the 14 of us. She recommended 2 plates per person and highly recommended sharing to get a taste of everything. It is not easy to share! The food was delicious! There were rave reviews of the cheese platter, the chickpea fritters, the brisket, sardines, and mac and cheese. I tasted the escargot - really yummy, the frites (my favorite food group), and the steak tartare. It was all awesome! Charlie mentioned on the way home that we should head over more often and share a plate of something and some drinks. Good thing it's so close!

Bizou

2010-01-21T23:10:00.003-05:00

Charlie has been hoping to eat at Bizou since we moved to Charlottesville. I'm not quite sure what sparked his initial interest. Was it a review he read? Was is the sign over the door? We've attempted to eat there a couple of times, but both attempts were made late night and service had stopped.

Our good friends Nate and Joey were in town the other week and Charlie's dream of eating at Bizou came true. The walls of the restaurant are lined with old and obscure movie posters and the restaurant feels a little like Miller's but cleaner. Joey had a delicious looking veggie stack. Nate had some sort of steak. I had a cod fillet with some sort of bacon cream sauce and Charlie had the meatloaf (apparently referenced as a "must have" in Food and Wine from 2004". The food was very good and definitely was filling. I didn't love the cod. It seemed heavier than I expected it to be. Charlie did devour his meatloaf though. Nate mentioned that the sauce on his steak - for some reason, I'm remembering barbeque sauce - was overpowering the flavor of the meat.

I'll have to get an official verdict from Charlie, but I think Bizou may not be our favorite find in Charlottesville, especially with all of the other fabulous restaurants here. I don't know though - we could be swayed...

Rockettes in C'ville

2009-12-31T15:05:00.004-05:00

Charlie treated me to a showing of the Radio City Rockettes at JPJ for my birthday gift. I am a big Christmas fan but have somehow missed out on seeing the classic Rockettes. Let me just say - those are some awesome legs! But this post is really just a commentary on the seating at JPJ. First of all, those stands are steep and I'm not quite sure how some friends of mine have made it out of there in their drunken states without killing themselves on the cement stairs. Second, no one in the audience (I don't care how nice your legs are) should wear an above the knee skirt to see a show at JPJ. I saw way more thighs than I needed to :)

Cafe Cubano

2009-12-31T14:44:00.002-05:00

We have been horrible downtown mall visitors. Charlie and I are such fans of Marco and Luca's noodles and dumplings that we have been remiss in visiting Cafe Cubano which is right across the way. One of my co-workers and I were needing a little bit of a breather from the office yesterday and ended up on the downtown mall. After veto-ing Baggby's, the new Mexican hole-in-the-wall at the Jefferson, the hot dog cart, and losing Revolutionary Soup somewhere in the chaos, we ended up at Cafe Cubano. I had one of the combos (the half panini and soup combo) with a smoked salmon panini (I was craving some smoked salmon once I saw it on the menu) and the soup of the day (a tomato bisque). It really was delicious. I'm not much of a panini eater as I find that 9 and a half times out of 10, they are way too greasy - but this was part of the remaining 1/2 of 10 and was not greasy at all. I am a big fan! Some ladies next to us has two different variations of the popular Cuban sandwich (I asked the woman behind the counter what the most popular sandwiches are) and they looked like some seriously delicious sandwiches. I'm thinking I might have to return soon and try them. Here is the menu just in case you want to look before you head over.

Cafe Cubano can definitely hold their own against Marco and Luca's and that is saying something :)

aqui es mexico

2009-12-04T21:32:00.002-05:00

donde? on carlton road off of monticello.

a couple of my work friends took a lunch break today to say farewell to on of our coworkers who is soon to have a babe. one of the girls used to live in mexico and recommended aqui es mexico as authentic delicious mexican food. she was right! it was delicious!

so delicious that we may have to add it to our dinner club list and regular dinner stop.

Clifton Inn

2009-10-11T22:24:00.003-04:00

We are getting married at Clifton Inn next July! So its a little weird that we have never eaten dinner there. My mom got us a gift certificate to Clifton, so for our anniversary we decided to treat ourselves to a fancy night out.

Clifton is a classy place. Not only is it a beautiful place, but the staff is great and the food is amazing. I had halibut, local quail, and a chocolate tart. Betsy had parmesan and pear ravioli, duck, and toffee bread pudding. We were also served a delicious little zucchini corn fritter before our meal was served. It was all great and I can't even decide what I liked best. Betsy liked the bread pudding and the fritter the best. Betsy's not a fussy food person, but she said "it sure was good." We like dressing up too. The best part about the whole night, though, is when we walked out the front door of the house. It is gorgeous, especially on a clear night. The property is really something. We are very excited to spend our wedding day and night here.

Cassis

2009-10-11T21:53:00.002-04:00

So, a friend of ours knows some people who work at Cassis and he took us out for dinner there the other night. We actually didn't realize Cassis was worth checking out... The first time we went to Cassis was the first time we went out to bars in Charlottesville. It was a weird scene filled with cougars and "interesting" music. We basically wrote off Cassis, but we were wrong.

All the food we had for dinner was delicious. Our friend had the steak tartar as an appetizer and loved it. We all split roast duck breast with blue cheese polenta - yum. Betsy and friend had sea scallops, which were are waitress' favorite dish on the menu and I had the lamb. It tasted like it was slow cooked all day -- very tender and sweet. The whole menu seemed to have an autumn feel. The lamb was very much comfort food with lots of autumn/winter flavors and the sea scallops were very rich.

Cassis is on Water St. right next to Mono Loco, across from the Clock Shop. It is a little pricey, but we put it in the same category as Zocalo, so it's worth it. Also, it's a popular spot for Darden professors and wine tasting parties, so it seems to have a solid reputation.

Bang!'s Second Chance

2009-09-19T20:20:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-19T20:11:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-19T20:06:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-19T20:03:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-19T19:59:00.003-04:00

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.

Giraffe!!!

2009-07-30T21:22:00.009-04:00

Betsy has lived all around the world...Liberia, the Philippines, Nigeria, Indonesia, the UK. She has done all sorts of great things like visited remote villages in West Timor, gone on safari in South Africa, hung out with orangutans in Indonesia, and laid out on the beaches of Bali. But there is one thing that Betsy has always wanted to do, and it took her all this time and a trip down Interstate 81 to near Roanoke, Virginia to finally do it --- that is hand feed giraffes of course!!

In Natural Bridge, Virginia, there is a place called Virginia Safari Park. It is about 75 minutes from Charlottesville, just north of Roanoke right off of I-81. It costs $14 per adult, and there is some pretty neat stuff to do there. The main attraction is to buy animal feed from the front gate and drive through their 180 acre park. When you drive through the park there are animals EVERYWHERE! There are tons of different types of deer, moose, pot-bellied pigs, zebras, ostriches,

emus, camels, llamas, buffalo, and more. As you drive through you stop and hold buckets of feed out the window and the animals come right up to you and eat! In fact, sometimes they come all the way into your car (Betsy got surprised by a very hungry zebra).

After we drove around (it took at least 45 minutes, maybe longer), we parked the car and walked through the Safari Village. This is a walking tour that is especially well suited for the kiddies. There are goats, really big tortoises, monkeys, birds, and a warthog. The kids can hand feed some of the animals like the goats. But the main attraction is at the end of the walking tour, the giraffe feeding station. There are four giraffes, two parents and two babies, in a large field. You can stand up on a large platform about 15 feet in the air and if one of the giraffes comes over you can feed it. The problem is that the giraffes are perfectly content chewing on the grass in the field. We waited up on the stand for about 30 minutes, and finally "Katie" the giraffe came up to us and let us feed her some millet. By the way, Betsy thinks every giraffe is named Katie. She was a beautiful giraffe, and very shy, but she got up the courage to come up to us. Betsy hand fed her 3 times! We stood right next to her. I think she liked the attention because after she was done eating she stuck her head over the fence and looked at all the people in the park.

the train

2009-07-21T20:38:00.002-04:00

We live right by the train tracks...

Yesterday's train took over 9 minutes to clear the tracks so I could drive to work...

9 minutes...

Charlie timed it.

Dear Bayley

2009-07-21T20:30:00.003-04:00

Dear Bayley,

Recently you were at Old Dominion Animal Hospital and were given your rabies vaccination. There is a law in Virginia that requires your vet to notify the local Treasurer's Office whenever they vaccinate an animal.

At this time, in the records at City Hall, it does not appear that your owner has bought you a current dog tag. Dog tags are required on every dog more than four months of age and the tags are required to be purchased every year by the last day of January. If by chance you actually DO have a City of Charlottesville Dog License for 2009, please have your owner call (434)970-3157 and ask us to correct our records.

Please ask your owner to fill out the application form, send it to City Hall in the enclosed envelope, along with the appropriate fee, and we will mail a license to your home. If this is not done within 30 days, it will have to be reported to Animal Control that an unlicensed dog lives at your house.

Seriously....this is the letter we got in the mail the other day....addressed to Bayley Murry.

#1 - Bayley gets a name change before I do! Who knew he wasn't a Moats anymore...
#2 - Charlottesville is seriously on top of their game
#3 - Vienna is not...and neither is Newark, DE

Bayley has his first license for a whopping $4!

Charlottesville Tire

2009-07-17T23:55:00.003-04:00

We bought our car last July, which means every July from now until it kicks the bucket we need to get a Virginia State inspection. In Northern VA the typical process is to get up really early in the morning and drive to a gas station who does inspections and get in the inspection line. It can take anywhere from 30min to 2 hours (depending on how long the line is), and I think I remember it costing about $40. I haven't observed this behavior in C'ville, so I decided to take another approach. First I walked over to the auto shop right near our house and the very friendly lady at the front counter said that they were very busy and I could have an appointment in a few days.

So then I drove a few more blocks down the road to Charlottesville Tire. They are located at 843 West Main St. in Charlottesville. I walked in not expecting to get an inspection. They appeared to be very busy, which was confirmed when I talked to the guy behind the counter. After talking to him for a short while he could squeeze me right then, which was the only time I could do it because Betsy had to take the car to work in an hour. The inspection took 10 minutes, and the whole operation they had going seemed to be running really tight. Also, I forget the guy's name who was behind the counter, but he was very nice.

This seems like a great place to take your car, and I will be recommending them to anybody who asks for a mechanic.

CK Nails and Spa

2009-07-12T22:19:00.002-04:00

I love this place! I can't recommend it enough.

CK Nails is a little hard to find (it is behind the Blockbuster on 29 next to Barrack shopping center) but they are moving at the end of the month to the front of the building. One of the ladies at rockpaperscissors recommended I check it out. They are cheap ($32 for a mani and pedi) and so so sweet. The salon is clean and quiet. The lady who did my nails spent a long time really making sure she did a good job and I didn't feel like I was being pushed out of there in any kind of hurry.

These people really care about their jobs and the people that come in - so much so that while I was in there, 2 people came in just to say hi.

Love it!!!

The Bavarian Chef

2009-07-12T22:03:00.002-04:00

The Bavarian Chef and my family are dear friends. My parents discovered the restaurant when my sister was an undergrad at UVA. The restaurant quickly became part of our routine - we visited every time we were on our way either to or from Charlottesville. If I'm not mistaken, we ate at the Bavarian Chef for Caroline's college graduation dinner.

The restaurant offers traditional German fare and a lot of it. Each table not only gets to order individual entrees, but a selection of the side dishes are then served family style. This might be my favorite part of the restaurant. Their whipped potatoes are awesome - lots of butter, some smoked bacon, deliciousness. There is a potato dumpling dish, creamed corn, green beans, whipped potatoes, spaetzle, carrots, zucchini, red cabbage - and if I remember correctly there are free refills on these.

The entrees are a little hard to pronouce but are fun to taste. Some of the dishes I have had are better than others. Most recently I tried the Wiener Schnitzel. I can't say that I loved it. It seemed a little too breaded and over cooked. Their roasted pepper soup with crab meat was great though! Their sausage entree is huge - 3 huge sausages on top of kraut.

Whatever you get, be prepared for a lot of food. And make sure to check out the boot of beer!

speeding tickets and 29

2009-07-07T19:48:00.002-04:00

when i first came down to charlottesville to visit my sister at uva and until now, i have been warned about the cops on 29. fortunately for me, i haven't encountered them yet - well, not until this past weekend. mr. charlie was driving us up to northern virginia for the att national golf tournament and right around warrenton, the lights went on. we got pulled over for speeding while listening to barbara streisand - i guess she moved charlie a little too much. the ticket is $5 for each mile over the speed limit and then the additional processing fees. there is a court date set for august when we get back from our trip. there were cops everywhere this weekend. who knew it was such a prime weekend to catch traffic violators.

so...watch out for cops on 29. especially on big holiday weekends.

bayley is 5!

2009-07-07T19:37:00.003-04:00

i was watching "regis and kelly" the other day and they had a dog specialist on. turns out dogs have a emotional maturity level of an 18 month old toddler. despite his emotional age, our munchkin turned 5! we felt a little guilty this year since we haven't been around for bayls' birthdays for the past couple of years. not like a dog needs a huge party, but we owed it to him to celebrate a little. we made him a mini burger and he had a couple pieces of popcorn. popcorn might be his favorite thing we drop on the floor. and he was such a trooper with that hat!

more planting

2009-07-07T19:25:00.005-04:00

check out our new garden!

and check our green beans we planted earlier in the spring.

they were delicious - i only wish we had more.

Trivia Night at McGrady's

2009-07-02T00:02:00.005-04:00

So a lot of my friends hang out at McGrady's every once and a while, but Betsy and I have never joined them. This past week we wanted to get together with some friends who had been out of town for awhile and we agreed we should go cheap (we students don't get paid in the summer), so we settled on McGrady's. To my pleasant surprise it also happened to be trivia night, so after eating 10 wings for $2.75 we had an hour and a half of slightly embarrassing trivia fun. (No one believed me that the frog is on the foot of a horse.) There was a good young crowd at the bar and outside on the porch and it seemed like a mix of students, alum, and town folk. All in all we had a really fun time for pretty cheap and we are planning on going back, although we would like to get a seat on the porch next time. I also discovered that they are the town Steelers bar, so I will most likely be there a few times in the fall.

The Donut Truck

2009-06-26T22:24:00.003-04:00

Another "we've been meaning to go here" spot. The Donut Truck "Carpe Donut" definitely met our expectations. The donuts are slightly flavored with cider (yumm) but are still light and fluffy and perfect. When did I start loving donuts so much? Delish!

Baggby's

2009-06-26T22:20:00.003-04:00

Considering Charlie and I both love sandwiches, we have been meaning to check out Baggby's on the downtown mall for a while. We went tonight before enjoying the music of Fridays After Five. I had a Remarkable, with avocado, turkey, bacon, cream cheese, sprouts, all kinds of good junk. Felipe had a Sundown and said it was delicious. Charlie enjoyed his classic Italian style sub called the Grinder. All were a big hit and well received picnic-like food for our Fridays After Five outing. They are a little high priced but I feel like they are comparable to Take it Away and The Market - so a new stop on the sandwich train.

We did it!

2009-06-26T22:18:00.003-04:00

We finally took advantage of Fridays After Five! Shocking that we haven't been before now - but we did it! The band was actually really fun and it was nice to just sit and enjoy the music. And surprisingly, there were still stores open which was a nice little break from sitting.

creative juices

2009-06-25T22:37:00.004-04:00

Since school ended and summer began, I've been a little antsy. The problem with this is that I decide to get into all sorts of trouble, like reorganizing the house or painting furniture. I started with the dining room table (which is now sky blue). The dining room chairs were obviously next in a deep bronze-y brown, and next came the purple bookshelf. I had been thinking about replacing the cheap bookshelf that I have had since college, but realized I have no money. So I painted it instead. We were thinking of using the leftover red paint from the headboard but we didn't have enough to coat the piece. So we found a glossy deep purple spray paint. The original plan was to wall paper the back of the shelves to add a little fun...but I stenciled it instead. Here is the finished experiment:

rockpaperscissors

2009-06-21T20:11:00.002-04:00

Ah stationary. Is it embarrassing that it makes me giddy sometimes? Since Charlie and I have been engaged I have ended up in the black hole of wedding blogs and this one makes my heart pitter-patter!

Charlottesville is such a fabulous city and it would not be complete without an awesome stationary store. With my job situation kind of up in the air, I started working part time at rockpaperscissors (scarpa's sister store and an awesome paper shop). The shop carries a great variety of greeting cards, journals, notebooks, home accessories, and of course amazing custom stationary options. It is so hard not to flip through the binders of designers and drool over the beautiful and fun options.

Michael's Framing

2009-05-31T16:06:00.002-04:00

I bought Charlie some artwork for his upcoming birthday (shhh...he hasn't seen it yet) and got it framed at Michael's. I brought the artwork in to be framed in April and still don't have it because Michael's messed it up...uggggh. I picked two different frames that coordinated...when I went to pick up the prints, the frames didn't match what I had picked. Apparently, the company that supplies the frames to Michael's changed one of the frames and the frame I had chosen was no longer available. I was totally pumped about the frames I had picked so I was really bummed and shocked that no one had noticed or told me about the change. I had to talk to Michael's 3 - count 'em - 3 times to get this all resolved and I still don't have the prints. Hopefully the new frames I picked (which they are not charging me for) will be the right ones.

I also framed a print Charlie does know about and there was fuzz under the glass - so they're re-doing that one too.

Totally bummed and will definitely be checking out other framing options in Charlottesville for future framing.

Stay tuned for other framing choices in C'ville (I have some other projects to be done).

Once his birthday comes and goes, I'll post pictures of the prints and frames.

Riverside Lunch

2009-05-20T20:51:00.003-04:00

I love burgers. I love french fries.

I had a cheeseburger and french fries at Riverside Lunch on the corner of Meade and E. High. And yes, it is open for dinner and it is delicious. A heads up ('cause I always need a reminder) you can smoke inside in Virginia and Riverside Lunch is no exception. The burgers were awesome and somehow magically flat and still delicious. The diner-type building has been open since 1935 and totally looks the part. A cheeseburger is $3.00, a bacon cheeseburger (Charlie's choice) is $3.60, and a basket of fries is $3.40. Each topping costs extra (we think) and the burgers come with nothing unless you ask. They also serve hot dogs, cheesesteaks, fish sandwiches, onion rings, and they had good beer specials. You seat yourself and then pay up at the register.

We were a little surprised at the total bill of $17 and change - which is how we came to the conclusion that all toppings are an additional cost - but it was delicious and totally worth it.

We loved it.

Top 100 Restaurants in C'ville

2009-05-20T09:16:00.003-04:00

(according to urbanspoon.com -literally cut and pasted from their website)

Goal: eat at each one!

Best restaurants in Charlottesville

1 Bodo's Bagel Bakery Sandwich Bagels $
2 Continental Divide Mexican $$
3 Mellow Mushroom Pizza $$
4 MAS Tapas $$
5 Beer Run American $$
6 Christian's Pizza Pizza
7 Duner's American $$$
8 Bang Tapas $$
9 Bodo's Bagel Bakery Sandwich Bagels $
10 Fleurie Restaurant French $$$$
11 Belmont BBQ Barbecue $
12 Lemongrass Thai $$
13 Littlejohn's New York Deli Sandwiches/Subs $
14 Virginian Restaurant Pub Food $$
15 Basil Mediterranean Bistro French $
16 Miyako Japanese Cuisine Sushi
17 Riverside Lunch Burgers $
18 Bizou American $$$
19 Chipotle Mexican Grill Mexican $
20 Tip Top Restaurant Diner $
21 Marco & Lucas Asian $
22 Lime Leaf Thai $$
23 Crozet Pizza Pizza $$
24 Boylan Heights Burgers $
25 Milan Indian Cuisine Indian $$
26 Eppie's American $
27 L'etoile Restaurant American $$$
28 Petit Pois Restaurant French $$$
29 Aqui ES Mexico Mexican
30 C & O Restaurant French $$$
31 Maharaja Indian Cuisine Indian $$
32 McGrady's Irish Pub American $
33 Splendora's Gelato Desserts/Ice Cream
34 Zocalo
35 Five Guys Famous Burgers Burgers
36 Flaming Wok & Teppan Yaki Chinese $$$
37 Sticks Kebob Shop Greek $
38 White Spot Burgers $
39 Aberdeen Barn Steakhouse $$$$
40 Bodo's Bagel Bakery Sandwich Bagels
41 Orzo Kitchen & Wine Bar Wine Bar
42 Pad Thai Thai $
43 Sticks Kebob Shop Greek $
44 Ten Japanese $$$
45 Blue Moon Diner American $$
46 Fabio's New York Style Pizza Pizza
47 Greenberry's Coffee & Tea Co Coffee
48 High Tide Burrito Mexican $
49 Himalayan Fusion Indian $$
50 Royal Indian Restaurant Indian
51 South Street Brewery American $$
52 Tavern Breakfast/Brunch $
53 Tea House Chinese $$
54 Fox's Cafe Diner $
55 Martin's Grill Burgers $
56 Mona Lisa Pasta Incorporated Pizza
57 Panera Bread Sandwiches/Subs $
58 Sakura Japanese Steak Steakhouse $$$
59 Shebeen African $$$
60 Shenandoah Joe Coffee Roasters Coffee
61 Spudnut Shop Donuts $
62 Take It Away Sandwich Shop Sandwiches/Subs
63 Arch's Frozen Yogurt
64 Ben & Jerry's Desserts/Ice Cream $
65 Bonefish Grill Seafood $$
66 Cassis American $$$
67 Chaps Ice Cream Desserts/Ice Cream
68 Downtown Grille American $$$$
69 Feast Sandwiches/Subs $
70 Five Guys Famous Burgers Burgers
71 Hot Cakes American $
72 Ivy Inn Restaurant American $$$
73 La Cocina Del Sol Mexican $$
74 Lord Hardwicke's American $
75 Mudhouse Coffee $
76 Vinny's Italian Grill Pizza
77 Wood Grill Buffet Buffet
78 Ciro's Pizza Pizza
79 Dragon Lady Restaurant Chinese
80 Escafe' Restaurant American $$
81 Fardowners Restaurant American $$$
82 Siips Wine Bar $$$
83 The Market at Forest Lakes Sandwiches/Subs $
84 X Lounge Tapas $$$
85 Arch's Frozen Yogurt
86 Blue Ridge Pig
87 Bluegrass Grill & Bakery Bakery $
88 Chick-fil-A Fast Food $
89 Christian's Pizza Pizza $$
90 College Inn Restaurant Pizza
91 Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant Mexican
92 Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant Mexican
93 Monsoon Restaurant Thai
94 New China Chinese $
95 Revolutionary Soup Soups $
96 Tailgate Grill American $
97 The Upstairs American $$$
98 Vivace Italian $$$
99 Albemarle Baking Co Bakery
100 Copacabana Brazilian International Brazilian

Favorites so far

2009-05-20T09:14:00.002-04:00

Charlie and I were talking about our favorites in Charlottesville since last July and we're pretty much on the same page:

Betsy's:

Continental Divide
Spudnuts
Take It Away

Charlie's:

Continental Divide
Maya
Zocolo
Spudnuts

We can't wait to add more!

Si Tapas

2009-05-20T08:57:00.003-04:00

We finally made it across the street to Si Tapas. The decor is super fun and the lights are extra dim...I mentioned to Charlie that I think this place would be really fun for a rehearsal dinner or small casual reception.

About the food: Charlie and I, being the food junkies that we are, ordered the most food out of everyone. While it is a tapas place, the servings are actually pretty large. We ordered the mussels, grilled asparagus, avocado fries, empanadas, and the carne tacos. Definitely a good variety and more than enough food. The mussels were a little bit bland but still very good and the bowl was huge. The asparagus was actually more blackened and that gave it a fun twist. Avocado fries were without a doubt my favorite selection of the evening. They were a little warm, very creamy, and had a very light breading around them. Really fun. The empanadas were my second favorites. They had a little kick to them, which I liked and the sauce they were served with was really interesting - kind of vinegar-y. And then there were the tacos - yum. I think there were 3 empanadas (smaller in size) and 3 small tacos. There was plenty of asparagus and it seemed like the avocado fries was just one avocado cut up.

Other hits at the table: Kulli had brussel sprouts and loved them. They looked a little crispy and she said they had a little kick to them - maybe wasabi? There was an order of the mushrooms that was well received. The massive olive sampling was fabulous if you like olives. The chicken kababs was a full meal in itself with rice on the side. The fish tacos looked amazing. I think everyone was really pleased.

Note: It seems like shell fish is not their specialty (we do live in Charlottesville) but it is still very good.

The drinks: Pomegranate mojitos were flowing freely and were highly recommended and many people enjoyed their own tumblers of wine. Word is the sangria is awesome and getting a carafe would be well worth it.

Next stop is the Is Venue upstairs. The music sounded fabulously fun.

restaurant slot machine

2009-05-18T18:32:00.001-04:00

Charlottesville restaurantsUrbanspoon

Charlottesville restaurants on Urbanspoon

Meet Billy the Turtle

2009-05-13T23:13:00.002-04:00

We now have a pet turtle. Sometimes I just don't know when to say no.

The kids at school found a tiny itty-bitty baby turtle flipped upside-down and covered in ants on our field last week. He couldn't have been more than a couple days old. In our first rescue attempt, we flipped him back over and sent him back towards the pond on the other side of the fence, but he wouldn't move and ended up back on his back. So we climbed the fence and put him in a tupperware container with some water, sticks, and leaves. Katie (what a munchkin) named him Billy.

Magically, he ended up in Charlie's office in a $60 set-up. So we now have a Bayley and a Billy. Who knew turtles could be so cute and so expensive?

He is finally eating and basking in his 40 watt basking light on his floating rock formation and actually is pretty cute.

The goal was to give him to the school for one of the classrooms but with school almost over, no one wants him. And I don't think Charlie wants to give him up either.

Maybe when he grows, we can add him to my parent's pond?

who knew?

2009-05-13T23:10:00.003-04:00

I just found the best reference website for the downtown mall area. I'm sure it is completely common knowledge that this existed, but I just found it and am fascinated. It could totally make dinner club selections a little easier.

They have an updated list of everything to do, see, eat, and buy on the downtown mall and the map feature is fabulous (not for me of course since maps and I are not friends).

This will totally be going up on the wedding blog for our guests to check out.

Love it!

Charlottesville Downtown Mall

Arch's

2009-04-27T21:24:00.003-04:00

So, if you move to Charlottesville, I'm almost positive someone along the way has mentioned Arch's delicious frozen yogurt. I crave this stuff regularly - especially the Vanilla Bean with ooey Gooey Brownies on top (don't worry - no salmonella). The Vanilla Bean is key. I had No-Frill Vanilla this time and it just wasn't the same. We decided to check out their regular food menu at the Emmet Street location for dinner tonight. Charlie and I walked out totally stuffed and wondering how Arch's would fit into our long list of sandwich favorites. Let me tell you, they are up there and have definitely earned bonus points for the frozen yogurt option post sandwich. We both picked sandwiches served on sub rolls which were then grilled - really a cool twist that I haven't seen before. The grilling wasn't a typical Quizno's type of grilling. It was almost panini style without the grease. The ingredients seemed very fresh and the place was packed. It did take a little while to get the food but it was worth it. The salads looked awesome too. Also - Monday night special - free chips and a drink when you order a sandwich - perk #2! I think Tuesday's special is similar but with a salad order.

ahh

2009-04-26T12:47:00.003-04:00

don't you just love swimming pools?

*this pool is not in charlottesville...

The Local

2009-04-26T12:18:00.003-04:00

Dinner Club #3's trip was out to Belmont to visit The Local. I had heard great things about it and figured most of the Econ kids don't get out to Belmont very often. We set up a reservation for 12 and got ourselves ready for a night out.

Unfortunately, we waited over an hour and a half for dinner to come out. Thank goodness there was good company and we kept ourselves entertained - but I think an hour and a half is a little too much. When the food finally came out, people weren't as impressed as I thought they would be. 4 people ordered the spare ribs and while the presentation was fun (individual dutch ovens for each) there was nothing to write home about. The trout came with bones in it and the skin on (totally fine but unexpected) and I had a pasta dish I could've made in my own kitchen. The food was by no means bad, but I was a little disappointed since I had heard such great things and it didn't seem like the food warranted the prices they were charging. The only dish that got a rave review was the Carbonara. Surprising!

The atmosphere of the restaurant is really cool and Charlie and I decided that we could be the fun couple who go to nice restaurants just to sit at the bar. The Local will be added to that list.

Book Sale

2009-04-26T12:02:00.003-04:00

The Gordon Avenue Library had a pretty large booksale last weekend. One of the ladies who works in Charlie's department told him we might want to check it out since they had a lot of children's books. It was crazy - we got almost 50 books for $10. My teaching library is growing!

We'll have to remember to look for the next one and give people a head's up.

Gardening

2009-04-26T11:57:00.003-04:00

We planted our first seeds together. Cheesy I know - but I can't help but laugh and call our new seedlings "Our Love Ferns" (thanks Kate Hudson). We hopefully will have a bunch of herbs, green beans, pumpkins for the fall, and wildflowers. Some of the flowers might not pop up because the day after we planted them, our landscaping guys came through and re-mulched all the beds - covering our baby flowers - I was so bummed.

yummm

2009-04-26T11:54:00.002-04:00

The most delicious smell has entered our house courtesy of Archipelago Botanicals' Almond Sage candle. I can't get enough of it. I stopped in O'Suzannah yesterday and picked up some fun books to help Charlie and I come up with some wedding inspiration and splurged on this candle - so worth it. mmmmmm

The Nook

2009-04-25T22:10:00.003-04:00

Charlie and I tried going here a couple of times but could never quite make it in the door for one reason or another. We made it in this morning for breakfast. I have to say I really love the downtown mall and how you are able to chill out and eat your meal in the middle of the patio area. The Nook is a diner type restaurant near the pavillion end of the mall. I had a waffle (nothing new and exciting here) and Charlie had a breakfast burrito called "the mess". I really liked The Nook and the prices were great too. $11 for breakfast. Since we didn't go inside, I don't how much room there is, but I think we will definitely be back and maybe even with friends.

Dogwood Festival Parade

2009-04-25T22:02:00.003-04:00

On our way to find the Carpe Donut Truck (which unfortunately won't be around until September), Charlie and I stumbled upon the Dogwood Festival Parade going down High Street. I had been hearing about the Dogwood Festival but I thought is was just a festival event that was over by now (it started last Thursday). I was wrong. The parade was quite long and added a little fun to our day. I forgot for a moment that we lived in the South until I saw the Confederate Soldiers (just 2 of them) riding down High Street on their horses in full Civil War period uniforms. We also really enjoyed the Vintage Car part of the parade that included a 1980s Cadilac with crazy wheels. It really just looked like they took all the cars off of our street and put them in the parade :) It might be a fun tradition to check out the parade every year just to give us some humor in our day!

The City Market

2009-04-25T21:52:00.003-04:00

I got out of bed this morning (before noon, believe it or not) and Charlie a I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather by checking out the City Market. We've been meaning to go but have either had something else going on, forgotten, or I haven't gotten out of bed. Depressing, right? :) My friend, Erin, has a stand at the market where she sells her jewelry and has been telling me to go for a while. The market is fabulous! The flowers are beautiful and the plants they have are awesome - lots of herbs and lettuces. I can't wait to see what changes as the season progresses. The Market really is an awesome positive for living in Charlottesville.

China King Buffet

2009-04-25T21:46:00.003-04:00

We did it. We finally visited the Charlottesville establishment that everyone has been talking about - China King Buffet.

The Buffet is off of 29 in the same shopping center as Whole Foods. The decor is typical of a Chinese Buffet and it is hard not to stare at the ceiling that flashes little white lights like stars - classic. For $12 a piece, 4 of us tried just about everything the Buffet offered including the Mongolian BBQ which I really liked. Make sure you request "not spicy AT ALL". I requested "a little spicy" and felt like my tongue had shriveled up and disappeared. It was hot!

Charlottesville may not have the most gourmet Chinese food options. But China King Buffet is pretty fun and definitely worth checking out - especially the ceiling!

Dinner at South Street Brewery

2009-04-18T14:47:00.003-04:00

When our friends from DC came down for a short weekend visit, I was asked to find an easy and affordable dinner spot. I decided on South Street Brewery thinking we could hang out there after dinner and make a full evening out of it. While plans changed regarding our post dinner hang out, we still headed to the brewery for our sustenance. There wasn't enough table space for us all to sit together - kind of a bummer - even though the lady on the phone told me we would all be able to fit at one table. The food was very good and the feeling there is like a way more chilled out Fridays. I had a caesar salad which had way too much garlic on it - not really recommended. Charlie tried to dig in to the massive plate of ribs which he really enjoyed and our two other friends we sat with had chicken pitas. While the food isn't the best of Charlottesville, South Street Brewery has a great vibe and good late night menu. Recommended as a bar but maybe not the best place to check out dinner.

Mono Loco

2009-04-18T14:40:00.004-04:00

We took a big group of friends who were visiting from DC to Mono Loco for brunch. I was a little suspicious when we walked onto the patio and sat down - the patio is not the cleanest looking place. My hope - a hole in the wall (which, when they're good are my favorites). Service was a little slow but when we got our food - worth it! The breakfast burritos were delicious and huge. Everyone's food looked awesome. The chips and salsa and guacamole were definitely worth adding to the bill. While the food doesn't quite live up to the breakfasts we had in Austin (I dream about them) it is definitely going to be added into our catalogue of breakfast spots... We'll have to try another meal there in the very near future.

Maya

2009-04-18T14:32:00.003-04:00

We took the Dinner Club to Maya for their $12 Tuesday special a couple weeks ago. I love being able to walk to these restaurants. It makes the evening so much more fun and more of an event. You aren't just hopping in a car, eating, and heading back home - there's more to it somehow when you walk (and I guess it's good for you too). Back to Maya - The $12 Tuesday menu is somewhat limited but from what I could tell, you can't go wrong with anything. Maya's menu is not Mexican or southwestern like I had imagined (good research on my part) but it is southern comfort food - delicious. I had the chicken fried chicken (I just had to) with collard greens and mac and cheese (yummmm) as my sides - definitely not a light dinner. Charlie had ribs with green beans and masked potatoes. If you know Charlie at all he is a major green bean and potato eater. Other vegetables rarely enter his repetoire. He claims the green beans were the best he has ever had and the mashed potatoes were excellent. The atmosphere of Maya is casual, relaxed, and not at all stuffy. Word is that they have great live music and delicious martinis. I think we'll be back!

Carmike Theater

2009-03-14T12:36:00.002-04:00

I screamed "FIRE" in a movie theater. And then danced up and down the aisles.

Last Monday, Charlie and I went to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (yup - he takes me to chickflicks) and there was no one in the movie theater.

Carmike Theaters is past Fashion Square Mall going up 29 North. It's kind of hidden behind Albemarle Square shopping center. While it isn't the most convenient movie theater, they show movies that the other c'ville theaters don't show.

Turk Mountain

2009-03-07T15:30:00.004-05:00

Last weekend our friend, Dao, came down to visit us from Washington DC. He had a B-school interview at Darden, so hopefully he will be joining us in Charlottesville next year. Dao is an outdorsy kind of guy (he's single too if anybody is interested!) so we decided we should take advantage of Charlottesville's close proximity to the montains, even though it was only 35 degress and cloudy.

Turk Mountain is in Shenandoah National Park. It is about 15 miles north of the south entrance to the park which is accesible by I-64 and Rt 250. A week pass for the park costs $10 and a year pass costs $30. There is a small parking area at about mile 95 for the Turk Mtn. trail. You start out across the road on the Appalacian Trail headed south, and then shortly dodge right onto the Turk Mtn. trail. The trail takes you down into a valley, and then up along a ridge to the summit of Turk Mountain. The hike is about a mile and a half to the top and is somewhat strenuous, but not too trecherous. At the summit there is a georgeous view of the Shenedoah Valley and all of the other Mountains nearby. The whole expedition took about 3 1/2 hours counting the drive from Charlottesville.

Spudnuts

2009-03-07T15:13:00.002-05:00

309 Avon Street

. (period)

Charlie's quote of the morning "Oh-My-God". Really, these doughnuts are fabulous and I now have no remaining sadness that Krispy Kreme is no longer open on 29. Spudnuts has been around forever and clearly they have perfected the art of doughnut making.

These doughnuts are delightful!

Cocina del Sol

2009-03-07T08:51:00.003-05:00

I love going out to dinner with a group of people. Don't get me wrong, I also love entertaining at home, but when you go out, no one has to clean up and everyone pays their own way. People are able to eat and drink whatever they want... it's mostly the clean up factor. I feel like group dinners are such a rarity that I started a monthly dinner club for Charlie's Econ friends.

Our first victim - Cocina del Sol.

I ran into it quite by accident as it's next door to a teacher's supply store - Teacher's Edition. After I saw it, I remembered that there is a Cocina del Sol in Crozet that Charlie and I had spotted when we went to a fair and the line had been out the door. The Charlottesville branch is on the corner of Hydraulic and Commonwealth (not visible from 29).

9 of us met this week (UVA's spring break helped with the low numbers) and everyone really enjoyed their food. Charlie had some pineapple adobo taco that he wolfed down. Jeff had the red snapper tacos. I think there were a couple salads ordered and I had the beef burrito. I can't vouch for the margheritas as Charlie's friends have trouble unwinding during the semester but I liked the Corona! The prices are reasonable - I think Charlie and I paid $30 for 2 dinners and drinks.

Cocina del Sol is smaller than I thought it would be but the atmosphere is fun, a little funky, and comfortable. There was only one waiter working as there weren't too many people on a Wednesday night. I would love to see if/how the place fills up on a weekend night. I'm sure it will be fun to try again.

Stay tuned for the next adventures of the Econ dinner club :)

Parking Meters

2009-03-07T08:48:00.004-05:00

Parking in downtown Charlottesville is sometimes tough - especially on weekdays during class time for UVA students. Charlie and I usually walk to the Downtown Mall but on the seldom occasion we do drive, we like to park in the lot between Water Street and the South Street Brewery. There are parking meters all over Charlottesville and shock of all shocks (for those of you from DC especially) - one quarter grants you an hour.

It's wonderful!

If you're willing to walk, there are plenty of residential areas with parking right near the Corner or the Downtown Mall.

Verizon

2009-03-07T08:43:00.002-05:00

Can you hear me now? Not in Charlottesville. Verizon does not have towers in Charlottesville. Alltell and AT&T are available but no such luck with Verizon. Without towers, service is a little shoddy. Phone calls don't go through without some clicking and clacking before the dial tone starts to ring and the phone usually says you are in and extended network.

Phones work but not without a couple hiccups and glitches everyday.

Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort

2009-02-15T16:22:00.003-05:00

Charlie and I are not the best at celebrating romance. Charlie was so proud of himself this year because he made a Valentine's Day dinner reservation at Zinc. We didn't go. Instead we decided to go snowboarding and skiing at Snowshoe. We have been meaning to go skiing since we started dating in 2003. I have been a couple of times since then with various groups and Charlie and I went with a bunch of Girl Scouts courtesy of my mom.

Last year, I tried snowboarding for the first time. I decided to try it again this year figuring I had already broken my tailbone once and should be better this time around. No broken tailbone, just some gnarly bruises.

Snowshoe is a decent drive away from Charlottesville. Our Garmin took us to Snowshoe via curvy and steep mountain roads that made me want to jump out of the moving car, but we made it (stomach intact) in just under 3 hours.

The mountain is huge and has a good variety of slope difficulty. I stuck with the green slopes as I didn't want to end up in the emergency room on Valentine's Day. The runs are long and criss-cross all over the place, making finding your way back to the starting point a little difficult. After misplacing Charlie for at least an hour, I figured I should head back up to our meeting spot for our lunch date at 1. I got there an hour later at 1:30 after two bus rides and quite a hike. The ski patrol recommended taking one of 4 bus routes to get back to the other side of the resort rather than attempting to find my way back using the slopes and lifts. I still have no clue where I was or how I got there.

We stuck towards the purple side of the mountain for the rest of the day (each section is color coded) near where we parked the car. The lounge on the purple end was pretty small and did not have that cozy lodge vibe I have felt at other resorts. The only seating area was in the Hoots bar where they served hot dogs, hamburgers, wraps, and plenty of liquor. Charlie and I both had cheeseburgers (that I do not recommend). Next time we'll have to check out the other section's lodges and restaurants.

In regards to pricing, Snowshoe is pretty standard. Lift tickets are $70 for a weekend and there are plenty of rental options. I think a multiple day pass is a better way to go and a better deal than a one day pass, but we had a lot of fun.

Next time we'll try a multiple day trip and check out renting one of the slopeside rentals - New Years trip??

Marco and Lucas

2009-01-25T09:59:00.003-05:00

We have found our favorite place to eat in Charlottesville! Marco and Lucas, despite the name, is a tiny Chinese noodle and dumpling shop on the downtown mall. They serve dumplings, pork and vegetable buns, sesame noodles, sweet sour spicy noodles, and a soup. That's it - that is their menu. The place is tiny. The kitchen is right behind the counter and consists of a 5 foot long counter with a stovetop on which they cook the dumplings. There has to be a steamer or oven of some sort for the buns. The noodles are served cold and are delicious. The sweet sour spicy flavor has hints of chili, apples, and cilantro and the sesame noodles taste like they are in a light peanut sauce. The dumplings are addicting and at $3 a serving, you can afford to eat as many as you want. The best things about them is the sauce. I have actually heard it referred to as "crack sauce" - it is delicious!

Since discovering this jem right before Christmas, we have probably been back about 8 times and we can afford to do it! 2 dumplings, 1 pork bun, a noodle, and a can of soda is $12 and fills Charlie and I up.

Marco and Lucas is in the shopping center a little past Christian's Pizza. It's door faces the entrance to Cafe Cubano - which we will also have to check out.

Humpback Rock - Hiking

2009-01-25T09:42:00.004-05:00

One of our good friends from college just returned from South Africa where he was working with the Peace Corps. We missed him terribly and even more so when all of our friends from New York and Delaware would call us and tell us about the fabulous time they were having with Joey back in town. Charlottesville is a little far away from the Long Island town Joey now resides in again, but he finally made it! We took him to Continental Divide, Marco and Lucas - twice, Splendorah's, Alakazam and Snooky's on the downtown mall, to hang out on the campus lawn with Take It Away Sandwiches, and to Humpback Rock.

Humpback Rock is off the Blue Ridge. It takes about 40 minutes to drive to the trail from downtown C'ville and the hike is close to a mile. While the hike is a little strenuous we all made it in one piece (and that is saying something). At the top of the mountain is a huge rock with ledges and cracks and beautiful views of the Charlottesville area on one side and the west on the other. You can see the variety of landforms that make up the area - hills and valleys, forests and farms. It really is refreshing and beautiful. Great date place!

Martin's Tailoring

2009-01-25T09:34:00.003-05:00

I have had about 8 pairs of jeans and pants sitting on a chair in my living since we lived in DC. I haven't been able to wear them because they all needed to be hemmed. I have had some hemming disasters - including a pair of Joe's Jeans that ended up as clam diggers and a pair of Seven's that my little sister wears as cut-offs. Needless to say, I am a little hesitant to get things hemmed.

Martin's Tailoring came recommended by a sales clerk at Fashion Square's Gap. Since I'm wearing jeans everyday to work now, I figured I should probably get off my butt and do something about the unwearable pile. The shop is in the shopping center across from Barrack's Road Center next to El Puerto and behind the yellow brick building. It definitely seemed like the place to go to get things altered and hemmed as the little bell on the door was ringing constantly. Most people seemed to have an actual friendship with the little Asian man pinning all of their items as they stood on the wooden hemming blocks. His name is not Martin. He worked very quickly pinning Charlie and me and a week later Charlie and I had new beautifully hemmed jeans to add to our wardrobe. The hems match the originals and they are all the perfect length. I think we had 8 pairs of pants to hem for $47. My fears of hemming may be subsiding.

The Circus at JPJ

2008-12-15T19:09:00.001-05:00

So when I was a kid I went to the Circus and I was amazed at all the acts and how fantastical everything was. Everything just seemed larger than life. 20 years later.... A friend of mine had two tickets to the Circus at John Paul Jones Arena that he wasn't going to use, so Betsy and I decided to take them off his hands. Let me tell you that the circus is a lot different when you are 24 than when you are a little kid. The whole thing seemed pretty small and most of the acts were kind of lame. The highlights of the show were the elephants (duh...) and a really funny clown who wasn't really a clown at all. He was more like a silly Frenchman who does bicycle tricks. (I should mention that his outrageous French accent slipped into an Australian accent sporadically) The climax of the show (for me anyways) was this silly Frenchman riding a bicycle that was about 10 inches long through a hoop of fire. We enjoyed ourselves, but we probably wouldn't spend $20 on tickets again.

Lee's Grill

2008-12-13T19:09:00.008-05:00

This is a small restaurant just east of 14th and University on the Corner. It has very good cheap Asian food. It has Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and other Southeast Asian dishes. I had a Vietnamese beef noodle soup and Betsy had a grilled beef dish. Both dishes were very good, and at the right price this place will become a once-in-a-while lunch stop for me. The service was excellent and the waitress made us feel very comfortable. I think they do take out too, so it might give us a break from Asian Express.

O Suzannah

2008-12-13T19:09:00.007-05:00

O Suzannah is an adorable stationary (which I love) store on one of the side streets off the downtown mall. I had had a few friends recommend I check it out. The store is much bigger than it seems and is packed with journals, calendars, cards, books, pens, and other knick-knacks. The owner apparently loves planners so I already felt a kinship with the store :) We were there right before Christmas so it was pretty crowded. I doubt this is the norm so I'll have to check it out again when I can take my time browsing. A great place for gifts and cute office supplies.

Posh Style

2008-12-13T19:04:00.004-05:00

On our C'ville exploration day today, we stopped in any stores we had been meaning to check out but had never gone in. My mom told me to pop into Posh as she met the owner and loved her. First thing - a little old lady was sitting on the couch right in front of the door and greeted Charlie and I with "you are welcome". The store carries vintage jewelry, gloves, purses, and other nic-nacs but they also carry some cute quirky clothes - some Michael Kors mixed with some designers I haven't seen anywhere else. The store smelled like Charlie's grandmother's house and definitely had some charm. I might stop in again if I'm looking for a little vintage gift. Worth checking out at least once.

Eloise

2008-12-13T19:00:00.004-05:00

I am in love with this store! I could just sit in here for hours and love my life.

The clothes are super cute - and you should see their clothes for kids - expensive, but cute. Sitting right on Water Street, Eloise carries Nanette Lepore, Theory, fabulous jeans and tees, James Perse, and super fun jewelry. They have a bargain bin the back of the store and a great couch area for boyfriends (or fiances) who have been dragged along.

You have to check it out!

Wonderful, just wonderful!

Splendora's

2008-11-02T16:38:00.003-05:00

This gelato parlor on the downtown mall is quite fabulous and they have tons of fun flavors, including a newly discovered Apple Cider flavored gelato. I think this flavor may be a close second to Turkey Hill's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (not like they are very comparable). It was delicious and very comforting while at the same time fresh and refreshing.

Charlie highly recommends any of their coffee flavored gelatos.

I just get the bambino sized cup (just one scoop) while Charlie opts for the small - which gives you the option of having two flavors.

Mmm Mmm

Erin McDermott

2008-10-29T22:44:00.007-04:00

I started teaching/subbing at a day school and found out that one of the preschool teachers I work with makes jewelry when she isn't busy teaching. Erin McDermott is super cute, friendly and I just checked out her website. Several Charlottesville papers have interviewed/reviewed Erin and her jewelry and have loved her.

The names of her designs are fabulous and fun and while I don't really wear jewelry other than a crappy, tiny pair of diamond studs and my engagement ring, each of her designs is totally adaptable to whatever style you are wearing and are totally flirty and cheerful.

Just a little shout out.

Little John's

2008-10-29T22:21:00.004-04:00

This place is great. I have been here for lunch many times, and I have had many of their sandwiches (it is mainly a sandwich joint). For the price, it is probably the best place for lunch on the corner. Everything I have had there is good, and I have had a lot. My favorite is the "Five Easy." They heat their sandwiches in a very hot oven right behind the counter. The sandwiches are delicious, and not pretentious like some of the other sandwich places in town. The staff is very friendly, and very good at what they do. They move a lot of people through the line very quickly during lunch. Also, I am not sure if they make them on-site, but their muffins may be the best I have ever had. Little Johns is on the corner, right in the middle of all the shops and restaurants on University Avenue. I highly recommend this place, even if you are not on a graduate student budget. Also, it is open 24 hours, and apparently their breakfast is good too.

Bristles

2008-10-29T22:08:00.004-04:00

So I have been hearing about this hair place for years (my sister would splurge here when she was an undergrad at UVA) and decided to try it out. I have been going back and forth between short hair or long hair, bangs or no bangs...and eventually end up getting so fed up with this hair that I either get it chopped or cut my own bangs over the bathroom sink. Charlie waits by the doorway terrified of how I'm about to freak out because I just ruined my hair and will now need to rush to a hair salon to fix the bangs I just messed up. Needless to say, I have had sideswept bangs of some sort for almost 4 years now and don't see them going anywhere anytime soon.

This recently happened but the hack job was not too horrible that I had to rush to the salon. Instead, I was able to make an appointment for a trim (and a bang rescue) at Bristles. The stylist actually took time to check out my hair and talk to me about what I was looking for and how I wore my hair regularly. I usually throw my hair up in a pony tail within minutes of blowdrying/styling...but so far (and it has been a week) I have worn my hair down every day. The hair cut is super cute and something I can wear anyway I want. I even had a crush on the girl's hair who went right before me...short, shaggy, awesome bangs. And my favorite part - I didn't have that helmet head that you often have when the hair stylist sprays half a can of hairspray on you just before you leave the chair.

Overall, well deserving of the Reader's Choice Awards they have received for 10 years in a row.

(and if you want the name of the stylist who did my cute new do, Bristles is offering a 25% discount for referrals for both parties) :)

Mellow Mushroom

2008-10-07T18:33:00.003-04:00

I have been here a couple of times for lunch. My favorite pizza is very thin crust New York style and although this is not what they make at Mellow Mushroom, they do make excellent gourmet style pizza. I especially like their "Gourmet White" pizza, which has a couple of different cheeses and fresh vegetables. It is a little on the pricey side for lunch, especially because I usually get their delicious cinnamon sugar pretzels (in general I usually end up spending 8 or 9 bucks), but I will probably continue coming here for lunch every month or so. The Mellow Mushroom is on the corner, east of 14th street on Main St.

Betsy says "my older sister had our family all together for dinner at Mellow Mushroom before her wedding and everyone loved it. Grandma was a little confused as to what 'shrooms' were but enjoyed her sandwich even with the mysterious shrooms on it. I made my own pizza with meatballs, sausage, and olives on it and it was very good. Their salads are also fab and fresh."