Belmont BBQ

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.

Clifton Inn

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

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.

Trivia Night at McGrady's

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

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

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.

Riverside Lunch

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.

Si Tapas

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.

Dinner at South Street Brewery

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

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

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!

Spudnuts

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

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 :)