Spice Diva moves next door to expand selection and more local restaurant news
Spice Diva moves next door to expand selection The lights are out and the doors are closed at The Spice Diva’s original Main Street Market location, but don’t panic. Owner Phyllis Hunter didn’t close up shop—in fact, she did the exact opposite. Two weeks ago, she hauled her hundreds of jars further inside the market […]
La Flor Michoacana ice cream shop serves up authentic Mexican sweets and more local restaurant news
La Flor Michoacana ice cream shop serves up authentic Mexican sweets Mango and chili pepper may not be the first flavor combo that comes to mind when you’re deciding on dessert. But the menu at La Flor Michoacana, the Mexican ice cream shop across from The Salvation Army Thrift Store on Cherry Avenue, may make […]
The Local owners announce plans to overhaul Belmont BBQ and more local restaurant news
The Local owners announce plans to overhaul Belmont BBQ The bad news is, Belmont BBQ has officially closed. The good news is, it won’t be too long before the space once again emits aromas of hickory-smoked meats into the neighborhood. Culinary power couple Matthew Hart (of The Local) and Melissa Close-Hart (of the soon-to-be nearby […]
Casual eatery Mezeh makes its debut in Charlottesville and more local restaurant news
Casual eatery Mezeh makes its debut in Charlottesville Pick your base, pick your protein, pick your veggies—it’s not a new concept by any means. But Charlottesville’s selection of fresh, healthy, build-your-own rice and salad bowls just got bigger, and there’s a new cuisine in the mix: Mediterranean. Introducing Mezeh Mediterranean Grill, a fast, casual restaurant […]
Heavy lifting: Primal Strength Gym offers training for all levels
It may be hard to imagine a gym where heavy-lifting Strongman competitors and women trying to tone up both feel comfortable working out. Introducing Primal Strength Gym, a weight-lifting fitness center located at 1110 E. Market St. that revolves around building strength—for intense competition or otherwise. The brainchild of Texas A&M alum Charles “Tank” Tankersley, […]
What a trip! Local families try living abroad
Dorothy said it best: There’s no place like home. But what about those people who pick up their entire lives, move to the other side of the world and thus begin grappling with the task of redefining the concept of home? We sat down with four local families who did exactly that. La bella vita […]
Student teacher: AHS junior uses her passion for learning for the greater good
“Ayoade was always a very curious child,” Seki Balogun says. “She wanted to know answers to everything.” Balogun, a Nigerian-born physician at UVA whose ability to balance her career and three children has clearly rubbed off on her 16-year-old daughter, says Ayoade never lost that curiosity she had as a little girl. She describes Ayoade […]
The Whiskey Jar team gears up for new Mexican restaurant and more local restaurant news
Will Richey has something new up his sleeve. The owner of The Whiskey Jar, The Pie Chest, The Alley Light and Revolutionary Soup recently announced his plans to open The Bebedero, a Mexican restaurant in collaboration with The Whiskey Jar sous chef Cesar Perez and his girlfriend, Yuliana Perez Vasquez. Perez and Vasquez will run […]
Brookville baker launches Arley Cakes and offers custom-order sweets and other local restaurant news
Brookville baker launches Arley Cakes and offers custom-order sweets Despite growing up in a house full of family members who love to cook and bake, Arley Arrington admits she didn’t make her debut in the kitchen until she was a student at UVA. Now the owner of a new local baking company, Arley Cakes, Arrington, […]
A lot on their plates : Local Valentine’s Day events and treats
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so we’ve compiled a list of ways for you and your boo to celebrate with what we all know everyone wants: food and booze. I love brew Three local breweries make it possible for you to spend the hours leading up to Valentine’s Day enjoying a pint (or […]
Locals respond to Chipotle’s recent food-safety crisis and more local restaurant news
Locals respond to Chipotle’s recent food-safety crisis Everyone’s favorite Mexican (we use that term lightly) grill chain has been under public scrutiny for months. Recent outbreaks of E. coli, salmonella and the norovirus have sickened hundreds of people across the country and caused the temporary closure of more than 40 Chipotle restaurants. CNNMoney reports that […]
Mac attack: Up close and personal with everyone’s favorite cheesy pasta
Listen, we all know that there’s a time and a place for Easy Mac. The time is 2am and the place is your freshman-year dorm. But unless you’re trapped in a 10’x10′ room in the middle of the night with nothing but a microwave, a packet of noodles and cheese powder and some running water, […]
Mudhouse and JM Stock Provisions both named Good Food Award winners and other local restaurant news
Mudhouse and JM Stock Provisions both named Good Food Award winners How do you define good food? According to the Good Food Awards, the qualifications are pretty simple: “tasty, authentic and responsibly produced.” Tastemakers across the country submit products that fall under 13 categories, including cider, beer, cheese, confections, pickles and preserves. This year, two […]
Eat your vegetables: Roots Natural Kitchen serves up healthy dishes on the Corner
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be all kale and garbanzo beans. Or, at least, it doesn’t have to be all raw, undressed kale and garbanzo beans that taste like lawn clippings. “We want to change the way people think about eating healthy,” says Jung Kim, University of Virginia grad and co-owner of Roots Natural Kitchen […]
Restaurant Week welcomes four new participants and more local restaurant news
Restaurant Week welcomes four new participants It’s that time of year again, y’all: Pick a restaurant (or two or three) you may not otherwise visit (or select your favorite where you eat every week—who are we to judge), make a reservation and treat yourself to a three-course meal. Charlottesville Restaurant Week runs from January 22-30 […]
What the paleo diet looks like in Charlottesville and other local restaurant news
What does the paleo diet look like in Charlottesville? Hold the bread, extra veggies. Low-carb diets have weaved in and out of the health realm for years, and restaurants have long embraced the bunless burgers and lettuce-wrap sandwiches. But now there’s the lifestyle that not only prohibits grains and refined sugar but also dairy, legumes, […]
Tavern-style eatery to open in West Main spot and other restaurant news
Tavern-style eatery to open in West Main spot Andy McClure knew it was time to breathe new life into West Main, A Virginia Restaurant when he closed its doors in August. Despite being sad to say farewell to his 11-year-old restaurant, he was eager to give the space a makeover and bring a new concept […]
Spin city: Purvelo brings intense cycle workouts to Ix
“The red knob controls your destiny.” That’s what Kristin Watson reminds all her new clients as they nervously clip themselves into an exercise bike for the first time after watching the previous class leave, jelly-legged and drenched in sweat. And she’s not exaggerating. Those little red knobs, which sit below the handlebars and turn to […]
Barbecue hole-in-the-wall quietly closes up shop and more local restaurant news
Barbecue hole-in-the-wall quietly closes up shop Jinx Kern says the reasoning behind his decision to close Jinx’s Pit’s Top Barbeque is pretty simple: After running the hole-in-the-wall restaurant for a decade and a half he’s just straight-up tired. “I’m not 45 anymore, and it’s just a young man’s job,” he says. Plus, he says it’s […]
Top secret: The Underground Kitchen adds pop of surprise to dinner parties
The Underground Kitchen is so Charlottesville, it’s hard to believe it hasn’t made its way here before now. Pop-up dinners have been, well, popping up all over town for a while. It’s usually a one-of-a-kind, multicourse menu, meticulously chosen wine pairing or spectacular view of the mountains that inspires self-proclaimed foodies to fork over the […]
Kid’s menu: Schools offer healthier options
It’s 3:30pm on a Tuesday at Jackson Via Elementary School, and students as young as 5 are biting into fresh Pink Lady apples twice the size of their hands, nodding to one another in approval. They enthusiastically drain small cups of locally pressed apple cider, and several kids raise their hands to ask for a […]
New Mezza Tapas venture has no frontier and more local restaurant news
New tapas venture has no frontier There’s a new small-plates restaurant in town, but the owners promise it’s “not just another tapas place.” Featuring a menu with dishes from every corner of the world, Mezza Tapas & Bar is the newest addition to the ever-growing selection of restaurants on West Main. “Here we have no […]
Night and day: A few bedtime tricks can make all the difference
You’ve probably seen those articles—the ones that spell out exactly how many hours of sleep children should get at each developmental stage and thus terrify you into thinking you’re a terrible parent if your first-grader isn’t getting exactly 10 hours. Local neurologist and sleep medicine doctor Chris Winter advises parents to take those numbers with […]
Stretched thin: Five Charlottesville fitness centers with childcare for busy moms
For a town that’s both fitness- and family-oriented, there don’t seem to be many local gyms that offer to take care of your little ones while you sweat it out. There are obviously plenty of all-day and half-day child care options in Charlottesville, but for stay-at-home parents who just need an hour on a mat […]
Gearharts moves into new space, introduces baked goods and coffee bar and more local restaurant news
Gearharts moves into new space, introduces baked goods and coffee bar For those of you who have passed the now-dark Gearharts Fine Chocolates shop in the Main Street Market, don’t panic—you can still get your hands on all your favorite chocolates, plus a whole new menu of baked goods and other treats. The production side […]
Virginia Distillery Company debuts in Lovingston and more local restaurant news
Virginia Distillery Company debuts in Lovingston The selection of locally made booze you can sniff, swirl and sample in Nelson County continues to grow. If you’re in the area tasting beer, cider, wine, gin, vodka or moonshine, now you can chase it all with four half-ounce pours of whiskey. Introducing Virginia Distillery Company, the newest […]
Lights out: Blue Light Grill to close permanently
You may remember an announcement we made about Blue Light Grill a few months ago. In April, the Downtown Mall favorite that had been serving up seafood and cocktails since Coran Capshaw opened it 14 years ago quietly switched hands. Trinity Irish Pub and Coupe’s owner Ryan Rooney took over, and we were told the […]