By Bonnie Price Lofton Now that China has closed the door to most of our garbage, recycling plants around the country are closing, or limiting what they’ll accept, and Charlottesville is no different. Starting July 1, the McIntire Recycling Center will no longer take Nos. 3-7 plastics, things like yogurt containers, plastic cups, and bottle […]
“Go play outside!” is one of those phrases that pops out of parents’ mouths as though it comes from a deep well of universal wisdom. Along with eating your vegetables and not waking the baby, playing outside seems so obviously the right thing for kids to do. Once they cross the threshold into the great […]
Vitae Spirits just added another accolade to its pile of awards, but this one is for its design, not for its excellent craft liquors. A converted schoolhouse, Vitae’s tasting room and production facility on Henry Street is half laboratory and half chic cocktail lounge. This combination earned Vitae’s design/build contractor, Charlottesville’s Alloy Workshop, the award […]
Rumors had been circulating for months that a major talent would take over the kitchen at Gordonsville’s Restaurant Rochambeau. He was coming in from France, where he had worked at two Michelin-starred restaurants. His sublime culinary skills had carried him around the world, from Portugal, to Tokyo, to Corsica, and to the United States, where […]
A newly formed company—so new that it hasn’t gone public with its name yet—is looking to get into the spirits business with a craft distillery in the former Clock Shop building at 201 W. Water St. The working title for the project is Vodka House, according to Clark Gathright, the civil engineer and site planner […]
Three days a week, an Amtrak train called the Cardinal rolls through Charlottesville on its way from New York to Chicago. Unless you’re planning a long trip to a city along the route (Indianapolis, anyone? Cincinnati?), you may not look twice at the train. But it’s more than a means of transport. For a family, […]
While renters have it tough, managing an apartment isn’t a walk in the park either, and one local manager has truly seen it all. On the condition of anonymity, the industry professional of nearly two decades agreed to dish the details. “For what it’s worth,” he says, “I could likely fill a large novel with […]
Sitting on a bench full of pillows at a large, round wooden table she made with her own hands, Bolanle Adeboye smears veggie cream cheese on both halves of a cinnamon raisin bagel. The visual artist is fighting a cold, and her housemate, cellist and songwriter Wes Swing, asks if she’d prefer a cup of […]
Serendipity has been a good friend to Brian Noyes, owner of the acclaimed Red Truck Bakery. With locations in Marshall and Warrenton, Virginia, 45 employees, and orders pouring in online, Noyes’ business is better than ever and his homespun image endures, in spite of his enormous success. He tells the story of that success, and […]
No green thumb? No problem! If you love the idea of having fresh veggies and herbswithin easy reach, but you don’t have the time or inclination to plant a garden, Fifth Season has the solution: Garden in a Day. Experts install a four-by-four-foot raised cedar bed at your home, then fill and plant the bed—et […]
Sommeliers may take offense, but canned wine is a booming business. In January, Crozet’s King Family Vineyards popped the top on this trend by rolling out its first cases of canned Crosé, its popular rosé wine. As winemaker Matthieu Finot explains, King’s been making a dry, fruit-forward rosé since 2003, and now harvests Merlot grapes […]
A rosy glow shone through windows high on the façade of the former service station. As my dining companion and I approached the building, the oaky smoke aroma grew stronger. We turned the corner onto West Main Street and the source of both the light and the smoke revealed itself through tall walls of glass—big […]
Nick Leichtentritt, founder of Milli Coffee Roasters and Sicily Rose, died February 17 at the age of 34. Pursuing a passion for food and drink, Leichtentritt left a corporate job in 2012 to open the coffee shop, followed by his cannoli shop, Sicily Rose, in 2018. Both developed loyal followings, and Leichtentritt became a beloved […]
In 36 years of moving up and down the mid-Atlantic, I’ve never lived in a city that didn’t carry the weight of a racist past. As a teenager, I heard news of white supremacists marching through my small Maryland town. As a young adult in Greensboro, North Carolina, I marveled over stories about ’60s sit-ins, […]
My kids get pretty sick of trailing me through the grocery store. Clothes shopping, depending on how it goes, can be a thrill or a deep disappointment. But there are other kinds of stores that are more reliable sources of fun, entertainment, and information—everything, that is, you want from a day trip. What’s more, they […]
Charlottesville chef Gabe Garcia sits at a table in the dimly lit dining room of Kitchen Catering & Events, which he co-owns and operates with his wife, Morgan, also a chef. It’s early evening, cold and drizzly outside, but the air inside is warm and redolent with the smell of a simmering savory soup. Garcia, […]
It’s a rare week that I don’t see at least one dog or cat with Toxocara, commonly referred to as roundworm. It’s especially common in puppies and kittens who have multiple chances to be infected before adoption. They can catch roundworm from their mother while still in the womb, and then again through her milk. […]
Thomas Jefferson was not an IPA guy. We know this thanks to the scholarly efforts of J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, a Randolph College professor, whose research provides a fascinating account of the work of Jefferson’s enslaved brewer, Peter Hemings, a son of Elizabeth Hemings. Jackson-Beckham’s recently published article, “Missing Ingredients—The (Incomplete) Story of Thomas Jefferson’s Unsung […]
Whether it’s bitterly cold or just damp and dreary, one of the best places to wait out winter is beside a roaring fire (preferably with a glass of wine). Luckily, plenty of area wineries fit the bill, with cozy couches and toasty fireplaces to sit beside while you sip. “We go for a living-room kind […]
Some day trips have a singular purpose (i.e., “We’re going to the zoo!”), while others consist of a medley of experiences in the same general location. My family’s recent Saturday in Harrisonburg was one of the gumbo type. My husband and I and our girls, ages 5 and 8, saw a planetarium show, then visited […]
Finally, a real Jewish deli in town It’s about time, right? After a soft opening on January 26, Modern Nosh will be fully up and running at 111 Water St. on February 5. Owned by Stephanie Levin, a Norfolk native who graduated from UVA in 1990, the restaurant will serve corned beef and brisket cooked […]
Even though the federal government shutdown is temporarily on hold, Virginia’s winemakers have taken an economic hit that will only worsen if the freeze resumes as announced, on February 15. Regardless, the negative effects are likely to linger into the spring and summer, industry sources say. The primary sticking point is the Alcohol and Tobacco […]
One of the worst-kept secrets in Charlottesville is Whole Foods Market’s excellent ramen soup bar, which is only open from 11am to 3pm Fridays during the winter months. Andre Susilo, district manager in Virginia for Genji, the contractor that also provides sushi to Whole Foods, says that the bar’s limited hours have not diminished its […]