The poor dog hobbles in with her front paw dangling off the ground, swaddled in a sock drenched in blood. It was all the owner could do to contain the mess before jumping in the car. I’m not completely sure what I’ll find under there, but I’m relieved when it turns out to be a […]
Robin Felder sees connections. For instance, when he installed the 250-gallon solid copper still at his and his wife Mary’s hilltop home near North Garden, he knew that the high-tech machine would need a considerable water source to cool and condense the evaporated alcohol into the final, drinkable product. The swimming pool, sunk subtly into […]
Today, the day after Thanksgiving, I am praying for Gladys the emu. A lapsed Catholic, I haven’t been a churchgoer for years. But praying to St. Francis for the safe return of Gladys, for her reunion with her brother Floyd and sister Mabel at their home 10 miles south of Charlottesville, and for the peace […]
Thanksgiving is a great holiday. It means a four-day break from work for many of us, and gluttonous consumption of food is encouraged. And then there’s the Macy’s parade, which we should all be thankful to watch on TV, because it’s a kick to see the hosts (Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker) try […]
Charlottesville’s never been known for its nightlife. Sure, there are some late-night restaurant-bars, and concerts, dance parties, and other entertainment events that go past midnight. Those who venture out in the dead of night, onto Charlottesville’s open streets and empty sidewalks, past closed businesses and dark houses, might say that the city is, well, dead. […]
How sweet it is Pollinator education and honey will be on tap Thursday, November 14, at Peace Frogs Travel/Outfitters. Diego DeCorte of The Elysium Honey Co. will make a presentation about the plight of the honeybee and possible solutions to rebuild the dwindling population. A tasting will reveal the range of flavors that honey can […]
A few weeks back, I visited Neve Hall, a historic Episcopal chapel and manse on 14 acres in Albemarle County, for the first time. Three miles south of I-64 on U.S. 29, the site reveals classic architecture, old-school craftsmanship, and a profusion of art, and simultaneously shows signs of decay and renewal. The architect of […]
On October 22, The Washington Post published a 2,000-word story about Meteor the yak. The piece was essentially a deep-dive obituary of the sort usually reserved for movie stars, war heroes, and pioneers in the arts, science, and industry. I would call it overkill, because I can’t resist a pun. But that’s not exactly how […]
The unlikely pairing of beer and ballet—under an outdoor tent, no less—drew a standing-room-only crowd last Saturday at Champion Brewing Company, beside the railroad tracks downtown. Attendees, including plenty of kids, were treated to a pas de deux from The Nutcracker by member of the Charlottesville Ballet. The event, which kicked off the ballet’s 2019-20 […]
Get your goat Next Tuesday Caromont Farm, the craft goat-cheese haven, invites you to stop by, take a tour, and enjoy a nosh with your fall weather. While you’re sure to see some of the crazy-eyed critters who make the cheese possible, the real attraction is the chance to meet owner and culinary sage Gail […]
Where and what we’re eating and drinking now. Hickory Hill Store BBQ, gas station, cheap eats This no-frills roadside stop offers solid, reasonably priced pork and chicken barbecue slow-cooked on hickory and oak in smokers on the asphalt lot out front. What you have here is a convenience store with a kitchen, a counter with […]
Whiskey goes way back in Virginia. In 1620, English settler George Thorpe made the first batch of spirits in Jamestown using corn—not barley, as was the tradition in Europe—obtained in a trade with the indigenous Powhatan people. George Washington added to the commonwealth’s whiskey heritage, distilling a rye mash in Mount Vernon in the 1770s. […]
The only thing better than working in the C-VILLE Weekly newsroom is leaving it to get a drink and a bite to eat. The paper’s writers and editors are just like you: Our pockets aren’t very deep but we love the city’s vibrant and diverse food scene. Here are a few of our favorite places […]
Just off of Route 29, about 25 miles north of Charlottesville, a two-lane road gently rises and falls with the rolling terrain, leading west toward Shenandoah National Park. As you approach the distant mountains they appear to grow bigger. It’s an ethereal scene, relaxing and more than a little distracting, so you might have to […]
Food trucks offer some of the most creative and culturally diverse cuisine in town—but they can be elusive. Stumbling upon one is often a happy accident—a bonus while attending a festival or visiting a vineyard. We wanted to see if we could turn that on its head and provide a guide to finding your favorite […]
Living in Gordonsville while working in Charlottesville, as my girlfriend and I did for many months, had a certain romance to it. With the windows down and fresh air swirling inside the car, we enjoyed the winding morning commute through fields of grazing cattle and sheep. After nightfall, when we returned to the old dairy […]
Comal After 16 years as a manager at Mas Tapas, Benos Bustamante launched Comal, an authentic Mexican restaurant, in the former Belmont Barbecue space. Just a couple of weeks after opening, Bustamante and his team are already hitting their stride. The menu marries fine dining with traditional flavors from Mexico, specifically Oaxaca, where he was […]
Portland, Oregon, 1969. Dawn hadn’t broken yet as Gerry Newman, then a grade-school kid, rode in the car with his mother on the way to summer camp. They passed a brightly lit storefront, a lone beacon in the neighborhood at that hour, and Newman asked why the lights were on. His mom told him that […]
With the UVA football team on an early winning streak this season, The Markets of Tiger Fuel—a favorite for game-day grub—look like marketing geniuses with the introduction of new sandwiches named for head coach Bronco Mendenhall and former University of Virginia and NFL star Chris Long. The service-station deli trend isn’t new in Charlottesville, but […]
By Meg Irvin and Joe Bargmann Okay, so the thermometer’s still hitting 90 with alarming regularity, but as we roll into October, those gorgeous, cool fall days are bound to arrive soon (right?). And when they do, we’ll be outside. Whether your favorite fall activity is mountain biking, trail running, or just taking in the […]
Renowned local chef Ian Redshaw has left the building—or rather, buildings, plural. Redshaw parted ways earlier this month with his fellow partners of two high-profile restaurants he helped put on the map: Lampo, the Neapolitan pizzeria in Belmont, and Prime 109, the upscale steakhouse on the Downtown Mall. Voted Best Chef in 2018 by C-VILLE […]
Have you heard the news? The planet is getting hotter and it’s a real problem. That was the simple but important takeaway from a recent event at The Paramount Theater, hosted by Piedmont Master Gardeners and Virginia Cooperative Extension. Hundreds of attendees learned about the impact of climate change in the natural spaces around them, […]
Tavern & Grocery is offering $100 toward a meal by chef Joe Wolfson and his team to the C-VILLE Weekly reader who suggests the best name for a newly refurbished room in the 1820 Federal-style brick building on West Main Street. Accessible through the restaurant as well as its own entrance marked by a lantern […]