Mas to Millers

Charlottesville restaurant reviews and food news

Food Events

Albemarle County Fair

Aug 5

Posted by Erin in Food Events | View Comments

Funnel fat.It’s time for funnel cakes, roosters, the scrambler, dart games, and the saddest “Fun House” ever at the annual Albemarle Fair. We headed there on opening night to get our fix of fried food and family fun. Everything was as we remembered it: the bottle top game was impossible, the kids sugar-hopped and excited, and the setting beautiful. Unfortunately, the food also remained sadly uninspiring.

For a fair that highlights what’s great about our community – agriculture, crafts, music – why doesn’t it highlight local food? With the exception of Pantheon Popsicles, the Charlottesville Mennonite Church’s Funnel Cake Booth, and Richmond’s Famous Dave’s BBQ chain, all the food seemed to be generic stands that travel across the country… Read More

Charlottesville Restaurant Week is Here!

Jul 12

Posted by Jed in Food Events | View Comments

The first reports are coming in. Orzo gets a “thumbs up” despite being “slammed,” Bang was “fantastic“, and more.

Email us, comment here, post your experiences to our Facebook page, tweet* them. (Okay, things are admittedly getting a little out of hand with the social media options.) We want to hear all about it!

Other places where people are commenting:

• CvilleYum.com – The official Restaurant Week website. Also, their Facebook page.

• The Hook – For now, it’s mostly people debating whether $26 is a good deal or not, but stay tuned.

* Thanks to Kari Rippetoe for suggesting we track our Restaurant… Read More

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Cooking Class with Mark Gresge of l’etoile

Jul 1

Posted by Jed in Food Events | View Comments

I love this town. Where else can you have an intimate cooking lesson, over the course of two-and-a-half hours, with the head chef and founder of one of the best restaurants in the area, for the price of a meal at said restaurant?

The Seasonal Cook‘s evening classes generally follow the same format: You and seven other people sit around the chef’s table, close enough that you can practically feel the heat from the burners, and watch as he or she prepares dishes according to the theme for that evening. There is no imposed structure. Ask questions along the way, chat about restaurants and farms, follow the recipe exactly or not, have some wine… Read More

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Restaurant Week

Jan 27

Posted by Jed in Food Events | View Comments

(Image from http://cvilleyum.com)

As we receive reports from diners about restaurant week experiences, we will post them here. Send your thoughts to food@mastomillers.com, or post them in the comments. If you send them via email, be sure to say if you want to be anonymous.

Boar’s Head

“Lunch was just okay, though the fried green tomatoes were excellent. I’ll definitely stick with the buffet in the future.”

“My palate was ecstatic…The restaurant was packed, had a delightful atmosphere, and paid attention to the details. Our waitress and the other wait staff were top-notch!” Read the full review here.

“It was amazing…We went after the lunch crowd at 1 pm and it was still… Read More

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Food Event: Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival

Sep 27

Posted by Erin in Food Events | View Comments

As I’ve mentioned before, we’re both firmly in the “wish we could be vegetarian but like meat way too much yet appreciate good vegetarian food and try to eat it often” camp. So we were excited to spend this past Saturday at the annual Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival despite the rainy weather.

Located in Lee Park, the festival was filled with adorable cats and dogs available for adoption. Strangely there seemed to be a lot more adoptable pets than vegetarian food, but perhaps the festival organizers were using don’t eat meat Jedi mind tricks via cuddly kittens. Our second surprise was the lack of local restaurants participating. Kudos to Maharaja and Royal Indian and local stores Whole Foods and Integral Yoga for being part of the day… Read More

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Food Event: The Seasonal Cook Class

Aug 9

Posted by Erin in Food Events | View Comments

Michael Pollan recently wrote a great article for the New York Times on Americans’ increasing obsession with cooking shows on TV, even while we spend less time than ever actually cooking food at home. Despite my love for Top Chef, Bobby Flay, and Barefoot Contessa, many of his points resonated. The kitchen stadium-type cooking on TV is glossier, dramatic, and incredibly entertaining – but misses the messy reality and occasional failures of actual cooking.
With his laments ringing in my ears, we headed for a Berries and Stone Fruit class and dinner at the Seasonal Cook. Read More

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Food Event: Albemarle County Fair

Aug 3

Posted by Jed in Food Events | View Comments

I remember going to the county fair when I was young. I made myself sick on corn dogs, funnel cakes, snow cones, and lemonade so sweet that your mouth felt sandy with sugar crystals after each sip. Now, in addition to these staples, you can get seafood,* gyros, smoothies, thai chicken, caramel apples, greek salad, waffle fries, “fajita pitas,” and just about anything else you can fry or grill.

Erin and… Read More

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