Outdoor Seating

Cinema Taco 

Delicious looking and sounding empanadas that don't quite deliver.Shortly after I fell in love with Jed, he moved to Argentina. From that point on he had to share my love with empanadas, as it was during my visits there that I discovered this semi-circle of pastry perfection, a handful of happiness with various meat, veggie, and dessert fillings. They’re cheap, delicious, and a balanced late night meal, so I was giddy when Cinema Taco opened up adjacent to the Jefferson with a giant empanada display case front and center.

Cinema Taco has a fool proof concept: cheap Mexican and South American classics served up as lunch for downtown workers and late night food for hungry Jefferson concertgoers. The setting is… Read More

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The Palmer at Zinc

The Palmer at Zinc: as good as it gets.It’s that perfect time of year when the first warm weather brings scores of gleeful people out of hibernation to toast in the sun. So it was great timing this past Saturday to discover my new favorite seasonal drink at the always delightful Zinc.

The Palmer starts with an invention that, like the paper clip and sliced bread, is so simple and yet so brilliant that it’s a miracle it took this long to discover: Sweet Tea Vodka. That’s right, it’s the alcoholic cousin of the classic southern refresher. Zinc uses Firefly sweet tea vodka, made in South Carolina, and tops it with lemonade on the rocks to make an Arnie Palmer… Read More

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The Local 

Tuna Steak Frites with wakame salad – good flavor but too thickThe local food movement has come a long way in two years. When we heard, in February of 2008, that there would soon be a restaurant in Belmont serving dishes made from Virginia farm ingredients, we thought it was a novel and brilliant idea. The Local opened a month later, and we were one of the first in line. That first meal was everything we hoped it would be – rustic and fresh, simple but whimsical. Unfortunately, all of the meals we’ve had there since have failed to live up to the promise of that first one, and… Read More

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Beer Run 

Beer Run - 05For those of you who aren’t familiar with Beer Run on Carlton Road, here’s the premise: take a convenience store and fill it with beer and wine, throw in a cheap menu with bar classics like nachos and burgers, and add some picnic benches outside. This simple but smart idea has created a popular spot that’s great for the casual and devoted drinker. But I must admit – bring on the ire of the Beer Run devotees – I’m perplexed when people get really enthusiastic about this place. Maybe I just need to change my perspective. As a convenience store to grab a six pack on your way to a party, it’s a gold medal winner. As a casual… Read More

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Maya Brunch 

Vegetable potato cake with smoked salmon, sour cream, and chivesWe have an unhealthy relationship with brunch. And by unhealthy I mean not only that we invest an alarming portion of our happiness in a positive brunch experience every weekend, but also that it is literally unhealthy. I eat lots and lots of bacon, and Erin eats lots and lots of fried potatoes. Our favorite brunch places and dishes are so entrenched in our lives that it’s an act of tremendous will to go somewhere else, as we did one recent Sunday when we went to Maya. It was fine, but I missed our usuals.

Maya offers a brunch menu that… Read More

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Hamiltons’ 

hamiltons - 01Hamiltons’ is one of those places that arouses in me only the mildest flicker of interest when I’m thinking about a night on the town. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the ethnic-American menu, which features stir-fry, spaghetti, and rack of lamb dishes right there next to each other. Or it could be the fact that no one ever recommends it to me or otherwise seems to be talking about it. Or maybe I would just prefer that the comma in their name come before the “s” instead of after. Whatever it is, I never feel much like going, which is still how I feel after our last visit.

We ate outside… Read More

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Baggby’s 

baggbys - 8If there is one thing that Charlottesville over-serves it’s sandwiches. We have a lot of spinach-artichoke dip and egg rolls and jalapeño poppers too — sometimes all on the same menu — but sandwich shops are squished into this city’s limits like so many turkey cold cuts. Some of them are skippable, but many serve up fresh ingredients in creative, well-executed combinations that are more than worthy of your lunch hour. Baggby’s is one such establishment. In addition to old faithfuls like egg salad and pastrami you can find newfangled genre-benders like the Sedona Read More

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La Taza Coffee House 

la taza - 7When the sun is shining and the temperature is warm, there’s nothing like a weekend brunch at La Taza. The patio is large, scenic, and dog-friendly. The coffee is strong, delicious, and fair trade. The juice comes with champagne (if you want it), and the food has a Latin American flair.

Humbly called a coffee house, I think La Taza has one of the more interesting brunch menus in town. Their Huevos Benicio is potatoes layered with ham, pepper jack cheese, and eggs covered in salsa and sour cream with tortillas on the side, while the Machaca includes scrambled eggs, peppers, tomatoes, cheese, tortillas, and… Read More

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Zocalo’s Fresa Negra

zocalo finds - 3When Zocalo’s Joya McMurray recently won Best of C-ville bartender for the second year running, it seemed time to make a return trip to the downtown hot spot for a fancy cocktail. I was looking for something different, although I’m not sure I expected something quite as different as the ominously delicious sounding Fresa Negra (“black strawberry”), a fascinating chili-infused blackberry lemonade with Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Skyy Vodka, or Cuervo Tequila. I chose vodka and awaited the first sip. Surprisingly, it worked: the spice was artfully balanced with the lemonade’s tangy sweetness. It was purple and pleasingly strange and I felt like I was at Happy Hour in a Tim Burton movie. True… Read More

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Miller’s 

millers   - 1You don’t go to Miller’s for the food. You go for the party. People-watching over a pitcher of beer in the middle of the mall outside, small jazz and alt music shows or weekday bar-flying on the ground floor, more civilized conversation upstairs, and rough-and-tumble billiards up the side stairs on the top floor. Food is there to assist you in whatever plans you might have at Miller’s that evening, not… Read More

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