Brookville - Charlottesville

I don't know why I neglected to blog about Brookville last time we went, because it was great then and great again this past weekend. Brookville's mantra is about serving locally sourced food. In fact 90% of the menu comes from within 100 miles, which is pretty awesome. The chef tends to prefer anything pig related, so be ready to choose from bacon, pork belly, pork tenderloin or maybe even pig ears, all of which will be delicious. Of course they offer a great wine and beer selection from Virginia as well.

So, last time we went to Brookville they had only been open a few weeks and it was pretty quiet in there. We were a bit worried since it was Friday night, but luckily Cville has pulled through and shown more support for Brookville over the last few months. Commensurately, they've expanded the choices on the menu, though it does remain small. (If you're a picky eater, I would definitely recommend looking at the menu before you go because you only get about 4 entree choices.)  Anyways, on to the food...

For starters we decided to go with some Virginia ham fritters and french fries. The fritters were balls of dough filled with ham and apple, served with dijonaisse dipping sauce and fried. As expected these elements all work great together. Conversely the french fries are nothing you would expect to put together...topped with sausage gravy, foie gras and shaved Parmesan cheese. We decided that there was pretty much no way we could avoid this one. It just sounded too ridiculous a combo, so we decided to jump in. Well we were not disappointed. It was rich (and I'm very glad we shared it 4 ways) but it was delicious. Definitely an omen of the entrees to come.

My husband loves pork belly, so of course he went right for that. It's served with roasted potatoes and apple puree, which was a wonderful balance to the rich pork. For myself, I was intrigued by the burger: 1/2 pound of meat (a blend of hangar, sirloin and bacon - yes, bacon) on a house-made bun with carmelized onions and the option of a fried egg and/or bacon on top (which, of course, I had to do). Here is where I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture...this burger was huge and awesome. Of course I only ate about half of it (my husband was more than happy to finish the other half) but it was the best burger I've ever had, no question. If you're willing to spend the money (this is not a Five Guys burger) it's everything you could ever hope a burger would be.

My one complaint with Brookville remains the lack of vegetables served with the meals. I am a huge vegetable lover and they are so easy to source locally, so it saddens me that they aren't used more prevalently in the dishes. I also hate that they don't have a vegetarian option. I enjoy meat but have plenty of friends who are vegetarians, and I was one myself for nearly a decade, so I always feel it important to have at least one option on the menu and widen your base of customers. Again, just me, your local food-a-holic, putting in her two cents.

Otherwise, go check out Brookville. You'll love the food and you'll truly be supporting the local economy. PS, the album I linked to below is my other love in life in right now (beyond my husband and puppy of course), so check out the Avett Brothers if you haven't before. They are amazing!

Continental Divide - Charlottesville

Too crowded, too noisy, too small, too bad. That's the tag line at Continental Divide, though I think they should add "too tasty" to the end personally. This small restaurant is Charlottesville's version of big Mexican flavors in a small space.

First, when you go to Continental Divide, expect a wait. Luckily this isn't necessarily a bad thing as they make delicious and reasonable (read dangerous) margaritas. So, go early or go patient and thirsty.

The menu at Continental Divide is not your standard Mexican restaurant menu. You see nachos, but complete with goat cheese or bison chili. There is fresh (and perfectly medium-rare) tuna over crispy fresh tortilla chips. And there tacos filled with slow cooked pork. This is pretty much what we had when we went to Continental Divide last weekend, and all of it was excellent.

Perhaps the best thing about all this delicious food I'm making myself hungry for again right now is that it is easy on the wallet. A lot of places I review are a little pricier because I like to treat myself when we do go out to eat. You don't have to worry about that here. Two drinks, an appetizer and two entrees all for about $40 (including tip). You can't beat these prices, especially not with this quality of food.

Lastly, in case you need some awesome new tunes, check out the link above for Rodrigo y Gabriela, a great acoustic duo from Mexico!

Shebeen - Charlottesville

With the holidays and threat of snow, I have to say we haven't been out to eat much recently. Luckily January is forcing us back out into the world of wonderful Charlottesville dining, first with just a random Friday night dinner and soon with Restaurant Week! So, here we are with my first restaurant review of 2011, and it's a great one!

Shebeen is your standard pub, except that it's not Irish or English, it's South African. You'll find fish and chips and sandwiches on the menu, but you'll also find things from the braai (grill) and wonderfully seasoned and delicious dishes unique to Africa. The location is nothing special (a strip mall on the backside of Staples, facing MacDonald's near the downtown mall) but they did a lot with the decor inside.

The menu should keep most people happy with the variety on it. For starters we decided to go with the brinjal fries, also known as fried eggplant wedges and a banana "ketchup." The "ketchup" was amazing...a nice cooling effect on a piping hot fry.

For entrees, I opted for something from the braai while my husband went for a slow cooked dish in a
small iron pot. I had the peri-peri shrimp (pepper basted shrimp on skewers...9 of them!) with sides of mealie pap and mixed vegetables. I was a bit worried by the description of the peri-peri sauce, so I asked for the kitchen to go light on it. It was perfect. The mealie pap is described as South African cheese grits. Let's just say that this Southern girl loved the stuff. I would eat it everyday if I could! The vegetabeles were pretty standard but very good. My husband had the lamb curry potjie which was full of spices and flavors. It had a corn muffin with it that seemed to have a creamed-corn effect going on in the middle. Yum!


Overall I would definitely recommend Shebeen if you're looking for something different. Expect it to be crowded, so be open to getting a pint of one of their delicious pints before hand. But mostly, go to try some new flavors and relax!

Charlottesville Restaurant Week!

It's that season again...Restaurant Week! This is a great way to get out and try a new place or 7 at a great price! Here's the deal, 3 courses, $26. There are some really great restaurants ... it continues to grow each iteration (January and July). For a full list of restaurants and a few with their menus up, check out cvilleyum. 

If you're looking for recommendations, I would say Fossett's but they are all booked! What about Ten for some great seafood with a Japanese twist or Brookville, the newest locavore place in town! I've been to both (but not blogged, eek!) and they are awesome! If you can't seem to find the time for this round, check back in the next 2 weeks for my reviews!

Bluegrass Grill and Bakery - Charlottesville

I usually like what Cville Best has to offer, but this time it has led me astray. For some reason everyone in Charlottesville picks this as the best breakfast in town. Now I haven't been to many breakfast places in town, but if this is the best out there, then this town is in desperate need of help.

To start, let's talk about the size, set-up and service. There are about 12 tables and a few at a bar in here, two servers and a busboy for Saturday morning. The wait list is done by the waitresses, so they only seat people when they have time, and that is only after the one bus boy finally clears off a table. I could give several examples from just this past Saturday morning for how inefficient this system is, but it would just be tedious. Instead I'll just say that we waited 45 minutes for a "just okay" meal. The food did come out fairly promptly, but this was only after the server "threw" our coffee on the table ever so roughly and neglected to refill my water (despite the fact that I had clearly just run a 10k).

The food itself wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special in my, my husband or my brother's opinion. The most unique thing they had to offer was a potato dish that was basically roasted potatoes topped with vegetables, cheese or meat. It was something different, but I can't say it was all that original. I ordered mine with a biscuit that I was quite looking forward to, but it was quite dense and more like a oll than a biscuit.

The total bill came to about $30 for three entrees and two drinks which I won't complain about. However, for a 45 minute wait and all the hype, I was expecting something phenomenal and Bluegrass Grill & Bakery didn't provide that. I truly enjoy cooking so for me, going out for a meal is a treat because I have someone to wait on me, clean the dishes and prepare something I wouldn't normally prepare at home, so not hitting any of these notes really disappoints me at a restaurant. Sorry Cville Best, but I'll keep looking for the best breakfast restaurant in town.

Duner's Restaurant - Charlottesville

This post can be summed up in one word: YUM. But diner's be warned: you may have to wait for your food, and no reservations are taken. Despite this, you will certainly leave happy and full, for a reasonable price. Duner's is located just west of Charlottesville on 250 near Ivy, you'll probably only find locals at this spot. The menu changes every day. Literally.

If you're an appetizer lover or come in starving, you can't go wrong with the calamari or the brie. Or anything else I'm sure. I've never had a bad item here, so I would be inclined to encourage trying anything that sounds good! You really don't have to order an appetizer to leave full though, so don't feel like you have to! Appetizers tend to run around $8-10 and can easily be shared between 2-3 people.

There are always about 20 entree choices which still boggles my mind. Even though its 3 hours by car to the coast, the seafood is always excellent. You'll also find some local meats and river trout, in addition to a few vegetarian options. I guarantee any of these will be excellent. I'm a sucker for seafood, so I tend to order some kind of fish. (See two of these in my pictures including salmon crepes on the right and rockfish below.) All entrees come with a nice salad and fresh (delicious!) bread, so for an average of $25/entree, you're not breaking the bank. Pair it with a pint of Starr Hill, a carafe of house wine, or a bottle of a local wine and you've got one great meal!

The deserts are also awesome at Duner's and I always find myself wanting to finish my meal with one. They'll pack it up for you to go if you like. The chocolate dome cake had me the first time I saw it, and it was every bit as good as it looks. Other seasonal options are always available to, so those are always a good option.

Duner's is definitely a classic and a stable in this part of Virginia, so if you haven't gotten over there, go tomorrow night!

Charlottesville - Beer Run

My love for a particular type of alcoholic beverage – be it wine, beer or spirit – tends to go in phases. Most recently I have been in a beer phase thanks to the proximity of a great microbrew in Louisville, countless amazing restaurants centered around beer, and the lack of local vineyards. Even though I am now in Charlottesville and my love for wine for will certainly return with a vengeance, the need to find a good watering hole was high on the list. Enter Beer Run…

Located on the edge of Belmont, Beer Run is a beer store, bar, and restaurant all in one. The parking lot isn’t that big so as you drive up you are sure to see countless cars lining the street. As you walk up you will see a large outdoor patio that may or may not have plastic walls up to help protect against the rain or cold. Additionally there are a few picnic tables, where I was fortunate enough to enjoy my evening.
Of course we must start with the beer. There are about 15 beers on tap ranging from the ever-popular PBR to some of my favorite Kentucky beer Jefferson Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout to some deliciously imported Aventinus. You can buy draft beer in 10, 16 and 20 ounce sizes, but they appear to do growler refills – always a plus in my book. But what is on tap doesn’t begin to compare to what is inside, where the selection is organized by state or country.
Of course the food selection pales in comparison to the beer list, but they know what they can and cannot do. Most of the choices are sandwiches and yes, there are vegetarian options. They also have a bison burger, salads, and a few pasta and rice dishes. My husband and I tried some sandwiches that were quite good and our friends had the bison burger that seemed to satisfy their craving.
Overall this is a great place to go for really good beer and grab a sandwich. If you sit all the way at the picnic tables the service may be a little slower, but our server did a good job of making sure our glass was always full.

Charlottesville - Bodo's Bagels

If you live in Charlottesville then I doubt you need to read further because you already know how awesome this place is. If you somehow live and don't know about Bodo's then I'm glad you found my post! If you are from outside the area and are coming to visit, then make sure this add to this to your list of places to grab a quick bite on your trip to town!

Bodo's Bagels has three locations in town. The main location is at the intersection of 29N and 250 bypass (1418 Emmet Street), which is very convenient, though traffic is a pain. However, getting into the parking lot, finding a spot and getting inside is well worth it! They are open 7 days a week from breakfast to dinner (though Sunday they close at 4). At Bodo's, bagels are not just a breakfast food, but also lunch or dinner option! They make their bagels and cream cheese spreads fresh every day and you can tell!

There are 10 types of bagels - plain, sesame, poppy, onion, everything, garlic, 100% whole wheat, salt, cinnamon-raisin, and 100% whole wheat everything - to choose from. If you're looking for a simple spread to top your bagel, they have nine blended cream cheeses. You can also ask for honey, butter, cinnamon-sugar, jam, peanut butter or lox and cream cheese.

If a sandwich is more your thing, you can get egg based ones or a deli-style sandwich with meats, salads and hummus. To keep it easy you tell them what you want to top you want on your sandwich such as tomatoes, sprouts, lettuce and cheese. You pay for each one, but a lunch/diinner sandwich can cost as little as $2.15! You can't beat that for the quality! Chips, pretzels and pickles are also add-ons which gives you the power to plan your whole meal without being tempted by Lay's. They also have salads, including green salads, potato salad, and tabouli.

If you haven't gotten to Bodo's recently, go back because it is still as great as you remember!

Charlottesville - The Local

So my latest (and hopefully final!) move has inspired me to post again. It has been quite a while since the last. So, to jump start the blogging, I decided to write about an awesome dining experience I had recently.

The Local is a fairly well-established restaurant in Belmont, a neighborhood in Charlottesville just south of the downtown mall. Like the downtown mall it tends to stay clear of most of the student population which is just fine by me. The Local prides itself on using local ingredients including cheeses, meats and vegetables. Though I didn't try any of the appetizers, they feature unique soups, salads and a cheese plate ranging from $4-10. Instead I tried the french fries which were as delicious as my friend had told me.

Entree options are varied featuring freshly made gnocchi to chorizo stuffed trout to meatloaf wrapped in bacon. I decided to try a vegetarian entree: Vegetable and Local “CaroMont” Goat Cheese Strudel with Israeli Cous-Cous and Tomato Coulis ($14). It was delicious and unique and quite reasonably priced for the portion size. My friend had the tuna steak and it looked delicious.

The drink list features, of course, several wines from Virginia, though not as many as I would have liked with the proximity to so many vineyards. There are a few whiskey's from Virginia offered, which surprised me because I didn't even know they existed. For beer they also feature a few Virginia brews, both well known and not.

So the long-winded point of this feature is that The Local is a great place to try new things from farms just down the road, all in a quiet setting (though maybe a little dark), with a great patio to sit on if the weather is nice in a neighborhood that shows something beyond "the grounds."