Devil’s Backbone

Charlie and I just drove back from Lexington and decided to check out Devil’s Backbone Brewery on the way back to town.  It’s pretty far out there (45 minutes from town) and is right near Wintergreen.  The place was much bigger than I imagined it.  There is some pretty stellar taxidermy around the dining room.

Our waiter, Cole (although his shirt read Melvin) was super friendly and kept complimenting our menu choices.  It was fun! I chose the burger with fried pickles (true story) with a side of fries and Charlie chose the chili to star followed by fish and chips.  The pickles…divine…really, they were awesome – a bit spicy, crunchy, mmmm – and on the burger, perfect! If you know anything about me, you know I love french fries. These fries did not disappoint.  They were perfectly cooked, just the right thickness, and the salt ratio – yummm.  Charlie’s three bean and brisket chili was smoky and rich, and delicious, and not at all heavy – really good (we’ll be attempting our own batch this week).  Devil’s Backbone has a smoker out back and I’m sure any of their BBQ options would be great.  The fish was battered in the Vienna Lager.  They were light, buttery, and just plain ol’ good.

We did try a 1/2 pint of the Vienna Lager (Vienna-style Lager. This 2009 Great American Beer Festival Silver Medal winner is an amber colored lager medium in body with a finish that has hints of caramel and toasted nuts. This beer is brewed with four different malts resulting in its smooth malty flavor. 4.9% alcohol by volume, 20 IBUs) and a 1/2 pint of the Gold Leaf Lager (International Style Pilsner. This 2010 & 2009 two time Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winner is pale gold in color, light body with a crisp and dry finish. 4.5% alcohol by volume, 17 IBUs).  The Gold was a bit light.  Both were quite tasty, but the pickles took the win of the evening.

I wish this place were closer to Charlottesville.  Big fan!

rotunda tour

charlie and i played tourist today and took a tour of the rotunda.  there are guided tours of the rotunda and the academical village every day at 10, 11, 2, 3, and 4pm.  we have been meaning to do this since we moved here and realized we certainly needed to take a tour before we leave charlottesville.

reproduction of the first print of the academical village (from here)

at 3:00pm, charlie i met a 2nd year inside the building and she guided us and one other girl (who was trying out to be a campus guide) around the building and a small portion of the lawn.  the tour took just about an hour and during the time we learned how much the university really does love jefferson.

most of the rooms in the rotunda are still in use.  there were students studying upstairs in the dome room and a couple of meetings happening on the second floor in the east oval room and the north oval room.  luckily, the north oval room opened up on our way back down.  this might have been the highlight of the tour for me since charlie is hoping to defend his dissertation in this room next spring (fingers crossed).

it was a really nice tour and fun thing to do to break up a sunday afternoon.

moroccan feast

a little while ago, charlie and i had some friends over for a moroccan-themed dinner.  here was the menu:

Moroccan Beef Meatball Tagine (recipe from Bon Appetit)

Cooked Wild Greens Salad (from Saveur)

Moroccan Baby Carrots (from 101 Cookbooks)

and for dessert – Yogurt Cake (from epicurious)

i think the party was a success and the food was excellent.  i really really liked the carrots and will be making them again.  the tagine is part of charlie’s regular dinner rotation already, so i’m sure we’ll be having it again soon.

most of the menu pieces were found right here.

 

petit pois

petit pois is, well…petit.  have you ever been inside? it’s tiny!

 

a lady at my office posted a flyer for a fundraiser for the city schoolyard garden that was taking place this week at petit pois and fleurie.  you really should read about the project.  it’s pretty cool. charlottesville is such a garden-friendly place.

charlie and i already had plans to see a show at the southern last night so we made plans for a full date night and had dinner at petit pois.  for $30 per person (50% of the proceeds went to the city schoolyard garden project), i had mussels, risotto, and a chocolate hazelnut mousse.  charlie had a salad, chicken with mashed potatoes, and apple crisp.  the food was excellent.  flavorful, simple, and delicious.

we had a great time and added another good restaurant in charlottesville to our growing list.

 

kudos petit pois.  kudos!

best chinese food

charlie and i checked out red lantern the other night for some take-out chinese food and were seriously underwhelmed, even disappointed. so i’ve decided to list our top 5 chinese food places in charlottesville.

eating in:

taste of china

peter chang’s

taking out:

dragon lady

ni hao cafe

asian express

did i miss anything?

clothing help

i need a stylist. pronto.  i have some great clothes and no creative ways to wear them.

any takers?

downtown athletic

while running errands today, charlie and i stopped in  the downtown athletic store in seminole square.  i hadn’t realized how many sports stores are in seminole square.  charlie wanted to see if they had any squash balls.  they did and i really liked the store. we’ll have to remember it’s there the next time we need any sports items.

“Downtown Athletic Store was established in 1946 by Carl Deane and two business partners. Carl played college football at Duke University and participated in the 1939 Rose Bowl in Pasadena. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in World War II. After returning to Charlottesville, he opened Downtown Athletic Store in 1946 in Downtown Charlottesville. Carl was one of the original ACC football officials and was inducted in both the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame and in the Virginia State Athletic Wall of Fame recognizing his contributions to athletics ranging from youth groups to colleges. Today, his son David carries on Carl’s tradition of volunteering, giving back to the community, and managing the team sales department. Carl’s daughter, Maureen, helps out on the retail side of the business. Carl’s wife, Ilma Deane, still comes into the accounting office on a daily basis like she has over the decades. Downtown Athletic Store gifts thousands of dollars in the form of sponsorships and donations to the communities it services each year.” – from the “about us” page

commonwealth restaurant

one of our friends was in town last weekend and arranged a nice dinner with some friends at commonwealth on the downtown mall.  at 9pm the restaurant was still super busy and we were extremely lucky to not have to wait too long for a table.  for some, the wait was an hour or more.

each table offered a little dish of pickled tomatoes and peppers  that were excellent.  there were a few specials that evening, including rabbit crepes that were really good.  i didn’t taste, but charlie thoroughly enjoyed the bit he had.

overall, i wasn’t too impressed with the menu.  the restaurant offered several appetizers that looked pretty tasty.  i had a special scallop chowder that was very thick and peppery (super peppery) and a salad with avocado, mixed greens, goat cheese (Commonwealth Salad $9 / $15 Baby Green Salad, w/ Avocado, Tomato, Local Goat Feta Cheese & Black Garlic Vinaigrette). the soup was a huge portion and i barely ate half.  charlie chose the duck entree accompanied by mango sauce and green beans (Crispy Duck Breast w/ Green Beans in Confit $23 Mango Ginger Sauce).  the duck was not seared (according to my picky husband) and the fat wasn’t rendered.  the combination of flavors didn’t quite sit right.  our friend had the pork chop (serious portion) (Grilled Timber Creek Pork Chop $23 Chorizo, Tomato & Mushroom Sauce, Fingerling Potatoes) and he wasn’t too impressed either.

we might be in the minority here on our verdict for commonwealth.  people seem to really like it if the dinner crowd coming in at 9pm was any indication.  of course the bar upstairs is great so we’ll be back.  maybe not for the food just yet.

 

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,TEN

charlie’s brother and his girlfriend were in town tonight.  they are staying at the good old clifton inn taking advantage of their January 13th $113 room deal.  (fyi – they are holding a “Re-opening promotion on Facebook only! Renovations are done and we want to welcome you back. Book 1 night for next week (ending January 22) at $169 and get the 2nd night free! Any room, first come first served. Your reservation has to be for January 13-22. Two nights must be consecutive and free night is not transferrable or worth credit. This offer ends at 5:00pm Saturday, January 14 so book now!”).  we were thinking about taking them to continental divide for dinner, but the wait was crazy.  maybe we should have stayed since we were 13th on the list and it is friday the 13th, but logic got the best of us along with a craving for sushi.  we made our way to the downtown mall and ended up at ten.  they have some new hanging candle lights up since the last time we were there that are super cool.  i asked the waiter and he said it takes them forever to light them and they wont be staying long…but they are lovely.  lady friend enjoyed a lychee martini while we waited for our table and loved it.  we shared 4 rolls, 2 types of sashimi, a poke don bowl, and tempura haricots verts.  everything was amazing.  the haricots verts are a must and i’ve already mentioned how good the honey rolls are.  i really liked the sake roll. the best thing though was that the waitress surprised us with two complimentary desserts.  charlie and i rarely, if ever, order desserts.  we received some beignets with vietnamese coffee.  the beignets had some orange and ginger and were amazingly fluffy and chewy, sweet, and savory and yumm.  the coffee was delicious.  we also tried a warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream that was delicious.  maybe i just like dessert, or maybe this molten, gooey, warm, and rich chocolate cake was really good. regardless, it was such a nice treat! way to go ten!

 

make sure to check them out for restaurant week

pinterest

i discovered pinterest and LOVE it! forget about keeping webpages and tabs open for weeks on my little laptop…i can just pin it! love,love, love!