Hope you’re hungry: Charlottesville Restaurant Week is upon us, that glorious, twice-a-year event, this time featuring 42 restaurants (including five new participants) offering three-course menus at different price points: $19, $29 and $39. With $1 of each meal donated to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, you have an extra incentive to eat out July 14 through 23. Need another reason to partake, other than helping those in need? Some of the restaurants dish on don’t-miss Restaurant Week menu items, as well as new favorites.
Rocksalt
Paul Chinco, executive chef
Don’t miss: Tomato gazpacho with crab salad
Debut dish: The tuna tartare; there might be some changes, but they will be simple changes that will elevate the dish.
Orzo Kitchen and Wine Bar
Pete Evans, chef/partner
Don’t miss: The summer vegetable salad. It’s a mixture of grilled and raw summer veg with preserved lemon, feta and grilled fennel vinaigrette.
Debut dishes: There are a few dishes here that will be on our summer menu: the gazpacho, melon and cucumber salad, fish of the day, the salmon and the risotto.
Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar
Erica Vorhauer, wine director
Don’t miss: Our beet-infused risotto dish is a feast for vegetarians but can also be a delight to carnivores by adding steak.
Debut dish: Fresh, local peaches will be added to celebrate summer. We are the first restaurant to debut our friend Jake Busching’s beautiful viognier and cabernet franc, and Commonwealth will also launch its new wine list in time for Restaurant Week.
The Pub by Wegmans
Branden Cheney, manager
Don’t miss: Our chicken shawarma wrap. Our restaurant chefs spent some time perfecting the spices and ingredients to make them unique and as authentic as possible.
The Fitzroy
Richard Ridge, co-owner/operator
Don’t miss: The peach and cucumber salad. Cooling off by eating chilled fresh produce is my favorite way to begin a summer meal.
Fry’s Spring Station
Tommy Lasley, executive chef
Don’t miss: All of our pizzas. We get a five-day ferment on our dough, combined with our house cheese blend and all in-house made toppings make for great pies.
The Shebeen Pub & Braai
Walter Slawski, chef/owner
Don’t miss: A South African version of the Southern classic shrimp and grits, incorporating samp (cracked hominy), boerewors (our house-made South African sausage) and prawns in a prego sauce.
Timberwood Tap House
Brandon Masters, kitchen manager
Don’t miss: The chorizo fritters. Spanish Manchego cheese and Yukon gold potatoes are going to be the perfect vehicle to experience this traditional sausage.
Debut dish: Chocolate cheesecake bread pudding. We make a vanilla ice cream base as the binder, then fold in chocolate chips, crusty French bread and scoops of our house- made cheesecake with caramel and chocolate sauces, then more ice cream.
Jack’s Shop Kitchen
Eric Bein, chef/farmer
Don’t miss: Our pork belly dish, featuring pork and beets from Jack’s Shop Farm, potatoes from Edgewood Miller and watercress from Planet Earth Diversified.
Debut dish: Our fry pie, in hopes that it will become a mainstay. We would change the filling throughout the year to reflect the season.
The Bavarian Chef
Jerome Thalwitz, chef/owner
Don’t miss: The summer schnitzel. The traditional hand-breaded veal schnitzel is topped with grilled local tomatoes, buttery Gouda cheese and fresh pineapple. It is truly a taste of summer.
Debut dish: The Bavarian cream napoleon has a real shot at earning a permanent spot on our dessert menu. One guest called it “life changing.”
Tavern & Grocery
David Morgan, chef
Don’t miss: The pork shank. We are using a new farm, Buckingham Berkshires, and we are very excited to highlight them.
Debut dishes: Chicken wings and panzanella are late-summer favorites.