Beer Run – C-VILLE Weekly

Staff picks: What we’re eating (and drinking) now

The only thing better than working in the C-VILLE Weekly newsroom is leaving it to get a drink and a bite to eat. The paper’s writers and editors are just like you: Our pockets aren’t very deep but we love the city’s vibrant and diverse food scene. Here are a few of our favorite places and things.

Laura Longhine, editor

Recent find: El Salvadoran and Mexican food at the Marathon gas station on Rio Road (by Greenbrier Drive). Cheap, authentic, and delicious. Try the sopes al pastor or pupusas.

Cheap eats: Bodo’s!

Go-to spot: Bizou for lunch, Oakhart Social for dinner and drinks. For an ex-New Yorker, Oakhart’s dining room feels like home. The sausage pizza is reliably great, plus they usually have a lovely salad and a funky natural wine or two on the menu.

Splurge: C&O. Even after all this time, there’s nothing more satisfying than a slow-paced dinner here by the wood stove, with delicious cocktails and classics like the trout amandine and steak chinoise. Plus, I love a restaurant that still gives you a bread basket.

Go-to brew: Mosaic Pale Ale at Random Row is my absolute favorite beer in town.

As the name suggests, the la familia chicken dinner is a family favorite at Al Carbon. Photo: Tom McGovern

Family meal: La familia chicken dinner to go from Al Carbon—a whole bird plus three sides and two salsas for $21.50. We also love to get a table at Milan—friendly service, a kids menu, and naan to keep everyone happy.

Food with friends: Beer Run—get the nachos!

Guilty pleasure: The old-fashioned layer cake at MarieBette; almost too pretty to eat.

Local place I’m dying to try: Comal, the new Mexican place in Belmont.

Out-of-town restaurant: Una Pizza Napoletana, in NYC. Take the Amtrak. It’s worth it.

Max March, editorial designer

Recent find: Lately, I’ve been enjoying cocktails with bitter aperitifs like Campari and Aperol. I like the interplay of sweet and bitter of the 23 Skidoo at Brasserie Saison. My go-to these days is a boulevardier—a bourbon drink with Campari—at the cicchetti bar at Tavola.

Best meal ever: Restaurant Week 2014, at C&O. This wonderful dish stands out in my memory: braised beef and potato gnocchi and some kind of wine sauce (with mushrooms, I think). Along with the soft lighting and good friends around a long table, eating a stick-to-your-ribs meal like that really made a regular weekend meal feel like a holiday.

Cheap eats: Something needs to be said about Maya’s $12 menu on Tuesday. Maya serves that classic nouveau-Southern cuisine that is so satisfying, and a good portion of the menu is pretty affordable that night.

Splurge: Our special-occasion spot is Tavola. The food is always amazing. I often end up ordering too much because there are so many must-haves. Gotta have the mussels. Burrata is non-negotiable. More wine? Yes, please. Carbonara. Bolognese. They serve their steak with agrodolce and gorgonzola that provides this sweet/tangy/funky combo you won’t find anywhere else. Beet risotto equals best risotto. Oh yeah, they have an amazing cocktail bar in the back! Just…maybe bring friends and share to help out your wallet.

Go-to bar: Champion Brewery. Location is perfect for me. People are great. Love the beer (some of my favorites in town). They have really solid bar food (J.M. Stock hot dogs, burgers, pretzels with beer cheese), and I’d put their nachos up against Beer Run’s any day (fight me). I also love that on any given day you might stop by to find some off-the-wall event happening. Ballet on the patio. An astronomy lesson from a UVA prof. Game nights. My fave is Tuesday night, when “Jeopardy!” is on, they turn off the music and turn up Trebek and the whole bar shouts out answers (questions) together. There aren’t a lot of bars in town that create an atmosphere of easy community like this one does.

Food with friends: This is where Mas really shines for me. My tip is to order a large sangria and quickly realize you’re all a little tipsier than you thought you’d be. Go-to dishes are the roasted tomatoes, and carne asada. Obviously you’ve got to order tapas staples like papas bravas and bacon-wrapped dates. Try the boquerones if you’re nasty (I am).

Brunch: Most underrated brunch in town is Miller’s. Chicken & waffles, a great biscuit and gravy, eggs benny, with all the boozy breakfast cocktails you could want. And it doesn’t break the bank.

Joe Bargmann, living/special publications editor

Recent find: Early Mountain Vineyards has a new chef and a carefully curated menu with a focus on local ingredients—delicious stuff, especially the pork
belly with shredded red cabbage. Also, the vineyard setting in the rolling hills of Madison is beautiful.

Go-to bar: Jack Brown’s Beer & Burgers. My girlfriend objects because of the gratuitous and sexist chandelier of bras (and I don’t disagree with her), but I like the smashburgers, dive-bar vibe, and friendly staff.

Late night: Miller’s on the Downtown Mall. Dark-wood saloon atmosphere, dim lighting, and amazing mac ‘n’ cheese (finished in a skillet and served folded-over, like an omelet, with a crisp shell).

Guilty pleasure: A good cut of beef from J.M. Stock. Pricey, for sure, but always worth it.

Happy hour: Tilman’s. Good deals and a sweet little tasting menu. I love the bruschetta with melted brie, prosciutto, and fig preserves.

Local place I’m dying to try: Prime 109, if my GoFundMe reaches its goal.

Out-of-town restaurant: En Su Boca, in Richmond. Killer margaritas and modern Tex-Mex food in a funky space where everyone has at least one tattoo.

Susan Sorensen, copy editor

Cheap eats: The Villa Diner. Breakfast is served until 4pm, portions are generous (and tasty), and nobody makes a better toasted pecan waffle (for $6.95, people!).

Go-to spot: Citizen Burger Bar for sweet potato fries and the “red” vegan burger. I know, I know: Who in the hell eats vegetarian at CBB?! I do—and it’s delicious.

Splurge: The Farmhouse at Veritas. The four-course menu (with wine pairings) changes every week, and costs $85 (plus tax and tip) per person.

Go-to bar: The Timberwood Grill. It’s pretty much in our Earlysville backyard, the beer menu is immense and well-curated, and it’s a swell place to watch UVA sports surrounded by lots of other Hoos fans.

Brunch: Boylan Heights on the Corner. Our daughter’s a UVA second-year, and if we promise to pay for brunch (after noon, of course!) for her and her three adorable roommates, we get proof of life every couple months or so.

Late night: The Whiskey Jar. A mess of sides—mac ‘n’ cheese, corn bread, pimento cheese, ham biscuits, French fries—is perfect for soaking up a long night’s worth of alcohol. Last call is at 2 a.m. on weekends.

Guilty pleasure: Four scoops (dulce de leche, hazelnut, gianduia, and milk and cherry) from Splendora’s.

Happy hour: Rapture. Cheap cabernet, right across from our office on the Downtown Mall. ’Nuff said.

Out-of-town restaurant: Founding Farmers in Washington, D.C. The food’s terrific (try the chicken and waffles or the chicken pot pie),
and most of it comes from a bunch of family farms in North Dakota.

Erin O’Hare, arts reporter

Cheap eats: Vita Nova Pizza’s bell pepper and onion slice is hands-down the best bang for my four bucks.

Go-to spot: Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar—specifically, for the Goatherder plate, and for the amazing and delicious variety of teas hot and cold. Also, the milkshakes.

Brunch: Bluegrass Grill, where my favorite is the Hungry Norman, the perfect savory-sweet breakfast plate. When I have visitors in town on a weekday, I always take them here, because it’s the only time there’s no wait for a table.

Late night: C&O, because ’round midnight is the best time to nom a gooey grilled cheese soaked in tomato soup, a belly filler for $10.

Out-of-town restaurant: Kuba Kuba in Richmond! The paella options and the tres leches cake are so delicious, I don’t even know what to say about them except that you should go get them, but if you’re in my way, I’ll probably try to cut you in line.

Matt Weyrich, news reporter

Recent find (food): The Nook. The All The Way breakfast with a couple pieces of toast has quickly become my go-to.

Recent find (drink): South Street Brewery. The mystery beer that doesn’t yet have a name is fantastic and was easily the highlight of the flight I tasted.

Cheap eats: Brazos Tacos. If I had to have one meal item every day for the rest of my life, it just might be Brazos La Tia taco (picadillo beef, mashed potatoes, corn pico, white onion, queso fresco, and cilantro).

Go-to spot: Asado Wing and Taco Company. I love the wings and always seem to have good interactions with other people sitting at the bar.

Go-to bar: Draft Taproom. Sixty taps and more than a dozen TVs make for an awesome combination if you’re looking to watch sports with a beer in your hand all night.

Go-to brew: Three Notch’d. I pass by it on my way home from work every day, and sometimes I just can’t help myself.

Food with friends: The Whiskey Jar. I’m a big burger guy and my favorite in Charlottesville so far is definitely the Crunch Burger.

Brunch: Bodo’s. I’ve been to Bodo’s 19 times since I started at C-VILLE Weekly in June, and I have absolutely no shame in admitting it.

Late night: Jack Brown’s Beer & Burgers. I went to college at JMU and the vibe is exactly like the location in Harrisonburg, so it feels like home to me.

Happy hour: Random Row. You can’t beat the $2 happy hour on Thursdays.

Out-of-town restaurant: O’Neill’s Grill in Harrisonburg. I’m not much
of a dessert guy, but I cannot go there without having the cookie skillet.

Brielle Entzminger, news reporter

Recent find (food): Mochiko Hawaiian Food and Deli. It just opened at 5th Street Station.

Recent find (drink): The amazing sweet wines at Barboursville Vineyards.

Cheap eats: Any bowl at Poke Sushi Bowl with the coconut cream sauce.

Splurge: Sakura Japanese Steakhouse, about $60-70 with tip for two people.

Go-to bar: Skybar because of its nice view of the city.

Brunch: The Shebeen. Amazing mimosas and moderately priced South African food.

Happy hour: Guadalajara’s $7 jumbo margaritas on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Out-of-town restaurant: Bottoms Up Pizza, in Richmond. Pizzas are huge, thick, delicious, and come in all kinds of unique combinations.

Bad lights: Glaring illumination mars night sky

On a night with a full moon, Rick Barnett can see pretty clearly outside his Belmont house. The problem is, he can also see clearly on moonless nights—thanks to an array of lighting, mostly commercial, blazing up into the sky behind his house.

On a recent drive around the neighborhood, he points out a shielded fixture over the back door of a business on Carlton Avenue. “That’s a good light,” he says. Around the corner on the same building, another shoots a bright light up into the trees. “And that one is bad.”

That’s one major sign of light pollution: when the bulb blasts up into the sky rather than illuminating the ground below. Looking south from Barnett’s elevated Chestnut Street backyard, where he’s lived since 1995, he can see dozens of lights, including those of Sentara Martha Jefferson and State Farm on Pantops.

But the worst offenders are in his backyard, on Carlton Avenue, where the lighting on some businesses looks like a landing strip. It’s gotten worse in the past two or three years, he says.

Charlottesville’s light ordinance is pretty much a copy of Albemarle’s, according to light designer Mark Schulyer, who wrote the ordinance in 1998 with UVA astronomer Phil Ianna. Ianna raised the issue of lights obscuring the night sky and making McCormick Observatory useless for serious astronomy.

“The first ordinance was a significant challenge,” recalls Schuyler. It required approval from the General Assembly before the county could adopt it, and buy-in from the community to protect the science being done that requires dark skies.

The limit at the time, 3,000 lumens, came from an Ianna idea. At a meeting of around 300 people, many in the lighting field, he displayed different wattages and asked people to “raise your hand when this is really unpleasant,” recounts Schuyler. That’s what the cap was based on.

The ordinance requires outdoor luminaires to be shielded to avoid spillover into adjoining residential properties—and into the night sky. “Light that bounces up in the sky is wasted light,” says Schuyler.

All of that happened before the biggest revelation in lighting since the invention of the light bulb: the light-emitting diode. The LED saves so much energy, its three Japanese inventors won the Nobel Prize for physics in 2014. It’s also contributed to “a measurable increase in light pollution worldwide,” says Schuyler.

Before LEDs, which are not mentioned in the ordinance, electricians and electrical supply houses were aware of the ordinance and had displays of shielded lighting, he explains.

Now, people are ordering brighter LEDs without shields off of Amazon, and they have no one saying, “You shouldn’t be doing that,” says Schuyler.

In addition to blocking the stars, glaring lights at night may have a harmful effect on vision and health. The American Medical Association warns that artificial lighting can disrupt circadian rhythms, which can lead to health risks including diabetes, mood disorders, and cancer.

Ordinance enforcement is a “tricky business,” says Schuyler, because of limited staff resources and the fact that someone has to work overtime to check lights at night.

Lighting enforcement is complaint-based, and the city averages fewer than one complaint a year, says Assistant Zoning Administrator Craig Fabio. Zoning staff works with offenders to bring them into compliance, and fines are possible, he says.

City Councilor Heather Hill has been to Barnett’s place. “It was eye-opening to me,” she says. While she believes the bleed over from commercial lights that affects residents is unintentional, “I do think we have a lot of opportunity to enhance our lighting ordinance.”

Both she and Schuyler say the PLACE Design Task Force is looking at the issue.

Barnett has had some luck working with neighbors himself. A year ago he approached Tiger Fuel and “got a very good response,” he says. The company put up new fixtures on the front of its building, and “now it’s nothing like the locomotive lights that were coming toward me.”

He also cites success with City Walk apartments, which shielded its lights after neighbors complained. Barnett says Beer Run now cuts off the lights on its sign after it closes.

He’s less pleased with Tubby’s new lights, which illuminate the back of Richmond Camera. “It’s obscene. Obscene,” says Barnett. Tubby’s owner, John Fargale, did not respond to a call from C-VILLE.

Some people mistakenly believe that the more lights, the safer a property is, says Schuyler. He calls it “security theater.”

Police Chief RaShall Brackney agrees that lighting doesn’t necessarily deter crime. “People become immune,” she says. And the International Dark-Sky Association says that glare can decrease safety by creating deep shadows that make it harder to see a lawbreaker from constricted pupils.

Barnett counts seven sources of light that intrude into his bedroom windows or yard during winter months, and that doesn’t include the streetlights shining on the front of his house.

Before, “It was all delightfully dark,” he says. “I could sit on the roof and see the stars.”

Correction May 2: Barnett lives on Chestnut Street, not avenue.