Tag: Small Bites

Our local eateries and bakeries are going all out for the holidays. Here are a few of our favorite cozy spots, jolly eats, and festive treats.

Try this

For cozy mountain vibes, head to The Matterhorn, a tented alpine ski-bar atop Common House. The festive decor, crackling fireplaces, and themed cocktails will have you feeling like you’re sitting slope side. Hunker down with the Matador, a warm concoction of hot chocolate, reposado, and ancho chile liqueur topped with whipped cream and cinnamon, or get wild and throw back a couple of shotskis. 

The halls are decked with tinsel and lights galore at the Jingle Bell Bar. Located inside Quirk Hotel’s Bobboo Bar, the holiday pop-up includes a special drink menu and decadent charcuterie boards. The Vixon, Comet & Cupid or John McClane is sure to wet the whistle of any whiskey lover. 

At The Forum Hotel, sit down for breakfast with Santa Claus at Birch & Bloom, or head over to The Case Study Chalet & Lounge for warm fondue and grown-up bevvies. Dip your choice of fresh fruits, sweets cakes, or crisp veggies in bubbling chocolate or cheese, and grab a specialty cocktail crafted by the bartender, Eric. 

Don your ugly sweaters or best Clark Griswold cosplay for a funky family Christmas at Flying Fox Winery and Vineyard. The tasting room is transformed with floor-to-ceiling wrapping paper, ornaments, and cheeky cocktails and mocktails. 

Sleigh sips

Get your nog fix at The Alley Light. Bartender Micah LeMon has been whipping up batches of the French eatery’s famous eggnog spiked with Jamaican rum, which you can score by the glass or in a limited run of 10 quarts.

We’re dreaming of Zocalo’s White Xmas Margarita, a frosty mixture of tequila, triple sec, coconut milk, lime simple, cranberries, and rosemary. The downtown joint’s wintery mixed-drink menu offers four cocktails and two mocktails, including the decadent Chocolate Strawberry Martini, with crème de cacao, rumchata, Baileys, vodka, and strawberry purée. 

Warm up your grinchy heart with some hot mulled cider. Potter’s Craft Cider’s packs a flavorful punch with fortified cider, fresh apple juice, cinnamon, allspice, clove, and ginger. 

Something sweet

Make a date with MarieBette’s sticky toffee date pudding—it’s seriously one of the best bites in town. Moist sponge cake envelopes layers of finely chopped dates, all smothered in a rich toffee sauce. The bakery’s freezers are also stocked with ice cream cakes as part of a new cold collab with SugarBear. Snag an eggnog, gingerbread, or peppermint stick cake, and keep on the lookout for new flavors later. 

Christmas-day dessert is easy with Albemarle Baking Company’s holiday menu. Stock up on the rich but airy panettone, a sugar-covered loaf of stollen, a box of traditional läckerli, or an assortment of gingerbread people. 

Iron Paffle’s crispy latke waffles are here for a limited time, and can be made vegan or gluten free.

Charlottesville is always buzzing with news of the latest restaurant concepts, developed by old pros and fresh faces alike. Last year brought many new options, while some longtime favorites closed up shop. Here’s a roundup of (most) of what we gained and lost.

When North American Sake Brewery owner Andrew Centofante received a terrible fortune at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, he decided he would make his own luck by transforming the bitter prediction into a different sort of future. Pairing well with his American-made sake, ramen had fast become the most popular dish on the NAS menu—so slurp hello to Bad Luck Ramen Bar, dedicated to the craft of slow-simmered noodles and sake-marinated ingredients. As luck would have it, Bad Luck Ramen Bar held its grand opening on Friday, January 13.

On the Downtown Mall, Botanical Plant-Based Fare gives vegans more choices. Rockfish Brewing Company serves brews right next to Mudhouse, and a permanent kitchen from Charlottesville’s food truck FARMacy Café is making Mexican fusion. Check out their Super Naan Taco, using garlic naan bread with al pastor pork. 

Surf’s up at Brightside, a beach-inspired pub in The Bebedero’s former location above The Whiskey Jar. The sunny joint offers classic bar bites alongside an extensive tropical drink menu. Just off the mall is more exciting fusion in the Japanese-Korean comfort food from Umma’s (formerly the Basan Food Truck). 

On West Main Street, Smyrna is making a name as one of the hottest new dining places in town. The Quirk Hotel added the Bobboo Lounge, modeled after an estate cigar room, and Cake Bloom spoils us with elegant cake and champagne pairings. Dairy Market rolled out Basta Pasta by the team at Dino’s Pizza, and Birdhouse serves organic, free-range chicken dishes and creative sides in the Rose Hill neighborhood.

The Barracks Road Shopping Center welcomed Ralph Sampson’s American Taproom, and it seems the shuffle at 5th Street Station is beginning to settle down, with Pei Wei Asian Kitchen being the only new restaurant to open in the center last year. 

Emmet Street welcomed Chang Thai’s fresh and sustainably sourced family recipes. Popito’s Pizza, another food truck origin story, popped up in the Rio Hill Shopping Center, and visitors to The Shops at Stonefield can now grab some Tex Mex at Torchy’s Tacos and leafy green bowls and juices at Organic Krush Lifestyle Eatery.

In other knead-to-know news, DIY Pie is entering the scene as the newest pizza shop, at the former Lelo’s Pizza space on Pantops. Have it your way with an entirely customizable pizza, pasta, and salad menu. Also on Pantops, The Donut Kitchen parked its bakeshop in a permanent space. Pick your dozen from traditional flavors like strawberry glazed, or the indulgent Bavarian creme.

We can’t wait to order from

Brazos’ second location at Barracks Road Shopping Center, and Black Cow Chop House, a new woodfired, meaty-good concept from the team at Public Fish & Oyster.

Stick a fork in ’em, they’re done

Sadly, we lost some of our favorite go-to spots including Little Star, Peloton Station, Piedmont Bar and Kitchen, and, closing on Pi Day (March 14), The Pie Chest.

Pie partners Rachel and Tina announced that they will step away from the rolling pins to pursue education and career goals, and we are just crustfallen. There’s a crumb of hope, though, because they’ll continue to offer some Pie Chest favorites at pop ups, and the entire Fourth Street space will be taken over by Lone Light Coffee. 

After a few short months of serving gourmet, grown-up grilled cheese sandwiches Ooey Gooey Crispy closed its doors last October. The fast-casual restaurant also offered juicy smashburgers and crunchy salads.

Say goodbye to cheddar bay biscuits, because Red Lobster is sleeping with the fishes, but you can still snag the catch of the day at Red Crab Juicy Seafood, a family-friendly spot known for its signature Cajun seafood boil.

Nacho mama’s taco joint

Can’t get enough of Brazos uniquely composed tacos? (We’re looking at you chimichurri steak and potatoes taco.) The hip Austin-style spot announced that a new location is coming to the Barracks Road Shopping Center this spring. The second shop will include all Brazos’ favorites alongside a full dinner and bar menu. The full-service restaurant will expand the friendly, fast-casual Brazos’ concept into a more traditional (but no less friendly) dining experience.

Sip away

Do the recent snowstorms have you dreaming of a beach vacation? The folks at DuCard Vineyards have taken those dreams a step further: They’re opening a satellite tasting room in Nassau, Bahamas, for the winter. “It’s only the first week of January, and frankly we’re already just sick and tired of the snow and cold,” says winery president Scott Elliff.

Customers can order home delivery of wines, and visit the tropical location from their living room by using the BeamMeUp app on their phones, or tough it out locally at the Madison County tasting room with firepits, blankets, patio tent heaters, and more.

Counting the Milli-seconds

Milli Coffee Roasters has a new spot on the Downtown Mall. Milli Second Cafe & Wine Bar, located in the recently opened CODE building, is serving both sides of the work day by offering coffee during the day and morphing into a wine bar at night. The chic spot is nestled in the CODE building’s furnished lounge area, and is a great way to check out the mall’s newest digs.

Champions of the craft

In December, Charlottesville-based Champion Brewing Company and Reason Beer merged into a juggernaut of specialty craft brews. And there’s no need to worry about your Shower Beer or Hoppy Blonde—both companies will still offer their individual lines, and all staff has been retained under the Champion brand. The new venture has Champion founder Hunter Smith at the helm with Jeff Raileanu, co- founder of Reason Beer, as chief financial officer. “It’s a great opportunity for Reason to leverage the reach of Champion’s distribution, and for both brands to streamline operations under a single roof,” says Raileanu. Until now, Reason Beer has been available only in Virginia, while Champion can be found all over the East Coast. Raileanu hopes the brand that he and his team have worked so hard to build will continue to see success and growth with this new partnership.

“Both brands are community-focused and philanthropic; it will be incredible to see our joint impact,” Smith says.

Can we place an order yet?

Next on our 2022 to-do list? Line up to get into Umma’s (start camping out now people), the new Korean/Japanese-inspired restaurant from the founders of Basan food truck in collab with Mama Bird/Sussex Farm. The super popular Basan food truck launched after Charlottesville’s Kelsey Naylor and Anna Gardner spent a year learning to cook at a small bar in rural Japan. “Basan in a lot of ways is shaped by the meals we cooked in our apartment in Miyakonojo, for ourselves and for our other friends,” says Naylor. The brick-and-mortar Umma’s is scheduled to open sometime this spring in the former Moe’s BBQ space on Water Street.