Restaurants in Charlottesville

[ThatGrrl]

If that is truly the case that they are putting that kind of cheese on "everything" then the place has changed considerably since I was last there. One of the things i loved about that place was that they didn't do that - at least not in most of their dishes.

Hasn't been my experience. But then, I tend to order less-cheesy items to begin with. Could come down to any variety of differing factors, here. Which of the three restaurant locations you choose. What you order. How you order it (granted, you should not have to specify "hold the cheese, almost entirely"). I often order a chicken chimichanga, but not fried. Never had a problem with them cheesing the heck out of that. May well be that eatvancouver and I are both right. Order the wrong thing (or, from the gist of the post, any of a number of wrong items) and you get the cheesy mess. Just hasn't been my personal experience.

[eatvancouver]

If that is truly the case that they are putting that kind of cheese on "everything" then the place has changed considerably since I was last there. One of the things i loved about that place was that they didn't do that - at least not in most of their dishes.

Hasn't been my experience. But then, I tend to order less-cheesy items to begin with. Could come down to any variety of differing factors, here. Which of the three restaurant locations you choose. What you order. How you order it (granted, you should not have to specify "hold the cheese, almost entirely"). I often order a chicken chimichanga, but not fried. Never had a problem with them cheesing the heck out of that. May well be that eatvancouver and I are both right. Order the wrong thing (or, from the gist of the post, any of a number of wrong items) and you get the cheesy mess. Just hasn't been my personal experience.

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sounds about right. i used to get the combinations, so like two enchiladas and a taco or something. i wasn't really crazy about the tacos either - mass produced shells, watery meat.

[docsconz]

If that is truly the case that they are putting that kind of cheese on "everything" then the place has changed considerably since I was last there. One of the things i loved about that place was that they didn't do that - at least not in most of their dishes.

Hasn't been my experience. But then, I tend to order less-cheesy items to begin with. Could come down to any variety of differing factors, here. Which of the three restaurant locations you choose. What you order. How you order it (granted, you should not have to specify "hold the cheese, almost entirely"). I often order a chicken chimichanga, but not fried. Never had a problem with them cheesing the heck out of that. May well be that eatvancouver and I are both right. Order the wrong thing (or, from the gist of the post, any of a number of wrong items) and you get the cheesy mess. Just hasn't been my personal experience.

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sounds about right. i used to get the combinations, so like two enchiladas and a taco or something. i wasn't really crazy about the tacos either - mass produced shells, watery meat.

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I would get soft tacos that were excellent. If I remember correctly their carne asada was particularly good. Of course this was all a long time ago. It is certainly liekly that the place has changed in some ways

[Seanchai]

If you stay away from the Tex-Mexy menu items, the food can be pretty good Mexican. The Chile verde and Tacos el pastor in particular are bueno.

[jm chen]

Had a really fabulous meal at C&O last week, I highly recommend it. Keeping all the seating areas straight might be a little confusing (upstairs, bistro, mezzanine, covered patio, open patio) but wherever you sit, it's good food.

We sat in the mezzanine, because there weren't enough reservations on the books for them to open the upstairs. And the covered patio (which was also closed because it was too hot) was a really, really pretty space.

Handwritten menu. Great fish. Great cheese plate. Friendly service. Quail and gnocchi, out of this world.

[ThatGrrl]

Had a really fabulous meal at C&O last week, I highly recommend it. Keeping all the seating areas straight might be a little confusing (upstairs, bistro, mezzanine, covered patio, open patio) but wherever you sit, it's good food.

We sat in the mezzanine, because there weren't enough reservations on the books for them to open the upstairs. And the covered patio (which was also closed because it was too hot) was a really, really pretty space.

Handwritten menu. Great fish. Great cheese plate. Friendly service. Quail and gnocchi, out of this world.

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The Cuban steak is also VERY good!

C & O is one of my favorite late night places for drinks. The downstairs (basement, really, although it's actually at street level, due to the hill on which the restaurant is located) has pretty much the latest last call in town. Very cozy in winter. GOOD solid pours, too. Lethal, if you've been out drinking prior. They also were just noted for their late night menu in the "C-Ville Weekly's" Best of Charlottesville issue.

[viejomajadero]

Well, had two dinners at Zocalo late in August. Both times walked out feeling very good. Loved the Spicy Tuna tartar $9.00, the Pan Seared Tuna Loin $21.00, and the Grilled Chimmi-Churi Lamb Loin. Loved the food style and flavors. Wonderful wine list containing wide range of choices from Spain and South Amerrica. Staff was very accomodating and friendly providing attention and excellent service from the time we arrived. Spoke at length with the amicable Chef Owner who turns out is a New Englander and has no ethnic connection to this style food.

Overall, high complements from a foodie from NJ. Thanks ThatGrrl for the tip.

Viejo

[IR Chef Salad]

Yikes I miss C'ville like crazy! The chicken shack behind Durty Nellies is the Wayside. If the grease is right, it is some of the best chicken you'll eat.

As for Guad's, I ate there enough to know that they cater to all of Charlottesville--food experienced and not at all. So I think the place is like many "mexican" restaurants in the US: it HAS to sell standard stuff to exist. Last time I went it was not crowded at all and it was 730 on a Friday. It made me concerned...I need these places to persist so I can eat when I visit.

By the way, Bodo's Bagels are the closest thing to a real bagel in the entire southeast.

[K_A_S]

Cville has lots of pretty good dining options, and the competition is so fierce that less-than-good places usually die fairly quickly, with the occasional notable exception. Now that I've moved an hour and twenty minutes down the road, I find that I miss a few places:

The Tavern: good diner-style breakfast; the pancake of the month is often good, but the omelette of the month is usually scary.

Bang: Asian influenced tapas and designer cocktails, and despite its trendiness, the food is good.

Le Petit Pois: a nice little bistro on the Downtown Mall.

Guadalajara: not all of the food there is great, but it's a local fixture of sorts. When they have carnitas, though, you'll be glad. If they don't have carnitas, order tacos.

Revolutionary Soup: good soup, as the name suggests.

Duner's: maybe not quite as good as it used to be, but still pretty darned good. If Hollywood types are in town, they seem to turn up here (whether that's a good thing or not is up to you). It's all about the food, though, so while the decor isn't shabby by any means, the food is the reason to go.

The Shabeen: a South African restaurant that has, in my opinion, the best fish and chips in town.

If I spent more time thinking about it, I could come up with others (but I'd probably start getting depressed )

Although it's not technically a restaurant, I do find that I miss Mona Lisa Pasta (fresh pasta, good cheeses, other goodies). Also, Foods of All Nations (foods of all inflations, I might say) and the markets in the Main Street Marketplace are all quite nice. The Albemarle Baking Company (in the Main Street Marketplace) makes the bread for lots of local restaurants. And then Greenberry's Coffee is a locally-owned coffee shop that's worth a visit.

As I look back on it, there's only a couple of places that I would really give a bad review to:

Mas: for starters, they don't know Spanish food (for example, if you order patatas bravas, you'll get patatas al ailoli), and the service is almost always bad; if you want to feel hip, though, you can safely go for a drink, some merguez, and bread--just expect it to take a while for it to show up, and double-check your bill to make sure they get it right.

Sal's (on the Downtown Mall): imagine the worst sort of red sauce Italian-American restaurant you can think of -- it could be Sal's. The only thing that it has going for it is that it's on the Downtown Mall and you can sit outside, which is nice. Go to Rapture (more interesting food), Miller's (for a beer), Cafe Cubano (for coffee), or any other place with outdoor seating instead.

[dansch]

For those who used to live in/frequent the Charlottesville area, but have been gone for a while: The Blue Moon Diner is reopening in a matter of weeks. Mark and Gus are now partnering with a couple who'll be running things more day-to-day. I walk past the renovation work every other day, and it's looking good.

And on the topic of Guadalajara, Yuck! Genuine junk as far as I'm concerned. Check out Aqui Es Mexico - *far* better food. Sopes to die for. It's off of Carlton Rd. in the same shopping center as Cville Market/Kathy's Produce.

Cheers,

-Dan