Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Our Four Favorite Eats in Charlottesville, Virginia

By

Charlottesville
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Charlottesville may be a college town but they certainly have a great variety of foodie spots that aren’t geared to college tastes or wallets. While all of these aren’t bank breakers, they still have a level of quality, design and uniqueness that we deemed worthy of writing about. Here goes:

Blue Moon Diner

Pancakes
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While we tend to love a good diner, the Blue Moon has an amazing layer of punk attitude melded with Southern hospitality that makes it iconic. We can’t tell you how excited the waiter was who presented us our pancakes with a powdered sugar image of Captain Kirk freshly emblazoned on top. We sat at the counter and witnessed preppy families getting their day started as well as worn out hipsters who were recovering from the previous night’s partying. With live music on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, plus the original detailing’s of a real 1950’s diner, Blue Moon is a true piece of local legend.

Brazos Tacos

Breakfast-tacos
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While we love the Southern fare of Virginia, it’s refreshing to try something new. Brazos is famous for their Austin style (read breakfast style) tacos. Located a bit out of the touristy center, it’s a nice break from the “ye olde Thomas Jefferson” everything.

Recommended Videos

We got down on the Meatwad (Brisket, chicken, and bacon, avo-verde, honey-jefe, and salsa roja. With tomatoes and onions) and the I Willie Love You (Scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, sliced avocado, roasted corn pico and queso fresco) and were not disappointed.

Mas Tapas

Mas-Tapas
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tired of the fast food all over town, chef Thomas Rahal wanted to focus on organic and artisanal food and wines with Mas Tapas. His Spanish themed spot has taken off and we can attest that every small plate we tasted was exceptional. The sangria wasn’t too bad at all, but watch out if you order a pitcher as they are large and in charge. MAS is a participant in the Charlottesville/Blue Ridge Locavore community, and a charter member of the Piedmont Environmental Council’s Farm Fresh to Table program. We have to give chef even more kudos for posting recipes on his site too. That gazpacho may just get made as soon as this piece gets posted.

The bar at Red Pump Kitchen

Red-pump
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While we have covered Red Pump in the past, we saw a different side of the restaurant on this trip by eating at the bar. We walked by the restaurant twice before realizing they had opened up the entire front to the historic downtown mall to bring in the summer breezes and offer an al fresco atmosphere. We got down on the coffee roasted beets, a Margarita pizza from their wood burning oven and washed it all down with wine from their Pippin Hill winery just up the road. No reservations needed, but come early and pull up a seat.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Cator Sparks
Cator Sparks
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Cator Sparks was the Editor-in-Chief of The Manual from its launch in 2012 until 2018. Previously, Cator was covering…
What exactly is a dry white wine?
Which do you prefer? Dry or sweet?
White wine close-up

When it comes to wine terminology, things can very quickly become baffling. If you were new to the world of wine and suddenly asked to discuss a bottle's bouquet, tannins, oak, chew, legs, or herbaceousness, you might very well be left scratching your head. The encyclopedia of wine descriptors is not a short volume or a clear one. But, while many of these terms take some getting used to, there are two descriptive words that are quite easy to understand and very important when considering the taste of any particular wine: sweet and dry.

Simply stated, sweet wine contains residual sugars and tastes sweet, while dry wines contain little or no residual sugar and do not (always) taste sweet. More on this confusion in a moment.
What makes a white wine dry?

Read more
How to make the Aviation cocktail, a drink almost lost to history
The cocktail renaissance brought this classic drink back to the forefront
Aviation

The cocktail renaissance of the last two decades has brought many classic cocktails seemingly lost to time back to the forefront. While the Old Fashioned is the most notable (and never really went away completely), the list also includes drinks like the Sazerac, Americano, Martinez, Boulevardier, and many more. But there's one drink in particular that disappeared for decades and almost didn't come back at all. We're talking about the Aviation.
What is the Aviation?

The last cocktail mentioned might not get the press of the Old Fashioned or even the Manhattan, Negroni, or classic no-frills Daiquiri, but it’s no less memorable. This elegant, flavorful, complex cocktail is historically made with only four ingredients. They are gin, maraschino, liqueur, lemon juice, and crème de violette. Some contemporary recipes opt not to use the latter ingredient.
When was the Aviation cocktail created?

Read more
How to tenderize steak: The pros of every method
If you aren't velveting your beef, you're doing stir-fry wrong.
Different raw steak cuts

Often, when people are describing a particularly delicious meal they're eating, they'll say something along the lines of, "It just melts in your mouth." While this line can, admittedly, be a little bit cringy for those of us who are tired of hearing it, it does describe a certain success within a dish - tenderness. As human beings, we've evolved past knawing on raw muscle and bone and crave a succulent meal that does, in fact, taste as though it's melting away in our mouths. Unless it's beef jerky at a ball game, we want our meat to be tender. The problem, though, is that some of the most delicious cuts of beef are also the toughest. That's why it's important to tenderize steak and other cuts of beef before cooking.

Tenderizing beef is the process of breaking down its connective muscle fibers and tissues, giving that piece of meat a more delicate consistency and delicious flavor. So, how do we accomplish this at home?
How to tenderize steak

Read more