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This is the real deal, folks. If you disagree, you obviously have not the powers of the bearer of thunder and lightning, nor the gentle powers of a storm demon who brings death and disease to your village.
Some of these superlatives resulted from your commentary on the site, others are purely subjective. We won’t tell you which are which, but trust us on these. These are pure, from the minds of Thor and Lilith. DRUMROLL PLEASE……………
Who is the most entertaining (and hottest) bartender, who serves the best business lunch, who has the best late night service, who has the best salon?
Best Bartender: Ted Norris, previously of Ten fame, now an owner at Maya mixes the most original and tasty beverages in Charlottesville. We are lucky to have him.
Most Entertaining/Hottest Bartender: If Sarah di Kiki is serving, you know you are in for a good time.
Best Business Lunch: Hamilton’s, despite the slow service, creates a nice bright atmosphere that makes you feel special (on white tablecloths).
Best Lunch: Bizou with fastest service and above par, inexpensive food.
Best Dinner: Mas, so long as service issues and long waits don’t piss you off. On a side note, I’ve been impressed the last few times I’ve visited. The food has taken one step up and I haven’t had any servers obviously hate me.
Hottest Upcoming Spot: Central Belmont with the launch of Crush, the place next to Crush, the presence of Mas, La Taza and Saxx, this place will soon be the cooler alternative to a “yuppie” mall. Watch out folks, cause there is room for more retail and restaurants in that location.
Best Place to Stumble into Classy Significant Others: Zo Ca Lo.
Most Frustrating Scene That Could Have Done Better: Oxo.
Scariest Food Segment to Be In: Wine Bar Proprietorship. Competition from old school players, Market Street and Tastings will clash with Enoteca, Siips, Wine Guild, Crush and more.
Most Exciting Rumor: Trader Joe’s is coming to Charlottesville in the space where Whole Foods currently sits.
Tastiest Sweet: Gearhart’s Chocolate and Cupcakes & Co Cupcakes at Feast (TIED).
Best Kept Secret: Aqui es Mexico.
Funniest Readers: Belmont Yo & Oy.
Best Writer: Lilith.
Best Cookie: Feast Molasses.
Best Late Night Service: X-Lounge, where else can you get quality service and find a cocktail table in Charlottesville?
Hottest Place to Have a Romantic Hook Up: Carter’s Mountain.
Worst Place to be Rejected by Someone: Tea House (you shouldn’t have tried in the first place).
Smartest Place to Breakup: Cafe Cubano’s Patio.
YouTube-ulation: Foxfield.
Sexiest, Most Close-to-Nude People: Bikram Yoga
Coolest Publication: cVillain, DUH.
Business we want to survive our discriminating tastes: Tie: Beer Run and The Box. Whatever the Box is.
Best Breakfast, period: Blue Moon Diner– the closest thing we’ve got to a cross-section of Charlottesville short of the DMV on a Saturday morning.
Best Beer List You Don’t Know About: Basil Mediterranean Bistro.
Most Interesting Wine List: The Shebeen.
Best Reason To Park Legally: Lethal Towing.
Best Reason To Drive the Speed Limit: Weekend speed traps on 29N.
Worst 250 Bypass Entrance Ramps: 250E/29N from Old Ivy.
Stinkiest situation: Whatever’s in front of Miller’s.
Best Wedding Invitations: Rock Paper Scissors.
Best Wedding Venue: Veritas Vineyard.
Best Wedding Getaway: Clifton Inn.
Best Overnight Stay and Porch Party: South Street Inn.
Best Weekend for Tortured Artist Hook-Ups: Festival of the Photograph!
Non-Reader We Most Wish Would Comment on the Site: The Rock!
Regular Reader We Most Wish Would Comment, Ever, on the Site: Dave McNair of the Hook!
Best Salon: Salon Druknya on the Downtown Mall.
Best Barber: Staples in Barrack’s.
Most Likely to be Misspelled and Incorrectly Punctuated: Siips with two “i’s” and three. with a period.
Best Wax: Caspari’s candles.
Best Birthday Present: Dinner and a show at the Paramount Theatre.
Best Reason for Temporary Hearing Loss: Concerts at John Paul Jones Arena.
Best Reason to Suck It Up and Drink Bud Light: Fridays after Five at the Charlottesville Pavilion.
Most Underground Scene, Figuratively: Dust.
Most Underground Scene, Literally: C&O.
Best Ride on a Friday Night (that isn’t a cVillain): Happy Rickshaw.
Best Date for Cheap and Hottest Horses: Free polo match (and wine tasting) on summer Sundays at King Family Vineyards.
Best Free Sample: Gearhart’s.
Best Reason Not to Give In to Satellite Radio, also Best Reason to Leave Work at 6: Last Letter Game on 106.1 the Corner.
Best “See and Be Seen” Party: Live Arts‘ fundraisers.
Best Local Serious Blog: Real Central Virginia.
Best Personal Blog: OutSkirts.
Best Gourmet Food Store: Feast.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Tagged as: Activities, Aqui Es Mexico, Basil, Beer Run, Belmont, Blue Moon Diner, C&O, Cafe Cubano, Carter's Mountain, Caspari's Candles, Celebrities, Central Virginia, Charlottesville, Charlottesville Pavilion, Clifton Inn, Crush, cVillain, Dave McNair, Downtown Mall, Feast, Festival of the Photograph, foxfield, Gearhart's, Hamilton's, Happy Rickshaw, John Paul Jones Arena, King Family Vineyards, Lethal Towing, Live Arts, Local Business, Mas, Maya, Miller's, Outskirts, Oxo, Paramount Theatre, Rants, Raves, Real Central Virginia, Restaurants, Restaurants/Bars, Reviews, Rock Paper Scissors, Salon Druknya, Shopping, Siips, Staples, Tea House, The Rock, Trader Joe's, Veritas Vineyard, Wine Bars, Winners, X Lounge, ZO.CA.LO
What?!? Am I a clown? Do I AMUSE you?!?
(only reason Sarah won hottest bartender is cuz I don’t tend bar - just sayin’…)
[…] other matters impacting the local real estate market. Thanks for visiting!Or, as they say, “2007 Raw List of Charlottesville Superlatives.” cVillain burst on the scene earlier this year and has quickly become what I believe to be […]
Yay! Come to my hood for upcoming alt-yuppie madness. We can party at my house until crush opens up! Rancho Notso Grande awaits your revelry (and whatever booze you might bring, Im running low).
And speaking of little birds, “dust” is and awesome space with an awesome concept and I love it… but in 2008… look for something similar, yet just a bit more coming down the pipe. Think private, after hours and from the dj stand point… 20,000 watts of audio goodness (escafe = 400 watts). Already played there once, and I hope its the beginning of something delicious. There’s too much camoflage at 216 lately anyway. Time for a new flavor.
…but I’ve said too much.
TRADER JOES!? oh woweewowowow. You’ve also got me counting down for the Festival of the Photograph for a whole new reason now… mmmmmm. thanks cvillain.
That was fun to read. We went to dinner last night at Aqui es Mexico with our guests from Tampa and they loved it.
lol…I would, but who has the time? Also, there’s way too much of a temptation to say something I would probably regret. Great best of, guys.
While not Mexican restaurant connoisseur, I do like Aqui Es Mexico. Try the Mexican Street salad for something completely different and tasty.
Where will all the people coming from out of the neighborhood park in Belmont as it booms? Great list.
How is aqui es mexico a secret? Maybe 18 months ago, but now everyone and their mother is pimpin’ that place (Which is not to say it’s not the best mex food in town–just sayin.)
As for barber, my man Chang, of Chang’s Barber Shop in the Albemarle Square shopping center is the new best barber. Very little english, but homeboy cuts you with crazy levels of care and precision for $12!
Dave McNair, you ROCK!
Does that mean we have to take him off the list?
I heard Saxx closed. Anyone?
Already? Shiiiet. Did you hear Siip opened? Outskirts mentioned it.
Ummm, hottest place for a romantic hook-up? I’d say the UVa steam tunnels, but maybe you didn’t mean it literally?
saxx is cosed yes- though they are renting out the space for private parties whie they decide the future of the place.
also, stopped in The Box today and chatted with one of the owners (there are plenty of them)– look for an opening EARLY next year.
h-d, I like it! Missed opportunities… sigh…
those tunnels are still there…
8Stormy
“Where will all the people coming from out of the neighborhood park in Belmont as it booms?”
They’ll have to walk from downtown. Or maybe we can make it invite only– you have to park at a friend’s house. >:D
Mmm, I second the vote for Cupcakes & Co. at Feast. The almond is fantastic.
oy - would you wear tight pants like Sarah?
I can guarantee that Sarah’s pants would be MUCH tighter on me
NICE!
dave - aqui is still pretty hole in the wallish feelings to me.. maybe I’m wrong.
The mushroom delicacy they added to the menu is really good, but the restaurant is not for me.
Nah, you might be right. Maybe I just run with some food-loving dorks.
you cant get in the steam tunnels anymore……….unless you know someone
hooray for dust! what a great space and underused resource. now if only we could reroute the steam tunnels there for belmont’s seeekrit parties…
also, the happy rickshaw comment made me snorfle. niiiice.
I prefer when Sarah wears no pants at all.
And did you say Bizou was fast? Snort!
oy- i’m bringing you a pair of my pants tonight– i’ll sit at the bar and you can serve me.. learn how to make a good margarita(s)
good margarita = shot of tequila, hold everything else.
in that case, you’re my DD
how can I be anyone’s DD when I’ll be wearing a pair of 28 inch waist jeans? Won’t be able to bend over to get into the car.
Let’s just crash on Kiki’s couches tonight
[…] The cVillain’s 2007 Raw List of Charlottesville Superlatives (i.e. No Advertising, Ballot Stuffing… […]
I’m sorry yall but I hate Blue Moon. I know you hipsters are agape but that place is too…something. I can’t put my finger on it.
Oh and the breakfast sucks. The eggs are lifeless, thin and flat. The bread (toast or muffins) is always burnt. The bacon is ew. The sausage is blugh. I gave that place plenty of chances but I’m not going back.
My finger has found it: it’s too “huppie” (my word for the prototypical Cville hippie/yuppie). Too many yoga pants and white girls with dreads and spinster professors and hipsters wearing oversized sunglasses indoors. People thinkin it’s cool to eavesdrop and then join in your conversation. People who wave at you though they don’t know you..”peace sister!”. People who have this air of they’re there to be seen, not to eat breakfast. I know this all seems like it would be ideal in some way, but the whole vibe seems fake, like it’s a movie set of people trying to create this vibe instead of it organically happening.
I get this same feeling whenever I go into Bodo’s, but in there it’s the more hardcore yuppies. SUV style Cville yuppies with their UVA sweatshirts, ponytails, STAB shorts and oversized sunglasses on top of a hundred-dollar ‘do. But at least I see the occasional black person eating at Blue Moon. Can’t say the same for Bodo’s. Why the hell is a fast-food place in the middle of what the old folks call “Blacktown” so bereft of Black? That’s downright fucking creepy and something that has puzzled me for years. I don’t even have a theory for that shit.
I love Blue Moon! Laura and Rice are great people and I always feel relaxed. I do say hello to people, but I know them so that’s o.k., right?
Like the staff a lot too. Laura and Rice are really supportive of the community esp. the artists. They were wonderful to us during Shentai, allowing us to use the space for promotion on a large and small scale. They will also be hosting the CLAW events, proceeds from which will go to local women’s initiatives.
oh! I think what pushes Blue Moon’s fakeness over the edge for me is the fucking bluegrass. Why the HELL did you hipsters decide you would take over Bluegrass of all things? You couldn’t have stuck with your alt rock and punk. You wore the trucker hats and plaid and flannel for so long, you actually have begun to think that you’re downhome Appalachians. Denim is the new black.
It’s not about bluegrass. That’s some good music. I bought the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou like everybody else. But if you just fucking winced at the idea of me mentioning O Brother and bluegrass in the same sentence, then you are a fucking hipster brat who wants to use that good old timey music to form an exclusive club, as opposed to use it to feel good and make others feel good.
I know the owners are good people…but why does their food have to taste bad? I tried that sausage omelet and almost walked out it was so nasty.
What bluegrass is that, LaGrape? You lost me.
uva lagrape, your bitterness is overwhelming. Perhaps that’s why the food tastes bad?
mc, I think its more likely the ass-tertaste from her pre-omelet rim job, but thats just a guess
The owner is so f*ing nice. Can’t it be “It is what it is”? Why compartmentalize Blue Moon into having to be something it’s not? Charlottesville’s a small city chock full of people who think big. So what if we act like we’re from NYC or LA. I like those people. I’ve spent a little time in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and I am holding on tight to our pseudo-variation. (I had a brief Mario Batali phase. I’m in a better place now, ha ha.) I found it to be a scary scene, in awesome threads.
Any diner that loads that much goat cheese and caramelized onion and mushroom and sausage in an omelet AND has sweet potato fries is cool with me.
seriously… the main complaint is that people treat it like a friendly community and that it has a specific identity? I suppose it could be a generic grumpy place, but what would be the point. Also, I LIKE the food. It’s cheap, fills me up and tastes good. But that may be my judgmental pretentiousness talking. ummmm, irony?
(also, h-d: way to class it up!)
mc, this is an old thread, and so is grandfathered. ‘class[ing] it up’ only applies to new ones.
too many rules…
I think it’s the bitterness over the bad taste of the rimjobs that preceded my entries into Blue Moon. I had to ear enough in the adjacent lot to tip well! Tossing hipster salads isn’t profitable because they’re always broke. At least until their parents’ check comes in.
too many mc’s
not enough mikes
The Sian and Lilith are dead on. The diner DOES have damn good food AND it is quite cheap. And teh owners and staff rock. And - as I wrote in a previous post - they have nice bathrooms
Grape: It’s not that you’re bitter it’s that you’re bitter about everything
Take care young Silmo and value your wine
Be watchful of young Grape in her velvet prime
Deeply you’ll swallow from between her legs
Then swift to Blue Moon
Eating bitter eggs
Ah, ha ah…bitter eggs
With smiling mirth and tender touch
She’ll offer you little but you’ll beg for much
You’ll lust in the breathless excitement of night
She’ll leave with your treasure in cold morning light
Ah, ha ah…ass-rimming plight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6tJQ05YJ58
What the funk is this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC73PHdQX04
LaGrape you’re a genius.
Jeebus monte christo! Is that Leonard Nimoy thing real?! Oh, the humanity!
I’m not sure who I feel worse for, Nimoy or Baggins.
Baggins. He was the unwilling/unknowing party.
what sends it over the top are the go-go girls. their dances are incredibly 60’s-ish, a perfect intersection of 50’s beach bingo and 70’s psychedelia. Sock it to me.
[…] may remember Sarah from our list of superlatives. She won “Most Entertaining/Hottest […]
too many restaurants that serve OK food @ outrageous prices
[…] can you go wrong with our choice for Best Bartender in Charlottesville? You have to try the Peach Flame (if you like Peaches). It’s a passionate mix of nectar, […]
[…] Reader’s Choice (which was published about 3 weeks ago) in one fell swoop. Last year we did our own superlatives which we think are much more accurate (although biased and not democratically chosen). As seems […]