For everyone who was wondering why Zocalo stopped being crowded at midnight and why Blue Light looked like a Darden reunion last night…..Oxo opened its “late night lounge” last night and had quite a successful opening. All of Charlottesville’s regular lushes were out checking out this new venue right off the mall and the place was really hopping from 12a-on.

Notes:

-They do not have a soda gun, so you will actually get Canada dry club soda and tonic water that tastes great.

-People were actually dancing! They really need to get a better music selection but the Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson were great. If this takes off, there is actually a great area to dance and they would be well served by getting a DJ who knows how to get people dancing.

-Move the couch AWAY from the bar. On the most accessible side of the bar there was a couch you had to stand/lean/kneel on to order a drink. Other than the damage to furniture, this was just not a well thought out idea.

-The front porch is great. Good people watching and the addition of a “bouncer” who held the door for you and a waitress collecting glasses frequently was really nice. I only saw one glass get broken the whole night and this was cleaned up in about 5 seconds.

-The bar setup was clearly not setup for quick serving from rail or otherwise and they would be well served by getting someone in there to retool it so they move quicker. It looks pretty but if they get slammed, prepare to wait for a drink (but at least you won’t wait as long as you have to @ Zocalo now that Polo is gone..wow they have got some amateurs working now…anyways).

Anyways, as far as openings in the past couple of years that I’ve been to (X lounge, Maya, Ten, etc.), this was a huge success and hopefully they will do well with it. It would be great to have a nice new place to enjoy a libation and maybe (keep your fingers crossed) shake a little ass.

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A pretty good write-up on Charlottesville was up on the BBC website yesterday. It mainly covers the Charlottesville jail which the BBC reporter describes as “unusually pleasant.” Nice to see some across-the-pond coverage of our favorite town, though perhaps next time they will spend some more time reporting on our “funky” town center instead of our laws.

Enjoy!

Popularity: 1% [?]

As I lay on the mat, sweat began to bead on my forehead, the storm clouds gathering in a portent of perspiration. Okay, so 110 degrees is pretty hot. Not hot like the southeastern humid summers that oppress, but a lighter heat, something like your idea of Arizona or dry heat, a term of condescension leveled at non-Southern heat. »Read More

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1. Mojito:

• 1.5-2 shots white rum (Bacardi)
• Squeeze half a lime into the cup, throw it in and squeeze the other half in but toss it
• 8-12 mint leaves (fresh)
• 1.5-2 shots of simple syrup (NOTE: I suggest boiling raw, unbleached sugar into water in about 1 parts sugar to water by volume)

BEFORE adding any thing else, use a spoon of wooden ladel to mash (or mortar and pestle-thanks cocoNUT) the mint leaves against the bottom of the glass. Try not to muddle the lime but focus on getting out as much mint taste as possible, which is aided by the rum.

• Ice all the way to the top.
• Top up with Club soda
• Mix again to move the mint leaves around and into the ice
• Finish with a dash of simple syrup applied gently to the top of the drink

2. Bocce Ball

A traditional favorite of the backyard bbq set, spiced up a little by yours truly.

All over ice:

• 1 shot amaretto
• 1 shot dark rum (I suggest Bermudian Black Seal dark, great oak taste, rather inexpensive, great conversation piece)
• ~2 shots Energy vitamin water (you’ll need to caffeine as you will be drinking this during the day)
• ~2 shots OJ
• Top up with Club (not too much)

Mix with another cup and greet the sunshine and seersucker in style.

3. THE Rum Swizzle

The National drink of Bermuda, a place known for its great use of pastels and mandatory dinner dress code which includes a blazer (read: awesome). It may sound very fruity, but I assure you it is not very sweet and is a great drink for entertaining due to its ease, volume, and effectiveness.

• Fill a pitcher a third of the way up with ice.
• 3 shots dark rum (Gosling’s Black seal)
• 3 shots Gosling’s Gold rum (the combo of these rums is fantastic)
• 6 dashes bitters
• Small jigger shot of grenadine
• Equal parts pineapple and orange juice to the top.

Stir vigorously, Enjoy irresponsibly in madras.

4. Dark and Stormy

I mean, rum and coke is little played. Whiskey and coke is an “abomination,” as the ghost of Frank Sinatra will rightly tell you. The solution: this great drink that is a great early evening cocktail for the gents who don’t want any fruit in their cup.

• 1.5-2 shots Gosling’s Black Seal
• Ginger beer (NOTE: Not ginger ale. Ginger beer is a soda that will be sold near cream soda, etc. in the soda isle.

5. Sangria

The traditional Spanish mix, great addition to a keg for summer parties My recipe will fill up a large igloo drink dispenser (like the ones from sports practice). You can add apples if you like.

• Fill up cooler ¼ of the way full of ice (this will be removed later)
• 4 large (1-1.5 liters) bottles bad red wine (Merlot is advisable, go to Sam’s club)
• 6 lemons, cut into quarters and squeeze vigorously into cooler
• 8 oranges, same as above
• Some sugar (alternatively, you can add some of the simple syrup you made for your mojitos)
• 3-4 liters of ginger ale
• 3 shots grenadine
• ¾ of a handle of Brandy (the key to good sangria is bad wine and decent Brandy)

MIX WELL. Like real well. You can recite the lines from the witches in Macbeth about toil and trouble if you wish as a blessing.

IMPORTANT: Now, using a solo cup, with holes cut into the bottom (or similar kitchen utensil), remove all the ice so the Sangria doesn’t dilute.

6. Papa Doble

This was Hemingway’s personal daiquiri, served to him at La Florida in

Cuba. The walls of this fine establishment were decorated with photographs of Ernest drinking this concoction and his personal record was drinking 16 TALL glasses of these in one evening. La Florida was also the location where Hemingway founded The Royal Order of Shrimp Eaters, whose mission was to eat the whole shrimp: head, tail, and all. Anyways, on to the recipe:

• Two and half jiggers Bacardi White Label Rum
• Juice of Two limes (toss rinds)
• Juice of half a grapefruit (toss rind)
• Six drops maraschino
• Shaved Ice

Whirl vigorously in a blender/electric mixer and serve foaming in a large goblet (a glass will do). If this recipe is too bitter for you due to the citrus, add 1-1.5 jiggers simple syrup and enjoy.

ENJOY!

Popularity: 2% [?]

As many of you may have noticed, Charlottesville’s favorite bartender has been MIA for weeks now.
Our beloved rock-star bartender Ted is changing venues for the second time this year and will be moving to the new “Midtown” location (formerly Southern Culture) where you have seen so much work being done over these past several weeks.

One of the two owners of Zocalo bought the location many months ago and put on his recruiting cap for this new venture in a potentially risky location (more on this later). Ted has left Ten to be head bartender at this new restaurant (whose name I haven’t learned yet) and the former head chef of Boar’s Head Inn will be leading the kitchen. There were very lucrative deals cut to entice these Cville heavy hitters and guarantee quite a bit of loyal clientele from both the Ted’s Downtown crowd and the Farmington folks. Unfortunately, construction is several weeks behind schedule and I think their hopes for an early summer opening have been dashed but they likely have a couple of more weeks to really hammer it out in time for a late May/early June opening.
In any case, this represents a very legitimate attempt to connect the disparate social ends of Charlottesville (with something other than townhomes) and should be interesting to see what other kind of growth it can fuel in the area.
Other things to think about:
The character of new venue(s) in this Midtown area will need to set itself apart somehow and how this will take shape is anyone’s guess.

• Are customers willing to take another cab ride if they don’t like the current scene at the bar (whereas downtown you just stroll to a different bar)?
• Are customers that drive going to park in the gravel lot across the street? How will they feel about this vs. parking in a “secure” asphalt lot Downtown?
• Will the large patio out front be as successful as the Zocalo people-watching patio?

I, for one, am looking forward to the opening of this new Midtown bar. Over the past year, Charlottesville has seen two bars open (I’m not counting Zydeco on the corner):

1. X lounge: I am sure people will disagree but this place was a serious disappointment coming off the buzz of last summer’s Absolut Party.
2. Ten: This place has done very well and the food and bar service are top-notch but has never really reached the same pinnacle of single scene domination that once was Zo ca lo (anyone remember that?).

Anyway, that is my contribution to the gossip (i.e. first post) and I’d love to hear what you think.

Thor’s Update: From Raquel’s comment, “The new restaurant is called “Maya” named after the owner’s daughter.” Thanks Raquel.

Popularity: 4% [?]