If you recall, one of our Charlottesville Villains visited Maya during its opening weeks. Maya rests across from the train station in the district we unintelligently call “Midtown.” As a restaurant serving Southern American influenced cuisine, Maya didn’t get a lot of praise initially, but I think that it is due for a re-evaluation.
Popularity: 47% [?]
I tend to be skeptical of negative reviews—be they reviews of restaurants, CDs, movies, or whatever. It’s just easier to rant than it is to rave. A good bit of this difficulty lies, I think, in the desire not to sound overly earnest, since praise can certainly quite easily slip into maudlin sap.
And, given the choice between maudlin sap and the vitriol of many a negative review, I’d demure on the choice, preferring instead the subtlety of a brick slamming into my head.
Having said that, bad reviews are inevitable. And ’round these parts, the most frequent species is negative restaurant reviews… »Read More
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Thanks to Frenchy for tipping us on a new Tapas place that he/she says could fill the old Star Hill Building. Is it funded by a wealthy man from Richmond? Who is the chef? We are still curious about the details on this one, so please share. No word on the service expectations.
Secondly, a birdie let us know that the executive chef Bryan has left Ten and left C-Ville. Ten has recently hired a new executive chef.
[1st pic]
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The downtown mall is home to great restaurants, bars, crazy people, ex-girlfriends, and migrating bucketmen. What it’s missing is some good old fashioned nature infused cuisine - like this rainwater treat we found last night. The songbird cracklady wasn’t around so we had no one to ask to name this tasty dish. Honestly I’m not even sure what’s in it - but it looks like french bread and some fried mushrooms or something? Marinated (of course) in about 2 inches of rainwater.
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We just got more secrets from another birdie which totally contradicted our prior set of rumors/news on OXO and Boheme. Who knows if they are true or not, but they come from a very reliable source. So, what is going on at OXO and Boheme?! Details after the break…
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If you frequent the valley, you should check out the Buy Fresh Buy Local for the Shenandoah Valley website. You will soon be able to find a directory of local businesses and farms which support and grow local foods.
As part of a larger effort to help local businesses and consumers make decisions about local food, 40,000 copies of the downloadable guide have been printed and distributed.
Through this effort, the group hopes to:
[via Hburgnews]
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While scanning through my daily news, aka my RSS feed, I stumbled upon an interesting article from UNCUS. This particular article was about a new restaurant on 29 and Rio. The place is a Middle Eastern Kabob place. This could be some interesting and exciting news. If you happen to be up 29 and want a healthy snack - you now have one.
We undoubtedly review this new place called, Zam Zam Kabob. It is scheduled to open next week. Surely we will not judge it in anyway based on the fact that we have heard nothing about it and its stellar name. All jokes aside, it sounds pretty good and I look forward to eating there and/or hearing about it.
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Most of us are obsessed with the downtown mall usually out of convenience. What is off the beaten path? My interest
in procuring a new breakfast spot has yielded a diamond in the cville rough: C’ville Coffee. Located at the corner of Harris and McIntire in what seems to be an antique/furniture business park, it serves up more than just coffee.
My curiosity with Cville Coffee began with the Chocolate Chip Honey Bunches I tried at the City/Farmers Market a couple of weeks ago. Something so simple and delicious surely had to come out of a creative kitchen, or at least a business that really cares about its customer experience.
About an Owner
I had lunch with Toan Nguyen, owner of C’ville Coffee soon after our introduction at the City/Farmers Market. We discussed everything from business to politics to the local “green” initiative. He has quite a colorful past, influenced very much by his wife’s career ambitions. She was a high-powered San Francisco lawyer in the 80’s, no doubt slinging together crazy private equity and leveraged buy-out deals in the hay day of financial market abuse (just a thought, not actually confirmed). Confronted with the realization that working for the Firm would not allow for a great family life, she told Toan she wanted to move back to cville where she attended Uva Law.
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I’m sick and tired of wondering up and down the mall, thinking to myself, “wow, it is such a wonderful morning outside and I would really like an espresso and a pastry.” I’m reasonably happy with the espresso situation, but the available pastries don’t compliment a morning coffee. We’ve got donuts, cookies, crazy cakes and a lot more, but I ask you, my dear Charlottesvillains, where is the Pâtisserie?
Is the skillset too difficult to learn? Does Charlottesville’s relatively small size not justify a quality pastry chef? I’ve wondered this for 5 years now and I can’t seem to come up with an answer. Perhaps it’s not attractive for a well-trained patissier to come to a little town like Charlottesville. But, with desserts that cost $7 to $10 at most of the higher end restaurants in town, you think this would be an attractive business opportunity.
So, here is my proposal for the brave epicurean/entrepreneur who wishes to recruit an ambitious pastry chef to Charlottesville:
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We had the pleasure of attending Taste This at Alumni Hall yesterday evening. Most of Charlottesville’s finest restaurants showed up to strut their stuff, serve small dishes and give us a really good opportunity to choose some of the best food in the area. While cooking under Alumni Hall conditions meant limited kitchens, eating while standing and, overall, madness; the event was nonetheless a success. We pick our favorite dishes from the event and have a slideshow (it’s all after the break).
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