One of our birdies sends in the following question:
I’m turning 21 at the end of the month and I’m looking for the best place to have my first legal drink in c-ville. - I thought this would be a good idea for discussion - i’m eager to hear what the wonderful cvillains think
So, eager Villains, help our noobian out and tell us where you throw the best coming of age party!
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I know we all like to think of ourselves as ballers and all that, but how much do we really spend eating and drinking in Charlottesville? I just looked at my expenses for the last few weeks and let me tell you.. I was very surprised at how much I spent on food and drinks at restaurants and bars. I guess the other question is “will you maintain this spending after you realize how much you spend?”
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Friday is here and all of you probably need a little break. There isn’t too much going on this weekend (probably in anticipation of the 4th next weekend). Check out what we do know is happening:
Heritage Theater Festival - This will be happening Friday night and Saturday (which will be the last day). I Am My Own Wife (Fri. 7:30 p.m.) and City of Angels (Sat. 2:30 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.) will be preformed.
Green Valley Book Fair - They are open in the Valley until July 13th. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EVERYDAY
Virginia is for Viognier - At Keswick Vineyards on Saturday. This will be special tasting of Viognier and they will offer discounts on bottle purchases.
The Unholy Four, The Vamanos, Constrictor - Outback Lodge on Saturday Night at 10:00 p.m.
Nelson County Summer Festival - Saturday and Sunday at Oakridge Estates. Sun, food, wine, and furniture - what an unbeatable combination.
The Weekend Routine:
Beer Run - Friday Night Wine Tasting 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Market Street - Friday Night Wine Tasting 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Crush - Friday Night Wine Tasting 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Fridays after Five - 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday City Market - 7:00 a.m. to noon
Salsa Sunday - Outback Lounge 8:00 p.m. to Whenever
Check out MUSE for more music and arts.
If you are going to see Modest Mouse on Sunday have fun and tell us how it goes!
As always if we missed anything let us know.
From shenanigans:
cVillain love at X Lounge tonight- Mojitos and Bud Light with a smile. Hey LYS, they have an awesome selection of juices for you: Pineapple infused with Vanilla beans, Blood Orange, and Peach, etc…
Also:
DJ ESC @ Escafe tonight
Euro Cup @ Zinc Sunday
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Today, we are blessed with the knowledge that Vintage Virginia Apples plans to construct a 4,000 square foot cidery (like brewery, but for apples) and tasting room on their farm on 29 South.
Vintage Virginia Apples will seek approval tonight from the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Yum.
DP’s claim that cider production has “largely fallen out of flavor in the US,” is only partially true. While, cider consumption in 1767 doubled today’s beer consumption (40 gallons vs 20 gallons), a lot of this had to do with familiarity in cider production and the fact that fermented cider served as a bacteria-free drink. Even, John Adams successfully drank a pint of cider every morning to “settle his stomach.” You can’t make that excuse with beer, now can you!? [ref, ref]
Cider’s popularity did dwindle pre-1990; the fault of those pesky Germans who knew how to brew amazing beer on the cheap. Evidence also suggests that NASCAR played a strong role. I digress.
Cider is on the rise and according to the same report, it was reintroduced to the US in 1990. By 1995, the total number of cider cases shipped was 1.6 million. In 1997, the total was 2.7 million cases. Money time!
Cider is on the rise and you only have to be around a few places in Charlottesville to realize its popularity. You can find Woodchuck in any major grocery store, plenty of local bars have had Original Sin on draft and high-end beer places like Market Street Wine Shop and Beer Run offer solid rotating cider selections.
Sure, you can’t find cider at Applebee’s, but you can’t find micro-brews, either. So, keep your eyes peeled on this one and we should soon be celebrating the real meaning of an Apple A Day!
[via Daily Progress]
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As, always go to cvilleMUSE for your arts and music preview.
Friday
DJ ESC @ Rapture (X-Lounge, Saturday).
Wine tasting Friday afternoon - Market Street Wine Shop, Crush, Beer Run.
Friday’s After Five hosts The Johnstone Band (reggae) with Acoustic Groove Trio opening.
Saturday
Straight Punch to the Crotch CD Release Party @ Zinc. 11PM.
Summer solstice weekend starts for Club 2:16 with a performance of the famous Lady Bunny midnight cabaret. You can even continue your weekend with a brunch at Fellini’s on Sunday and a 3PM afternoon performance at the Tea Bazaar.
Belmont Block Party! - Not sure if this one is open or not, but Mardi Graves will have its five year anniversary starting at 6ish.
What did we miss?
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Well, in case you have been living under a rabbit hole in the last few weeks, you may have missed out on some juicy restaurant gossip. It seems as though one of Charlottesville’s finest is for sale, someone new is doing late nights and a former player has lost its mojo. Which is which?
You have to guess…
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You can always check out cvilleMUSE for your arts and music recommendations, but without further ado, I present to you things which will make your weekend better than swell. I actually really like looking around for exciting things to do, because there is cool and unique stuff every weekend. As always, let us know what we’ve forgotten.
All the stuff is after the break!
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This weekend is going to rock the shazbot… why?
Music
Um, I can never beat Shaun to the punch. You are going to miss a lot of sweet stuff if you don’t read his preview over at cvilleMUSE. How do you like these apples? Van Halen (please don’t be canceled), Ryan Shaw, Birdlips and Friday’s After Five (with Eli Cook).
First Friday’s
How could you overlook Pinkie’s amazing preview on cvilleMUSE. She covers every single venue and every single artist, with links to boot! Apparently, there will be MUSE special ops walking around handing out business cards. Try to find them and tell them Thor sent you.
Off the Cusp
If MUSE always kicks my butt on real events at least I can find stuff off the beaten track. If you are a techno-mac-loving-uber-nerd, you should go to BeCamp, which is a part communist, part hippy part electronic festival of computers and crazy ideas like “FOAF,” “Grails,” “Parallel Computing,” “Selenium -web tier testing” and a bunch of other things that scare me.
Enjoy your weekends! What did we miss?
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As you may or may not know, there are a wide variety of low-end fortified wines available in the Charlottesville area. While none are locally produced, they all pack a particularly interesting wallop and are quite distinct in their own way. I managed to convince 6 Cvillains to be brave enough to help me evaluate them and determine which is the best. Here are the results.
I went shopping on Friday afternoon and hit two convenience stores to get the goods. At the Shell station on Preston I picked up the first 4 bottles - Night Train, Wild Irish Rose ‘Red’, ‘Wild Grape’, and ‘Wild Fruit’. When I put them on the counter at the register the cashier looked at me and said “Wow.” I replied that it was for science and she told me that if it was for anything else I was about to spend the next 2 days in the bathroom “both ways”. I hurried the plastic and paper bags back to my car before anyone saw the massive amount of fortified wine I was buying.
After a few more unsuccessful (re: they only sold REAL wine, like from a vineyard) stops I found a few more bottles at the Estes Market on Cherry Avenue. It was here that I bought Thunderbird, Cisco ‘Black Cherry’, and Wild Irish Rose ‘Green Apple’. There were a lot of varieties of Cisco, no doubt made with different grapes, but in order to limit the scope of this wine review (and be easy on my volunteer tasters) I elected to only sample the Black Cherry. I was surprised that none of these wines were as cheap as I’d expected. A 750ml bottle of each was $4.99.
And now the results… »Read More
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I visited South Street last night and am still surprised that the place still gets as crowded as it does on Tuesdays. If any of you cVillains remember, South Street used to serve $2.00 pints into the wee hours. I don’t know the exact dates that this changed, but I think it was about 3 years ago (on another note, I’m getting old).
I remember the shock when we realized that South Street could no longer serve us those pleasurable libations at such awesome prices. Well, if any of you remember correctly South Street used to be THE PLACE to go on a Tuesday night. It was populated by many UVA students, of both genders, and it would get loud and crazy.
South Street used to be the serious drinkers paradise. You came there to drink beer, you scoffed at those who drank wine and you inevitably ended up with a headache. We often would show up around 9 or 10 and stay till midnight. Oh, and good luck getting to the bar. You had to have some serious skills or know a bunch of people.
Fast forward to today. $2.50 pints last until 9PM which inevitable leads to größte Wurst Partei (or Biggest Sausage Party) if my German is correct. It’s horrid. I swear there are probably 5 girls in the entire bar until 8:30 PM. Ladies, if you want to get noticed, make sure you show up before 9PM! Otherwise, I’m stuck, between a rock and a hard place. And on top of that, South Street can unpredictably be dead on Tuesday nights, leaving you in an even worse situation. Last night was like most nights, crowded after 9PM. What gives?
So, do I visit South Street for the still awesome beer specials and forgoe any eye candy, or do I miss the drink specials and go a little bit later when the crowds pick up? Ladies, why don’t you come before 9?
Bonus points for anyone that can figure out when and why South Street stopped serving $2 pints.
Don’t forget to read our beer lover’s tour of Charlottesville and check out the results of your favorite South Street beers.
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