The Charlottesville 29

What is The Charlottesville 29? At its core, it is an insider’s guide to Charlottesville’s essential restaurants, answering: if there were just 29 restaurants in Charlottesville, what would be the ideal 29? More background here.

Whether you’re visiting Charlottesville for the first time or a longtime resident deciding where to spend your hard-earned money, the guide tells where to go and what to order when you get there. For each entry, it explains why it made the list and also includes ordering recommendations from the restaurant’s own chef/owner as well other chefs and personalities around town. Before you go to MAS, for example, learn what the chef suggests eating there, as well as dishes other chefs say not to miss. The latter suggestions come from archives of Five Finds on Friday, a weekly list of favorite food items in the area, picked by area chefs and personalities.

How do restaurants make the list? Entries are chosen annually by Simon Davidson, Charlottesville’s most prolific food writer of the last decade, who has written for publications like The Charlottesville 29, C-VILLE Weekly, Eater, and The Local Palate, and also talks food each week on WINA’s Charlottesville Right Now. He has been featured in The Daily Progress, and was once named to the list of Charlottesville’s most powerful people. Davidson has eaten thousands of restaurant meals in Charlottesville, and selections are based strictly on his experience, as there is no advertising on the site.

Restaurants on The Charlottesville 29 are easy to spot around town because they display a window decal with the site’s logo.