The Charlottesville 29

But wait, there’s more.

Ordinarily, the annual update of The Charlottesville 29 reflects openings, closings, and changes in quality. This year, however, circumstances warranted a one-time exemption from cuts for changes in quality, because whatever the criteria might be for The Charlottesville 29, they do not include: “ability to thrive during a pandemic.” Therefore, all 28 restaurants of The 2020 Charlottesville 29 that survived the pandemic are automatically included in The 2021 Charlottesville 29.

While the sole 2020 closure would typically leave just one opening for new entries to The 2021 Charlottesville 29, again an exception is warranted. To limit this year’s additions to just one would concede an unnecessary victory to COVID-19. Therefore, this year it will be The Charlottesville 29 +1. Barring any more pandemics, this is a one-time change: the Charlottesville 29 will return to a list of 29 in 2022.

Joining Conmole as one of two new entrants, the final entry into The 2021 Charlottesville 29 is Belle.

I did something in 2020 so rare that I cannot recall the last time I did it: ordered the same dish twice in one meal. That’s how delicious the Chuletas con Tres-Chiles Mole were during a birthday dinner in September.

Each year, The Charlottesville 29 answers: if there were just 29 restaurants in Charlottesville, what would be the ideal 29? To be eligible for this year’s list, a restaurant must have been open since January 2020.

In its first year of eligibility, Conmole joins the The 2021 Charlottesville 29. Here’s why: an escape to Oaxaca in Belmont.