The Charlottesville 29

Great restaurants are often chef-run. All but six of the restaurants in The Charlottesville 29 have an owner in the kitchen. One of the few exceptions is Public Fish & Oyster, where owner Daniel Kaufman draws on a background in wine and hospitality in following a simple formula for success: hire good people and take good care of them.

Kaufman’s latest venture, Black Cow Chophouse, is no exception. For it, he partnered with one of the good people he had hired at Public, chef Gregg Dionne. The result resembles everything great about Public, but with a focus on land creatures instead of ones from the sea. Stellar service. A lively and eye-pleasing setting. And consistently delicious food.

Another similarity is sourcing. Just as Public curates the best seafood it can find, so too does Black Cow Chophouse for steak. A chalkboard displays the daily selection of steaks, many of them local, which, under the guidance of grill expert David Brichta, are all kissed with flavor by a wood hearth. Beyond the steak, Dionne’s team brings passion and attention to detail to every item on the menu, from steak tartare, to Caesar salad, to fried Brussels sprouts tossed with apple, pickled fennel, aioli, and honey-bourbon gastrique. The result fills what some have considered a void in Charlottesville’s dining scene: a great steakhouse. As Steely Dan might say of a meal there: “so outrageous”!

Among a great group of finalists, the Charlottesville 2024 Best New Restaurant is Black Cow Chophouse.