The Charlottesville 29

Where to eat in Charlottesville

Category: Uncategorized

10/24/2025

Five Finds on Friday: Amanda Wood

Today’s Five Finds on Friday come from Amanda Wood, Bar Manager of Tavola, and an entrant in Malt Masters, where top bartenders are vying to create the best cocktail from Virginia Distillery Company’s whisky tribute to Charlottesville. There are 29 herbs, flowers, fruits, and roots in Vecchio Amaro del Capo, which is why it came to mind for Wood as a pairing for The Charlottesville 29 Single Barrel whisky. The pairing worked beautifully and made the base of a fall cocktail available at Tavola throughout the Malt Masters competition: Golden Hour, VDC 29, Vecchio Amaro del Capo, Orchard pear liqueur, butter pecan brown sugar syrup, lemon, Angostura bitters. Wood’s picks:

1) Ham, Egg, and Cheddar on Everything at Bodo’s. “Including my Bodo’s order on Five Finds makes me feel like a true Charlottesville native. No, it wasn’t my great-grandparents on both sides of my family settling down in Belmont and helping to shape the community. It is this breakfast sandwich, posted here, which has sealed my fate. This bagel is a delicious, filling classic and will set your day up for success.”

2)  Bulgogi Stew at Maru. “This dish is the epitome of comfort food. It is a rich beef stew with veggies, rice cakes, and glass noodles served boiling hot. The rice cakes are dense and chewy. and possibly my favorite part. Pair this, or any of their food, with a small jug of makgeolli, which is a sweet, milky, lightly sparkling rice wine. And don’t sleep on the little side dishes served with every entree.”

3) Pupusas at Nuestra Cocina. “Tucked away inside the Marathon on Gasoline Alley – IYKYK – three ladies are cooking up traditional Latin dishes to go. The Salvadoran pupusas are my fave. It’s a thick masa dough stuffed with beans, cheese, and pork, then fried on a griddle. Each one is handmade to order, served with curtido and a thin tomato salsa. Get there early, as they are busy for lunch and close at 2:00.”

4) Margaritas at Continental Divide. “My husband and I had our first date here almost twenty years ago. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, or it could be the vibe, or the amazing staff. I’m looking at you, Jenny!. But, this is my go-to spot for a pre-dinner marg. And yes, that is a thing. I get mine with Vida mezcal and salt.”

5) Shaved Salad at Oakhart Social. “I could not possibly leave this restaurant off my list. I worked here for almost five years, and it is still one of my all-time favorites. But the shaved salad. She is fresh, she is crunchy, she is bright, creamy, and flavorful. This salad is so good that there were riots in the streets when it temporarily came off the menu. Go to Oakhart. Try all of the things. Get the shaved salad. The End.”

10/15/2025

Malt Masters: Charlottesville’s Best Vie for the Title with Whisky Cocktails

It’s Malt Masters — top bartenders competing to create the best cocktail from a malt whisky tribute to Charlottesville. Last month, Virginia Distillery Company, once named the world’s Distillery of the Year, released The Charlottesville 29 Single Barrel, its first-ever single-cask 100% American single malt finished in a port cask. “Crafted from this place, for this place,” the distillery says. The full story is in C-VILLE.

Now, Charlottesville bartenders are vying to make the tastiest creation with it. A panel of judges will award the winner the championship belt and a VIP tour of Virginia Distillery Company.

Below are the entrants. Now through November 1, guests can visit their bars to sample the entries and decide for themselves who should be this year’s Malt Master. Some have already announced their cocktail. Stay tuned for additional updates.

    • Kate Corey, Cafe Frank
      • Appalachian Autumn: VDC29, Albemarle Ciderworks reduction, pecan infused amaro, black walnut bitters, Joyous Gardens dehydrated fig
    • Josh Dickerson, Black Cow Chophouse
      • The Monticello Philosopher: VDC 29, Aperol, local peach butter, house cranberry bitters, fresh citrus
    • Orhun Dikmen, Smyrna
      • Early Harvest: VDC 29 infused with Smyrna olive oil, oregano, and mastic gum; Cocchi di Torino; Cape Corse Mattei; Amaro Montenegro
    • Nycholas Hittinger, The Milkman’s Bar
      • The Virginia Seasons: VDC 29, muddled mint, Paco Rojo, Amaro y Aroyo, soda water
    • Ryan Kaufman, Lampo / Bar Baleno
      • Domo Arigato Mr. Ramato: VDC 29, house Amaro blend, bitters
    • Erek Lane, Oakhart Social
      • There Can Only Be One: VDC 29, Drambuie, Nochino, lemon bitters, blackstrap bitters, honey, Dona Antonia port rinse
    • Micah LeMon, The Alley Light
      • Grandpa’s Banana Bread: VDC 29, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, Malort, Tempus Fugit Creme de Banane
    • John Lindsey, Public Fish & Oyster
      • Last Exit: VDC 29, fig-pineapple cordial, Ramazzotti, lemon
    • Harvey Mayorga, Guajiros Miami Eatery
      • Virginia Sour: VDC 29, egg white, lemon juice, demerara syrup, Ancho Reyes, Shirts & Skins Petit Verdot Float
        (available after 3 pm)
    • Amanda Wood, Tavola
      • Golden Hour: VDC 29, Vecchio Amaro del Capo, Orchard pear liqueur, butter pecan brown sugar syrup, lemon, angostura bitters
10/02/2025

End of an Era: Peter Chang to Close in Charlottesville

Peter Chang’s flagship restaurant is closing.

Opened in 2011, Charlottesville’s Peter Chang China Grill was the first restaurant to bear the name of the famously elusive Szechuan chef whose following includes admirers in The New York Times, Bon Appétit, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Oxford American, and The Economist.  Almost as soon as he opened its doors, food lovers flocked to Charlottesville. The buzz spread up and down the East Coast. From there, the Peter Chang empire of restaurants began, with expansion through Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C., and beyond.

Here in Charlottesville, Chang presided over some of the most memorable feasts I have ever experienced. After one such meal, a multi-course affair in 2014 attended by some of Charlottesville’s best chefs, C&O Chef Dean Maupin said: “I was entirely blown away by the food, especially the depth of flavor and level of consistent execution of it.” It’s that type of cooking that made Peter Chang China Grill an industry favorite for so long.

Peter Chang China Grill will close permanently by October 31, if not sooner.

Thank you to Peter Chang and all of the people who helped make his restaurant such a special part of the Charlottesville food community. You made Charlottesville a better place.