The Charlottesville 29

Where to eat in Charlottesville

Tag: Bizou

07/19/2016

Bizou Auction Experience Gets Even Better

joe

Already spectacular, the Bizou auction experience just got even better.  A Sparkling Parisian Brunch for ten people, it features an array of sparkling wines chosen by one of Charlottesville’s biggest oenophiles, Bizou co-owner Vincent Derquenne. But, man cannot live on champagne alone, and so the auction winner’s party now will also enjoy a special Parisian blend of coffee, created just for the occasion and donated by the acclaimed local roastery Shenandoah Joe. What’s more, guests of the Bizou brunch will not just enjoy this exclusive coffee at brunch, but will also each receive a bag of it to take home, which, ahem, could come in handy the next morning.

Thank you to Dave Fafara and Shenandoah Joe for their tremendous generosity and support of the food bank, yet another local vendor offering to help with The Charlottesville 29 Restaurant Auctions.

Great food, great sparkling wine, and great coffee. It’s the ultimate Sparkling Parisian Brunch.

06/19/2016

Bizou Auction

Bizou

Here is your chance to experience Bizou like you never have experienced it before, while helping to feed the area’s hungry. It’s The Charlottesville 29 Restaurant Auctions, presented by McGuireWoods. Along with all of the other restaurants in The Charlottesville 29, Bizou has created a signature experience available to whoever pledges the highest donation to The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.  Bizou is generously donating the food and drink, which means the winning bid goes directly to the food bank. Each dollar donated is enough to provide four meals to the area’s hungry. So, a winning bid of, say, $1,000 would mean not just a wonderful meal for the winner and their guests, but also 4,000 more meals for the area’s hungry.

The Bizou signature experience for The Charlottesville 29 Restaurant Auctions:

Sparkling Parisian Brunch for 10

With Bizou co-owner Tim Burgess from West Virginia and his partner Vincent Derquenne from France, the food at Bizou has long drawn on American influences, with a steady French backbone. For the auction winner and nine guests, Bizou will return to Derquenne’s roots with a classic Parisian brunch. Bizou is known for one of the best and most popular brunches in town, with crowds every Sunday. But, the auction winner will have no crowds at all as their venue will be the patio of Bang!, which they will have all to themselves. Their meal will begin with a patisserie assortment, a specialty of Derquenne, with plenty of champagne to go with it. “It’s not a party without champagne,” says Derquenne, who is one of Charlottesville’s most knowledgeable oenophiles, and will select all of the champagne and sparkling wines for the meal. Next, they will enjoy a three course meal of Parisian brunch classics, with more sparkling wines, like cerdon, brachetto d’acqui, and more. The meal will finish, of course, with more champagne. “It will be fun,” says Derquenne. “We will try to show guests a range of great sparkling wines with their meal.” It’s a sparkling Parisian brunch for 10.

Note: The winner will schedule the dinner on a mutually convenient Saturday or Sunday for Bizou.

Bidding

Bidding for the Bizou auction ended on July 19, 2016.

Winning Bid: $2,100

03/14/2016

Bizou

Bizou

119 W. Main Street . Charlottesville, VA . (434) 977-1818
http://www.bizoudowntown.com/home

Why Bizou?

In March 1991, in a small space on a then-desolate downtown mall, two young chefs, one from France and one from West Virginia, opened a restaurant that would shape Charlottesville dining for decades. The French chef was Vincent Derquenne, the West Virginian Tim Burgess, and their restaurant was called Metropolitain. In 1995, it moved to a larger space on Water Street before closing in 2002.

But its original location lives on in Bizou, which shares the look, spirit, and owners of the eatery the New York Times once called reason to move to Charlottesville. The ethos behind both — “what if it’s all about the food?” — has come to dominate Charlottesville dining. Meanwhile, Bizou has continued to deliver gussied-up comfort food in a diner-like setting from knowledgeable and polished servers. Lunch is a great value and has a huge daily following. Dinner is even better. And the restaurant has not missed a beat since Tim passed the baton to his son Travis in 2024. It’s indispensable on The Charlottesville 29.

What to Order

Daily dinner specials are the options most reminiscent of Metropolitain’s great dishes, but several regular menu staples are standouts as well. Below are our picks, those of Derquenne and Burgess, and appearances in Five Finds on Friday, where a local chef or personality has named a Bizou dish as one of the best in town.

Our Picks

  • Patisserie Assortment (brunch)
  • Brioche French Toast (brunch)
  • Brownie Canele (brunch)
  • Homemade Classic Meatloaf
  • Chicken Caesar Salad
  • Dinner Specials
  • Grilled Banana Bread (Charlottesville’s signature dessert?)

Owners’ Picks

  • Chocolate Croissant (brunch) (Burgess)
  • Fried Catfish (Burgess)
  • Smoked Salmon w/ Fried Green Tomatoes (Derquenne)
  • Steak Salad (Derquenne)
  • Grilled Banana Bread (Burgess)

Five Finds on Friday Picks