Bodo's Bagels

Three locations in Charlottesville, a local institution, Bodo's serves up bagels as early as 6:30AM on the weekdays if you're up. It's a good time to go because during regular hours or say 10AM on a weekend you'll have to wait a while before biting into the doughy goodness. Below is the Preston Ave location early one morning.Sticking with an order once I find it, I find the egg on a sesame bagel always satisfying. Bodo's must pack some calories because I'm not hungry for hours afterward. There are multiple cream cheeses to choose from if you're so inclined. They would probably add to the stick-to-the-ribs-ness.
The coffee is never very good. The website isn't clear about what beans are used. Locally roasted beans from Shenandoah Joe's would certainly be an improvement. Fortunately Shenandoah Joe's is right down Preston from this location.

The Corner location is famous for not being open for years. On my visits there I've seen a lot of happy undergrads. The other location, nominally on Emmet could also be considered the bypass location, as in the 250 bypass. The building used to house a Roy Rogers.

When I first moved to town after college before starting school again in the fall, I tried to get a job at the bypass Bodo's. The owner said I was over-qualified. For what looks like an intense, fast-moving work environment, I was certainly not overqualified; perhaps it was his nice way of saying that I wouldn't last.

505 Preston Ave
Charlottesville, VA 22903
(434) 293-5224

Charlottesville Beer

To take home from Harris Teeter?

OR

For the Charlottesville area local beer scene, Starr Hill is one of two bottling breweries in the area. The other is Blue Mountain. South Street and Devil's Backbone brew their own for on-site consumption. Supposedly Kegler's has a limited batch a year, but I still haven't had a chance to try it. If anyone has details about this beer, please let me know.

Over the mountain, there is Queen City Brewery in Staunton and Cally's in Harrisonburg. I went to Queen City once.

The original intent of this post was to announce that The Barracks Road Harris Teeter was selling Starr Hill Beer 6-packs for $6. That was quite a deal.

Bel Rio

This restaurant is not at all what I thought it would be like. Saxx always looked to me like a comedy club straight out of a 90's Seinfeld intro routine. Bel Rio makes good use of the space, what looks like the top floor of an old industrial building. The name sounds Italian but there's plenty of everything else. The complimentary bread was perhaps a bit salty, but I couldn't stop eating it. The panini had a few more pickled veggies than I would have hoped but it was good. The fries were excellent. I ate my date's second crab cake the next day for lunch and it was very good even after being heated in a microwave.

Before going I had a glass of wine and a cheese and bread plate at Mas, not realizing that Bel Rio would have been a good place to do the same thing.

Their is a full music schedule and an open U-shaped bar. Bel Rio is another great place to hang out in Belmont. With the outdoor patio, I think Mas still has it beat. Some home owners are trying to add their home to the neighborhood's restaurants. The Local still needs to pick up their service. I recently had a three hour meal there that should have been a comfortable two.

Bel Rio
407 D Monticello Rd
Charlottesville, VA 22902
(434) 979-5299

Flowering Dogwood

Cornus florida
Tis the season. This is a pink cultivar in a front yard on Wertland Street.

Lemongrass

Catering to the undergraduate eater and budget, Lemongrass is located on 14th Street underneath the corner parking garage. It makes the most of a triangle shaped cave.

The food is quite good, although don't get carried away with the spiciness scale. Dinner is comfortable and delicious at 3/10 peppers. 5/10 peppers took the fun out of it. I appreciate a wall of flame or a wall of unpleasant meals, but I don't have any desire to appear on one. If you have any aversion to MSG, this isn't the place.

The Mango Tofu is what I get regularly. It's consistently delicious and takes the guesswork out of a take-out dinner. There's always the old standby Pad Thai.

104 14th St NW
Charlottesville, VA 22903
(434) 244-8424

Fellini's

A block from the mall and a block from vinegar hill, this place is perfect for grabbing a beer before or after a movie. The wood-lined bar and frequent live piano player add to the draw. They also have larger acts many nights of the week.

The restaurant offers southern Italian food. The entrees are mostly pasta and meat dishes. No one of a party of 7 was disappointed. The meatballs were flavorful. They bent over backward to accommodate a severe food allergy which is not always the case. A big table in the bar sits large parties along two pews. The restaurant proper is attached to the bar. Its brick walls mark it as the older structure. According to the menu history it dates back to the 1850's.

A bubblemaker lives on the roof over the main entrance.

200 W Market St
Charlottesville, VA 22902
(434) 979-4279

www.fellinis9.com

Black Maple

Acer nigrum

After feeding yellow-bellied sapsuckers on warm winter days and squirrels with its buds, this black maple's green flowers bloomed ahead of its leaves this month.

Wertland Street near its intersection with 12th Street.