I once could not get enough of watching the Olympics. I binge watched. I remember Mark Spitz and Sugar Ray Leonard. There was Mary Lou Retton and The Dream Team. I remember Carl Lewis, Florence Griffith Joyner and Greg Louganis and the pride I felt when they played the National Anthem at another American victory. But I didn’t watch the Olympics this year. Never turned it on … [Read more...]
Lowery’s Out of Business
One of Virginia’s former great seafood restaurants is now out of business with no hope of recovery. Lowery’s Seafood Restaurant in Tappahannock has closed its doors for good. Years ago, I was headed to the Northern Neck and a fishing trip out of Lewisetta. A friend suggested that I stop in Tappahannock on my way and eat at Lowery’s if I was hungry. As it turned out, I went … [Read more...]
Easy Cheesy Grits
I was raised on grits. There was a bowl of grits on Mama Ida’s dining table in Raleigh at every meal. We had hot grits in the morning, leftover cold grits at lunch and then more hot grits at dinner. It was our starch, rather than potatoes, and I loved grits. I can’t understand why some people don’t like grits. They are rather bland and mild tasting, enhanced greatly with salt and … [Read more...]
Billfish Time
Sailfish, blue marlin, white marlin! Yep, they are off the coasts of Virginia and Carolina now and they’re biting. It’s perfect timing as the local tournament season is underway. Boats have been having multiple hook-ups with blue and white marlin. Mahi catches in Virginia are coming from inshore seamounts such as the “Hot Dog”. Wahoo are in the same area as well as tuna. Swordfish, too. Carolina … [Read more...]
On Becoming a Farmer
I bought myself a farm this week with a thousand head of livestock. Well, I call them livestock. Others might call them worms. Yes, I bought a worm farm with a thousand red wigglers. Why? My wife asked the same question, but there are four good reasons. First, I like worms. They are one of the most interesting creatures on the planet. Second, I have a small goldfish pond full of baby … [Read more...]
A Mattress Sale!
You are not going to believe this, but there is a “Mattress Sale” in progress. Really. I wouldn’t lie. I know that a Mattress Sale is practically unheard of, but as I was driving down Rt. 29, I saw a sign in the window – “Mattress Sale”. It was at the Mattress Warehouse near Starbucks, across from Fashion Square Mall. I was stunned and had to check it out. “Are you really having a mattress … [Read more...]
Venmo and Get Mo’ (Money)
Someone asked me recently if I had a Venmo account. They said they no longer used traditional checks and would deposit the money they owed for groceries from their bank into my Venmo account. Venmo? You mean Venom, like snake venom? No, they meant Venmo, a way to accept payment from an individual for anything from splitting a check at a restaurant to buying a used lawnmower. So, … [Read more...]
Mystery Solved
With the help of several Cville Buzz readers, the mystery has been solved. The unidentified birds in my yard have been identified. The two, stocky gray birds I could not find in my bird books are juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds. The reason they were so hard to identify is that they were young birds and looked nothing like their parents pictured in books. I had a feeling they were … [Read more...]
Lola’s Farmhouse Bistro
(Ava Pippin at Lola’s Farmhouse Bistro) By Sherman Shifflett Generally, I ask my good friend, Ava Pippin, where she wants to eat on her birthday. For the last 12 or 14 years, she has requested Lowery's Seafood Restaurant in Tappahannock. It's nearly a two-hour drive from Louisa. From Lowery's, she had to travel another hour to Fredericksburg for … [Read more...]
Citizen Burger Bar
I don’t like to go to Downtown Charlottesville. It’s no longer Historic Charlottesville, it is now Politically Correct Charlottesville. I go only if the Charlottesville Band or a good show is playing at the Paramount. And it’s too bad, because one of Charlottesville’s best burger restaurants is on the Downtown Mall, and that’s Citizen Burger Bar. We ate there not long ago, and their … [Read more...]
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