The Barn. That pretty much says it all. Anyone from Charlottesville or anyone ever associated with the University of Virginia knows that “The Barn” means the Aberdeen Barn, one of Virginia’s finest steak houses. The Barn was conceived and opened in 1965 by George Spathos. I first visited this iconic steak house in 1967. I was the Men’s Buyer at Leggett Department Store at the Barracks Road … [Read more...]

If you don’t want to go out to eat, you can always do a take-out from your favorite restaurant. Or you can cook and make a dish exactly like they do at your favorite restaurant, and save money and travel time. I like Outback Chicken – cooked on “The Barbie”. It has a little kick, spicy but not overly so. It’s good on a sandwich, pasta, in a salad or just by itself. I had a hankering for … [Read more...]

Going out to eat has become a real treat, not a normal activity. There are still many folks who won’t even consider eating a meal in a restaurant. Not the Brewer’s. We don’t go out often, but we enjoy each occasion as something special, not a given. The safety and care of each restaurant we have visited has been most impressive. You are safer in a restaurant than at Lowe’s, I can vouch for … [Read more...]

We’ve eaten out a half dozen or so times since Covid shut down our way of life, but it’s a little ironic. A restaurant these days is one of the safest places in the world. They do this 6-foot thing to an extreme and everything is routinely sterilized, including the wait staff. Well, not really, but they wear masks and gloves that would keep any germ at bay, and they are extremely conscientious … [Read more...]

I stopped by Harris Teeter last week to pick up a melon and as I passed by the seafood section, I saw that they had Red Argentine Shrimp, so I quickly bought a pound and a half. I first ran into these delicious prawns a couple years back – also at Harris Teeter. These, I believe, are the best tasting shrimp on the planet. They taste an awful lot like lobster, but not as strong, They also have a … [Read more...]

There is a number of great places to get a hamburger in Charlottesville, but one of the best (and often overlooked) spots is Martin’s Grill at Forest Lakes. They are known for their hamburgers and they have them all the way from a single burger to a Quadzilla with 4 patties, and all cooked on a stove top grill. My understanding is that Ryan Martin,  the founder of Martin’s grill, once worked … [Read more...]

One by one, they are dropping like flies. Restaurants, that is. They have been deemed non-essential by our Nanny State with Spartan restrictions. and many are going out of business. One of the latest is the Wendy’s restaurant on what used to be 29 North across from Fashion Square Mall. That was before VDOT and the Never-by Passers created the 29 North Tunnel that effectively cut Wendy’s, Hardy’s … [Read more...]

They closed our Long John Silver’s here in Charlottesville about 7 or 8 years ago and Nancy and I have been in mourning ever since. Long John’s was often our go-to place on Sunday night when we wanted something fast and tasty and didn’t want to cook. Often, we couldn’t decide between their chicken and their fish, so we ordered a big combo. By the time we finished off multiple pieces of fried fish … [Read more...]

Deerfield, Virginia. Population 132 people, 60 cows, 15 sheep and two dozen chickens. Deerfield is a sleepy little own in Augusta County on Deerfield Valley Road, Rt. 629, which connects West Augusta on Rt. 250 and the Goshen area on Rt. 39. There’s no a lot of traffic through Goshen. No reason to be there. Deerfield consists of a handful of farms, some old plantation homes, a post office, a … [Read more...]

Got an e-mail from my pal Sherman Shifflett about a good place to get a bite to eat. It’s called Luv’N Oven and it’s in Scottsville. “The food I ordered was darned good,” he said. “I got the chicken breast, mashed potatoes, pinto beans and rolls. The coconut cake was very good. Ava ordered a BLT and it was good,  too.” Luv N Oven is a locally owned diner-type store front restaurant in … [Read more...]