Charlottesville, Virginia, home of CvilleBuzz, had around 225 restaurants at last count. That’s a lot of choices, but if I had special guests coming to town, price was no object and I wanted to make sure they dined at one of Charlottesville’s very finest restaurants, I would take them to the Ivy Inn. Over the years, my wife Nancy and I have had many enjoyable meals at The Inn (mostly … [Read more...]

Great Italian food in Covington? Absolutely. Coming into town on East Madison Street is a restaurant with a large parking lot called Cucci’s Pizzeria. The place serves generous portions of authentic Italian cuisine at reasonable prices. It’s a top-notch place to stop for a bite, whether for lunch or dinner. Nancy and I found ourselves heading home from a stay at Cliff View Inn one evening and … [Read more...]

Anytime you see a line at a restaurant, you figure there’s something worthwhile inside. And when there is always a line, you know this is a great place to eat. A little over halfway to Lynchburg on Rt. 29 heading south is a town called Colleen. I suppose it’s a town since they have a sign on the highway, but as best I can tell, Colleen consists of a big Exxon Station and a smaller establishment, … [Read more...]

  Talk about a diamond in the rough. One of the great restaurants in Virginia has a very strange name and is located in an even stranger place. It is the Cat and Owl Steak and Seafood Restaurant in Covington. Well, not really Covington, but close enough. It’s actually in Low Moor, between Covington and Clifton Forge, but this place serves serious food. I stumbled on this … [Read more...]

  Sometimes you find great food in strange places. A few years back, Nancy and I stumbled upon such a place – Nick’s Family Style Spaghetti and Steak House in West Point. We had a couple days to get away and we wanted to be somewhere on or near salt water without the long drive to the Eastern Shore or Virginia Beach. The closest place to Charlottesville appeared to be West Point, about … [Read more...]

My wife, Nancy, found herself out and about at lunchtime last week with nothing to eat. She rode past Arby’s and thought, “Why not?” That night she said she had a really good lunch at Arby’s and couldn’t remember the last time we ate there. I couldn’t either and I don’t know why. For fast food and quick, easy meals, we often go to a deli, a pizza place or the old faithful MacDonald’s. That … [Read more...]

  It is 190 miles from Charlottesville to Greensboro via Rt. 29. I know the stretch well, as my daughter Angelin and her family live in North Carolina and there are grandchildren there that require regular visits. There is also one place to eat along the way that has the best fried chicken you have ever put in your mouth. And that is the Chicken Coop at the Nelson Food Market. The … [Read more...]

Nancy and I were in the mood for steaks. Both of us had been traveling and preferred not to cook. We didn’t want anything fancy, just a nice slab of beef. We decided on the Texas Roadhouse, on Route 29 in Charlottesville, not far from our house. Nancy had eaten there once before. She said it was noisy, but the food was okay. I don’t mind noisy if the food is good, and I was curious, so we gave … [Read more...]

  Sometimes you just feel like Italian – food that is. Since Olivate closed in Albemarle Square, we have not settled in on one regular Italian Restaurant, though we often visit Travinia’s and find it quite good – depending on the waiter that evening. But when I think of an Italian ristorante, I think of soft music, a glass of smooth red wine, candlelight and elegant dining. This past … [Read more...]

Sometimes the best place to eat at Nags Head is in the kitchen of your rental cottage if you have had a little luck in the fishing or crabbing department. Last year, with some fresh trout and red drum filets caught aboard Capt. Stecher’s boat, Nancy and I enjoyed some of the best home-cooked Catch of The Day Fish Sandwiches I’ve ever had. But we also like to eat out and there are so many great … [Read more...]