Nancy and I just returned from the lighting show at the Dallas Trade Mart where we saw some amazing lighting styles now coming on the market. During our annual visit to the Big D each January, we try to take in some of their great restaurants. Each trip, we go to Pappadeaux’s and eat raw oysters, fried shrimp and fresh seafood. It’s one of our favorite restaurants anywhere. This year, we … [Read more...]

I got an interesting email last week raving about eating beets at a local restaurant. Beets? Either these were amazing beets or maybe that was the best the restaurant had to offer? Sherman Shifflett, who ate there with Ava, said the beets were as good as advertised and the meal – at Obrigado’s in Louisa - was sensational. Said Sherman: “I don't know if you like beets or not.  We grew them in … [Read more...]

  When guests came from out of town, there are any number of great restaurants in Charlottesville you could suggest. But is there one signature dish in all of Mr. Jefferson’s fine town that stands out? One single dish? Not that I’m aware of. There is lots of great food, but no signature dish that you would “have to try” when in Charlottesville. I enjoy watching the Travel Channel as … [Read more...]

Occasionally, our next-door neighbors, a young couple, will allow us to babysit for them. Their three year old son, Liam, is a joy to be around, and since our children, the inconsiderate trolls, have moved far away, Nancy and I need a little grand parenting activity every now and then to shake off the rust. So after work last Wednesday, we went to their house to babysit and decided to order out … [Read more...]

Not long ago, on a Sunday night following a week of eating healthy, I said, “What the hell. Let’s get some fried chicken from Wayside. Nancy quickly seconded the motion and I was off, clear across town, to get their chicken. Trouble was, they were closed on Sundays, and I had to settle for KFC, which ranks a distant second to Wayside in the fried chicken department. Wayside Takeout & … [Read more...]

I had waited an entire year to wolf down a Beach Bully roast beef sandwich. When I had worked my way to the head of the line during last week’s Oyster Festival in Urbanna, I figured while I was there, why not two? So I got two sandwiches, doused them with the special Beach Bully BBQ sauce and savored each bite. There are dozens and dozens of food vendors each year at the Oyster Festival and I … [Read more...]

I was devastated! I had my heart set on a Peck’s BBQ platter but when I pulled in where the Waynesboro restaurant once was, it was gone. Vamoosed! There was a CVS in that spot. It was hard to believe they had gone out of business since it was extremely popular, so I asked the folks at a nearby gas station. Whew! Peck’s had not gone out of business after all, they had moved up the road: … [Read more...]

After a steady diet of chicken, fish, vegetables, salads and other healthy dishes, there comes a point when you say, “To heck with this. I want some real food. I want a cheeseburger oozing with goodness and I don’t care how many calories it has.” That’s when you find a nearby Five Guys Restaurant and get your food fix, then it’s off to your endocrinologist to try and get your blood pressure and … [Read more...]

About 20 years ago, I was on a fishing trip to the Mattaponi River in West Point. The croakers were running and it was time to stock the freezer. There were four of us and our driver pulled into a seafood market when we arrived at West Point. I figured we would be buying bait, and we did, but we were also buying our lunch as it turns out, “Ever eaten Deviled Crabs from Diggs?” someone … [Read more...]