Life lately

Throwback to 2011 at Carter Mountain

I feel that ominous tickle in my throat: allergy season is upon us. Despite being a terrible city for spring allergy sufferers (all the pollen-emitting trees!!), Charlottesville is stunning in the spring. The warm weather brings with it the usual crowds of prospective (or recently admitted) students and their parents to Grounds, which is so fun to see ... It makes me feel really nostalgic! The crowds seem to really enjoy the food trucks over by the Amphitheater :). I love seeing the Days on the Lawn groupings in front of Old Cabell Hall* on my way to class in the mornings. And I saw CavPup for the first time on Monday! 

After quite a busy last week, here is a catch-up post of sorts ...:

Notable quotes:

• Wise words from my former coworker's late father: "People may be able to take things from you but they cannot take your pride. Be true to yourself, be good to yourself. Don't belittle yourself. Other people will do that for you and they do not need your help."

Things I learned:

• Helium is mined, and is therefore a limited resource. Something to think about the next time you buy a bunch of balloons for a party, I think.
• Professors are paid for only 9 months out of the year -- just like teachers! -- unless they get a research grant during the summer time or teach summer school

Embarrassing thing that happened to me:

• During a study break in the library between classes, I plugged my headphones into my ears to listen to a transcript of Donald Trump's hour-long meeting with The Washington Post editorial board, turned up the volume, and then realized the sound was coming not from my headphones but from my laptop speakers. D'oh! My earbuds were not plugged in. Fortunately for me, Trump was in the middle of explaining his thoughts on NATO -- not about his hands or other body parts.

Miscellaneous:

• I'm greatly amused by one of my engineering professors' conceptual analogies to Italian foods like a salami (differential unit of volume), slice of cheese (representative slice of a sphere), and "spaghetti noodle" (a fibrous protein).

*The Days on the Lawn opening reception is traditionally held on the Lawn-facing Rotunda steps, but the U.Va landmark is undergoing a facelift at the moment :)

Spudnuts - Review

Spudnuts storefront

Spudnuts' blueberry cake donut - my favorite!

If you’ve never been to Spudnuts, I suggest you plan a short trip to Charlottesville to pay this quaint little shop a visit. And bring cash.

Just beyond the Charlottesville Downtown Mall on Avon St. sits this itty-bitty standalone shop boasting a faded Pepsi sign and sells the most unique donuts. The hexagonal potato donuts need but the simplest adornments: chocolate glaze, shredded coconut, sugar, or maple. Sometimes, if you come early enough, you can snag an apple fritter made from the donut batter. And definitely don’t miss the blueberry cake donuts – those are the donuts that really shine.

Spudnuts used to be open six days a week during my days as an undergrad, but those have been reduced to four: Tuesday thru Friday, 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. or until they run out of donuts. I don’t know if those reduced business days are due to slow business, but I encourage you to support this small business because if this place shutters up, the next closest Spudnuts location is in Ohio! 

Howdy, neighbor!

Every night as I lay in bed I can hear the man below me snoring blissfully. This evening while reading at my desk I could hear the woman in the unit below me (snoring man’s live-in lady friend) sneeze – twice. Most mornings I am awoken 10-15 minutes before my alarm goes off by the sound of the couple’s chubby pug manically running around, abruptly body slamming into walls, cabinets, doors, and miscellaneous furniture. This same pug cries and howls whenever his owners are gone for more than a few hours (while, I imagine, looking out the first-floor living-room window, waiting expectantly for his owners’ cars to back into their usual parking space).

Which makes me wonder: What must these neighbors know about me with just our thin ceilings/floors separating us? I live alone and so do not often have loud conversations save for the occasional phone or thrice weekly conference call, but I do play podcasts aloud while getting ready every morning, eating every meal and snack, and cooking or baking. Those who know me well know that I am a morning person, and my floors creak quite a bit – especially in the kitchen. And when I can’t fall asleep at night, or wake up inexplicably early and cannot fall back asleep, I often get out of bed and pass the time by baking or cooking, much to the downstairs neighbors’ dismay, I am sure, because sometimes I hear them start to move about and sleepily murmur to one another when I step on an especially creaky – but unavoidable! – floor tile. I have, however, abstained from vacuuming my floors early in the morning because nobody wants to (or ought to) be that neighbor!

Just a few more months folks, and I’m out of here :)

Charlottesville is stunning in the fall

Fry's Spring Station

Just as we continue to return to restaurants for the good food, so, too, do we return for the memories. Fry’s Spring Station will always be a special place to me partly because that’s where many an MB121 meeting took place. But the pizza is good, too.

My favorite pizza there is The Roberto, which contains chunks of tender meatballs. Another favorite of mine is now discontinued and was essentially a salad with tangy dressing atop a cheese pizza. Those who opt for the mushroom pizza, though, may be disappointed that the pie arrives displaying only a few skinny slices of mushroom that hardly occupy a third of the total surface area.

Apart from the pizza, Fry’s Spring Station also serves paninis, salads, and enormous portions of pasta. My pick for pasta is the lasagna, which arrives with a generous slice and hearty ground beef. The creme brule is one of a few dessert offerings, but I’ve had better

Al fresco dining is always a plus and there are plenty of outdoor seats (at least 10 tables total in the front and side of the venue) when the weather is fair. And on the plus side, it’s just a stone’s throw away from the Inner Loop and Free Trolley lines, and is easily accessible. I wouldn’t recommend driving -- especially on a weekend or Friday night -- because parking is extremely limited. 

The Roberto

 

Margherita pizza

Farmers' market tacos

You know what makes me happy on Saturday mornings? Farmers’ market tacos. Specifically, these warm bundles of magic:

What do these taste like? Magic. What does that taste like? Chicken. And cilantro. And, of course, cheese.

The tacos themselves are $2.75 each and you have a choice of four different proteins: chicken (my favorite), steak, chorizo and al pastor. Unlike many other ready-made tacos, these come adorned with a confetti of cilantro and red onion, without being too overwhelmingly “oniony.” Sorry, there’s no lettuce to be seen here. Another unique element is the cheese. It’s not the typical grated cheese, but rather a crumbly, milder cheese that doesn’t attempt to compete with the punchy cilantro, zippy salsa, or savory meat.

Overrated Cville eateries

Charlottesville boasts a large number of restaurants per capita and is a great foodie town, but there are a handful of places that just don't live up to all the hype and "must-do" lists out there. That is not to say the eateries listen below are terrible, but rather that there are better places to satisfy a food craving. Here are a sampling of a few that come to mind:

Lemongrass. Many of Lemongrass’s dishes reek of fish sauce rather than the many dimensions of authentic Thai food that blends sweet, spice and savory notes. There are many superior Thai places to eat in Charlottesville (e.g., Lime Leaf), but they, unfortunately, are not nearly as close as this Corner restaurant.

The Flat. Well, the strawberry and Nutella crepe is divine, but anything can be magical if there’s Nutella in the mix. But really, both the savory and sweet crepes are missing something, namely a lick of salt and some sugar, respectively.

Take-It-Away. I don’t visit any sandwich shop that doesn’t serve lettuce with their sammies. And I’m not a fan of the house dressing. Sorry, but I’d rather have something from Little John’s.

 

Summer 2011

SweetHaus

This relatively new addition to the Downtown Charlottesville area (next to Random Row Books) doesn't pretend to be an upscale cupcakery. Rather, there's a quaint feel about the tiny bakery and candy shop, decorated with a candy-bejeweled chandelier that serves as the backdrop behind the counter.

Instead of displaying cute, colorful cupcakes in their shining glory at eye level, SweetHaus opts for a more humble display just below the front counter. If you don't see a cupcake you'd been salivating after in the glass case, ask the young lady behind the counter because many cupcakes are made in small batches and frosted to order to ensure freshness. And if you're watching your waistline, try one of the adorable mini cupcakes topped with a generous dollup of frosting.

Although I'm not a huge appreciator of coconut, the coconut cupcake is easily the showstopper; it is moist, flavorful, and arrives in a bright art-deco cupcake cup. And the red velvet cupcake easily catapults it to among the best in Charlottesville; the only offputting aspect is the color, which runs brown rather than the namesake red. Still, the cupcakes are consistently moist and the frosting fluffy.

Even though this bakery has a few (relatively trivial) kinks to sort out (to-go cupcake boxes and a proper cupcake display), SweetHaus has everything its Downtown competitor lacks: excellent, attentive customer service, plenty of in-house seating, and consistently delicious offerings. Come swing by to try the best cupcakes in Downtown Charlottesville.


Cost: $2.50 for regular-sized cupcakes and $1 for the minis.
http://www.sweethaus.com/

Coconut cupcake and a mini chocolate cupcake

French macaroons from Albemarle Baking Co.

I've 'mist' you

I was promised sunny, 70-degree weather today and stepped out the door wearing shorts and a T-shirt, only to find that it was freezing outside. Then this evening I exited the library to find a flash downpour. Cville weather, MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

Pumpkin carving on the Lawn, Oct. 23, 2011

(Originally posted Oct. 25, 2011)

La Michoacana

If you’re looking for a Guadalajara-esque taco place, this isn’t it. Rather, it’s a homey, bare-bones, Mexican-style deli that also serves remarkably fresh and authentic tacos, burritos, tortas, and the usual suspects. But the main draw (at least for me) were the tacos — easily some of the best I’ve had. The tortillas are made fresh in-house and food is ready in under five minutes. That this taco purveyor is almost always occupied by a fair number of locals is a good sign — especially for an establishment that sits in a part of town largely unexplored by the U.Va population. (“It’s like 4 blocks from the Downtown mall sketchy end,” my dining companion noted via text message). 

Here, tacos are nested atop tortillas made in-house. Inside are freshly seasoned meat that can be topped with at least three types of each spice level of salsa. I opted for the green hot salsa that added citrus to the spicy flavor parade. The best tacos are those with a single meat: Tacos Mexicanos or Super Taco. La Michoacana also serves some more unusual meat options, such as pork rinds, tripe and beef tongue. The Taco Loco, on the other hand, with a combination of chorizo, beef and chicken, was inferior to the simpler tacos because the different flavors of the meats were hard to distinguish in a dish too overwhelming with salt. Still, it’s hard to complain for $2.25 a taco.

If you’re still hungry after you finish your main course, you can browse the interior of the deli for exotic flavored popsicles; flavored, glass-bottled sodas; or Mexican candies. Either way, pull up a seat and enjoy some of the best tacos in Charlottesville.

Soft tacos at La Michoacana garnished with a complimentary lime wedge.

(Originally posted Oct. 19, 2011)

Cappellino's Crazy Cupcakes

The former charm of this cupcakery have come and gone with the waning cupcake trend in Charlottesville. What was once a humbly attractive establishment with bubbly staff is now marked by subpar (or even stale) offerings and pronounced curtly service. And whether this bakery will see another year in business is doubtful. I recently purchased a stale chocolate chip pecan cookie and a dry-as-dirt red velvet cupcake that tasted of artificial licorice. I came by this bakery early Saturday afternoon with a friend who ordered first and felt utterly ignored by the four employees in the otherwise empty bakery. I waited patiently for my time to order and was annoyed by the lack of common courtesy. The middle-aged woman who eventually realized I, too, was looking to buy something seemed annoyed when I made my selections — even though I’d ordered quickly.

The bakery’s strengths still lay in the charming decorations that mask inferior flavor and texture. Sure, the cupcake frosting is still as fluffy and smooth as ever, but the cupcake itself is arid. And the stale cookies, though physically attractive, obviously have been left uneaten in the bakery display for much too long.

What ever is happening, this cupcake shop does not deserve my business. After all, why, when there are plenty of other places with superior offerings, would I pay money for such insolence?

(Not from Cappellino’s Crazy Cupcakes) A carrot cupcake from the much-superior Crumbs in Washington, D.C.

(Originally posted Oct. 19, 2011)

Bang!

Bang! presents itself as a modern, Asian-fusion, tapas-style restaurant in downtown Charlottesville — just one block from the Downtown Mall. Its menu is relatively concise, but still offers appealing variety.

The kitchen is skilled in its preparation of seafood, but much less adept in its handling of the land-grazing counterparts on the menu. The Firecracker Shrimp, for example, was a knockout with its tasty creamy garlic sauce that dressed the shrimp and accompanying bed of cabbage and carrot slaw. The slaw added both crunch and freshness to the fried shrimp dish — easily the best of the night. The mussels in another dish swam in a zesty lemony sauce, interestingly, on a bed of angel hair vermicelli noodles that were not quite the right medium to carry the citrusy sauce. The Crab Pot Stickers were another winning dish, arriving as a trio of wonton skins that enveloped the tasty crab meat. As with the first dish, the main show stoppers sat on yet another tasty bed of shredded vegetables to mop up the sweet gingery sauce.

Yet Bang! falls flat with its noodles. The fine vermicelli noodles under the mussels were uninspiring, as was the Thai Beef, Bok Choy soba noodles that arrived at our table in monocromatic taupe with hardly a sliver of bok choy. There was no variety of texture or flavor to enliven the otherwise mushy dish that needed either a spicy kick or a more substantial sauce. Another noodle dish that left something to be desired was the Chicken Curry, which lacked sufficient spice and depth of flavor to warrant the name ‘curry.’ The chicken chunks were uninteresting, but even more so were the thin noodles that interwove the chicken chunks.

What Bang! fails in flavor it makes up for in ambiance. The restaurant is set up in something that more resembles a home than a restaurant, but the sound level was at a comfortable level for a Saturday night — or any night. There are also sleek, high-back booths available, each with a soft candle light in small tabletop lanterns that add charm to the modern setting.

But don’t come hungry — The food was good, but not so for the price: each dish costs 8-11 and is about the size of an appetizer.

Firecracker Shrimp

(Originally posted Oct. 2, 2011)

Water, water everywhere ... Except here

Being an adult sucks.

The water in my apartment was unexpectedly shut off Thursday because we’d forgotten to and were underinformed of the process of transferring the account under one of our names.  After a slew of frantic phone calls to stubbornly indifferent representatives from the water company for instructions to redress the very dire situation, followed by a much-needed power nap to calm down, I woke to a phone call from my landlord with numbers I needed to contact the next day.

So, I did my duty and called the number to transfer the account to my name, only to have them tell me the water should be turned on Monday. MONDAY??? It was only 12:35 pm on Friday! That meant not just another day, but rather an entire weekend without water. There was never a more suitable opportunity to say, “FML.”

As I write this from a library where I have set up camp — with all the necessities of food, water, shelter, and a calculator — I would like to thank my friends and neighbors for offering me a place to shower.

Hugs,
JVM 

(Originally posted Sept. 18, 2010)

I looked up to find this handsome gopher crunching on some tasty greens outside my bedroom window in Charlottesville.

(Originally posted Sept. 2, 2010)

Cville summer 2010

The last 12 weeks I’ve spent in Charlottesville have felt like no time at all.  This is the longest I’ve ever been away from home, and though I do long for the comforts of family and home life — if only temporarily before the start of third year — I will miss the calm of Charlottesville in summer.  I was here for every orientation session and saw countless (and perhaps lost) first years giddily exploring the University while proudly sporting their compulsory nametags, and preparing to devote four extraordinary years of their lives here.

I envy them.

That I’m already halfway through my University experience is surreal; I find myself fretfully fighting to hold on to and relish the final half.  To me, the University represents a journey — one I’m still trekking through.  I suppose there’s a natural attachment for a place where so many memories and friendships have been cultivated, but matriculating at U.Va was like exploring entirely new terrain and was, in large part, a great game of self-exploration.  Fortunately, the journey will recommence in three short weeks.

Cheers to another two years that will hopefully be just as magical, if not more so, than the last two.

Chris Green Lake

(Originally posted Aug. 5, 2010)

Albemarle Baking Co.

Located in the Main Street Market on 418 West Main St., this bakery prides itself on its bread and pastries, but the cakes steal the show.

The Harvest Basket on the morning pastry menu is a bundle of buttery, nutty, goodness.  It’s essentially a rough croissant with dried cherries and pieces of nuts scattered throughout the folds, but makes for a good pairing with coffee for a pick-me-up in the morning and alternative to scones or muffins.

The fruit tart, on the other hand, isn’t worthy of its superior company.  The tart presents itself with a basic buttery crust layered first with uninspiring jelly and then with blueberries, blackberries, and glossy strawberries made iridescent with specks of table sugar.  Personally, I much prefer the fruit tart at Hot Cakes at Barrack’s, but I’ll save that for a future review.

The Princess Cake, meanwhile, forms a neat, domed package with vanilla sponge cake layered with bavarian cream and wrapped with a thin sheet of marzipan.  Without a doubt, cakes are the bakery’s strength, but the Chocolate Praline Crunch cake triumphs above all.  The treat manages to be a triple chocolate dessert without being too rich or sugary, owing to the adept use of dark chocolate and varying textures.  The smooth dark chocolate ganache presents an interesting contrast to the airy dark chocolate mousse beneath, which sits atop a thin layer of praline covering a thin disc of chocolate sponge cake.  Pure, chocolatey decadence that even pleases those who prefer other desserts to cake (myself included).  The Princess Cake is available by the slice daily, but the bakery also offers a miniature domed version of the Chocolate Praline Crunch cake, though full size versions of both confections are available for purchase as well.

Furthermore, the ambience is quaint and simplistically elegant.  The bakery houses a handsome display case showcasing the baked treasures, and many square tables comprise the eating area, each accented with a tiny glass vase holding three flowers held by young, tender stems.  Also, the customer service is fast, efficient, and amiable; the staff seems knowledgeable and cheery, though not overly officious.

Needless to say, Albemarle Baking Co. is the best bakery in Charlottesville — easily topping Penne Lane, but only slightly ahead of Hotcakes (stay tuned for a review of Hotcakes within the coming days).

Fortunately for those closer to Grounds, Para Coffee on Elliewood Ave. also serves up various baked goods from Albemarle Baking Co., including its Harvest Basket and various cookies.

(And just in case you were wondering, this review comes after four separate visits to Albemarle Baking Co.)

The fruit tart at Albemarle Baking Co.



(Originally posted Aug. 1, 2010)

Succombing to Mother Nature

Ten minutes of wind and five minutes of rain: that’s all it took to bring down Charlottesville.

Just when I decided to be productive at around 5 pm yesterday, I heard a violently ominous wind blow through the vicinity, whipping a tree outside the living room window, and scraping its branches against the panes in distress. And then the lights went out.

I looked outside and saw a bald young man around my age run into the Beta frat house, holding a magazine over his head lest he get struck by lightning. I hope he rubbed sunblock on that head.

A little power outage? I can deal with that. Midterm tomorrow? Panic mode. So, I packed up all my books and went to Alderman Library. I marched cautiously over fallen branches and the twiggy sidewalk, only to arrive just as the librarians were abandoning the building (the power went out there and in every other library and building on Grounds). Undeterred, I hopped from building to building hoping to find a single classroom with light so I could study. No luck. Finally, I wandered into the Classics building — one I’d never been into and will likely never venture into again — but all the classrooms were locked. Eventually, I settled in a quiet nook on the second floor and started reading.

And then I got a little hungry. Fortunately, I’d packed a (1) Chewy granola bar, but decided I ought to ration and save it for later since I planned to be there for a while. Soon afterwards, a police officer wandered through the same corridor, inspecting the building for sketchy wanderers (like me?), apparently. Needless to say, I startled him, but he said he’d let me stay until seven o’clock. I left.

From there, I went back home and continued doing my homework on the porch outside my room, trying to be as productive as possible while there was still light out. By then it was already 7 o’clock and dusk was approaching. I then hauled all my study materials over to a friend’s house on JPA on foot (and a strained tendon). Naturally, I thanked her for helping the temporarily homeless.

Of course, I did as much as I could, but not without the occasional burst of panic that evening. However, when I went to class that morning, the professor announced that in light of the weather and its consequent inconveniences, the test would necessarily be postponed until Monday.

Thank goodness.

(Originally posted June 25, 2010)

Cafe 88

What distinguishes this unpretentious carry-out place from its competitors is the notable absence of MSG and batter- and grease-laden General Tso and orange chicken dishes that are ubiquitous on the menus of many Asian restaurants, but which lack authenticity and nutritional value.

Furthermore, what the place lacks in decor is supplanted by the warmly attentive “Asian Mama,” as one of my dining companions affectionately refers to the amiable proprietor. Though I was dining with relatively large group, she was always bubbly and kind, willing to answer questions, make suggestions, and was humbly attentive — even after we’d placed our orders.

To be sure, the menu is small but varied. Customers can choose from various bento box entrees that come with a protein and two vegetable side dishes that vary each day. There are also a variety of soups and dim sum dishes available, such as seafood shu mai and chive dumplings. I went with the “Amazing Chicken” bento box; the bird was tender and and juicy, though a little fatty. It is dark meat, after all.

But the side dishes are the real showstoppers. I received a side dish of greenbeans tossed with hearty onion slivers, carrot shreds, and a visible confetti of minced garlic. Cabbage, meanwhile, comprised the second vegetable side dish and shared the dance with mushrooms, carrot, green onions, and zuccini. Both side dishes were tasty and managed to capture the natural, unadulterated sweetness of the vegetable. In essence, everything tasted like something I would find on my dinner plate at home — only better.

Since Cafe 88 is one of the few bubble tea vendors in Charlottesville, I excitedly ordered the milk bubble tea, though flavors such as peach, honeydew, and taro are also available. The popular beverage at this location is tea-based and more aqueous than smoothie-like concoctions available in Northern Virginia. In any case, the tea contained tapioca balls that had enough bite without being too chewy, and tasted as it ought to.

And though Cafe 88 is slightly off the beaten path (though it is located in the shopping center opposite McGrady’s Irish Pub on Preston Ave.), it’s worth the extra mileage to experience homey Asian food, and to meet the equally congenial hostess.

My “Amazing Chicken” bento box with green bean and cabbage side dishes.

(Originally posted June 22, 2010)

Lime Leaf

My favorite restaurant is Rabieng in Falls Church (the Thai restaurant near Duangrats and what used to be Fortune, then Maxim Palace, and finally Lucky Three), but other Thai restaurants I’ve tried always pale in comparison. The charming ambience, adeptly spiced dishes and glossy noodles are tough to beat.

For some reason or other, I always order the drunken noodle when I go to a new Thai restaurant, but the spicy noodle dish has been largely disappointing at the more notable Thai venues within the vicinity of U.Va, such as Lemongrass on the Corner or Thai 99 on JPA.

But then I found Lime Leaf.

Tucked in the Rio Hill Shopping Center behind IHOP on Rt. 29 and beside the “American General” store, the eatery with the nondescript exterior is well worth the trip off Grounds. Granted, I can only vouch for the chicken drunken noodle (YUM!), which found that tricky balance of sweet and spicy while maintaining a depth of flavor, but which could’ve used a few more basil leaves. In any case, if you like your Thai food spicy, diners are given a choice of 3 spice levels (one, two or three chili peppers), but you can also kick it up another notch with a sprinkle from the spice tray.

Additionally, there’s even an entire line of vegetarian entrees, but diners can also swap meat in any of the other dishes for tofu. Taskeen, for instance, got the Kapao fried rice with tofu and even suggested Lime Leaf as the venue of the next PAFN E-Board bonding adventure.

I can’t wait.

My drunken noodle dish which, though not particularly photogenic, deserves better company than a bed of flimsy iceburg lettuce leaves and a carrot tumbleweed.

(Originally posted June 14, 2010)

Under my umbrella

I always check the weather forecast before I go to sleep to ensure I’m adequately prepared for any form of precipitation that threatens anywhere within a 10-mile radius of my residence the next day. The anxiety of being caught in the rain without an umbrella to protect my precious notebooks (from what my water-permeable backpack cannot) probably originates from my experience in the summer BRIDGE Program in 2008. That summer, a monsoon-like downpour bludgeoned Charlottesville, but I didn’t know it was going to rain that much — or at all — so I walked around without an umbrella and was soaked to my socks by that afternoon. My notebooks were the unfortunate casualties; I had to write on curly pages spotted with bled ink for the rest of the program. I’m glad I didn’t write in gel pen. 

Ever notice that it never seems to rain for a single day at U.Va, but rather for entire stretches of time? And it almost always rains during finals, but at least it gives me a legitimate excuse to lounge around in the library wearing cozy leggings (my rain attire = leggings + rainboots + top). Rain boots, moreover, are a necessity as the sidewalks at U.Va flood at any hint of precipitation. 

Also, I’m an inadvertent umbrella murderer: Though I’ve only spent 2 years at U.Va, I’ve gone through countless umbrellas and I’ve even had several invert at the slightest puff of wind, while others are hardly more useful than shielding myself from rain with tissue paper on a straw. 

I wore rain boots to school today because it was forecasted to rain. It never did.

Me visiting Hallie at St. Mary’s College of MD on a rainier day. The sign reads, “STOP worrying.” (March 2010)


(Originally posted June 9, 2010)