What do you think about The Hook’s gossipy, only slightly news related, articles?  I couldn’t believe it when I picked up a copy of The Hook this morning and read “Where’s Baldi? Bel Rio closes, owner vanishes.” (it’s on page 40)  I know Charlottesville is small, and it’s hard to find interesting things to write about, but this article is so speculative about what happened with Bel Rio and with Jim Baldi.  I felt guilty and uncomfortable even reading it because it feels like such a private matter.

I think the most ironic part about the whole article is that Bel Rio has a half page advertisement on the preceding page in The Hook! That’s just not right!  You know Bel Rio paid for that advertisement and it just conveniently wound up next to this terrible story smearing Baldi’s name.

I wonder how much McNair researched this story.  McNair’s story even speculates that Baldi disappeared with a 25 year old woman, and sites myspace as one of his sources for confirming details about her.  Yikes!

You can read the full Baldi story here.

The Sweet Frog sign is on the door and renovations are coming along on the new yogurt store on the downtown mall. Walls are painted, and renovations are being completed in the space next to Mudhouse. I’ll keep you posted on when it opens!

Sweet Frog appears to be a franchise, there is already a Sweet Frog location at the Short Pump mall in Richmond.  I hope this is the same concept!  The Sweet Frog in Richmond has it’s own yogurt taps where you dispense your own yogurt and can top it with any delicious toppings, then they weigh it.  It comes out to 39 cents an ounce!  So much cheaper than Arch’s, and more fun!

I feel like I might be out of the loop since I didn’t realize the amazingness surrounding Take it Away.  Tucked away over on Elliewood, the sandwich shop gets overwhelmingly crowded around lunchtime.  The chaos made me nervous that my order would be all messed up or end up taking forever, but in the packed out restaurant they simply yell your name when your order is up.  It was also stressful to me that I had to wait until they yelled my name, to pay for my food, but what a great idea on their part.  In the meantime you have time to browse for the chips and drink (including a nice wine selection) of your choice.

I’ll admit, my sandwich was pretty amazing.  Isn’t it funny, that yes, I could probably make this myself at home (including the mayonnaise tasting sauce), but it just tastes so much better when someone else makes it for you!  It was fast too, I was in and out in 10 minutes, and that was ordering my food there.  I would include it in the same category as Bodo’s, except Bodo’s is slightly more convenient for me to run in and out.  Remember your parking stub because Take it Away does validate parking!

We have already made it halfway down the mall and it’s only June!  Yesterday was hot but we still decided to eat outside in the Siips rather large outdoor seating area.  The lunch menu is titled Siips Stimulus Lunch, maybe they should leave the word stimulus off, it makes it less appealing.  The lunch choices are all priced at $5.95.  There were panini’s, sandwiches, a lamb burger and a salad, all the entrees come with potato salad or chips.

We were the only people sitting outside, there was one other table inside at 11:50.  A bird pooped on me while we were waiting for our food to come out.  The food seemed to take a long time, but when it arrived it was too hot to eat.  We liked that it felt like they made it fresh instead of using the microwave so diligently like some other restaurants we’ve visited this summer.  We all thought they used too much special sauce on our entrees.  The turkey sandwich had a lot of spicy mustard, the chicken sandwich had a lot of some type of dressing that was overwhelming.  The food is decent though, and all of us were satisfied since it is so reasonably priced at $6.

Next stop on the downtown mall lunch tour: Petit Pois.  Since Blue Light and Ten are closed for lunch, we skip to Petit Pois.  Thankfully the weather is pretty again and we get to enjoy their outdoor seating.  The huge tent umbrellas made our lunch really pleasant even though it was pretty hot out yesterday.

It’s weird that Petit Pois doesn’t compete with Bizou for a lunch crowd.  The prices are comparable and the service was definitely better at Petit Pois, even though our server didn’t crack a smile once, she was efficient.  It’s funny how much I think the server dramatically affects your dining experience.  The food can be excellent, but if the server makes you feel rushed or isn’t very attentive, it kinda ruins it a little.

Prices range from $9-$12.  The crab cake and the tuna were 2 of the entrees the waitress suggested, and both ended up being cooked perfectly.  I like that it’s not a huge portion, so you feel like you can still go back to work and be productive without being in a food coma.  I’d like to see more people make their way to Petit Pois, I thought the prices were reasonable for the experience and food.  I will definitely go back.

We couldn’t decide if we should skip Millers on the downtown mall lunch tour, because all of us have eaten there a bajillion times.  We decided it was a pretty enough day that the patio made sense.  There were 6 of us at lunch.  We moved our own tables together, it’s that kind of place.  At least they don’t make you think it’s going to be fancy.  Our waitress came over about 10 minutes later, her shirt had a cuss word on it, she took our drink order, but she seemed very frazzled.  She had 2 other tables.

After a little while longer, we ordered.  After ordering she informed us that there might not be a veggie burger.  I don’t know why she didn’t just want to check really quick, instead she made us choose backup choices in case they were out of the burger.  Taking our order was stressful, and she didn’t really seem like she was writing anything down, we weren’t really sure what was going to come out.  After 15 minutes she let us know that 3 of us got our first choice 1 of us got our second choice.  Surprise lunch!  After 20 minutes she came out to let us know that the kitchen had run out of a different entree that someone ordered at our table.  She informed him she had just found out and he needed to pick something else.  Our food came out right after this.  The other entree that had just been ordered came out as she was clearing our plates off the table.

So, besides the service, the food is always consistent.  The veggie burger is always really tasty and puts up a good fight against Boylan’s burger, Boylan wins though!  The rest of the heavy bar food left us feeling like we were ready to take the rest of the day off for a nap.   We decided that even though Miller’s will satisfy your lunch cravings, it is still the most enjoyable at night.

So excited about The Downtown Hot Dog Company!  Just went to look at the new location in York Place and I can’t wait for them to open!  It sounds like they will have some creative choices for ways to dress your hot dog up!

The Hawaiian…Your choice of hotdog, white or wheat bun….passion fruit mustard, pineapple relish….Have a bag of Deep River Snacks Sweet MAui Onion Potato Chips to complete the experience!

The Downtown BLT…..Your Choice of Hotdog, white or white bun, Peppered bacon, Roma tomato, Mayo, and shredded lettuce…

read all about the new location on The Downtown Hot Dog Company’s facebook page.

The first Wednesday of the month is here! Which means it’s time for First Wednesdays and The Club of Charlottesville!

What: First Wednesdays meetup. Where: La Taza / The Roast (Belmont). When: 8pm-ish to whenever. What: Hanging out with Cville’s startup, tech and internet community. Why: Two words: Tiki Bar.

NOTE THE LATER TIME: 8pm – whenever

Walking into The Southern feels like walking into a cave.  There are 2 patio tables for 2 outside, so if you have a small party and it’s nice, that’d be the way to go.  There were 2 menus in the whole restaurant, people keep taking them so they are down to 2.  There was 1 person that was the server, cook, and cashier.  With their lack of menus and people available to give service, I guess they are not expecting a crowd.

The restaurant was silent, no music played softly in the background.  After being there for about 10 minutes we realized we were tempted to whisper, just because it was so quiet.  After we ordered our food the silence was interrupted by the sound of the microwave opening and closing and going off.  Yum! Delicious! We couldn’t wait to get our food!

The menu is full of sandwiches: a chicken club, bbq, grilled cheese, veggie, and a couple salad options.  Everyone’s food was okay.  Out of all the sides I’d have to say their smokey macoroni was probably the best, other options included baked beans, potato salad or a side salad.  We were all pretty excited to check out their food, and no one had a bad experience, it just isn’t a new favorite.

As we walked back out into the sunshine, after our mediocre lunch experience, we felt like we were emerging from a club where we had been partying all night.  The darkness of the restaurant had acclimated our eyes to a club like environment.  Please, someone leave a comment that had a better experience.

It’s been raining all week, so we figured this was a good week to try Downtown Thai, because of their lack of patio seating.  Even though the restaurant is connected to our office building, out of the 7 of us, only 1 of us had eaten there previously.

They have a lunch menu that ranges in price from $9-$11 depending on the addition of meat.  The beef and shrimp addition are more expensive than the chicken or tofu.  The lunch comes with miso soup.  They offer 3 different types of curry ranging from mild to very spicy.  There is a wall full of pictures if you are able to eat their most spicy dish!