I’ve gotten many questions about why we chose Charlottesville over the past year.
This post is the reason why.
Bikeable. Charming. Local. Food.
We wrapped up things at home, donned our bikes and rode about 3 miles (~25 minutes) past downtown and to the neighborhood on the other side of town (where we considered living!) called Belmont. It’s where Matt’s favorite beer establishment is!
Crystal and Anna were waiting 🙂
With hilarious males called Warren and Drew!
I ordered a 10 oz organic wheat beer to start. I was feeling really thirsty for water over hops! Delish.
We talked for a long, long time and then said our farewells (until next time!) to go to dinner.
Matt and I chose a nearby restaurant we’ve been meaning to visit for many moons: The Local
We’ve been happy to see lots of other bikes out there!! I am so not a hard-core biker, but I love using two wheels for transportation. There are so many bike lanes here, which makes things so much easier!
It is SO not hot here today!! Almost like fall. Cville has much more variable weather than NC. Blazing hot one day. Cool the next. Cool!
We were seated on a top porch deck – so cozy!
See why it’s cool!?
We ordered a bread basket to start. We love bread! With basil buttah.
And we decided to share a glass of Cab from Virginia, just to keep things local 😉
I ordered the local Trout for dinner – see below:
It was quite the presentation! And 1,000% delicious. Stuffed with chorizo and deep fried. So much flavor. And that puddle of yellow sauce was 1,000% garlic and something good, probably cream and cheese. I didn’t quite finish the meal, but I made a good size dent!
Matt ordered the [local] pork with mashed potatoes and sweet potato crisps along with a side of asparagus.
He shared a bite – delish!
We just biked 3 miles back home. It was pretty much a piece of cake (especially compared to Charlotte!) We were a bit hesitant about this neighborhood because it’s farther from downtown than we had hoped, but the bike was so quick and easy that I’m so glad we went with our guts and chose such a charming place to live 🙂
Better get to bed because tomorrow is the farmer’s market!!
Allie (Live Laugh Eat) says
You make me seriously regret not going to UVA 🙂 Charlottesville is gorgeous!
Evan Thomas says
What a cool area to live near! I definitely can’t wait for the school year when I’m in a city
[email protected]://stacey-healthylife.blogspot.com/ says
Biking around sounds like a great way to see the city and get in some exercise.
Daniel says
I really enjoy how much local food that restaurant makes use of, I think we need a lot more restaurants and facilities (i.e. grocery stores) that do things of that nature. I know it can be a challenge for some places, but seriously, the only organic apples in our grocery store are from, get this, Chile? I live in Wisconsin and there aren’t any farmers who grow apples anywhere closer than Chile?
Liz says
Gays Mills, WI! They have a huge apple festival every September and have tons of Orchards up there. Great place to go.
Heather says
sounds SO fabulous to be able to do that!!
Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) says
Looks like a great evening! Glad you are getting settled!
Rosey Rebecca says
That restaurant looks so great! I love the atmosphere.
When I move in December, my goal is to move to a walkable city. One where I don’t need my car for anything. I’d love to bike everywhere, like you. 🙂
The Wife of a Dairyman says
Oh gosh, that trout looks GOOD! It’s nice that you guys have plenty of bike lanes…..makes it much easier to share the road with the vehicles!
lauri Watson says
Dinner looks Awesome! One of the biggest downfalls of our new house is that it is so far from the city, we LOVED the house+neighborhood enough to sacrifice having to drive 20 mins into town. Sure is nice that you can bike everywhere!
holly @ couchpotatoathlete says
What a great city! I know in my area of MN it is HARD to bike around town. And I swear car drivers have no idea what to do when a biker is near by — they just slow down and drive behind the poor biker, huffing and puffing!
Dinner looked great!
Mary @ Bites and Bliss says
I’ve never seen a restaurant that serves all local food- usually it’s like one, maybe two things on the entire menu are local- but your find is awesome!!
Cynthia (It All Changes) says
My dream is to live in a town like that one day. I love local and quirky, full of fun.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says
It looks like SUCH a great town!
tanyasDailyProductReviews says
Looks like a fun time!
Erin says
Love that there are so many local options. It’s nice to know you’re supporting nearby farmers and eating fresh food.
Hannah says
Oh, you’ll have to start eating Twin Oaks tofu and Sunergia tofu! Sunergia makes an amazing tofu “blue cheese” and “feta”. I miss them so much!
Lindsay in Indy says
Looks like a great night! Wish we lived in a bike friendly area of town! Maybe if I keep pestering the man we’ll eventually move to the northside of Indy…so much more bike accessible!
Kim says
Your town reminds me of my town. We live in Boulder, Colorado and we love it here! There are tons of bike lanes and trails. So many restaurants use local food, a few even have their own gardens/farms and people are so friendly and dedicated to health living. I love living in a town like this and I think you all will too.
If you haven’t already, be sure to read up on your areas bike laws. There are a lot of them I am sure, but knowing them will make cycling around town so much easier.
Have fun!
Kelsey @ CleanTeenKelsey says
That restaurant looks lovely. It’s awesome that you guys biked there. If I had a bike I would definitely attempt to use it instead of the car. 🙂
Courtney (Delightful Devours) says
Very cool post! I love the bike lanes and all the local fare.
Rachael says
Bikeability is key – I need to be able to bike and walk to destinations to truly feel at home in a town – C’ville is definitely awesome for that. Asheville is very accessible, which I part of the reason I love living there.
I went to the Local after my cousin’s wedding, and the food was both visually stunning and delectable!
lisasfoods says
The way you describe Charlottesville makes me think a lot of Burlington, Vermont, where I lived for a few years after college. I used to bike all over the place, and could take the free shuttle from the University of Vermont to about half a mile from my apartment. It was great to pedaling and use public transit so much; it sounds like you two feel the same way.
Ashley says
Basil butter??? I’m there! 😉 Everything looks great. The town looks like the perfect fit for you two!
Michelle @ Give Me the Almond Butter says
What a great place to live! My area is definitely not walkable—I live in the foothills of a mountain range!
Chelsea (Chelsea's Chew and Run Fun) says
I love everything about the sounds of this restaurant from the aesthetics, decor, outdoor dining option, and delicious looking (local) menu. What I wouldn’t give to try that sweet potato crisp topped pork! Looks AH-MA-ZING.
Have fun at the Farmer’s Market tomorrow!
Camille says
What a lovely restaurant and a gorgeous dinner! Sounds like you are liking your new home… I’m so glad!
Ursula says
It kind of reminds me of where I live in Cambridge, UK – university town, very bikeable, unpredictable weather! In the past the restaurant choices haven’t been great, but a few really good local restaurants have been popping up over the past few years.
PS – your new home looks gorgeous – I’m very jealous!
Kath says
I lived in Cambridge for a summer and they are similar!
lynn (The Actors Diet) says
cville looks great. i passed by a huge critical mass bike rally tonight in l.a. – you never see that!!!
Jackie (Peaces of Earth) says
Those are such awesome qualities and definitely what I look for also.
Your house organizing is crazy! I can’t believe how much you’ve done. I love all the jars, I have a ton but can’t display it like that. Oh, the joys of having 4 roommates with one kitchen.
Freya @ Brit Chick Runs says
Are the orange curly things on Matt’s food the sweet potato crisps? If so, good gracious they look amazing!!
Luna says
I feel like I am going through a stylish magazine about how to decorate your home … actually I’ve always had this feeling when looking at the pictures you post (I mean with the “old” house as well) 😉 Your new place is really very nice! Maybe this is a personal question and sorry if this is the case, but I was wandering, are you renting or did you buy this house?
Kath says
Renting!
Luna says
How nice!Thank you! We are planning on moving too, but there are absolutely no options for rent that could compare to yours here (Italy). eheh maybe we’ll move to the US 😉
Caitlyn @ A Spoonful of Life says
I can see why you chose Charlottesville. I would love to live in a place where you could bike or walk everywhere!
sarah (the SHU box) says
my friend vickie (who lived there 8 years btw med school/residency) used to always say charlottesville had the most restaurants per capita of anywhere! every time we visited, we tried somewhere new and it seemed like they were all good. i LOVE the restaurant scene where i live as well, but it amazes me that a smaller town can have just as many amazing options. such a foodie place to live! if we weren’t destined for miami, i would probably be scouting out surgery and peds endo positions there 🙂
sarah (the SHU box) says
oh, and luna – i am pretty sure kath mentioned they are renting for now. i agree that it looks beautiful though!
Amanda (The Nutritionist Reviews) says
That’s great that you found a new restaurant that you guys love!
Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down) says
I completely understand why you guys wanted to move to Charlottesville. That town is absolutely gorgeous. 😀
Wei-Wei says
I love your sunglasses around your neck! I hope you won’t regret it when the extreme weather gets annoying 😉 I can imagine it starting to get a little irritating… 😛 But Charlottesville looks like a great place to live!
Wei-Wei
Kaley says
Looks amazing. It reminds me of my college town, Bloomington, IN. Local and veryyy bikeable with tons of fun ethnic restaurants! The Dalai Lama even had connections to it and his newphew opened up a Tibetan restaurant called The Snow Lion. So cool!
Someday I’d love to live in Cville (funny because we call my hometown Cville – Crawfordsville).
Erika @ Food, Fitness, & Fun says
Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm. I bet that trout was good! 😛
Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin says
I can definitely see why you wanted to move there! It’s so nice to be able to bike around a city.
Erin says
My husband and his dad are doing a father/son trip this weekend in Charlottesville. I passed on your info on The Local to them – hope they made it to dinner there tonight!
Glad all is working out well with your move! It can be such a stressful experience, but it sounds like you guys have it all under control.
Sara says
Welcome to Va., Kath! (I’m in Richmond and frequent C-ville, etc.)
🙂
Eileen says
That dinner looks AMAZING. And the place looks very cute, too.