C-Ville For the Day

Charlottesville, Virginia, is about an hour northeast of Lexington, and in many ways it's like Lex's older sister. Sure, it's a bit bigger, but they both have plenty of things in common: young people, red brick buildings, history, academia, and winter-dead trees. These similarities aside, in many ways it's a whole 'nother world up there. Culture! Arts! (Reputable) Chain Restaurants! Options!

It's that last one that is most important. Lexington is fantastic, and has been a great place to spend almost four years because it's tiny, quaint, and safe, but there are only so many times you can frequent the same restaurants, same shows, same shops before it can become... well... monotonous.

So going to Charlottesville - even for an afternoon - is a welcome relief.

I decided to make the most of my short trip by going to my favorite spot: the Downtown Mall. The Downtown Mall is a beautiful urban pedestrian-only park with a bunch of boutiques, shops, restaurants, and entertainment options. In the summer there are lots of street musicians and people of all ages running around, but today, today it was fairly deserted. 40s and cloudy will do that do ya.

After a short walk and browsing some stores, I decided to stop off at Eppie's, a quick, casual dining option with American and Southern favorites. I'd never been here before, but after rave reviews, I decided to give it a shot. What can it hurt, right?

 

Well friends, let me tell you what it can hurt: your heart, because it's so depressing that this place is over an hour away.

After reading a bunch of reviews on Foursquare, I decided to try the Santa Monica salad and a side of the Mac and Cheese.

Spinach, dates, goat cheese, and fresh corn topped with a champagne vinaigrette,

and some down-home cheesiness. Mmhmm.

The side portion of Mac and Cheese was more than enough for me because it's pretty rich. Plus, my arteries really don't need any more carbs+cheese... even though those happen to be my two favorite food groups. It's a dilemma.

It's delicious, it's fresh, it's clean, it's airy, and it's popular. Go early to beat the lunch crowd or a bit late if you'd like to eat in.

Next, I decided to grab a quick treat from Splendora's. 

I mean, how could I possibly say no to that display of gelato?!

I had a few other errands to run around Charlottesville, so I hurried away and finished those up before the impending clouds made good on their promise of rain and snow. Central Virginia is set to be hit with a bit of storm tonight and tomorrow!

Before leaving town, I had to hit up one final spot....

It's an addiction. Maybe I'll get help. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my Vanilla Spice Latte.


Visiting the Downtown Mall anytime soon? Some other suggestions:

• Citizen Burger for delicious, fresh, organic burgers. Try the frickles!
• Urban Outfitters for your daily dose of pseudohispter
• Ten Thousand Villages for fair trade shopping
• Rapture for your sorority formal (not food - lots of other (ahem, better) options)

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