I tweeted last week about how my wife and I were trying out the new wine bar, DaLuca’s, in the Old Trail Town Center. That tweet prompted this reader-submitted* review:
DaLucas is newly opened and we are thrilled to add yet another restaurant name to a rapidly growing list of other new eateries in Crozet.
Yippee they are here – however – some tweaking needs to occur if they are going to flourish and compete with what is already out here and what is on the way.
Having worked in New York in the food and entertainment business I tripped over myself to be first in line at Dalucas after having read their posted menu pre-opening that seemed Zagat worthy to me.
Upon arrival I was disappointed that Sauvignon Blanc was not available by the glass – it may be on the wine menu by now if others like me who enjoy a good grassy wine have requested it.
My husband and I ordered two drinks – a pinot grigio and he a beer that was an interesting lemony/citrusy brew – forget the names but was good.
Then the three tapis – quite pricey and not very large for a tapis serving in my mind. Quality too was lacking, but hey, it was only night two since opening.
The bill was a shocker at $65.00 and we went home still hungry.
We love the view of the mountains from the patio, we love that they are here but we hope the prices come down some and the wine bar expands its choices of wines (hint we have some great local wineries to add to your wine menu – Mount Fair, King Family, White Hall).
We want to support these nice folks – all of them from the wait staff to the owners – but with current prices we can’t afford DeLucas very often.
If you’re interested in the Crozet Music Festival (and you really should be) take a few minutes and watch (or read the transcripts) the two videos below – (my apologies for the brief shakiness of the videos).
Disclosure: I’m on the Board of Directors for the Crozet Music Festival.
Jim: Here we are at Green House Coffee in Crozet, Virginia. I’m here with Biff Rossberg, founder of Crozet Music Festival. I just wanted to do a quick, five minute interview with Biff. I had a question about Crozet Music Festival. I’m going to run through my list. Just give us a quick, 30 second summary of what the Crozet Music Festival is.
Biff: The Festival is a three day event. We have 51 bands coming. We have all kinds of festivity type things going. Friday is rock n roll day. Saturday is family day. We’ve got a bunch of stuff for the kids and then Sunday is more of a laid back day. We’re calling it mellow Sunday.
Jim: Mellow Sunday. Who’s coming to that?
Biff: Oh, we’ve got the Grateful Dead cover band, Alligator, The Mondo Mafia. I wish I had my list right in front of me, darn it.
Jim: That’s quite all right. Quite all right. It will be up on the blog as well. (ed note: Here is the list of bands)
Biff: Misty Mountain Camp ground is where we’re having it again. It’s on route 250, just west of the 64/250 interchange.
Jim: How far from downtown Crozet?
Biff: Oh, a mile and a half or two miles.
Jim: Not bad. Now who is benefiting from this?
Biff: We’re fund raising for the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad. After all the expenses are paid, they’ll get over 50% of the profits from the festival.
Jim: Wow. That’s wonderful. Why should anyone from Crozet, Charlottesville, surrounding areas come?
Biff: Well don’t come if you don’t like music because that’s about all that’s going to be going on, well not all that’s going on. We’ve got a lot of vendors, lots of things for sale. For the kids on Saturday we have a face painter, juggler, a rock wall, pony rides, we have a bounce around house, we have a game room and we have a play ground. So there’s plenty to do if you want to have a good time and a good day. We’ve lowered the ticket prices this year, so hopefully it will be something that’s affordable for everybody.
Jim: You mentioned when we talked the other day something about vineyards?
Biff: Vineyards. We have eight wineries coming, so we’re going to have our own mini wine festival in the middle of the music festival. So you’ve got a music festival, a vendor festival, and we’ve got some breweries coming too. We didn’t forget the breweries. Blue Mountain is coming, the Devil’s Backbone and Starr Hill will all be there.
Jim: Anything else you want to say?
Biff: I just hope to see you there.
Jim: Good. Thanks Biff.
Jim: This is Jim Duncan, Real Crozet VA again. I’m here with John Updike on the board of the Crozet Music Festival. John, just tell us a little bit about who is involved in setting this thing up.
John: Well Bill Rossberg and I have been working on it, this will be our third year. Our mission for the festival is to show local musicians that they’re still appreciated. With all the national acts that are coming to the Charlottesville area, there’s kind of a focus on that, but we want to have a venue for the local musicians to gather and play in one spot. We’ve found the Crozet Music Festival to be a good venue for that and Misty Mountain Campground is hosting the event for the second year. We like the venue a lot because it offers camping around the site. Also our mission is to be family oriented. We’re not a festival of reckless abandon. We want to encourage family’s/adults to bring their children and feel safe in the environment out there. So far I think we’ve accomplished that goal. We’ve got just about 50 bands for three days and two stages, so we’re excited about that. We feel like people are getting to know the festival with each year that we have it.
Jim: I think there are 51 bands. How does that compare to last year?
John: I think we only had it for two days last year, so I think we were talking maybe 30 bands last year, but each year we’ve grown by a day. The first year was one day, the second year was two days, and this year will be three.
Jim: Where do you expect the people to come from? Mainly Charlottesville and central Virginia or do you think there will be more statewide?
John: Well that was the expectation the first two years and it proved to be true. I think we’re getting more of a regional presence now. I’ve heard of a group from Lynchburg coming up that will be staying at the campground. I think we’re trying to branch out to Harrisonburg and Stanton and Richmond. Some of the bands are from some of those areas, so that tends to draw people from a larger area, so we’re expecting the demographics to grow this year and with that growth we expect more awareness of the festival.
Jim: Now we were talking earlier about there is a lot of people who are going to be peddling their wares if you will, there will be family activities, a wine festival, and bands. Is there anything else we can mention to attract people in for the weekend?
John: Well, there’s some great food vendors. Alex Montiel has been our food director and he’ll be bringing his own outfit in and there will be some others. Anything from Mexican cuisine to the hamburgers and hot dogs and some things in between. We’re having the Devil’s Backbone Brewery, Blue Mountain, and Starr Hill and JWC bringing beer. I think we’re having six or eight wineries from around the region and of course there will be soft drinks for the young ones and there will be a children’s area, a playground, and Adrian Young of Backyard Revolutions is going to bring an activities tent to entertain the kids. So we feel like we’ve got a well-rounded festival and plenty to do for everybody and of course the music speaks for itself. The bands themselves have a lot of local followers and we’re hoping that will bring some people in and I’ve heard that there is a high school reunion going on that weekend and they’re making the Crozet Music Festival part of their activities. So more people are finding out about it and I think that will make our numbers grow.
I’ve been showing property in and around Batesville quite a bit for the past several weeks; thanks to this I’ve had occasion to re-acquaint myself with the Batesville Store.
A reminder: it’s outstanding. If you’ve been recently, what do you think?
Our featured musicians this Saturday evening are Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish, aka The Honey Dewdrops, who won first place in The Prairie Home Companion’s “People in Their Twenties” National Talent Show in 2008. Laura grew up in Batesville, and she and Kagey now live in Scottsville when they aren’t touring the country. We’d like to celebrate these true local favorites by putting out a buffet of Batesville Store local favorites—and I’m hoping that you will help us decide what to serve.
So I’m writing to you with a simple question:
What are your two favorite food items at the store?
You can nominate anything that can be eaten: a deli sandwich, a comfort food dish or smoked meat, a particular dessert, a deli side or variety of soup, a kind of bread, a flavor of ice cream . . . .
It’d also be great if you’d be willing to write a few words letting us know why each is a favorite. If we feature your comment at Saturday’s buffet, you will receive a $5.00 store credit.
C’VILLE PIE FEST AT THE CROZET MUDHOUSE
Celebration of pie and community will benefit PACEM
WHAT: The first-ever C’ville Pie Fest, a celebration of pie and community, will present a multiple-baker pie competition, musical entertainment from The Honey Dewdrops and a silent pie auction to benefit PACEM, the area’s winter homeless shelter.
WHO: Judges for the pie competition include Charlottesville notables:
§Coy Barefoot,director of communications for the Sorenson Institute; bestselling author and host and producer of WINA’s “Charlottesville Right Now.”
Come and learn how the Crozet Master Plan is taking shape in your community.
Projects include the New Crozet Library, Streetscape and other downtown enhancements, the Crozet Master Plan 5-Year Update, a new affordable housing project at The Meadows, community efforts to initiate the Crozet Historic District, and Albemarle County Police programs in the area.
Bring your family and friends to the 1st Annual Crozet Health and Wellness Fair.
On Sunday, October 18th, the Crozet Business Networking Group is sponsoring the 1st Annual Crozet Health Fair from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. at Crozet Baptist Church on St. George Avenue (near Downtown Crozet). This free event is promoting healthy living for all ages, with over 20 Crozet health care professionals providing free health screenings, education, assessments and other services.
The event will also have a 1 Mile Family Fun Run/Walk starting at 2:00 at the church.
The Crozet Health Fair will feature free flu shots for children without insurance, cholesterol checks, child fingerprinting, massage, glaucoma tests, oral cancer screenings, body mass index (BMI) measurements, blood pressure screenings, audiogram, orthodontic screenings, energy field screenings, posture analysis, and sleep disorder screenings. There will be local food vendors and activities for children. Meet your local health care providers and find new resources right in Crozet.
Starting at 2:00 p.m., presentations and demonstrations on topics such as first-aid, stress management, and healthy cooking/nutrition, will take place every 30 minutes.
No appointments or pre-registration are needed; attendees will be seen on a first come, first served basis. Continue reading “1st Annual Crozet Health Fair and 1 Mile Family Fun Run/Walk”
“We don’t want the charm of downtown to die away,” Trigo said. “That’s why we have to keep the businesses alive and work together.”
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors already has appropriated the money as part of its capital improvement plans, but Marshall said he and other CCAC members are worried the money will be spent on other county projects if property owners don’t get on board.
“Downtown needs this to happen and time is slipping away,” Marshall said. “This is a project that will benefit everybody, [but] the county needs to find a way to reassure [property owners] they are going to hold contractors to a schedule and stick to it.”
My question is this – if we don’t take advantage of this opportunity now, when will we? We’re not going to get a perfect plan – but we need to insist on getting this started and finished as soon as possible. What better time than the midst of a recession to prepare for the other side?
Secondly, I’m going to borrow tfjtolson’s comment from the Daily Progress in its entirety:
I want the business owners of Crozet to know that while they build it (the streetscape) we will keep coming. I want them to stay in business and I want Crozet to have the improvements.
Therefore, as a Crozet resident, I pledge to keep patronizing their stores during the construction.
It’s really not that far from home to Crozet Elementary, and while I wish there were sidewalks the entire way, it’s a pretty good little walk. Better yet, my small one and I stopped at Mudhouse on the way back home …
Personally, I’m grateful to live in such a walkable place.
** If you take pictures in or of Crozet, upload them to flickr and tag them with “crozet” – then they will be displayed in the slideshow on the homepage of RealCrozetVA.**
