A Review of DaLuca’s in Old Trail

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.

Foodie Mom in Crozet

As I said again on Twitter:

@crozette at $60 minimum for 2, da Luca’s won’t be a weekly (or monthly) outing for most, I suspect

*Thank you for the review! If you would like something on RealCrozetVA, please let me know.

Crozet Music Festival – October 2 – 4 2009

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: It’s up on the website.

Jim: What’s the website?

Biff: www.crozetmusicfestival.com, www.crozetmusicfestival.net, www.crozetmusicfestival.org any of the three.

Jim: Now where is this located?

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.

Jim: And what’s the website again?

John: www.crozetmusicfestival.com It’s got all the information including the schedule including the bands.

Jim: Can you buy tickets there too?

John: You can buy tickets there and Mincers and Belair Market are selling them as well.

Jim: So a good time to be had by all?

John: It should be and we’re excited to be having the third annual Crozet Music Festival and we invite everyone to come out.

Jim: Thanks John.

Batesville Store – 10 Minutes from Crozet

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?

Albemarle Farmer likes the Batesville Store.

Batesville Store

From their most recent email blast:

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.

Thanks so much for your help!

Fondly,

Cid

Charlottesville Pie Fest in Crozet – 3 October 2009

You may remember the original, spontaneous Pie Down from earlier this year. Now, the Pie Down has grown to become bigger, badder and better – proceeds benefiting PACEM.

Before you go to the Crozet Music Festival, stop by the Pie Fest!


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.”

§         Mollie Cox Bryan, essayist, columnist, freelance writer, and bestselling author of Mrs Rowe’s Little Book of Southern Pies.

§         Jim Duncan, real estate analyst and REALTOR® with Real Central VA and RealCrozetVA.

§         Amy Eastlack, managing editor of SuzySaidCharlottesville.

§         Brian Geiger, The Food Geek, food science writer for Fine Cooking Magazine, and the current “Best Pie Maker” in Charlottesville.

§         Barbara Hutchinson, executive director of Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport.

§         Elizabeth McCullough, member of the Board of Directors at Writerhouse.

§         Delegate David Toscano, delegate for the 57th District in the Virginia House of Delegates.

§         Brian Wheeler, director of Charlottesville Tomorrow and chairman of the Albemarle County School Board.


This event is free and open to the public.

WHEN:             Saturday, October 3, 2009

                        12 noon – 2pm

WHERE:           Mudhouse

5793 The Square
Crozet, VA 22932

(434) 823-2240



Brief Notes for 2009-09-20 – Crozet Twitter Updates

  • Interview with Bill Rossberg of the Crozet Music Festival coming next week on RealCrozetVA #
  • The Crozet Master Plan is up for review; *now* is the time to voice your opinion. http://bit.ly/ovGo0 #
  • Tons and tons of kids walking to Crozet Elementary #
  • Up a bit earlier; walking to school with the little one. #
  • Curious about the soccer players practicing on Crozet Park's field. SOCA closed fields; why abuse the fields? #
  • Lots of traffic on 240 tonight. #
  • RT @cvillepiefest: We are now taking donations for PACEM online.All "advance" donors are eligible to win a free pie! http://bit.ly/izGnk #
  • @AndreaSarate Walk to School in Crozet this Friday – http://bit.ly/qEJS4 in reply to AndreaSarate #
  • Getting ready to walk my kid to school. Wish Walkscore (really google) was updated for Crozet #walking #
  • Finally changed my flickr permissions to #
  • Starr Hill brewery now offers mid-week growler refills; & they have 3 in-house only brews! http://bit.ly/16GihQ #
  • Wow. Great Valu is dead tonight. #
  • Lots of events in Crozet coming up: Arts & Crafts fair, Cville Pie Fest, Crozet Music Festival, Health Fair. So much to do. #
  • Big turnout at the Crozet Business Networking forum. #
  • To the woman in the white Suburban focused on her phone while dropping her kid off at Crozet Elementary this morning: quit it.Pay attention. #
  • RT @crozeteyecare: Crozet business network group meeting tomorrow at 12:30 at Old Trail Clubhouse #
  • @beebalmdancer Greenwood that is right near 64 in reply to beebalmdancer #
  • Coming to the market in Crozet – Parkside Village to be exact- http://post.ly/4xZD #
  • RT @Marijean: Cville pie fans: checked out Crozet Mudhouse today and I proclaim it more than suitable for #cvillepiefest (19 days away) #

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1st Annual Crozet Health Fair and 1 Mile Family Fun Run/Walk

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”

Streetscape Concerns in Crozet

Perfection is the enemy of the good.
Gustave Flaubert
French realist novelist (1821 – 1880)

The Daily Progress has a good article about the stalling of the Streetscape project. Please read the whole thing.

“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.

Who will join me in this pledge?

Update: More at C-Ville.

Walking to School in Crozet

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.

Do you walk your kids to school?

Even better, I had my camera with me and took a few shots along the way:

** 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.**


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Continue reading “Walking to School in Crozet”

Crozet Community Association Meeting Thursday 10 September

At the Old School House this Thursday from 7:30 pm to 9 pm. Anyone who wants to write a story for RealCrozetVA will be thanked loudly, roundly and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee from one of the three local coffee shops.

One suggestion – if we really want to and intend to invite Old Trail into Crozet, we (really the CCA) should put signs at the entrances to Old Trail as well as at the intersections of Crozet Avenue and 240 (and Jarman’s Gap Road).

Photowalking between Crozet Elementary and home