I like my steaks and burgers medium rare. Always have and have never had an issue. And I do remember in the 70s and 80s, eating raw hamburger from the grocery store was no big deal. I don't eat totally raw ground beef now, but am absolutely not worried about medium rare.

Glass Haus is pretty new so we haven't been yet. Everyone I've spoken to who has eaten there has enjoyed it. I think there are often kinks to work out in a new business. C&O is consistently good and has been for many years.

I just ate there for lunch today. Pulled pork NC style, chili grits and garlic green beans. Sounds great, right? It was fine, but not great. That's been my experience every time I eat from their hot meal bar. Evrything looks better than it tastes.

I wouldn't try to grill and feed that many people. Keep the fruit and veggie trays and maybe add some cheese, dips and hummus. Make sure your snacks aren't all kiddie things. And have an established end time. If it starts at 3, maybe end by 5 so people don't expect dinner.

To me ice cream cake has no cake in it, just ice cream and maybe fudge, crushed cookies or something between layers. Actual cake when cold enough to support ice cream is just icky. Cake with a side of ice cream is ok, though most ice cream is usually better than most cake.

In addition to the fact that most restaurants fail in the first couple of years, it sounds like you really love this particular food. That means that you need THAT chef. It is extremely rare to find two restaurants with truly same flavors (except chains with preprepared stuff), so maybe your first step should be to befriend the chef.

There is one restaurant in our hometown that has a foot rung to open the door. Why hasn't that caught on? It's brilliant!

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/0...

I've had good food at The Local. Other great restaurants that focus on sourcing locally:

www.maya-restaurant.com

www.thewhiskeyjarcville.com

And if you want fine dining, you can't beat www.letoilerestaurant.com.

I don't think anyone who knows Cville would recommend eating at Miller's :) though for drinks it's a local institution!

Might be too late now, but good food with good beer selection downtown: Whiskey Jar would be my #1 suggestion, open for lunch and dinner. Citizen Burger has a good beer list, though I think the burgers are better a few doors down at Positively 4th Street, which has very good food and always has local beers just not as many options. South Street Brewery is 1 block from the Mall and the food is decent. Skybar, Blue Light, Zocalo all have better than average food and 6-8 good beers on tap at a time.

We haven't kept our tooth brushes in the bathroom for years - ever since a particularly disturbing science program regarding 'fecal fume.'

Local food, locally sourced:

Maya http://maya-restaurant.com/
The Local http://thelocal-cville.com/
Glass Haus Kitchen http://www.glasshauskitchen.com/

Tell us more of what you like and we will have tons of suggestions!

Disclaimer: We usually try to eat local, but sometimes you want a bar right down the street.

The problem with the Emmett Street/29 corridor is that you are surrounded by chain hell. Chilis, Applebees, Cheeseburger in Paradise (thankfully now closed) and Outback were the only options with bars. So when we were in the mood to grab a beer and a burger/snack/happy hour, we would have to either drive downtown or up 29 to Timberwood with just ok food. We still do that, but it is nice to have a different option closer to home.

Burton's has good food. They cook their burgers to the proper temperature, their apps are good, and pretty much everything we've eaten there has been tasty. It might be a little more than we like to pay for happy hour (sandwiches start at $12, entrees are $22 and up) but their drinks are half price 3-6pm and you don't have to order a meal if people are sharing apps.

We also really like the people and service. Each bartender we've encountered has been friendly and attentive and knows how to pour a drink. They also quickly remembered us and greet us by name, already asking if we want the usual. The managers always stop by to check in. Overall we are very glad to have Burton's in an otherwise desolate food and drink desert.

We have a vegan friend and have celebrated numerous Superbowls with her. She is perfectly happy when we buy the vegan General Tsao's from Whole Foods and offer homemade hummus, guac and salsa. Our problem is always keeping the meat eaters away from the GT because it tastes so good!

For fine dining, you can't go wrong with Letoile (http://www.letoilerestaurant.com/), C&O (http://www.candorestaurant.com/) or Clifton Inn (http://www.cliftoninn.net/). All are wonderful, established places that source a great deal locally.

If you can take advantage, Cville has 2 competing restaurant weeks this year, January 21 - 27 (http://cvilleyum.com/) and January 28 - Feb 3 (http://charlottesvillerestaurantweek....)

I fully understand the concept of how circulating money stimulates the economy. But what I'm addressing is this: if I own a restaurant and have 2 Minimum wage workers, let's say a dishwasher and a busboy, at $7.25/hour and 3 more experienced workers (let's say line cooks) at $12/hour, that is $404 for an 8 hour shift. If I increase the minimum wage to what is considered a living wage of $13/hour, I have to increase pay for the more experienced workers too. Let's say my line cooks are now getting $17/hour. That means the same 8 hour shift now costs me $616. That is a 52% increase in my cost for the same amount of work. And that's only for the 5 lowest paid workers. I'd have to increase other staff pay as well. It's hard to look at the big picture that is the economy when trying to balance my own books. And I say this as someone who lived on minimum wage when it was about $4/hour.

If you increase pay for unskilled labor, don't you have to increase wages for everyone else accordingly? Many businesses could not sustain that. The other option would be to employ fewer people and distribute the additional work amongst them. Not a good situation either.

I've got to agree with foodieX2. Entry level positions suck and it is up to the individual to get the experience/education to move up the ladder. Restaurant work is tough. So is retail, construction, shop work, and anything else that keeps you on your feet. Teachers often have a higher education yet are paid crap and have both a physically and emotionally demanding job. At least as a line cook you leave work at work.

My husband used to be faculty in biology labs at the university level. Starting pay for someone with lab experience was about $26k plus benefits and he worked way more than 40 hours/week. Considering that adds up to less than $12.50/hour, isn't it fair that staff with no experience/education got the minimum wage of $7?

We love fresh ginger and keep extra ginger root peeled and in the freezer. When we want to add it to a recipe, simply pull out a small grater and grate as much as you want into the dish. Much better than powdered and very easy.

Creamy asparagus or spinach comes to mind.

The good news is he died quickly and probably with very little pain. Much better than the snap or glue traps which often just catch part of them and make them suffer. My husband used to have to pop the heads off mouse pups with scissors in one of his labs. Quick and easy. But it did make him sensitive to hurting anything so now we catch and release. But be sure to release miles from home or they will find their way back.

As for the cleanliness of your disposal, I bet it is cleaner after the bleach wash than when you rinse raw chicken in the sink and wash it down!

I cannot tell you how much more we enjoy Thanksgiving now that we don't celebrate with family. After my mom died we started a tradition with friends, everyone bringing food to contribute. It is lovely. Yes, we sometimes have to politely tell the rest of the family that no, we won't be changing our plans for them. But once you've spent 30 years humoring everyone else, you deserve to do your own thing. Heck, a month from now we'll be dealing with family drama at xmas anyway!

Since you aren't hosting, I would try to stick more with what was intended. You know there will be a similar dish (even if you don't like it), so do something different. Warring dishes do not a pleasant meal make unless that is what the host wants.

I'm sure it would be delicious, but don't you think someone will already be making a similar dish with sweet potato? You might want to go for something different. My favorite butternut squash recipe is soup. There's a very simple version here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cl.... I like to add some cayenne and serve with a dollop of sourcream.

I agree about the warehouse clubs, whether it be Costco, BJs or Sam's. They just aren't the greatest atmosphere to shop. Whole Foods is beautiful and warm and fuzzy, but the prices are ludicrous. So I would suggest going to BJs when you can spend some real time there. Go down every aisle and get to know the offerings. There are usually some great fish, meat and cheese deals. And of course dried goods are super cheap. Once you get to know the layout and can make your way around with intent and ease, the warehouse places can be a boon.

I've got to agree with some of the folks above. Please call your food bank and ask what they need. Many are overwhelmed with food donations Thanksgiving and Xmas and the perishable items go bad. Many people in need have no idea how to cook a turkey. Please call your local food bank before buying anything.

I neither have nor want children, but love the memories of grilled cheese and tomato soup every Halloween when growing up.

I used to hate blueberries and cherries because my only experience with them was in pie. And those were made with some sort of canned fruit goo that was insanely sweet. It wasn't until I was an adult that I ever even saw fresh blueberries, and I love them now. Still feel that most fruit pies are too sweet for my taste.

In the hot months we freeze the nasties and throw them in the outside bin on pickup day.

We've moved the thermometer around and it is a couple degrees colder, especially at the back of the lower shelves.