Charlottesville-Dining Comments

Kyoto - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:09:24 -0500

By far the best restaurant we have found in Charlottesville. Everything is extremely fresh and delicious, and the dim sum, while limited in choices, is better prepared and better tasting than those from dim sum restaurants in bigger cities. Have eaten and returned here time and again. Highly recommended.

Balkan Bakery Cafe - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:06:51 -0500

We went there expecting a delicious lunch at a regular restaurant. It turned out to be a small and dinghy cafe. The chefs were out \"moving their cars\", according to the girl behind the counter. We ordered a Bosnian meat pie, which she microwaved and was completely tasteless, and a Bosnian coffee, which I doubt she knew how to make because it tasted like mold and dirt. This is a shocking departure from the Bosnian food we were used to before moving to Charlottesville. Major disappointment but then again maybe it was because the chef was out....If you\'re looking for a sit down restaurant, I would not recommend this place.

East Garden - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:45:55 -0500

I can�t believe this place is not higher rated. Yes, it�s a bit small space-wise for a buffet compared to some, but I can�t think of another negative thing to say.

Sushi is great albeit they make very small �actual sushi� (the stuff with just fish and rice not rolled in seaweed), but hey�it�s all you can eat!

The Miso soup (my favorite Asian soup) is good and you can add none or all the seaweed you want. They also have some of the typical other soups�never tried them�why eat anything but miso given the choice?

I�m not sure I�ve had more than a few things I would not eat again from the steam tables, and I�m not a fan of buffet steam table food. Most everything is very good and if you look closely, you will likely find something you have never had�and like it!

I�m not sure, for my own good I should write this but maybe it will insure it stays on the buffet�they have Kim chi on the salad bar and it�s usually pretty good! I have never seen this anywhere else in C�ville.

Also, they sometimes had frog legs at the dinner serving�once again�unusual from my experience.

The service is very good, sushi chef does a fantastic job keeping up with demand and the ownership is always very nice to everybody.

You need to eat here�but save me a booth please�

China King Buffet - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:12:50 -0500

I am heartbroken that China King has declined so much. I used to love eating here, but will likely never return now.

I used to look forward to a great (well, fairly decent but great for the money) plate of sushi and a bowl of miso soup for starters, then often I would follow up with a trip to the Mongolian grill�I mean you know its good when you pick the fresh ingredients and watch it cooked in front of you as you select the sauce and level of garlic and spice.

I�m not the biggest fan of steam table buffet food so my critique on the steam tables here is not from a large sampling, but the steam table food was�some very good�some typically poor as most buffets are.

As of late they are slacking on the sushi bar�the primary reason this place attracted me. I started noticing over the last year that the �sushi chef(s)� (and I use that term lightly) had no urgency in keeping the bar well stocked. They either hate their job or the customers or they are instructed to slow the sushi down due to expense.

The miso soup had gone way down in quality at last try. This is one of my favorite soups, so much better than the slimy egg drop or hot and sour soups you find on Chinese steam tables all over (why is that stuff so slimy anyway?).

I gave them the benefit of the doubt on the sushi bar, thinking maybe I am coming too late after the lunch rush (even though I observed the lackadaisical pace of the preparer before), so I tried coming early�to no avail.

I have walked out twice now after seeing the sushi bar grossly underserved shortly after opening. There is no excuse for this�if you advertise to open at a certain time and you are a buffet, there is no excuse for having less than 90% of your typical offerings available. They open at 11am�sushi is safe and good on ice for up to two hours�I make this stuff myself�I know of what I say.

I have vowed to never patronize this establishment again.

Cafe 88 - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:39:36 -0500

I enjoyed my meal the couple times I have eaten here but not enough to rave about or frequent. The ownership is very nice and serves you at your table even though there is a takeout fell to this little place.

The food I had was good, fresh, well cooked and attractive but much of it was bland. If you love to go out for healthy, low sodium fare, this is the place for you.

When I eat out however, I�m looking for a treat�I can cook bland stir-fried Asian food at home�but I don�t! I like to step all over my food so it is a blast to your taste buds.

This food is good if you do not like strong seasonings or salt...perfect for those tender simple palates or those on a diet.

I don�t know if I�ll be back though�

L'etoile (Tea Room Cafe) - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:45:30 -0500

What on earth is a tea room cafe? Anyway, l"Etoile remains one of the best restaurants I've been to. Consistently great food and great service.

Boar's Head Inn - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:43:05 -0500

Apparently a new chef who sadly says he will continue the old menu. Extremely tired menu aimed I guess at a crowd that doesn\'t want surprises. Great service though. Too bad they choose not to innovate.

L'etoile (Tea Room Cafe) - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 04:45:47 -0500

L etoile is another gem we liked a lot. the service was good and and so was the food. We felt thathe owner really cared and it was visible in the food we had: the beef and fish were cooked to perfection. this restaurant is of NYC caliber. Our friends and us had a wonderful time . thank you.

Bashir's Taverna - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 04:36:35 -0500

Being in the food business (we own a highly rated restaurant in NYC) it is not common for my wife and i to be impressed but in Charlottesville we found two gems and Bashir is one of them.We went on a Saturday evening and the place was full of distinguished clients so we felt home. The staff was ok but discreet.
the cold soups as appetizers were decent but the entrees really made a great impression on us from the super flavorful and moist rosemary leg of lamb to the to die for apricot glazed ham. the homemade yogurt really enhanced the mint sauce for the lamb.It was connaisseurs food not for the non initiated. The wine from Algeria was surprisingly good and inexpensive for the quality.We do not usually indulge in dessert but my wife tried the Baklava and she loved it and i take her word for it. the only complaint : the music for the belly dancer was a bit loud and prevented us from hearing each other.
It was a wonderful experience. We were really pleased to find such a gem in a small town like Charlottesville

2 Sides Restaurant - Comment

Charlottesville-Dining.com — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 02:59:00 -0500

Ate here for the first time a few weeks ago. We were the only table in the place at 7pm. The young blonde woman serving us was also doing the cooking. The service was lackluster. The waitress was very surly, no smiling, she acted as if she didn\'t care whether we evaporated. About halfway through our meal she disappeared, and we never had service after that point.

During the meal several drunks wandered in and out of the dining area. The food was under-seasoned, and the gravy tasted canned. I love dives and greasy spoons, but this food wasn\'t \"bad-good.\" It was just plain bad. They\'re not even trying.