But therein is the problem. It’s not easy to make a hot sauce with good plate appeal, bringing the heat without sacrificing the flavor. Not running like water, but also not sticking to the spoon like sour cream. Too many sauces are the color of irradiated chile peppers, glowing neon green or red or orange, or they’re neutral and forgettable.

Enter the smoked habanero housemade hot sauce at Horse & Hound Gastropub. It’s at the top of the picture over there, next to otherwise delicious jalapeño-lime and straight-up habanero sauces. Striking all the right notes of smoke, garlic, sweet, tang, and zing!, full-bodied but not overly fluffy, a dollop or two of this mixed into your corned beef hash – maybe the best in town, by the way – will convert even the most devout Tabascoan or Cholulite into a perspiring Horse & Hound evangelist. Now if we could just convince them to bottle it up and sell it…

Now look at BBQ. Five restaurants in Charlottesville. Five! A cherished American tradition haling from the exotically distant shores of North Carolina and Tennessee, BBQ can be made relatively easily with local ingredients, and is guaranteed to command a rabid clientele, as long as you don’t totally screw it up. Enter B Blues BBQ.

Those of you who frequently travel along High Street extended may have noticed the occasional weekend smoker in front of the Joy gas station, puffing fragrant clouds of rib smoke into the neighborhood (where our house is). The smell assailed me in our own kitchen one day and I resolved to go see what this was all about. As I strolled towards the smoker, a man in a rally cap and old fleece intercepted me and said, “Come look at my ribs!” He cranked open the smoker and sure enough. Some good looking chicken and ribs in there. I didn’t have time to wait for these to be done, however, so he took me over to the trailer and offered me a sample of his Memphis-style pulled pork and Carolina-style pulled pork. A guy filling his tank nearby was intrigued and asked if he could have a sample too.

My first reaction was that the Carolina was too vinegary. It made my tongue shrivel. But the Memphis was decent, if a tad sweet for my tastes. Deciding to see how it worked in a full sandwich before passing judgment, I started to order the Memphis style, but Mr. Barry Blues jumped in and suggested I mix the two styles. Brilliant! The vinegar bite and sugar coat played off each other nicely. He gave me a tiny side of slaw, which was passable, and I was on my way.

Reflecting on the sandwich, I decided that my main complaint was that the pork had the smooth, almost blended feel of having been pulled and shredded too aggressively. I like a chunkier texture. Some people will also be turned off by the…shall we say “rustic”…feel of the trailer. The Tabasco bottle was crusted with ancient goo, the slaw came out of an industrial sized mayonnaise jar that looked like it had been reused one too many times, and there was a pervasive feeling of, well, roadside BBQ. Personally, I got no problem with that. I know you Jinx fans don’t either. But country club BBQ fans need not apply.

B Blues is only operational on weekends, as long as the sun is up, though sometimes he’s catering and not there. He’s also not convinced this is the best location, so he may move to 29 before long. If you’re intrigued, make it a priority!

* These numbers may not take into account the latest openings and closings.

Rating: Jed: [rating=2.5]

Pros: Cheap, novel.

Cons: Roadside grimy feel.

Price: $5 for a pulled pork sandwich, $13 for a half-rack of ribs.

Parking: No problem to park temporarily at the gas station, though not great for sticking around and eating.

Contact Info

Facebook: B Blues BBQ

Phone: (804) 883-0191

Open weekends only, “when the sun is up.”

Menu.

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• Yahoo Travel: B Blues BBQ

If you look to see who is in whose corner, the fight starts to feel ominous. The Hook has 12 restaurants, while vmv brands has 27, including most of the downtown mall restaurants. A couple of restaurants like C&O and Bavarian Chef have hedged their bets by joining both teams.

The deeper question underpinning this fight thus becomes: Are traditions like Restaurant Week sacred? Do we stay loyal to the original when a new admittedly plagiaristic contender is putting on a better show? If so, how do we express that loyalty without penalizing restaurants? Or do we say, “Who cares? Two weeks in a row of great restaurant deals is a win for all!”?

The fight is obviously not yet underway, but stay tuned for reports…

Three friends accompanied me on my review, to take better advantage of the impressively large menu. Though One Meatball Place offers 5 kinds of meatballs, 7 sauces, 3 different falafels, etc., the mix-and-match options of the menu lead to infinite-seeming meal combinations. One friend ordered the “red” – roasted red pepper – falafel sandwich with cucumber yogurt sauce and a side of mac and cheese. Two friends chose the two-meatball Amarosa sub with marinara and mozzarella – one opted for classic beef meatballs, while the other went vegan with One Meatball Place’s lentil-heavy version. I myself ordered the falafel platter, featuring all of the shop’s falafel options, with cucumber yogurt sauce and a side of a simple cucumber salad and hummus with pita. Our server, talkative and friendly, enthusiastically informed us on the best flavor combinations – vegan with barbecue sauce, salmon with pesto – and accurately predicted our gigantic order would be out in a snappy ten minutes.

Despite the mind-boggling mix-and-matchability of One Meatball Place’s menu, their focus on simplicity of ingredients often worked for and against the flavor of the meal as a whole. The spicier dishes often commanded the most attention, including the fresh-tasting hummus and the falafel options. I had a difficult time telling the difference between traditional, red, and spicy falafel, but each option was intensely spicy, deeply flavorful, and perfectly creamy-crunchy. In contrast, the “simple” cucumber salad was too simple indeed. An overdose of olive oil and lack of vinegar made the cucumber and red onion combination slimy and without bite. Similarly, the creamy macaroni lacked any definable cheesy flavor, though it was eaten voraciously just the same. The most basic and obvious of our selections, the traditional meatball sub, shone in its simplicity. The tender beef meatballs, straightforward marinara, fresh bread, and oozy mozzarella provided for a satisfying and traditional meal. The other meatballs sampled were not as well received, with the vegan meatballs clocking in as overly lentil-filled and the salmon meatball, paired with a very oily pesto, likened to cat food.

We concluded our meal with the restaurant’s ice cream sandwich dessert offerings, splitting a Chap’s coffee ice cream and homemade chocolate chip pairing as well as a Chap’s vanilla ice cream and peanut butter cookie combo. We sighed over the perfect marriage between creamy and crunchy, cold and warm. Our final bill, despite our hefty ordering and re-ordering, was not quite enough to break a college student’s budget. I’ll still be going to a local dive for my meatball subs, but I’ll definitely check out One Meatball place next time I’m craving Mediterranean flavors at a reasonable price.

Jed says: “Mmm meatballs.”

Rating: Casey: [rating=3] Jed: [rating=3.5]

Pros: Cozy chic atmosphere, expansive menu, some options (the more Mediterranean) flavorful and inexpensive.

Cons: Inconsistent taste, perhaps overly expansive menu.

Price: $8 and under for the largest sandwiches and platters.  Under $10 for a full meal.

Parking: Tricky. Try parking on West Main or in the Moto Pho lot.

Contact Info

Website: http://onemeatballplace.com/

Menu: http://onemeatballplace.com/OMP-MENU-100912.pdf

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/OneMeatballPlace

Hours: 11:30AM-10:00PM Tue-Sun. Closed Monday.

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• The Hook: Play Ball, One Meatball Place gears up
• Betsy and Charlie in Cville: One Meatball Place
• Yelp: One Meatball Place – Charlottesville, VA
• TripAdvisor: One Meatball Place – Charlottesville, VA

The first meal I had there was the tempeh reuben sandwich with a side of fries. I must admit that I have been vegetarian for so long that I have never had a reuben with corned beef, but I can honestly say that even if you aren’t vegetarian it is hard for me to imagine most people being disappointed with this version. The tempeh was cooked just right, the sauerkraut most excellent, and the bread hit that perfect balance of soft and crusty. I am also far from being a french fry connoisseur, but these things were delicious. Just the right amount of salt, and piping hot.

For my second visit, I was salivating to revisit my reuben experience but my curiousity about the BBQ tofu sandwich won out. The only other BBQ tofu I have had is from BBQ Exchange in Gordonsville, which I have always thought very highly of. Move over BBQ Exchange because there is a new contender in town. The sesame bun of this sandwich left a little to be desired, but the BBQ sauce was amazing and again the generous strips of tofu were cooked to perfection. Bonus points to Matteus for using Twin Oaks tofu also! The homemade slaw was a great addition and the side salad was made with serious greens instead of the iceberg lettuce side salad you so often see.

Sadly, on both visits the Saloon was almost entirely empty. Charlottesville, get over there and try this place! The vibe and decor is a bit, well, industrial, which makes for an unsual lunch atmosphere, but don’t let it stop you. For less than $10 – there are a few $6 lunch specials – you can feast on large portions of delicious dishes with quality ingredients.

But this is a decidedly good egg, delicious and undangerous. Boil an egg in tea, with seasonings like salt, anise, and peppercorns, and crack it lightly all over after it hardens to let the seasoning in. Serve.

The flavor is not intense – more salty than anything else – but it’s an intriguing and delicious take on the hard-boiled egg that provides a nice protein counterpoint to some of Song Song’s more vegetal offerings.

To raise awareness about local wines, we’re awarding these tickets to the person who most eloquently waxes poetic about their favorite local wine or winery. Details below the flier.

To enter the competition, simply post a haiku or short poem about Virginia wine in the comments below or on our Facebook wall. Entries must be received by Friday, 9/21 at 12:00pm noon. We will announce the winner by 5pm on the same day.

What qualifies as an entry? Anything! Though we strongly suspect a haiku will take it. Here’s one to kick things off:

At the Paramount,
Eating, drinking, fooding, wine.
Paul Giamatti.

See how bad it can be? You can only improve on that. Best of luck!

Though the shop consistently draws a large crowd from 12-2 on any given day of the week, the lines and service at Bellair Market never seem to stop moving. Even in the midst of lunch rush-hour, employees and cashiers always seem to enjoy your business. While the sandwich shop/gourmet grocery/Mudhouse bar combo has fairly plentiful seating, I decided to take my meal back home and was in and out of the place in less than 10 minutes – no more intimidating than your average drive-through.

Among my friends, everyone seems to have their favorite Market sandwich, which they order with utter devotion. Since moving to Charlottesville in 2008, I have ordered the Jefferson sandwich every time without fail, and with slightly embarrassing frequency. When I sat down on my couch to eat my lunch after this most recent visit, my I was not let down. The turkey was sliced thin, the cranberry relish perfectly sweet and piquant (thanks to the whole-grain mustard), the herb mayo dilled and delicious. The crusty exterior of the baguette and the welcome sharpness provided by salty white cheddar almost made me weep. If that’s not a perfect sandwich, I don’t know what is.

Of course, my meal was rounded out with a bag of Virginia’s finest Route 11 dill pickle-flavored potato chips, an ideal complement to the herb mayo in many of the Market’s sandwiches, and a Sprecher root beer. $9.81 was a small price to pay for what constitutes, in my opinion, one of the best quick eats in Charlottesville. And if the Ivy/250 location isn’t that convenient to your workplace, check out the other six locations.

Jed says: “The best sandwiches you’ll ever get in a gas station, Bellair Market still leaves me a little cold. Maybe I need to try the Jefferson next time…”

Rating: Casey: [rating=4] Jed: [rating=3]

Pros: Great price, good service, excellent food.

Cons: Long lines at mealtime.

Price: $10 and under for a meal of sandwich, chips, and a drink.

Parking: Plenty, if cramped, next to the shop and gas station.

Contact Info

Website: http://tigerfuel.com/markets.html

Menu: http://tigerfuel.com/gourmet_to_go.html

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bellair-Market/114388935288587

Hours:

Mon-Sat 6 AM- 11 PM
Sun 8 AM – 9 PM

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• Yelp: Bellair Market – Charlottesville, VA
• TripAdvisor: Bellair Market – Charlottesville, VA

The gazpacho at Eppie’s is blended nicely, garnished with finely chopped onions, cucumbers, chives, and peppers for those who like it a little chunky. The flavor is rather subtle at first but finishes with a nice kick. As gazpacho goes, it’s a rather pretty meal too. One warning – they are are generous with their portions and with the garlic and onions, so a cup may be plenty, and beware when talking to others.

As usual, the service was great and super fast. Wonderful vegan option under $5 – can’t beat that!