For me, itās not even the food quality. Iāve eaten plenty of gameday bar food around the country while knocking back a few beers, that wasnāt superior quality, but got the job done. The novelty of Ralphās, the location, and the connection as a UVa hoops junkie would still keep me coming back.
Itās the slow, unpredictable service that killed it for meā¦I wouldnāt go back unless I literally had nothing else to do the rest of the day/evening.
Places like that you gotta just post up at the bar ha
Pro move, Fresh. Also, if you do go to a table, when the waiter shows up, give him your order. Donāt let him do that ācan I get some drinks?" or āwanna hear the specials?ā BS. And when youāre done with your meal, have that credit card ready. Donāt make him go back and forth 3 times.
None of this will work if you go with my wife. She will want to hear those specials just one more time, and then take some more time to reflect on what she really wants. But that begs the question: why are you taking my wife to dinner?
Here is what Fresh does. ā2 Coors Lights please and find the cold ones. Food later pleaseā
Haha. I dont think your wife would like the Fresh dining experience
Dinner at the bar was always one of my favorite moves. You avoid so much of what people complain about with restaurant service.
For sure. Thats why my 8 year old twins sit alone sometimes ha
Ordering 2 at once gets their attention. The bartender not the kids
Okay, another ācounterā** cultural dining take: whatās with the taboo about bringing the check (i.e., b/c the implication is youāre supposed to leave).
For me, itās the opposite. My least favorite moment of a meal is when Iām ready to roll and the server is out on a smoke break and Iām looking for someone to throw my credit card at. If they want you gone, theyāll tell you.
** pun intended
So after my recent trip to Charlottesville I think the foodscene power rankings are:
El Puerto ā> Banana Ice cream at Chaps ā Riverside ā> Afghan Kabob lunch buffet ā> Cinnamon ice cream at moo thru ā> tomato feta avocado slice at Christianās ā> everything elseā¦
RIverside rules. And theyāre lightning fast so you can do pickup and the fries are still good when you get home. Iāll call, give the order and theyāll be like āthatāll be ready in 4 minutesā or something. I work close by, so its fine, but its funny. The onion rings were a little different the last time we got them, and not for the better. Hopefully it was a one-time thing.
Afghan Kabob is overall good except the nan which is meh (Iāve seen them take it out of the big plastic bulk bags they buy it in). But its sort of weird because its RIGHT THERE by JPJ and yet everyone forgets it exists.
Afghan Kabob was my GOAT in college. Quality has definitely declined on top of prices going way up (as with everything). But aspects of it still hit.
Khadijaās Kitchen is another Afghan spot, she is often at the IX Art Park Farmerās Market on Saturdays: https://instagram.com/khadijas_kitchen_?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Sadly, her newly purchased food trailer was stolen earlier this year, but the Cville food scene has rallied support to her; Guajiros is hosting her for a pop-up on Thursday with proceeds going to her (link is in the 1st post on their IG): https://instagram.com/guajiros_cville?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
That place is so mediocre, Iām sorry Bond.
However, itās a great NIL idea. After every win shout out where the team ate that day.
Itās gonna be a lot of Chipotleā¦
I Mac likes Raising Canes. $$
Cause all 29-S needs is a longer Raising Canes drive-thru line.
Theyāre on the Corner now too! Thatās where he was at.
Iāll admit, RC has good tenders, but the ones at The Market on Preston are # 1 in my book.
Oh nice with all the traffic they were getting, Iām surprised that they didnāt open a second location sooner.