downtown – Victoria F Hu

Twistedly Twisty

A while ago, my friend KN and I spent a wonderful Saturday wandering around Charlottesville downtown and ate lunch at the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. It’s a very strange and bizarre kind of place that serves over 50 different kinds of tea, mostly vegetarian options, and it turns into a hookah bar at night. Yep. Very interesting.

And I discovered that the restaurant certainly lived up to all that I imagined it to be. They have this giant fake tree growing in the middle of the place with lots of carved nooks for old books. There’re also lots of pillows so you can choose to take off your shoes and sit on the ground or to be less fun and sit at regular tables. Although I chose to sit at a table because the pillows looked icky.

KN and I shared a pot of tea, which might have been the jasmine pearls, but my memory fails me. Then she ordered the PMT sandwich with pesto, mozzarella, and tomatoes, while I ordered the Tunisian tuna with a spicy harrissa sauce.

Both sandwiches came with a side salad too. My sandwich, sadly, was a disappointment, as the tuna was dry and the sauce too spicy. I love spice, but for some reason, that combination in the sandwich was way overpowering, and I couldn’t finish it. I tried a bite of the PMT, which was a lot better. Hahah Maybe I’ll get that one next time. The tea, however, was the best part. There were so many different kinds to choose from, but ask for their recommendations and they’ll point you to the right direction.

Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
414 E Main St.
Charlottesville, VA 22902

Crepes all around

I love crepes, and I love hole-in-the-wall kind of places. The Flat is perfect because it is literally a hole in the wall serving crepes. Best thing ever!

I’ve only ever their dessert crepes, such as the strawberry and nutella that is pictured. The prices are pretty reasonable considering how big the crepe is. Everything was delicious, and I just think it’s a ton of fun to be able to walk down the street with a giant crepe in your hands.

They often have specials depending on the season, which I think says a lot about such a small place. I want to try some of their savory crepes too, which means I need to be making more trips downtown.

The Flat
111 E Water St
Charlottesville, VA 22902

Christian’s, Marco and Luca’s, and Splendora’s

We were planning to go to Eppie’s, but that fell through because it was late and Eppie’s was closed. That was probably my fault because I was supposed to plan this, and I thought that Eppie’s was open but apparently not. However, since we were already downtown and it was late and we didn’t want to go anywhere bar-ish, we ended up at Christian’s!!! Except, we weren’t satisfied with just Christian’s, so half of us went next door to get some Marco and Luca’s dumplings and the other half of us got Chinese takeout.

I have actually never been to Christian’s before this. I know. I know. I’m a terrible person because Christian’s Pizza is such a Cville classic. But I can redeem myself because I LOVED CHRISTIAN’S!! I prefer pizza with really thin, crisp crusts over the thick, deep dish kind and Christian’s does the thin and crispy the best. Plus they’ve got toppings that are interesting and different from the usual pepperoni and cheese. I got a slice of Spicy Chicken Pizza, which was really spicy. Yay! I love spicy.

Marco and Luca’s Noodle Shop is a family-owned restaurant that is extremely popular in Charlottesville and especially with college students because it’s really cheap. The menu has only around 6 items. They have dumplings, hot buns of either meat or vegetables, 2 types of noodles, and hot sour soup. What is so special about this place is their dipping sauce for the dumplings. It’s amazing!! It’s the perfect balance of savory, sweet, and spicy. Every time I go, I get 2 orders of dumplings and a vegetable hot bun. It’s awesome.

After stuffing our faces, we decided to get even more food: dessert! At Splendora’s!! Splendora’s is a gelato place downtown that is consistently lovely and delicious. They have at least 30 different flavors ranging from the classic chocolate or cookies and cream to the more adventurous amaretto and blood orange. This time, I got pumpkin, which was a seasonal flavor. I loved it! Another one of my favorites is Gianduia. You must try that if you go to Splendora’s!