A short weekend trip to Charlottesville (in the late Winter!)
Over the long weekend (President’s Day) we went with another couple and our dogs to Charlottesville and had the loveliest weekends!! If you are planning a weekend trip to Charlottesville, or looking for weekend trip ideas from the DC area, I hope this helps!
Saturday:
To kick off the weekend, I went to Nido Wine Shop and Market in Mt. Pleasant to pick up some picnic supplies and it did not disappoint! I grabbed some tinned fish, demi-baguettes, sandwiches, cheese, salads and dips and more. We packed everything up (picnic stuff and luggage) and headed out on the drive!
Our first stop on our way into Charlottesville was at Early Mountain Vineyards., where we sat outside with our dogs and our picnic and picked up a few bottles of wine. The property is absolutely stunning and their wine is some of my favorite in VA. (I especially love their Petit Manseng!!). Early Mountain is an easy 2 ish hour drive from DC, so I would highly recommend a visit, even if it is only for the day!
Can you even, with this spread?!
After our glorious picnic and wine at Early Mountain, we got back in the car and headed into Charlottesville (which is about 30 minutes out) to check into our Airbnb. We stayed in the Belmont area of Charlottesville, which is one of my favorites because it is quiet, quaint and there are some good restaurants and cafes in walking distance. There is also great street parking and ample green space (if you are bringing dogs).
After we checked in, we all freshened up and got ready for the night!
Our first stop was for drinks at the Quirk Hotel, where we had planned to go to the roof, but it was closed for a private event. We went for the first floor bar instead and had a lovely drink! The space is super cool and modern and is a great addition to the Charlottesville scene. I would love to stay there on a future trip!
After our drinks, we walked the 15 seconds over to Oakhart Social for dinner. I was super excited about Oakhart as I have planned many dinners and events there for work but have never been there to try it out! It did not disappoint! The food is American with an Asian twist and everything we ordered as delicious!
We ordered everything to share and to start we had the wood fired oysters (with bacon fat, citrus gremolata, and toasted panko), the charred carrots (with sweet & spicy pecans, buttermilk ranch, and pea tendrils), the roasted broccoli (with fish sauce caramel, sesame crumble, garlic aioli, togarashi, and herbs), the cabbage and scallion pancake (with oyster sauce, kewpie, pickled cucumber and red onion, serrano and furikake). For our mains, we ordered the fried chicken (with Thai basil, mint, cilantro, pickled fresnos, and a fish sauce vinaigrette), the double smash burger and fries (that had two patties, double cheese, bread & butter zucchini pickles, white onion, special sauce, on a sesame brioche bun) and the three cheese pizza.
Everything was sooooo good and I cannot wait to go back to Oakhart and try the other half of the menu!
Sunday:
On Sunday morning! We took our time getting up and then went to Belle in Belmont to grab coffee, homemade pastries and some incredible breakfast sandwiches. It is such a cute spot and I will definitely be back every time I go to Charlottesville. Their breakfast sandwiches were so good and made on fresh English Muffins and don’t even get me started on the homemade donuts and cinnamon rolls!
After breakfast, the boys went golfing and the gals went to run an important errand to CouCou Rachou to pick up their homemade English Muffins (to take home) and a miso chocolate chip cookie.
After securing the “goods” at CouCou Rachou, we took the dogs on a nice walk around Belmont and admired all the cute houses. There is also a prime photo opportunity in the historic downtown area of Belmont and we obviously had to take a picture of the dogs.
We then went to the Madewell in Barracks Row (my favorite shopping area in Charlottesville). Afterward we grabbed some coffee at Shenandoah Joe and went back to our house to get ready for the rest of our day!
We spent the rest of our Sunday at Kings Family Vineyard with our leftover picnic supplies, our dogs and some of their famous Crozet Rose Wine!
Kings Family was so nice and scenic and in the summers they have horse polo on the weekends. You can use their tables on the patio or bring a blanket and set yourself up on the lawn!
For dinner we went to the new Jean-Georges restaurant called Marigold on the Keswick Hall property. The restaurant was absolutely stunning and definitely felt like a different and more “swanky” Charlottesville!
While the dinner didn’t blow me away (it was still good, don’t get me wrong, but there are so many incredible spots in Charlottesville), the ambience was definitely worth it. I would love to go back and see the whole property in the daylight!
We ordered the tuna tartare (with avocado, spicy radish and ginger marinade), the char grilled octopus (with crispy potatoes, smoked paprika and herbs), the broccoli and kale salad (with soft-boiled egg, croutons and parmesan cheese), the burrata (with citrus salad, basil and ciabatta), and for our mains we got the tomato and mozzarella pizza, the poached cod with chowder sauce and pesto gemelli pasta. For dessert we went for the molten chocolate cake and the salted caramel and peanut sundae (which stole the show).
Monday:
On Monday, our last day, we packed up our stuff, cleaned the Airbnb, grabbed coffee at Belle and then went to Ivy Provisions for breakfast! We got their En Fuego breakfast burrito (which is a classic) and their grilled cheese BLT which was really delicious. Ivy P is a great place to stop for lunch or breakfast!
After breakfast, we made the easy 2.5 hour drive home and listened to our new favorite driving podcast “The Wind of Change”.