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Christian’s in Charlottesville Virginia’s Downtown Walking Mall – Vegan Pizza Just Doesn’t Get Better Than This!

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Sep 26, 2015 in Charlottesville, VA, I-64, Italian, Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly | 0 comments

by Danielle Bussone

This is a post that is long overdue. In June of this year we attended the Richmond Vegetarian Festival and stayed in neighboring Charlottesville at a homey Air B&B where our dogs were welcomed. After the festival we arrived back at out lodging, tired and hungry. We sought out the quickest solution for a vegan meal. Calling around to various pizza establishments, we finally settled on Christian’s in downtown Charlottesville. Located in the walking mall it was a barely over a mile from where we were staying, at Fairhaven Guesthouse, located just minutes from downtown. (more…)

Ariana Grill Kabob House, Charlottesville, VA (Sadly, it has gone out of business)

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Jul 2, 2013 in Afghani, I-64 | 0 comments

by Danielle Bussone

En-route to the Richmond Vegetarian Festival we decided to try Ariana Grill Kabob House in Charlottesville, VA. We are ever so glad we did. Ariana’s is the first experience we have had with Afghani cuisine. The restaurant is located on busy the busy Main Street which divides the University of Virginia’s campus. Further down, the street is lined with restaurants of all varieties catering to the university crowd.

Ariana’s is a small narrow restaurant, what we in the South used to refer to as a shotgun style building. (You can shoot a shotgun in the front door and the pellets will exit out the rear door.) There are tables on either side of the door terminating at the kitchen where you can watch the chef prepare homemade Afghani bread (which unfortunately is not vegan-there is a little milk in it). I’m afraid I couldn’t resist trying a piece which is my mea culpa for the year. I’ve been so good until yesterday and I’m ridden with guilt. There is a hot bar in the kitchen where you can see large warming vats of vegetable stews which comprise the bulk of the vegetarian menu. Of the seven stews, six were vegan if you asked them to omit the yogurt topping on the sweet potatoes. (more…)

Richmond Vegetarian Festival, June 15, 2013 was a blast!

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Jun 25, 2013 in Features, I-64, I-95, Richmond, VA, Richmond, VA, Veg Fests | 8 comments

Richmond Vegetarian Festival was all a vegetarian festival should be. Rich and I drove the 300 miles from Abingdon, VA with our monster, Phoenix, happily settled in the back of our Subaru Forester. We stopped en-route in Charlottesville, VA and reviewed a marvelous Afghani restaurant called Ariana Grill Kabob House (see post). We sat outside and enjoyed our meal while Phoenix basked in the attention of passersby, her favorite activity. After checking into our clean, dog-friendly hotel, (Candlewood Suites near the airport) that evening, we visited India K’Raja, renown as Richmond’s best Indian restaurant since 1995, and for good reason (see post).

On the day of the festival, which took place in the verdant Azalea Gardens at Bryan Park, we arrived just before noon, which is when it was scheduled to begin. The gods were smiling on us as the weather could not have been more perfect with lots of sun, shade trees and a cool breeze. The event was free of charge and parking was plentiful. Even the parking lot was lovely. We were immediately greeted by animal rescue groups which had plenty of trained and health-certified adoption ready animals to take home. They had children’s bathing pools of ice for animals to help themselves to a cool drink at this pet friendly event. Towards the end of the event we saw a Labrador climb in and make use of this pool’s original purpose! We had to walk past these groups quickly and with resolve as we already have our maximum limit of monsters (the collective name for our beloved animals) in our home. (more…)