Restaurants is Shennendoah Area (Winchester, MCCaffeyville, Charlottesville, Fort Royal,Etc )

[coachrbc]

I'll be spending a week in the area in late august and am looking for restaurants to enjoy.
I'm am interested in good food and possibly any regional cooking. i just keep hearing that it doesn't exist. So please give me an idea where to go or I'm stuck cooking in the condo. Fine dining is nice but the quality of the food is more important. I am not looking re-interpetations of street food in a fine dining setting

Italian I heard Violino in Winchester is excellent
Mexican
Spanish/Latin american, South American not Mexican
Barbeque I know that means pulled pork since there really doesn't seem to be any really good rib joints in the area. What is the closest place in NC if I'm staying on the skyline drive until i hit NC
American
Pub food
Asian not Chinese
I always eat at the lodge once in the park (I know Bon Appetit or SAGA) but I like the sunset over the mountains
Southern food. or Country cooking I tried Southern Comfort in New Market . it was okay. the fried chicken was good

Charlottesville is loaded with restaurants any suggestions
Zocolo was excellent but a little pricey for what they gave you

Any recommendations are welcomed looking forward to eatng my way around the Shennendoah valley

[mojoeater]

Sounds like you'll be doing a lot of driving. Front Royal and Winchester are 1.5 to 2 hours away from the other towns you mentioned.

Blue Mountain Brewery (http://bluemountainbrewery.com/) is just off 64 & 250 in Afton, VA. Excellent beers and they get their meats and produce locally. I can't say enough about their bratwurst pizza.

Staunton Grocery (http://www.stauntongrocery.com) is probably the best restaurant in the Staunton/Harrisonburg area.

I'm most familiar with Charlottesville and would highly recommend L'etoile (http://letoilecville.blogspot.com/) for fine dining. They are very local-focused and do $25 3 course meals on Wednesdays.

Also good in Cville is Bizou (no website) on the Downtown Mall. Southern comfort food and patio dining. Maya (http://maya-restaurant.com/) and The Local (http://thelocal-cville.com/) both get their meats and produce from area farmers and both serve sort of a twist on American/Southern food. I love eating at the bar at Maya (great drinks and bartenders) and the patio at The Local. Maya has a $12 Tuesday dinner special. Both have happy hour specials, too.

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The Staunton Grocery
105 West Beverley Street, Staunton, VA 24401

Bizou
119 W Main St, Charlottesville, VA 22902

L'etoile Restaurant
817 W Main St, Charlottesville, VA 22903

[coachrbc]

I figure I'm in the middle between C'ville and Winchester one day north another day south depending where we are hiking is Hank's happy hour a good deal

[a_trocchia]

I have a hunch that by 'MCCaffeyville' you mean McGaheysville, which is the location of Massanutten Resort. If so, I recommend Hank's Smokehouse (http://www.hankssmokehouse.com/) for excellent barbecue and southern food and The Thunderbird Cafe (http://www.thethunderbirdcafe.com/) for upscale diner food. Both are on Rt. 33 about a half mile apart. They're sister restaurants, along with the terrific Clementine, which is in Harrisonburg.

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Clementine
Harrisonburg, VA, Harrisonburg, VA

Hank's Smokehouse
49 Bloomer Springs Rd, McGaheysville, VA 22840

[foodjack]

I give a second to Jess' Quick Lunch at the downtown location. Best dogs, burgers, and fries anywhere. Wright's Dairy Rite as well. Here are a few others that I liked in that area.

Basic City Luncheonette in Waynesboro. It's a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but good and very reasonable. Breakfast was when I went there; home cooking. They only serve dinner on Friday nights.

Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, VA is awesome. Good food, good beer, and a great view of the mountain.

In Staunton, there was an Italian restaurant; I think it was Mario's. It was also very good.

For upscale, try the Staunton Grocery in downtown Staunton. They grow their own fresh herbs and veggies. It has been written up in Virginia Living Magazine.

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The Staunton Grocery
105 West Beverley Street, Staunton, VA 24401

Basic City Luncheonette
408 N Commerce Ave, Waynesboro, VA 22980

Wright's Dairy Rite
346 Greenville Ave, Staunton, VA 24401

[a_trocchia]

The Italian restaurant in Staunton is called Emilio's, formerly L'Italia (same management, different name). I wouldn't recommend it, but if you're in Staunton and want Italian that's a few notches above a pizzeria, go for it. Ambience is nice and they have rooftop seating in the evening.

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Emilio's
Staunton, Staunton, VA 24401

[foodjack]

I don't think Emilios is the same place that I was thinking of. It's been about two years since I was there, but it was located on the road from downtown Staunton towards the mall. I think it was on the left. The food was decent. If you know the name, let me know.

[justicat]

Various recommendations for Winchester and the surrounding area:

El Ranchito, South Loudoun Street does a really good Mexican/Central American menu. The pupusas are especially good there, but also plaintains and tortas and such are fine. Clientele is mostly Hispanic. One of the best places to eat in the area is the Double Tollgate flea market on weekends -- there is a Taqueria Mexicana taco wagon there that serves great tortas and tacos. Highly recommend them. Also, there is another very good Hispanic restaurant no more than a mile or so on the right up Rt 522 north from the Flea Market. Can't remember its name, but look for a small red building next to a country store.

For pretty good Jamaican food, try the Tropical Cafe, just off the downtown mall; again, more of a carryout place.

And last of all, for the best barbeque in the area, Art's at the Berryville Farm Market on Saturday morning is probably the best in 50 miles.

I wouldn't recommend Butcher's Block--nothing special anyway. Naked Oyster is okay; more of a carryout than a restaurant setting.

One Block West is a very good restaurant in Winchester, and would be my choice for the best one there---I think head and shoulders above Violino but there are those who prefer them. There are a couple of good Thai restaurants in town--would not recommend one over the other, but all of them are better than anything else oriental in town.

And most importantly, make sure you spell it Shenandoah!

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One Block West Restaurant
25 S Indian Aly, Winchester, VA 22601

The Naked Oyster
2444 Valley Ave, Winchester, VA 22601

[Littleman]

Here are some good restaurants in Harrisonburg and Staunton.

Jess' Quick Lunch @ 22 S. Main St., Harrisonburg, VA 540 434 - 8282.
Little Grill @ 621 North Main St., Harrisonburg, VA 540 - 434 - 3594.
http://littlegrillcollective.com/
The Village Inn @ 4979 South Valley Pike - S Main St., Harrisonburg, VA 540 - 434 - 7355.
http://www.thevillageinn.travel/
Mrs. Rowe's Family Restaurant @ 74 Rowe Rd., Staunton, VA 540 - 886 - 1833.
http://www.mrsrowes.com/
Wright's Dairy Rite @ 346 Greenville Ave., Staunton, VA 540 - 886 - 0435.
http://www.dairy-rite.com/

[diablo]

I had the best onion rings I've ever eaten at Wright's Dairy Rite just last month. The hamburger and french fries were good, but those rings were perfect.

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Wright's Dairy Rite
346 Greenville Ave, Staunton, VA 24401

[Littleman]

The Naked Oyster in Winchester is very nice. Butcher Block in Stephens City has excellent BBQ and Southern Kitchen in NM is nice. I think you said you went to Southern Comfort. Probably the same place.

Naked Oyster @ 2444 Valley Avenue, Winchester, VA 540 - 678 - 0778.
http://www.thenakedoysterwinchester.com/
Butcher Block BBQ @ 131 Town Run Lane, Stephens City, VA 540 - 869 - 4141.
http://www.butcherblockbuffet.com/
Southern Kitchen @ 9576 South Congress St., New Market, VA 540 - 740 - 3514.

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The Naked Oyster
2444 Valley Ave, Winchester, VA 22601

Butcher Block
PO Box 103, Beaver, WV 25813

[Littleman]

In Charlottesville C & O is outstanding for fine dining. Downtown Grill, L'Etoile and Mas are excellent.

C & O Restaurant @ 515 E Water St., Charlottesville, VA 434 - 971 - 7044.
http://www.candorestaurant.com/

Downtown Grille @ 201 West Main St., Charlottesville, VA 434 - 817 - 7080.
http://www.downtowngrille.com/
L'Etoile @ 817 West Main St., Charlottesville, VA 434 - 979 - 7957.
Mas Tapas @ 501 Monticello Rd., Charlottesville, VA 434 - 979 - 0990.
http://www.mastapas.com/

The Local and Zocalo are excellent for fine dining. Zocalo may be the best.

The Local @ 824 Hinton Ave., Charlottesville,, VA 434 - 984 - 9749.
http://www.thelocal-cville.com/
Zocalo Restaurant @ 201 East Main St/, Charlottesville, VA 434 - 977 - 4944.
http://zocalo-restaurant.com/

[reiflame]

The Local's food is ok but we went about a month ago and had abhorrently bad service.

I'd add Zinc to that list.