Restaurants Charlottesville (RCV) is a brand new blog, revealing the results of an ongoing 2-year investigation into the top restaurants and venues in Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia. Charlottesville is a town rich with eateries and hot local music (including spawning international music sensations the Dave Matthews Band.) It’s a small University town of less than a hundred thousand residents, with big city appeal when it comes to fine dining and events on a budget.

Boasting an ever increasing blend of different kinds of foods wrapped in a seemingly endless array of out-of-the-box themes, Charlottesville has the kind of selection and quality that folks usually have to suffer the big prices and high stress conditions of big city living to enjoy. And Charlottesville actually has a more exciting music and events situation than many cities ten times its size!

Here’s the scoop: RCV realizes that every dog has its day, and that even the best of dogs goes through a bout of fleas at least once in it’s life. Because of that, all of the restaurants and hot spots that we review have gone through rigorous investigation. We don’t think that it’s fair to our readers to pop in to a restaurant, order a meal, pick up the check, and then pass ourselves as expert. Besides, we think that when folks go online to get information on where to eat and enjoy that folks prefer to learn the inside scoop and get real rundown on how to make the best of their investment.

Fare and Spirits: Looking for a great Italian meal? Sal’s Caffe Italia serves a mean lasagna, and Fellini’s #9 has great food and events like Karayoke. Indian food? Try Himalyan Fusion on the downtown mall. Milan and Maharaja have tremendous Indian north on 29. Sushi? Ten is tasty and sheik. Sakura is a charlottesville tradition. Looking for a great hole in the wall where everyone will soon know your name? There’s The Box, Rapture, and Buddhist Biker Bar. Sports bars more your thing? Boylan Heights, Wild Wings and Rivals all have a fun scene.

Music: In just the last year big international acts like Smashing Pumpkins, John Legend, Rascal Flats and Jay Z all stopped by for a visit. But the local music is what keeps the pulse of Charlottesville popping. Local musicians mix and match featuring musicians like Tucker Rogers, Travis Elliott, BJ Pendleton, Damonti, and William Walter playing many local venues including Tokyo Rose, R2, the Outback Lodge and many others. And every spring Friday After Five’s on the downtown mall is a musical event explosion.

For more on Restaurants Charlottesville, then visit Mike Long’s new Blog with the inside scoop on which Charlottesville Restaurant is best for you, when to go, and what to eat. (Plus music and events!)