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Andrew Greenberg

About Andrew (Andy) Ross Greenberg

Born and raised in Richmond, VA. Graduated from UVA in 1995 with a B.A. in Psychology. I lived in Northern Virginia from 1995-2000 when I met my wife-to-be Kristina. When she was accepted to graduate school at James Madison, we were VERY excited, because it gave us a chance to live a half-hour from Charlottesville. When Kristina received a permanent position at UVA as a Dietitian, we jumped at the chance to live in town. We purchased a home in January of 2004 and look forward to a long life here in Charlottesville.

Why Charlottesville?

It should be noted that Kristina grew up in Hawaii. We have had a couple of chances to relocate there in the past two years, but have decided that there is nowhere else we would rather live than Charlottesville. Why? Well, it's hard to put into words. First of all, more than half of my family has attended UVA. I began travelling to Charlottesville when I was little to attend Basketball and Football games, as well as visiting my brother, Jeff, who graduated in 1992. I have been to many other college towns, but they just never seem to measure up to Charlottesville in beauty, available amenities, and proximity to the mountains/outdoor activities.

Quite frankly, Charlottesville is a beautiful town. The Blue Ridge Mountains provide a breathtaking backdrop to the UVA Grounds and stunning architecture that is apparent everywhere from the Downtown Mall to Albemarle horse farms.

While I think it's Charlottesville's beauty that attracts people here at first, it is the amenities that keeps people here. I call them "big city" amenities... food, art and convenience. While I have yet to fully appreciate Charlottesville's Art side, I am intimately familiar with its food. I feel like I could write on this subject from here to eternity, but I will try to be brief and list some of my favorite aspects of the Charlottesville culinary scene (in no particular order):

Andy's Best of Culinary Charlottesville

  • Gourmet stores and shops: Feast (and all of Main Street Market), Foods of All Nations, Whole Foods, Carriage Food House, Brix
  • Wine Stores: Wine Warehouse, Market Street Wine Shop, Rio Hill Wine and Gourmet, Tastings. I have GENERALLY had poor results with buying wine a the grocery stores in town. The prices are not as good as they should be and the storage conditions are not optimal (too warm and too much light... both of which are terrible for wine storage). Besides, the wealth of information that is available from the guys who work at the wine stores is worth the trip.
  • Cheap Eats: Bodos, Taiwan Garden, Marco and Luca's Dumplings, Christian's, White Spot, Five Guys, Riverside, Little Johns.
  • Best for under $10: Bagby's (best sandwich in Charlottesville, HANDS DOWN), Sticks, Asian Buffet, Wood Grill and Far East (in the Pantops shopping center)
  • Good, Solid Restaurants that won't break the bank: Bang, Continental Divide, Michaels Bistro and Tap House, Mas, Bizou, La Cucina del Sol
  • Special night out: Zocolo, Oxo, Ivy Inn, Fuel.
  • Best place to buy seafood: Seafood at West Main and Whole Foods
  • Best Place to get a Lamb Shank: Zocolo
  • Best Place to buy Lamb: Harris Teeter (only place in town, that I know of, that sells Domestic Lamb)
  • Best Place to buy Meat: Rio Hill Kroger and Harris Teeter
  • Best Place to buy Produce: Whole Foods, Saturday Market
  • Swankiest Place: Bang
  • Best Place to share a drink: Bang and Mas
  • Most Suprising: Fuel's food is OUTSTANDING!
  • Best Place for a BIG table (lots of people): Bang and Mas
  • Best Pizza: Mario's
  • Best Compromise (when you and your spouse are disagreeing): Bizou
  • Best Hot Dog: Sam's Club
  • Perfect Place to gather supplies for a picnic: Feast
  • Most Underrated Evening/Best Kept Secret in Charlottesville: Starry Nights at Veritas Vineyards

Favorite Things to do in Charlottesville

  • UVA Sporting Events (Football, Soccer, Baseball, Basketball)
  • Hiking: Favorite Popular Hike--White Oak Canyon; Favorite Lesser Known Hike--White Rock Falls at mile 19.0 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some other popular hikes: Old Rag, Crab Tree Falls, Sugar Hollow
  • Playing Soccer with my team, the Lazy Parrots! Seriously, the Recreation Soccer around here is FANTASTIC!
  • Taking a Walk Around Grounds--any season, because every season has its joys and suprises.
  • Going to the Dog Park with our dog Ajax
  • Wine Tasting (White Hall, Veritas, Jefferson)
  • Fishing the James, Rockfish and Tye Rivers for Smallmouth Bass
  • Taking a Drive on a Nice Day: Old Garth, Owensville, 29South
  • Spending a Day on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall... preferably starting with the Market on a Saturday

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