Dining

Virginia Tech on Niche’s 2026 Best College Food list

Recalling the cafeterias of one’s alma mater is often akin to being kicked into a purgatory of culinary blandness. That is apparently far from the case for students at modern-day Virginia Tech, where a recent poll from online collegiate search guide, Niche, said 96 percent gave the school’s campus dining services top gastronomical ratings. That […]

by Eric J. Wallace

Blue Seafood: Authentic, Delicious Seafood in Virginia Beach

When my friend Jeri—a home cook whose kitchen wizardry could shame many restaurant chefs—started raving about a seafood joint tucked into a Virginia Beach strip mall, I knew I had to investigate. She gushed over the tempura-fried shrimp that dissolved on the tongue and the perfectly caramelized Brussels sprouts. “You have to go,” she insisted, […]

by peggy sijswerda

Mike Skipper Takes Over The Shack from Mentor Ian Boden

When Mike Skipper stopped by for a 2023 Saturday fill-in gig at friend and star chef Ian Boden’s famed hole-in-the-wall Staunton fine dinery, he didn’t expect to be startled by a curveball. Boden let him in on his plan for an ambitious new culinary inn called Maude & the Bear. Would “Skip” be interested in […]

by Eric J. Wallace

Inside Joon, Northern Virginia’s Award-Winning Iranian Restaurant

The plate in front of me has followed a path of 6,183 miles and many millennia before it got here. The first versions of the dish—simple roasted eggplant with garlic, turmeric, and poached eggs—were created thousands of years ago near the Caspian Sea, in what’s now northern Iran. It became a staple across the Persian […]

by Craig Stoltz

Fine Dining Goes Blissfully Wild at Sperryville’s Sumac

It’s high summer in Rappahannock County, and everything feels abundant. The grass is charging upwards, crested by weeds and wildflowers. Birds and bugs vie for who can chirp loudest. And the sky over the Shenandoah Valley is a clear azure, dotted with cotton-ball clouds. It’s here, on this unlikely mountaintop in Sperryville, where you’ll find […]

by Stephanie Ganz

Where to Find Hot Pot Dining in Virginia

For a chef, broth is a blank canvas just waiting to be tinkered with, adding this and that to achieve the right flavor profile. In hot pot dining—a traditional East Asian experience—that canvas is yours. A pot of boiling broth sits at the center of the table, surrounded by an array of raw ingredients, from […]

by Hope Cartwright

Adrift: The Northern Neck Dining Destination Is Anything But

On a Friday night in the offseason, White Stone, a rural town of about 400 people in Virginia’s Northern Neck, is quiet. But inside a simple faded green clapboard building near the corner of Rappahannock and Chesapeake, something special is happening. There, you’ll find Adrift, a small, mom-and-pop restaurant whose roughly 50 seats are filled […]

by Stephanie Ganz

Arlington’s Ambar Serves Balkan Cuisine That’s Earned a Michelin Nod

They had to call it fried chicken. At first, the restaurateurs at Ambar put their signature dish on the menu by its preferred name—“monastery chicken.” It was served for generations to the monks at Gracanica Monastery in Serbia, to end their fast. “But nobody ordered it when we called it monastery chicken,” says Uros Jojic,director […]

by Craig Stoltz

Pride of Place

Pigs and more rule at Cochon on 2nd in Williamsburg.

by Madeline Mayhood

21 Spoons Is Culinary Art with a Mission

Ann Butler keeps busy teaching the next generation about food—how to have a healthy relationship with what goes on their table and into their communities, but also important life skills rooted in food.

by John Haddad & Meredith Lindemon

Not-So-Secret Speakeasy

Cocktail hideaway Kuchi opens in Onancock. (photo by Viwat “Golf” Kitchol) The Japanese have a word for it: the ambiguous pang of non-hunger, when your mouth feels a little bit lonely. Kuchi (short for kuchisabishii) also makes a fitting name for Onancock’s new speakeasy, where the drinks and small plates satisfy. […]

by Amy Brecount White

La Piazza in Williamsburg

After a 40-year run, The Trellis inspires La Piazza. Williamsburg welcomes 1.5 million tourists each year, but it’s also home to a world-class culinary scene. And for more than three decades, David Everett has been at its forefront, building the area’s reputation as a serious food destination. Everett is the chef-entrepreneur […]

by Frank Morgan

Delicious Fare, Downtown Charm

Sidecar elevates Roanoke’s burgeoning restaurant scene. Sidecar welcomes diners with an established presence that makes it feel like an old friend. But this downtown Roanoke restaurant is relatively new to the culinary scene. Opened in 2020, just weeks before the city shut down, it’s finally getting the recognition it deserves. Housed […]

by Staff

A Walk on the Wild Side

Wild game dishes that will whet your winter appetite! (Photography by Kip Dawkins) Kip Dawkins Tempura quail with spicy dipping sauce. Kip Dawkins Breast of duck with wild rice salad and candied ginger-lime sauce. Kip Dawkins Braised rabbit with carrot jam and grilled country bread. Kip Dawkins Kip Dawkins Venison osso bucco with couscous […]

by Staff

The Buttery Restaurant

A local favorite shines with expanding offerings. (Photography courtesy of The Buttery) Clarke County locals have long loved The Locke Store—a modern country store in Millwood offering fresh, made-to-go food along with wine, beer, and local goods—but the opening of the store’s restaurant, The Buttery, has brought even more foodie fanfare. “Millwood […]

by Ashley Hunter

Flying the Coop

Simple in form, complex in what it can do, the egg is a many splendored thing. (Photo by Andrea Hubbell) They can be blue or green or brown, not just white; as large as a cantaloupe or as petite as a pecan. Regardless of size, shape or color, eggs—quail, duck or the […]

by lisa antonelli bacon

The Primordial Stew

A pot of hearty food, nicely seasoned and bubbling away in the kitchen, goes a long way toward warming winter nights. (Photography by Patricia Lyons) On a cold, cold night, a big pot simmers on the stove. The house smells wonderful—garlicky, spicy, heady with the warm, dark aroma that emanates from meats […]

by christine ennulat

Selling Soup

A few favorites for the chilly season. (Photography by Kip Dawkins & Styling by Jennifer Sisk) “We’re having soup again?” you often hear. The “again” tacked on the end, as if to eat soup were some poorer option. I suppose it is, because, like all the other food we cook regularly, we stick […]

by Tina Gomes Brand

Riverside Restaurants

Two new Northern Virginia eateries are ready for summer dining al fresco. (BARCA Interior) Waterside dining pairs perfectly with warmer weather, and two new, neighboring spots on the Potomac riverfront in Old Town Alexandria are ideal for enjoying a cold cocktail and delicious dish in the summer sun. (Smoked Ricotta Gnocchi) […]

by Vayda Parrish

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Buc-ee’s Opens Its First Virginia Location

If you happened to be standing near the I-81 exit for Mt. Crawford in the early morning hours of this past June 30, you’d have witnessed a spectacle. Shoppers flooded into the parking lot and shuffled into block-long lines in hopes of being among the first through the doors of Virginia’s first Buc-ee’s travel station. […]

by Eric J. Wallace

Norfolk Harborfest Returns for Its 50th Anniversary

From June 19–21, Downtown Norfolk welcomes a fleet of over 60 international and U.S. tall ships to celebrate VA250. “Harborfest celebrates the rich maritime and naval heritage that defines Norfolk and the Hampton Roads region,” says Jordan Lett, marketing director of Norfolk Festevents. “With something happening throughout the waterfront each day, Harborfest offers an immersive […]

by Abby Borgeson

All Aboard: Virginia’s Summer of Steam Celebrates America250

This summer, the legendary Norfolk & Western 611 steam locomotive is firing up her wheel—and she’s bringing history along for the ride. Built in 1950 in Roanoke, Virginia, the 611 is the last surviving member of the “J-Class” fleet, widely regarded as the pinnacle of steam technology. With her iconic bullet-shaped nose, Tuscan Red stripe, […]

by Abby Borgeson

Dining

Virginia Tech on Niche’s 2026 Best College Food list

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Buc-ee’s Opens Its First Virginia Location

Norfolk Harborfest Returns for Its 50th Anniversary

All Aboard: Virginia’s Summer of Steam Celebrates America250

Dining

Virginia Tech on Niche’s 2026 Best College Food list

Current Issue

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Most Popular

Buc-ee’s Opens Its First Virginia Location

Norfolk Harborfest Returns for Its 50th Anniversary

All Aboard: Virginia’s Summer of Steam Celebrates America250

Get our most popularweekly newsletter: VL Today

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weekly newsletter: VL Today

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weekly newsletter: VL Today