'Ode to Rise Pizza

In this installment of Charlottesville On Shoestring, Anwar shares his passion with the world. He talks about Rise Pizzaworks, an up and coming pizza restaurant, looking to start a revolution and shake things up in the Charlottesville pizza business.

Check out their full menu and a list of their scrumptious toppings and receive updates through facebook and twitter at www.risepizzaworks.com.

Get Dressed Up For Burgers!

The Charlottesville On a Shoestring Team delves into dining on a dime at three CVille Hot Spots: Miller's, Shebeen, and The Pointe at the Omni!

Be Well!
-A & L

Must Have Book For All CVillians On a Shoestring---

Buy for $25 at CVille Market, and receive $35 worth of CVille Market Coupons: http://www.cvillemarket.com/

We bought it the first time for Father's Day, to inspire more dating with all of the "buy one get one frees", and it became a necessary investment this year. We would not be able to go out to eat, without realizing how much more we're paying than necessary. Every time the tally at CVille Market or Whole Foods came out to $26, we would think of how it could be $21 if we'd have just bought that book. Once you know, you know. You know?

It also forces variety, and we have stumbled upon places that have become part of the Allen Family Folklore: Shebeen, L'Etoile, Omni's Pointe, Aqui Es Mexico, Sticks, and Zasus to name a few. We learn which ones we would go to and happily pay full price, and which ones to stay far away from (Sandwiches at Mona Lisa, for instance, are definitely not worth going for... which you wouldn't think because their pasta is BOMB). And, honestly, being on a shoestring and all, we'd be intimidated to go to otherwise. It stretches us, and... it spices our relationship up- gives us an adventure map to go find treasures with and talk about. We love to eat, and we love to save.

One place to never save, though, is the tip. If we don't want to give them 20% off the original, pre-coupon total, we get take-out. It's not cool to save a dollar or two at a server's expense... especially if we publicly open up our meal in prayer. I mean... we must never forget that we are an ambassadors!

Some tips: We keep it in the front seat of our car. It keeps us from impulsive restauranting at places that don't take coupons, or worse- do, and we left them at home. Another tip: we go through when we get it and rip out all of the stuff we won't use (ie. if you go to Jiffy Lube, pull out Merchant- you won't use both), and put them in an envelope. We then pass the envelope around to other shoe-stringers. We have a "maybe, if we ever leave CVille and happen to be in one of these surrounding towns" envelopes in our glove box too. This keeps the booklet clean so we know what we've got in there without getting all overwhelmed, and forgetting about the free cash. Also, we look at it frequently. We forget what's in there if we don't, and there's nothing more annoying than seeing a coupon the week after we went somewhere. It's good car-chat!

Be Well!
-A & L

Let's Talk Chinese

The Charlottesville on a Shoestring team hit the streets of Charlottesville to see who has the best American Chinese cuisine this side of Monticello.

The video above was made at 1:30 in the morning, inspired by "Hey, let's make a video." "What will we talk about?" "I don't know. Let's just start talking."

We went from World Cup to Politics to Chinese food. And there we pressed Re-Start.

So, since it's rough, let me just write out the points we made:

Best Place to Get Chinese: Peking Chinese Restaurant, 115 4th Street Northeast- ultimate hole in the wall- let's pretend we're in NYC on a date, fresh and greasy Chinese.


Best Place to Go For Inexpensive, Delicious Chinese: Lunch Buffet at Panda Garden, 380 Emmet Street North $6 something each, amazing tofu, very basic- fresh buffet. Very non-intrusive, sweet service.


Smells Like Mothballs and Pushy Server: Dragon Lady, 2119 Ivy Road. Once you get used to it smelling like a grandma's house (not my grandma, but that other-people's-grandma-smell), the 10 minutes-til-served was nice. Portions big. Just not the most comfortable place to go with a coupon, as this guy is a business man, and he sells the extras hard. I don't like to have the presence of an unimpressed server when I'm out.

Best Place to Get Take-Out: Yuan Ho, 117 Maury Avenue $5 lunches, and a huge UVA following, because they've definitely got the niche on General Tso's chicken. American chinese at it's best in this city.

Don't Go Unless You Want To Feel Like A Swine When You're Done: China King Buffet, 1458 Seminole Trail

In conclusion, Panda Garden across from John Paul Jones Arena for lunch is just such a GOOD idea. We whole heartedly suggest this spot.

And, for romantic, I've just been walking on the downtown mall holding my lover's hand, and could go for neon lights in my face while we huddle close with our Chopsticks: Peking.
Really fresh and just that ultimate whole-in-the-wall city feel.

Be Well!
-A & L