One of my favorite things about moving back to Charlottesville, is being constantly excited and surprised by all the new delicious restaurants that pop up around town. Don’t get me wrong, I ate my way through Hooville when I was at UVA and most of my favorites are the same but it’ s pretty fun to check out all the new places and have some new foodie buddies to do it with. I left my # 1 eating partner in crime back in Arlington (miss you Shruts) but was thrilled when  Kim, who started at my office a few months after me, quickly become my go to lunch date. One of our first and continually favorite spots is the new Three Notch’d location in IX Park.

Now this is not a hidden secret I know, the new location is triple the size of the old Three Notch’d brewery and has an outside bar too, so it definitely hasn’t flown under the radar.  But for someone like myself who can’t drink beer, breweries aren’t usually my first pick which is what made the new brewery such a surprise- the food is delicious! Plus, they also serve excellent cocktails & cider for fellow non beer drinkers.  

Kim and I stared at the menu for a while debating what to get because literally everything sounded amazing.  I can attest now after going a few times, that yes, in fact everything I’ve tried I’ve liked.  I also love that they change the menu often to make sure they’re featuring seasonal veggies and keep the dishes interesting.

On our first trip there, the first thing we picked were the pork belly deviled eggs.  I am obsessed with deviled eggs. I know that this makes me sound like a 70 year old woman but I don’t care. It’s true.  My mom’s best friend for as long as I can remember brings her deviled eggs to holiday parties, cookouts etc and they are the best you’ve ever had. Well… the addition of pork belly on these may have nudged her out of first place but it’s hard to compete with pork belly. Honestly one of the best part’s was the spicy mayo dip that came with the eggs. We kept the plate just to dip our fries in it the rest of the meal.

Having now made many return trips, including to celebrate my birthday in February, the list of things I loved is a mile long. While I don’t have photo’s of everything, I’ll share a few more faves and then talk about Kim & I’s most recent meal there. The chicken mini’s, a far too short lived feature on the menu, is still making us rave, Tiny little delicious pieces of fried chicken served over mini, almost gourmet eggo style waffles with a spicy chili syrup … yes please. I haven’t seen them since that fateful halloween night but am so crossing my fingers they will return.

Another fan favorite are the beef sliders. While it seems straight forward and simple- these sliders are really delicious and the perfect thing to share along with some other appetizer faves like the pretzel bites with 40 mile (IPA) cheese dipping sauce.  You can really add what you want to the sliders to make them your own and they come out stacked which makes the photos fun too.

A more unexpected feature, is the excellent side salads. While they have a list of seasonally rotating salads you can order for your entree- that extends to the side salads as well. It’s so nice to get a harvest salad filled with brussel sprouts, pumpkin seeds and pecorino cheese in the fall with your meal, instead of a boring house salad with a few little veggies and a lame dressing. I got this beauty  my last trip there, on the first warm spring night and it was honestly better than my entree sandwich.  No offense sammie- the idea was really good, grilled chicken, cheese & jalapeno’s… but the sandwich was kind of dry and as a sauce lover, just didn’t really hit the mark. This is a rarity. 

BUT the salad was filled with interesting vegetables, gorgeous colors and the perfect amount of dressing & cheese. Asparagus pieces, purple potatoes, thin sliced radishes and a creamy champagne dressing with feta made this really hit the spot. Also, if you’re new here or don’t know me really well… it’s really uncommon for me to be excited about a side salad. 🙂

Plus- I got a great mojito which is a true test in my book as to how the cocktails are at a bar. For some reason it’s uncommon to get a great mojito, that’s not too sweet with muddled mint. I’m still not sure why people don’t realize that muddling the mint gives it all the great flavor- but that’s okay… because Three Notch’d gets it!

The perfect place for the whole family ( pups included), with tons of indoor and outdoor room. food for every palette and age and a bomb drink & beer selection- 3 notched is a serious win for IX Park and all of us Cvillians as we head into summer! See ya there!

Just further proof that it’s pup approved. & no puppies or beer were hurt in the making of the photo.

Let me know if you tried anything I recommended or have your own favorites I should check out!