Bluegrass Grill & Bakery

As my final weeks wind down here in Cville, I thought it was high time for me to go to all the restaurants I haven’t made it to in my 4 years in this collegiate culinary paradise. I’m a HUGE fan of breakfast any time of the day, something my roommate is well attuned to, and she’s been pushing me to go to Bluegrass Grill for months now as we prepare to leave. I finally took the opportunity to go this past weekend with my sister (my fellow all-day breakfast bud)….and I think I can confidently say my only regret in college is that I didn’t discover Bluegrass earlier!

Bluegrass Grill is located on a side-street off the Downtown Mall (one of my favorite locations in the area – great shopping and other fancier restaurants!) It’s somewhat hidden between various parking lots and the train tracks, but you’ll know when you’re there due to the massive amounts of people gathered outside. Bluegrass is small, cozy, and does not take reservations. A sheet of paper, where people write their own names and number of people in their party serves, as the seating list, so go early, come hungry, and be prepared to wait! Wait time can be anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours (not to instill fear into your foodie hearts, but my roommate has waited for 3 before!), but in my humble opinion, it’s worth it!

The service is fast and friendly, the inside is very quaint and clean, and the turnover rate is relatively quick…the masses of people waiting just make the wait seem eternal. There aren’t too many tables, maybe 10 at the most, which explains why the place gets crowded so quickly. Great mix of locals, tourists, and college students, brought together by pure deliciousness. Parking’s not a problem in the area (you do have to pay during the week), though the walk from the UVA area to the Downtown Mall is nice on a gorgeous day! Gotta create that calorie deficit somehow.

On to the food :) The menu boasts wonderful variety, ranging from omelets to french toast to pancakes to hash to potatoes cooked 4-5 different ways. As a cereal fanatic, I had to go for the granola w/milk & strawberries, biscuit, and a side of fruit….. in my opinion the idyllic meal :)

Needless to say, it was SO. GOOD. The granola was absolutely delicious – perfect serving size, and had a great balance of stuff in it. Not too much dried fruit or nuts, and it wasn’t overly sweet; it had a nice toasted taste to it, and tasted really fresh. Skim milk & strawberries ere the perfect addition. You can also get yogurt or soy milk.

Biscuits are my food weakness…and these babies did not disappoint!! They are huge and made fresh right in the restaurant – you can peak into the kitchen and watch the cooks pull out huge trays of them. Not too sweet, fluffy, and incredible – no jelly, jam, or extra butter required!

My sister loved her omelet – portion looked great, and she said it wasn’t too eggy; it had a really good balance of everything, and came fully loaded with veggies. And, she’s a really picky eater…so it’s got to say something that she cleaned her plate! The omelets come with a choice of potatoes or grits, and a biscuit, and you can substitute egg beaters/egg whites for a small additional charge.

And due to my voyeuristic tendencies, I was happy to be seated right near the kitchen, so I had the opportunity to witness all the other amazing creations headed to other hungry diners. The pancakes looked really amazing, though they were huge! Everything just looked great, especially the cinnamon rolls (mmmm). My roommate touts the cilantro lime tofu hash as being the ‘best thing ever’ – hopefully I’ll be able to go back and determine that for myself!

SO glad I finally got to enjoy this Charlottesville gem, and highly recommended for anyone with some time to kill, looking for a memorable breakfast or brunch!

Just a heads up – they only accept cash, so come prepared and ready to indulge :)

Not sure I understand what all the fuss is about; I’ll admit the food is pretty good (NOT great) but it does not even come close to making up for the poser hippy staff who serve huge helpings of attitude along with the food. If I want to be treated rudely (or worse yet simply ignored) by folks who think they are too cool to do their jobs I’d go hang out at Abercrombie and Fitch at the mall.