Virginia

A Virginia barbecue joint sells its house sauce in something called a sauce bladder. Yes, a bladder. Barbecue…

By Lenora Winslow · Nov 7

Thomas Jefferson once owned part of the mountain where this Virginia orchard now grows. He took the land…

By Renata Holcombe · Oct 30

In one Virginia pie shop, the high score and the flaky crust are equally hard to beat. Retro…

By Gideon Hartwell · Oct 29

On one stretch of Atlantic beach, the traffic jams are caused by about 150 wild ponies. They have…

By Gideon Hartwell · Oct 27

One Blue Ridge waterfall drops a total of 1,200 feet through five major cascades and a string of…

By Trevor Maddox · Oct 25

This Virginia roadhouse was once famous for frying chicken 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It…

By Lenora Winslow · Oct 23

One little chocolate shop in Virginia keeps more than 2,000 molds on hand. Two thousand! I can’t stop…

By Renata Holcombe · Oct 21

A three-story house that pretends to be one story from the outside. That’s the kind of sneaky design…

By Gideon Hartwell · Oct 21

Most caves echo, but this one can play a tune. Deep below Virginia, carefully chosen stalactites become part…

By Eliza Thornton · Oct 13

Country ham is supposed to be the headline here. The sweet potato biscuits keep stealing copy. That feels…

By Clara Whitmore · Oct 5

I would want to see this building twice. Once in daylight. Then again after dark, when every hallway…

By Eliza Thornton · Oct 5

Jam first or cream first? Choose carefully. Somebody at the table may take this personally. Afternoon tea has…

By Adeline Parker · Oct 4

Here is the trouble with a lake this easygoing: every ambitious plan starts sounding negotiable. You may bring…

By Clara Whitmore · Oct 4

Here is the trick with this town: leave some of the day completely open. That would actually be…

By Renata Holcombe · Oct 3

Your to-do list can manage one afternoon without you. Bring a swimsuit instead. This adults-only Virginia wellness club…

By Gideon Hartwell · Oct 3

Tell yourself you are only checking one more aisle. Antique malls love that kind of confidence. Here, dealer…

By Clara Whitmore · Oct 2

At first glance, this could be lunch. Walk a little farther, and it starts looking like groceries. The…

By Adeline Parker · Oct 1

Here is one fall rule I can get behind: let dinner choose the exit. A beautiful drive is…

By Gideon Hartwell · Oct 1

Listen, if you are ordering a sticky bun, give up on staying neat now. It will save time.…

By Lenora Winslow · Oct 1

Six picnic tables started this whole seafood story. That was back in 1993, when the setup was seasonal,…

By Eliza Thornton · Oct 1

Think canyons need red rock and desert heat? Try dropping 1,600 feet into Appalachian green instead. A river…

By Eliza Thornton · Oct 1

Pick a favorite apple. Or at least try. Now walk into an orchard growing more than 30 varieties…

By Renata Holcombe · Sep 30

Here is a history lesson I would happily show up hungry for. The tavern dates to 1784. The…

By Daniel Mercer · Sep 30

If your plate ends up holding fried catfish, greens, and something sweet, do not explain yourself. You are…

By Lenora Winslow · Sep 30

Keep your eyes on the road. Mostly because the road is about to disappear. Out over the water,…

By Clara Whitmore · Sep 30

At 5 a.m., most of Richmond is still negotiating with the alarm clock. This donut shop is already…

By Eliza Thornton · Sep 30

Some mountain towns make you earn the trailhead with another hour behind the wheel. This one practically hands…

By Adeline Parker · Sep 26

A five-acre corn maze is a very confident way to ask, “How good is your sense of direction?”…

By Eliza Thornton · Sep 26

Croissants are basically edible peer pressure. One buttery layer turns into another, and suddenly the pastry case has…

By Daniel Mercer · Sep 24

Antique shopping is one of the few hobbies where getting sidetracked counts as progress. Inside this multi-dealer market,…

By Eliza Thornton · Sep 24

Corn has better timing than most people I know. Here, fresh rounds are planted every ten days through…

By Gideon Hartwell · Sep 23

The moment goats enter the grocery run, we are clearly dealing with more than groceries. In Madison, Virginia,…

By Adeline Parker · Sep 22

The plot starts before the movie does. This old-school screen nearly had its final credits back in 1999,…

By Lenora Winslow · Sep 22

No need to sugarcoat it: this place has been on a serious candy streak since 1919. In Chesapeake,…

By Daniel Mercer · Sep 21

Big Virginia peanuts. Small batches. More than five decades of practice. That is the short version. The longer…

By Renata Holcombe · Sep 20

The hardest part about a buffet this big is pretending you already know what you want. You probably…

By Adeline Parker · Sep 20

What if the ham you came for is only the beginning? That is the trouble with a place…

By Lenora Winslow · Sep 20

The apples did not get the memo that fall was supposed to go according to plan. An April…

By Renata Holcombe · Sep 19

Honey tastes a little more interesting when the bees did the shopping. At this Virginia farm stand, the…

By Trevor Maddox · Sep 19