Mellow Mushroom Restaurant

1309 W. Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22903

A- / 4.25
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 - $

I got away from work for Tuesday and Wednesday this week to attend the VAMLIS Conference for GIS professionals in Charlottesville, VA. I'd heard there was a Mellow Mushroom in town, so imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered my hotel sat on top of it.

I meandered over at around 5:15, after the conference let out, and found myself in the middle of their $2 a beer happy hour that ran from 4-6. With 39 beers on tap (yeah, I counted), and most of those quality microbrews, this was a luxury rarely experienced for me. To put it in perspective, Roanoke's largest quality tap selection is about 10 at Blue 5, and their beers are typically $4-5. Even when happy hour ended, standard price was $3.50 a pint (maybe 12 for a pitcher? happy hour pitchers: $9).

I was again impressed when I found that even some higher ABV beers like Ommegang Hennepin and Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre were the standard price. In fact, the only non-
standard beer on the menu was Leffe Blonde, which was $5 and served in a snifter. One last note about pricing, if it rains, you get a dollar off your beer. While it did sprinkle outside a bit after happy hour had ended, I didn't get the deal this time.

So I started with a Hennepin and a 10" Jerk Chicken pizza shortly after 5, and the next thing I know I looked up and it was almost midnight and there were 9 beers on my tab. Did I mention I was giving a presentation the next morning at 9am? Wooops! I hold responsible the quality and variety of the beer and the good company I met at the bar (though not having to drive home helps). Not to worry, the presentation went fine, and so was I; well, at least after stopping back in for lunch and a couple more pints the next day on my way home. After all, I'd forgotten my leftover pizza.