The University of Virginia's campus was quiet on the Saturday morning of my visit to Charlottesville. The same couldn't be said of Bodo's Bagels across the street, where students eating breakfast were taking up every chair inside and were spilling out into the sunny yet chilly outdoor seating. I was looking for a breakfast place where I could sip hot tea and read a book for an hour after touring Thomas Jefferson's impressive contribution to higher education. The bagel place seemed more an extension of the campus commons than a cozy coffee shop.
I walked back down the hill a block until I saw a place with a window sign advertising freshly baked muffins. Sold. Littlejohn's New York Delicatessen was just the place to settle into a dark wood chair and watch the people walking up and down University Avenue.
A woman behind the narrow counter was humming along to the oldies-but-goodies that were playing and that matched well the neon sign and black-and-white checked floor. Next to her, a man who was taking orders with a warm smile whipped up an egg sandwich for me.
All along the top of the counter were fresh muffins, which I could see were still coming out of the oven. If I were having lunch, my choice would not have been easy: the deli has an impressive, and inexpensive, sandwich menu.
Altogether, my egg sandwich, blueberry muffin and hot tea cost less than $5, and they were delicious (much more so than they look in the above cellphone photo).
The University, right across the street, has a beautiful campus, even with patches of snow still covering the ground. Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda, which is part of the campus, is worth even a quick visit:
(Photos by H. Farrell)
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