It's no secret that University students like Dave Matthews. But if you're one of those DMB fanatics that derive vicarious satisfaction from the fact that you go to school in the city where Dave started out, you might want to visit Miller's, our choice this week.
Located on the Downtown Mall across from the movie theater and very close to the trolley stop, Miller's is the former employer of one very famous Charlottesville native. Despite its accessibility, history and jazz sets, Miller's has little going for it.
The restaurant itself is very small, offering few tables and a relatively large bar. The atmosphere is extremely laid back and the place is filled with cigarette smoke. Luckily, for those of us with sensitive noses, Miller's offers plenty of outdoor seating.
The spring weather and friendly dog at the table next to us were definitely the best parts of our night there. If you can't eat outside and Miller's isn't featuring music the night you're there, don't go.
Service at Miller's is friendly but extremely slow. We couldn't really blame our server, though, because she was obviously overworked. In fact, the entire restaurant inside and outside seemed to be the responsibility of only two servers.
The service added to the laid-back and casual attitude. In fact, we saw our server actually sitting and having a cigarette with another customer. Not that this is necessarily a bad quality, just be warned that this isn't someplace to go if you expect a professional wait staff trained in Paris.
Service was probably the most disappointing factor in our experience. Even without having to wait for a hostess to seat us, we couldn't find a table to sit at because the vacant ones still had dirty dishes and glasses.
When we finally sat down, we had to wait longer for our server to take drink orders. After we finally managed to order all our food, the real waiting began. It must have taken an upward of 20 minutes for us to get our appetizers, which were followed nearly immediately by our entrees.
Miller's food is simple and unoriginal. They offer a variety of appetizers, all averaging around $4.50.
If you're on your last bit of cash, you can dig into the Chips and Salsa ($1.75), but if your wallet's a tiny bit heavier you can move up to some more appealing selections. We decided to try the Fried Mushrooms ($4.25), Fried Mozarella Sticks ($5.25) and Potato Skins ($4.75).
The mushrooms, crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside, were our favorite. The accompanying ranch dressing is the perfect complement.
The Potato Skins, topped with a cheese and bacon bits, also were good but run of the mill. The Fried Mozzarella Sticks taste more or less the same as the ones offered at the Tree House.
The entrees at Miller's aren't any more original than the appetizers. Sandwiches average around $5 and entrees are around $10. Salads and soups are available for about the same prices as sandwiches.
All the sandwiches are served with fries and a pickle and you can choose from such familiar items as Roasted Turkey ($4.75) or Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($6) with lettuce and tomato.
Other sandwiches include the Miller's Burger ($5.75) and the Big John ($5), an original name for an unoriginal dish. The Big John is just another boring turkey sandwich, this time topped with bacon, Swiss cheese and grilled onions.
We decided to try a Philly Cheese Steak ($6.25) which was good, but once again pedestrian. We could have had the same Philly Cheese Steak anywhere.
We also tried the Doc Miller ($5), a simple roast beef sandwich with onions, mayo, Swiss cheese and creamed horseradish. It could have been found on a good night at O'Hill.
The entrees also were rather disappointing. In fact, out of the small variety they offered, we couldn't even get a third of the choices because they were out of ingredients. Although it wasn't that big a deal, we would have liked the choice.
All entrees are served with a house salad and a choice of side. The salad was the regular lettuce, cucumber, tomato and crouton combination and the choices for sides were equally boring.
In an attempt to find something impressive, we tried the Cowboy Ribeye ($17.95), the priciest item on the menu. Sadly, we did not succeed in finding that impressive dish. It was a simple 20 oz. bone ribeye described as "choice cut". Simple is the key word.
We weren't even asked how we wanted the steak cooked, and they didn't make a very good choice on our behalf. It was dry and overdone and we had to wash it down with plenty of soda. Its side dish was mushy green beans straight out of a can.
We also sampled the Fish and Chips ($8.95), eight ounces of beer-battered and fried Atlantic cod. This probably was the most rewarding dish of the night. The fries were boring, but the fish was very juicy.
The dessert menu offers, once again, little selection. You can choose between the cheesecake ($3.50) and the chocolate cake ($3.50).
The cheesecake was all right, but the texture was too fluffy. We'd recommend you skip it and opt for the chocolate cake instead.
The chocolate cake was enormous, and definitely much better than the cheesecake. Like everything else at the restaurant, though, it wasn't unique or special in any way. You probably could make it at home.
Miller's is a good place to go if you want to kick back, drink and smoke with plenty of time to spare. They have happy hour every weekday from 4-6 p.m.
On several nights each week Miller's features live jazz performances. We recommend that if you decide to visit Miller's, do so on one of these nights.
If you want to go somewhere efficient and unique with good food, you'd better skip this place and go elsewhere ---unless you're just going for a piece of Dave Matthews history.
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