Jul 22

Jul 22 VA Local Eats: Chirios N.Y. Pizza Deli

A Pizza, A Sub, and A Book!

The Virginia Local Eats series is meant to capture some of the best family-friendly, budget-friendly local eateries around the heart of Virginia. Once we’d discovered these places it didn’t feel right to keep them to ourselves, so we are sharing them with you!

Five years ago we found a cute little home and acre of property in Amherst County to buy. We took a look at the place, liked it, and after some finagling and heartbreak we were finally ready to submit an offer for the property. The only problem was that the real estate company that listed the property was located almost 20 miles farther away than the home! Fortunately I owned a motorcycle at the time and it was a beautiful spring day, so I packed my precious papers into the saddlebag and set off for a tiny little town nestled into the Blue Ridge Mountains called Nellysford.

When I say “tiny little town,” I mean like a REALLY tiny town. And yet it sits right next to the entrance of Wintergreen Resort, so the place is packed with tiny restaurants, an interior design firm, a real estate agency, art galleries, wineries, beer breweries, and much more to cater to the resort residents. But one place in particular stands out above the rest, a tiny little pizzeria called Chirios N.Y. Pizza Deli.

Chirios is an unassuming little joint with only about eight or nine tables, but the place left an indelible impression on me. After delivering our financial papers to the aforementioned real estate agency, I swung by Chirios for a slice of some of the best pizza I’d ever had. The food was so good that, after we moved into our new home, I took the whole family out to eat there.

The restaurant is tiny, but still manages to divide into two main spaces. The first is the ordering counter/front dining room, but the back dining room is the intriguing bit. The rear dining room walls are lined with floor to ceiling shelves loaded with books and board games. It’s a free lending library (take a book, leave a book), and the games are free to play as you wait for your food to arrive. A fantastic option for us and our billion children.

The pizza is thin crust and succulent, but Zizi and I personally love the Philly Cheesteak even more. Regardless, the food is all good, and the accommodations for family are excellent too. Not only are there two dining spaces insides, but there is a courtyard space outside too with picnic tables for adults as well as a small table for children.