The Real White Spot

In May 2005, I was contacted by a Mr. Henry Mitchell of Chatham, VA, whose wife Patricia had just finished a short article on the White Spot for their dining guide of Charlottesville. During their research, they came across the White Spot (North) and were intrigued by my fascination with this little diner. After several e-mail exchanges, they asked if they could include my retrospective in their guide, which of course I was delighted to agree to. Please stop by and read my fuzzy memories when you get a chance.

Robert Henry, Nat Pritchett, and John Taylor

What can I say? This is the culinary mecca of Charlottesville, and it's no coincidence that it's right across the street from the UVa hospital. My buddies and I spent a lot of time in this place during college, many times after a night of serious partying.

All of these pictures are courtesy of John Mayo.
This is the actual white spot inside the White Spot diner. The place used to be a barber shop and this is where one of the chairs was removed (or at least, that's the legend).	This is a shot of me and Nathaniel Bacon Pritchett, better known as "Nat", after whom all of my personal computers have been named. Nat went to jail for something he didn't do -- he didn't pay his alimony! Get it? Anyway, jail was where he learned how to make sausage gravy so he was always OK by me.
Nat scoops out a plateful of sausage gravy ...	... and we lap it up.
Here is the centerpiece of the Spot, the grill. One night my buddy Jack Mayo and I stumbled in around 2:00 AM and actually made our Gusburgers (cheeseburgers with a fried egg on top) ourselves because Fred Wood didn't feel like making them.	This is a picture of hash browns being made. I once asked Nat why he used paprika, a very subtle spice, on potatoes, and he answered, "to make them red."
This is the price scoreboard in the Spot. At the bottom left is a sign that says, "No Credit Ta Any Time." It's hard to believe: Nat can't spell "at" properly.	Carl Knospe, me, and Alan Weiss in front of the Spot.
The White Spot bunch at Gabrielle Wohlford's first birthday party, Summer 1997: Paul and Spence Boyer, Andy Rutherford, Mike Sowick, Mary McLean, Jim Wohlford, Jeff McLean, yours truly, John "Jack" Mayo, and Alan and Max Weiss.