Asheville trip report (long)

[Low Country Jon]

I'm just now getting around to writing about my Asheville vacation, which ended about a week ago. We were lucky enough to rent a cabin on one of the mountains near downtown Asheville, so we were able to explore the downtown dining scene in a little more depth than before. Though my hometown of Charleston has one of the best food scenes in the South, and perhaps the country, I can't help but view some aspects of Asheville's scene with a little envy, make that envy mixed with pride--after all, though I'm a Charlestonian by choice, I am and always will be a Tarheel boy at heart.

First and foremost, there is a wonderful symbiosis between restaurants and local food producers in the Asheville area that far exceeds what you encounter in Charleston, though Chucktown has made great strides in that area recently. Nearly every restaurant we visited on our trip featured local ingredients to one degree or another. We didn't really have a bad meal the whole time so I'll break down our experiences by "Winners" and "Honorable Mentions."

Winners:

The Market Place: I can't say enough our meal here. In business for 25 years, this place was pushing locavorism long before the term was even coined. It seems they've incorporated their Bar 100 menu concept into their regular dinner menu with highlighted items (about half the menu actually) made exclusively from ingredients sourced within 100 miles. With the exception of dessert, everything my wife, my parents, and I ordered was from the 100-mile menu. I started with the butternut squash soup with country ham and sage oil, and it was one of the tastiest squash soups I've ever had. My entree was the grilled pork chop with squash puree, apples, shallots, and sherry reduction. I thought it strange they didn't ask me how I wanted the chop cooked, but it arrived in perfect shape--light pink in the center, juicy on the inside, with a nice char on the outside. Given my sweet tooth, the puree, apples, and sherry reduction were right in my wheelhouse. Not to sound redundant, but this was one of the best pork chops I've ever had. My wife had the Sunburst Farms trout fillet fried to a light crisp and accompanied by collards, a polenta cake, and lemon butter. Would I sound like a broken record, if I said this was the best version of trout I've tried yet? Okay, I won't say it. Dessert was good, though maybe not quite as good as what came before. I had the souffle of the night, which was candy apple, and while I had no trouble finishing it, it had a bit more "eggy" flavor than I'm used to with souffles. Yes, I know it's made from egg whites, but if fish can taste too fishy then I guess a souffle can taste too eggy. My wife had the chocolate cherry bread pudding, which, you guessed it, she said was the best bread pudding she'd ever had (she doesn't normally like bread pudding but it was the only chocolate dessert on the menu). Apart from the food, we were surprised by how large, and modern, a space the Market Place occupied, yet it was quite quiet, the way we like it. They also heat all their water using solar energy by the way.

Zambra: This place blew us away last year, and if anything they were even better this year. Maybe it was because we got to sample more dishes this time around, as my parents joined us for this meal as well. Also, we knew enough to request a table in the back room so we avoided the din and bustle of the main dining room. Standout items (all tapas-size) included the East Fork Farm lamb tacos, braised veal cheek potstickers, and shrimp and butternut squash croquettes. We also tried their excellent trout, the gnocchi with veggies and goat cheese, and the Hickory Nut Gap Farm beef brisket with sun choke puree, grilled pears, and honey. I thought the brisket was delicious though slightly "undercooked," as in not falling apart tender the way I normally expect brisket to be. We skipped dessert as we had picked up some pastries at Well Bred Bakery in Weaverville earlier in the day. Which brings us to our next winner.

Well Bred Bakery: In the interest of full disclosure, the owner of this place also owns the cabin we rented and, as a result, we had a nice gift certificate at our disposal. All that being said, it's ridiculous that a town this small has a bakery this good. We picked up a huge "mountain-size" eclair, an espresso roulade, and a pecan honey bar. In addition, we had three huge cookies from the bakery left at our cabin as a welcome gift. All were great. My mom raved about the eclair, which went the cream filling route rather than the custard, and my wife thought the roulade, layers of flourless chocolate cake alternating with layers of espresso flavored cream, was even better. This bakery definitely has a way with sweets and especially creams. The cookies, by the way, managed that rare trick of being both crispy and chewy. The toffee one was especially crave worthy.

French Broad Taqueria: Backtracking a bit, we hit French Broad Taqueria in Marshal before we hit Well Bred Bakery. Again, how did a town this small end up with a place like this? The tacos were right on the money, walking a fine line between the traditional and the modern, with a focus on local ingredients throughout. I tried the Sunburst Farms trout taco with lemon aioli and pickled jalapenos, the Farside Farms carnitas taco with cilantro, onions, and guajillo salsa, the carne asada taco with poblano, onion, cilantro, and lime, and the taco of the day, an al pastor pork taco with pineapple and tomato. The al pastor and trout tacos were my favorite, and I quickly found myself becoming a big fan of Sunburst Trout Farm. BTW, we ate outside here since we brought our greyhound along for the ride. On a nice day (though this one wasn't), this is a good option as the inside seating is very limited. I shared a Mexican hot chocolate to go with my wife on the drive back--very tasty and a nice way to ease any lingering burn from the tacos.

Asheville City Market: This is a great farmer's market held at the Public Works building parking lot on Saturday mornings. It's a manageable size with a diverse range of vendors. It was gratifying to see so many of the producers whose products we sampled at restaurants--Sunburst Trout Farm, Hickory Nut Gap Farm, East Fork Farm, etc.--selling their food to the public. I had a great talk with the ladies at the Sunburst stand and sampled their hot smoked trout (some of which I bought), trout jerky, and trout sausage (all delicious). I also discussed their cold smoking method and felt reassured that the FDA had reviewed and approved their process, which takes the fish from harvest to brining in a very short period of time (like an hour I think). From reading I've done, I've become wary about how some cold smoked fish is processed, but I wouldn't hesitate to try theirs. I also learned that they will give tours of their farm if contacted in advance, so we plan to do that sometime in the future. This place just produces a great product and you see it everywhere around Asheville for a reason. In addition to the trout, I also scored a beautiful butternut squash and some nice peppers (chocolate and pimento) from the Firefly Farms stand. All the vendors we spoke with were really amiable and it made for a very pleasant shopping experience.

Coston Farm and Apple House: On the way out of town, we stocked up on apples at Coston's in Hendersonville. This place came through for us last year when the apple crop was scarce due to the Easter freeze, so we drove the extra distance up Chimney Rock Highway from 26 to give them our business again. They probably had 15 or 20 varieties for sale, all from the farm. We bought about 3 pecks, including Honeycrisps, Mutsus, Fujis, Winesaps, Hoovers, Arkansas Blacks, Jonagolds, and King Luscious.

Honorable mentions:

Filo: If we'd had more time to spend on this place, I believe it would have fallen in our "winner" category. As it was, we only got to grab pastries to go on our way in to town. I wish we could have sampled their loose leaf teas, but next time for sure. This bakery, tea, and coffee house is housed in a beautiful old stone building (former American Legion hut?) out on Tunnel Road near the Blue Ridge Parkway. We tried their almond croissant, pain au chocolate, and baklava. All were good, but the pain au chocolate was a knockout, very flakey and rich. I'm not a big baklava fan, but this was maybe the best I've had, heavy on the nut mixture and with delicate filo layers. The almond croissant was tasty, but somewhat puzzling. It was more crumby than flakey and the almond flavor was baked in--there was none of the almond paste inside that I expected. This is another thing I love about Asheville--there seems to be no end of good bakeries.

True Confections: We stopped at this Grove Arcade shop on a whim and took home a piece of sour cream chocolate cake and a maple pecan scone. Both were pretty good, the scone maybe better than pretty good, but by this point we were somewhat spoiled by our Well Bred Bakery experiences. We stopped here after lunch at . . .

Chorizo: We had Saturday brunch here after Tupelo Honey stopped seating early (they had a waiting list so I guess we can forgive them). We ate outside again as our greyhound was with us. Many, many people stopped to admire our dog--Asheville is certainly a dog-friendly place. We started with an appetizer of fried sweet plantains with Honduran butter, which reminds me of both butter and creme fraiche somehow. I love sweet plantains and these were no exceptions. For our entrees, we both had Basque crepes (more of a tortilla than a French crepe). Mine was a Cuban with smoked ham, pork, and cheese. My wife had a steak and potato combo. Both were accompanied by a garden fresh relish/garnish on top, cold pureed sweet potatoes, and a tomatillo salsa. Hector's fingerprints were all over these plates (no, not literally), especially the accompaniments. Depending on your point of view, these flavor combinations seem big and bold or completely at odds with each other. I'm probably one of those rare people who finds himself somewhere in the middle. Such was also my feeling when I visited Salsa's a few years ago. It's true though that as I ate my meal at Chorizo, I couldn't help but long for the simpler approach employed by the folks at French Broad Taqueria.

Noodle Shop: Again, I suspect this place might become a favorite if I had the luxury of repeat visits. We ate outside with the dog on the first day of our visit during very nice weather. I tried the Mongolian Beef, based on a rec from She Who Eats - http://shewhoeats.wordpress.com/2007/... -and my wife had the Pad Thai. Though some might consider these to be run of the mill selections, the flavors really popped in ways that were unfamiliar. Definitely not your normal Mongolian Beef or Pad Thai. The fried banana dessert was a bit of a miss for me, mostly because the accompanying white sauce tasted of mayonnaise. My dad loves banana and mayo sandwiches, but that combo has never worked for me. We liked that they served hot tea in little pots, but regrettably, the tea was bag not loose leaf.

Luella's BBQ: We hit this place going into town then ate the take-out up on the Parkway. This 'cue was pretty good for being this far west in the state. I had the pulled pork and chopped brisket along with sweet potato fries, Brunswick stew, and hushpuppies. Though lightly sauced, they also give you sauce on the side, either a V&P sauce or a Memphis sauce (too thick to be considered a Lexington dip really). I used the V&P on the pulled pork and the Memphis sauce on the brisket. The pork was good, though I think the sauce was a bit too strong, which often seems to be the case when it's added after the fact. The brisket was the real standout in my opinion, never had it chopped before, and the Brunswick stew was decent, too.

Well, that's it, I think. All in all, we had a great four days of Asheville eating. Can't wait for the next visit!

[Jeff C.]

A most excellent report, Jon, and a pleasure to read as always.

Here are some other hidden and not-so-hidden local gems to consider on your next visit to WNC...

1. homemade ice cream at Ultimate Ice Cream (Asheville)
2. scones and other baked goods at Flat Rock Village Bakery (Flat Rock, natch)
3. thin crust pizza and house made pasta at West First Wood-Fired Pizza (Hendersonville)
4. pupusas appetizer at Tomato Cuchina Latina (Asheville)
5. tortas and/or tacos at Papa's & Beer (in Hendersonville and Asheville, but Asheville location is better)
6. blueberry-chipolte ribs and corn pudding at 12 Bones (Asheville)
7. Pad Thai or Thai Red Curry at Doc Chey's (Asheville)
8. pumpkin pancakes at Tupelo Honey (Asheville)
9. hemp seed burger at The Laughing Seed (Asheville)
10. duck breast at 28806 (West Asheville; will soon relocate to Lexington Ave. downtown)
11. any beers from Pisgah Brewing (available at several restaurants around Asheville and at Greenlife Grocery on Merrimon Ave.)
12. handmade truffles from The Chocolate Fetish (Asheville)
13. churros and Mexican hot chocolate at Limones (Asheville)
14. "rasta pasta" at Nine Mile (Montford neighborhood, Asheville)
15. jerk chicken with rice and peas at One Love (Asheville and Hendersonville)
16. granny's homemade pies at Picnics (Asheville)

Alright, gang. What have I missed?

[miss piggy]

Thanks for the report...so glad you had so many great experiences! I have got to try Marketplace...

Jeff, I know you are a fan of Doc Chey's and I have been too for quite some time now, esp for a quick take-out order (and tons of leftovers), but the last two times I've gotten it (including one just last weekend) both my dish and my husband's has been practically inedible due to all the grease. I have loved the Thai Curry in the past but last time all the veggies (esp the eggplant) were completely soaked in oil. I tried the Tomato Ginger last week for the first time and it too was offensively oily. Anyone else had this experience here lately? On that note, I'll be trying Noodle Shop next. Haven't had that yet.

[Jeff C.]

Hmmm... I have never had the experience you describe at Doc Chey's. Have you been eating lunch there by chance? I ask because I've never had anything but dinner, and sometimes places have different kitchen crews.

That's the only thing I can think of (besides individual taste, of course) to account for what you describe.

[danna]

Thanks so much for posting all that detail. I stood outside Zambra drooling over the specials menu this Saturday (oh , how I wish they would open for lunch again). And Well Bred, I agree with as well...their toffee is wonderful...I bet they use that for the toffee in their cookies. And, oh yeah, any mention of the City Market starts me drooling.

Glad you enjoyed (oh...too bad you weren't there this weekend w/ your greyhound...dogs in Halloween costumes took over the city!

[pilches]

I just have to say I love Asheville. What a special place it is. We have a place in Maggie Valley and don't get to spend as much time in Asheville as I'd like, but on our last trip we got into town more than usual and got to try a few new places (new to us). We did return to Sunny Point which we always enjoy. I wish we had them here in So. Florida. We also returned to Rezza's which we really like and doesn't usually get too much attention on this board.

The "new" places we tried were Zambra's, which blew me away. Like being in Spain and the food was wonderful. The braised veal cheeks were melt-in-your mouth fabulous. I was only sorry that it was just the two of us. We will definitely return with more people so we can try more dishes. Also a very nice wine list.

We went to Cucina 24 for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it. The restaurant itself is very nice. We shared an arugala salad which was good, but the pork panini and the lamb sausage and broccoli rabe pizza were delicious. Maybe next trip we'll make it for dinner.

Finally got to 12 Bones and did take-out to bring back home for dinner. That place was mobbed and I can see why. Definitely lived up to the hype. The ribs were wonderful as were the beans and the mashed sweet potatoes. Even the cole slaw and cucumber salad were different and interesting (in a good way). The only thing we didn't love was the cornbread.

Our last lunch was at Table. The menu was small and our server didn't bother to tell us about the specials (which we discovered when another table got their food and had items that looked good and weren't on the menu). The food was good, but with so many other amazing choices, I'm not sure I'll ever make it back there.

All in all we had a great time and really do love visiting your wonderful town. Looking forward to returning in December!

[leahinsc]

wonderful - you hit many of my favorites...and Jeff mentioned the rest.