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Asheville, NC

joler

By joler
in Southeast: Dining

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joler

joler

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Turns out I'm spending Labor Day weekend in Asheville, NC with some friends from out of town. What's the latest on the dining scene there. We will be looking for somewhere with really good food, and a hip, fun atmosphere (maybe I should clarify "hip as in enjoyable for over 40 crowd - but we're a YOUNG over 40 crowd) :wink:

Seems somebody mentioned a place called Salsa downtown? Anyone know anything about that? Don't want anything too fancy - we'll be hiking all day and probably want to be very casual.

Thanks for your expertise!

"Never eat more than you can lift" -- Miss Piggy

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2shoes

2shoes

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We too are around that age and we found lots of cute retaurants downtown. It is worth just walking some more and explore for yourselves. I can't remember the names of the places we ate last year but they were crowded. That I do remember. So make your exploration early. They do have a visitors center. Lots of veggie options and kids with drums.

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Alex

Alex

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Check out this. And this. And this.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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joler

joler

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Check out this. And this. And this.

I was hoping for some more suggestions based on personal experience, not merely a listing of restaurants. :sad:

The Bridgestreet Cafe looks cute, but it is 32 miles from Asheville and I doubt we will want to drive that far seeing as we will have been hiking all day. :wacko:

"Never eat more than you can lift" -- Miss Piggy

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Alex

Alex

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Check out this. And this. And this.

I was hoping for some more suggestions based on personal experience, not merely a listing of restaurants. :sad:

The Bridgestreet Cafe looks cute, but it is 32 miles from Asheville and I doubt we will want to drive that far seeing as we will have been hiking all day. :wacko:

Oops. Sorry.

I've enjoyed Bistro 1896. It's downtown right on Pack Square.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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  • 2 weeks later...
cookperrync

cookperrync

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Hip is hard to come by in Asheville. Salsa's can be fun, if not a bit crowded. The food there is good - however I find the flavors to be bit repititious. Another restaurant owned by the same man, Hector Diaz, is Zambra. It is a nice space - hip by Asheville standards. The food can be quite good - fresh and interesting - a bit of Spanish, Morrocan, and Mideast - served in tapas style. Service is slow, and not particularily knowledgeable. The newest hot spot in town is Rezaz's. It is a pan mediterranean restaurant, with a great interior. Service is spotty, but food and wine prices are excellant. The food can be quite good and satisfying, but also does not always live up to the menu descriptions. If you want something quick and downtown go to Doc Chey's. It is a semi-chain (branches in Atlanta) with pseudo-asian style food. Good for what it is, lots of it, and cheap. Sunday afternoon at Jack of the Woods is great. The have pub grub - with some vegtarian options - and a live celtic music jam. A great crowd (10-90), and a good place to drink a pint of their house brewed ales.

My two cents,

Perry

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joler

joler

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Thanks for the suggestions! I did not get your post before leaving, but we did end up at Doc Chey's on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed it. The cabbage wraps were my favorite. mmm. I could eat Asian every day - I wish they'd open one of those here in Greensboro.

We talked about Zambra but never made it in...however, we did have dinner at Cafe Soliel on Friday and it was great also. A French creperie with lots of Spanish influence - they've only been open 6 weeks, so they have a few kinks in service to work out, but it was great atmosphere and the food was delicious.

In case anyone is interested...Tressa's was great for cocktails and New Orleans Jazz.

It was a really fun weekend. :smile:

"Never eat more than you can lift" -- Miss Piggy

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joler

joler

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If you are planning on a picnic, stop in at Laurey's which is on Biltmore Avenue - she does some nice gourmet-to-go.

Asheville really has some great restaurants - I can't wait to go back and explore some more!

"Never eat more than you can lift" -- Miss Piggy

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joler

joler

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Oh, I forgot to mention, you should also stop in at "Compliments to the Chef". It is this great cookware/tableware shop on Merrimon Ave. (Biltmore Avenue is Henderson Rd/Biltmore Ave/Merrimon Ave.) it's in a large house and every nook is filled with gadgets, cookbooks, table linens, china, etc. I always spend at least an hour in there! (and lots of dinero) :blink:

"Never eat more than you can lift" -- Miss Piggy

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Varmint

Varmint

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And, of course, if you're ever in the mood for upscale dining in Asheville, be sure to check out Gabrielle's at the Richmond Hill Inn. Our user cookperrync is the chef there, and he is doing great things in his kitchen. He's developed super ties with local organic farmers and food producers in the mountains, so be sure to check them out. Just ignore the fact that they have a "Pianist-In-Residence." Ugh.

http://www.richmondhillinn.com/dining.html

Dean McCord

VarmintBites

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peechdogg

peechdogg

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And, of course, if you're ever in the mood for upscale dining in Asheville, be sure to check out Gabrielle's at the Richmond Hill Inn.  Our user cookperrync is the chef there, and he is doing great things in his kitchen.  He's developed super ties with local organic farmers and food producers in the mountains, so be sure to check them out.  Just ignore the fact that they have a "Pianist-In-Residence."  Ugh.

http://www.richmondhillinn.com/dining.html

i'll second that opinion of Gabrielle's. we had a really nice time there last summer, and it's consistently been reviewed with positive feedback numberous times over the last several years.

one place i would avoid is the Grove Park Inn; while the physical environment is wonderful, i think the place is way over-priced. good food can be had there, but i would suggest going there for lunch and a round of golf; spend your big $$ for dinner at Gabrielle's.

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