Eating Across Asheville

All that I knew about Asheville was the Biltmore House and that the town has become quite popular in recent years.  I wanted to learn more, and it was just 30 miles from the Swag.  We drove the long route – picking up the Blue Ridge Parkway which is a great idea in the fall when the trees are full of color.   We decided to skip the Biltmore, but headed to the Grove Park Inn to get a touch of the origins of Asheville.  Sitting on the rock-built back porch sipping wine and viewing the Smoky Mountains was a nice introduction to the area.



Grove Park Inn



The Turk checks out the fireplace at Grove Park Inn



 

Our B&B wasn’t far from there, in the Montford historical area. This was really close to downtown and had its own charm with large old homes and beautiful trees.  Our B&B was historical, and without ghosts which some would consider a plus.  Seems ghosts are a feature at many Asheville B&Bs.



Our B&B



Flat iron for the flat iron district

I hadn’t realized that Asheville was such a great food town. I needed more stomachs to stay longer!  One chocolate restaurant specializes in sipping and hot chocolates.  I tried their drink based on that of the Aztecs who invented hot chocolate.  It was not sweet, but a rich dark chocolate with a touch of jalapeno chili, cinnamon and anise…really interesting and filling.  There was a potato chip shop where you ordered your hand made chips with different toppings.   From feta cheese, truffle oil and basil on potato chips to a chocolate dip for plantains.  The Turk loved 12 Bones, a BBQ restaurant in the old style with the selection of sides that includes collard greens, corn pudding, cheese grits and smoked potato salad. But Asheville puts their unique flair to everything, so there were Bison ribs in addition to pig. 



River Arts District warehouse/studio



We discovered an interesting converted warehouse district that is now the River Arts District.  The warehouses are now active studios for artists and anyone is welcome to wander through to visit the artists at work.  We got to see some interesting art, ceramics and fiber works and the artists were happy to talk with us. 



Creative fence



wall art



Asheville reminds me of San Francisco with its focus on food, but also its focus on the avante garde. Think the Haight area where people are living in the 60’s.  The clothing and protests were spot on.  I did enjoy the mix of ages at places like the Green Man pub where Sunday night was an Irish music jam. Young and old, local and visitor all gathered and enjoyed local brews and really delicious pub food – of course.

the Turk and his flight of brews



The Turk’s theme for Asheville was beer. There are quite a few breweries in the area and he wanted to try some out.  Its great to have a theme when you go somewhere and we had an excuse to taste lots of beers.  Then the Turk found Bruisin’ Ales  where he could choose from 900 beers with a focus on Belgium beers.  Happy Turk.

Judy is enjoying her birthday

Our last vacation stop was Atlanta to celebrate Judy’s birthday. Another excuse to stop at Trader Joe’s! Great wine, amazing BBQ by the BBQ gurus: Dave and the Turk, and Trader Joe’s carrot cake. The evening was full of stories, Farragamo’s, and testing out boots.

Then back to Florida.