I admit, concede and confess that it is really, really unfair to judge a restaurant based on its performance during a giant downtown festival that brings a couple of hundred thousand people right outside and keeps the wait staff and kitchen working overtime, all the time. However, the northern Alabama-styled white sauce at Ed Boudreaux’s Bayou BBQ on Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville is really, really terrible. It’s the worst, the pits, the lousiest, and I was so looking forward to it that I am aggravated enough to mention it first and foremost. Continue reading “Ed Boudreaux’s Bayou BBQ, Asheville NC (CLOSED)”
Category: asheville
Krispy Kreme’s Cheerwine doughnuts
Word had filtered down the pipeline that Krispy Kreme, purveyor of thousand-calorie snacks, had teamed up with that other North Carolina institution, Cheerwine, for a special month-long treat at their Carolina stores. Faster than anybody was able to connect to the internet five years ago, I already had the location of a Krispy Kreme store in Asheville pulled up on Google Maps and was phoning them to confirm that store was participating in this promotion. Several people in our circle of friends found the news and forwarded it my way. “I heard about that,” I wrote a half-dozen times, anticipation rising. “I can’t wait ’til we go to Asheville.” It got to the point that I was looking forward to a damn doughnut almost as much as the rest of our vacation. Continue reading “Krispy Kreme’s Cheerwine doughnuts”
Early Girl Eatery, Asheville NC
Last Sunday morning, we finally came to the end of our trip in Asheville, and had time for one last meal before checking out. Prior to our first visit in 2009, Marie had read about Early Girl Eatery, and heard it suggested as a reasonable alternate should Tupelo Honey Cafe be too packed. That’s really no way for a restaurant to get a reputation, and I didn’t think it was fair then. Having enjoyed one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in months here, I’m certainly opposed to thinking of it that way. Continue reading “Early Girl Eatery, Asheville NC”
Moose Cafe, Asheville NC
For our Saturday evening supper in Asheville, I turned to the regulars at roadfood.com for a little help. I knew that we wanted either barbecue or a classic southern meal, but also that the former was going to be a little difficult. Here’s one more teeny thing on the “con” list about the city: if there are any proper eastern North Carolina barbecue restaurants anywhere near Asheville, they have yet to make themselves known to us. Continue reading “Moose Cafe, Asheville NC”
The Soda Fountain at Woolworth Walk, Asheville NC
Years ago, there was a chain of five-and-dime stores called Woolworth’s. Younger readers may not remember them, but they sold disposable, usless tat for low prices, and, in the days before fast food chains, were also a destination for shoppers who’d take a lunch break at what we now call an “old-fashioned” soda counter. They’d serve up quickie sandwiches and ice cream treats and maybe some of them would offer chili or roast beef or Salisbury steak. Hot meals were generally left to the larger, full-service diners of the 1940s and 1950s, with lunch counters their smaller brothers, but apparently some of them branched out a little. Continue reading “The Soda Fountain at Woolworth Walk, Asheville NC”
The Chocolate Fetish, Asheville NC
This is Marie, whose usual contribution to the blog is to order something my husband didn’t so he can get menu envy, or to describe some experiment that made it to the dinner table and turned out well. This time the reason I am departing from tradition (and so soon after last time!) is to discuss a subject very dear to my heart: chocolate. Specifically, a wonderful little Asheville, NC business called The Chocolate Fetish. Continue reading “The Chocolate Fetish, Asheville NC”
Tupelo Honey Cafe, Asheville NC
This weekend, Marie and I finally got to try the Tupelo Honey Cafe. This took long enough; it has been eluding us for almost a year. Well, that’s not true; it eluded us about eleven months ago and we haven’t been back to town since, but it was absolutely worth the wait. Continue reading “Tupelo Honey Cafe, Asheville NC”
Marie, Let's Eat! 