Any new Asheville, N.C. advice?

It's been four years since the last post on the previous Asheville thread.

We honeymooned there in 2004 and are headed back soon.

I've got Tupelo Honey Cafe on the must list - we missed it last time - and a guy I used to work with who lives nearby recommends The Thirsty Monk.

Open to other suggestions.

 

Asheville Brewing Co., Jack of the Wood, French Broad

 

12Bones. If you go for lunch, get there early. Real early.

Saw this recently, http://patspints.com/2014/06/10/hitting-the-asheville-ale-trail-part-1-wicked-weed-brewing/ it made me want to hit this place up. He visited, I think, four other joints, too.

 

Agree with him on Wicked Weed, where you could easily spend an afternoon and evening. Wedge is about a mile out of downtown, down in one of those riverfront industrial districts where they stick starving artists and call it regeneration, but it's got a nice vibe. Hit it on a sunny day, since you'll want to be outside.

Asheville Brewery has its own food, mostly pizza. I also liked Hi-Wire, which is next to an old garage in what basically amounts to a warehouse. Boiling hot, but the guy gave me a free mispour, so that won my affection.

Tupelo Honey was very good, but get there early or bring a newspaper and be ready to wait through a couple cups of coffee, at least on a Sunday. I didn't *need* the goat cheese grits with the sweet potato pancake ... but I was glad I did, and I damn sure didn't need lunch that day. Early Girl, likewise, was a fine breakfast. Sunny Point Cafe was another breakfast joint -- that's out of downtown, so you'll need the car.

And yeah, I ate a lot of good breakfasts. Decided early on that a big 10 a.m. breakfast was enough to see me through to dinner.

 

Good call on Sunny Point Cafe. Ate dinner there the last time I was in town for work. Fried green tomato appetizer was incredible, as were the shrimp and grits for dinner. Big flecks of crispy bacon mixed into the grits. Heaven.

 

OK, the food scene seems to be covered. Make sure you work in some time to hang out in the downtown area where they have the impromptu percussion jams. Among the best free entertainment I've ever seen.

 

Thirsty Monk is great. Go downstairs for a really good atmosphere. I thought Tupelo Honey was overrated. La Bouchon for a nice, quiet meal. Ashley's lobster ravioli was amazing. I had clams.

And you could spend two days there just on breweries. Highland is the best, IMO.

 

White Duck Taco Shop over in the art district is quite good.

 

Funny thing, our waitress in Nashville tonight (at Tin Angel) used to live in Asheville - recommended Bouchon and Tupelo Honey.

 

I really liked Tupelo Honey. Rezaz was one of my favorites, both for dinner or the lighter bar menu. It's in Biltmore Village. 12 Bones is a great suggestion and do get their early.

It's not far on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mount Mitchell - highest peak east of Mississippi. There's an easy short trail, I think just short of the top. If you go the other way on the Parkway it's not far to Mt Pisgah. There is a restaurant there with OK food and great views. I just liked driving on the Parkway.

 

12 Bones BBQ ...

 

We thought Tupelo Honey was just OK. They had good biscuits, but I thought that was about it. Neither memorable, nor worth the wait.

I think it was Cucina 24, a little boutique Italian place on Wall Street, where we had charred octopus. I had a milk braised roast and Mrs. t_b_f had some bacon-wrapped scallops with pan fried corn. Decent, but not as good as Bouchon, for sure.

Barley's Taproom was great pizza and local beer. Beware of hipsters. Good food and great beer, though. You'd dig it.

And any chance to see where Crash Davis hit his dinger and hung 'em up is worth the opportunity. McCormick Field is a fun place and is the only Single-A park with in-seat food service I've seen.