Small Bites: The toast — and taste — of Asheville

Asheville Independent Restaurants recently announced details of this year’s Taste of Asheville, the group’s biggest fundraising event at The Venue, 21 North Market St. in downtown Asheville. Taste will be held on Thursday Nov. 17, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. The Venue is a perfect setting for the event, with enough elbow room to accommodate the crowds that attend Taste each year. Last year, more than 450 people lined up on the Market Street sidewalks to get in — and food and wine flowed throughout the evening.

This year, nearly 40 restaurants will offer their food along with wine tastings from local distributors and beer from our growing local brewery scene.

Participating restaurants include: Avenue M, Blue Ridge Dining Room, Blue Water Seafood, Boca, Bouchon, Chai Pani, Chef Mo’s, Chelsea’s Tea Room, City Bakery, Corner Kitchen, Crêperie Bouchon, Cúrate Tapas Bar, Dining Innovations, Fiore’s Ristorante Toscana, Frankie Bones, French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Green Sage, HomeGrown, Horizons, Jack of Hearts, Jack of the Wood, Laughing Seed, Lexington Avenue Brewery, The Lobster Trap, Luella’s Bar-B-Que, Mamacita’s, The Market Place, Mela, Neo Cantina, Olive or Twist, Pack’s Tavern, Pomodoros, The Sunset Terrace, Tupelo Honey Café, Ultimate Ice Cream Company, Vincenzo’s and Vinnie’s Neighborhood Italian.

A portion of the proceeds from the evening will benefit AIR’s “Chefs of Tomorrow” scholarship, which supports future chefs in A-B Tech’s acclaimed culinary program. Tickets for Taste are $70 a piece, or $125 for a pair, and are now on sale. For details and more information, visit AIR’s website at http://www.airasheville.org or call 338-9839.