Judy Kaplan’s borscht

“The story goes that borscht actually means beet soup, and some people make it hot or cold, some add cabbage and others add meat. You can buy the cold variety in any grocery store — it’s made by Manischewitz and is a good hot-summer-day dish served with a dollop of sour cream. My recipe is […]

The Gospel According to Jerry

Where the hell are all these “bad” teachers that our governor and Republican legislators want to purge from our city and county schools? Are we talking about those idealistic souls who finally got their first teaching job in Asheville, Buncombe or elsewhere in N.C. at the munificent starting pay of $30,800?

Smart Bets: Catherine Reid

Local author Catherine Reid, a literary nature writer, is the director of Warren Wilson College’s undergraduate creative writing program. Her essays, stories and poems have appeared in a number of literary reviews, and she recently published Falling Into Place: An Intimate Geography of Home. “Reid writes on issues like environmental degradation, same-sex marriage, and war […]

Developmen­t laws need to be enforced

Thank you, David Forbes, for the well-written account of the repeated run-off violations from Beverly-Grant’s strip-mall development on Merrimon Avenue (“Muddy Waters,” Jan. 29, Xpress ).  As much as I respect Shannon Tuch, director of Asheville’s development services, I must strongly disagree with her statement that Beverly-Grant is “really trying” [to keep its pollution on-site]. […]

What the fork?

Jamie Fedele hates Yelp. Not because of any bad reviews he’s suffered, just the overall concept. Fedele moved to Asheville in December, and his new Web project, Lucky Fork, aims to make sites like Urbanspoon and Yelp a thing of the past.

Hoping for more mobility

I feel bad for Louise Harrison, the reader who responded [”Thankful for Mountain Mobility,” Feb. 5, Xpress] to my letter about the shortcomings of Mountain Mobility, [”Mountain Mobility Can Do More,” Jan. 28, Xpress]. Again, I am grateful for their transport to my many doctor appointments and to food shopping. If Ms. Harrison had a […]

Smart Bets: Rachel Brooke

“Take everything you think you know about country music and throw it out the window,” wrote one reviewer. “That pop rock crap y’all call country is nothing compared to what Rachel Brooke is laying down.” Based in northern Michigan, Brooke grew up with bluegrass fans for parents. Meanwhile, she played in a punk band. Somehow […]

State of the Arts

Apothecary closed and moved out of the YMI Cultural Center last November. But that closure didn’t spell the end for the experimental arts and music collective. Rather, it presented an opportunity for unrestricted transition. The group’s current incarnation is on view at the Asheville Area Arts Council. In Public is an exhibition of interdisciplinary, avant-garde […]