Scully’s: Paige Scully was among the many Asheville residents frustrated by not having “a great burger place downtown,” but one of the few to do something about it. She recently overhauled the menu at her namesake bar and grill with an eye toward becoming that very place. Scully’s now features 10 burger options, including burgers made from turkey, crab, shrimp and bison.
“My favorite is the hemp-nut burger with goat cheese, avocado and sprouts,” Scully says. “It’s delicious.”
The new menu also includes classic beef burger preparations, such as mushroom Swiss and cordon bleu, as well as pita wraps, homemade soups and the same steak the downtown restaurant has always served.
“We were going to take the steak off, but people really wanted it,” Scully says. “Don’t panic, we’ve got the steak. Our menu that was there is still there, but we focused it.”
Working with her manager and kitchen crew, Scully also tweaked the menu to incorporate more local foods and hormone-free, antibiotic-free meats and cheeses.
“It’s food with a conscience, I guess,” Scully says. “I haven’t really figured out what to call it.”
Scully’s kitchen is open every day from noon till 1 a.m. To learn more, call 251-8880.
Tailgate Markets: Grab your recycled cloth tote: the region’s tailgate markets are opening for another season. While opening dates vary for Western North Carolina’s 40 markets (find the complete list at www.buyappalachian.org), two central Asheville markets—the North Asheville Tailgate Market and Asheville’s City Market—will be back in business come Saturday, Apr. 18. The City Market plans to celebrate with live music and cooking demonstrations at 10 and 11 a.m. Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project spokeswoman Rose McLarney says shoppers should expect to see “asparagus, peas, spinach, lettuce, kale, bok choy, arugula, onions, mushrooms and radishes” for sale on opening day.
Rollin’ Stone Pizza Co.: Pizza delivery has been a fixture of the American food scene for decades, but pizza oven delivery remains a fairly newfangled concept. The mobile pizza oven, which has lately caught on out West, has just recently arrived in Western North Carolina (check out the Xpress’ 2008 review of Giardini in Polk County), with a pair of Black Mountain-based entrepreneurs pushing the notion close to home.
“What we’ve got is the region’s only portable, wood-fired pizza oven,” says Rollin’ Stone Pizza Co.‘s catering director Sam Earnhardt. “It’s fast, fresh and the best pizza you’ve ever had.”
While Rollin’ Stone is currently a catering-only operation, Earnhardt predicts he and executive chef Jon Stephenson will soon expand to delivery and takeout services in Black Mountain.
“Jon is a really good chef, and the only reason I’m going into this business is it makes all the pizza joints around look like Tinkertoys,” says Earnhardt, who’s transitioned from booking bands to booking the oven. “I know that’s a used-car-salesman term, but it’s true.”
Rollin’ Stone pizzas are made with organic flour, fresh meats and six different kinds of cheeses, Earnhardt adds.
The oven will roll into Pisgah Brewing Company most Friday evenings this spring and summer. For more information, call 273-1936.
French Broad Chocolate Lounge: There’s really no good reason to not eat chocolate at French Broad Chocolate Lounge, but the downtown chocolatier has thoughtfully assembled a savory plate for abstainers: According to an e-mail from co-owner Dan Rattigan, the lounge’s menu now includes a plate of four local cheeses, handmade semolina crackers, Theros olive oil, organic pistachios and chutney made from Hendersonville apples.
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