Philly’s: Buncombe County’s only quasi-Hungarian restaurant—Philly’s, a Black Mountain sub joint with a few choice Hungarian items on offer—is expanding its menu. The restaurant (pictured here), which opened in February, is adding new sandwiches, kids’ meals and a soup of the day to its lineup.
Philly’s manager Jesse Hardy predicts that owner Andre Pasztor’s Hungarian heritage will surface in some of the planned daily specials: “These recipes go back to when he was a child,” Hardy says. The current menu includes house-made goulash, Hungarian cucumber salad and chicken paprikash with dumplings, a dish Hardy just recently learned from Pasztor, who ran the tiny take-out operation A Little Taste of Europe for two years before opening his sit-down restaurant. “I’m starting to get where he’s letting me do it,” Hardy says of the paprikash prep. “I’ll have to do it, because he likes to fish.”
Philly’s, 1196 Old US 70, is open 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m., except on Sundays, when the restaurant closes at 2:30 p.m. Philly’s is closed on Wednesdays. For more information, call 712-6862.
Luella’s Bar-B-Que: Asheville marks the spot where Southern eating meets healthy living, so it makes sense that Luella’s Bar-B-Que has announced plans to significantly upgrade its vegetarian offerings. The menu change is just one element of a major expansion for the restaurant, including a relocation to north Asheville. “The south Asheville location has been good for us, and we value the friendships we have made with our customers and neighbors,” founder Jeff Miller writes in a release. “The new location offers us a tremendous opportunity to provide more space and comfort.”
Luella’s will move into the 501 Merrimon Ave. building vacated by Gusmo’s Mojo Café, with plans to keep the Hendersonville Road store open until the new location is renovated. According to the release, the move will allow Luella’s to double its seating. “[We] feel we owe it to our customers to be more centrally located and provide a more complete hospitality experience,” Miller writes. To learn more, call 684-2030.
Bruisin’ Ales: Asheville’s Bruisin’ Ales is leading the charge to combine beer, brunch and tapas with a six-course meal at Zambra featuring Dogfish Head brews. The brunch, scheduled for Sunday, May 17, at noon, will be conducted by Sam Calagione, founder of the award-winning Delaware brewery. The menu includes biscuits with rabbit gravy, Spanish omelets and a smoked-chocolate mousse with carmelized bananas. Calagione will be pouring his 90-Minute IPA, Midas Touch and Palo Santo Marron to match. The event is priced at $50 per person, not including tax or tip. To reserve a spot, visit zambratapas.com.
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