Organic farmers tend to be diehard traditionalists, championing agricultural practices that would be familiar to a 19th-century homesteader equipped with a mule and a wooden plow. Newfangled techniques involving chemicals, crop specialization and mechanization are considered suspect by the softly treading sustainable set, whose members thrill to rich compost and heirloom melons. Taste test: How […]

La Copa De Oro: A popular West Asheville nightclub has added full lunch and dinner service. La Copa de Oro will now serve a standard Mexican-American menu of tacos, enchiladas, fajitas and nachos at its 1501 Patton Ave. location. The restaurant is open Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 8 […]

Asheville-area food and restaurant news

Savoy: More and more local restaurants are trying to plump their sagging profits by appealing to similarly strapped customers with deals and special pricing programs, making even high-end dining more affordable. From the fine end of the dining spectrum comes a set of enticing offers from Savoy Restaurant and Martini Bar, the popular white-table-clothed restaurant […]

When I first contemplated creating a list of the year’s best dishes, I was awfully excited by the prospect of revisiting some of my most enjoyable recent meals—all in the name of journalistic research, of course. But I soon realized I probably didn’t need a refresher course in any of the dishes that ultimately made […]

Asheville Independent Restaurants: Just in time for the recession, the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association is again selling its annual assemblage of coupons good for discounted meals at its member eateries. Now billed as the AIR Dining Club, the $30 package includes 35 coupons that spokesperson Roya June estimates are worth more than $500 in local […]

Nog is still considered the quintessential Christmas quaff, but the egg causes many would-be drinkers to shirk the concoction. Egging you on: Bartender Alli Wainwright serves up an eggnog martini at the Rankin Vault. Photo by Jonathan Welch The egg was once an essential element of the barkeep’s arsenal, used to add body and fizz […]

18 eggs, separated 1 c. sugar 1 1/2 c. bourbon, spiced rum or Captain Applejack 1/2 c. brandy 6 c. milk 1 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 c. heavy whipping cream In a large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat egg yolks with sugar, reserving whites. With mixer at high speed, beat mixture until […]

Hoping to put slightly more spirit into what even the most optimistic economists fear will be a dreadful holiday season, New York City last week orchestrated a celebration of the Bloody Mary’s 75th anniversary, complete with a Times Square toast and free drinks all around (or, at least, all around the tri-state area). Tummy comfort: […]

Holiday Markets: Even Santa’s staffers are locally grown at the Asheville City Market, where Silverbelle the rein-goat is greeting holiday shoppers in search of handcrafted honeys, molasses, jams, jellies, pickles, soaps, salves and lotions. “The bustle of markets really captures the spirit of the holidays,” writes Mike McCreary, manager of the Asheville City Market, one […]

I thought I’d stumbled upon the Western North Carolina food story of the year when I came across a flier for a benefit concert in Madison County. In addition to touting the various uber-talented acts scheduled to appear, the flier promised—in big, bold letters—banana pudding. Bananas for the pudding: “They know and I know they’re […]

Short Street Cakes: Don’t let the name fool you: Starting next week, Short Street Cakes will leave behind its Short Street kitchen and open in a new location on Haywood Road. The cake shop at 225 Haywood Road, near the tippy-top of the Haywood Road hill, will offer cupcakes, cakes and coffee, and provide a […]

Corporate food producers expend a remarkable amount of money and marketing brainpower cultivating supposedly bucolic beginnings for their industrial products: Think of the green rolling hills and always-blue skies of “Hidden Valley,” a trumped-up patch of California farmland notable for its ranch dressing (and, more recently, its bacon ranch, spicy ranch and black peppercorn ranch.) […]

Forest Blue: Diners aren’t the only ones who’ve lately begun looking beyond the nation’s ubiquitous sit-down chain restaurants: Sheila Seals, who opened 16 restaurants for Applebee’s as a regional manager, has gone the independent route with Forest Blue, a new “upscale-casual” eatery in near-south Asheville. The restaurant (pictured), which opened last month in the Hendersonville […]

As one of the lucky few who can claim every meal eaten out as a tax deduction, I don’t have much incentive to spend time in the kitchen. Even the prospect of guests to impress doesn’t tempt me to start cooking, since I’m acutely aware of how many more talented epicureans are practicing their art […]

Tod’s Tasties And To-Go’s: For those folks who can’t wait for downtown-Asheville delight Table to open, owners of the fashionable farm-to-table eatery have opened a new café where fans can get their breakfast fix. Tod’s Tasties and To-Go’s, located in the Montford Avenue space vacated by Viva Europa, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, starting at […]

Burgermeister’s: Good news for football fans: Burgermeister’s in West Asheville is marking Monday Night Football with 50-cent wings and $5 buckets of beer. The wings are available in a range of homemade flavors, while the buckets feature four bottles of the best in tailgating brews: PBR, Miller High Life, Natty Light and Busch Light. The […]