Flavor: Rustic Italian Ambiance: Check the weather forecast Price: $8-$10 Where: 2411 Hwy 108E, Columbus Contact: (828) 894-0234 Hours: Mon-Fri, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Joe Laudisio and Mary Lyth initially planned on running a high-end, sit-down restaurant in Polk County. But plans changed, and instead they created an upscale grab-and-go entrée counter, a la Whole Foods, […]

O’Naturals: One of the leading restaurant groups trying to meld the organic mindset with fast-food methodology has taken root in Asheville: O’Naturals recently opened its first North Carolina location in the new Meridian Place development at 1829 Hendersonville Road. O’Naturals was launched in 2001 by Gary Hirshberg, president and CEO of Stonyfield Farm, and friends […]

Think kids are the only ones who refuse to eat their greens? Try polling the staff at Van Winkle Law Firm. Photo by Jonathan Welch “One woman said, ‘No, I don’t eat vegetables,’” recalls Van Winkle’s technology manager, Katie Craig, who was charged with recruiting participants for an innovative workplace produce program. “I said, ‘Well, […]

Buddha Bagels: Aaron Hunt, owner of the newly opened Buddha Bagels, admits that some customers have wondered why he’d name a restaurant specializing in quintessential on-the-go urban food after an icon of serenity and enlightenment. “There’s been some controversy,” Hunt says. “But we’re in Asheville;  we’re an alternative community. We can change it up like […]

Flavor: Island tropical plus tomatoes Ambiance: Urban casual Price: Lunch, $3-$9; dinner, $5-$15 Where: 233 Montford Ave. Contact: 505-3121 Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Let’s say you’re asked to imagine a French chef. Easy, right? The rotund, red-faced perfectionist is a fixture in the kitchen’s permanent cast of characters, instantly recognizable even to lugs who don’t […]

Photo by Jonathan Welch The Java Reef: It’s rare to encounter understatement in a press release, but one heralding the opening of “Asheville’s only public mini-reef Aquarium and coffee/espresso bar” surely hits the mark. The Java Reef may be one of the only spots anywhere where patrons can sip lattes while watching angelfish swim by. […]

Flavor: Meat, meat and more meat Ambiance: Business-hotel eatery Price: $16-$36 Where: 22 Woodfin St. Contact: 253-1851 Hours: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Jarod Higgins can’t figure out why there aren’t more top-notch steakhouses in Asheville. Seems to him a city this size could use more classy go-to spots for splurge-worthy occasions. “There’s lots […]

The Lobster Trap: One of 16 finalists for the third annual “Best Dish in North Carolina” competition is now on offer at The Lobster Trap. Chef Tres Hundertmark’s Mountain Trout Osso Bucco, available at the downtown-Asheville restaurant through Sept. 23, features a braised and glazed Sunburst Farms trout. (That’s Hundertmark, making the dish, in the […]

There’s quite a bit corn scholars don’t know about John McEntire’s heirloom white corn, which his family’s been planting as long as anyone can remember. They don’t know whether it bears traces of one of the “lost” corns of East Tennessee, as some experts suspect, or exactly when it arrived in the Old Fort area. […]

Photo By Jonathan Welch Birdhouse Café: Mike and Sharon Malone, who’ve catered locally under the name My Thyme is Your Thyme for the last seven years, have opened a retail shop in the former Green Apple Café location at 418 McDowell St. in Asheville. Birdhouse Café and Sweet Shop is serving sandwiches, paninis and salads […]

Flavor: Fresh, seasonal pan-Italian Ambiance: Cosmopolitan Price: Lunch, $8-$11; dinner, $12-$21 Where: 24 Wall St., Asheville Contact: 254-6170 Hours: Tue-Thu, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m.; Fri, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m.; Sat, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5 p.m.-11 p.m.; Sun, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Closed Monday. All my visits to Cucina 24 […]

Asheville City Market: The latest addition to the city’s tailgate-market scene had its grand opening June 28. At right, a vendor shows off fresh turnips. The market, at 161 S. Charlotte St., is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Photo By Jonathan Welch CAFÉ AZALEA: East Asheville’s Café Azalea is stressing the hedonism […]

Although Wii Fit, the interactive system that’s designed to turn the nation’s dens into workout studios, is the darling of the video-game media this summer, lotus poses and shoulder presses aren’t the only skills measurable by Nintendo. On the other end of the health spectrum, there’s Major League Eating, in which players compete to down […]

Rise ‘n’ Shine: The Rise ‘n’ Shine Café, an organic-leaning breakfast and lunch spot, has opened at 640 Merrimon Ave. The café (pictured here) features coffee from Asheville Coffee Roasters, bread from City Bakery and meat from Hickory Nut Gap Farm alongside locally grown produce. Although the restaurant will adjust its specials weekly according to […]

Flavor: Elevated co-op classics Ambiance: Bustling coffeehouse Price: $6-$12 Where: 5 Broadway Contact: 252-4451 Hours: Mon-Thu, 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri, 7:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat, 8 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Ketchup is usually the least of a new restaurant owners’ worries. While a few chi-chi eateries might muss with house-made recipes, the vast majority […]

Merrimon mainstay Gourmet Perks has closed, at least for now. Photo By Jonathan Welch Closed For Business: Two mainstays of the north Asheville restaurant scene have closed. La Caterina Trattoria, long a high point in local Italian dining, shut down this spring. And last week, Gourmet Perks ended its run on Merrimon Avenue. A note […]

Flavor: Upscale pan-Latin Ambiance: Cozy casita Price: $16-$23 Where: 72 Weaverville Road, Woodfin Contact: 253-2111 Hours: Mon-Sat, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m. When Curras D.O.M. first opened in the former HB’s on Weaverville Highway, many of the drive-in’s faithful shrugged at the new sign and took a seat anyhow, assuming the eatery was still […]

The new Xpress dining guide: With the explosion of local bars and restaurants, how’s a hungry local to keep up with all their dining options? Here’s how: Pick up a free copy of the Mountain Xpress’ new annual dining guide, Asheville Eats & Drinks. The handy, half-menu-sized guide is hot off the presses and will […]

It was the plight of the rose-breasted grosbeak that persuaded Laurey Masterson to switch coffee brands. Masterson was one of the many downtown Asheville restaurant owners targeted by Durham’s Counter Culture Coffee in the mid-1990s with its dual message of quality and corporate responsibility. The sales reps’ basic pitch revolved around a simple concept pioneered […]