“Write about the succulent glories of Tar Heel barbecue at one’s own peril,” advised Rosemary Roberts of the Greensboro News & Record, adding, “It’s much safer to take on the National Rifle Association.” Barbecue is North Carolina’s love, lust and food of choice. Heck, it might as well be our state religion. And if love, religion and food are the three most common causes of rifts, rivalries and wars, barbecue is also a battleground.
For most chefs, a two-hour microburst rainstorm at 8 a.m. does not create any significant hurdles in the workday, but for Michael Twitty, it really does. Twitty is not just a chef of pre-Civil War slave foods; he is an historian and an author, and when he cooks, he does everything as it would have been done by his ancestors
Charlie Hodge is no stranger to the cocktail scene. After helping to open Chestnut and developing its beverage program, he went on to head the bar at Bull & Beggar. His newest venture is a farm-to-bar cocktail joint called Sovereign Remedies, which began demolition last week on its tiny 800-square-foot space at the corner of Walnut and Market streets.
While many were sipping fishbowl-sized margaritas and chowing down on fajitas during Cinco de Mayo, a few of us indulged in a different kind of Mexican food experience. Tom Leiner of Grapevine wine distributors teamed up with Chef Marco Garcia to do a special Mexican-themed coursed dinner and wine pairing at the historic Princess Anne Hotel on Chestnut Street.
Running a wine shop isn’t easy. Margins are often surprisingly tight and it can often seem impossible to compete with the prices in the big grocery chains. A number of local wine shops have closed in the last few years, but Table Wine in South Asheville seems to be thriving.
Asheville is losing an icon. The sweet, fiery, exceedingly talented Cynthia Turner, our very own queen of the cocktail, is returning home to New Orleans, leaving behind a legacy built on quality, conviction and compassion.
Seven Sows announced this week that they will be bringing us yet another as they expand their hours in preparation for warmer weather. Previously only open for dinner, the restaurant will now offer weekend brunch as well as a daily lunch service.
The world of wine can be a bit pretentious. Honestly, when is the last time any of us had a boysenberry or a currant? Fortunately, Andy Hale of Metro Wines on Charlotte Street is here to bring wine appreciation a little more down to earth with his new Blind Tasting League of Asheville.
Restaurants have been popping up all over West Asheville this spring with a pace and vigor reminiscent of popcorn kernels heating up in a kettle. Now Early Girl Eatery owners Julie and John Stehling have thrown their kernels into the pot with the opening of their new venture, King Daddy’s Chicken & Waffle.
Chef Aaron Thomas pulled his first batch of natty bread out of the oven at Nine Mile’s brand-new location in West Asheville. “Compared to our first opening [in Montford],” says Thomas, “this one was like gravy, it was just smooth. Everybody loved their food, there were no kinks.”
West Asheville has been booming lately. Within the past year, Haywood Road has seen some significant changes to its dining and bar scene, the latest of which is the highly anticipated Buffalo Nickel, which opened March 18 to a packed house.
The highly anticipated King James Public House opened this winter on Charlotte Street to a jam-packed house, and the crowd didn’t die down for several weeks. The tiny, 45-seat restaurant and bar from Zambra owner Peter Slamp has seen lines out the door for considerably longer than the usual honeymoon period of a new restaurant.
Heartfelt thanks and acknowledgements of chef, business owner and activist Laurey Masterton have been many, since the announcement of her early-morning Feb. 18 death. Here, food writer Jonathan Ammons shares his.
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.
Traditionally, everyone has a beverage in their hand to raise high when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. Why not welcome the new year with some new spirits? Xpress asked two local bartenders to offer some fresh tipples for end-of-the-year toasts, and I offer one of my own.
When I asked the former Chik-fil-A line cook turned James Beard Award-nominated Asheville Chef Elliott Moss — formerly of the Admiral and Ben’s Tune Up — to pick a restaurant, he chose one that is near and dear to me, Cucina24.
In October, Xpress correspondent Jonathan Ammons explored a few South Asheville dining options. In this issue, Ammons is back with his take on two North Asheville eateries that offer their own brand of comfort food.s
If you’ve ever driven through south Asheville, you may have noticed a few Korean churches — an indication of a population that has always been strong in the suburbs to the south and continues to grow. Korean restaurants pop up all over town, and the most recent addition to that scene is Koreana, a new venture from the co-owner of the Stone Bowl.
In America, there are few words one can pair with the name of a chef that garner more respect than James Beard. Whether a chef is a “James Beard Award Winner,” “nominee” or cooked at the James Beard House, it is a credential that instantly tells you that a chef is not just admired and respected in his or her hometown but has received recognition on a national level.
Good food isn’t all Mike Moore has been cooking up in the kitchens of Seven Sows Bourbon and Larder, and the Blind Pig supper club. Underbelly, a food and Southern-culture quarterly magazine he and his team have been publishing, just won some high praise: The second installment of the journal, “Soul & Comfort,” was awarded […]
Sometimes the outskirts of Asheville remind you of a different city entirely. The quirky, independent and free-spirited vibe of the town seems to fade into a haze of strip malls and chain and big-box stores. When driving past the stretches of fast-food joints that seem to run the length of Hendersonville Road, how do you […]
