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 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Culinary Affair: The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association will host The Culinary AffAIR, “an evening of elegance and fine cuisine” to benefit the chamber, on Thursday, Jan. 22, at the DoubleTree Biltmore Hotel (115 Hendersonville Road). The event begins with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 7 p.m., followed by a six-course dinner prepared by AIR-member chefs and music and dancing after the meal. reservations are required. The price is $125 per person. Black tie attire is encouraged, and reservations are required; to save your spot, call 258-6114 or visit ashevillechamber.org.
Martha Nell’s: Martha Nell’s, the Texas-tinged bistro in downtown Asheville that last year replaced the 19-year-old Café on the Square, has closed. “They weren’t doing the revenues needed to keep us going,” managing partner Vonciel Baudouin told the Citizen-Times last week. According to a sign posted on the restaurant’s door, the establishment is for sale.
Chef Cargo: Biltmore Village’s only independently owned kitchen-supply shop is going out of business: Chef Cargo is slated to close on Jan. 24. The store, which three years ago moved from downtown to its current 2 All Souls Crescent address, had trouble competing with nearby kitchenware giant Williams-Sonoma. “I don’t think it’s a secret that the economy isn’t the best right now,” said Alex DeRobertis, who co-owns Chef Cargo with her husband, Matt. “With the competition across the road, we thought it would be best to shut down the retail portion of our business.” DeRobertis said Chef Cargo plans to continue offering cooking classes and serving as the local dealer for AGA ranges, although they have not renewed their lease. Locations for classes and other future offerings will be announced on the Chef Cargo Web site (www.chefcargo.com). “We have other irons in the fire,” DeRobertis said.
Herve This: Herve This, the culinary pioneer whose scientific kitchen tinkering bequeathed a generation of chefs with the principles of molecular gastronomy (a term This and his physicist partner coined), is slated to be the opening-night speaker at this summer’s edition of the Swannanoa School of Culinary Arts. The two sessions at Warren Wilson College, scheduled for July 12-18 and 19-25, feature cooking classes led by local chefs. This year’s lineup includes Perry Hendrix, Jarod Higgins and Laurey Masterson. Tuition is $1,400, not including lodging. For more information, visit www.schoolofculinaryarts.org.
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