Small Bites

Cornerhouse: The casual eatery adjoining downtown Asheville’s S&W Steakhouse has shifted its focus from customers who wake up early to those who get off early, scrapping its breakfast menu for a pub-grub lineup aimed at the after-work crowd. Cornerhouse Café recently reinvented itself as Cornerhouse Music, Food and Spirits, with the music starting at 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Jonathan Welch

“To be honest, we ran it as a breakfast and lunch place for awhile, but Asheville’s overloaded with breakfast joints,” general manager Brad Boughton explained. Cornerhouse’s new menu, available everyday from 11 a.m. until closing, features sandwiches, burgers and wings.

“It all comes from the S&W kitchen,” Boughton says. “We’ve got an outstanding prime rib French dip.”

Cornerhouse is also offering four beers on tap and daily drink features. Boughton reports the changeover seems to be working: “We’ve seen more people this week than ever,” he said. To learn more, call 505-3364.

Anne Parent: A descendant of Thomas Jefferson’s wine advisor will be in town next week to share the wines she’s now producing as winemaker for Pommard’s famed Domaine Parent.

Anne Parent, a 12th-generation winemaker who served as the first president of the Women’s Winemaker Association in Burgundy, will participate in two dinners organized by local distributor Steve Pignatiello.

“We don’t get many winemakers of her international stature visiting our beautiful mountains,” says Pignatiello, who counts Parent as a personal friend.

Parent will join in an “authentic Burgundian soiree” at Asheville’s The Market Place on Thursday, Nov. 6. For reservations, call 252-4162. She’ll appear the following night at Gabrielle’s, where Chef Perry Hendrix helms the kitchen. “Perry not only enjoys Anne’s wines, he also understands them,” Pignatiello says. Call 252-7313 to reserve a seat.

“One of the great things about Anne Parent is she speaks English well,” Pignatiello adds. “People who are fortunate enough to come to one of her dinners will be able to speak directly with Anne.”

La Riserva: Chef David Sparacino’s La Riserva Ristorante, which boasted a strongly devoted Hendersonville fan base, closed this month, citing the economic downturn. A note posted on the door of the upscale Italian eatery read, “Try as we might, the current economic conditions have taken their toll on La Riserva. It is with great sadness and regret that we have had to close the doors.” The restaurant’s opening earlier this year was much-anticipated, and its food was lauded by everyone from Tom Fazio to the city’s former mayor, Fred Niehoff, who raved on La Riserva’s Web site: “I love pizza and spaghetti, but when I dine out, I want something other than that, and your menu and flavor combinations fill that need.”

Earth Fare: Earth Fare’s Westgate location is trading wine samples for canned food at a benefit for MANNA FoodBank on Thursday, Nov. 6. Admission to A Taste of Good Will, featuring wine, snacks and a 20 percent discount on all featured wines purchased by the case, is four cans of food. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information, call 253-7656.

Mountain Brew Café: Mountain’s Brew’s third anniversary will be especially sweet for its customers, with free celebratory mochas available from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5. The café is located at 2480 Sweeten Creek Road; to learn more, call 687-9009.

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