Small Bites: Folkmoot celebrates with soul food

SOUL FOOD SINGERS: Canton Gospel Choir, The Voices of Pleasant Grove, will lift the spirits during the next Southern Supper Series Nov. 3 at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. Photo courtesy of Folkmoot

The final fall 2018 installment of Folkmoot’s Southern Supper Series will feature a soul food supper with an appearance by Affrilachian author and artist Ann Miller Woodford, on Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

The dinner, catered by chef Clarence Robinson, will include barbecue chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens, sweet potato pie and watermelon water. Musical inspiration will be provided by Canton Gospel Choir, The Voices of Pleasant Grove.

Woodford will share her research, photographs and writings that led to the book When All God’s Children Get Together: A Celebration of the Lives and Music of African American People in Far Western North Carolina.

The event is sponsored by Folkmoot, Blue Ridge Books, Haywood County Public Library and Smoky Mountain News. The Affrilachian Southern Supper is supported by Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center, whose exhibit will be on display at the Folkmoot Friendship Center through Friday, Nov. 16, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The exhibit focuses on the history and musical traditions of African-American communities in far western North Carolina as manifested in their churches, schools and workplaces.

The Southern Supper Series soul food dinner will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center, 112 Virginia Ave., Waynesville. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance at Folkmoot.org or by calling 828-452-2997. 

Pizza FEAST fundraiser

On Saturday, Nov. 3, West End Bakery and Café in West Asheville will put on Pizza FEAST to raise money for the FEAST program and Bountiful Cities. The bakery will roll out a variety of pizzas and offer samples of some of its new artisan sourdough breads. Vegetarian and vegan options will be available, as well as West End signature salads and desserts. Beer has been donated by Hi-Wire Brewing of Asheville and Birds Fly South Ale Project of Greenville, S.C. Live music performed by Afrocan Duo will feature the guitar and drum music of Agya Boakye-Boaten and Djer Zunguze. Tickets, which include food, drinks and entertainment, are available at BountifulCities.org and at the door, if they have not sold out in advance. All proceeds support FEAST programming. FEAST, a program of Bountiful Cities, works within local schools to empower youths and families to grow, prepare and enjoy fruits and vegetables through hands-on cooking and garden education.

Pizza FEAST will happen 6-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at West End Bakery and Café, 757 Haywood Road. Tickets are $25, free for kids younger than 12.

Community cookbook seeks submissions

The West Asheville Tailgate Market is creating a winter community cookbook, and Monday, Nov. 5, is the deadline to submit a recipe. Project organizers are seeking recipes for “potluck showstoppers” and simple weeknight meals, as well as inspirations, ideas, tips and techniques. People are invited to share their skills, whether they be cooking, preserving, illustrating or sharing stories, lessons and anecdotes from their home kitchens. Not everything that is submitted will be in the cookbook because organizers might receive duplicates, they say. Before printing, they will contact the submitters to confirm submissions.

Send submissions to westashevilletailgate@gmail.com. 

Wednesdays with A.J.

The next installment of the popular Wednesdays with A.J. dinner series by chef A.J. Gregson will be held Wednesday, Nov. 14, at Gregson’s new restaurant, Black Bear Bar-B-Que. Gregson has previously held the dinners at his downtown restaurant, Mojo Kitchen. The menu for the multicourse meal includes smoked fish pate and field caviar, pork loin and Asian pear, and matcha mille crepe cake with ricotta cream. Beers include Boojum Hounds of Hell, Asheville Brewing Co.’s Perfect Day IPA and BearWaters Brewing Heavy Cream Stout.

Wednesday with A.J. will be 7:30-10 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, at Black Bear Bar-B-Que, 800 Fairview Road. The cost is $65 plus tax (alcohol-free options are available). Make reservations at blackbearbbqavl@gmail.com. For details, visit avl.mx/5dd.

New PennyCup outpost

PennyCup Coffee Co., a small-batch Asheville roaster that sources sustainably grown green coffee, recently opened a North Asheville coffee shop on Merrimon Avenue. And it’s selling breakfast tacos from TacoBilly. PennyCup’s latest location, in a former tax office next to The Scarlet Bee restaurant, offers all the classic espresso and coffee drinks, with a choice of single origin or blended espresso. It has fresh-squeezed juice and a variety of grab-and-go drinks. It also sells homemade baked goods and bagels, with homemade cream cheese or hummus. PennyCup Coffee also has locations downtown, in Haw Creek and in the River Arts District.

PennyCup Coffee Co. is at 857 Merrimon Ave. Hours are 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Hours will be 7 a.m.-10 p.m. every day come spring.

Biscuit Head South gets closer

With any luck, the long-awaited Biscuit Head in South Asheville will be open by mid-December, its owners say. The restaurant — Biscuit Head’s fourth — has been in the works since October 2017 and was originally slated to open in March. But there have been several delays in getting the building ready, says Jason Roy, who owns Biscuit Head with his wife, Carolyn Roy. “Everything is ready to go,” he says. “We’re just waiting for the landlord to finish construction.” The Hendersonville Road restaurant, he says, will be “our most beautiful location — a nice, open kitchen and a patio, and very bright.” The restaurant will offer Biscuit Head’s standard fare, with the addition of a biscuit created especially for South Asheville (the Roys welcome suggestions on Biscuit Head’s Facebook page). The shop’s management team is in place, but the business is still hiring for other positions, Roy says. “It’s been a marathon, but we’re toward the end of it now,” he says. “It’s going to be a really beautiful space.”

The new Biscuit Head opens in mid-December at 1994 Hendersonville Road.

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About Paul Clark
Based in Asheville, NC, Paul Clark has been writing for newspapers, magazines and websites for more than 40 years. He is an award-winning journalist, writer and photographer. Some of his photography can be seen at paulgclark.smugmug.com. Google his name to find stories and photos that have appeared in magazines and newspapers throughout the Southeast.

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