May we wine and dine you?
Volume
18
/ Issue 19
Cover Design Credit:
Carrie Lare. Photograph by Bill Rhodesarts
"Tradition is always malleable”
Traditional Irish songs often revolve around a few well-explored themes: family, drinking, love (lost and found, and of drinking), war and immigration. All of these can be found on Shadow…From Beirut with love
Seems like Beirut might have a little crush on Asheville. In fact, when the Brooklyn band had a day off between shows in Richmond and Atlanta a few weeks ago,…The Profiler Pitch
Carolina Chocolate Drops Sunday, Dec. 4 at the Orange Peel. Show starts at 8 p.m. Frazey Ford, of the Be Good Tanyas, opens. The Pitch: Sons of Ralph teams up…Too complex to be labeled just as a composer
Lots of circles, a bunch of dots and lines running all over the place and a bit of jotted commentary can illuminate a composer’s aesthetic — but can you hold…Smart Bets: Shakespeare Sings! at the Altamont
If you thought all the Bard could do was recite sonnets and soliloquies, here's a new take on the age-old playwright. Shakespeare Sings!, conceived by theatrical director Francis Cullinan, highlights…Smart Bets: Kristin Luna Ray CD release
Musician, wellness advocate and educator Kristin Luna Ray returns with a new album, One Shared Heart, which features much-loved performers like Wah!, Girish, Alvin Young (Sean Johnson and the Wild…Weekly Picks
Learn about the recently developed regional bicycle plan at a kickoff event featuring speakers, a public input session and a light lunch on Wednesday, Nov. 30 from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.…Best of Bash
Come one, come all, and revel in the weird and wacky, the raucous and outrageous — the spectacle that is the Best of WNC! On Friday, Dec. 2, at 7:30…food
Tips from the pros
Several local oenophiles offered suggestions for holiday wine. Les Doss of Vinsite wine shop located on 64 Broadway St. (http://www.vinsiteasheville.com) recommends the following bottles, which he and co-owner Kathy Taylor…Cider cocktail
Want a bubbly cocktail that won't pack too much of a wallop and has a local focus? Parris Benight of 5 Walnut Wine Bar recommends making cava-cider cocktail, an easy-to-throw-together…Chevre, Cranberry and Pecan Spread
This recipe uses dried fruits, fresh herbs and local maple syrup, which is available from Maple Creek Farm in Yancey County. Yield: 1 ½ lbs. You will need: 1 lb…Holiday Rounds
Local honey gets the spotlight in ASAP’s Get Local campaign this January. Try using local honey in this recipe (especially with the recent news that some grocery store honey sometimes…Spiced Apple Butter
Yield: 4 half-pints. Ingredients: 5 lbs cooking apples 2 cups water 2 cups granulated sugar 2 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp ground cloves ½ tsp nutmeg ½ tsp ground ginger Method:…Snacks, sausages and smoke
Home for the holidays is a nice notion, but having family around for too long can get claustrophobic. Whether you want to round up the troops and head out or…Small Bites: Izzy’s coffee truck north — Nizzy’s?
What: Izzy's Coffee Truck Where: 501 Merrimon Ave. When: Monday through Friday, 7:30 to 11 a.m. Item of interest: The truck’s horn plays the theme to The Godfather. This truck…Small Bites: Ursa Minor in the morning sky
What: Ursa Minor Coffee Truck Where: 191 Lyman St. When: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Hit beverage: Salted-caramel latte The Ursa Minor coffee truck was the first…Small Bites: Get your daily roasting
What: Greg & Andi's Curbside Coffee Where: 172 Charlotte St. When: Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Signature item: All of the coffee beans are roasted fresh daily.…Eschewing the eggnog
The holiday season is a celebratory time of year, full of friends and family — many of them getting all kinds of snookered on liquid cheer. And, although it’s hopelessly…Chow down and put up
Now is not the time to put away your aprons, Thanksgiving-weary chefs. There are still traditional holiday meals left to make (like the New Year’s suggestions in this section) and…Gifts for the foodie
Has your little foodie been particularly nice this year? Do you have family members who squeal over gifts of locally made jams and pickles? Asheville's gotten on the gift train…news
Asheville Civic Center out, U.S. Cellular Center in
Nov. 22, 2011 Asheville City Council meeting Aventine apartments pass first reading West Asheville alley closed Asheville City Council members wrestled with two conflicting arguments during their Nov. 22 meeting:…The Beat: An open-and-shut case
Ashevilleans want the U.S. Postal Service to keep its Brevard Road mail-processing facility open. That was the message from the roughly 200 folks who attended a Nov. 21 public hearing…Remembrance of those lost
As the sun began to set Nov. 20, about 50 people gathered outside the Asheville Civic Center. Bearing white candles and paper banners, they marched, silently and reverently, to the…Stained glass, pottery and jewelry, oh my!
What: Pick up a guide and follow the little red line through the mountains of Mitchell and Yancey counties for a weekend of studio strolling. The Toe River Arts Council…opinion
Anagrams
Weekly Asheville Disclaimer Page: 11/30/11
• NC Republicans call last-minute session to override veto of voter ID bill House Speaker Thom Tillis: ‘Tackling this imaginary problem is a top priority’ • 3 lost boy scouts…Identity theft
I sometimes used to ride the mail route with my daddy when I was a little girl. Mother would pack us a lunch, and I would meet him when he…My kind of representative
Rep. Patrick McHenry made his first “public” appearance in Asheville with a talk before the Council of Independent Business Owners [“The Beat,” Nov. 16 Xpress]. McHenry is following the sinister…The postal service is just that — a service
According to the Constitution, Congress has the power "to establish post offices and post roads." It is clear from the context that post offices were not considered a business any…Clean air is an investment that pays off over time
Thank you for publishing the Green Scene article “Into Thin Air” by Susan Andrew [Nov. 8 Xpress]. The ongoing debate about pollution regulation, while sometimes frustrating and seemingly redundant, is…Something is up in south Asheville
I have recently learned of a very impressive positive community organization in south Asheville. The Ducker Road Community Involvement Council, which is a 501(c)3 organization, has worked to “clean up”…Protecting principals over children
A story in the Nov. 17 News and Observer, “N.C. shifts school crimes law,” makes me wonder if we have lost our collective minds in North Carolina (read the article…