Back Track

Sixteen years ago, Charlotte- and Asheville-based rock band, Charlie’s On Acid, was at the top of its game. The band’s members appeared as Hangman’s Joke, the backing band to Brandon Lee’s rocker character in The Crow. Then, Lee (son of action star Bruce Lee) was accidentally killed during filming in Wilmington. “Back when it was […]

Small Bites

Square 1 Market: Joseph and Lindsay Lewis, who’ve been on a one-couple crusade to bring locavorism to Hendersonville, are planning to expand their reach this week with the brand new Square 1 Market. The cozy market, which will be carved out of Square 1 Bistro’s storefront kitchen, will retail fresh produce and cheeses currently unavailable […]

Building a better block party

Back in the day, a couple traffic barricades, a boom box and a barbeque equaled a fete fit for an entire neighborhood. Asheville’s historic Montford neighborhood—the tree-lined clutch of homes and businesses just north of downtown—has been capitalizing on that very concept for the past five years, turning a meet-your-neighbors gathering into a celebration of […]

Small Bites

Posana: The team behind Posana Café is as interested in what comes out of the new downtown eatery as what goes into it (in this case, the usual Asheville-sanctioned mix of fair-trade, organic and gluten-free food and drink). Photo by Jonathan Welch “For about two years, we were playing around with the idea of a […]

Chicken coop for the soul

Airport Road zoning hits snag City Council amended Asheville’s animal ordinance to facilitate keeping chickens in the city but held off on a proposed ban on tethering dogs. Both issues have attracted public attention in the past year or so, as evidenced by the formation of two activist groups: Asheville City Chickens and ChainFree Asheville, […]

Nesting instinct

If the tag says organic, free-range, non-GMO, it’s got to be good, right? But what if that claim comes on a CD—say, Hymns for a Dark Horse by the Raleigh-based folk-pop trio Bowerbirds? After all, the nature-imbued, avian-centric song collection was crafted at the off-the-grid piece of land where the Bowerbirds’ founding members Beth Tacular […]

Small Bites

Mayfel’s: While Mayfel’s commitment to supporting local animal-welfare organizations is probably lost on even the smartest of canines, Spot’s sure to appreciate the complimentary dog treats available weekly on the downtown-Asheville restaurant’s patio (pictured). According to office manager Suzie Corr, diners are encouraged to bring their dogs to the restaurant’s “Dog Days of Summer” promotion, […]

Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: Would Asheville support a rep house?

The question of whether or not Asheville would support a theater—or a part of a theater—devoted to showing older movies—by which I mean movies not currently in release—has come up several times in discussions I’ve had with local theater managers. It’s a question to which there is no easy answer, though input from moviegoing readers might offer some clues in the matter.

Small Bites

Philly’s: Buncombe County’s only quasi-Hungarian restaurant—Philly’s, a Black Mountain sub joint with a few choice Hungarian items on offer—is expanding its menu. The restaurant (pictured here), which opened in February, is adding new sandwiches, kids’ meals and a soup of the day to its lineup. Philly’s manager Jesse Hardy predicts that owner Andre Pasztor’s Hungarian […]