Eats & Drinks boasts a fresh look, including a beautifully designed cover featuring a photo of a “kitchen sink” Bloody Mary, created for us by The Market Place restaurant. The new design of Eats & Drinks guide reflects the sensibilities of our dining scene — fun, yet sophisticated, hands-down delicious and as artful in presentation as you would expect for a city like Asheville.
Welcome to Mountain Xpress’ annual one-stop guide to all that the local culinary scene has to offer.
Welcome to Asheville. You’re visiting from Ithaca. You want trout, or maybe a locally brewed beer — or simply to do what the locals do. While some of what the locals do can be colorful, you don’t have to don tie-dye, find a djembe and hit the Pritchard Park drum circle to get a feel […]
Eating lunch between the no-man’s hours of 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.? Out on the town until 3 a.m.? Even in a foodtopia like Asheville, your options can be limited. Fortunately, there are some restaurants out there for you late-lunchers and night-owls who would rather not frequent the Waffle House — not that there’s anything wrong […]
When you’ve had it up to here and there’s nary a baby sitter in sight, there are a few options to feed the kids and blow off a little steam at the same time. If nothing else, these places certainly won’t bat an eye if your rugrat seems to be in a slightly, er, exuberant […]
We’re multitaskers: We want to eat our cake and watch our movies, too. Luckily, the days of dinner and a show aren’t over. Here are some dining options to consider when a plate of food isn’t quite enough to keep you fully occupied. Arcade Asheville The Arcade is one part game room, with vintage favorites […]
Asheville has its share of regionally representative cuisine. But should you want to expand your horizons beyond trout, grits and fried green tomatoes, there are a multitude of options at your disposal, many of them based in the traditions of far-off climes. This small mountain town has a lot of stickers on its suitcase. Himalayan? […]
In Asheville, there are plenty of places to wet your whistle. Brew pubs and wine bars abound. But where do you go when you want a special-occasion drink? Xpress is here to help. Sazerac Sazerac’s menu of craft cocktails is something special, especially the “Nine Muses” section, with drinks named after the traditional Greek muses. […]
Sometimes it seems like Asheville’s all about the booze. We’re Beer City, USA, after all. But where to sip something special sans suds? Asheville has a large selection of drinkable treats that are alcohol-free. Buchi Kombucha is a perfect example of how locally focused and healthy Asheville can be as a whole. The fermented-tea drink […]
In WNC, we’ve got mountains, an agreeable climate, good food and a thriving beer scene, complete with brew-centric festivals. What more could you ask for? Someone to drive you around from brewery to brewery while you liberally sample? Well, we’ve got that too. Brews Cruise, started by Asheville local Mark Lyons, provides an insider’s take […]
What’s that little green symbol next to some of the restaurants in our guide? The Appalachian Grown logo is a trademark of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. ASAP created the logo as a tool to help identify authentically local food. It’s on fresh produce and packaging and displayed by participating grocers, restaurants and other businesses. These […]
How is it that Western North Carolina is blessed with such a thriving food scene? Great local agriculture helps. That’s where the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project comes in. ASAP’s mission is to help local farms thrive by linking farmers to markets and supporters and building healthy communities through connections to local food. “ASAP’s work over […]
Asheville boasts an abundance of local food. All of the ingredients that make this area’s restaurants stellar (along with the finesse of our local chefs, of course) can be found at tailgate markets nearly every day of the week, at least during the growing season. Visiting tailgate markets gives you the opportunity to meet the […]
This town is long on charm, but short on souvenirs. But if you’re looking for a taste of Asheville that you can take home with you, we're practically up to our eyeballs in locally made mustard, jams, hot sauce and chocolates. Here are just a few of our favorite things. Many of these foods are […]
[Editor’s Note: Just an apple’s throw away from Asheville, Hendersonville (home of the Apple Festival) is its own culinary destination. Xpress invited Laura Huff of popular Hendersonville-based food blog The Carolina Epicurean to point out some of her favorite tables. For restaurant reviews, chef profiles, information on cooking classes and more, visit carolinaepicurean.com.] Square One […]
Sometimes Asheville can feel too crowded. When tourist season’s in full swing and the streets are choked with cars, trucks and buses, a place like Hot Springs can be just the ticket. Conversely, sometimes Asheville feels too small — especially when you’re trying to buy something embarrassing at the grocery store. When you want to […]
Western North Carolina is full of talented farmers, artisan food producers and wine makers. You might even go so far as to call WNC “America’s Tuscany” — the perfect place for a food-and-farm adventure. Let the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project be your virtual travel agency, guiding you to the freshest tomatoes, the most scenic apple […]
It's like an accountant doing their own taxes, or a lead singer going to a Karaoke bar on a night off — sometimes what you do for a living is not what you want to do with your spare time. Case in point: chefs often don't want to be in charge of cooking when they […]
Asheville Eats & Drinks is published annually by Mountain Xpress, P.O. Box 144, Asheville, NC 28802, (828) 251-1333. Visit us on the Web at www.mountainx.com. Email: xpress@mountainx.com. We have taken great care to ensure the accuracy of information contained herein. However, we are human and capable of error, and restaurants do change their services. Please […]
