Notes from the Asheville food scene

Notes from the Asheville food scene
The glass case that once exclusively displayed pastries and sweets at World Coffee now shares the same foodstuffs real estate with more lunch-friendly selections like salads and sandwiches. (Photo by Caitlin Byrd)
Have you always wanted to be a superhero? Mission Foundations, a group that covers many charitable bases in support of Mission Hospital programs, invites you to play Superman (or woman) at the Grove Park Inn on Friday, Aug. 17. That night, the foundation hosts a fundraiser for Mission Children's Hospital called Faces of Hope, a […]
There are as many pizza preferences as there are toppings: thin crust, deep-dish, N.Y.-style, Napoli … pocket. But it seems that when a slice is just right, all denominations are satisfied. Cue the Asheville Pizza Showdown, happening Aug. 12 at Toy Boat Community Arts Center, hosted by the Garage at Biltmore. “Hot pizza, cold beer and great times: that’s what we’re trying to make and put the recipe together to create this event and make it extremely successful,” says Gary Charles of G Social Media, who is helping plan the event.
Many Asheville restaurants are ratcheting up their cocktail menus. It may seem natural that restaurants such as Table, the Magnetic Field and the Junction — venues that focus on seasonal, eclectic and ever-changing fare — would have mad scientists behind the bar house-carbonating cocktails and making fancy cordials and bitters. Vinnie's Neighborhood Italian restaurant on […]
Out Back: Roman Vinson presents steaming waffles covered in fruit, with a cup of vegan chili as a side. photo by Bill Rhodes Hank's BBQ is truly a hideaway. The new West Asheville eatery serves breakfast, lunch and dinner at 373 Haywood Road, behind BattleCat Coffe Bar in the former Asheville FM studios. Owner Roman […]
The Biltmore Coffee Co. opened on Aug. 1 at 1 N. Pack Square, on the ground floor of the I.M. Pei-designed building that houses Biltmore's corporate offices and Merrill Lynch. "What makes us unique is everyone here worked at the Biltmore Estate," says Clorietha Fenton, the café's general manager. "We brought our quality and our […]
The Biltmore Coffee Co. opened on Aug.1 at 1 N. Pack Square, on the ground floor of the I.M. Pei-designed building that houses Biltmore’s corporate offices and Merrill Lynch. “What makes us unique is everyone here worked at the Biltmore Estate,” says Clorietha Fenton, the café‘s general manager. “We brought our quality and our standards and our hospitality to downtown Asheville.” (Pictured, left to right: Cloreitha Fenton and Robert Bickford, manager.) Photo by Megan Dombroski
Want to get into keeping chickens or bees, amateur mycology or gardening? Need to know how to can your tomato surplus? Natalie Pollard, manager of the West Asheville Tailgate Market, is in the process of putting together a center to help you do just that. Pollard will open Small Terrain at 278 Haywood Road in […]
Remember the talk of the new late-night lounge and restaurant the owners of Chai Pani are opening this year, one floor below their flagship venture? Well, that's still happening, but construction delays have pushed back the opening date a bit. "We're hoping for an opening date of mid- to late-August or in early September," says […]
Talk of a Trader Joe’s in Asheville has been plentiful over the past year or two. It’s now been confirmed that the Manrovia, Calif.-based grocery chain is indeed coming to 120 Merrimon Ave., necessitating the closing of several businesses, including La Carreta, a Mexican restaurant. The specialty grocery store will open in 2013 and will […]
Laughing Mask Candies, a classic by-the-pound candy shop, recently opened on Lexington Avenue. Husband-and-wife proprietors Anna and Joshua Sachar stock Jelly Belly jelly beans in every imaginable flavor, classic hard candies and taffy, too. They also stock sweet-and-sour pops and jawbreakers, and suckers worthy of the Lollipop Guild’s head honcho — even if he’s into […]
You may still get your queso on La Carreta, the Mexican restaurant on Merrimon Avenue next to Greenlife Grocery, is being forced to close to make way for the building of a Trader Joe’s at 120 Merrimon Ave. For those who might be saddened by the future shuttering of the restaurant (and missing all of […]
Feast for FEAST On Saturday, July 14, join Slow Food Asheville for beer and barbecue-studded fun at Highland Brewing Company from 4 until 8 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for Slow Food's FEAST program, an effort geared toward empowering school-age children to make healthy eating decisions through free cooking classes. Enjoy Highland’s famous brews, […]
Feast for FEAST On Saturday, July 14, join Slow Food Asheville for beer- and barbecue-studded fun at Highland Brewing Company from 4 until 8 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for Slow Food's FEAST program, which teaches school-age children to make healthy eating decisions through free cooking classes. Enjoy Highland’s famous brews, plus plenty of […]
Across the country (and in plenty of cities), people are growing and canning vegetables, learning to make jam and even raising chickens, for Pete's sake. Inspired in part by pushing back against a persistently sour economy, a growing portion of the population values good old-fashioned know-how. The DIY movement (or "knowing how to do important […]
Salmonella victim sues According to a press release from PR Wire and court documents obtained via Food Safety News, a lawsuit has been filed against Smiling Hara LLC, a local tempeh maker. Earlier this year, Salmonella-tainted tempeh from the company sickened at least 89 people in several states, including North Carolina. The lawsuit is filed […]
Kevin Westmoreland and Joe Scully, owners of the Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Village, are opening a new restaurant, Chestnut, in the former Ed Boudreaux's at 48 Biltmore Ave. The business partners hope to have the new restaurant up and running by late this summer. The fare will include affordable, eclectic American food, including seafood and […]
Duane Fernandes has returned to Horizons at the Grove Park Inn after departing to helm the food program of a South Carolina resort just four months ago. Why the quick return? It's as much about the new food-and-beverage program at the GPI than anything else, he says. (The Grove Park Inn, as you may already […]
Blind Pig Supper Club’s Battle Food Truck, part of Asheville Beer Week, was a great success. About 200 people enjoyed five different dishes from five different food trucks, with each diner voting on his or her favorite. The Tin Can Pizzeria‘s “Fuzzy Pig” pizza, with bacon and peaches, was excellent. The Tin Can Pizzeria can […]
Want greenways? Of course you do, but some are divided as to whether or not the city should be spending money on such things right now. That's part of the reason why local businesses have begun uniting in support of the Greenways Initiative of Connect Buncombe, a group that’s working to build greenways and trails […]