The A-B Tech culinary team emerged from a near-sleepless weekend of cooking, plating and butchering with a gold medal. The six-student team traveled to Louisville, Ky., in early March to participate in the American Culinary Federation’s Southeastern competition. The team has logged hundreds of hours of practice over the past six months, and at the […]
Tag: Straight Dish
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Not just for vegetarians
For 48 hours, Sarah Yancey tends her tempeh as it forms. It starts out as a bag of soybeans; as it ferments, fine white threads of fungus envelope the beans until they're covered up. “It starts off like a spiderweb,” she says. “You'll just see it get thicker and thicker and whiter and whiter until […]
Tofish ‘n Chips
Tofish 'n Chips: 1 lb extra-firm tofu Nori seaweed Fish 'n chips batter mix Your favorite local beer Cut tofu into 8 slabs. Press and drain. Freeze tofu overnight and let thaw. Squeeze out excess water (get as dry as possible). Cut nori to wrap around the slabs of tofu (twice the size of slabs). […]
A beginner’s guide to plant-powered proteins
Protein Tofu Tempeh Seitan Textured vegetable protein (TVP) What is it? Concentrated protein from soy milk Fermented, fungus-covered legumes (soy or otherwise) Concentrated protein (gluten) from wheat flour Dehydrated, concentrated protein from soy flour How’s it taste? Mild with hints of peas and earth; adapts to seasoning and broth; takes on the flavor of surrounding […]
Seitan in your sink
Pamela Lalik of Wingbean makes seitan in large batches at the Blue Ridge Food Ventures test kitchen, where she prepares meals for home delivery. For home cooks working on a smaller scale, seitan is easy to make with just a sink and an oven, and it’s easy to customize to fit a particular diet (although […]
Tempeh in a shoe box
Smiling Hara began in a shoebox. Yancey says she was hooked after she tried the fresh tempeh. With a little patience, you can grow your own tempeh in an incubator. The process requires a live culture to get going, but in Asheville, they’re easy to find. Check out the French Broad Food Co-op on Biltmore […]
Back to its roots
Veg-In-Out has been rechristened. The vegan meal delivery service now goes by Eden-Out. Founder and chef William Najger sold Veg-In-Out in 2010. But in December, he returned to Asheville and purchased the business anew with business partner Jennifer Woodruff, who owns Build It Naturally on Biltmore Avenue. Eden-Out delivers vegan meals (no animal products) with […]
Mexican food for the masses
Kevin Grant loves tacos for their broad appeal. When he imagines his customers, he thinks about a family of five, or a pair of 15-year-olds on their first date, or a group of 10 celebrating someone's birthday with margaritas. He hopes Zia Taqueria, which opened Friday, March 1, on Haywood Road, will host all of […]
Kooky culinary contests
Let the thrill of a contest pique your appetite. Whether you like sweets or savories, this week offers dining competitions for all palates. Cupcakes vs. Cancer On Saturday, March 16, graze on cupcakes at the Grove Park Inn. Cupcake makers of all skill levels compete for first prize ribbons while diners sample their creations. The […]
Classic swank and cured meat
If Cary Grant were to saunter out of Notorious and onto the streets of Asheville, Josh Wright wants to make sure he'd have somewhere to get a martini. Wright opened the Chop Shop Butchery in 2011. Now, he's expanding his explorations in cured meats and whole-hog butchery into the space next door, the former location […]
More good stuff coming to South Slope
Chicken and waffles harbor a lot of mystique. No one's quite sure where the combination originated or why it tastes so good together. What is sure, though, is that they're coming to South Slope. As soon as late summer, the neighborhood below downtown will be home to King Daddy's Chicken and Waffle and Beer City […]
Post-Consumer Pantry: Jolly good morning, y’all
English muffins may not be a Southern staple, but sometimes even the hungriest among us get overloaded on biscuits (blasphemy, perhaps, but it's happened to the best of us). When you've had too many biscuits and gravy and need something a bit lighter, English muffins are here to save the day. Boxed and bagged English […]
Coffee for a cause
Pisgah Legal focuses on the essentials; the nonprofit offers free legal assistance to low-income people with housing, health-care and safety needs. True to form, Pisgah Legal wants to connect with Asheville over an essential part of most mornings — a cup of coffee. Java for Justice gets the word out about the firm’s services while […]
Give your belly a voice
Whether you prefer to nibble tapas at Cúrate or sink your teeth into a burrito at Mamacita's, it's probably clear to you that Asheville is the tastiest town in the South. Now, the restaurants you love need your help. Spread the word about their greatness; vote in Southern Living's The South's Tastiest Town poll. The […]
Restaurant shuffle
Artisan Catering & Deli and Ambrozia Bar & Bistro change up their real estate
Get some goulash
Eastern European eats are still sorrowfully sparse in our region. If you're able to hunt them down, you're probably reading a specials board or a tucked away corner of a menu. But for one night, Hendersonville Sister Cities invites the public to gather around goulash (a rustic, paprika-spiced stew) and piroshki dumplings. “We just thought […]
Creatures becomes the Asheville Radio Café
Creatures Café has a new name and a new groove. In January, the Christian, alcohol-free eatery and nightclub became the Asheville Radio Café. “It's such a hassle to move a radio station that we were able to find some private investors and take over the café completely,” says Pete Blackshaw, the nonprofit’s new president. Blackshaw […]
Anything meaty, tasty and juicy
Craig Hoge proudly mans his bright-yellow bread truck, which is decked out with pictures of anthropomorphic sausages and tiny hearts. It's an eye-catching homage to “anything meaty, tasty and juicy,” as he describes the products he will serve from the Lovin' Tenders food truck, which opens this week on Haywood Road at the intersection with […]
More beer to South Slope
The South Slope neighborhood is growing like a weed on a sunny, south-facing barrow. The up-and-coming neighborhood — and subject of a January Xpress cover story — will be home to Twin Leaf Brewery. Steph and Tim Weber, husband-and-wife co-owners, recently announced that the brewery will be located at 144 Coxe Ave., and they hope […]
To market, to market
In the morning, the neighborhood grocer wakes up and enjoys a breakfast at home with his family before sauntering down the steps to his shop. There, he spends the day with his neighbors, who are also his customers, before calling it quits in the evening and completing his two-minute walking commute back to his home. […]
From the creators of LAB … more LAB
The big, dark cavern and sometime parking area next door to Lexington Avenue Brewery is about to burst open with a glorious bounty of Asian-inspired eats and craft beer. That's a dramatization. But fireworks aside, LAB co-owner Mike Healy plans to open Stirhaus — a “farm-to-wok” restaurant, as Healy brands it — in addition to […]