Katie Button, chef and part-owner of Cúrate tapas bar, laments that she’s never had the chance to dine at elBulli — a restaurant in which she staged — and never will, now that it’s closed. Here is her last meal, which she sent in an email to Xpress. I slaved away in the kitchen, described […]
If I'm going to go out, I'm going to go out with an epic meal," says Damien Cavicchi, the executive chef of the Biltmore Estate. Course 1: Kumamoto oysters, raw, ice cold, with Tabasco sauce and saltine crackers. That is a complete sensation like no other. Just the texture, the taste — it's a purely […]
Our new feature, 10 Minutes in the Kitchen, follows food from ingredients to plate, drawing back the curtain for a peek inside the unseen world of restaurant cooking. Tin Can Pizzeria owner Kim Dryden stands in the middle of a pizza oven on wheels. With a careful flick of the wrist, the food truck's signature […]
Last rites seem to obsess us. It's evident in many of the disaster-scenario mind games we play with ourselves. To wit: If your house was burning and you could only grab one item, what would it be? Or, à la Rolling Stone, if you were stranded on a desert island with 10 albums to listen […]
Reza Setayesh is the Iranian-born chef and owner of Rezaz in Biltmore Village. We simply couldn't course out his last meal, so here is his last night on Earth, in his own words: What kept on coming to my mind more than anything else was an experience. An experience and a place, a place where […]
Juicy Lucy's Burger Bar and Grill on Hendersonville Road opened on July 23 and Xpress stopped the next day to try it out. If you haven't heard the legend of Juicy Lucy, it's a not-so-delicate Minnesota delicacy consisting of a hefty portion of cheese stuffed in a burger. Imagine a chocolate lava cake made out […]
Come Aug. 26, Boca’s chef Stewart Lyon will leave the kitchen he has worked in for almost two years for a chance to expand his culinary skills in New York City. “I need to gain experience, rather than dish it,” Lyon says. “I need to go work for two years and commit myself just like […]
Adam Bannasch, the chef and part-owner of Zambra, is a seafood kind of guy. Before coming to Asheville, Bannasch lived in New Orleans where he became addicted to all-things finned and on the half-shell. "I'm just a seafood guy," he says. "I never really eat much red meat. Everything from the sea just seems so […]
Cucina 24's chef and owner Brian Canipelli's last meal "wouldn't be fancy," he says. He first said he'd be really hard-pressed to find anything he'd rather have than the perfect cheeseburger with french fries and a gigantic Coke. He later changed his answer to "fried chicken and biscuits." He finally amended his meal to include […]
Sweet takes place on Friday, Aug. 24 from 7:30 until 10 p.m. at the Grove Arcade (tickets http://avl.mx/ib) Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar Biltmore Cake Ball Bakery Biltmore Winery Blue Ridge Distilling Buchi Kombucha Carriage House Distillery Crumbs & Cream Falderal Winery French Broad Chocolate Lounge Green Life Inn on the Biltmore Estate […]
Inn on Biltmore Room accommodations for two nights Two tickets to Sweet event on Friday, Aug. 24 Two VIP tickets to the Grand Tasting event on Saturday, Aug. 25 Complimentary transportation to and from Sweet and the Grand Tasting Package starts at $379 per night, based on double occupancy in a deluxe room, excluding taxes. […]
Throughout the spring, chefs have been battling it out over secret ingredients to see whose cuisine reigns supreme. The talent has been whittled down to just a chosen few; WNC, below are your victors and their upcoming battle dates. The final challenge, judged by a panel of experts, will take place during the Asheville Wine […]
Perhaps instead of “Paris of the South,” we should consider “Napa Valley of the east coast.” With our growing reputation for wines, local-spirit cocktails, bean-to-bar and handcrafted chocolates, an exploding brewery scene and world-class dining options, it wouldn’t be completely inaccurate. In celebrate of our area’s edible bounty, the Asheville Wine and Food Festival is […]
Through the past few decades, the public perception of chefs has shifted. Once a strictly back-of-the-house position, chefs are now considered rock stars in aprons shouting at underlings, and globe-trotting gourmands eating strange foods and hamming it up for the camera. Thank you, Food Network. The rise of the celebrity chef has spawned a slew […]
It's Friday night, and Carla Gilfillan is just starting her shift at Outback Steakhouse on Tunnel Road. She'll spend the next six hours juggling orders and handling the requests of several dozen people. By the end of the night, her pedometer will indicate she's clocked nearly 20 miles around the restaurant, refilling drinks, dropping off […]
We like Independence Day because it marks a time when the Founding Fathers were badasses, unafraid to tell the king of Great Britain to shove off. In their honor, we forget about rules. We blow things up and grill giant slabs of protein over flame, putting down loads of great American food that we may […]
Anyone who’s spent plenty of time behind the grill knows that there’s an art to manipulating food over flame. The golden rule of grilling according to Chef Chas Edwards of Blue Water Seafood? “Keep it hot!” she says. “Keeping a hot grill ensures even cooking,” Edwards explains. Allowing food to get hot means taking a […]
Shrimp marinade: 1 gal. sealable freezer bag 1 pound fresh N.C. shrimp (get 1.5 pounds if leaving head on for presentation), peeled and de-veined 2 cloves thinly sliced fresh garlic 5 bay leaves juice of one lemon 1/4 cup white wine 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning 1/2 tsp sea […]
Karen Fowler knows her meat. The 34-year-old Chop Shop butcher wields a boning knife (and sometimes a hacksaw) like no other and — no surprises here — has some mighty helpful grill tips (with extra input from Chop Shop owner Josh Wright and other employees). Towel off: Make sure the product you're throwing on the […]
It’s likely that our meat-eschewing friends won’t want their dinner straight off the grill, especially if said grill is covered in animal products, right? Here’s an idea, via Biker Billy, for a meatless meal made entirely in a skillet. Top of the Hill tempeh roll-ups (Makes 1 serving) 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil 8 oz […]
Compound butter is a great way to maximize flavor with grilled foods, says the Chops Shop’s Josh Wright. “With a few adjustments, gorgonzola butter can be transformed into the perfect accompaniment for any meat on the grill, letting the flavor provided by the intense heat and smoke fully manifest.” This basic recipe for Chop Shop […]
