This weekend, watch almost 25 grill masters compete for barbecue glory. The Spruce Pine BBQ Championship and Bluegrass Festival draws grill geeks from around the Southeast. It's even regulated by the Southern Barbecue Network. The small town of Spruce Pine, north of Burnsville, has an ideal climate for a summer barbecue cook-off, explains Randall Hembree, […]

Since it first opened in 1995, Burgermeister's has forged new territory for Asheville restaurants. It closed Saturday, July 13, but could reopen somewhere else, says co-owner Tom Gaddy. The restaurant started as a burger counter downtown when other storefronts were empty. Then, Gaddy took a few years' break from the business before reopening in nascent […]

The solar-powered street cart sells several creative varieties of the frozen treat.

One Friday a month, Micheal Scharf waits in his car in the parking lot of Innsbruck Mall, ready to open his trunk for a select group of customers and show them the goods inside. He's not selling anything illicit, nor is he pedlling rugs. He's the organizer of The Lobster Club, and he's undercutting the […]

You’ve probably seen the billboards, the ones that say “You just blew $10,000.” They’re anti-DUI adverts, and the idea is that by the time you pay legal fees and fines, you’ll have dropped 10 grand. Sadly, many of Asheville’s breweries are on the periphery, and if you don’t have a designated driver, you’ll need to […]

Thai Basil in the Grove Arcade is closed, but it will soon reopen as Thai Tara. Tony Pornchinda of Charlotte recently purchased the business with some partners, and he says it will reopen in a couple of weeks. Pornchinda used to own a restaurant in Charlotte called Thai Cuisine. Thai Basil remains open in Black […]

A few weeks ago I had a lively discussion about sunscreen on Twitter. My friends are as befuddled as I am — is sunscreen an essential part of summer, or do the chemicals in commercial tubes cause cancer? Is it worse to get a sunburn or put unpronounceable ingredients on your skin every day? Conflicting […]

Forever is a long time to think about chicken and waffles, but such has been the plight of John and Julie Stehling. Julie says she feels like the concept for her forthcoming restaurant, King Daddy's Chicken and Waffle, has been on her mind from time immemorial. The Stehlings own Early Girl Eatery downtown, and they've […]

Find out where food trucks are headed next, and check out the newest additions.

Subway leaves downtown The $5 Footlong has retreated to the 'burbs, at least for now. Downtown's Subway, located at 33 Battery Park Ave. near the Grove Arcade, closed last week. The manager, loading bags of chips into a food service truck, said he had no comment, and asked that his name not be used. The […]

Tremors from the highly publicized collapse of the Paula Deen empire have spread into Western North Carolina. Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort announced it will re-brand Paula Deen’s Kitchen, the 400-seat restaurant and retail outlet, one of almost a dozen eateries on the property. “We really felt that the comments that she admitted making were really […]

Mountain Mojo Coffee House and Looking Glass Creamery set up shop this spring.

Grove Park Inn has a new owner — again. On June 12, Omni Hotels & Resorts announced it was buying the property, along with four other resorts in other states. “We want to make this as smooth of a transition as possible, so we're mostly excited to keep everything status quo,” says Anne Tramer, vice […]

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