Asheville

We recently did a week down in Asheville to celebrate the start of Mad Dog’s 4th decade, eating and drinking our way across the countryside.  Despite hitting a ton of good spots, I’m sure we missed a bunch, too.  Check out the noteworthy ones we did manage to hit as a starting point:

Things to Eat (Savory):

• Pork belly taco and frozen Cheerwine at White Duck Taco Shop
• Pork belly bao from Bun Intended and a chicken biscuit from Buxton Chicken Palace (don’t forget the waffle fries!) at S&W Cafeteria (great place to try beers from Highland Brewery, too!)
• Ribs and pulled pork from 12 Bones (also their corn pudding and greens were outstanding) — be sure to walk off the meat sweats by visiting the dozens of artists’ studios in the surrounding river arts district afterward — prints, pottery, glasswork, clothing, antiques, and more that are worth a stroll and some coin!
• Bear Balls (deep fried macaroni and cornbread balls filled with pulled pork and smothered with cheese and bacon — holy fu#$…) from Bear’s BBQ (their baked beans, ribs, and Texas sausage were also really good, so don’t miss em)
• Porky Breakfast Bowl (12-hour roasted pork, eggs, and potatoes covered in bacon gravy), Charleston chicken biscuit (brined chicken, pickles, and gravy on a biscuit), and the mini bundt (a killer, spicy little cake covered in delicious icing and pecans) from Early Girl Eatery
• Breakfast at Biscuit Head — basically everything is amazing here. The bacon is thick and crispy (and rotating daily). The biscuits are huge, fluffy pillows, either to dunk in their tasty jams (sour cherry, berry bomb, and peach rosemary were my faves) or to soak up their incredible gravy on the sammies (the fried bologna, classic sausage, and Filthy Animal (fried chicken, pimento cheese, bacon, and gravy) were all great, but the blow your face off winner was the Country Ham biscuit (starring the titular ham, cheesy eggs, a fried green tomato, and its incredible red eye gravy, which is PACKED with flavor)
• Fried catfish, boiled peanuts, and an apple butter old fashioned at Haywood Common (stop next door at the Whale, a beer club that has a ton of choice non-local selections on tap (and a solid hip hop playlist rolling) and DeSoto Lounge after, a dog friendly (like doggos IN the bar) dive bar w pinball and ping pong across the street)
• Crawfish mac and cheese, po’ boys, and etouffee at Oyster House Brewing (plus multiple varieties of the raw namesakes) — they’ve also got solid beers brewed in house, too (Vic’s Galactic IPA, their Moonstone Oyster Stout, etc)
• Fried chicken biscuit (get it w runny eggs and sausage gravy) and the muffaletta from Mayfel’s (also had legit bloody Mary’s — get em spicy!)

 

Things to Eat (Sweet):

• Pastries from Filo (the sfogliatelle with Nutella, the rugelach, the applesauce scones…)
• Beignets from Bebette’s New Orleans coffeehouse (be sure to walk around the Grove Arcade when you’re done — it’s a beautiful building that was boarded up for FIFTY YEARS?!)
• OWL Bakery — got a brown butter cake w dulce de leche and thyme buttercream and a slew of killer pastries here — ham and cheese croissant, the everything danish (everything bagel seasoning rimming a little pool of capers and cream cheese on a flaky, buttery bed — like a better, more indulgent version of the bagel-based classic), cardamom buns, the morning buns (croissant bits rolled in cinnamon sugar and orange zest)…there were about 10 other things that sounded amazing, too, that they just didn’t have that day. Definitely worth indulging your inner glutton…
• Ice cream sandwiches from Sunshine Sammies (the strawberry and cookie dough ones were two favorites)
• We walked by a couple times and it was always closed, but Double D’s Coffee & Desserts looked pretty great, too — a converted double-decker bus w/ some tasty eye candy online, right in the heart of downtown. Definitely want to test these out in person next time…

 

Things to Do:

• Biltmore Estate — enormous grounds of the Vanderbilts palatial estate. Definitely worth walking around the gardens and village on a nice day. Do NOT miss the house tour, though — unbelievable house with epic dining rooms, indoor pool and bowling alley, and tons of great things to eyeball (and learn — the free audio tour is a nice add on to explain the surroundings)
• Horseback riding — we went with Sandy Bottom Trail Rides and it was a nice, relaxing ride around. They offer 1, 2, or 3 hour options and 2 was just about right for my unseasoned ass. Folks were really friendly, too!
• Hikes — there’s tons of em within driving distance, so spin the wheel and start walking. We did the Graveyard Fields loop trail just outside of town, which was great — decent difficulty, nice couple of waterfalls on the trail, takes about 2.5 hours total round trip depending on how many stops you make. Lots of scenic overlooks to check out on your drive up/down, too, so a nice chance to maximize!

 

Things to Drink:

• Beer — there’s a billion options in town, but these were some of my standout favorites (maybe one day they’ll can/distribute!)
  • Town;Red (smoked red ale) from Cursus Keme
  • Peach’s Dream Castle (peach smoothie sour), Hidden Reality (raspberry Berliner Weisse), and Alien Stasis (triple IPA) at New Origin
  • Passion Fruit Sour and/or Pineapple Vape Juice (IPA) from Wedge
  • Laminated Creatures (guava, mango, passionfruit sour) from Bhramari
  • Hi-Pitch (and/or Double Hi-Pitch) from Hi-Wire Brewing (IPA/DIPA)
  • North German Pils and/or Kellerpils from Zillacoah on the river (grab a couple meat sticks from Hickory Nut Gap while you’re at it – I dug the pork and the jalapeno ones)
  • Rainmaker (DIPA), Turkish/Vietnamese Coffee Stouts, Choice As (NZ Hazy IPA), and more from Green Man (tied for winner of best all around brewery)
  • Shadow of our Final Days (IPA) from Burial (whose Forestry Club is tied for winner of best outdoor drinking space)
  • Abbey Dubbel from Eurisko
  • Peachful (peach ale) from Highland
  • 1994 Vintage DIPA and 1884 English Stout from Zebulon (a tiny brewery doing only historic recipes — tied for winner of best all around)
  • Belgian Blonde or Fox Mine (IPA) from Eluvium
  • DIPA, hefeweizen, or tripel from Hillman (tied for winner of best outdoor drinking space)
• Cocktails — Rhubarb had a couple good ones (Mannish Boy – rye, Frangelico, allspice dram; Que Burumba — two rums, peach, ginger beer, Averna) and Antidote had a bunch (Green Submarine — gin, Ancho Reyes, green pepper/habanero; Spiced Rum Old Fashioned — they did an amazing job with the space, here, too, so definitely settle in for a couple and admire the vintage handiwork)