Long Weekend In... Asheville, North Carolina
What's not to love about a weekend escape to Asheville "Any way you like it" North Carolina? Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the town is surrounded by streams, trails, and thick forests in every direction, perfect for whatever your outdoor pleasure might be.
There's hiking or biking in the North Carolina Arboretum, kayaking down the French Broad River, or fly fishing in nearby Smoky Mountains National Park. For those looking to discover the local culture, there's "Shindig on the Green," a free Saturday night folk jam session held in the town square. A wide sampling of instrument-wielding humanity, from hippies to doctors to professors, wanders around the
If you're looking for something more opulent, there is the Biltmore Estate. For $54 (!), you can tour the 250-room French chateau that the Vanderbilt family built in 1895 as a summer retreat. Now a museum, the architectural marvel is both amazing and absurd. Who needs 65 fireplaces—especially in the summer? (Photo courtesy of Flickr/dustinphillips)
Afterwards, retire to one of Asheville's ten breweries. The town of 76,000 people has the most per capita in America. On any given day you can sample some 50 local brews. Besides beer, Asheville turns out Southern cuisine that holds its own against its neighbors and ribs that compete with Texas — yes, Texas. If the town ever wanted to change its motto, it could easily be, "Great food at an honest price." One look at your bill and you'll wonder how they can get away with charging so little. The following establishments are some of the best Asheville has to offer. As for what order to put them in on your trip, I'm going to leave it up to you because you should have it any way you like it.
ño cheese grits ($18)
This barebones smokehouse is only open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone who can get away with that kind of schedule must be doing something right. And 12 Bones is, judging by the lines that stretch out the door, around the corner, and around another corner. The wait is worth it. Though you're in Carolina, try the house specialty — ribs (as President Obama did on a visit last year). The crackly baby back meat comes in a variety of rotating flavors: award-winning blueberry-chipotle, dry-cured brown sugar, salt and pepper "nekkid," and caramel cola Q. They're served with two sides, so balance out the meal with a "vegetable," like the moist corn pudding or jalapeño cheese grits. For those going all in, there are also sides of sliced brisket and pulled pork. (Photo courtesy of Matt McCue)
Recommended dish: Shrimp and goat cheese grits ($15.45), fried okra ($3.25), mac and cheese ($3.25)
Whether you're starting off the day with the sweet potato pancakes covered in peach butter and pecans or ending it on chef Brian's shrimp and goat cheese grits, this downtown institution is a smart choice. The outdoor seating offers a complimentary taste of the Saturday night st reet performers—like a man dressed as a nun turning tricks on a seven-foot-high tricycle.
The kicker here is the complimentary warm and buttery biscuits that precede every meal. Drizzle it with, yes, Tupelo Honey. (Dare we say the blueberry preserves is an even better accompaniment?) The "farm-fresh" sides are a steal and can easily make a meal: cornmeal-coated fried okra, a healthy scoop of velvety mac and cheese, or crunchy fried green tomatoes. Of the six local brews on tap, the French Broad Wee-Heavy-Er Scotch Ale is a mouthful to order, but it goes down easy.
Recommended dish: The Big Ranch Texas Sandwich ($7.95); chopped barbecue pork plate ($8.95)
Normally, I am not one to take restaurant recommendations from a heavily tattooed and pierced cabbie with biceps the size of ham hocks. But she was born and raised in the area, so I took the bait when we rolled past this funky dive, and she suggested I try it the next day.
Good decision. It serves one of the best, and most heart attack-inducing, sandwiches I have ever eaten. The Big Texas Ranch Sandwich is stuffed with chopped brisket, fried onions, bacon, ancho-ranch dressing, and slices of sweet pickles on Texas toast. A stop for dieters this is not. This family-owned gem's mascot is a pig and the meat, like the surrounding mountains, is smoky, from the jumbo chicken wings to the chopped pork to the St. Louis ribs. Even the Cobb salad is crowned with smoked turkey brisket (and fried okra for good measure). To wash it down, the thirteen drafts, including Dogfish Head 60-minute and Lagunitas IPA, are all under $5.
Recommended dish: Early Girl Benny (pictured) ($7.95); Porky breakfast bowl ($8.95)
Upon entering through the screen door, a blackboard greets you with the local farms the restaurant relies upon. There's Sunburst Trout Farms, Sunny Creek Farms, Three Graces Dairy — the list of fairytale names rolls on to 23 individual suppliers. Their bounties sprout up in the porky breakfast bowl, a mishmash of home fries, barbecue pork, scrambled eggs, and farmstead cheese smothered in Benton's bacon gravy and the "Early Girl Benny," grit cakes topped with tomato, spinach, poached eggs, tomato gravy, and avocado, served with toast or a biscuit. Though breakfast is served all day, you don't have to order it for dinner. For those tucking into an evening meal, there are "meat and two" plates. Match your protein—sautéed mountain trout, meatloaf, or slow roasted lamb shank—with your veggie: black-eyed peas, ginger coleslaw, applesauce, or collard greens. (Photo courtesy of Flickr/ahemler)
Recommended dishes: Sticky buns ($3), chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream ($3.75), coconut custard pie ($3.50)
If you've been following my family's vacation rules and eating every three hours whether you're hungry or not, then you'll need to take one meal "off." By that I mean you'll still eat, and well too, but it won't amount to a gorging.
Rise and shine with cheddar-scallion biscuits, gooey sticky buns, and the apropos small-batch coffee courtesy of the Smoky Mountain Coffee Company. Whatever you do, don't glance at the cakes and pies. If you do, you'll think, What if I never come back to Asheville? And that will get you thinking that you better take advantage of the selection now, so you'll ask the bubbly barista which dessert she would pick if she could only choose one. And she'll say the coconut custard pie is her absolute favorite. You'll cringe because you had eyes for the chocolate cake layered with peanut butter buttercream, and you had hoped she would reaffirm your culinary crush so you could order it guilt free. Except now she's put you in a real pickle, forcing you to choose between your gut instinct and her recommendation. And that is no decision a person on vacation should have to make at nine the morning. Might as well get them both. They're worth it.