| Title |
Excerpt |
Author |
Date |
| Protecting yesterday's beans |
College may very well be intellectually enthralling and socially beguiling, but all that excitement calls for small sacrifices. As any frosh will readily confirm, being a full-time student means wearing flip-flops in the shower, sharing the remote for the student-lounge T.V. and giving up one's garden. Courtesy James G.K. McClure… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
11/18/09 |
| Small Bites |
Craggie Brewing Company: Asheville's newest beer-makers, Craggie Brewing Company (at 197 Hilliard Ave.), will open their Public House this week, with opening celebrations on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20 and 21, from 4:30-10:30 p.m. The company's focus, according to a press release, is to "create a hometown brewery, with passion… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
11/18/09 |
| There's no shame in this bottle |
It's probably not American wine drinkers' fondness for lots of alcohol and oak that most thoroughly confounds Old World wine lovers: It's their tendency to let fictional characters tell them what to drink. In one of the goofier episodes in American wine history, a film intended to celebrate the joys… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
11/11/09 |
| Small Bites |
Wasabi: Steam trays of cashew chicken and lo mein are no longer the sole representative of Asian cookery at Asheville Mall's food court, where an outpost of Wasabi Sushi opened earlier this month. "Shoppers have been asking for sushi for some time," said Jeff Washburn, mall manager, in a news… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
11/11/09 |
| Reservations for none |
The tourists strolling through downtown Asheville on a weekend night might appear to be window-shopping or people-watching, but that's not all those wide-eyed visitors are doing: More often than not, they're waiting for a table. An hourlong wait for a restaurant meal isn't uncommon in Asheville, where locals' laissez-faire attitudes… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
11/04/09 |
| Small Bites |
Sazerac: Downtown Asheville's newest bar/eatery, Sazerac, opened last week. Owners Jack and Lesley Groetsch, former managers of the Orange Peel, say that the venue is a classic-cocktail bar. Sazerac, at 29 Broadway in the space formerly occupied by Ambiance Interiors, is named after a cocktail created in New Orleans, where… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
11/04/09 |
| An underground food tradition |
Like most homegrown cuisines, Appalachian cookery is rife with makeshift techniques and food-stretching ingenuity. But for pure resourcefulness, no mountain dish can match buried cabbage, an underground delicacy for which the preservation period starts this month. The recipe for buried cabbage sounds like the punch line to a "How poor… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
10/28/09 |
| Small Bites |
Asheville Ale House: With the sort of scrappiness from which sports movies are made, Asheville Ale House this fall opened in the shadow of the behemoth Wild Wing Café, the two-story franchise outlet that's become many sports fans' game-day destination. Owner Nate Feilich claims the competition doesn't worry him: "Wild… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
10/28/09 |
| Small Bites |
French Broad Chocolate Lounge: With so many chocolate lovers looking to linger at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, which has emerged as the downtown-Asheville dessert place since the demise of Old Europe, the café had little choice but to add more seating. French Broad's second floor, featuring nearly three-dozen additional… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
10/21/09 |
| Eats |
Bakery 1. City Bakery Cafe 88 Charlotte St., Asheville, 254-4289 and 60 Biltmore Ave., Asheville, 252-4426 City Bakery offers Asheville a veritable world's fair of bread, lining their shelves with challah on Fridays and stollen at Christmas. But it's the everyday loaves that catapulted the bakery into the… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
10/21/09 |
| Exporting Asheville's know-how |
To achieve the goal of eating closer to home, last month some food activists took a trip to a very faraway place. Asheville's Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project this fall hosted its first-ever Local Food Institute, designed to familiarize local-food-market developers from Tennessee to Toledo with ways to energize their economies.… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
10/14/09 |
| Small Bites |
Hard Lox Cafe: For 364 long, corned beef-free days a year, Asheville doesn't have a Jewish deli. But October marks the annual return of the Hard Lox Café, a Jewish food and heritage festival, at which noshers raised on knishes and chopped liver have a chance to get their fix.… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
10/14/09 |
| Putting the squeeze on |
I always thought the expression "slow as molasses" referred to the viscous liquid's stubbornly glacieresque pace: You could probably upend a bottle of the stuff while your pancakes were still being plated and not have to worry about a drop touching the table. That's pretty slow. Photos by Kenny Raskin… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
10/07/09 |
| Small Bites |
Pies In Disguise: When Ben Herring and Eliza Sydney relocated to Asheville from the Virgin Islands, they presumed they'd find more pie. Photo by Jonathan Welch "People probably want a lot more pie than they're getting around here," says Herring. "My partner's an unbelievable pie baker, so we started throwing… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
10/07/09 |
| Small Bites |
Chai Pani: Asheville is finally getting more street food, although it's housed indoors. Photo by Jon Elliston Chai Pani, which opened to rave reviews and out-the-door lines last week in the Battery Park Avenue storefront vacated by Johnny's, specializes in chaat, or North Indian snacks. "Street food is fun and… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
09/30/09 |
| A restaurant retrospective |
On the "-est" lists of Asheville restaurants, there are plenty of venues that surpass The Market Place, which isn't the oldest, ritziest, boldest, biggest or hippest place in town. Indeed, the restaurant is so staunchly understated that Frommer's once described it as "somehow undervalued and underappreciated." But Mark Rosenstein can… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
09/23/09 |
| Small Bites |
Asheville Tourists: With the Asheville Tourists' regular season over, McCormick Field is gearing up for a different sort of competition. The park will host its first-ever chili cook-off on Saturday, Oct. 3, with the winner earning the sure-to-be-coveted "Best Chili in WNC" title. The event includes individual and restaurant divisions,… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
09/23/09 |
| So many cooks in the kitchen |
The gleaming 80-gallon stainless steel kettle nudged into the far corner of Blue Ridge Food Ventures' wet kitchen is where Viable Culture's Brian Moe cooks his soybeans for tempeh, Fisher Farms' Maria Fisher boils tomatoes for sauce and — twice a week — Imladris Farms' Alyssa Rudolph makes jam. Photo… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
09/16/09 |
| Small Bites |
Double D's: It's the return of the double-decker bus: Last week, Karen and Jeff Lazzaro, who recently purchased the red bus on the corner of Biltmore Avenue and Aston Street, opened Double D's (pictured here) inside the colorful coffee shop. And they didn't waste time: "We've actually tried to rush… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
09/16/09 |
| Knife & Fork |
Flavor: Classic WNC field-to-table Ambiance: Subdued stylish Price: $12-$17 Where: 61 Locust, Spruce Pine Contact: (828) 765-1511 Hours: Tue-Fri, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., 5:30-9 p.m.; Sat, 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Sun, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. The hardest part of being an artist — other than the measly paychecks and constant parental griping —… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
09/09/09 |
| Small Bites |
The Admiral: West Asheville's The Admiral (pictured) has always had a thriving late-night scene, but it's now a better-fed one: The acclaimed eatery last month debuted a late-night lineup for its DJ-drawn crowd, featuring dishes from the regular dinner menu and smaller snacks, including truffled popcorn and shrimp deviled eggs.… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
09/09/09 |
| A great appearing act |
Rabbit is one of the easiest animals to catch in the woods, but urban diners have had considerably less luck hunting the critter. Rabbit remains frustratingly elusive on Asheville restaurant menus, despite growing demand for its famously nutritious flesh. Everything about rabbit screams local food: Its production is well-suited to… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
09/02/09 |
| Small Bites |
Sugar Momma's Cookies: Sugar Momma's Cookies (pictured here) has reopened in its new location at 13 Broadway, its third downtown-Asheville venue since its founding. The bakery offers cookies, ice cream, coffee, tea and bubble tea at its storefront, open Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sat., noon-8 p.m. For more information,… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
09/02/09 |
| Farmers come to town |
In the ongoing contest to get closer to the source of one's food, Asheville restaurateur Laurey Masterton may have achieved a new level of kitchen intimacy. Photo by Jonathan Welch Eaters who merely dabble in locavorism are generally content to know where their tomatoes grew. Slightly geekier grocery-goers might seek… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
08/26/09 |
| Small Bites |
Nova: Nova (pictured here), the ritzy small-plates spot that restaurateur Eric Backer introduced to downtown last year, has a new chef. Justin Burdett, who had served as sous under Nova's first executive chef, was promoted last month. Burdett, a veteran of Hugh Acheson's lauded Athens eatery Five & Ten, has… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
08/26/09 |
| Small Bites |
Sprout Garden: Be forewarned: This write-up may be entirely outdated by the time you read it. Photo by Jonathan Welch "We're evolving every day," Sprout Garden Cafe's co-owner Jon Braden said when reached by phone last week. "We just started serving breakfast today." Braden says the Black Mountain eatery, which… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
08/19/09 |
| A long way from local |
Tailgate markets are designed to showcase local foods, grown by local farmers on local land. So why does the most popular product at many Western North Carolina tailgate markets hail from 452 miles away? Photo by Jonathan Welch Freshly caught seafood is so beloved by mountain shoppers that many area… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
08/19/09 |
| Getting your goat |
While outsiders might associate mountain cuisine with ramps and corn liquor, Western North Carolinians know the region's most iconic local-food product of the 21st century is goat cheese. It's not surprising that a region as devoutly locavore as ours would embrace goat cheese, which elegantly encapsulates all the best attributes… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
08/12/09 |
| Small Bites |
Short Street Cakes: Jodi Rhoden is finally phasing out the coffee shop she never wanted in the first place. When Rhoden (pictured here) opened a retail outlet for her immensely popular Short Street Cakes at 225 Haywood Road in West Asheville, friends prodded her to include a breakfast nook where… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
08/12/09 |
| Market economics |
Even at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon, Asheville's tailgate markets are bustling. Over at the French Broad Food Co-op, a cellist is bowing a vaguely classical tune, Nicole DelCogliano of Green Toe Ground Farm can't dice heirloom tomatoes samples as fast as shoppers can snatch them up, and Brian… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
08/05/09 |
| Shooting the chef |
Sandlin Gaither wanted to point his camera at loud, foul-mouthed, rowdy, besotted subjects, which is pretty much how he ended up shooting chefs. Street vendors, Bangkok, Thailand Photos by Sandlin Gaither "God, they almost look like pirates," local photog Gaither says of the back-of-the-house workers who've become an ongoing project… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/29/09 |
| Small Bites |
French Broad Food Co-Op: The French Broad Food Co-op (pictured) is testing locavores' cred with a national co-op program designed to stimulate interest in local food. "Eat Local, America!" is challenging eaters to create five meals a week from local products. Practiced locavores are being asked to localize four out… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/29/09 |
| Good and greasy |
While area chefs have dutifully stocked their pantries with Hickory Nut Gap meats, Sunburst Farms trout and Spinning Spider cheeses, Appalachian food advocates say perhaps the most local of local foods is still missing from area menus. Photo by Jonathan Welch "People who like to eat out should see more… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/22/09 |
| Small Bites |
Black Mountain Chocolates: The problem with being among the nation's first makers of a highly specialized, artisanal product is finding the machinery with which to make it. There aren't yet any Internet clearinghouses or mail-order catalogs catering to the small-batch chocolate trade. But David Mason persevered, cobbling together a roasting… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/22/09 |
| Teaching vino |
If you're wondering whether the recent dry spell in Mendoza will mean trouble for the next round of Argentinian wines, Jess Gualano will gladly geek out with you. But the 30-year-old owner of Asheville Wine Consulting — and the resident wine expert at West Asheville's Hops & Vines — would… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/15/09 |
| Small Bites |
Heatherlane Farms: "Cheese is a lot sexier," goat farmer Yvonne Cobourn sighs when asked why more area dairies aren't making a range of value-added products, like her Mountain Made Goat Milk Fudge (pictured here). "A lot of people only think in terms of using goat milk for cheese, but I… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/15/09 |
| Canyon Kitchen |
Flavor: Southern seasonal Ambiance: Cookout at a wealthy relative's summer place Price: $35 Where: Lonesome Valley, Cashiers Contact: (828) 743-7696, ext. 222 Hours: Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday midday meal Xpress food writer Hanna Rachel Raskin can be contacted at food@mountainx.com. Lonesome Valley, a planned community plopped into a Cashiers… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/08/09 |
| Small Bites |
Eric Scheffer'S New Wine Line: Beverage makers are suddenly clamoring to produce the chosen drink of the chosen people, with Shmaltz Brewing Company, makers of Jewbelation ale, hosting a party at Thirsty Monk last week. The latest culinary entrepreneur to join the fray is Asheville's own Eric Scheffer, who's just… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/08/09 |
| Forget the carrot |
Chef Herve This’ accent is as thick as béarnaise sauce, but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard him right. “Barbecue, we have to avoid,” he said. This is a culinary visionary, not a vote-seeking politician, so perhaps it’s silly to imagine him marking his first trip to North Carolina by eating… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/01/09 |
| Small Bites |
Wayside Bar & Grille: If a former La Paz bartender has his druthers, the old Biltmore Village train depot will once again become a must-stop spot for locals and tourists alike. Mark Harding and his wife Polly last month opened the Village Wayside Bar & Grille (pictured) in the 1894… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
07/01/09 |
| High stakes cooking in the high country |
There are probably people playing hockey in Utah. Surely there's a football player biding his time on an Arizona gridiron, and a point guard fated to punch a clock in Maine. But as anyone who lives in a monosports culture like Quebec, Alabama or North Carolina can attest, games somehow… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
06/24/09 |
| Small Bites |
The Dripolator: The relocated Dripolator coffeeshop is now open in downtown Asheville's Pioneer Building, again serving drinks to thirsty customers. “We still have some things to finish up to trick it out and warm it up, but the espresso is pulling, coffee is hot and beer is cold!” owner Jay… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
06/24/09 |
| Rolling out a new business model |
Flavor: Honest comfort food Ambiance: None Price: $2-$5 Where: Exxon, 203 N.C. Highway 9, Black Mountain (breakfast and lunch) and The White Horse, 105C Montreat Road, Black Mountain (late night) Contact: 669-6207 Hours: Mon.-Sat., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tues., Fri.-Sat., 6-11 p.m. Hours are subject to change if the chefs are… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
06/17/09 |
| Small Bites |
Eats & Drinks: Mountain Xpresss’ Eats & Drinks guide hit the streets this week, featuring more than 500 local bars and restaurants in one easy-to-use publication. And our online Dining section has been revamped as a one-stop shop for dining news and views. The 96-page Eats & Drinks lists eateries… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
06/17/09 |
| Building a new business |
When Hermelinda Luviano offered me one of the lunch plates her hard-working crew at Delicias Latinas had prepared, I hesitated. While I was eager to sample whatever was responsible for the rich aroma emanating from her corner of the Blue Ridge Food Ventures commercial kitchen, I was short on silverware,… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
06/10/09 |
| Small Bites |
Eliada Home Trout Rodeo: As if eating locally grown food wasn’t already virtuous enough, Eliada Homes is adding a charitable twist: The venerable Western North Carolina nonprofit, which serves high-risk children, is hosting its third annual trout rodeo. On Sunday, June 21, children from Eliada Homes will gather at Sunburst… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
06/10/09 |
| Red Stag Grill |
Editor’s note: The new Grand Bohemian Hotel’s restaurant is intended to inspire the eater’s inner Victorian-era hunter. In that spirit, we felt it was only appropriate to review the Red Stag Grill in the style favored by the 19th century armed explorers who regaled their readers with tales of high… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
06/03/09 |
| Small Bites |
A-B Tech Culinary Arts Team: A-B Tech’s perennially competitive culinary team (pictured here) is asking local food lovers to help underwrite its trip to the national finals in Orlando this July. The team earned its berth by finishing first in the American Culinary Federation’s Student Team Southeast Regional Competition this… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
06/03/09 |
| Small Bites |
Caffiend Gets A Makeover: Caffiend, the coffee shop at 120A Merrimon Ave. that never closes (we mean never—owner Matt Hebb tells Xpress that the 24/7 joint doesn’t even close on Christmas) just turned a corner, celebrating two full years in business. To mark the occasion, Hebb and his staff have… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
05/27/09 |
| Horizons |
Flavor: Inventive continental Ambiance: White tablecloths, a piano player and the region’s longest wine list Price: $10-$39 Where: 290 Macon Ave. Contact: 252-2711 Hours: Mon.-Thu., 6 -9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 6-9:30 p.m. Even the oysters at Horizons have come out of their shells. I can’t recall if Horizons, the Grove Park… |
Hanna Rachel Raskin |
05/20/09 |
