Asheville...in Food & Photos

This weekend Nick and I hopped in the car for a little relaxing getaway and some alone time. We decided to visit Asheville. I have never been, and its been 25+ years since Nick has been there.   Our weekend revolved around Good Food, Good Company and NO SCHEDULE!!

Here is the story of our weekend in photos and food!


Residences at the Biltmore
(Great Decision- Affordable Rates- Luxury apartment style living- 5 minutes from down town and the best bathtub ever!)

The Chocolate Fetish
YUM!  We visited this store both days we were in town!

Our Menu:  Kaluah and Cream Truffles, Chai Latte Truffles, Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel, Milk Pistashio Frogs, Chocolate Peanut butter round, Dark Chocolate & Wasabi Truffle, Coconut Truffle and Raspberry Truffles.

The Market Place
Great little restaurant downtown on Wall Street.  Great ambiance, perfect low-key live music and incredibly gourmet food.

Our Menu Included:

• PEI mussels, roasted garlic, white wine, lusty monk mustard, grilled bread
• Duck confit & kimchi dumplings, napa cabbage & shiitake "slaw", pomegranate sauce
• Wood grilled double cut pork cut, sweet potato & bacon fondue, braised collards, rosemary cider reduction
• Hand cut pappardelle, braised lamb, roasted oyster mushrooms, confit tomatoes, basil pesto, parmesan

The PEI mussels were down right AMAZING.  The local lusty monk mustard had a flavor that was a cross between wasabi and horseradish and made the sauce so delicious.  Even once the mussels were gone, we found ourselves dipping bread in the broth just to soak up all the remaining goodness.

Downtown Asheville
Asheville reminds us a lot of Athens, but on a bigger scale. There are block and blocks of shops and restaurants. Not franchised restaurants and chain stores, most are all independently owned boutiques selling adorable clothing, home decor and local crafts.  There was a good feeling on the streets, and people playing music on lots of corners.  We spent all day on Saturday strolling through the streets and shops of Asheville.

Some of our Favorites (top to bottom, left to right)
Mast General Store, Wonderland, Karmasonics, The Laughing Mermaid Soap Co, Tops for Shoes,  Chevron Trading Post & Bead Company, Appalachian Naturals and Curio for Kids.

Carmels Kitchen & Bar
The Restaurant we ate lunch at,  right in the middle of downtown with pocket doors that open allowing you to sit inside, yet still feel like you are outside.  Outside of the restaurant is a street lined with local vendors selling a variety of crafts.

Our Menu:

• Caesar salad: Grilled romaine or classic tossed romaine with crostini, parmesan cheese, housemade caesar dressing
• Spinach Salad: Chiffonade of spinach & romaine tossed with blueberry stilton, spicy walnuts, diced pear, olive oil, balsamic reduction
• Tomato Goat Cheese bisque (best tomato soup in my life)
• Buffalo Chicken Grilled Pizza: Grilled chicken, blue cheese, mozzarella, onion, celery, buffalo sauce, drizzle of ranch

The Lobster Trap
Another really cool atmosphere, live music and perhaps some of the best seafood we have ever had.  We even commented at dinner that the food was better than when we are at the beach and continued to talk about how delicious it was and how full we were, the entire walk back to our car.

Our Menu:

• Smoked Trout Dip  (tasted like a cross between lox spread and herb spread cream cheese...but better!)
• 1 dozen Gulf oysters, raw on the halfshell
• Maple Bacon Scallops: ½ dozen bacon-wrapped scallops with Maine maple syrup (our mouths are still watering) 
• PEI Mussels, served with broth and slice of baguette (tasty, but not as good as the night before)
• Cioppino:  Mussels, clams, linguica sausage, pieces of King crab legs & smoked salmon simmered in an herb tomato broth with lobster mac & cheese

It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend, filled with quality one-on-one time, great weather and delicious food. I think we are going to turn this into an annual March getaway for the two of us. Its so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day routine of our lives and its important to take a little break to getaway and just enjoy each other.