Seasonal Food - Regional Focus
Cabo's Burritos opened about a month ago in the space formerly occupied by The Caribbean at 1971 Asheville Hwy, Hendersonville, NC. You can miss it if you don't know where to look. Cabo's is near The Ugly Mug, on the other side of Asheville Hwy, across from Ingles Market. Look for this sign: Here's a shot of the front: See the yellow sign on the right? It's pointing to more parking in a large rear lot. A good thing, because the three or four spots in front fill up … [Read more...]
I was having one of those days. The kind where I'd agreed to meet a friend for lunch and then went to the wrong restaurant. After a quick call asking her where she was, I headed over to the right restaurant - on the other side of town. Ugh! Luckily it was a perfect day for al fresco dining so we chose a table out on Sol Y Luna's fabulous, tree-shaded, umbrella festooned deck. This is the same Laurel Park space most recently occupied by Ling's Bistro. Just after we sat down, bean dip … [Read more...]
Watch out, Papas and Beer! New players are in town! Two Mexican restaurants opened recently; Elena's Mexican Grill (So Asheville/Arden) and Sol Y Luna (Hendersonville/Laurel Park - review coming soon). Elena's is new, but owned by the same people that own El Rebozo (2270 Hendersonville Rd, near DQ) and Casa Torres (336 Rockwood Rd Ste 109, near Arden Cracker Barrel). I've eaten at El Rebozo (it was good), but not Casa Torres. Rarely at a Mexican restaurant are you surprised by … [Read more...]
Alternate title: Patron Redeemed.The sign says, "California Style". What does that mean?That's a tough one. With increased migrations of American and expatriate Mexican populations comes the blurring of lines between regional and even national cuisines. American and Mexican, "styles" are increasingly blending and overlapping.One writer puts it this way:"What distinguishes Tex-Mex, New Mexico-Mex, California-Mex or Arizona-Mex - the Mexican cuisines of the Southwestern border states - from each … [Read more...]
Teen daughter volunteered for the day at Manna Food Bank in Asheville yesterday (Saturday, 8/22). The last time she spent a whole day there, she brought a lunch with her.I decided it would be a perfect time to treat her to lunch out so she could have a little down time in between shifts and I could have a little daughter time.We headed out to see what we could find. She noticed I had a latte and asked, what kind of latte do you have?" Since she always mooches my drinks, I instinctively tried to … [Read more...]
Frustrated at not being able to find just the right footwear for PIC at the Asheville Mall, we decided the only thing to do was to find a place for lunch and decompress.Thank you, Papas and Beer, for locating just North of the mall! Your fresh-faced facade shone like a homing beacon.Right inside the door is a great bar - love the tile roof effect, simulating an outdoor bar.The end of the bar closest to the door has something a little extra: a glass-topped case filled with metal objects and … [Read more...]
This comment on my review of Hendersonville's Patron came in moments ago from "Richard":"It's time to for you to re-review Patron. They are under new ownership. The food now is about 100x better than that which was served at the previous incarnation. this tastes like real mexican food now. On the weekend they are making carnitas (roast pork) and birria (roast lamb or goat). I had the carnitas last Sunday and it was sublime. My wife's carne asada was also excellent. The salsas in the salsa bar … [Read more...]
El Chile Rojo Mexican Restaurant has moved to the building where Dockside, Rhea's and the Chinese Restaurant use to be. We have a new name, "Mr. Juan"s Mexican Restaurant."Same staff....Same great food. Come listen to Geraldo play live music on Friday nights, 6:00-9:00 pm Call 859.6858 for more info or to book our private dining room for you special occasion.Print Page … [Read more...]
Recession? I don't see no stinkin' recession - at least not at Hendersonville's Papas & Beer!We stopped at Papas & Beer for lunch at 12:15PM today, Wednesday March 4th and couldn't believe our eyes! There was not one open table in the place. Not only that, there was a wait.Nachos, served with sour cream, guacamole, beans and pico de gallo and choice of beef, steak or chicken is $5.75. I chose chicken. The chicken had a good grilled flavor and there was lots of it. There's no way I could … [Read more...]
Driving by Papas and Beer back in June, I noticed they were gussying up the planters with pieces of faux brick and painting the exterior with a faux brick look. At the time, I thought it looked a bit funky, but whatever, they were trying to spiff up the place.Then, on another pass, I saw they had added the words "Papas and Beer" in white paint on the roof. What were they thinking? This was "over the top", but whatever.A day or two later it rained. The rooftop "Papas and Beer" was running, slowly … [Read more...]
