Q: Birthday Girl chooses . . . Never Blue!

Six of us celebrated a friend’s birthday over dinner at Hendersonville’s Never Blue. I hadn’t been in a while, so was really looking forward to a “fresh” post-pandemic experience. Conclusion? They’re still rockin’ their menu, drinks, dessert, service, everything! Notes: The vibe at Never Blue is fun, colorful, and energetic. Can’t talk about other’s experience, but our server did a great job. Many menu items are unusually creative. Expect quality ingredients. Portions are generous. Yes, the Pumpkin Love dessert looks a little . . . , but it’s supremely delicious. Outside seating is available in warmer weather. Descriptions of each image are in the gallery below. Never Blue 119 S Main St Hendersonville, NC 28792-5083 828 693 4646

Question 1

Mudpuppies - Best Sushi in Asheville?

Accepted Answer

First look at Mudpuppies Sports and Sushi Bar, &#8220;the area’s only Sushi, Sports, and Entertainment Bar&#8221;, fresh off their Grand Opening last weekend in Arden. Find them at 5 Andrew Way in Arden. They&#8217;re across Brian Blvd from Holiday Inn & Suites.

Destined to be considered the best Sushi in the Asheville area. (not an overstatement). Yaya and Danny were behind the Sushi Bar. You might know Sous Chef Yaya and her husband, Chef James, from Blue Ginger at Tryon International Equestrian Center. There&#8217;s Sushi on the menu you won&#8217;t find elsewhere in WNC.
Details matter when plating & presenting Sushi. Yaya&#8217;s all about details and it&#8217;s noticable.
Granted they just opened, but their case displays looked clean & fresh. Read image captions for more Sushi details. A selection of Salads, Burgers, and Sandwiches are also on the menu if you&#8217;re not feelin&#8217; Sushi.
There&#8217;s a legit raised stage with a full setup of mikes, speakers & electronics for live music. Again, guessing it&#8217;s gonna&#8217; be loud.
A full bar on the opposite side of the space adds balance. I felt compelled to taste-test a cocktail. Excellent!
Seating is mostly 4-tops and bar stools with backs. There are two &#8220;U-shaped&#8221; booths for larger groups.
45 screens, at our count, to feed your need for sports viewing. There&#8217;s something about the way they&#8217;ve grouped the screens that made it feel less manic than some other spots to me. I&#8217;m easily distracted. ?
Lots of hard surfaces means potentially loud when lots of people are on hand.
Decor consists of screens. Period. It&#8217;s a Sports Bar first and foremost.
There&#8217;s a spacious deck off the back. It overlooks a parking lot, but is raised enough that I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s an isue at all. You&#8217;ll mostly be aware of trees bordering the lot.
Two lots, one on each side of the building, may or may not hold all vehicles when there&#8217;s a big game on? The bigger lot&#8217;s on the rear side of the building.

See their website for more information: https://mudpuppiesavl.com/
Mudpuppies Sports and Sushi Bar
5 Andrew Way
Arden, NC 28704
828-676-2151

Question 2

Nashville's Gulch - perfect for a weekend getaway!

Accepted Answer

Looking for a weekend getaway? An escape to Nashville is the answer! It&#8217;s only a 4 1/2 to 5 hour straight shot on I-40 West from Asheville. Four of us &#8211; two couples &#8211; did just that in mid-December.
We found the perfect AirBnB in The Gulch, for a three night stay. It&#8217;s quieter than staying downtown near all the action on Broadway, yet has lots of excellent restaurants, shops, and a Hop On &#8211; Off Old Town Trolley stop, all within easy walking distance. Of course, sometimes you want to be where the action is. Just not this time.

Just south of downtown lies this once-abandoned industrial area that&#8217;s undergone an urban revitalization in recent years sparking an intoxicating new energy. The exceedingly walkable LEED-certified community is teeming with boutique hotels, high-rise condos, instagrammable murals, shops, live music venues, breweries, and diverse culinary offerings spanning everything from biscuits and Nashville Hot Chicken to Detroit-style pizza, traditional ramen, and Indian food. VisitMusicCity.com

An overview and image galleries (see captions) of our favorite places to Eat, Play, and Stay in Nashville&#8217;s Gulch and beyond are below the map. Use the Open/Close Icon   top left for flyout map location details.
 
Our weekend getaway was full of great food, drinks, and entertainment.
If you&#8217;re new to Nashville, definitely get a one-day ticket for the Hop On &#8211; Hop Off Old Town Trolley. That way you can get a good overview, making note of where you want to go back to and explore more thoroughly.
We took in the Christmas Show at the Grand Ole Opry. None of us had been before and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even the one of, who shall remain nameless, that isn&#8217;t a country music fan, had a good time.
The Musician&#8217;s Hall of Fame and Museum was amazing. Displays that included country musicians, as well as others like Jimi Hendrix and Elvis, sound equipment, instruments, and costumes worn during iconic performences went on and on. Live music and private events are also held here.
Finally, don&#8217;t miss the live music, neon, and partying on Lower Broadway, the city&#8217;s main drag, also known as Honky Tonk Highway downtown, and Printers Alley. I&#8217;d recommend going to both during the day, and again at night for the full effect.
MILK & HONEY &#8211; The Gulch
We try to go to Milk and Honey whenever we&#8217;re in town, especially for breakfast and espresso. There&#8217;s a light, fun vibe, which may or may not involve the energetic full bar. A long wait isn&#8217;t uncommon in peak season, so plan ahead and get there early if it&#8217;s breakfast you&#8217;re after.

THE PUB &#8211; The Gulch
Good food! Good drinks! If you&#8217;re looking for excellent execution of traditional British dishes, order Scotch Eggs and Fish & Chips. Check out their whiskey and beer offerings, also. Cozy atmosphere, which was ramped way up with holiday decorations, and nice, attentive staff.

BISCUIT LOVE &#8211; The Gulch
Best biscuit I&#8217;ve had to date. Crisp/crunchy outside &#8211; light, fluffy inside. Not embarassed to say I could easily make of meal of their biscuits with jam. If I did that, I&#8217;d mis out of the very tasty sausage gravy, though. Feeling adventurous? Check out their &#8220;Brunch favorites with a twist&#8221;.  They serve up very good espresso drinks and take the time to top them off with a rosetta.

PEG LEG PORKER &#8211; The Gulch
Open since 2013, serving up award winning BBQ. They &#8220;cook fresh every day and serve until items run out.&#8221; Everything was very good, but we were especially impressed with the juiciness of the 1/2 rack of dry rubbed ribs! Expect a line, but don&#8217;t worry, they move everyone through pretty quickly.

ADELE&#8217;S &#8211; The Gulch
Adele&#8217;s &#8211; not the singer &#8211; was our choice for our final dinner in Nashville. We wanted to wrap up our weekend getaway with a special evening and excellent food. We experienced elevated, as opposed to fine (although it was fine), dining. They refer to their dishes as &#8220;comfort food&#8221;, which I&#8217;d definitely agree with. We were seated with a good view of where the magic happens &#8211; their very open kitchen. Prep, plating, garnishing, a wood-fired oven, and a wood-fired grill. Our meal and evening were deliciously perfect. Note that they change their menu regularly, so items here may not be available when you go to Adele&#8217;s.
Love that the building used to be a garage and that they&#8217;ve kept just enough of that &#8220;feel&#8221; to make it fun.

Question 3

Birthday Girl chooses . . . Never Blue!

Accepted Answer

Six of us celebrated a friend&#8217;s birthday over dinner at Hendersonville&#8217;s Never Blue. I hadn&#8217;t been in a while, so was really looking forward to a &#8220;fresh&#8221; post-pandemic experience. Conclusion? They&#8217;re still rockin&#8217; their menu, drinks, dessert, service, everything!
Notes:

The vibe at Never Blue is fun, colorful, and energetic.
Can&#8217;t talk about other&#8217;s experience, but our server did a great job.
Many menu items are unusually creative.
Expect quality ingredients.
Portions are generous.
Yes, the Pumpkin Love dessert looks a little . . . , but it&#8217;s supremely delicious.
Outside seating is available in warmer weather.

Descriptions of each image are in the gallery below.

Never Blue
119 S Main St
Hendersonville, NC 28792-5083
828 693 4646

Question 4

Milton's: sumptuous elevated dining in Black Mountain!

Accepted Answer

It was a dark and stormy night . . . but totally worth battling wind and rain from the edge of Hurricane Nicole to celebrate a birthday at Milton&#8217;s in Black Mountain.
I first met Executive Chef Edwin Bloodworth eight years ago when he was running the kitchen at Lex18, a N. Lexington Ave restaurant (no longer in business) in Asheville. He served up one of the best meals I&#8217;d had to date!
It wasn&#8217;t until we chatted with Chef Edwin this time that I realized he&#8217;d been at Gamekeeper Restaurant & Bar in Boone during the time I was producing the High Country Small Plate Crawls. If you&#8217;ve never been to Gamekeeper, you must go. Their food is interesting and fantastic. They&#8217;ve done some major remodeling since I&#8217;ve been, so I also need to get back up there.
This is the second time my husband and I have been to Milton&#8217;s, in the historic Monte Vista Boutique Hotel. Both were the type of dining experience you can&#8217;t stop thinking about. Chef Edwin has been at the helm of Milton&#8217;s Black Mountain in the The Monte Vista Hotel for about 8 months now, and he&#8217;s knockin&#8217; it outta&#8217; the park! Feast your eyes on some of what&#8217;s coming out of his kitchen now, as well as what&#8217;s to come on his soon-to-be-finalized new menu in the Gallery below.
Every, Single, Dish was presented beautifully and was absolutely delicious! Flavors were balanced, yet set each other off perfectly.
We were there for dinner, not a media preview, but Chef didn&#8217;t let that stand (smile). As we were about to give our most fabulous server, Jennifer, our order, she looked me directly in the eye and said, &#8220;you&#8217;ll get what you get.&#8221; Oh, okaaay . . . We did eventually get what we were going to order, but before that happened, a &#8220;new menu preview&#8221; tasting parade happened. Do. Not. Get. Me. Wrong. We loved every minute of our evening! It was a completely fun, magical way to celebrate Bill&#8217;s birthday! Especially as we&#8217;d had to cancel the original date due to a family emergency.
NOTES:

As you look through the Gallery at all the lusciousness, keep in mind some of the tasting dishes &#8211; marked as NEW MENU COMING SOON &#8211; are still in the process of being tweaked, so they might look/taste a little different when finalized. Read &#8220;finalized&#8221; as &#8220;Chef&#8217;s best and most delicious take on the dish&#8221;.
Pictures from our first meal at Milton&#8217;s are marked PREVIOUS MEAL in the Gallery.

If you haven&#8217;t been to the historic (National Register) Monte Vista Hotel in a while, things have changed. A few years ago, Southern Proper Hospitality (Atlanta), &#8220;together [with] a few other Black Mountain partners acquired the hotel and redesigned the accommodations to create a comfortable and classically hip boutique mountain oasis.&#8221;
It&#8217;s lovely inside and out! In nice weather, it&#8217;ll be hard choosing between cozy inside dining, and dining on their pretty back patio. Both have fireplaces.

Milton&#8217;s
Cuisine and Cocktails
308 West State Street
Black Mountain, NC 28711
828-669-8870

Question 5

Not a stretch - Tall John's, Asheville's next Best Restaurant?

Accepted Answer

To be sure, I&#8217;ll have to go to Tall John&#8217;s a few more times to make the proclaimation &#8211; &#8220;Asheville&#8217;s next Best Restaurant&#8221; permanent. If last night&#8217;s preview is any indication, there&#8217;s no question about it!
Food hasn&#8217;t surprised me in quite a while, but three of the four dishes we had did just that. I was surprised by unexpected flavors and textures. There was also a little surprise involved with how dishes were presented &#8211; serving dish & utensils, portioned for two. It&#8217;ll be interesting to see if they continue with this approach. Our server confirmed that&#8217;s the plan. It was fine for us, and actually added to the experience, but what if you have a table of four and they all order different things?
WHO
Tall John&#8217;s is helmed by Executive Chef/Owner Trevor Payne and General Manager Jasper Adams.
Chef Payne returns to Asheville, where he has family roots, following an extensive culinary career in Portland, Oregon’s top kitchens (Clyde Common, Le Pigeon, Little Bird Bistro, Olympia Provisions).
Those of you familiar with Asheville&#8217;s culinary scene will know Jasper Adams from Table, The Imperial Life, Cucina 24, and Rhubarb. He&#8217;s a life-long Ashevillian.
WHAT
With a hip, cozy, neighborhood-tavern-like ambiance, Payne has positioned Tall John&#8217;s as &#8220;a place for all occasions for everyone.&#8221; It&#8217;s set to be a destination for everyday meals and special occasions alike, where &#8220;the quality of the food, beverage, and service is just as important as creating an approachable atmosphere where people feel comfortable.&#8221;
Seating capacity is 50 in the dining area and another 20 to 25 on the side patio. They&#8217;re planning a Spring opening for the patio.
The space has undergone extensive interior remodeling. It&#8217;s been modernized, while maintaining the building&#8217;s historic character: the original 1900s-era floors have been refurbished rather than covered over, and a new open kitchen & spacious bar have been added.
That Kitchen Bar definitely brings you up close and personal to the action. It struck me as a narrow space to work in, especially when there&#8217;s a crowd, but there was a smooth flow as Chef Payne directed. Remember this was a soft opening, so first run with patrons. I also wondered if it would get hot with commercial oven, cooktop, and grill about ten feet from our seats. That hood did its job. No unusual heat on our side of the bar.
Payne, son of Asheville artist John Payne, has called upon some of his close relationships with artists and craftspeople to bring original touches to the space. These include custom metal work from Tina and Kayla Councell of Iron Maiden Studios and original artwork from local artist Kevin Hogan (Payne&#8217;s father-in-law).
What&#8217;s behind the name &#8220;Tall John&#8217;s&#8221;? Treavor Payne&#8217;s father&#8217;s name is John, and he&#8217;s tall. They called him Tall John. As Jasper Adams tells it, the name gradually morphed into a feeling of casual comfort and just a generally good feeling.
MENU
The menu will offer &#8220;European-American classics like roasted chicken, cold oysters, radishes and cultured butter, caesar salad, a great steak [and possibly a great burger]. The newly-built spacious bar will serve classics like freezer-cold martinis, an intentional selection of enduring wines from small producers, time-honored draft and packaged beers, and crafted non-alcoholic drinks. There are a variety of seating options to choose from, including outdoor patio seating, a full-service bar, a counter at the open kitchen, and a lively dining room.&#8221;
See the Sample Menu served during their friends, family, and media event in the Gallery befow. You&#8217;ll see dishes are titled, but not described. If you want to know what&#8217;s in the dish before ordering, ask your server.
For instance, the menu said, &#8220;Fall Chicories&#8220;. It was a Chicory Salad with pear, grapes, and a creamy pistachio dressing, topped with cheese. That dressing, though. Seriously delicious! It&#8217;s pictured in the gallery below.
WHEN
Tall John&#8217;s plans to open for dinner service on October 19th from 4-10pm for walk-ins only. Dinner service will be Wednesday through Sunday, with additional offerings, including weekend brunch, daytime coffee, and what the team describes as a &#8220;badly needed in Montford&#8221; retail bottle shop on the ground floor, soon to follow.
WHERE
Located at 152 Montford Avenue, the historic building dates back to 1906. It&#8217;s tucked in among the neighborhood&#8217;s historic residences and old-growth trees. Throughout its history, the building has been home to a Piggly Wiggly and a Pentecostal church before being restored and converted into a restaurant space last occupied by Italian restaurant, Chiesa.
WHY YOU SHOULD GO
What impressed me most was the creative (read delicious) approach Payne takes to his dishes. Even the most mundane &#8211; a side of Baby Turnips. Turnips, you say? Try them before you dismiss the idea. No idea how they make those turnips do what they do. Take a bite, after swiping in the (no nut) pistou, and you get a spash of full, but mildly flavored liquid in your mouth followed by a firm-tender chew.
And those Oysters! Oh. My. Gosh! Definitely put a spoonful of that magic Mignonette sauce &#8211; traditionally made with minced shallots, cracked black peppercorn, and vinegar (either red or white) on top &#8211; followed by a light lemon squeeze.
Our &#8220;Tall&#8221; dish, &#8220;Roasted Half Chicken&#8221; was tender, juicy, and tasty. It made a difference following our server&#8217;s suggestion to add squeeze lemon over top.
I wondered if this was a case of a chef coming from the other side of the country, bringing what&#8217;s standard there as new here. But Asheville chefs have come from all over. He&#8217;s not the first. I&#8217;ve also spent time in Portland without running across cooking like this. Conclusion? It&#8217;s all Chef Trevor Payne.

Tall John&#8217;s
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talljohnsavl
152 Montford Ave
Asheville, NC 28801
828-782-5514

Question 6

Vintner's Table opens (softly) at Burntshirt Vineyards

Accepted Answer

Burntshirt Vineyards Hendersonville has announced the Oct 7th Grand Opening of their impressive new restaurant, Vintner&#8217;s Table, but if you can&#8217;t wait, they&#8217;re quietly running a soft opening, open to the public. Go with the understanding that they&#8217;ve set up a pretty big restaurant, bar, tasting bar from scratch and are still working out a few kinks. They&#8217;re probably dealing with the same staff shortage as every other restaurant.
Our friends went for lunch this past Thursday and had such a great meal, they asked if my husband and I wanted to go back with them for dinner on Friday.
&#8220;Vintner’s Table provides four separate menus for your dining convenience: a full Dinner Menu and Lunch Menu available at the restaurant, a Terrace Menu offering small bites and appetizers on the extended patio sections, and a Children’s Menu available throughout the serving area.&#8221; BurntshirtVineyards

We had the pleasure of meeting Executive Chef Paul Caricato. Loved how excited he was about the huge kitchen and his menu. The kitchen IS huge &#8211; and everything is still shiny and new. Chef Caricato was nice enough to give me a tour.
MY TAKE
Vintner&#8217;s Table is very good now, and will be GREAT &#8211; after they find their legs.

All pasta is made in-house. You can tell.
The menu isn&#8217;t extensive, but there&#8217;s enough variety that you should be able to find multiple dishes you&#8217;ll like. Not sure if they&#8217;ll expand it or not.
Two of us ordered the 6 oz Filet Mignon entrée. They were both cooked beyond medium rare (as ordered), but were delicious nontheless. On second thought, I&#8217;m wondering if they were cooked correctly, but there was an issue getting them out of the kitchen in a timely manner, like lingering under a warmer or something that caused continued &#8220;cooking&#8221;?
If they haven&#8217;t changed the menu yet, they don&#8217;t have Tartuffo, but DEFINITELY get the chocolate mousse caramel cake they&#8217;re serving in its place. It&#8217;s completely melt-in-your-mouth fabulous!
There were a few minor glitches during our meal, but I&#8217;m confident they&#8217;ll be smoothed out by their grand opening.
We love Burntshirt wines, but it&#8217;s nice to have a choice. They&#8217;re also serving up cocktails at Vintner&#8217;s Table.
If you like to linger over your meal, the wood seats might start talking to you.
The biggest challenge will be the noise level inside, especially when there are more than a few tables occupied. We were able to talk more easily after the large party of about 12 next to us left.  It&#8217;s not going to be easy to fix that while staying true to the lodge-like interior design. It&#8217;s all hard surfaces, top to bottom. Hope they can figure it out.
I&#8217;m looking forward to a meal with a glass of wine on the large covered patio in warm weather. For now, maybe a table in front of the also large fireplace.

Bottom line &#8211; you should go, enjoy the food & wine, and support what is ultimately going to be a Hendersonville jewel.
Burntshirt Vineyards
Vintner&#8217;s Table
2695 Sugarloaf Rd
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-685-2402

Question 7

Itto Ramen Bar and Japanese Tapas opens in Arden

Accepted Answer

Tony Lin, owner of Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas, has opened his third location at 335 Airport Road in Arden.
&#8220;Brand&#8221; content as it relates to food and drink program is creative and completely delicious, if a little confusing. Is it Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas or Itto Ramen Bar & Japanese Tapas? Is the website ashevillejapanesefood.com (Arden location only) or ittoramen.com (all three locations)? Scaling a business up isn&#8217;t always easy.
The Arden location website doesn&#8217;t have a menu posted, but lists their Specialties as Tapas, Sushi, Ramen, and Dim Sum. See the Arden menu here. I&#8217;ll be going back, but if they launch a solid Dim Sum program, you can bet &#8211; well, alot of things &#8211; that my family will be regulars.
Epicurean Notes:

See image captions for names of dishes.
Love the wall mural! Especially The Great Wave by Hokusai Katsushika. Such a classic.
They got the most seating possible into this space. It&#8217;s done well, but you&#8217;ll probably end up talking to people, definitely checking out plates, at tables near you.
Not easy to see in the image below, but there&#8217;s Sushi Bar seating rear left.
Every dish we had, including the Ramen to go we left with, was excellent!

When you go, keep in mind they&#8217;ve just recently opened and there may be a kink or two to work out. And it&#8217;s always good to call to be sure they&#8217;re open before heading out to a restaurant these days.
Itto Ramen Bar & Japanese Tapas
335 Airport Rd
Arden, NC 28704
828-676-0558

Question 8

Forestry Camp: Unique Dining in Asheville

Accepted Answer

So much to unpack here! I was going to write about our dinner for two in mid-December, 2021 at Burial Beer Co.&#8217;s Forestry Camp in Asheville, but major changes are taking place, so it might be a completely different experience for you when they reopen in February.
&#8220;We will be taking a well-needed rest and reflection for the month of January so that we can open anew on February 4th and welcome you into the new Burial Beer realm. Focusing on a taproom lounge experience, new spaces and venues, and immersive tours. Naturally, we had to have killer new grub from the team of Chefs, the latest VISUALS wine and cider, a list of some of the most incredible wines from friends of Burial, and one hell of an upgraded cocktail list.&#8221;
&#8211; burialbeer.com/location/forestry-camp
So, for now I&#8217;ll share images of the magical evening my friend and I spent over dinner and drinks at Forestry Camp. Can&#8217;t wait to see what they come up with next at such a unique location!
About Forestry Camp:
Built by the CCC, the multi-building facilty housed men who worked building the Blue Ridge Parkway. The structures remain much as they were when originally built, making it a very unique property, especially as a tap room, lounge, and restaurant.
Keep up with the latest from the amazing team at Burial:

Burial Beer Co Website
Burial Beer Co Facebook Page
VISUALS Instagram Page: A natural winery from the folks at Burial Beer Co
Forestry Camp Web Page
Burial Beer Forestry Camp Instagram Feed

Forestry Camp
10 Shady Oak Dr.
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 505-4452

Question 9

Holeman and Finch Asheville - in Reverse

Accepted Answer

Why reverse the Holeman and Finch experience? Because Impressed came after Annoyed, which came after Confused, so I&#8217;m leading with the positive and will sum it all up at the end.
Impressed
Uppermost, servers were friendly and top notch. They actually made the evening.
Dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding served with pour-over sauce and vanilla ice cream, was delicious. There are lots of options on the menu, but don&#8217;t miss the charcuterie, oysters, and chilled seafood. Their charcuterie program is curated and awesome.
From our seats we could see (through the shelving, jars, etc.) cured meats thinly sliced by hand. To the right of the shelves we watched a gorgeous hand-cranked meat slicer in action. We watched Co-owner Chef Linton Hopkins reaching for this and that as he put together charcuterie boards using excellent cheeses and cured meats.
Create your own Charcuterie board from the meat and cheese listings on the menu. It&#8217;s a little confusing. The menu says &#8220;served with bread, nuts, pickles & mustards&#8221; and &#8220;choose one choose many &#8211; all by the ounce.&#8221; So order any combination (all cheeses, all meats, both) and as much as you like, but know that prices on the menu are for 1oz of that item.
Oysters and Chilled Seafood are ordered from a menu (.pdf) laid out like a Sushi menu. Note how many of each item you want to the left of that item.
If you&#8217;re a popcorn fan, try their Bacon Popcorn. Take a bag home with you. It&#8217;s delicious and addictive.
Annoyed
Why would you choose to seat media, on hand to experience all that is your new restaurant, on metal stools, at a narrow counter, at a window facing the street, where the only thing they can see is a reflection of themselves?
We requested different seating and were offered spots at the bar. Only problem was they were directly in front of stocked shelves, so the view of bar action was obscured and servers behind the bar couldn&#8217;t get to us very easily.
Confused
You&#8217;re expecting us, right? Confirmed with a NYC PR company as well as the Holeman and Finch Operations Manager, no one seemed to know what was happening. No one introduced themselves to us, explained anything about the Holeman and Finch concept, owners, or anything else. It felt awkward and confused.
Some of the confusion on our part was because we weren&#8217;t aware of the concept going in. We were expecting table seating in a typical &#8220;restaurant&#8221;. I&#8217;d done my research, but not until we saw the menu did we get that Holeman and Finch is based on a &#8220;Public House&#8221; format. It feels like they refined their concept as an afterthought and are still dotting i&#8217;s and crossing t&#8217;s. Although their parent Hopkins and Company website lists a Holeman and Finch Public House opening soon in Colony Square, Atlanta, this location is listed as Holeman and Finch Asheville.
We weren&#8217;t quite sure about portion sizes and wondered if some dishes were meant to be entrées. Chef Linton took a minute to explain that there are no entrées on the menu, just various dishes of various sizes. Choose from Snacks, Plates, Parts, Meats & Cheeses, Farm, and Sweets. If it matters to you, ask your server about portion size. See MENU (.pdf).
Wrapping it Up
My take: Holeman and Finch is like an intimate, old English countryside neighborhood Public House relocated to Asheville and modernized with current decor. It&#8217;s a place where you should not be surprised if you find yourself conversing with the people at the next table or bar stool. It&#8217;s where I&#8217;d meet up with friends for drinks and food. We&#8217;d most likely end up talking and laughing over a table-top full of shared plates.
&#8220;I prefer it when someone looks like a nice person, and you think, &#8216;I could have a laugh with them in the pub.&#8221;
&#8211; Jo Brand
Even with the confusion and annoyances, I love the Holeman and Finch concept and hope they&#8217;ll tighten things up over the next month or so.
Epicurean Notes:

If you see a red &#8220;86&#8221; stamped on the menu, it means that item is no longer available. You know, it&#8217;s been &#8220;86ed&#8221;. Seems like a labor intensive thing, but on the other hand, it frees up the servers from having to explain what&#8217;s available and what&#8217;s not.
They&#8217;ve put as much seating into this small space as humanly and legally possible. If the patio opens back up (new Avl regs on parking lot seating & heating), some of the seating pressure should ease.
Question menu items if you want details. One of the dishes we had was Blackened Chicken Liver captioned &#8220;buttermilk spoonbread, mostarda&#8221; ($13, see image gallery), The buttermilk spoonbread had a saucy rather than the expected Yorkshire Pudding type consistancy and the mostarda (not everyone knows what this is) was a peach mostarda di frutta.
Holeman and Finch Asheville is the latest offering from Hopkins and Company, an Atlanta based hospitality group. They originally opened this location as H & F Burger right before Covid hit in 2019, shutting down shortly afterward.

Holeman and Finch Public House
77 Biltmore Ave
Asheville, NC 28801
828-417-3053
Sponsored

Question 10

Take the road less traveled to Birchwood Hall

Accepted Answer

Birchwood Hall Southern Kitchen was our latest day trip destination. If you like to drive the back roads like we do, head out from Brevard on US-276 and wind your way up the curvy mountain road, stopping at Looking Glass Falls if you like. After about an hour you&#8217;ll land in Waynesville.
The view when the weather&#8217;s nice during winter months is fantastic! No pesky leaves on the trees getting in the way. Watch for small mountain springs and unnamed waterfalls on your way. Stop at a couple (or more) pullouts, get out and see what you can see.
If you don&#8217;t want to drive the curves, take I-40 West and follow your GPS directions to Birchwood Hall Southern Kitchen, 111 N Main St, Waynesville, NC 28786. It&#8217;s a great place for lunch before exploring Main St shops, or heading back home. Their food&#8217;s tasty and reasonably priced. Note their Sanitation Score in the image below.
The I-40 route is an easy drive. It&#8217;s longer mileage-wise, but takes about the same time as the mountain-view drive.

Question 11

Is Bargello Spinning a Yarn?

Accepted Answer

The Bargello (https://bargelloavl.com/) Yarn begins in 17th Century Florence, Italy, when a set of chairs were discovered in Bargello Castle. They were covered in a new needlework style, now known as the Bargello style, after the castle. Those can be seen today in the same building (built in the 12th &#8211; 13th centuries), which is now the Bargello Museum.
Image: Jeff Beck
History of the style&#8217;s origin is short on documentation, but long on legends of creation by both Italian and Hungarian noblewomen. After watching the de Medici television series, one legends I particularly like is that of a Hungarian noblewomen practicing the craft, including a Hungarian princess marrying into the de Medici family.
Fast forward a few centuries to Bargello, the recently opened restaurant in current day Asheville. Co-owner Martha Pollay took design inspiration for the Mediterranean-inspired eatery from her mother&#8217;s love of needlepoint and the Bargello stitch she loves to use. Specifically her mother&#8217;s bench and pillow done in the Bargello style.

Interestingly, General Manager Peer Larson’s mother also had a Bargello needlepoint chair cover in his family home, which they are currently framing for the Bargello office.
So how is this yarn being spun?
As with Bargello needlework, hues of one color &#8211; blue in this case &#8211; and repeating geometric patterns have been used in Bargello, the restaurant&#8217;s, beautiful design.
Note the repeating arched design throughout the interior and on the exterior sign.

But what about the food?
I&#8217;ve known Peter Pollay for years and was thrilled to accept his invitation to do some sampling of Bargello&#8217;s menu. There were four of us at one of three high-tops overlooking the very open kitchen: myself and my friend Anne, along with another media person and her guest. By the way, all of these high-tops have easy to access outlets for your devices. It is in a hotel, after all, and sometimes you want to get a bite and work at the same time. I&#8217;m not sure about outlets at other types of tables & booths.
The evening was a wonder of moving parts in a smooth-running professional kitchen.
It began with Peter handing us the restaurant menu saying, &#8220;You can look, but not order. We&#8217;ll be sending dishes out for you all to share.&#8221;
Firstly, it can be exciting and fun to go out for a meal and tell your server, &#8220;please ask the chef to send out whatever he thinks we should try.&#8221; Secondly, it can be just a little scary because you never know what&#8217;s going to happen.
In this case, sixteen out of thirty one menu items rolled out to our table at a comfortable pace, one after the other. The flow was interspersed with questions and answers, note-taking, and a sampling of wine and cocktails.
Every. Single. Dish. Delicious. You may be thinking, of course they were. The kitchen knew who you were. Well, we specifically watched food going out to the &#8220;general dining room population&#8221;, and there was no noticeable difference. I&#8217;ll be going back, incognito and will be paying attention to see if there&#8217;s any difference in presentation, taste, etc.
Fascinating side note. One of the dishes we sampled was a tasty &#8220;Israeli Salad&#8221;. Ingredients had previously been those of a classic Israeli Salad, but had been seasonally adjusted. My friend Anne took one look and said, &#8220;This isn&#8217;t an Israeli Salad&#8221;. One of the other women at the table agreed. As it turned out, this other woman was Israeli &#8211; Israel-born, America-raised. An in-depth discussion of classic ingredients ensued, a little of which between these two, in Hebrew, just for fun.
Given current restaurant prices, Bargello&#8217;s menu is very reasonably priced. All the &#8220;For the Table&#8221; shareable plates were between $10 and $15. I could easily make a meal out of two. House-made pasta dishes are $17 &#8211; $21. All sides, like the Crispy Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Baby Sweet Potatoes we had were $10. Their incredible Cider Glazed heritage Pork Belly is $22, but three other &#8220;From the Farm&#8221; selections are more. Spice & Pepper Crusted Brisket (for 2-4 people) is $58, 32oz Bone-In Rib Eye is $70, and Joyce Farms Brick Chicken is $38.
The yarn Bargello is spinning is one of attention to detail, excellent service, delicious food you will not quickly forget, and a long-term plan to serve Asheville from this location.
Takeaway
If I were to boil this all down to one takeaway, it would be that you MUST go.
Epicurean Notes:

Cocktails are lovely and truly craft cocktails.
There&#8217;s an open-fire oven, open-kitchen area right on the lobby edge with counter seating for your viewing and dining pleasure.
You can dine, snack, drink outside on a large patio that runs the width of the building. Choose to sit at a table or on soft seating while you watch the Biltmore Ave, Pack Square action.
Current Days & Hours: OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK, BREAKFAST: 6:30 – 10 AM, LUNCH: 11 AM – 2:30 PM, DINNER: 5 – 10 PM
Don&#8217;t forget, you don&#8217;t need to be a hotel guest to dine at Bargello or across the lobby at District 42.
Bargello is located in the Hotel Arras ground floor lobby, 7 Patton Ave (corner of Patton and Biltmore), Asheville, NC 28801

READ MORE about District 42, Bargello&#8217;s sister eatery/bar across the lobby here: Asheville&#8217;s Most Beautiful Hotel.
Click on any image in the gallery below to enlarge the image and description.

Question 12

Girls Day Out: sipping & snacking our way through Grove Arcade's Restaurant Row

Accepted Answer

Warm days full of sunshine and breezes are perfect for eating outside. It was just such a day recently, and past time to do something fun with girlfriends. Strolling from restaurant to restaurant at Grove Arcade&#8217;s Restaurant Row (https://grovearcade.com/), stopping at patio tables shaded by colorful umbrellas, we caught up over glasses of wine & shared plates.
Of course we also spent some time browsing the shops and outdoor Maker&#8217;s Market, where local artists and craftspeople sell their work.
The afternoon flew by. It was a perfect Girls Day Out, but it would have been just as fun with the guys along.
We stopped at all six restaurants, sampling different cuisines at each. Of course you can go to fewer restaurants and still have a fabulous time! The following list is in the order we chose, but you can mix it up to suite yourself. Menus and hours are posted on line.
Battery Park Book Exchange
La Premier Tier Champagne Flight
WEBSITE
The full name of this wondrous labyrinth of the written word is &#8220;Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar&#8221;. That&#8217;s right, you can enjoy &#8220;edibles and libations&#8221; ordered from a huge selection of wines, sparkling wine cocktails, coffee, beer, cider, cheese boards, and desserts at this comfortably sophisticated used book store. On weekends you can listen to live music while you browse. Done browsing? There&#8217;s lots of seating where musicians set up near the bar, as well as throughout the bookshop. We shared a Champagne Flight and a French Cultural Platter. Take a look at their menu here.

Baba Nahm
Hummus Bowl: pickled vegetable, Israeli salad, feta, olives, sumac, zatar, parsley,toasted pita and EVOO
WEBSITE
Baba Nahm serves up middle eastern cuisine in a &#8220;grab and go&#8221; format. That doesn&#8217;t mean you can&#8217;t eat in. There are plenty of seats inside and a few tree-shaded picnic benches, where we sat, out front. That Hummus Bowl was fantastic, as was the filled Flat Bread (pictured below) that we shared. Fabulous seasoning! See their menu here.

Carmel&#8217;s Kitchen & Bar
Fried Green Tomatoes: Fried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, arugula, balsamic vinaigrette, bacon, basil aioli
WEBSITE
Carmel&#8217;s keeps it casual while serving up a wide selection of Southern inspired dishes like delicious Fried Green Tomatoes (pictured above), Pimento Cheese, and Catfish Reuben. Their corner patio, next to the Makers Market, is great for people watching. And if you&#8217;re there on a weekend, you&#8217;ll get a good taste of what Asheville is about. Watch as various types of tours cruise by: the Amazing Pubcycle, LaZoom Bus, and Gray Line Hop-On, Hop-Off Trolleys. If you&#8217;re on a Trolley Tour, definitely hop off at Grove Arcade. Look for the red umbrellas. See Carmel&#8217;s &#8220;All Day&#8221; menu here. And don&#8217;t miss the dessert and drink menus.

Modesto
Octopus: Asiago, fennel seed, chili flakes, tomato, olive oil
WEBSITE
Oh, Modesto. How I yearn to see you again for a full meal. Like in the old country, Modesto wraps you in luscious, generously portioned Italian food. Pizzas and Calzones are baked in their imported Italian Mugnaini wood-fired oven. The Octopus pictured above was beautifully presented and cooked perfectly! Everything we ordered was very good. We did go a little overboard here, but it couldn&#8217;t be helped. See their menu here.

BurgerWorx
Build your own amazing burger, or choose one of their house specialties
WEBSITE
By now you&#8217;re wondering, what were they thinking? How could anyone eat that much? Here&#8217;s a little secret; we wanted to sample the flavor of all six restaurants, so we left with a few boxes of what would become delicious leftovers. BurgerWorx is a fun concept. They have House Specialties you can order, or you can &#8220;build&#8221; your own burger by filling in a detailed form that covers type of meat, cheese, toppings, sauces, extras, and type of bun. These burgers were dripping with juicy goodness. You can also order ahead online for pickup using their LineSkip App. To see all the options, click on the &#8220;Menu&#8221; link on their website.
Epicurean Notes:

As always, verify days and hours of operation before you go, if you&#8217;re heart is set on a particular restaurant
And a reminder that online menus give you a good idea of what to expect, but you might find that some items have changed when you go to the restaurant
Free Wi-Fi is available throughout Grove Arcade

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Question 13

Boojum Brewing Company - the Boojum is Real!

Accepted Answer

Where to meet a friend for lunch (or any meal) in Waynesville? How &#8217;bout a spot that&#8217;s as much restaurant as it is brewery, sporting a killer deck out back? That would be Boojum Brewing Company Taproom (https://www.boojumbrewing.com/). And if you&#8217;re looking for entertainment, don&#8217;t miss The Gem, the downstairs bar the folks at Boojum describe as &#8220;an affable downtown bar featuring 16 beers on tap, a full bar, TVs, a pool table & a limited but appetizing menu! Over age 21 only.&#8221; The Gem also hosts lots of live music. You can see what&#8217;s happening at The Gem on their Facebook Page.
Before getting talking about the brews and bites, I thought I&#8217;d look in to the &#8220;Boojum&#8221; name and what it might mean. Looks like I need to bone up on NC lore! You can read more about the Boojum on the beer menu.

&#8220;One might say the Boojum is similar to the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayans or the Wampas Cat in the swamps of Eastern North Carolina. But Boojum is a unique creature of his own and Haywood County is his home.&#8221; ~ visitncsmokies.com

Boojum&#8217;s main floor is semi-divided: bar to one side, dining room to the other. I was headed to the dining room, but took a minute to watch the bar lighting cycle through multiple colors. Fun, but would it drive me crazy sitting at the bar? Not sure. I&#8217;ll have to give it a try some time.

On first taste, I knew there was something special going on here. Every single dish we ordered was surprisingly good. Not just good for a brewery, but good for a restaurant.
Love tomatoes? You must try the Tomato Bisque Soup (Cup $4, Bowl $6) made with roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, Boojum beer, and garlic fried croutons. Robust in texture, but not too thick, each bite is full of rich tomato flavor.

Salmon on a bed of seasoned chopped kale, drizzled with balsamic (don&#8217;t remember the price) was absolutely fantastic! My friend ordered this and gave me a taste. You can bet I&#8217;ll get it (if available) the next time I&#8217;m at Boojum. The salmon was cooked to perfection with a deliciously seasoned sear. Not a kale fan? Try it anyway. You may just be surprised at the burst of flavor and friendly texture with each bite.

Wait. What about the beer? This is a brewery after all. Just for fun, I tried a half pint of one of their &#8220;specialty&#8221; brews, a strawberry small batch release. It was light, fresh, and tasty with just enough hint of strawberry to make it interesting. When you go, ask to hear about their current small batch brews.

Take a good look at The Cataloochee ($12) burger below. This mess &#8216;o deliciousness comes with fries (not pictured). Substitutions are available at an additional cost.
Take a Brioche Bun, put some apple-fennel slaw on it, add a cooked-to-order burger, top that with house-made farmer&#8217;s cheese (scrumptious) and tomato jam (also scrumptious). After announcing I&#8217;d be taking half home with me, I ate the entire thing! Comfort food that should satisfy the hungriest of appetites, along with a Boojum brew of course.

Here&#8217;s a shot of the back deck and service bar. This was early on a quiet day, so it wasn&#8217;t set up yet.

The Gem downstairs bar and live music venue:
Image: Bojum Brewing Company Facebook Page
Epicurean Notes:

Boojum&#8217;s easy to find, right on Waynesville&#8217;s Main Street.
Service was good. Table and surrounds were clean.
As always, check days and hours of operation before going (I usually call).
Remember that online menus are not always up to date, but can be used as a reference for types of dishes and pricing.

Boojum Brewing Company Taproom
50 N Main St
Waynesville, NC 28786
Phone: (828) 246-0350

Question 14

Discover Asheville's Luscious Urban Oasis: Liberty House Coffee and Cafe

Accepted Answer

Normally I have a good idea what to expect before checking out a new (to me) spot, but not this time. Liberty House Coffee & Cafe (https://www.libertyhousecafe.com/) was close to a blank slate in my mind before heading over for lunch last week with my pal Barrie.
There was one article, probably old news written shortly after Liberty House opened three years ago, that talked about a lack of enough seating at the popular eatery. That was the main reason I nixed Liberty House for a last minute lunch with my two sisters, figuring none of us wanted to eat lunch sitting on stairs, the curb, or in our car.
We pulled up to the side entrance and patio, parking on Liberty Street. First impression: someone did a fantastic job transforming this cottage just outside downtown Asheville in to an adorable coffee shop/cafe!

Those red umbrellas really pop, adding so much to the overall exterior look.
As soon as we headed in the side door from the patio/terrace (not noticing the front entrance) we were impressed with the quality and creativity of decor and finishes. Even functional pieces like the water dispenser (bottom right in the image below) was special enough to be noticed, while not crossing the line in to kitschy territory.

Check out the ceiling boards, fixed transom window, dentil trim molding above, and casing around the door. Sit in the room where you order and you&#8217;ll be pulling yourself up to a live-edge counter on a wooden bar stool held together with with bright red metal fittings.

And here&#8217;s the extent of the kitchen, tucked in behind the counter where you place your order. The first person who told me about Liberty House was a chef. When I said I hadn&#8217;t been, he was insistent that I go, saying &#8220;they&#8217;re doing things with food that they shouldn&#8217;t be able to do in that space. You&#8217;ve got to give &#8217;em a try!&#8221;
See the espresso machine on the counter? A full suite of espresso/coffee drinks are available. I was happy to see they were selling beans from Hendersonville roaster Independent Bean Roasters. Didn&#8217;t do my normal latte test this time. Too full. See their coffee menu and prices here.

Barrie and I both ordered a B.L.A.T. ($9). In between the toast you&#8217;ll find an heirloom tomato, avocado, heritage farms bacon, organic gem lettuces, dijonnaise, and a little pepper, served with a side salad or chips. I don&#8217;t remember being asked what kind of bread I&#8217;d like, so you may not have a choice? It was good, though.
We both thought this sandwich was great. Not that it was some amazing new creation, but that the ingredients were so fresh and tasty. The only issue was it got a little slippery with those pieces of avocado trying to escape from all sides. The side salad was also very fresh.

Y&#8217;all know my M.O. If there&#8217;s a non-mass-produced, delicious looking scone in my line of sight, I&#8217;m going to give it a try. This apricot ginger scone did not disappoint! I was going to take it home with me, but it didn&#8217;t last that long.
See their menu HERE. See their Blog and/or Facebook Page for specials and menu updates.

So, here&#8217;s the kinda&#8217; funny part. Remember &#8220;Luscious Urban Oasis&#8221; in the title of this post? Coming in to Liberty House from the terrace, I had the impression (and had been told) that it was a small spot without a lot of space or seating.
Well, we walked out the front door and what did we see but an extensive organic garden, including fruit trees. And as far as not enough seating. Well, no problem there. Picnic tables run along the back side length of the garden along with a few other seats.

And again, attention to special touches like what looks like copper pipe railing all along a ramp up to a side entrance and logo metal cutout.
It&#8217;s tiny in the picture below, but see the small box between two posts in front of the brick building? That&#8217;s an active bee hive.

Their garden and local farms supply as much of the menu as possible.
Along the street side of the garden are more cut metal panels between brick pillars, each a different engaging design.

Cute mural on the side of what looks like some time of support/backup building, too.

Here&#8217;s the story, morning glory. Read owner Dylan&#8217;s story about growing up on Liberty Street at his parents bed and breakfast and converting the house his dad lived in for a few years into the now coffee shop & cafe.
Epicurean Notes:

Monday &#8211; Friday: 7am &#8211; 4pm, Saturday & Sunday Brunch: 9am &#8211; 2pm (It&#8217;s a good idea to call any eatery and verify hours if it&#8217;s important that they are open when you get there)
Wi-Fi is available
Take some time looking around inside and out at Liberty House, noticing all the attention to detail, big and small.

Liberty House Coffee & Cafe
https://www.libertyhousecafe.com/
221 S. Liberty Street
Asheville, NC 28801
828-412-3225

Question 15

Finding happy in Harvey's new small plates

Accepted Answer

Two of us were lucky enough be invited to sample some fun, new Small Plates at  Harvey&#8217;s at The Henderson-Restaurant, Lounge & Bar this past Saturday.
Chef/Owner Michael Gilligan explained that he and his wife, Jeanne, have spent the better part of the last year and a half since purchasing the property redoing, refreshing, and repairing the Inn, including replacing broken kitchen equipment &#8211; hood, fridge/freezer, stove, oven &#8211; everything.
And now that they&#8217;re fully staffed and the Inn&#8217;s humming along, Chef Michael&#8217;s able to focus more of his attention on the restaurant: menu development, ingredient sourcing, events, etc.
Presentation of these Buffalo Deviled Eggs will definitely make you happy. Watch as a glass dome is lifted and smoke used to flavor the eggs billows out.
Buffalo Deviled Eggs with Smoke, Sriracha, and Blue Cheese Powder
The new menu is designed to be fun and a little adventurous.

&#8220;To dine with us is to eat by whim, free from rules or schedules. It is meant for those who wish to enjoy life to the fullest and pass time with family & friends.&#8221;

Prices range from a low of $8 to a high of $18, with an average around $12.
Chef&#8217;s She Crab Soup let&#8217;s you know it&#8217;s there with bold seasoning and plenty of crab.
She Crab Soup made with Paprika, Cream, and Sherry
We especially liked the flavor of the Kokanee Salmon &#8216;Sashimi&#8217;, brought to the dish by Scorched Sesame Oil and Yuzu Dressing.
Kokanee Salmon &#8216;Sashimi&#8217;, Scorched Sesame Oil, Yuzu Dressing, and Apple Salad
We found a little magic along with the happy in this Hudson Valley Foie Gras presentation. Just look at that crystal-like Ice Wine Gelée! Chef Michael explained that this was his way of honoring the traditional pairing of white wine with a dish like this.
Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Japaneese BBQ Eel, Ice Wine &#8216;Gelee&#8217;, and a Soy-Truffle Glaze
For me, the Duck Confit was the evening&#8217;s star. Not only was the duck cooked perfectly, a bite including all three ingredients added a mild flavor & crunch from the grit cake and sweet from the berry sauce.
Duck Confit on a Stone Ground Grit Cake in Local Wild Berry Sauce
We finished the evening&#8217;s tasting with a lovely Raspberry Crème Brûlée. If you love Crème Brûlée like I do and have enjoyed it at lots of different restaurants, you&#8217;ve probably experienced various custard textures and have a preference. This one surprised me at first, as a little loose, but then I got a scoop of the berries on the bottom along with the custard, and found my happy.
Raspberry Creme Brulee
Chef Michael hasn&#8217;t forgotten those with dietary restrictions. His new menu is clearly market with Vegetarian, Gluten Free, and Non-Lactose options. See the full Small Plate Menu HERE.
Watch for more fun and happy at Harvey&#8217;s with more menu development and reasonably priced &#8220;Dinner and a Movie&#8221; events, Wine Dinners, and special events like their recent Derby Watch Party.
Harvey&#8217;s at The Henderson
201 3rd Ave W
Hendersonville, NC 28739
Phone: (828) 696-2001

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