Milton's: sumptuous elevated dining in Black Mountain!

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’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’d had to date!

It wasn’t until we chatted with Chef Edwin this time that I realized he’d been at Gamekeeper Restaurant & Bar in Boone during the time I was producing the High Country Small Plate Crawls. If you’ve never been to Gamekeeper, you must go. Their food is interesting and fantastic. They’ve done some major remodeling since I’ve been, so I also need to get back up there.

This is the second time my husband and I have been to Milton’s, in the historic Monte Vista Boutique Hotel. Both were the type of dining experience you can’t stop thinking about. Chef Edwin has been at the helm of Milton’s Black Mountain in the The Monte Vista Hotel for about 8 months now, and he’s knockin’ it outta’ the park! Feast your eyes on some of what’s coming out of his kitchen now, as well as what’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’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, “you’ll get what you get.” Oh, okaaay . . . We did eventually get what we were going to order, but before that happened, a “new menu preview” 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’s birthday! Especially as we’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 – marked as NEW MENU COMING SOON – are still in the process of being tweaked, so they might look/taste a little different when finalized. Read “finalized” as “Chef’s best and most delicious take on the dish”.
Pictures from our first meal at Milton’s are marked PREVIOUS MEAL in the Gallery.

If you haven’t been to the historic (National Register) Monte Vista Hotel in a while, things have changed. A few years ago, Southern Proper Hospitality (Atlanta), “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.”

It’s lovely inside and out! In nice weather, it’ll be hard choosing between cozy inside dining, and dining on their pretty back patio. Both have fireplaces.

Sunburst Farms Smoked Trout Dip with lemon and paprika, with a charred lemon and multigrain "toast soldiers". NEW MENU COMING SOON

Appalachian Spiced Shrimp with shaved radishes and cucumber on a lovely sweet cabbage mixture, topped with shaved Butternut Squash flakes. NEW MENU COMING SOON

Fried Cauliflower marinated in buttermilk and spices, a little hot sauce, and drizzled with honey. Served with Sweet Grass Dairy Bleu Cheese. NEW MENU COMING SOON

Cream of Pumkin Soup with Creme Fresh finished with a molasses drizzle

Ploughman's Board: deviled egg spread, fried pork belly, house-made pickles (okra this time), full grain mustard, apple chutney, Sweet Grass Dairy "Green Hill" Cheese, and a grilled baguette. NEW MENU COMING SOON

Kale Salad: marinated local kale, sweet onions, bleu cheese, and shaved apples, tossed in an apple cider-rosemary vinaigrette served with "Grains of Paradise" rice. NEW MENU COMING SOON

Perusing the drink list in front of the fire.

Faroe Island Salmon pan seared then oven roasted with Anson Mills rice, blistered cherry tomatoes, sauteed swiss chard, and roasted garlic fish fumet.

Venison Shank served with sweet potato puree and grilled broccoli, finished in its own braising au jus and topped with lemon rosemary garlic gremolata.

Dessert Sampler on a bed of roasted cacao nibs: Pate de Fruit, White Chocolate truffle, dark chocolate truffle, raspberry tart (Tiny Tart on menu) with gelatin on the bottom & raspberry mousse on top with a small chocolate shaving. I recommend mixing some nibs with bites of other things on the plate. Delicious! NEW MENU COMING SOON

Bourbon Caramel Pecan Bread Pudding made with house crusty French Bread, aka died and gone to heaven :). This will probably be the fluffiest bread pudding you've ever had. NEW MENU COMING SOON

Mountains or Malibu cocktail: silver rum, watermelon juice, fresh mint, and lime. Light and refreshing! PREVIOUS MEAL

Sunburst Farms Trout: crispy fingerlings, summer squash, horseradish, chives, charred lemon, and pink peppercorn beurre monte. (HALF PORTION) PREVIOUS MEAL

Looking out to the patio from the bar.

Mushroom Toast: farmer’s cheese, scallions, sourwood honey, on whole grain bread. PREVIOUS MEAL

Pickled Shrimp: heirloom tomatoes, shaved radish, candied fennel seeds, vocado, cucumber, red onion, and arugula. (HALF PORTION) PREVIOUS MEAL

Grilled Spring Asparagus: buttermilk cheese, tomato relish, pine nuts & spices, garnished with arugula. PREVIOUS MEAL

Corn Fritters: smoked trout, local chiles, buttermilk, and fennel. (HALF PORTION) PREVIOUS MEAL

Rack of Venison: sweet potato, broccolini, blistered local peppers, with a berry glace. This was amazingly delicious! Cut like butter and went perfectly with the broccolini and creative sweet potato presentation. Two different textures: firm on the bottom - pureed on top. PREVIOUS MEAL

Back patio encircled by the original Inn and two later additions. It's open, but cozy, and also has a fire feature. Image: courtesy Milton's FB page

Burrata and Strawberries: local strawberries, onion marmalade, verjus, pink peppercorn, charred leek oil, with whole grain toast. (HALF PORTION) PREVIOUS MEAL