Asheville – Looking for adventures in European, Nordic, and Southern cuisine explored with both classic (historic/vintage) and contemporary approaches. Look no further than Vivian (https://vivianavl.com/)!
We were four for Brunch last Sunday. Hubs and I were the newbies, wanting to go after hearing friends in the know rave about Vivian, newly opened in Asheville’s River Arts District (RAD).
When you’re in Paris the first time, you have to go to the Eiffel Tower, right? Develop a baseline and go from there, branching out to the smaller neighborhoods and beyond the city. That’s what I do when it comes to food. New ice cream place? I always order Vanilla first. If they get that right, I explore other flavors. Cocktails? Try a basic first, then explore the more creative.
That’s why I ordered a Mimosa ($6). It was right on, and not only did the champagne tickle my taste buds, the flute tickled my love of serveware design. At some point I’m going to ask co-owners Josiah and Shannon McGaughey if these were purchased as is, or if they painted them.
Here’s where it gets really interesting. Leah ordered Nordic Deviled Eggs ($8). Why is that interesting? Because it’s the first time I’ve seen “Nordic” on an Asheville menu. There might be others out there, but I haven’t seen them.
I’ve been following the New Nordic Food movement since it’s early days. It was initiated in 2004 by Danish chefs René Redzepi and Claus Meyer soon after they opened noma (combo of two Danish words “nordisk” (Nordic) and “mad” (food)), the #1 ranked restaurant in the world multiple years. Read this detailed article in Eater about the closing of the original noma and their re-opening in February, 2018. Side note – Asheville Chef Katie Button did a stage (unpaid internship) at noma for 3 weeks in 2012.
The movement has been growing steadily since its inception: a New Nordic Food Manifesto was conceived in 2004, the Nordic Council of Ministers (food ministers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and dependent territories) got on board in 2005, the Nordic Food Lab was founded in 2008, and the annual MAD Symposium was founded in 2011 by Chef René Redzepi. Shameless self promotion – I was invited to the first MAD Symposium, but wasn’t able to go. Talk about disappointed!
Back to the Nordic Deviled Eggs. They were stuffed with a mixture of smoked mackerel, potatoes, cornichon, and topped with caviar. Different for WNC.
Leah rounded out her Brunch with Lobster Salad ($15). First let’s talk about the thick slice of toasted Sally Lunn Bread under the lobster salad. There are a few versions of this bread’s history, but the one I’m going with is that this sweet, brioche-like bread was invented by 18th-century baker Sally Lunn in England, then brought over to the Southern colonies.
This dish is one example of Chef’s “clean, with limited elements to a plate, but with each one promising big, robust flavors” approach to food. Creme Fraiche, radishes, & spring peas and their tendrils top the Sally Lunn Bread. None of us had seen greens presented this way, so there was tendril tasting and discussion going on.
Tim and Leah had been to Vivian for Brunch previously. Telling us about that meal, Tim said the salmon on the Salmon Tournedos dish was some of the best he’d had. This time he opted for the Irish Country Salmon Toast ($12). Soft scrambled eggs, capers and cured salmon were topped with caper cream, and plated with toasted Soda Bread.
We didn’t ask about the green garnish, but it did strike me as a succulent. My taste yielded a moist, neutral flavor. Not something I’d pursue.
I’m going to admit to owning six different egg coddlers that haven’t seen much use. When pressed, I refer to them as displayed “works of art”. Know that I’m on a new mission to use the coddlers more often after having Vivian’s Coddled Egg ($9) made with cream, sherry, sautéed mushrooms, Gruyere cheese, and served with toast.
Mild and delicious, early bites taken with my spoon required dipping through the Gruyere on top and then releasing it from from cheesy strands unwilling to let go. Mmm. Mmm. Dipping the toast worked, too.
Last, but not least, Corned Beef Hash ($13) for the Hubs. It’s one of his favorites and this version did not disappoint! The potato, onion, carrot, cabbage, and corned beef were topped with two fried eggs and a mustard creme sauce. He pointed out the large cubes of corned beef pretty quickly, saying they were delicious. He suggested I take a taste, and boy am I glad I did. That was some excellent corned beef.
Oddly enough, I didn’t taste either Leah’s or Tim’s dishes (we normally taste all around) so can’t give an opinion, but there were no complaints. In fact, we were all decidedly happy with our meals. I’m predicting it won’t be long before I’m back at Vivian for another meal.
Epicurean Notes:
- Service was excellent.
- Make a reservation. Vivian is “trending”.
- Seats at the bar cannot be reserved. They are first come, first served.
- Want to be on the cutting edge, knowing about food trends before your friends? Learn about the rise of Nordic Cuisine in the US and beyond in these 2018 OpenTable and the Opinionator articles.
- New Nordic Food is about eating seasonally, local, foraging, pickling, and fermenting, so in a way, Asheville is totally on board. Think Alan Muskat and No Taste Like Home, Chef Steve Goff (fermenting king) Aux Bar and BrineHaus Meat & Provisions Food Truck, and many more.
- Sound dampening panels have been added to the ceiling, but it’s still very loud when busy. Hopefully, they’ll figure out how to dampen it down a little more.
Vivian (https://vivianavl.com/)
348 Depot St Ste 190
Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: (828) 225-3497
