Eating Around Ashville

This North Carolina town may be best known for BBQ and the Biltmore, but there is so much more to it. Unfortunately, neither of the above-mentioned Bs were part of my trip but I still had a great time.

Much of my time was spent at the neighboring hamlet of Hendersonville, where I met the dynamic miller, Jennifer Lapidus, from Carolina Ground which is a small mill with dynamite goods in Hendersonville.

Heading Downtown

Food offerings in this town of approximately 100,000 are diverse. One of my favorite dining experiences was at La Bodega, one of two Spanish restaurants owned by the same team. The menu is simple, but incredibly gratifying with great, fatty jamon serrano to start off. It was quickly followed by flaky empanadas with tuna and short ribs, the short ribs were my favorite.

Another great find was Chai Pani, a low-key Indian restaurant that has won some James Beard awards. The Sev Potato Dahi Puri puffs were life altering. These little, vegetarian four crisps melt in your mouth. They have a sweet yogurt filling with chutney. The crunchy okra fries with lime were addictive.

I wish I could have seen the inside of the Biltmore, but this old Vanderbilt mansion won’t even let you drive near the entrance or have a drink there (I am not quite sure what the concern might be: we have numbers of Vanderbilt mansions you can easily view inside and out, in New York State, without being chased from the entrance or charged $100+ for a visit). Sadly, we both decided we had seen enough castles and estates in Europe, for much less coin, so we weren’t willing to pay the price. Oddly the estate also sells its own wine pretty aggressively but does not offer free tastings at the property.

The other place I would have loved to have visited is the Pink Moon Bar. This sliver of a speakeasy cleverly asks you to follow them online before sending a code. Sadly, we never got it as they did not respond to DMs.

One amazing discovery we made was Contrada, a tiny offshoot of Cucina 24 a classic Italian restaurant in downtown Ashville. This restaurant might have eight seats and a handful of stools around the windows, but its food is big in flavor and welcoming. Pizzas are served here, as are great savory anchovy toasts with butter and some good, classic Piedmontese wine.

The second one was the Shanghai Dumpling House. This not auspicious-looking place is home to some fine offerings. Soup dumplings are always among my favorites and they did not disappoint. These served as my final taste to a charming town, full of culinary surprises that I hope to visit again.