For our final college spring break, my boyfriend and I decided to go to Asheville, North Carolina. We aren't necessarily interested in the beach scene, and figured that a road trip would be our best bet financially and timewise (applying to grad school is expensive and stressful, if you didn't already know). Asheville is about a five and a half hour drive from Cincinnati (although ours turned into a nine hour disaster of an SUV engulfed in flames on the side of the road and one lane traffic through the mountains of Tennessee). I will say, however, it was worth every minute stuck in traffic to get to the beautiful town in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. If you have been following along on my Instagram, @lovehonoreat, then you know that we ate very well on this little trip of ours. It is always my first priority on any trip to find the best food and drinks possible. Read along to see what we found!
Day One
Joe Bologna's Lexington, Kentucky
The drive from Cincinnati to Asheville takes you straight through Lexington, Kentucky. My parents lived in Lexington for 6 years in their 20s and 30s so we have made many family trips to Lexington to visit their favorite sites. The one that we always gravitate to is Joe Bologna's. It is an Italian restaurant that has been in Lexington since 1973. They serve pizza, pasta, and sandwiches and their massive breadsticks are legendary. It's a perfect place for lunch or dinner any day of the week. Since it was Sunday, my spaghetti and marinara + soup or salad + breadstick was $8.95 and it came with unlimited portions of the spaghetti (unreal, I know). My boyfriend, Michael, ordered the Italian Sub with French Fries. It was really great. Definitely check it out if you're ever in the area- it's less than two hours from Cincy and it's a beautiful drive!
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| Italian Sub from Joe Bologna's |
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| Giant Breadstick with Garlic Butter from Joe Bologna's |
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Fettuccine with Marinara from Joe Bologna's
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Curate
I reserved a table at Curate a few weeks before our trip because #1) the reservations for this week were filling up weeks in advance and #2) I knew that if I couldn't eat anywhere but one restaurant this week, it had to be Curate. It was the perfect introduction to Asheville's food scene. Curate is a Spanish tapas-style restaurant by Katie Button. Katie is an award-winning chef with two other restaurants in Asheville. Her first restaurant, Curate, has been acknowledged by The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and many more publications. It was listed as one of America's 100 Best Wine Restaurants by Wine Enthusiast Magazine because it presents an all-Spanish wine list.
I started the dinner with a glass of vermouth. To be honest, I didn't really know what vermouth was but I was excited to try it. It is a fortified wine that is sometimes used in cooking, cocktails, or an aperitif (served before a meal). I chose El Bandarra Rojo which is a brand of vermouth from Spain. It was extremely smooth and easy to drink. I could have had five more if I wasn't careful!
Next, we started with the Tabla de Jamones. It was a combination of Jamon Iberico de Bellota, Paleta Iberica de Bellota, and Jamon Serrano Fermin. Jamon Iberico is an aged ham that comes from the Iberian Peninsula in Spain and Portugal. The pigs are free-range and allowed to graze on acorns in oak forests. The ham is cured for 36 months. It was my first time trying it and I can say with certainty that it is astounding and worth every cent. I'm sure that it is not nearly as good as it would taste in Spain, but this will have to do until I'm finished with school and can jet off on grander adventures (deep sigh).
The rest of the meal was typical tapas-style foods. We had pan de cristal con tomate (tomato and bread) and manchego cheese, patatas bravas (fried potatoes), gambas al ajillo (shrimp in garlic), pincho moruno (lamb skewers), paella de verduras (vegetable paella), and el postre de musico (hazelnut custard, pistachio ice cream, spiced caramel and orange quince sauce, chocolate sauce, and almond raisin crumble). It was a really solid meal, and the jamon definitely made it!
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| El Bandarra Rojo Vermut |
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| Tabla de Jamones from Curate |
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| Jamoneria at Curate |
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| Paella de Verduras from Curate |
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| Gambas al Ajillo from Curate |
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| Postre del Musico from Curate |
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| Pincho Moruno from Curate |
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| Patatas Bravas from Curate |
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| Jamon from Curate |
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| Pan de Cristal con Tomate from Curate |
Day Two
Sunny Point Cafe
After a day of traveling and a late night of eating and drinking, we slept in on our first day of spring break (it is a break, after all). We mosied over to Sunny Point Cafe in West Asheville near our Airbnb for our first meal of the day around 11 am. It was absolutely packed on a Monday afternoon so we waited about 50 minutes for our table. I knew that it would be worth every minute waiting outside in the dreary rain. We started with the Pimento Toast, I had the Huevos Rancheros, and Michael had the Breakfast Burrito. The ingredients were fresh, the service was fantastic, and the food was bursting with flavor in every bite. I can see why it has such stellar reviews online!
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| Huevos Rancheros with Avocado from Sunny Point Cafe |
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| Breakfast Burrito with Chorizo from Sunny Point Cafe |
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Pimento Toast from Sunny Point Cafe
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Biltmore Estate
After breakfast, we made our way to the Biltmore Estate which was about a 20 minute drive from West Asheville. I highly recommend buying your tickets at least a week ahead of time online to get the discounted prices since it is a bit of an investment at $55+ per person. Your ticket comes with a self-guided audio tour and access to the grounds, shops, and food. I would definitely say that this was the highlight of our trip- the tour was incredible and it was fun exploring the grounds and taking in the magnificence of the estate. After the hour and a half tour and hour spent roaming the grounds and taking pictures, we drove to the Biltmore Estate Winery which offers complimentary wine tastings. It's a cool spot to check out and there's dining and bars here if you want to spend the rest of your evening in this area. Make sure you give yourself enough time to see everything you want to see and make sure that the weather is fitting for time spent walking around outside.
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| Picture in Front of the Biltmore Estate |
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Wine Tasting at the Biltmore Estate Winery
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Tupelo Honey Cafe
Tupelo Honey Cafe boasts craft-made seasonal Southern food. They serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a variety of delicious cocktails. It came highly recommend so we had to give it a try. I had the Eternal Spring, Lavender and Honeysuckle-Lemon Drop to drink and was recommended to add rosemary syrup from a friend- it was really amazing. We shared the avocado toast to start and the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and mac and cheese for dinner. I will say that Southern food is usually not my first choice but this was very good. I probably would not get the mac and cheese again but we LOVED the avocado toast and the fried chicken.
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| Free Biscuits and Jam from Tupelo Honey Cafe |
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| Eternal Spring Lavender and Honeysuckle-Lemon Drop from Tupelo Honey Cafe |
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| Honey Dusted Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey, Mac and Cheese, and Mashed Potatoes from Tupelo Honey Cafe |
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Avocado Toast from Tupelo Honey Cafe
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Day Three
Taco Billy
Taco Billy is another West Asheville gem. It's a small little taco shop serving breakfast and lunch tacos. What more could you need? I swear if I lived here I would eat here at least 4 times a week if not more. We ordered the Billy Holiday, Billy Ocean, Billy Joel, and the Migas Taco. Each came with fresh salsa on the side. The best thing that I have found about eating in Asheville is everywhere you go, the restaurants are focusing on sourcing local and sustainable ingredients. And there's hardly any plastic either. Go Asheville!
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| From the top, left to right: Migas Taco, Billy Holiday, Billy Ocean, Billy Joel from Taco Billy |
Spa Theology
After breakfast, we headed downtown to our massage appointment at Spa Theology. I had the River Rocks massage and Michael had the Relaxation Massage. Our therapists did a phenomenal job. The facilities were pristine and we felt very relaxed throughout our entire visit!
Chai Pani
For dinner, we decided to try Chai Pani- an Indian street food restaurant. Since Indian is my favorite cuisine, I was sure that I would like this dinner, but I had no idea just how much I would love it. The menu is composed of "chaat", which is basically an Indian street food snack; wraps and sandwiches, uttapam, which is kind of like a savory pancake or crepe; and thali, which is the traditional Indian-style meal that you think of when you go to an Indian restaurant- curry, rice, daal, raita, etc. We ordered the Sev Potato Dahi Puri and Aloo Tikki Chaat to start. Both were outstanding- every bite of every ingredient was bursting with flavor. I had the Paneer Tikka Roll and Michael had the Sloppy Jai for our main meal. Both were incredible again- every single ingredient came together so beautifully to create flavors that I had never known existed. Michael liked my Paneer Tikka Roll so much that he ordered one for himself and ate every bite!
This was one of the meals that I will be thinking about for a long time. I've had certain meals in my lifetime that stay with me long after I've had them- Shrimp Scampi at Vic and Anthony's Steakhouse in Las Vegas, Best Condition Ramen at Ramen House Shinchan in Palatine, Illinois, and Molletes at La Cueva del Chango in Playa del Carmen, Mexico to name a few. It's always my least favorite part of traveling when you happen upon a meal that you love so much but you know that you'll be leaving it for an unknown amount of time. Until next time, Chai Pani. I promise that I will be back.
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| Aloo Tikki Chaat and Sev Potato Dahi Puri from Chai Pani |
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| Sloppy Jai from Chai Pani |
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| Mango Lassi and Cocktail from Chai Pani |
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| Paneer Tikka Roll from Chai Pani |
French Broad Chocolate Lounge
After dinner, we walked to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. It's a really cute little shop with tons of drink and dessert options. After that filling dinner, we split a piece of the Lemon Poppy Madagascar Vanilla Cake. It was outstanding with a beautifully soft buttercream and subtle hints of lemon and poppy. Michael had an iced mocha too and it was really good. We spent about a half an hour just relaxing and taking in the sun through the large windows.
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| French Broad Chocolate Lounge |
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| Lemon Poppy Madagascar Vanilla Cake from French Broad Chocolate Lounge |
Montford Rooftop Bar
To finish the night, we walked to the Montford Rooftop Bar in the Hyatt Place to watch the sunset and have a cocktail. It is an absolutely beautiful place and a must visit to relax and watch the sun go down over the mountains. The cocktails are pretty stellar too.
Day Four
Button & Co. Bagels
Today was a busy day and we wanted to start the day off right. We stopped by Button & Co. bagels downtown to grab a quick breakfast before heading off on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Button & Co. was started by Katie Button, the same creator of Curate. There were so many good options on the menu that it was hard to choose which bagel to try! We each went with a simple bagel to really try the flavor of the homemade bagels- I had an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and Michael had a plain bagel with butter. Both of the bagels had an outstanding flavor- sweet and doughy. I could eat them every morning!
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| Button & Co. Bagels |
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| Everything Bagel with Scallion Cream Cheese from Button & Co. Bagels |
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| Cute Packaging from Button & Co. Bagels |
Blue Ridge Parkway
The last thing I wanted to check off of my list in Asheville was drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It runs from Virginia to Cherokee, North Carolina and is a 469 mile scenic drive with tons of places to stop and discover wildlife and natural resources along the way. We stopped by the Blue Ridge Parkway and received some great tips on where to go on the Parkway in our limited time frame. We drove South on the Parkway to Mount Pisgah which took about 45 minutes. We stopped every once and awhile along the drive to look at the overlooks and take in the scenery.
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| View from Mount Pisgah |
Omni Grove Park Inn and Resort
To celebrate our last day, we spent the afternoon at the Omni Grove Park Inn Spa. It is an absolutely beautiful facility and it was such a relaxing day. The Grove Park Inn is a historical hotel in the Blue Ridge Mountains that has housed many famous people and presidents. F. Scott Fitzgerald even stayed there for two years while visiting his wife in Asheville. The spa consisted of multiple pools, hot tubs, steam rooms, and other amenities. It was a perfect end to the perfect week in Asheville.
Vue 1913
After our treatments, Michael and I enjoyed dinner at the Vue 1913 restaurant in the hotel. It showcases gorgeous views of the mountains and has an incredible menu. We started the meal with caviar, which was a little out of our comfort zone, but Michael and I have never tried it before and thought that this was the perfect time. It was served with rice paper, a fried chicken liver, and charcoal creme fraiche. It was definitely different, and pretty salty, but I can see why people enjoy it so much and I'd be happy to try it again. For our main courses, Michael had the Lobster with Smoked Gouda Shrimp and Grits, Calabrian Chili Butter, Garden Greens, and Corn. Wow. It was some of the best lobster I have ever tasted- Michael says it was better than Jeff Ruby's (the jury's still out on that one). I had the Sweet Potato Gnocchi sauteed in brown butter, served with a pecorino cream, burrata, and roasted carrots. It was absolutely incredible. If we hadn't been in such a nice restaurant we would have literally licked our plates clean. The dinner was finished with a couple of chocolate truffles which was such a nice touch to a perfect dinner.
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| Caviar with Fried Chicken Liver, Rice Paper, and Charcoal Creme Fraiche from Vue 1913 |
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| Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Pecorino Cream, Burrata, and Carrots from Vue 1913 |
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| Lobster with Smoked Gouda Shrimp and Grits, Corn, and Greens from Vue 1913 |
Day Five
Our last day of the trip was a travel day. We got up early and grabbed breakfast from Button & Co. Bagels and headed back to Cincinnati. The drive is only five and a half hours so it's an easy trip to make!
Here I will talk a little bit about our Airbnb. We stayed in West Asheville which is an up and coming area of Asheville. It was a little rough in some areas but overall we felt safe. Our Airbnb was extremely clean, well appointed, and private. I would recommend it to anyone who was visiting Asheville for a few days!
Overall, we had an incredible trip in Asheville. Once we became familiar with the city and discovered the delicious restaurants and fun things to do, we didn't want to leave! The vibe of the city is so laid-back; everyone is kind and easy-going. It's the perfect little mountain town that has so much potential to grow and develop. I hope you have the chance to visit it and see for yourself!
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