I said Asheville, not Nashville, Pt. 1

Last month, I found myself in Asheville, North Carolina for the UCDA Design Summit. Asheville seemed like an east coast sibling of Portland or Seattle; kind of artsy, somewhat granola, and fairly laid back. Today's post shows some of the restaurants I visited as I ate my way through the town. One of my favorites was the Tupelo Honey Cafe. Here is one of their famous biscuits, surrounded by a jar of Tupelo Honey, Blueberry Jam, and a delicious Peach Rosemary Lemonade. The honey is harvested only from the wild river basins of Florida’s panhandle, and is a product of the White Tupelo Gum Tree. Because of its low dextrose content, it is the only honey that doesn't granulate.



I actually ate at Tupelo twice; the reason I came back was to get another slice of their amazing Blueberry Hill Thrill Cream Cheese Pie. It is truly heaven on a plate.



For lunch one day, I ventured away from the Summit to try a meal at the 12 Bones Smokehouse.



With a line that snaked around the corner, I knew that the rave reviews about this place had to be correct...



even if the signage was a tad bit politically incorrect!



The pulled port sandwich, sweet vinegar cole slaw, and mashed sweet potatoes really hit the spot.



For those of you who prefer ribs, here's what 12 Bones' ribs look like:



Mayfel's Restaurant was located in the same block as the Tupelo Honey Cafe.



The interior was very eclectic, the servers were friendly, and the food was super tasty!



I devoured the Fried Green Tomatoes and truly enjoyed the Muffuletta; it had been years since I'd had one, and this one didn't disappoint. It pretty much melted in my mouth.



Sorry, no food photos here. Once the food arrived, I put the camera down and focused on eating.



Call Bodega Bay; one of their birds is missing!



On the outskirts of town near the Biltmore Estate (more on that later!) is The Grand Bohemian, a hip Tudor-style hotel.



The vibe is upscale, but definitely with a sense of humor and flair.



Kind of like hunting-lodge-meets-trendy-nightclub.



The Red Stag Grill is the restaurant located inside; I was pretty stuffed from lunch at Mayfel's, so I probably didn't enjoy my dinner as much as I should have. Still, with very limited time in Asheville, I wanted to try as many different places and see as much as I could. This is why I am always sleep deprived!



As for the rest of Asheville, I wish I had more time to wander around with my camera. So many cool buildings and architectural details! A local walking by pointed out that the wheel on this sculpture actually moved, and when spinning, would trigger sound effects from a speaker hidden in a nearby bush.



They just don't make details like this anymore!



This eclectic mix of old and new pretty much sums up the Asheville vibe.





Here is the Thomas Wolfe home and museum; unfortunately, time ran out before I was able to take a tour.



I really loved the old-fashioned streets and alleys that featured a cool variety of shops and restaurants. So many to see...so little time to do it in.



See more Asheville, North Carolina photos on my Asheville web pages.