Asheville, N.C. – If there were a reality television competition for America’s next top place to visit, odds are in Asheville’s favor. Known for its easy access to the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Trail, the city of 80,000 is now on the rise as a hot spot for foodies, too.
The city’s one-terminal airport has a sleepy feel. Time slows. No one’s in a hurry. It’s a strange introduction to what lies ahead in downtown, where buzzing buskers and a newly revitalized riverfront are ready to woo. At the same time, lush mountains beg for adventure in the distance, and Asheville’s cultural roots — the core of what makes the city special — are ever-present.
From literary and classic American royalty to modern-day creatives whose passion projects range from pop-up kitchens to performance art, the spirit in Asheville is anything but a snooze.
‘Foodtopia’
With three James Beard-honored chefs setting up shop in Asheville, the food and drink scene is on par with America’s most acclaimed foodie cities. Locals call it “foodtopia” for its thriving community of culinary experts who are crafting unique food experiences with precision, passion and a burst of local flavor.
In April, local chef Katie Button of Cúrate and The Nightbell was named “Best New Chef” by Food + Wine magazine. Along with her family, Button opened Cúrate tapas bar in downtown Asheville in 2011, followed by speakeasy-style bar and eatery The Nightbell earlier this year.
While Button is innovative, her style is approachable, much like fellow chef Michael Moore, who boasts of keeping ant larvae as an ingredient in his cupboard next to the brown sugar. Rest assured, such ingredients do not make their way onto his menu at Seven Sows Bourbon Larder.
“This is a concept that is pretty much my roots (in eastern North Carolina),” he says. Indeed, the food at Seven Sows is traditional Southern, from deviled eggs and crispy chicken livers to buttermilk fried chicken with giblet gravy and pork chops with grits and cracklins. The vibe, however, is more elective and funky — a punkified hipster little sister to the more refined (read: stuffy) fine dining experiences in big foodie cities.
But ant larvae in his cupboard? Moore is experimental, which is why he’s the director of the Blind Pig Supper Club. The club hosts one-off dining experiences with other local culinarians, each with a unique concept based on a musical artist, type of cuisine or time period.
“There’s this boundless creativity that’s harnessed through Blind Pig,” Moore says. “It gives these chefs an opportunity to push the limits.”
Asheville is not a cookie-cutter city. You won’t find a chain of any kind in the main core of downtown — not even a Starbucks. A red double-decker bus outfitted with tables and retro chandeliers called Double D’s? That’s where you get your java fix.
Dairy free? No problem. Gluten free? Coming right up. Need your daily pressed juice? Sure thing. Surprisingly, the small city is on top of all the latest food and diet trends.
But some traditions are worth keeping, like Sunday supper, which is why another James Beard chef in town, John Fleer, is hosting them. In 2013, Fleer opened Rhubarb, one of Asheville’s most anticipated restaurants, where dishes like rabbit-leek rillette can be found alongside a simple, but perfect, roasted beet salad.
A shared experience around a table — family style, communal dining — was a dream Fleer realized this year in hopes that the three-course set menu would encourage diners, especially children, to try new ingredients.
“Probably my favorite comment to hear from guests is, ‘I had never seen that before — or I’d never tasted that — and I loved it,’ ” he says. “I like to engage guests by challenging them in a very kind way to try things that they haven’t ever tried before.”
Healing mountain air
Since the 1800s, Asheville has been a point of pilgrimage for inspiration, rejuvenation and self-expression. To help his ailing mother, George W. Vanderbilt chose the Blue Ridge city to build his greatest legacy, The Biltmore Estate. He believed the healing climate of Asheville would mellow her symptoms from chronic malaria, along with warding off Vanderbilt’s own fear of tuberculosis.
The largest private residence in North America, the estate is like the United States’ version of Versailles: magnificent in every way. The 250-room mansion, completed in 1895, was modeled after the 16th-century chateaux Blois, Chenonceaux and Chambord in France’s Loire Valley. Architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the house and Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of New York’s Central Park, designed the landscaping.
The family’s wealth and social power in that era was almost unimaginable, with the largest fortune in the U.S. At the time of his death in 1877, Vanderbilt’s net worth was an estimated $105 million. As such, there’s a lot to see, and touring the estate is not a quick, in-and-out type of visit. Plan to spend at least half a day, especially if planning to do a tasting at the estate’s winery.
The Vanderbilts were not the only prominent family drawn to Asheville’s healing mountain air. Edwin Wiley Grove is credited as the “Father of Modern Asheville.” After serving in the Civil War, he left his Tennessee roots and set out to establish himself in the pharmaceutical world, determined to rise from his early poverty to great wealth and success.
In 1898 Grove established his first residence in Asheville. He continued to purchase property in Asheville in the early 1900s, and in 1909 purchased 408 acres in north Asheville, including what would become The Omni Grove Park Inn on his beloved Sunset Mountain. Appropriately named, the Grove Park Inn has a terrace that’s still one of the best places to watch the sun melt into the mountains.
From its opening in 1913, the inn was a wild success. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were among the inn’s most celebrated guests. As part of a group of friends informally called “The Vagabonds,” the men became infamous for their extravagant camping trips planned annually, which always included a stop at the resort.
Over the years, The Grove Park Inn and its 6,400-yard championship golf course have hosted many American luminaries, including Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, George Gershwin, Helen Keller, Eleanor Roosevelt and Bobby Jones. More recently, President Barack Obama played the links twice.
For nature lovers and hikers
Surrounded by 1 million acres of forest, Asheville is a haven for outdoor aficionados. With hundreds of miles of trails to blaze, acres of national forest wilderness to explore, 40 summits (more than 6,000 feet) to peak, pristine streams to fish, and more, there is no shortage of opportunity to get a good dose of nature.
A meandering drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the nation’s preeminent scenic byway, is arguably one of the most picturesque in the U.S., as sunlight folds and ripples over the ancient ridges and valleys, creating blue and purple hues that beg for a “no filter” photo.
Outdoor adventure in Blue Ridge is suitable for all abilities, but the region is a playground for world-class athletes, too. Local hiking expert Jennifer Pharr Davis is one of them, holding the long-distance hiking record on the Appalachian Trail for any man or woman — 2,100 miles in 46 days.
Pharr’s local guiding company, Blue Ridge Hiking, is the go-to source for hiking in the area. Guides can accommodate all levels of athlete and nonathlete, from easy hikes to see waterfalls to more challenging day hikes. They also offer a crash course to get first-time long-distance hikers started on a long, life-altering journey, a trend that has been consistently on the rise since the popularity of the book and film “Wild,” starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed.
Bluegrass to newgrass to nograss
Walk along Biltmore Avenue and you might hear buskers on a fiddle or banjo. Around the corner may be a woman with gospel pipes belting out some Marvin Gaye. Further down the street, a beat draws people closer — this is the Asheville Drum Circle, a musical tradition in town that goes back several generations.
Asheville’s musical legacy, in fact, has deep roots back to Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled in Western North Carolina because the landscape reminded them of the rolling hills at home. With a progressive arts community, Asheville’s music scene is no different: an invigorating blend of new and old. Head to Jack of the Wood for bluegrass and The Orange Peel for rock.
Asheville’s literary legacy
Nineteenth-century Asheville is a character in and of itself in the legendary (and once controversial) autobiographical novel “Look Homeward, Angel,” by the great American novelist Thomas Wolfe. His mother’s home (and the place where much of the book is said to take place) is now a museum.
A Wolfe historical tour through Asheville will soon launch to coincide with the Hollywood release of “Genius,” a feature film adaptation of the A. Scott Berg book “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius.” Expected to be released later this year, the film stars Jude Law in the role of Wolfe.
If you go
Asheville Official Tourism: ExploreAsheville.com
Aloft Hotel: aloftashevilledowntown.com
Omni Grove Park Inn: omnihotels.com/hotels/asheville-grove-park
Grand Bohemian” bohemianhotelasheville.com
Blue Ridge Hiking” blueridgehikingco.com
The Biltmore Estate: biltmore.com
Rhubarb: rhubarbasheville.com
Curate: curatetapasbar.com
Biscuit Head: biscuitheads.com
Blind Pig: BlindPigOfAsheville.com
Jack of the Wood: jackofthewood.com
Thomas Wolfe House: wolfememorial.com
Leave a Reply