Asheville, North Carolina – local, homegrown & handmade
Have you ever dreamt of a place where the soil was lush and fertile? Where the sounds and sights of nature wrap you up in it’s peaceful beauty, and then upon further exploration you find that this magical realm’s people are even more beautiful than it’s landscape. A place where the inspiring beauty of the residents is then exceeded by their charm, warmth, and talent. And this talent is frequently directed towards producing some of the best feasting fare and whistle wetters you have ever had. We had thought that scenario could only be realized in a novel or a myth, then we discovered Asheville.
Dodie Stephens of ashevilletravel, or more properly known as the Public Relations Manager for the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, arranged for a Culinary Blogger Bash through their local FoodtopianSociety. She invited Alison of Humble Gourmand, Tami of Running with Tweezers, and Jaden of Steamy Kitchen to experience the culinary wonders of Asheville, North Carolina.
Jaden, being the sexy food goddess that she is, cast off her family from the trip and arranged for a few other lucky bloggers to be thrown into the mix. Helen of Tartelette, Brian of The Food Geek, and of course, lucky us (I finally got to be included on one of Diane’s trips! I promised to be on my best behavior) now had arrangements to explore Asheville, North Carolina.
Dodie had beautifully arranged for a culinary packed few days, however this utopia wasn’t limited to our excursions. She had arranged for us to stay at the incredible Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa. It was here, in their 4-Diamond restaurant Horizons, that for one evening our whole group was treated to a meal that was one of the best of either my or Diane’s life.
Although we arrived a day later than most of the gang and had missed the first day’s feasting and exploring, it felt like you could explore Asheville’s culinary scene for years and still not touch upon everything. It would be easy to rattle on about Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountain’s scenic beauty and local attractions for days, however that is what guidebooks are for. We want to share what completely made us fall in love with Asheville.
What truly was Asheville’s most endearing quality were her people and their love for food and drink. Especially when those crafted belly-goods came from within their own community. Asheville is striving towards becoming that pure ideal where nearly everything is grown, raised, or made locally and with great care and excellence. From the homegrown locals, to the imported residents, Asheville’s food love has garnered an unbelievable range of phenomenally talented people and with a community that supports it, and they are thriving.
We fell in love them them all and their stories and over the next few days we will be sharing the stories of some of the extraordinary people we were lucky enough to meet and hope you will fall in love with them as well.
So over the next week or two, we’ll begin our latest travel series, this time focused on Asheville, North Carolina and her wonderful farmers, artisans, ranchers, food producers and Chefs:
- Steve, Wake Robin Farm Breads – wood burning breads
- Dave, Farm and Sparrow – wood burning pastries
- Jaime Ager, Hickory Nut Gap Farm Meats – grass fed and finished beef, pork
- Belinda & April, Sunny Point Cafe – harvesting from their cafe garden
- Kevin, Grove Park Inn Resort – menu full of ingredients from local farmers
- Jael & Dan Rattigan, French Broad Chocolate Lounge – handmade chocolate highlighting local ingredients
- Cori & family, Spinning Spider Creamery – farmstead goat cheeses
- Local Breweries, French Broad Brewery , Highland Brewery & Brews Cruise
- Biltmore Estates Winery – mixology & wine blending
- Mark Rosenstein, The Market Place – Asheville’s slow food guru
Read our other Asheville stories
- Asheville, NC- local, homegrown and handmade
- Iron Chef Food Blogger Competition
- Wood Burning Oven Bakers – Steve Bardwell of Wake Robin Farms and Dave Bauer of Farm & Sparrow
- Follow us on Twitter
-Todd
Follow us on Twitter- @WhiteOnRice
If you like our little travel adventures and haven’t seen the posts on some of our previous gallivanting, check out our other travel essay series:
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Such beautiful photography! I cannot wait to see the rest of the your Asheville photos. You’ve given me a new appreciation for my hometown!
Oh this is so exciting! I can’t wait to hear the rest of your stories. I will be headed to the Grove Park Inn in a few months for work and have been trying to talk Mr. B into going with me ahead of time to spend the weekend exploring. Your gorgeous photos should definitely help me convince him!
Now now Todd, what mischief could you possibly be able to commit while on a joyride with Diane? Ha ha ha. Looking forward to the rest of the series!
Wow cool! You guys are so lucky:-) I’m always looking for foodie friendly places off the beaten path like this (especially in my time zone), so I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of your posts on Asheville.
Todd, I am so glad you were in on the trip! 🙂
Veron- Asheville is an awesome foodie paradise!
Gastronomer- We’ve got lot of stuff for you, thanks for checking back!
Louquin- Sorry to make you homesick, but it’s such a beautiful place to brag about!
Jen Yu- You’re too funny! Working for the Asheville tourism council would not be a bad day job at all!!
Paula- Great to hear that you guys ride tandem too! It’s a gorgeous place to ride, Todd kept talking about that when we were there. Maybe we’ll meet you on the road on day.
Lynn- Hope you do get out there, the food is amazing, and so fresh and healthy too.
Cheffresco- Awesome that you Dad is from there, how lucky he is.
No-L — Yes, Western North Carolina is a green and lovely place. That’s why the beautiful climate and lush valleys are perfect for farming.
Kim- Oh yes! 12 Bones was on our itinerary, but we didn’t have enough time. And of course, we were eating all day long, so no one had much appetite left. Next time!
I love Asheville. I had some of the best ribs and collard greens at a place called 12 Bones Smokehouse in the River Arts District. I wish I could have brought the whole restaurant back to Colorado with me!
Beautiful! I can’t wait to read all about it. I’ve only been to Asheville once, to the Montreat Presbyterian Conference Center, but it was a lovely place. I know they like to keep things local.
I look forward to it!! And, coming from Cali to the green that is Western North Carolina was a LOVELY change!
Noelle
I love this post! My Dad’s from Asheville & I grew up 45 minutes from there, so it’s like my second home. Highland is my favorite brewery and we may get married at Biltmore next year 🙂 I’m glad you guys had such a good time there!
Have heard great things about Asheville! Can’t wait to visit one day.