When I moved to Asheville, the rumors about Chai Pani were intense – they’d just won that James Beard Award, and a seat in their first-come, first-served dining room or patio was the most coveted spot in town for a meal.  I’d known about the restaurant and its adorable storefront on Battery Park Avenue for years, having been visiting town to see family for ages, but it seemed like this humble, tasty shop had become an overnight hit among the best of the best in restaurants. I didn’t intend to visit the first time I went. Instead, I happened to be walking down the street at the right time on…

Sometimes, food is just so good that you can’t help but be drawn into its orbit. I first noticed that OWL Bakery has a bit of a cult following when wandering the leaf-covered aisle of the North Asheville Tailgate Market.  This is a popular farmers market with a ton of booths, and almost all of them have a little buzzy hive of people around them shopping, but OWL’s bakery truck stand had a line that very clearly was 20 or 25 people deep.  As a person presently munching on another, less-line-inducing pastry from elsewhere in the market and enjoying it very much, I saw it as a mystery that I…

Eating a meal between early morning and the start of the afternoon is a simple thing, but brunch is an entire vibe. Something about the choice to eat a large meal instead of two smaller ones conveys relaxation, connection, and usually fun, given that it’s one of the rare times I see people sipping a champagne-laden bellini or mimosa at 11:30 am.  While various restaurants do a great brunch in Asheville, my favorite brunching standard is Early Girl Eatery. You’ll know it if you’ve wandered the city even a bit – between their three locations and the distinctive vintage logo of a young girl holding a huge tomato.  On the…

Some restaurants hold a special place in your heart not because of what the restaurant did, but because of the important occasion you spent there. The restaurant itself could have colored the occasion in some ways, but the rosier the memory, the more the food was just a compliment.  I spent my first wedding anniversary at Chestnut in Asheville almost a decade ago, and the sensory memories are still so strong: the dim and golden light of the space on a winter’s night. Ordering the Lobster Bisque and being impressed with how perfectly creamy and lobstery it was, with just the hints of spice that make it one of my…

If you’re like me, you have a rolodex in your brain (do new generations know the idea of a rolodex?) of the places you spend time. I know, for instance, that the public library is closed Sunday and Monday, meaning that my go-to spot for working on writing has to wait until later in the week. Well, one place that is smack dab in my path many days is also open most of the hours I could imagine myself out and about, especially in Weaverville. That’s Yellow Mug Coffee Lounge. Yellow Mug is a bright storefront-style coffee lounge with a calm atmosphere, easy-listening music playing, and minimalist art. They have…

My husband and I have to have good snacks on hand if we’re going to watch the “Great British Baking Show,” a lightly competitive baking show featuring truly scrumptious and delicate treats. One of the categories that is easiest to understand by watching seasons and seasons of this show is patisserie.  It refers to things that would probably get the umbrella term “desserts” in the United States, but are specifically a variety of delicate, constructed pastries and cakes that are popular all over Europe but maybe most famously so in France. When we think patisserie, we think desserts with layers, with perhaps some puff pastry but also a layer of…

I’ve heard people view the ways that people’s allergies, dietary preferences, and other restrictions have changed the cuisine landscape depicted as a challenge, the old “what can we possibly serve at dinner that avoids all the allergies while respecting vegan, vegetarian, and other needs?” question.  What I’ve found, instead, is that any kind of constraint on my cooking and eating helps me delve deeper into novelty and discover combinations I’d never try without it. I wouldn’t have discovered some of my now-favorite foods if I didn’t have vegan family members.  Similarly, the desire to choose hangout places that don’t require my gluten-free friends to drink gluten-y beer has helped me…