Podcast Contents
Talkin’ about food with my fellow podcasters Max Trujilo and Matt Weiss of NC Food & Beverage Podcast, who are reimagining their successful “Bubbles & Brisket” festival for October with “Bubbles & Brats” happening right here in Candler, WNC! Also, I reviewed some restaurants, at home and abroad!
00:00 - 10:25 INTRO: 1 Person 3 Stop Asian-themed Food Tour
10:35 - 40:45 INTERVIEW: Max Trujilo and Matt Weiss from
40:55 - 51:24 TRAVEL BLOGGER: Sault Ste Marie, Michigan
51:34 - 55:13 OUTRO: Back Home, Eating Things
1 PERSON 3 STOP ASIAN-THEMED FOOD TOUR, Part One: Yum Sushi Burrito & Poke. I decided to walk around downtown Asheville the other day, and I ended up eating at three different places, all Asian themed. First, I got some shrimp shumai, deep fried dumplings, w/ sriracha aioli & unagi sauce, at Yum on Ashland Ave. I friggin’ loved it!!! 8 pieces of piping hot, soft, tasty bites, slightly crispy on the surface, and perfect with the two sauces. Truly YUMmy!!! Five stars and an instant dark horse contender for my 2023 Deep Fried Thing of the Year Stoobie award! 🔥
1 PERSON 3 STOP ASIAN-THEMED FOOD TOUR, Part Two: High Climate Tea Company. Next, on my walk around downtown Asheville, I popped into High Climate Tea Company on South Lexington Ave for delicious milk tea, some spicy pistachios, and a very good tea egg. Great atmosphere, great food, nice people. I loved it!
1 PERSON 3 STOP ASIAN-THEMED FOOD TOUR, Part Three: Red Ginger Dimsum & Tapas. My final stop on my self-guided food tour of downtown was Red Ginger Dim Sum and Tapas, one of my fave places in Asheville. I got a little outside my own comfort zone by ordering the “tropical ocean nest,” and I’m really glad I did!
It was wild and crazy and super good! It was basically a stack of fresh, perfectly ripe mango, crunchy cucumbers, sashimi tuna & salmon, all topped with cooked imitation crab, crispy fried leeks, and a savory warm pepper dressing. By the end of this dish, and this 1-person food tour, I was STUFFED! So I waddled home. What a perfect day in Downtown, Asheville, WNC, Food City, USA! 🔥
MAMA’S FIXIN’ SUMTHIN’: If you sensed that there was more food for you to eat in Asheville than usual one week last month, that’s because I was out of town! I took a trip to Sault Ste Marie / Bahweting in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to visit family, attend a wedding, and eat a bunch of food. One day, I noticed a daily pop-up, called Mama's Fixin' Sumthin', in a parking lot across the street from my favorite cafe, so I got a “walking taco,” which was all the stuff: Meat, cheese, lettuce, etc, on top of some Fritos, still in the bag! I don’t know if this is a trend or not right now, but it was the first time I've had something like this. I enjoyed it very much and if I'd had more room in my stomach, I would have ordered more things off of their menu! Mama and her crew are doing these pop-ups in order to raise enough money for a food truck. They told me that so far, it was going real good, and people dig their food. I know they’re gonna be successful!
COFFEE IN SAULT STE MARIE: Of course I had a ton of coffee from a bunch of places in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan on my visit there last month. My fave cafe in The Soo is inside a shop called Bird's Eye Outfitters. I also enjoyed the drinks I got from Superior Coffee Roasting Company, and was stunned that the coffee from Cup of the Day was only $1.00! One of the best days included a trip to the Dancing Crane Coffee House in Brimly, MI where I had a perfect cappuccino and some very rich and delicious vanilla iced cream.
FRANK’S PLACE: On another day, I was near the famous Soo Locks, and I got kinda hungry, so I wandered into Frank's Place and ordered a Smashburger, with American cheese, period. No lettuce no tomato no onion no french fries. Just a little bit of ketchup. Cut in half, consumed while hot, and enjoyed to the maximum! If I was hungrier I could have eaten 10 of them. I enjoyed every bite of its flat patty perfection, cheese melting into a gooey sauce, steam rising from the middle.
I don’t know how I could have made a better choice than to pop into Frank’s for this burger. Thanks, Frank’s!
LOCKVIEW RESTAURANT: It wouldn’t be a trip to Sault Ste Marie without a visit to the Lockview Restaurant for white fish! Super old school. Super enjoyable! It’s the quintessential Soo Locks dining experience.
Be sure to go to all these places and more the next time you’re in The Soo!
WILD GINGER PHO NOODLE BAR: The first thing we did when we got back to Asheville from our trip up north was EAT!!! We went to Wild Ginger Pho Noodle Bar for spring rolls, pho, and bahn mi sandwiches. If you’ve been there, you know how great it is, and if you haven’t, I recommend you just go.
It was just what the doctored ordered. Nothing fixes me up after a day of air travel like a nice fresh meal at one of our favorite local places.
BENNE ON EAGLE: Paddy and I went on an Asheville Food Tours dinner junket to our newest (returning) tour partner, Benne on Eagle, located in The Block neighborhood in downtown, and we loved it!
We started with the super creamy & comforting grit cakes, which had some frisée salad w/ bacon vinaigrette & pepper jelly on the plate. Next we got the Berbere spiced, French cut, “lollipop” chicken legs w/ house made ranch. Perfectly cooked and very easy to eat. Too easy! LOL I kept eating them well past being full!
We ended our meal with the exotic, unique, vegetarian Southern fried banana blossom! I’d never had or even heard of a banana blossom until this meal, but I crushed it and loved every bite! All in all, another great experience at Benne on Eagle!
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Episode 128: Bubbles & Brats w/ NC FB Pod