The podcast above features me and Chef Tom LaFauci talking about my Stoobies, and other fun stuff
Podcast Contents
00:00 - 02:30 INTRO: Chef No Beard Scares The Children
02:30 - 11:25 SOMEONE IS PAYING ATTENTION: Tom & I Talk About Awards
11:25 - 28:00 STOOBIE NOMS I: A Deep Fried Shoe with Cheese & Sauce?
28:15 - 28:42 MANNA SPOT - Please Donate to MANNA Here.
28:43 - 42:31 WHERE’D YA EAT? Bone & Broth, Red Ginger, Sweets & Seats, Rabbit Hole, 12 Bones, New Stock Pantry, La Bodega, Tall John’s, & White Duck
42:32 - 53:20 STOOBIE NOMS II: Are You Saying “Yes” to Pickled Onions?
53:21 - 54:31 OUTRO: Goodbye
STOOBIE AWARDS: ALL WINNERS IN ALL CATEGORIES!
Alrighty, Y’all! Just in case you missed it, I announced all of the winners in every category of the 11th Annual Food Fan Awards aka The Stoobies on my other blog at the end of January. You can read them all HERE. Here’s an excerpt…
SANDWICH OF THE YEAR
Manicomio – Corned Beef Reuben
After just one bite of this sandwich last Spring, and I said to myself, “this is the sandwich of the year,” and then I ate a lot of great sandwiches after that, and it ended up being a really tough decision, but in the end, this was my baby all year long. Not only did I eat a bunch of them, but I recommended them to every person I know, and I fed it to hundreds of people on Food Tours, so yes, I love it, but I also know that many other people also love it. It’s a perfect Reuben, made with insanely good house-cooked corned beef that is chipped within an inch of it’s life, add kraut, Russian dressing, and Swiss cheese that gets melted into a sauce by the piping hot corned beef, and then hot-butter-grill the whole thing before it hits the plate. Oh, and it’s all served on Mother Bakery marble rye, and comes with a half-sour pickle, just the way a Reuben should! Good lord, it might be the best Reuben I’ve ever had, and I think deep down inside I always knew it was gonna be my Sandwich of the Year winner, and it is! Thanks to all of my friends at Manicomio for doing such a great job bringing us the food we love in downtown Asheville. Y’all are the best.
If you’d like to refresh your memory, by seeing the list of 2023 nominees, as well as all winners and nominees from the past 11 years, please click HERE.
JANUARY RESTAURANT ROUND-UP: I visited 34 restaurants, cafes, food trucks, etc in January. My goal is 200 venues in 2024.
12 Bones River, 67 Biltmore Downtown Eatery + Catering, Abeja's House Cafe, Asheville Club, Asheville Pizza South, Bear's Smokehouse BBQ, Bargello, Bold Rock, Capella on 9, Contrada, Cúrate, The Hop Ice Cream, Huli Sue's BBQ and Grill, La Bodega by Cúrate, Little Bee Thai, Little D's, Manicomio Pizza, Mikasa Criolla Avl, Miyako House, Mother Bakery South Slope, New Stock Pantry, Nightcrawler, Old Europe Pastries, PennyCup Coffee at the YMI, Pollen Flowers & Cafe, Rabbit Hole Asheville, Sabora, Session Cafe @ Citizen Vinyl, Shanghai Dumpling House, Summit Coffee, Tall John's, The Times Bar & Coffee Shop AVL, Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville, White Duck Taco Shop
Where did y'all eat in January? Please make a comment here, or join my Facebook Group, and tell me your favorite meal or restaurant that you ate at during the month and share pictures if you have them! I want to get some new ideas on where to go in February! 🙂
THE PIZZA GUY IS HERE! Daaaaaang, Yo! Chef Drew Peterson from Asheville Pizza South brought me his February specialty pizza of the month, and this one is insanely delicious. It's called "Le Bourgeois Champignon" or as Drew translate it, The Fancy Mushroom. I'll let him describe it...
"It starts with a duxelle (kind of like a herby mushroom spread) truffle aioli base. We got some prosciutto from our homies over at The New York Butcher Shoppe. Goat cheese and fresh mozzarella on top of that. After the oven it gets fresh basil and a fig balsamic glaze. Bon Appetit!"
It was super flavorful, slightly sweet, very very enjoyable. I had to stop myself from eating the whole pie all by myself in one sitting. It'll be around for the month of February so be sure to get it while you can. Chef Drew told me he'll have TWO specialty pies this month. This one, and also a Mardi Gras themed pie that he's working on with Grush's Cajun Dino Grill! Yum! I can't hardly wait!
B.I.D. & BREAKFAST: I was recently appointed to The Downtown Commission, which advises City Council on various aspects of downtown, ie: crime, cleanliness, parking, sidewalks, etc. It means that I have to attend meetings, and I recently attended one at 9am, and then I went to The Med, where I ate a real diner-style breakfast. I love The Med! Also, it was a very interesting meeting. The next time you see me, ask me about the Portland Loo & the B.I.D.
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Episode 137: Chef No Beard & Stoobie Awards