The podcast above features me and Chef Tom LaFauci from Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville talkin’ about food, Jabba The Hut, and holding hands while eating vegan chicken.
Podcast Contents
00:00 - 03:40 INTRO: Love Ya! Yeah, We’ll Go With That.
03:41 - 32:42 WHERE’D YA EAT? PT 1: Miyako House, Dilbar, Mikasa Criolla, Buxton Chicken Palace, La Bodega, Abeja’s House, Asheville Pizza South, Jimmy Bakes, Yamaneko1 Bento, 12 Bones South, Burial Beer, Shanghai Dumpling House, Mother Bakery, The Rhu, Coffee at Pennycup, French Broad Chocolates, The Grind, Farewell, & Olde Europe
32:44 - 32:29 MANNA SPOT: Please Donate to MANNA Foodbank.
33:31 - 40:22 SAUCE TALK: Sauce Robert (It's Pronounced "Row-Bear," Y’all) & Demi
40:23 - 44:53 WHERE’D YA EAT? PT 1: Winter Park Edition - Buttermilk Bakery, CFS Coffee, Café Don Juan, East End Market, Wafu, Domu, St. John’s River Steak & Seafood
44:54 - 47:10 OUTO: Thanks for Being Here!
ROOFTOP DINING PART 1: Y'all, my family went to Hemingway's Cuba Asheville, the balcony / patio restaurant at the Cambria Hotel Downtown Asheville for brunch last weekend, and we enjoyed it very much!
We started with some guava pastries with fresh fruit, and maduras (fried sweet plantains) and both were really delicious! The plantains were very soft, sweet, and caramelized! Some of the best I've ever had. My mom got the Pilar's guava salad with shrimps and loved it.
My sister got the pressed Cuban breakfast sandwich, and boy howdy! It looked really good! She said it was great. I should have asked for a bite! My nephew got one of the tortilla omelettes, I can't recall which one, but he crushed it, so it must have been tasty!
My bro-in-law and I both got the basic Hemingway's Breakfast, he got his with sausage, I got mine with ham. We both finished our plates, and I enjoyed mine, but I feel like I should have ordered something more exciting, so I'll go back on my own to try some other things. The weather was perfect, the views are great, and there was Cuban music playing, so it was very lively and fun! Thanks for inviting us, Hemingway's, and thanks for offering this unique breakfast/brunch option in downtown Asheville 7 days a week!
ROOFTOP DINING PART 2: Food fans, don't sleep on Capella on 9, the rooftop bar and restaurant of the AC Hotel Asheville. It's been a personal favorite of mine for years and I hope that y'all will take advantage of the fantastic views from the tallest rooftop food venue in town, with some of the best food too! I'm a big fan of the executive chef, Rakim Gaines, who is my current Chef of the Year winner, and I'm a big fan of the rest of the folks in the kitchen, as well as those behind the bar, and the whole dang staff up there. I've gotten to know them over the years, and they are super nice people. At the request of one of the managers there, I arranged an AFWBIMP tasting (Asheville Food Writers Bloggers & Independent Media People), and we all shared several dishes from the new menu.
Everything we had was super delicious, and the group CRUSHED every bite. The gambas al ajillo were perfectly cooked shrimp swimming in a smoked paprika butter with garlic confit and chive. I could have eaten a bucketful. Next came my fave dish on their menu, the grilled ribeye with house made steak sauce and a summer hash of taters, leeks, asparagus & bacon. Gah. So good.
Another fave of mine was next, the seared tuna tataki with sauces, micros & toasted sesame seeds. Next the Scottish salmon came out, disappeared from the table in what seemed like 3 seconds flat! 😂 It was real good. The beet salad with fried capers & burrata was awesome. I am in love with burrata! Gim. All. For dessert, one of the Chefs busted out a bread pudding for us! It was so dang tasty! YOM! Good times all around.
The AFWBIMP crew demolished this food, and you might have already seen some posts from the other members, and you might see some more, because part of the point of our group tastings is to love-bomb the grub on social! 🙂 Now that you've seen the food, go say hi to Chef Rakim and the crew! Locals especially, we should not deny ourselves the rooftop experiences of downtown Asheville. It's our city, and we should enjoy it! ❤️❤️❤️
ROOFTOP DINING PART 3: I was recently invited to come try the new Soprana Rooftop Cucina at the Embassy suites hotel downtown, and wow. The views are frickin' spectacular! Like, amazing. I tried to capture it in pictures, but that's a heavy lift for an iPhone. I highly recommend going and seeing it for yourselves. The food I tried was also fabulous! One of my fave people/chefs in this town, Philip Bollhoefer has set the menu, and Chef Ryan was in the kitchen on the night I was there.
I ordered the burrata pizza with stracciatella, aged balsamic, EVO, tomato sauce, basil, and heirloom tomatoes. It was insanely good! They also sent some of their chicken wings to the table, and wow! Perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and they came with some fresh grilled lemon to squeeze on them, and it was the perfect little bit of tang.
For dessert I got myself their affogato, with dark roasted espresso, vanilla gelato, salted caramel, and amaretti cookies. It was sooooooo dang good!
And of course, I stuck around long enough to watch the sunset, which was the greatest show on Earth. And like I've been saying about all the rooftop venues, don't ignore them, even if you're local. Or should I say, *especially* if you're local! These views are here for us, as well as for people who come to visit, and I can highly recommend the food at Soprana Rooftop Cucina!
THE RHU: Attention Quiche Fans! I love quiche and today I had a perfect piece of quiche at The Rhu. It was warm and fluffy and savory and had nice chunks of vegetables and a very flaky wonderful crust.
It also came with a cute little side salad. It was exactly what I wanted and it sure did hit the spot! Thanks, Rhu!
ASHEVILLE FOOD TOURS: Come take an Asheville Food Tour with me Sunday, Tuesday & Wednesday, or with our other awesome food tour guide Sarah Ray every other day of the week!
We had a great time, learned a lot and Sarah was a great guide! So full of delicious food, and she helped us to confirm that we will be back again in the future. And naturally, we will recommend this tour to all we know. Thanks for making a great honeymoon so enjoyable for us! - David P.
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