The podcast above features me, talkin’ to my friend and fellow tour guide, Kaye Bentley from Asheville Rooftop Bar Tours, as well a solo-segment of Where’d Ya Eat and a little bit of Dunning Kruger Report at the end about the high cost of food.
Podcast Contents
00:00 - 01:54 INTRO: Reduced Herds & Increased Prices
01:55 - 23:36 ROOFTOP TOURS: With Her Highness, Kaye Bentley
23:37 - 42:02 WHERE’D YA EAT? New Theme Song, Rosabee’s, The Rhu, White Duck Taco, Dilbar, and Coffee Coffee Coffee at PennyCup, Farewell, Summit, Double D’s, Rite Rite, & The Times Bar & Cafe
42:04 - 42:49 MANNA SPOT: Please Donate to MANNA Foodbank.
43:00 - 47:55 CORRECTIONS: Mayo Rankings - Duke’s, Kewpie, Good & Gather, Plus The Largest Rooftop Bar in the world?
47:56 - 54:45 FOOD PRICES: A Prelude to a Future Conversation
54:46 - 56:28 OUTRO: A Heart Felt Soorry to the People of Canada
ASHEVILLE ROOFTOP BAR TOURS: My friend Kaye Bentley is the founder of Asheville Rooftop Bar Tours, as well as a very nice person, a great local business owner, and always one of my favorite people to bump into when I’m out — or UP — there enjoying Asheville’s hospitality scene. There are currently a lot of great rooftop and balcony bars in Asheville now, and more keep getting added. The new Flatiron Hotel has three rooftop spaces! Kaye and her crew know them all, and they have crafted several really great tours of downtown and the RAD.
“Your adventure with Asheville Rooftop Bar Tours will take you across the city: from a local favorite venue along our original Main St. to a sleek and modern rooftop bar in the center of the city. Our three-hour, three rooftop guided bar tours combine Asheville's scenic beauty and highly acclaimed rooftop bars with historic city landmarks, sample cocktails or mocktails, and preferred seating at each stop on the tour. We even do the driving for you!” - www.AshevilleRooftopBarTours.com
I always tell the locals that these views are here for us too, so even if you live in Asheville, be a tourist in your own town, and sign up a tour with Asheville Rooftop Bar Tours…
ROSABEE’S: I went to lunch with the boss the other day, and we went to Rosabee’s in the RAD! Jennie Townsend was my boss when I worked for Kickbackavl during the pandemic shut down, and we've stayed good friends ever since. I hadn't seen her in a super long time, so it was great to hang out in the chill atmosphere of Rosabees and catch up. And of course the food was awesome!
We started with coffee, and Jennie had a mocktail, and then we shared the house made spam appetizer, which was super delicious! I ordered the Brekkie Okonomiyaki which is a savory Japanese pancake, with wild red shrimp, two sunny eggs, scallions, Kewpie mayo, house Okonomi sauce, bonito flakes and chili crisp. It was fantastic and I ate every frickin scrap of what was on my plate!
The Boss got a Mochiko Chicken Sando and she also crushed hers.
Service was great, the dishes and flatware were very nice, the music was good, and we enjoyed ourselves very much! Thanks, Rosabees!
COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE: Coffee coffee coffee plus a donut and a joint. Since last time, I’ve had a lot of coffee at my usual places. I got a macchiato at Old Europe Pastries, a cappuccino from French Broad Chocolates, plus a joint from Apotheca. I also had a really good cup of regular ol’ drip coffee and a very delicious cake doughnut from The Rhu.
I also had cappuccinos out the whazoo at PennyCup Coffee at the YMI, Farewell and Summit, aaand a super delicious and elegantly presented iced latte at The Times Bar & Coffee Shop AVL, which is my current Cafe of the Year award holder.
If there’s one thing for sure in this crazy ol’ world, it’s that 👁 ❤ ☕!!!
STU HELM: TRAVEL BLOGGER. Prt 9 - Downtown Grayling, Michigan. On our way back from the outer most tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula we stopped in a tiny little town called Grayling, where we stayed overnight at the Hanson House Grayling, a gorgeous, historic residence turned bed and breakfast.
That evening we met up with family for dinner at a really fun & popular spot called Spike's Keg 'O' Nails, where we all enjoyed the bar food, boisterous atmosphere, homey service, and each other's company very much!
Hanson House provides their guests with a voucher for breakfast at the nearby Grayling Restaurant, so we went the next morning, and it was like stepping into the past. Dawn got a veggie omelette and I got two eggs with hash browns and Canadian bacon. The food was exactly what we wanted, service was friendly and personable, the vibe was lively and just about as wholesome as it gets.
We loved it! On the way out of town, we stopped into Goodale's Bakery, where I got some super old-school Northern style pastries that hit every nostalgia button in my soul and satisfied me to my very core. That doughnut. Gah.
And finally, we stopped into Grayling Coffee and Tea Co. so that Dawn could get a fancy coffee, but to my shock and surprise, there was also free drip coffee because "Free Coffee Friday" is a thing at the Grayling Coffee and Tea Co. every single Friday. 😍 God bless America. Thanks, Grayling, we loved ya and maybe one day we'll have the good fortune to be back for another visit!
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Episode 156: Rooftops, Pu Pu, Ooka, Momo & More