THE PODCAST
The podcast above features me & my co-host Chef Tom LaFauci from Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville doing our first podcast together after the hurricane devastated our area.
00:00 - 03:54 INTRO: A Moment of Silence On Our First Show Since The Hurricane
03:55 - 15:04 STORM STORIES: SOS Only Mode
15:06 - 24:00 LIFE WITHOUT WATER: Making Do With What You’ve Got
24:01 - 24:41 Please Donate to MANNA Foodbank
24:42 - 29:33 AFTER THE FLOOD: Devastation
29:34 - 36:10 WCK IN WNC: World Central Kitchen To The Rescue
36:11 - 41:43 DISPELLING THE FLOOD OF LIES: Government Was Here For Us
41:45 - 44:23 THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED: The Heartwarming Stories Are Intense
44:24 - 50:34 DOWNTOWN IS OPENING UP: Please Come To Asheville
50:35 - 56:42 THE PIZZA GUY IS HERE - Nothin’ Like The Comfort Of A Cheese Pie from Asheville Pizza South!
THE NEWSLETTER
For my friends & subscribers who live outside of the area and are wondering how we're doing in Asheville and WNC... We are not out of this mess yet, not by a long shot. There’s a lot of very hard work to do, years of rebuilding, physically in terms of roads and bridges and buildings and water and electricity etc etc, but also emotionally. I think a lot of us are really starting to feel The Sadness. For me, and a lot of the people I know in Asheville, the real struggle to survive day to day is long past, and the desperate need to help others survive is waning as well, so that's great, but we still don't have drinkable water coming out of our faucets in much of the area, and there are giant piles of trees and trash, and rubble, and debris everywhere. In some places there's still toilet paper, plastic bags, and other mud-caked garbage in the trees, like, 20 feet up, from the flood water. Parts of The RAD looks like a nuclear bomb went off, and I'm not exaggerating. Downtown is definitely coming back to life, in fits and starts, but it's very slow compared to the usual hustle and bustle of tourism and commerce that we enjoy at this time of year. Many of us are still without work, and the stores and restaurants are wondering if they’ll be able to survive another winter. I see worried faces all day long, some on the verge of tears, so the black cloud left behind by the storm still lingers, and I think a lot of us are starting to have what they call "Disaster Fatigue." But we learned a hard lesson during COVID: We can’t sit on the sidelines forever. We have to get back at it, back to life as we knew it, to whatever degree that’s possible, and although things will never be “normal” again for many people, we have to get back to some semblance of an existence that has fun, and joy and happiness. And that CAN be found! Downtown has things to do! West Asheville has things to do! And because of the topography, there are areas of WNC that were completely unaffected by the hurricane, and are just as beautiful and inviting as ever. So, if you're able to come visit us this winter, it's still lovely up here in the mountains, and we'd love to see you. If you're unable to travel to Asheville, but you want to continue to support the people of Western North Caroline, I recommend donating to MANNA FoodBank (as always), along with Food Connection, and BeLoved Asheville. Thanks, Y'all! Please don't forget about us.
OPENING UP AGAIN! For the first few weeks after the hurricane walking miles and miles in and around downtown Asheville, makign posts about whre to find food, water, and other essentials. Around mid-October, things started to open up in Downtown, and I made daily posts to get the word out. Here’s a smattering of those posts. You can see them all on my Facebook Page.
Friday, October 18th, 2024, Asheville, North Carolina. Today I took pictures of a bunch of signs of activity in Downtown Asheville... literally. Restaurants, cafes, breweries, gift shops, clothing stores, toy stores, and more were open today, and will be open all weekend! HEY LOCALS! There are no tourists downtown. There's plenty of free street parking downtown. The local merchants would love to see you! If ever there was a time for us to enjoy downtown all to ourselves, it's right now. I hope to see you there!
Monday, October 21st, 2024. Yay!!! One of my favorite restaurants, Miyako House, is open today!
Tuesday, October 22, 2024. Botanist & Barrel Tasting Bar + Bottle Shop Asheville is open!
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024. YESSS!!! A neighborhood favorite and a personal favorite of mine, Andale WAY Mexican Grill at the bottom of the South Slope is open!
Thursday, October 24, 2024. Yayyyy! Mother bakery on the South Slope is open!
Since then more and more places have opened, although some have closed their doors for good. The best way to keep up with all the restaurants is to follow me on Facebook, subscribe to AVL Today, and follow all your favorite restaurants on social media, especially Instagram, which tends to have the most immediate updates.
TWISTED IS BACK! My very good friends at Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville are back open! I ordered two of my all time favorite apps in downtown, the crispy Brussels sprouts and the meatballs! Gah! Both are super yummy! (Can you tell I'm excited? 😆) Remember when the power and the water were both out, and so many of us really couldn't cook at home, and Twisted Laurel cranked out HUNDREDS of free meals for us? That was frickin' awesome. Please go show them some love now, when they need us the most. ❤️🙏
BOTTI WALLA: I went to the brand new Botiwalla by Chai Pani located on Battery Park Ave a couple days ago and got 2 chicken skewers, a paneer (cheese) skewer, and some crispy smashed taters. I. Loved. Every. Bite!!!
Holy moly! Chicken is my fave protein and skewers are one of my fave food delivery systems, so this was a no-brainer for me. I also love paneer, and that skewer was equal in flavor, texture, and satisfaction levels to the chicken skewers for sure! The taters were excellent and the spicy ketchup was perfect.
Super high recommends for these things! Thanks, Botiwalla!
CURATE: As soon as I saw that my good friends at Cúrate were opening, I got online and made a reservation. Dawn and I went on Sunday, Oct 27, and enjoyed a truly wonderful meal at the bar.
We got bread, cheese, soup, peppers, turnips, chicken, and mushrooms. Good lord. Everything was amazing, as always, and it was great to see my friends from both Cúrate and La Bodega by Cúrate working the line and the floor.
The folks from those two places worked their butts off to feed lots and lots of people in the weeks right after the storm hit, and I'm so happy for them that they are able to open, and do what they love most: Run one of the best restaurants in the whole dang country! I personally love them and their food. ❤️❤️❤️
ASHEVILLE FOOD TOURS: Sarah and I are back to doing Food Tours with Asheville Food Tours, so please sign up with us! The restaurants are SUPER grateful to have have you in! And in the meantime, I have relaunched my Asheville Cannabis Tours! Tickets can also be purchased at AshevilleFoodTours.com!
WHAT’S A CANNABIS TOUR: On a typical Cannabis Tour, you’ll first learn all about legal THCA cannabis, while smoking some of it in Downtown Asheville’s only 420 friendly smoke lounge! Then we walk to several of downtown’s dispensaries, collecting pre-rolls, buds, gummies, and other treats in our gift bags, like an adult Halloween! We also learn all about CBD, CBG, dab, wax, and other concentrates, Indica vs Sativa, how to dial in your needs, and who to talk to about it! We also eat something yummy halfway through the tour! :) Again, you can sign up HERE!
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