THE PODCAST
The podcast above was originally recorded on 01/27/2025 with my usual co-host Chef Tom LaFauci from Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville…
00:00 - 01:50 INTRO: Historic, Hopefully In A Good Way
01:51 - 10:45 HAIL MARY: A Great Burger In A Familiar Place
10:46 - 15:56 TASTEE NO MORE: The Many Phases Of Tastee Diner
15:57 - 26:43 NAME THAT PASTA GAME: Tom Chef Knows Things
26:44 - 35:41 ASHEVILLE RESTAURANT WEEK: It’s Two Weeks
35:42 - 47:45 WNC PIZZA WEEK: What It Is When It Is
47:46 - 50:53 BYE! Thanks Deb and All The Listeners and WPVM 103.7fm!
50:54 - 58:17 DING DONG! The Pizza Guy Is Here!
THE NEWSLETTER
GONE TOO SOON: On Feb 6th, 2025, our tight knit food community was rocked by a tragedy, when Chef Brian Canipelli from Cucina 24 suffered a medical emergency and passed away during dinner service.
Brian was one of the pillars of Asheville's culinary world, and a superstar among chefs, recognized repeatedly by The James Beard Foundation and others for his skills and talents. He was widely respected locally, as well as nationally. His calm demeanor and even-handed professionalism earned him a solid reputation with employees, both past and present, and of course his amazing food made him a favorite with the eaters of WNC. Chef Canipelli will be greatly missed by his friends, his family, his colleagues and his community.
Dawn and I loved Brian's food very much, I gave him a Stoobie Award for a small plate of snap peas just a week ago, and we also enjoyed his personality, finding him to have a low key, extra-dry sense of humor, and, especially when it came to his city and his people, a kind and generous soul. He once printed a menu, laced with eff-bombs and other swears just for to make me laugh. The entire food community are heartbroken for his family and wish them the best in these extremely trying times. 💛💛💛
MOTHER MOTHER MOTHER: I went to Mother bakery on the South Slope with Vicky from 828newsnow the other day. It was her first time and she raved about the quiche. I could tell from her enthusiasm that she's a TRUE foodie! I got my ol' favorite, The Croque Madame, plus I got a side of sautéed local mushrooms, and we shared them. So frickin' goooood!!! Thank you, Mother! ❤️
Aaand the food at Mother is so nice, I ate there twice… well, three times… kinda… you’ll see. Anyhoo, a couple days after I ate the epic croque madame, I went back for lunch and got the lamb burger with a side salad (instead of fries) and as usual, I ate every frickin' atomic particle of this food. Gahhhhhhh... The sound of my plate being scraped could be heard for miles. The burger was big and juicy and cooked just right. Yes it was on the rare side, but that was perfect. The whipped feta added creaminess and tang while the pickled fennel was subtly delicious. The cute little cornichons were the exact crunchy accompaniment that rounded it all out.
Five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Super high recommends. Oh, and they brought me a wee little sample of one of their sweet offerings, and it was excellent! Next time I go, umma get a bigger piece. 🙂
Finally, I got a cappuccino and a beautiful piece of focaccia at Rowan Coffee the other day. Turns out the focaccia was from… Mother!
BIG DEAL OATMEAL: The nice folks at Big Deal Oatmeal brought me some of there awesome, locally made honey peanut butter granola bites, oatmeal cookies, and top shelf oatmeal, and all of it was great! The granola bites were crunchy on the edges, sweet but not too sweet, with a hint of salt every once in a while, hardy and substantial and loaded with nuts (including pistachios, my favorite!) and dried fruit and I've been enjoying them as a treat in morning... or anytime after that! 😂
The cookies are sweeter, flatter, and softer than of the bites, but equally hardy and satisfying. I like oatmeal cookies and these are great versions! The top shelf oatmeal was also some of the best I've ever had! For real. It was so hardy and tasty and full of nutty fruity superfoody goodness that I could feel my health meter riding as I was eating. Somewhere out there my nurse practitioner felt a disturbance in the force, a giant flock of crows took off from a leafless tree, a crack developed in the time-space continuum, and the fat globs of cholesterol that live rent free in my arteries were like, "Whaaaaa?" Anyhoo, super yummy health food. High recommends. 👍👍
Big Deal Oatmeal can be found at West Village Market & Deli and weekly at the Weaverville Tailgate Market (Wednesdays 3-6) and Asheville City Market (Saturdays 10- 1) Recipes are on the website.
PIZZA OF THE MONTH: Y'all... there are not enough "gahs" in this world for me to describe how insanely delicious the pizza of the month from Chef Drew and the crew at Asheville Pizza South is. I mean, I eat one of his special pies every month, I'm obviously a huge fan, and I think this one is his BEST YET! My wife and mother also LOVED it, and they're both a little harder to please than I am. As always, I'll let Drew describe it...
“Pizza of the Month: Sexual Chocolate!
Graham Cracker Crust. Garlic Olive Oil Base. Cocoa Chipotle Rubbed Steak. Raspberry Mascarpone Dollops. Feta. Cayenne Candied Bacon. After the oven, Chocolate and Cherry Balsamic Glaze. Basil.”
It was sweet and savory and spicy and thicc and dank AF! The flavors were lighting up my mouth in the best, most exciting way possible, and the crust was soooo crispy and tasty, that even my mom, a well-known crust leaver, chowed it down and raved about it. I thought last month's pizza was the best ever, and it was... until now! I highly recommend this pie! It's the kind of food that makes us feel lucky to live in Asheville. ❤️🍕
WNC PIZZA WEEK 2025: Get ready, Y’all! WNC Pizza Week 2025 is coming March 10 - 16, and to get ready I've already created an interactive map of EVERY pizza maker I could find in Western North Carolina. You can click HERE or on the image below to open the map and find your old favorites, plus some new favorites in WNC!
If you notice that your favorite spot isn't on the map, let me know, and if you want to make sure that your favorite pizza place is participating in WNC PIZZA WEEK 2025 please encourage them to reach out to me at stuhelmavl@gmail.com Thanks!
ASHEVILLE FOOD TOURS: Y'all, please consider signing up for a romantic two person food tour with me! Last week, I took J&J out to celebrate their first Valentine's Day together! Jai had reached out to me a few weeks ago, and wanted to book a surprise tour for Justin, who is a foodie by nature! We had a blast and I fed them a ton of delicious food! Of course, I gave them plenty of together-time without me hovering over them, so that they could enjoy each other's company, and it didn't feel like I was their chaperone! 😂
We visited 8 places and they had food and drinks and good times for sure! We ended at Botanist & Barrel Tasting Bar + Bottle Shop Asheville, where we took this picture, I gave them some parting gifts (more food!) and left them sitting at the bar, in the capable hands of Amanda and Jim. Now... at every stop, they pulled out a tripod for their phone and made cute little "couples" videos for social media! Squeeee! I wanted to die from adorableness! For real, this was one of the most fun-filled tours I've ever led. The people I take on tours are always a lot of fun, and J&J were exceptionally so! You can follow them on Instagram HERE. And if you want to take a two person private tour with me, just email me at stuhelmavl@gmail.com!
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