THE PODCAST
The podcast above was originally recorded on 06/16/2025 with my usual co-host Chef Tom LaFauci from Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville…
00:00 - 03:33 INTRO: A Visit From The Health Inspector
03:34 - 06:19 CORRECTIONS: People Will Eat Anything & Everything
06:20 - 12:47 FOODIE NEWS: Courtesy Of The Ashvegas Hot Sheet - Birdie’s Pizza, Svitlana’s Kitchen, Asheville Forager, And A Mysterious Entity Called Jazmin
12:48 - 15:42 KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON: Gotta Have Lights, Man
15:43 - 26:56 WHAT A WORLD: Foodie Pal Is Your Friend To The End… Of Everything
26:57 - 27:38 MANNA SPOT: Please Donate to MANNA Foodbank
27:39 - 47:00 SAUCE TALK/FOODIE GAMES: Chef Tom Finally Wins!
47:01 - 49:00 BYE! Thanks To Deb & All The Listeners and WPVM 103.7fm!
49:23 - 49:57 MOWABC SPOT: Please Donate & Volunteer for Meals on Wheels
THE NEWSLETTER
OLD & NEW GO-TO DISHES: My mom and I hit up one of our all-time favorites, Sunny Point Café on Haywood Rd in WAVL. She got one carrot pancake, plus something that I can't remember the name of but was basically a latke with everything including lox on top. It was big! She loved it and brought half home for dinner, and later she told me it would be her new go-to at Sunny Point! I got my olllllld favorite, and one of my original "Stoobie Award" winning dishes from way back in the day: Shrimp 'n' Grits. Gah. Nobody does 'em like Sunny Point!
They are rich, creamy, savory and flavorful, with the slightest smoke & tiniest heat from the chipotle sauce, plus loads of bacon and shrimps, and even some roasted tomatoes to keep it healthy! The coarse-ground grits are always perfect and this dish remains one of the best things to eat in all of WNC in my opinion. I crushed every speck and took my angle biscuit home for my wife who loves them, and therefore loves me for bringing her one. Thanks, Sunny Point Café for making about half my family super happy that day! ❤️
DYING FOR IT: I went to Sweets and Seats Cafe with my family, where we all got something caffeinated to drink, and shared a very beautiful and insanely delicious Dubai chocolate extravaganza! And if you haven't been to Sweets and Seats yet, treat yourself sometime soon! And if you haven't jumped on the Dubai chocolate bandwagon yet, get on board!
It comes in various forms but is always a combo of pistachio, filo, chocolate, and in this case, layers of delicious pistachio cream and chocolate wafers. To. Die. For. High recommends.
KOLACHE B’GOSH! I was today years old when I learned what kolaches are, and then ate one, loved it and order three more to take home. Where have these doughy balls of awesome been my whole life???
Well, now they're at BattleCat CoffeeBar on Haywood Rd in WAVL, and I'll be eating a lot of them!
From the original post on Facebook:
Amber Arthur (owner of Battlecat) - I’ve been working on these for the last six months! I’m honored to get your approval:) The sausage and gravy one is the best 🙂 I was there making them this morning, sad I missed you!
Me: I was wondering if they were house made, or if there was some sort of Kollache maker in town that I didn't know about! Amber, the ham and cheese one was totally delicious, and I'm excited to try the jalapeño popper one, the sausage and gravy one, and the egg and cheese one that I bought to bring home! ❤️❤️❤️ [I did and they were awesome!]
Amber: Please come earlier in the day! They’re hot and fresh from 7 am to 1:00 fresh, but then we just fill the case up for the rest of the day at 1. We’re selling like 100 a day, the neighborhood has spoken! Seriously, so glad you like them. I’ve been deep diving into kolache land since the second Corrine (Tiger Bay) said she was ready to retire 😔. I even took my staff out of state to try some killer ones. I’m trying to make them in a new style, a honor to the food I grew up on of course (I’ll always be Tex through and through,) but with a modern twist. Also, try a sweet one (the guava and lemons curd is currently my fav.) More flavors to come too! 🤤
Me: We'll be back again and again for both sweet and savory style!
BUTTERPUNK: Our friend Jason showed up with biscuits from ButterPunk while I was doing yard work, so I took a break to eat one.
They were very buttery and crispy and tasty, and I pretty much needed a nap immediately afterwards! 😂😂😂
ButterPunk is located at 372 Depot St., Asheville and is open Thursday-Monday: 8am-2pm, and closed on Tuesday & Wednesday.
ASHEVILLE FOOD TOURS: This is what the Asheville Food Tours Experience is all about, Y'all! I had a really fun group the other day and we all had a blast visiting Table, Mountain Madre Asheville, Asheville Bee Charmer, Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville, White Duck Taco Shop, Wildwood Still and Sunshine Sammies!
The next day I got a very nice text message from one of the managers at Twisted Laurel letting me know that my group came back with their kids! Yay! Food Tours are a win win win situation! I have fun, the guests frickin' love it, and our restaurant partners see the positive results of sharing a little bit of their menus and their stories with the tour guests, in the form of return business and great reviews! ❤️❤️❤️
Contact me at StuHelmAVL@gmail.com if you would like for your restaurant, cafe, bakery, chocolatier, bar, lounge or food & beverage business of any kind to be part of The Asheville Food Tours Experience!
SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE! I publish this podcast / newsletter a couple times a month, and I'm happy to do it for free, but people who want to pay for it totally CAN! And those people are the best people ever. 🙂 If you want to throw a little extra love my way by paying for a subscription, you can do that here.
— END —
Share this post