GOOD MORNING, FRIENDS
Today’s Podcast was originally broadcast by WPVM 103.7fm on December 16 & 17, 2022, and features conversations with my friends Meg Chamberlain from Fermenti and Lucho from Asheville Multicultural. I also reviewed Jetty Rae’s Oyster House and recorded another segment about holiday gift ideas!
Today’s newsletter (below) features Jetty Rae’s, Asheville Pizza South, The Hop Ice Cream, & The Worthy Baker. Enjoy your holiday weekend, no matter how you celebrate, or don’t!
JETTY RAE’S OYSTER HOUSE
Dawn & I had a very fun, delicious, and enjoyable dinner at Jetty Rae’s Oyster House the other night. This was our first time there! We saw some familiar faces in both the front & back of the house. We admired the decor, atmosphere, & music. And we feasted on the food of course! We started with every kind of raw oyster on the menu, all of them excellent! Then we moved on to the very fresh & tasty Asian salad, which had a slaw-like quality to it, but with more various textures and a lot of flavors going on, including bits of orange that were perfect. Next come, the cod fritters, which were an unexpected highlight of the meal. They might be the crispiest, lightest, most delicate cod fritters we’ve ever had.
Next we tucked into the gambas al ajillo, or garlic shrimp, which were cooked just right and came in very deep, dank, & decadent, brothy sauce that they very wisely provided bread for soaking up. You’re gonna want every drop. And finally was the dish that apparently everyone loves, and we can see why! The “Gullah inspired” Carolina gold crab rice was every bit worthy of the praise it receives from the patrons & staff at Jetty Rae’s!
Dawn got a cocktail & some Prosecco. I had water. This was an excellent dining experience. Recommend! 🔥🔥🔥
PIZZA OF THE MONTH
PIZZA SATURDAY! Every month, Drew Peterson from Asheville Pizza South brings me their Pizza of the Month, and this month it is particularly awesome! Here’s Drew’s description, along with my pictures of this beautiful, savory, crunchy, delicious pie!!!
“Brian's Leftover Chinese Food Pizza" We start with a teriyaki base. Then you get a choice of chicken or Tofu. For veggies, we use red and green peppers, red onions, broccoli, and waterchestnuts. After it comes out of the oven we throw on some fresh matchstick carrots and sesame seed. Disclaimer: not actually (made from) Brian's leftover Chinese food.”
The water chestnuts and the carrots add the perfect fresh crunch. I got 1/2 chicken and 1/2 tofu. Both were excellent. One was vegetarian. The crust was insanely good. Super high recommends for this one! I might love Drew’s pizzas as much as Drew does! 🙂❤️🔥
ANNUAL YULE LOG
The Hop Ice Cream: "Can we bring you one of our Yule Logs, Stu?"
Me: "ERMG!"
The HOP: "Heading your way."
Sometimes life frickin' RULES!!! Thank you, Greg Garrison from The Hop Handcrafted Ice Cream for bringing this vanilla bean ice cream based Yule Log to my house! Gah. It was insanely good.
The Hop makes super-high quality ice cream that's rich, creamy, and made from the best ingredients. They also make a very excellent variety of vegan / dairy free ice creams that are just as good as the dairy-based stuff. Their annual yule log is an Asheville favorite, and Greg told me that The Hop has been doing it for over twenty years! It's cute AF, and I always give extra points for that!
I highly recommend this fun and delicious seasonal treat for you and your fam, friends, office or whatever. Be the best guest ever and show up with one of these, or just get one all for your dang self!!! LOL I could totally eat this whole thing alone.
WE DID IT!
WOW! I'm blown away -- as always -- by your generosity, Y'all. Thank you to everyone who donated to our 2022 MANNA FoodBank fundraiser in any amount this year. With $5,250 MANNA can provide up to 21,000 nutritious meals for kids, families, and seniors living day-to-day with food insecurity in our area. Because of YOU, those folks will have greater access to food in 2023. Because of YOU, the good people at MANNA can continue to fight the good fight against persistent hunger in WNC. You rüle. Take a bow, eat a cookie, have fun over the holidays, relax & enjoy. You've earned it! ❤️❤️❤️
PS - The fundraiser doesn't technically end until December 31st, so if you'd like to donate, every dollar helps!
DESSERT
WHOOPIEEE! Whoopie Pies are some of my favorite things on Earth, and my dear friend Chef Jill Worthy aka The Worthy Baker' brought me an awesome gift basket of her cookies, cobblers, and whoopie pies!
Jill brought me 3 kinds: Marshmallow filled red velvet, cream cheese frosting filled chocolate, and German chocolate filled chocolate! Good lord. They were were awesome! Chef Worthy’s treats are excellent, and I recommend them very much for the holiday season.
You can find the Worthy Baker on Instagram and Facebook and contact Jill directly to order from her. I’m telling you what, if you show up to a party with some of these whoopie pies you’re going to be the most popular person there. Or just get a bunch for yourself and lock yourself in a closet and eat them all. 😂🎄🦌
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Good Morning, Friends...