Weekend in Asheville, NC
What this foodstroll is
Our guide to some of the best things to do and eat in Asheville, NC.
Why this foodstroll works
Asheville is an ideal weekend destination, with it’s location nestled amidst the Blue Ridge Mountains providing for endless outdoor adventures. Western North Carolinian cuisine is a confluence of Appalachian, Southern, and BBQ, which is enough to hold anyone’s attention. The city is equal parts old South and post industrial, with stately mansions and modern street art sharing neighborhoods. If you enjoy brand name attractions, Asheville has plenty, like the Biltmore Estate, Thomas Wolfe House, and Grovewood Village. As usual our focus tends to be on the outdoors and grittier sides of town.
Strolling
Downtown Asheville is very compact, walkable, and full of action. The South Slope Brewing District forms an industrial extension of downtown where you’ll find breweries and restaurants galore.
For other parts of town, like the River Arts District (pictured), and West Asheville, you’ll need to drive, but not very far (like 5 minutes). The River Arts District is a post industrial neighborhood now home to art galleries, coffee shops, and breweries.
Speaking of driving, cruising down West Asheville’s Haywood Rd is a good way to spend some time. You can drive straight west from downtown and discover tons of street art along the way.
One of our favorites was the Dolly Parton mural, but there are many to choose from.
The most compelling reason to visit Asheville for us, aside from food, was The Blue Ridge Parkway. You can access it from several entrances around the city, just beware it closes during winter for even the slightest inclement weather.
We were disappointed to find it closed on our visit, but made the most of it with a nice family photo op.
We were determined to explore Great Smokey Mountain National Park, and drove to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to do a hike. The four hours of driving and five hours of hiking was probably a little much, but the waterfall at the top was inspiring.
There are great hikes all around Asheville. Looking Glass Rock in Pisgah National Forest is a good one, and it’s just 45 minutes from downtown.
We have no data on this, but Asheville must be near the top of breweries per capita in the world. Wicked Weed is a really good place to start, with two locations walkable from downtown - the Brewpub and Funkatorium.
The menus are different at each location, but the food is similar and excellent, like these Whole Smoked Chicken Wings from the Funkatorium.
It’s a tough call, but the Carolina Bison Burger from the Brewpub might be our favorite food item at either location. Something about Pimento cheese on a burger renders us Yankees from NYC helpless.
If you need something that isn’t a sandwich, the ever rotating list of entrées at both locations are great. Braised Beef and NC Grits are pictured.
Technically we had one too many chicken sandwiches on this trip, but we have no regrets about this Old School Fried Chicken Sandwich from the Funkatorium.
We always hold votes as to what our favorite food item was on a given trip, and in a major upset, our kids agreed it was this Potato Bisque from the Brewpub!
If you’re going to eat at just one place in Asheville (not sure why you would do that, but theoretically), make it Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack. If you’re wondering why you should eat Nashville style chicken in Asheville, stop asking so many questions and just do it!
As you may have guessed, Hot Chicken is the main event here, and it comes in seven different levels of heat. We never chicken out when it comes to chicken, and the adults ordered it Extra Hot.
Looks can be deceiving. This Not Chick platter is fully vegetarian, with Quorn based “wings”, slaw, and sweet potatoes. Quorn, by the way, is a popular European meat substitute made from egg whites and mycoprotein (thanks wikipedia).
We ended up eating a little more chicken then we had budgeted for on this trip. But nobody complained. In fact, we’d have taken this Rocky’s Royale with Cheese back to NYC with us if we could.
Vortex Doughnuts was the most hyped sweets spot we could find in Asheville, and it did not disappoint. We have more than a few famous doughnut dispensaries in NYC, but this place stands toe to toe.
We took our three discerning doughnut palates with us on our visit, and the consensus was these were some of the best in the world.
Transportation
Asheville has a regional airport with direct flights to many cities, including all major Northeast hubs.
You do need a car once there. We found parking to be very easy everywhere, even downtown.