Chicago to Asheville?

We'll be driving from Chicago to Asheville next month and would love any information about LTH worthy stops along the way. In a bit of a hurry so don't want to venture too far off the highway. Thanks.

What's your proposed route? There are lots of ways to get to Ashville (some more direct than others).

Probably fairly direct on I-75 through Indianapolis, Cincinatti, Lexington, Knoxville.

I'm going to Durham to bring my sister to grad school. We are taking the route through Louisville to eat at Edward Lee's place there and maybe hit up a whiskey bar. I guess if you are in a hurry you might not want to take this route

When you do get to Asheville, stop at Luella's BBQ

Very good stuff.

Whatever you do when you get to Asheville, make sure you eat (lunch or) dinner at the Tupelo Honey Cafe downtown. I like to try as many restaurants as possible when I travel, but after eating at THC the first night, I had to go back the second night as well. It was fabulous - and no I don't have any vested interest!

https://tupelohoneycafe.com/

Having made the Chicago to Asheville drive at least twenty times in the last four years I try to have breakfast at Chucks before I leave. Then a stop at Skyline Chili between Cincinnati and Lexington which is about halfway. Chili three, four or five ways. It's a chain in the area, right off the highway and worth a stop.

When you get to Asheville try: Curarte (expensive), The Admiral (moderate to expensive), 12 Bones (lunch only),White Duck Taco or Sunny Point (all inexpensive). Like the previous posters said you can't go wrong at Luella's or Tupelo either. The biscuit alone at Tupelo is worth the trip.

Don't miss the fantastic beer at brewpubs like The Wedge, Wicked Weed, and Hi-Wire.

Have a safe trip and enjoy Asheville!

We had a recent trip through Asheville and I highly recommend The Market Place, and Storm. Consider stopping at Benton's Hams in Madisonville, Tennessee for the world's best bacon (and some very good ham), but it's probably a good hour's detour. I should have bought more, a lot more, when I was there (see my post for more details).

Thanks to all. We are familiar with restaurants in Asheville but this will be our first road trip to get there. The chili in Cincinnati sounds perfect. Benton's Hams sounds like it might be a good stop over on the way back. Anything else along the way?

Another Cinci foodie stop is Jungle Jim's, a stupidly huge grocery store, with entire aisles for about forty countries, fifty feet of meat coolers just for game, and a freakin' monorail.

JoelF wrote:Another Cinci foodie stop is Jungle Jim's, a stupidly huge grocery store, with entire aisles for about forty countries, fifty feet of meat coolers just for game, and a freakin' monorail.

Remember that there are NOW two locations. You want to head to the store on Ohio Route 4, NOT the Batavia store which I have been told in nondescript.

There's Shapiro's deli in Indianapolis. And rather than go through Cinci you could go by way of Louisville and have a Hot Brown somewhere.

Hi friends! Anyone have recent delicious Asheville recs? I am headed to the campus of Appalachian State University in a month and want to reserve a group (10 or so) dinner near campus.

There's another thread on Asheville. Perhaps the mods should consolidate. Here's what I posted there based on a trip last November:

The Admiral: This place is still terrific. Located in a former corner bar, the food is fun, creative and top notch. Think sweetbreads as a take off on chicken wings, with ranch dressing, a siracha sauce, and Texas Pete Jelly cubes (made out of the hot sauce). Or, oysters with an aoli that has fish sauce (Chicago restaurants, please do this)

Curate: A top flight tapas restaurant, easily at the level of Mercat a la Planxa in Chicago.

Nightbell: We didn't try it, but it's the new restaurant by the Curate chef, who trained in El Buli and with Jose Andres in DC.

Table: A great farm to table restaurant, the bread was some of the best I've ever had.

Rhubarb: We didn't try it, but it looks to be doing very well.