Asheville, NC & Athens, GA

Heading south for a weekend, no plans but no ideas either outside of the Friday night. Looking for cheap to moderately priced food in Asheville or Athens (or anything worth a short drive including Atlanta). Would prefer places unique to the area but any recommendations are welcome. Thanks!

I highly recommend Salsa Mexican Caribbean Restaurant in Asheville. The food is creative, inexpensive, fresh and absolutely delicious. It is right in the center of downtown, a small place, nothing fancy, but they do have beer and wine in addition to awesome food.

The specialty is platters that combine a number of different dishes and flavors, so there's meat and beans and vegetables and fruit, not exactly mixed together but cleverly arranged so you taste something different with every bite. They call it Mexican/Caribbean but where I've had anything similar it has been billed as Cuban.

Salsa Mexican Caribbean Restaurant
6 Patton Ave.
Asheville, NC
252-9805

I have always been a fan of The Grit in Athens. Vegetarian home cooking that appeals even to meat eaters. They have a website at www.thegrit.com. Also in Athens is Weaver D's Automatic for the People, a hole the wall soul food place made famous by R.E.M. I have not been there for a couple years, but food was pretty solid on my last visit. Athens is a pretty great college town, so there is something to appeal to everyone there.

The Grit
199 Prince Ave
Athen, GA.
706-543-6592

Weaver D's
1016 E. Broad St.
Tel: 706-353-7797.

I second the recommendation of Weaver D's Automatic For The People.

I taught at UGA for seven years and spend a month each summer in the mountains of Western Carolina.

The first thing to note about this area of the South is that it is not BBQ country. In general in the mountains (including Asheville) you should look for pan-fried brook trout, and once you get down to North Georgia look for "meat-and-three" restaurants (the meat is usually pork chop, meatloaf, fried chicken (pan-fried if you are lucky) and the three are three sides that you get with your meal (mac'and'cheesse, collards, apple sauce, turnip greens, mashed potatoes, etc.).

Salsa is a "Mexican" restaurant, but is more counter-cultural. It is IMHO GFA (Good for Asheville), but won't compare with a Chicago Mexican restaurant, although when I last visited it was pleasantly funky. I tend not to pack a lunch when I go to Asheville, but if you are in the area of the Biltmore House, you might try the Biltmore Dairy Barn. Average food, but excellent milk shakes.

One mountain place that I will suggest is the Jarrett House in Dillsboro, NC. There are also a lot of upscale dining places in Cashiers or Highlands. If you are driving through Brevard and want fast food, try either the Cardinal Drive-In or Henry's, both on Highway 64.

Athens is a college town, and as a result there will be a range of restaurants. I left in '97 and so don't know the changes in the dining scene. East-West Bistro was one of the better upscale places when I left. The Grit (on the west side of downtown) and Bluebird (on the east side) are old "hippie" quasi-vegetarian places (Bluebird has "Indian" (subcontinent) dishes.. Both are OK.

I also recommend Weaver D's (Automatic for the People) as a meat-and-three. A second excellent choice is Wilson's Soul Food. Another good one was the Planation Buffet. Weaver D's and Wilson's are black-owned; I believe the Plantation is white-owned, and the preparations will differ somewhat as will the ambience. But ask around for what your hosts recommend.

East-West Bistro
351 E. Broad St., Athens, Georgia
706-546-4240

Bluebird Café
493 E. Clayton St., Athens
706-549-3663

The Grit
199 Prince Ave., Athens
706-543-6592

Plantation Buffet
1119 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway
(706) 353-3663

Weaver D's Delicious Fine Food
1016 E. Broad St.
(706) 353-7797

Wilson's Soul Food
351 N. Hull St.
(706) 353-7289

The Jarrett House
Dillsboro, NC 28725
828-586-0265

Cardinal Drive-In
7328 South Broad Street
Brevard, NC 28712
(828) 884-7085

Henry's
307 North Broad Street
Brevard, NC 28712
(828) 884-8658

I was unable to find an address for the Biltmore Dairy Barn, perhaps the name is wrong or perhaps it is closed. Or perhaps it is just not listed.

Just got back from our trip and I wanted to first thank everybody for their suggestions.

Since Weaver D's was mentioned by several people and it's pretty famous for reasons other than food we were pretty set on that for Athens. Unfortunately it was closed (Friday 6PM). We ended up trying a place called K-Bobs, which is right by the school. K-Bobs is run by a German musician who came to Georgia (I'm guessing for school) and decided to open up a restaurant serving what were referred to as the #1 sandwhich in Germany which were kind of like schwarma but not exactly (I think these are called doner kababs?). Pretty damn good although much heralded (by him) Belgium style fries were just OK.

On the way to Asheville, against the advice here, we stopped at a few BBQ places in Greenville. One we had read about on chowhound and it was decent (names are escaping me right now but it can be pieced together if necessary) and it was apparently Bush-endorsed good BBQ as there were pictures of him eating there all over the place.

In Asheville, we weren't THAT hungy until later so all we tried in the downtown area was a coffee shop that made a really good espresso (it has the name Gold in it). We also did a bunch of literary stomping around (Thomas Wolfe, Zelda Fitzgerald) so there was more than food on our minds. When we finally did get ready to eat we had pretty much walked by every place in the downtown area and nothing was jumping out at us. Didn't want brewpub food and didn't want trendy fusion either which pretty much covered most of that area. We drove around the town for a few hours looking at pretty much every place (we have a habit when traveling to look forever for that perfect place only to give up and have to eat at the only place open, which often can be an Arby's). We finally decided on a pizzeria called Marco's.

What I'm about to report will disturb those in search of a great pizza--specifically New York pizza--in Chicago. Not only was this place fantastic, but it was so non-pretentious about it. It looked like any pizza/sports-bar type place in Chicago. But their regular pizza (not with some fancy name, not a "specialty pizza") was simply billed as fresh mozzeralla, basil, tomato sauce ($12.95). No mention of New York or that they were doing anything different than the 99% of other pizza places in the United States. And yeah, it wasn't the best pizza I've ever had, but it's certainly light years ahead of any thin crust in Chicago. The crust was perfectly thin, and had a great taste. It could only have been improved by cooking at a higher heat. The sauce to cheese ratio was pretty right on (maybe like 10% more cheese than I'd like but that's a quibble). Fresh tasting sauce only complimented by the basil. I asked the waitress if any other pizza places around are like this and she said no, that most of them are either chain type pizza or "hippie-yuppie" crap with shrimp and pesto. Only then did we find out that the owner was from New York and they got their supplies directly from there, etc, etc...

When travelling, we like to eat food we can't get in Chicago or at the worst eat something better than we can get in Chicago (BBQ in Kansas City, seafood on the coasts, etc). In a strange way we did this. We had a German (slash Middle Easter/Mediterranean) sandwhich that, based on what I've read, is not offered in Chicago and we had New York-style pizza that is far beyond anything you can get in Chicago. Not exactly southern specialties, but definitely worthwhile.

I'll second Jarrett House in Dillsboro.
Great little town just south of Smoky Mountain Natl. Pk., kinda touristy, but Jarrett is the real deal: Served family style, ham, fried chicken, and a couple of other choices, with big platters of sides. Sweet tea will melt your fillings but goes down great on a hot day.

The one thing I'll say to skip from that region is Boiled Peanuts. After passing 200 or so of those shacks, we stopped at a place that sells vidalia everything, 800 kinds of jellies (including Kudzu flower), some good doughnuts... and boiled peanuts. We ate about six between the four of us, and dumped them out at the next rest stop. Just awful. Like the worst features of lima beans with less flavor -- and I like limas.

Boiled Peanuts are definitely an acquired taste. While in college(they were a football tailgate must), my experience with those from out of state is that they had your initial reaction, then came to love them. Properly salted, they are the ultimate drinking accompaniment.

My father's side of the family lives in Georgia (with 4 generations of UGA alum to boot) and for the life of me I have never been able to appreciate boiled peanuts. When we'd go to visit my grandmother, dad would bring raw peanuts back, cook them up on the stove, then park himself on the couch munching away with the look of true nirvana on his face. I used to watch him with a look that I'm sure was a combination of wonderment and disdain while trying to understand why/how he could enjoy such a strange food.

Nevertheless, given Will's observation that "properly salted they just might be the ultimate drinking companion", I would be willing to give boiled peanuts a second shot since I have never been offered any while I was drinking. Probably has something to do with my Baptist relatives.

As UF alum who has spent some time amongst the crackers, I'm shocked that anyone with ties to Georgia would admit not liking boiled peanuts.

I love 'em. In fact, I used to be in charge of the free boiled peanuts at a waterfront bar, on stilts, on the Causeway in Tampa when I was a kid. (Don't tell anyone, but they stored the burlap sacks of legumes out in the open under the building, where they kept the rats, crabs, opossums and other critters well-fed.) I still make them here, since you can get raw peanuts at many SE Asian groceries. Boil them in cheap beer with lots of cayenne and garlic salt. They go well with a hog and oyster roast.

Jeff,

Due to the fact that I have one parent of Southern (Baptist...including a minister) heritage and one parent of Midwestern heritage (the years of therapy have finally started to pay off), I felt that I could freely admit here on the Forum that I am not a fan of boiled peanuts.

I was actually pretty proud of myself after reading Will's proclamation for being open to giving them a second try.

Btw, one of my dearest friends in the world is a UF alum and I don't hold that against him at all.

For this sometime carpetbagger, it was love at first sight.

Erik M.

Erik, the good old days those were. I'm surprised that spirited exchange has not been stricken.

The purists who simply boil goobers in water with salt are not getting all that they can out of their peanuts, IMO. The Old Bay/Crab Boil is a nice route, but I think boiling in beer changes the cooking medium from something to be discarded into consomme.

I just returned from three days in Athens and environs, and made my usual delicious visit to Weaver D's (fried chicken, field peas, squash casserole, and sweet potato souffle). Automatic for the People! Their neighborhood has gotten more spiffy, and after construction is completed, it will be even spiffier. I also had some fine Brunswick Stew at Hot Thomas's in Watkinsville and at Zeb's in Danielsville (the latter more of a burgoo stew; the former more pure spiced meat). Unfortunately neither Hot Thomas nor Zeb's has truly first rate BBQ (the first specializes in tomato based BBQ [although one can get vinegar based, which reveals a surprising lack of commitment, much like a bar with Cubbie and Sox memorabilia] and the latter is vinegar based, although not as pungent as in eastern Carolina).

The revelation on the trip was a new high-end restaurant in Five Points: Five and Ten. The chef is Hugh Acheson, formerly executive sous chef at Gary Danko in SF, who followed his partner to Athens. For good and for ill, the restaurant does not have either the pretensions or the ambition that it might have, but it is by a long-shot the best restaurant in Athens, and among the best in Georiga. We were told in no uncertain terms that we need not wear jackets and ties, and that the restaurant aspired to be a local neighborhood restaurant. Well, that is a bit disingenuous, but it certainly does not have the airs of Restaurant Gary Danko.

We had a superb Oyster Stew, divinely flavored with saffron and fennel. The best main course (of the three) was Lowcountry Frogmore Stew (Georgia shrimp [Georgia shrimp?], local fish, fingerling potatoes, leek, corn, and andouille sausage. Very satisfying. The blackened redfish with roasted pepper farro, artichoke, asparagus, and lemon emulsion was quite good, although by no means as assertively spiced as a New Orleans blackening. Less successful (a bit of a mess, actually) was red grouper with a boiled peanut buerre blanc (!!!), grits, fennel slaw, and roasted tomotoes. Like so many young chefs, there is a sense that the more ingrediants one throws in a pot, the better it is. Beware: no chef should be allowed to include more than ten ingrediants without a license.

We skipped desserts: ginger creme brulee, warm chocolate soup, and strawberry baked alaska.

Hugh Acheson is a young chef worth watching, and 5&10 is the only serious restaurant in Athens. The question is whether its ambitions will remain local or whether this is a place in which the chef is experimenting with southern products in preparation for greater glory.

A brother- and sister-in-law of mine have just moved to Athens -- and they've just gotten married, to boot. We want to send them out to dinner to celebrate in their new home city.

Any suggestions?