Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Asheville, NC part II

So my eating adventure continues...

Asheville, as I have mentioned before, is FULL of delicious restaurants.

Our Saturday was much more enjoyable then Friday.  We expected crowds and parking issues (so we chose the same paved lot as before...no trouble at all finding a spot there).

We were lucky enough that our hotel offered a hot breakfast for free, so we didn't have to worry about where we were going to go.  We enjoyed our waffles and biscuits and headed on our merry way BACK downtown.

Now know this about me ahead of time.  I enjoy planning and knowing where I am going.  I already had, prior to departure, a list of restaurants and their addresses.  I often plan to a fault and can end up disappointed, much like I was when I realized that I couldn't go to Tupelo Honey Cafe Friday night because there was a 2 hour wait.

Today we planned and got to town early.  Our destination you ask?  Early Girl Eatery.

Much acclaim has come to Early Girl from the likes of Bon Appetit, Southern Living, Gourmet Magazine, and the New York Times.



Without further ado we put our name on the list, the hostess advised it would be about a 30 minute wait.  Now that is a wait time I can get down with.

Outside the restaurant are benches or you can walk around (just be sure to keep track of time).  We decided to spend our 30 minutes walking around and headed around the corner to the Grove Arcade.


The Grove Arcade has a bunch of vendors on the street that sell "Ugly" dolls, wooden bowls, hand painted shirts, and a variety of other crafts.



Inside there are restaurants and shops...we decided to sit for a spell (not sure how long that is, but in our "spell" it was long enough to snap these two photos).



We, meaning me, didn't want to be gone too long lest they call are names and we miss our opportunity to eat (I do not like to miss a meal).  So we headed back, waited just a little longer, and then we were led in to this funky and brightly painted restaurant.





How cute...they put the bathroom keys on cooking spoons.

The windows had these old curtains with rick rack ribbon on them


And the cutest sugar holders I have ever seen.  Seriously if it had fit in my purse (which was much too tiny) I would have made off with this:


Alas it was time to order. 

I had spent a bunch of time laboring over what I was going to eat and finally settled on the tempeh reuben...however I don't like saurkraut or Russian dressing (weird I know...why would you order a reuben if you don't like those things...because I REALLY like tempeh).

Not to make myself a difficult customer but I asked if I could have their ginger slaw instead of the other two toppings and they politely agreed (I know they thought I was weird)...but the sandwich could not have been MORE delicious.  I was in HEAVEN, in fact my mouth is watering just thinking about it.



So if you find yourself in Asheville let me formally recommend Early Girl Eatery. 

I have one final installment of my trip to Asheville which I will post on Thursday...after all tomorrow is What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons.

Early Girl Eatery on Urbanspoon

Are you looking for a great giveaway?  That was rhetorical, I know the answer is yes.  Head over to The Pretend Chef and check out her giveaway of Food Should Taste Good chips.

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