At the crossroads of the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains, Asheville has become a hub of culinary exploits. The city is dotted with promising newcomers, James Beard Award nominees and winners, biscuit makers and breweries. Whether you’re in town for a road trip or a long weekend, here are six of the best things to eat and drink in Asheville.
Can you make the Country Ham Biscuit breakfast sandwich?
Country Ham Biscuits or Filthy Animals at Biscuit Head
A Southern comfort food spot, Biscuit Head is free of pretension and focuses on supporting local suppliers, minimizing its carbon footprint. And as for the food? The ham is salty and juicy; the fried green tomato adds some needed acidity. The biscuit is softer and flakier than the Northern biscuits I’m used to. Creative breakfasts are just one of the things Asheville’s robust restaurant scene does well (namely: Biscuit Head serves must-try gravy flights). With everything from the gravy-smothered biscuit filled with fried chicken, pimento cheese, bacon, and scrambled eggs—aka the Filthy Animal—to the Country Ham Biscuit, Biscuit Head is at the top of the breakfast hit list.
Locations in West Asheville, near Mission Hospital and in South Asheville
Curatés tapas include pan con tomate with Manchego and mushroom croquetas
Tapas and Rossejat Negro at Cúrate
Asheville is home to numerous James Beard Award-winning chefs and nominees, including Katie Button, who was named one of the Best Chefs of 2022 for Spanish tapas restaurant Cúrate. At her downtown Asheville restaurant, she serves tapas like croquetas de setas (creamy mushroom croquettes) and pan con tomate with Manchego and rossejat negro, a paella-like dish made with squid ink, with thin noodles instead of rice. Next door to Cúrate is sister restaurant La Bodega, a restaurant, market and bakery.
Sample farmhouse ales and barrel-aged sour beers at Wicked Weed’s Funkatorium
Photo by Howder Family/Shutterstock
Farmhouse Ales at Funkatorium
Asheville is known not only for its culinary scene, but also for its drinks, particularly beer. Locals credit Oscar Wong’s Highland Brewing Company with starting the craft beer culture here in 1995, and in the two decades since, it’s seen a huge resurgence, making Asheville one of the most popular cities for a beer tour. To sample your way through what’s on offer, head first to the South Slope, where a dozen breweries line the streets. Not to be missed is the East Coast’s first taproom devoted exclusively to sour beers: Wicked Weeds Funkatorium. Sit at a table in the beer garden, then sample a selection of farmhouse ales, barrel-aged sours, and new releases, all of which can be paired with snacks like cheese fries with sour beer-aged bacon or wood-fired pizzas.
Appalachian Spirits at Eda Rhyne
Asheville’s thriving craft beverage scene doesn’t stop at beer. One of the more interesting craft spirits companies is Eda Rhyne Distillery. Here the focus is on whiskey distilled from local corn and grains, but even more interesting are liquors and spirits made from locally harvested plants – including many foraged wild in the surrounding mountains. These include amarone (an Italian herbal liqueur), an Appalachian distantand a nocino Made from wild North Carolina black walnuts.
Chai Panis Pav Bhaji with soft brioche buns and spicy vegetable curry is pleasantly delicious
Chaat and Pav at Chai Pani Asheville
Molly and Meherwan Irani took home the 2022 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant, and there are usually a lot of people waiting for a table at Chai Pani. At the couple’s Indian street food restaurant, order chaat— a category of savory, vegetarian street snacks served across the subcontinent—that is simultaneously crispy, a little spicy, and a little sweet. The pav—a sandwich that originally fed textile workers in Mumbai—is zhuzhed here, the lightly grilled brioche-like bun filled with spicy lamb or vedaPotato dumplings fried in curry chickpea batter.
Scallop crudo and every kind of pasta at Leo’s House of Thirst
Opened in fall 2020, Leo’s House of Thirst is one of the newest offerings from chef-owner Drew Wallace, founder of Admiral and Bull & Beggar. The wine list is a carefully curated selection of unique finds, most of which are served by the glass—a zippy Txakoli, a Pinot Noir from Germany’s Rheingau, a sparkling Gamay, and a César Florido sherry.
Dishes include chicken liver mousse with crusty bread, steak tartare, yuzu scallop crudo, and pasta options like bucatini, jazzed up with unexpected shishito peppers, cherry tomatoes, feta, corn brittle, and an indispensable drizzle of Calabrian chili oil. They all confirm the rumors: Asheville is a foodie town, from the first hearty biscuit sandwich in the morning to the last bite of handmade pasta at night.
This article was originally published in 2021 and was last updated with current information on August 6, 2024. Sophie Friedman contributed reporting.
Read more about Asheville in Afar’s new 52 unexpected places in the USA History that celebrates the depth and breadth of the country in 2024.
