In a desperate attempt to get out of the Atlanta heat and end my summer well, I dragged the boyfriend to Asheville with me. He was a big skeptic having not been before, but for me Asheville, well really Hendersonville, will always be my home away from home. I was a 6-year camper in those beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and it had been way too long since I had visited. Since there isn't much to do in Hendo, as the camp staff members like to kindly refer to it as, and Asheville has always been a place of fun and good memories for me during and post-camp, it was the biggest thing to do on my first Atlanta summer bucket list. I may have also known that Asheville has turned into quite the foodie town. It became apparent very quickly that the 2 days and 2 nights was not going to be enough to cover all of the restaurants I wanted to go to, but the boyfriend and I came up with best itinerary that I think we could have based on the knowledge we had gathered from all over the internet.
Our first stop Friday night was The Admiral, which we heard was unbelievable and extremely hard to get into. We luckily got a 9:30 reservation for the night of our arrival. The restaurant had a feel that I had never experienced before and something that would be awesome in Atlanta. The dining room could probably only seat 75 people max, maybe not even, but there was also a large porch. I'm not sure if food service is available on the porch, though. It was dimly lit and had a very underground, timeless, and unpretentious vibe. The best part was how quiet it was in comparison to Atlanta restaurants such as No. 246 and Two Urban Licks, yet it still had similar elements to those places, such as tables without tablecloths, everything made of raw wood or metal, and an open kitchen. Because of how dim it was, I got too embarrassed to start snapping my flash everywhere to show you the look of the restaurant.
My first course was the NC shrimp with chili-garlic, cilantro, and lime (sorry for the fuzzy picture), and the french fries which were supposed to be underneath it all, but being the nice girlfriend I am to the nut-allergic boyfriend, we got the peanut oil-fried french fries on the side. Both the shrimp and the fries were truly out of the world. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and had a touch of a spicy note from the chili. The fries were reminiscent of Houston's fries, but crunchier. To me, that was perfect because I've always had a big thing for Houston's fries.
Next up were the seared diver scallops with heirloom tomato, locally foraged bolete mushroom, (supposed to be) creamless cream corn, basil, and watermelon. By the time I placed my order the kitchen had just run out of the creamless cream corn, so they substituted it for true creamless corn. I often order scallop dishes at restaurants these days, but I have to say that this was the best I've ever had. Well, maybe it ties with Two Urban Licks - I do love those scallops and cheese grits. The watermelon, tomato, and scallops combination provided texture and sweetness like I've never had in a scallop dish. They were truly unbelievable. Boyfriend got the Springer Mountain chicken breast with farro piccolo, roasted patty pan squash, tomato jam, and a pecorino romano foam, and I have to say it was the most flavorful chicken I have ever had.
We finished with chai creme brûlée with dried cherries. Previously I had only had bites here and there of creme brûlée and am now officially a convert. We devoured the dessert in probably a minute.
Moral of the story: Go to The Admiral.
Saturday morning we woke up early to go the farmers' market at UNC Asheville. There were probably two dozen or so local vendors selling bread, pastries, fruit and veggies, meat, fish, jams - everything you can imagine. All of the samples offered were delicious, but there was one gem that came highly recommended to me: Imladris Farm jams. I've never been a big jelly/jam fan, but Asheville turned another new leaf for me. This stuff is delicious. In addition to the jams, they were sampling blueberry ice cream made from the jam. It was heavenly. If you ever go to Asheville, you can find the Imladris Farm jams and other products in many different stores in the downtown area.
Stay tuned for more on my Asheville trip including the food tour we went on, Curate Tapas Bar, and Tupelo Honey Cafe.
No comments:
Post a Comment