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Restaurant Holiday Schedules

Published in Asheville Food on May 22, 2013

Restaurant Holiday Schedules

posted 2012 Oct by Amy Garcia

Check out our list holiday hours at AIR member restaurants!

Tagged: eateries, eating in Asheville, Local Restaurants No Comments

AIR DECEMBER HOLIDAY PASSPORT PROMOTION

Published in Asheville Food on May 21, 2013

PROMOTION HAS ENDED

GIVE THE GIFT OF LOCAL FOOD

Asheville Independent Restaurants (AIR) is again offering a special promotion during the month of December for its popular AIR Dining Passport- a coupon booklet representing over $1000 in dining savings at participating AIR member dining establishments. Normally $50, the promotion is extended to include bulk purchases with a minimum of 10 at $45 per book, and with more than 20, the price is dropped to $40 per book. “We introduced this promotion last year this time and it was hugely popular, in fact for the first time since the Passport has been offered we completely sold out,” says Sherrye Coggiola, AIR Board President, “It truly makes a special gift for anyone that enjoys local food.”

43 Particpating restaurants include:
Acropolis Pizza
Artisan Deli Catering
Avenue M
Boca
Bouchon
Burgerworx
Carmels
Chai Pani
City Bakery Café
Corner Kitchen
Creperie Bouchon
D.I. Hospitality
Edna’s Of Asheville
Frankie Bones
French Broad Chocolate Lounge
Glass Onion
The Green Sage
Grovewood Café
Homegrown
Jack of Hearts
Jack of the Wood
Jerusalem Garden Café
Karen Donatelli Café
Kathmandu
Laughing Seed
Lexington Avenue Brewery
The Local Joint,
Luella’s Bar-B-Que
Mela
Neo Burrito
Neo Cantina
Pack’s Tavern
Plant
Pomodoros
Sazerac
Scully’s
Strada
Sunny Point Café
Tupelo Honey Café
Ultimate Ice Cream
Vincenzos
Vinnies Neighborhood Italian

Tagged: eateries, eating in Asheville, Local Restaurants No Comments

Eating Green in Asheville

Published in Asheville Food, Asheville Live, North Carolina News on May 21, 2013
by Melissa (Missi) Hathaway
Asheville was placed as a top destination for America’s Greenest Dining, through a collaboration between Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute and Asheville Independent Restaurant Association (also known as AIR) and is set to continue its healthy dining initiative into the foreseeable future.

The green restaurant program includes dealing with issues of energy efficiency and waste management and a large number of eateries now support the drive and partner up with suppliers and with each other for further green ideas and developments. In an interview with The Huffington Post, Randy Talley of AIR claimed that ‘it’s good for the community, good for the planet, and good for our bottom line.’

Last year residents protested against a coal fired plant in the area, which was seen as damaging to the environment through its process of stripping coal from mountaintops, proving that Asheville takes its green issues very seriously indeed.

The move by restaurants has put Asheville on the map as America’s first Green Dining Destination and is drawing in tourists who are attracted by the green initiatives offered here and who are curious to see the results for themselves.

In February this year, Asheville managed to reach its goal of having 15 certified restaurants in the city go green, with the 16th being certified shortly afterwards, and this enabled the city to earn the accolade of America’s first green dining destination. The Mayor, Terry Bellamy, announced that ‘Asheville’s 15 Certified Green Restaurants are leading the way toward zero waste’ as well as sustainability and that they were giving diners a superior selection of establishments to choose from (airasheville.org).

Green Restaurants

The certified restaurants range from 2, 3 and 4 star dining destinations and they offer a wide range of food. All restaurants are located within Asheville. The choice includes:

French Broad Chocolates

Located on South Lexington Avenue, this eatery is all about chocolate. Visitors can relax in the chocolate lounge, sipping wine or hot chocolate and nibbling on chocolate brownies and cake. French Broad Chocolates also deliver to customers, who can browse the selection of truffles and caramels online. Locals have the option of ordering first and collecting at the restaurant.

Plant

Plant is situated on Merrimon Avenue and serves dinner from 5 to 9 Sunday to Thursday and 5 to 10 on Friday and Saturday. The restaurant offers plates featuring local flavors and is wholly vegetarian. On the menu are small plates of Seitan Satay Skewers, made with grilled pineapple and peanut sauce, and Smoke Hummus. Entrees include red curry tofu, mixed mushroom grill and smoked Portabello steak made with polenta, chard and grape tomato salad. Plant has received favourable reviews in WNC magazine and Mountain Xpress and was chosen as ‘best of WNC’ in 2012 by Mountain Xpress readers.

The Green Sage

This restaurant is located downtown and in South Asheville, and is a 4 star dining destination. Food is local and organic and the restaurant promotes healthy lifestyles with its gluten free and vegetarian dining, as well as preservative free meats. Guests can choose from grass fed beef, chicken or Tempeh sandwiches in classic, Swiss shroom or Greek Feta styles as well as Chipotle Jack burgers. Salads are a popular option at the restaurant, such as spinach and beet or Sage house salad.

The Green Sage has featured in articles about its sustainability in the Asheville Citizen Times, WNC magazine and UNC TV.

Luella’s Bar-B-Que

The ethos at Luella’s is great food made with honest, loving hands. The name of this Asheville restaurant comes from the owner’s grandmother Luella who was renowned for her astonishing cooking. Plates are cooked with soybean oil and used oils are recycled at Blue Ridge Biofuel. Guests can choose such dishes as dry rubbed sweet potato chips, smoked jumbo wings, chile rubbed beef brisket and smoked andouille sausage and there is also a selection of salads served.

Luella’s involves itself with the community through causes such as MANNA Foodbank and the American Red Cross.

Experience Asheville’s Green Dining for Yourself

Asheville is a popular tourist destination, famed for its scenery, food, art and beer. There are a wide variety of culinary delights on offer in the city, from Mediterranean to vegetarian plates and southern cooking with a twist. Asheville is proud of its cuisine and its new status as green dining destination means that there is an emphasis on healthy eating and local produce such as organic beef or mountain trout as well as seasonal vegetarian dishes and fresh salads. This is bound to attract even more visitors, particularly those for who green issues are important and like to do what they can to protect the environment. There are sidewalk cafes to sit out at and many of the city’s restaurants feature live music for their diners’ enjoyment. Tourists come to Asheville for the mountain attractions, the hospitality and food, as well as the craft fairs held throughout the year. There are online discount coupons available for visitors to Asheville, featuring special packages on local attractions, and with competitive flights available as well as online overseas car insurance deals, getting here is easier than ever. Compare the best prices from online insurance companies to make sure you are getting the best deal for your trip and visit Asheville, where green dining is taking the city by storm.
Tagged: Asheville, Asheville Citizen-Times, Asheville North Carolina, Huffington Post, Mountain Xpress, Restaurant, Terry Bellamy, United States No Comments

CELEBRATING VINTAGE N.C.

Published in North Carolina News on May 21, 2013

Salute!

 

Fourth Street, between Marshall and Spring streets, downtown Winston-Salem. 336-354-1500. www.salutencwine.com.

 

The ever-growing number of wineries in North Carolina has sparked a lively subgenre of tourism: Driving up to the Yadkin Valley – or to the coast or to the mountains – to walk the vineyards, sample vintages, sometimes have a bite to eat there and, on occasion, hear live music.

 

But with more than 100 wineries now in business, how can you filter to find the vintners whose product you’re sure to like?

 

An easy solution presents itself the afternoon of June 1 (a Saturday) in downtown Winston-Salem, where the centerpiece of Salute! The North Carolina Wine Celebration is an ultimate sampler. In tents along Fourth Street, approximately two dozen wineries will offer tastes of what they make. You’ll find familiar winemakers – like Asheville’s Biltmore Winery, or the Childress and Raylen vineyards from the Yadkin Valley – as well as ones you may never have heard of, but may wish to try. The list runs from Adams Vineyards, which makes muscadine wines in Willow Springs, to Westbend Vineyards, which makes reds and whites in Lewisville.

 

Here’s how it works: You buy a ticket – $20 advance, $25 the day of the event – and receive a wristband and commemorative wine glass. Then you stroll the rows of tents and sample what you wish. (This is an adults-only event; you must be 21 to attend.) There will also be vendors selling food.

 

Free entertainment will be offered: classic rock from Watt’s Left (noon-2 p.m.), country from Caleb Caudle and Haley Dreis (2:30-3:30 p.m., and the genre-crossing Below the Line (4-6 p.m.). At 9 p.m., the wine-and-music pairing continues at The Garage, with three bands ($10).

 

During the day, the “North Carolina Food Wine University” will offer five 45-minute presentations where chefs paired with wineries will help take some of the mystery out of the world of wine.

 

When: noon-6 p.m. June 1 (rain or shine).

 

Admission (adults only): $20; $25 day of event (if available).

 

Related events: Check the website for details on May 30-31 food-and-wine activities)

 

Distance from Charlotte: 90 minutes.

 

Directions: I-85 North to U.S. 52 (near Lexington); U.S. 52 North to exit 110-B in downtown Winston-Salem. Turn left on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, left on Marshall Street; continue south and park near Fourth Street.

 

JOHN BORDSEN, COMMUNITY NEWS STAFF
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Asheville Becomes America’s First Green Dining Destination™

Published in Asheville Food on May 21, 2013

For the first time ever, one of America’s cities, Asheville, North Carolina, has earned the official designation of being a Green Dining Destination™.  This achievement means that locals, tourists, and business people can dine at a plethora of Certified Green Restaurants® throughout Asheville. This accomplishment was driven by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), Asheville Independent Restaurant Association (AIR), and the Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute (BRSI), who formed a local Coalition to encourage more environmentally sustainable practices within the city’s restaurants. 

“The Asheville area prides itself on a food culture that embraces fresh, innovative cuisine that integrates product from local growers and artisan food producers,” Asheville Convention Visitors Bureau Executive Director Stephanie Brown noted.  “The prestigious designation of “Green Dining Destination” is an accomplishment that adds to Asheville’s reputation as a distinctive culinary destination.”
 
All of Asheville’s Certified Green Restaurant® have met the GRA’s rigorous certification standards by earning at least 100 GreenPoints™ in the categories of food, water, waste, energy, chemicals, and disposables. Additionally, each Certified Green Restaurant® has eliminated use of polystyrene foam, (aka StyroFoam™), and has implemented a full-scale recycling program.
  • The first interactive map of Asheville’s Certified Green Restaurants®
  • Certified Green Restaurant® listings 
  • Green Label Transparency Tools showing each Asheville Certified Green Restaurant®’s itemized environmental steps and GreenPoints™
  • Downloadable Suggestion Cards to encourage more restaurants to go green
  • Education on the environmental impact of the restaurant industry
  • Media content about Asheville’s Certified Green Restaurants®
Tagged: eateries, eating in Asheville, Local Restaurants No Comments

North Carolina officials need to shift focus

Published in Asheville Attractions on April 2, 2013
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 29, 2013

Days In Rodanthe

With $20.8 million in federal emergency funding, work began last week on rebuilding dunes along N.C. 12 at Mirlo Beach and Rodanthe, where Hurricane Sandy and later storms washed out or covered sections of the road. Replenishing the beach at Rodanthe is also scheduled.

Mirlo Beach

Mirlo Beach (Photo credit: County of Dare)

The Army Corps of Engineers, meanwhile, is continuing to dredge the channel between Hatteras and Ocracoke. Temporary ferry service is now available. Full service is expected to return in mid-April, ahead of the summer tourism season.

As that season gets under way, the governor and others in Raleigh need to keep their focus on the Outer Banks’ needs. A long-term solution – including wiser land-use practices in the face of rising sea levels – are imperative. As is the repudiation of the conspiracy theorists who have for too long influenced environmental policy along the Atlantic shore.

In the meantime, state officials need to provide quick, definitive help to one of the state’s biggest tourism draws as soon as it’s needed.

Last year was one of the most successful on record for the Outer Banks, with gross occupancy receipts in Dare County alone hitting $382 million. That success won’t be replicated if people can’t get there.

Tagged: NC Travel News No Comments

Beer month showcases N.C.’s status as ‘Brewing mecca of the South’

Published in Asheville Food, North Carolina News on April 2, 2013
English: Visitors posing with bottles of LoneR...

English: Visitors posing with bottles of LoneRider beer after a tour of the LoneRider Brewery in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

N.C. Beer Month, brought to you by the state’s Division of Tourism, is a 30-day celebration of the craft beer industry. The group wants pint lovers to head out – responsibly, of course – to breweries across the state for all-things beer. That includes specialty brews, beer dinners, beer cooking classes, beer making and “beer memories” intended to last longer than those from college.

It’s called beer tourism, and local breweries are ready for you to belly up to the bar.

Wilmington’s Front Street Brewery is participating all month with pint specials, a beer-pairing dinner and a limited-edition beer with an undeniable coastal flavor.

Brewmaster Kevin Kozek took a bushel of Eagle Island Fruit Seafood oysters up to NoDa Brewing Co. in Charlotte where he and the NoDa crew brewed an oyster stout. He said it’s a dark, English-style stout with notes of briny oysters.

“It will have a faint saltiness to it,” Kozek said. “I think it will turn out awesome.”

The breweries made 20 kegs of the oyster stout, which are being divided between the watering holes for an April 11 debut. The collaboration is one of many happening across the state in an industry that put more than $7 billion into the state economy last year, according to The Beer Institute.

“North Carolina has become such a hot spot for the brewing industry,” said Ellie Craig, marketing director for Front Street Brewery. “It’s pretty intriguing.”

There are 61 brew pubs in the state, according to the N.C. Brewers Guild, and is lauded as the brewing mecca of the South.

“North Carolina breweries provide jobs to so many North Carolinians at every level and in every aspect of the industry,” said Maaike Brender À Brandis, part owner of Cape Fear Wine Beer in downtown Wilmington. “It gives our state another thing to be proud of.”

She said the craft beer industry is thriving partly because of Pop the Cap, a bill signed into law in 2005 that allowed beer alcohol content to jump from 6 percent to 15 percent and because consumers desire better quality in not only what they eat, but what they drink.

“It only makes sense that we would have a thriving craft beer scene,” Brender À Brandis said. “Consumers are educated and informed. They want to know who made what, where, how and why. Craft beer is quite transparent in that aspect.”

And it has made for good business.

Front Street’s Craig thinks the food and drink culture go hand in hand and movements like slow food, buying local and seasonal eating make for smart business partnerships.

Which is why the brewery is lining up regional providers such as Eagle Island and Shelton Herb Farm to contribute seafood, produce and meats for its April 11 beer-pairing dinner.

“The theme is From Our State to Your Plate,” Craig said. Tickets are $39 for the five-course meal and are available at the bar or online at Etix.com.

“There is so much happening across the state but we also have great beer right here,” Craig added.

So if you want to sip a pint without leaving the Port City or venture out on a beer vacation, you’ve got an entire month to explore the brew pubs scattered from the ocean to the mountains.

Cheers to that.

 

Metro desk: 343-2384

On Twitter: @StarNewsOnline

Tagged: Beer, Beer Institute, Brewing, Drink, Food, Microbrewery, NC Travel News, North Carolina, Stout No Comments