Deep in the heart of downtown, the Early Girl Eatery serves up consistently fresh, tasty, and seasonal breakfasts. We also hear they serve lunch but the breakfast is just so good we’ve never tried coming in a little later. Shrimp and grits, pan fried trout, and black-eyed pea cakes are some of the down home Southern type dishes; but pancakes and omelets are not left behind in this Asheville institution. Good coffee, and attentive but not clingy service rounds out a solid entry in the Asheville canon.
This is not your unwashed hippie aunt’s restaurant, and there are no tofurkeys or boring salads. The Laughing Seed features consistently innovative vegetarian cuisine aimed at capturing the hearts and minds of hip young bohemians with discretionary funds. The sandwiches are always a good bet as they tend to be a departure from the usual grilled veggies or veggie burger, a recent cashew spread-feta-avocado with harissa sauce sandwich is a stand out. Of course the house hemp-nut burger is legendary in Asheville, but I’m more likely to go after the various tempeh sandwiches: tempeh reuben, tempeh Cuban, etc. The east/west quesadilla was a super cool mix of Tex-mex and Indian flavors featuring a mole-style sauce, cheese, and curried vegetables; it was a brilliant idea and I felt that the taste delivered on the promise. Low Country Roll-Ups feature tangy bbq tofu in tortillas with cheese covered in a tahini-mustard sauce that I have tried to unsuccessfully duplicate at home. Also featuring a full bar, Green Man beer, juices, smoothies, teas, and even elixir tonics.
What can I say about the pub decorated in Celtic fertility god themes? Not only does it have its own beer, Green Man Brewing Company, but Jack of the Wood is also part of the Laughing Seed collective so it has wonderfully greasy vegetarian selections among the usual pub fare. The tempeh reuben is a sandwich worth driving for, and it even tasted great before you have begun sampling the excellent beer. I think over the many times we have staked out our stools at bar for untold hours, we’ve tried every appetizer at least once and most of the sandwiches. Everything pleased the sober and drunk palate, maybe the spinach/artichoke dip was a little boring and the standard Irish pie fare was heavy and uninteresting; but for $god’s sake don’t always order the fish and chips, they may be all greasy and tasty but come pub food always tastes the same. Live music (Irish, Bluegrass and Old Time sessions!) and a very friendly atmosphere make Jack of the Wood our default hang-out when in Asheville.
Heiwa Shokudo: When we first came to this place in 2005, it was crazy busy and full of hippie families. I broke with tradition and did not order sushi, instead trying something new that I couldn’t pronounce. Coming back in 2007 to the place that prides itself on fresh ingredients and a little side of fusion in its recipes, the exciting flavors are still as much of a revelation now as they were when I left my sushi/tempura comfort zone. The menu is broken into soups, sushi, noodle dishes, and the flexible multi-dishes placed in cute trays. Plenty of vegetarian dishes mingle seamlessly with the seafood entrees. All of the fish I have ever tasted in this tiny restaurant have been of equal or better quality to any big city sushi joint; the cold ahi poki combined fresh tuna, avocado, and veggies in a soy-ginger marinade can make me instantly want to get in the car and drive up there just thinking about it. The ‘choose my own adventure’ menu also included a firm and flavorful tofu misoyaki, a perfect balanced seaweed salad, and crunchy brown rice. The fried edamame with a tofu crust was a great salty/crunchy beginning to a meal I can only describe as high-class hippie bento.
Other places of note:
For a quick or leisurely coffee and some light baked goods, the City Bakery is a good bet for an early crowd.
If chocolate is your thing, Chocolate Fetish has many different flavors of quality sin. The dark chocolate covered figs and ancho-chipotle truffles are a pricy indulgence.
While we didn’t try the food menu, the extensive beer menu of the Bier Garden is worth a meal when we come back to Asheville. Local beers such as French Broad, Highland, and the Pisgah Brewing companies sit along venerable micro-brews and Belgium beers in the massive collection. Cool new to me beer: Vermont’s Magic Hat no.9.
