Part 3 of the Asheville, NC Top-secret Surprise Holiday Trip

22 Dec 2012

As Mom & Dad quietly celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary back home in Gadsden (Happy Anniversary, you sweet lovebirds!), Eric and I explored the Biltmore Village area of Asheville (we opted to NOT tour The Biltmore grounds as we found the holiday rates too cringe-worthy…I’d rather drop that kind of cash in the spring, when the gardens are in bloom.  But that’s just me).  We window shopped the overpriced cook wear, knives and appliances at Williams-Sonoma.  We procured rocks for the neighborhood kids at The Compleat Naturalist (some nice iron pyrite or Fool’s Gold which should inspire awe).  We drank copious amounts of coffee at the Starbucks.  And we scoped out the locations of a few of the local breweries.  Then we returned to the downtown area for more urban explorations before resting up for our evening meal at the gluten free restaurant Posana Café.

Yes, that’s what I said.  We rested up before dinner.  Because didn’t I mention that Eric and I were old timers?  Pre-meal slumbers and early-bird specials are what we’re all about.

Again, Eric had made reservations at a stellar local restaurant, the Posana Café, which boasts a menu of simple foods made from seasonal, local goods.  And everything on the menu (excluding some of the beers) is gluten free, including their incredible-looking pastries and desserts. 

We began our meal with a lovely vegetable-heavy Vietnamese Spring Roll (shrimp, rice noodles, carrots, cucumber, ponzu) and then moved on to our entrees, an Ashley Farms Chicken for me and a Hickory Nut Gap Farms Braised Pork Shoulder for Eric.  My Ashley Farms Chicken was a succulent and tender hunk of roast chicken (white and dark meat) nestled on a bed of fingerling potatoes, with royal trumpet mushrooms and caramelized onions.  Eric’s Hickory Nut Gap Farms Braised Pork Shoulder looked like a mini pork roast sitting atop a mound of white cheddar stone-ground grits, surrounded with a moat of braising jus, crowned with yummy hot pickled green tomatoes.  Both cuts of meat fell apart at the touch of knife and fork.  That tender!   Dessert was a chocolate-y, raspberry-y Caramel Almond Nougat Bombe which had a shortbread cookie in it!  A SHORTBREAD COOKIE!  I was embarrassed at how loudly I cracked that cookie apart to gobble it up…

Ashley Farms Chicken, Posana Cafe.  Asheville, NC.

 

Hickory Nut Gap Farms Braised Pork Shoulder, Posana Cafe.

Caramel Almond Nougat Bombe, Posana Cafe.

 

23 Dec 2012

With the Blue Ridge Parkway closed due to snow and fallen trees on the road, we opted to spend our last day in Asheville watching the newest James Bond film Skyfall in the swanky Carolina Cinemas.  Having never been to a lounge theatre before, Eric and I wondered around like two country cousins until we claimed a mid-theatre sofa to sprawl ourselves upon.  If we hadn’t been so excited about the movie, we would’ve taken a nap right then and there, because we were already thinking about our dinner at the Black Bird Restaurant…

Speaking of which, The Black Bird restaurant is yet another amazing local eatery where Eric secured dining reservations.  And as with the Posana Café, The Black Bird menu is a list of beautiful foods made from seasonal and local products.  For this meal, we began with the Arugula Salad, sprinkled with spiced pecans, shaved fennel, blue cheese and wine-poached pears.  For our entrees, I chose a Foie Gras Burger with shoestring potatoes while Eric had the Pan-fried “Little Ear” Pasta with mozzarella, artichoke hearts and new potatoes.  The foie gras burger was to die for, as were the shoestring potatoes.  Eric commented that although the flavor of his pasta was delicious, he found the meal to be a little heavy.  We both thought that perhaps this was due to the fact that normally Eric is gluten free in solidarity with me, but had fallen off of the wagon in a royal way on this trip and was feeling its effects.  Gluten can do that even to the tolerant…

Arugula Salad, The Black Bird.  Asheville, NC.

Foie Gras Burger, The Black Bird.  Asheville, NC.

Little Ear Pasta, The Black Bird.  Asheville, NC.

More Asheville, NC street art:

 

Part 2 of the Asheville, NC: Top-secret Surprise Holiday Trip

21 December 2012

Despite what the Mayans thought would happen that day, Eric and I decided to make the most of it. We bundled ourselves against the fiercely blowing cold winds and ventured out into downtown Asheville to follow the self-guided 1.7 mile art and history tour known as the Asheville Urban Trail.  What a wonderful way to learn the city!  Stops included, but were certainly not limited to, an O. Henry homage of brass hair combs, braid and watch fob imbedded in the sidewalk (William Sidney Porter, better known by nome de plume O. Henry and even better known for his wonderful short story The Gift of the Magi, lived in and is buried in Asheville), numerous Thomas Wolfe mentions (a life-sized cut-out image of Wolfe marking his neighborhood, a pair of big brass shoes in front of his childhood home which served as a model for the boardinghouse in his 1929 novel, Look Homeward, Angel and a tombstone complete with carving implements that marked the spot where Wolfe’s father’s tombstone shop once stood), and architect Douglas Ellington’s gorgeous Art Deco S & W Cafeteria building (opened in 1929 by two World War I mess sergeants, closed in 1974, currently being restored and converted into lofts and retail space).

O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi.  Asheville, NC.

Thomas Wolfe's neighborhood marker.  Asheville, NC.

S & W Cafeteria building.  Asheville, NC.

But, some of my favorite art came in the form of the wall dogs and graffiti that decorate the town.  

Merce Cunningham & John Cage wall dog.  Asheville, NC.

Paper flowers on a tag.  Asheville, NC.

Ishmael tag.  Asheville, NC.

That evening, Eric had reservations for us at Curatè Tapas Bar, a Spanish cuisine restaurant owned and operated by James Beard Rising Star Chef nominee Katie Button.  The menu is full of the most amazing delicacies, all of which are flagged with food allergy alerts where applicable.   The atmosphere was relatively quiet (we were early, old folks that we are), and the vibe was relaxed.  Just as Eric and I were questioning our server about certain items on the menu, the electricity blinked…twice.  We joked about the day not being over yet and how the Mayans may have indeed known exactly what they were talking about and oh, let’s order quickly so that if the world ends, it will end for us with bellies full of delicious tapas…

And so that is what we did.  We ordered Marcona almonds for an appetizer, the Tabla de Jamon (a sampling plate of three different delicately sliced hams from Spanish pigs, each fed differently, and each tasted subtly differently), Esparragos Verdes (green asparagus with the to-die-for red-pepper based Romesco sauce), and Gambas al ajillo (sautèed shrimp and garlic).  We followed everything up with dessert, Espuma de Chocolate (described by The Carolina Epicurian as “a plate smeared with hazelnut praline anchoring deeply flavored chocolate mousse, candied nuts and raspberry sorbet”)  for me, Helado de Romero (Rosemary ice cream) for Eric.  Everything was gluten free except the bread, which was served on a separate plate for Eric (who was quick to inform our server of my food allergy).  Nothing disappointed.

 

Later that evening, we experienced a blackout at the hotel.  For all our joking about the end of the world being nigh earlier in the day, it was very unsettling to look out of our hotel window and see blackness.  No streetlights, no restaurant lights, no super market lights.  Only the lights of cars, bravely motoring along in the dark.  

Marcona almonds, Curatè Tapas Bar.  Asheville, NC.

Tabla de Jamon, Curatè Tapas Bar.  Asheville, NC.

Gambas al ajillo, Curatè Tapas Bar.  Asheville, NC.

Espuma de Chocolate, Curatè Tapas Bar.  Asheville, NC.

Helado de Romero, Curatè Tapas Bar.  Asheville, NC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asheville, NC: Top-secret Surprise Holiday Trip Part I

I was the recipient of a special top-secret surprise holiday trip this year, planned and orchestrated by Eric. And, as I posted on my Facebook wall when we returned from said special top-secret holiday trip, “There was food.  Much food.   Delicious food that was gluten free.   And art.   Art everywhere.”

Eric planned the trip about three months ago.  I was told the dates of the trip so that I could ask off from work, what the projected weather forecast for our destination was, and what clothing I might want to wear (some walking, possibly some hiking, definitely some eating).  The only other information that I received was clues, one clue every week for the six weeks before the trip, clues that included unmarked maps, anagrams and riddles.  And, as to be expected, I was completely unable to figure out where we were going because the clue-sharing was too much like game-playing (which everyone knows makes my  1) palms sweat, 2) elbows to break out into hives, and/or 3) brain to think that my body is in a fight or flight situation and I have to leave the room or else start biting people).  Yep, Eric’s secret trip location remained a secret (despite all of my trickery to fool Eric into slipping up) until we were about ten miles away from our hotel, that hotel being in the picturesque city of Asheville, NC.

20 December 2012

When we arrived, hungry in the pouring rain (essentially it had rained the entire trip from outside our door in Gadsden to the door of the hotel in Asheville) we opted to check in quickly and find some food in the famed foodie town.  Being late afternoon, most small local dining spots had not reopened yet from lunch, so we opted for a meal at one of our favorite-anywhere restaurants, Mellow Mushroom.  We split a Greek salad which consisted of Romaine and iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, red cabbage, onions, cucumbers, green peppers, mushrooms, feta cheese, Kalamata olives, Roma tomatoes, pepperoncini and banana peppers covered in the Mellow Mushroom’s signature Esperanza dressing which tastes very much like a bright Caesar dressing.  For entrees, I chose the gluten free Philosopher’s Pie (grilled steak, Portobello mushrooms, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, provolone, feta and mozzarella cheese) while Eric ordered a gluten-filled calzone.   There was enough leftover food to snack on for days, so we took the remains back to the hotel and did just that.  I’ve never been opposed to eating pizza for breakfast…

Philosopher's Pie at Mellow Mushroom, Asheville, NC.

Calzone at Mellow Mushroom, Asheville, NC.

The Christmas Angel

What I'm about to share is pretty darn nostalgic, but I feel like it is a good and proper time of the year to embrace nostalgia.  This is a piece that I wrote for a senior journalism assignment that I had in high school (Smoke Neck Tech!  Go Panthers!), so, that would make this story about twenty-five years old.

The Christmas Angel

As far back as I can remember, whenever we would decorate our Christmas tree, a little angel would appear on the top.  The angel was dressed all in white with a halo and beautiful gold wings.  My sister and I never knew how the angel got there, but every Christmas we would try to watch and see if it would appear.  But no matter how long we would watch, the angel would never arrive until our backs were turned.  Mom and Dad always told us that God sent the angel to us from Heaven, and in our childish trust, we believed.

One summer while I was looking in my mother's hope chest for some old pictures, I ran across a piece of brown cloth with something wrapped in it.  My curiosity got the best of me, so I unwrapped it.  Lying there in my hands was the angel.  My angel.  Our angel.  The angel that Mom and Dad had said that God sent to us.  I felt tricked and deceived.  Mom and Dad have been putting the angel on the tree while we hadn't been watching.

I was so hurt.  I felt like running up to Mom and confronting her with the horrible truth.  But then I started thinking about how happy Mom and Dad looked at Christmas whenever Vicki and I squealed in delight about how the angel had come.  Yes, it had been magic for us, but it had been magic for them, too.  I started crying.

I didn't have the heart to tell my parents that I knew about the angel.  I wrapped the angel up and put it back into its hiding place.  It was my secret now.

The angel still comes each year at Christmas time.  Even though I know the truth, it still means a lot to me.

It took me at least another ten years after I wrote this assignment before I finally fessed up to Mom and Dad about having found the angel.  And even after my confession, the angel continued to make its mysterious appearance on top of the tree while no one was looking.  I hope that it always does.

The Crystal Springs Community Every Other Year Sometimes Spur of the Moment Christmas Parade

Seeing the recent Gadsden Times article entitled Webster’s Chapel Redneck Christmas parade Saturday reminded me of another Gadsden Times holiday article from 2004, World's Shortest Christmas Parade kicks off Christmas in Crystal Springs.  I remember reading the piece while I was home from Denver for the holidays.  It made me shake my head at the hilarity and the familiarity of the behavior, and it reminded me of just one more reason why I love Alabama so much...we have an abundance of characters.  They may be crazy characters, but they are all ours.

The 2004 "Crystal Springs community Every Other Year Sometimes Spur of the Moment Christmas Parade" consisted of three laps around the Crystal Springs One-Stop gas station and boasted farm tractors, lawn mowers, four wheelers, some crowd-pleasing animals, and over two-hundred folks looking to share the holiday spirit.  It was a year of technology (the first time that a generator was used to allow for Christmas lights on a float...Christmas lights that Carl Owen took down "'for the first time in twelve years so that [he] could finish decorating [his] float.'").  It was a year of larceny (the float of the same Carl Owen carried a snowman that was evidently stolen from the yard of competitor Tammy Parris).  It was a year of bribery ("'it's not unusual for judges to take bribes and not deliver -- that's why they're the first to leave after the parade.'")

Things threatened to not crank and stuff caught on fire.  But no one was hurt.