Breaking Beta's Guide to: Asheville, NC

Hello Friends and Family,

This week has had only Type 1 and 2 fun at our house. We are thankful for that. If you missed last week’s newsletter, you can read all about Mills’ First Adventure on the website.

If you know anything about us, then you know we love Asheville, NC. Not only is Asheville the place we fell in love, but it is also the place we got married and it is the place we have visited more often than any other in our marriage.

It is so special to us that our son is named after one of my ancestors who was born in Asheville.

When we had our first appointment after we found out that Courtney was pregnant the doctor turned to me and said, “Well, Dad, do you have any questions?”

I only had one:

The doctor looked puzzled and Courtney quickly said, “He’s being completely serious.”

Well, until Mills has his first round of vaccines we aren’t going anywhere and that is a bit of a bummer. But we know that many of you are planning trips this summer and we thought it would be fun to let you know a few of our favorite things to do in our favorite city.

Where to Eat in Asheville, NC

No road trip is complete without good food. There is one place I go every time I am in Asheville, even if it is just for a quick dessert: Cúrate Tapas Bar.

This was a bit of a hidden gem at first, but word quickly spread and a couple James Beard Awards later, this is a pilgrimage worthy spot. You’ll want to start looking for a reservation 2 months in advance. (Gone are the days where I would walk in and sit at the bar for dinner at 7pm!)

Next up is Posana. This is a 100% gluten free restaurant. Yes. 100%. Courtney doesn’t have to ask anything about the menu! The food is outstanding and the patio is dog friendly! (They even have a dog menu!)

Those two are MUST try restaurants if you have never been. Here are our other favorites for food and dessert:

• Chestnut

• Rhubarb

• Neng Jr.

• Twisted Laurel

• The Original Papa Nicks Pizza (Mars Hill, NC)

• Farm Burger (If you aren’t from Atlanta)

• French Broad Chocolate

• Stoney Knob (Bruch in Weaverville, NC)

• Biscuit Head

• Early Girl Eatery

• ELDR

• Old Europe

• White Duck Taco (the one in River Arts District)

• 12 Bones BBQ

• Bear’s Smokehouse

• Vortex Donuts

• Stackhouse (Mars Hill, NC)

• Barley’s Taproom (Great pizza in downtown Asheville)

What to Do in Asheville, NC

There is something for everyone in Asheville. You can have just about any type of experience you want. There are three main categories other than food: Shopping, Beer, and Outdoor.

Shopping in Asheville

Downtown is FULL of great shops from the places that sell incense and tie-dye clothes, to pottery and fine art. One of my favorite stores is Mast General Store just a couple of doors down from Cúrate.

Mast is a classic general store with clothes, home goods, candy and trinkets for kids, and loads of outdoor gear downstairs. And it is dog friendly!

If you are looking for shoes, then you MUST go to Tops for Shoes it is one of the largest shoe stores I have ever seen. There are multiple entrances and exits on different streets, so be prepared to feel completely turned around! They also have incredible prices.

The great-grandson of Henri Matisse has an incredible pottery business called “East Fork Pottery” located in Madison County, NC, but their flagship store is right downtown in Asheville.

We noticed that some of our favorite restaurants in Asheville as well as Atlanta were using East Fork Pottery so we started building our collection. Everyone who eats at our house RAVES about our place settings.

If nothing else you NEED to buy one of their large coffee mugs. It is the best coffee mug I have ever owned. In fact, it is now the ONLY coffee mug I own. I donated all of my other mugs after using this mug.

Some other shops worth visiting:

• Woolworth Walk

• Mount Inspiration Apparel

• Asheville Bee Charmer

• LOFT of Asheville

• Asheville Gem Mine

• Blue Dharma Fine Art Gallery

• American Folk Art & Framing

• Mountain Made: Asheville Art Gallery

• Black Dome Mountain Sports

• MTN Merch

My advice: Just wander around and go in and out of every shop. So many cool things to see!

Where to Drink Beer in Asheville, NC

Asheville is known as Beer City, USA (or at least that is what they call themselves!) And they do have an impressive number of breweries and craft beer bars around town to sample.

My favorite is Highland Brewing, but it is a bit of a drive to get there. If you want to stay downtown they have a tap room! I also suggest these spots:

• Burial

• Wicked Weed

• Funkatorium

• Green Man

• Thirsty Monk

• Noble Cider and Mead

• The Bier Garden

• Catawba Brewing

• One World

• Asheville Brewing

• New Belgium

There are many brewery tours that are available as well. I do not recommend the PubCycle or the rooftop bar tour. I DO whole heartedly recommend LaZoom’s Brewery Tour.

I bought tickets and forced my friend Joe Bland, the owner of Raleigh Coffee Company, to go on a LaZoom Brewery Tour with me. After years of seeing those purple busses and wondering what they were doing, we regret not doing it sooner.

There is a LIVE funk band on the bus jamming tunes for the entire 3 hour tour. We hit three different breweries and heard some great tunes.

They also have comedy tours, kids tours, and scary Halloween tours!

What to do Outside in Asheville, NC

This is probably what most people think about when they think about Asheville: The Mountains.

If you want to get out of the city and enjoy the amazing creation that God has given us, there are so many different ways to do it and with DOGS!!!!

You can use your favorite search engine to find all of the hikes that you might want to do, so I will skip that. (But here are some great pics)

There is one hidden gem of outdoor activity that I was introduced to when I started college in 1999. In the little town of Hot Springs, NC you will find Hot Springs Resort and Spa. This is not a fancy place, so please don’t let the name scare you off.

What you will find are individual, private and covered hot tubs filled with naturally hot mineral water. You can go as a couple or bring some friends and enjoy soaking with a view of the French Broad River or Spring Creek.

You’ll want to bring your own towel and be prepared to have an amazing experience soaking and enjoying the peaceful views. If you go at night you’ll usually find a fire pit to gather around after you soak.

It’s quite a drive from Asheville, but definitely worth it!

If you make a trip to Asheville this summer, please send us some pictures! Prior to June I had already been to Asheville 3 times this year. I’m jonesing to get back, ASAP!

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