Shout outs

We’ve really cut back our dining out with LB because we really don’t want to be one of those couples with a kid acting like a kid in a nice restaurant, but we also hate lugging all the baby accoutrements around anymore than necessary.  However, we did stop in Brevard a few weeks ago for lunch on our way to Highlands for a wedding.  Before that we checked out the latest vegan addition to the Asheville restaurant scene.

My husband wanted to try Jordan Street Cafe, but they were closed so I got my pick of Marco Trattoria.  We opted to eat inside as the sunny fall day was keeping the outside dining areas full.  I ordered an eggplant parmesan, and my honey had the crab and sherry bisque with an arugula salad and a the panini special (which I don’t recall).  Both dishes had nice presentations and portions in addition to being tasty.  The tiramisu that I attempted for dessert was terrible; it was a runny pile of mush that tasted overly sweet.  Our service was fine, and the prices are reasonable.

 

 

 

Asheville’s first vegan fine dining restaurant, Plant, opened a few months back, and we had to visit as my husband’s awesome former boss is one of the owners.  I had never been to Gourmet Perks so I don’t have a reference for what the interior used to look like, but Plant is modern and open.  The service was nice, and our food was great.  We started with the seitan skewers with fried plantains, and I craved them in between visits.  I followed with the black pepper tofu; I don’t really recall much about the tofu, but the rice cakes and the watercress were divine.  My husband enjoyed his wild mushroom risotto, but I don’t recall sampling it.  At our next visit we came for lunch, and I was able to enjoy the skewers again.  I followed them with the Thai roll, which was tasty, and again I don’t recall sampling my honey’s berger.  On a visit that I missed after my return to work, my husband checked out the reuben, which he said was an all around good flavorful sandwich.  To make up for going without me, he brought me some mocha and mint chocolate chip ice cream which could easily give Ultimate Ice Cream and The Hop a run for their money (I haven’t tried any of Ultimate’s vegan options so I am speaking of their standard ice creams).  While Laughing Seed may have a better location, Plant definitely has the better food.

Fun with Fusion

My love for fried potatoes has been mentioned before but rather than bother with making dough for samosas, I decided to make latkes and add some frozen peas then serve with red lentil/masoor dal for a quick and easy dinner.

For the dal, I diced the leftover latke onion and cooked it over medium high with a bit of sunflower oil; I then added some diced garlic and ginger.

After that had cooked a few minutes I toasted some cumin, coriander, and methi/fenugreek seeds in the center of the pan then I stirred in the picked over lentils and allowed them to cook for a minute or two.

Once everything was smelling tasty I added enough stock to cover the lentils and allowed to cook about ten minutes until the stock was absorbed.  I added maybe half a cup of water then allowed them to cook another five to ten followed by one more half cup or so of water and a final five minutes so that they were thoroughly cooked.

I finished by removing the dal from the heat and pureeing it with my immersion blender.  While the dal was cooking, I shredded the potatoes and half a large onion then beat an egg and combined the veggies with the flour and egg and salt.

Then I put a fried a heaping tablespoon worth of batter in a thin layer of oil in my cast iron skillet.  We ate these hot with hot dal, and they fulfilled my craving for samosas and fried potatoes.

Our kid won’t . . .

It is possible that I could give birth to this kid any day now, and as I am officially over the forty-week mark I’m certainly ready.  In talking with experienced parents from friends to family to co-workers my husband and I have said more than once that we will not be doing this or that or allowing our kid to do this or that, so I thought that it might be interesting to post some of them here as a reference and check back over the years to see how our opinions changed.

Cloth Diapers

Before I got pregnant or really even thought seriously about having children, I always knew that I would use cloth diapers.  Most striking is the explicit cost to diaper a child; I checked with Ingles and EarthFare for the Seventh Generation brand diapers, and they run about $12 plus tax for 44 diapers in the infant size.  Based on what I’ve read a breast feed baby will go through about eight diapers a day, which means about 5.5 days for one pack of diapers (Pampers at Ingles were only a bit less at $10 plus tax of $50, and I didn’t write down Target’s prices).  An organic cotton pre-fold cloth diaper costs about $3.25 plus the $13 waterproof cover; this diaper can be used until the kid outgrows it, and then it could be used as a doubler for a pocket diaper or a cleaning rag even later.  The pocket diapers resemble disposable diapers more than the pre-folds which are what my mom thinks of as a cloth diaper, and they are a bit more expensive (about $18); however, since our kid will be in day care we’ll have to use them.  While we have spent a good bit of money on getting our stash set up, in the end we’ll come out on top.

The explicit costs are important, but the health and environmental costs should weigh even heavier.  Dioxin is a known carcinogen, but it is used in diapers, maxi pads, and tampons to bleach the cotton or paper bright white.  Then you have the polymers that are used in the soaking layer to be concerned about; how long did we use plastic before it was discovered that some plastics leach endocrine disrupters and hormone mimics?  Finally the environmental cost is staggering.  Not only will the diapers far out live their users, they require lots of water and oil to produce.  The water is a double whammy because most diapers wind up in the landfill with the poop in place rather than having the poop emptied into the toilet for sanitary processing.

Anytime I bring this up, I hear about what an onerous choir laundry is for any baby much less a baby soiling cloth diapers.  I can always safely counter with the example my mom set.  She worked full time outside the home and used cloth diapers with all three of us, and my dad was absolutely no help.  Although I could be mistaken based on our ages she most likely had two of us in diapers at all times.  My husband is an absolute foil of my father so between the two of us I know we can make it work, and really the economic incentive is just too tantalizing to forgo.

Electricity Rate Plan

About a year ago we decided to change our electricity rate plan to time of use which encourages one to use energy on off peak times.  This has easily lowered our electricity bill by about $10 a month without creating any undue hardship.  We were really concerned about adding the air conditioner, but after its first month we haven’t seen an increase, even though when it was being installed the contractors were using huge lights to see in the crawl space during peak energy time.  The challenge with the peak energy use is going to be the laundry because we only use our major appliances (aside from the air conditioner and furnace) during off peak hours, which are currently from 9pm to 10am Monday through Friday and excluding major holidays (they change from September to March to 6am-1pm and 4pm-9pm), but I am determined to at least try it for a few months.  We can continue to do the bulk of the laundry over the weekend, and as long as the weather cooperates we’ll continue to dry most of the laundry on the clothesline.

Exclusive Breast Feeding and Making our own Baby Food

We’ve decided to breast feed for many of the same reasons that we are going to cloth diaper, and although I’ll be returning to work about three months postpartum, I plan on exclusively breast feeding for at least six months then allowing self weaning as the kid expresses interest in what we eat with the expectation that I’ll still be nursing at least once a day for at least a year.  In conjunction with this resolution, we’ll be making our own baby food.  Again the explicit costs of buying baby food just don’t jive with the time savings, and being the dedicated environmentalists that we are, why should the baby eat food with more miles on it than we do?  Also all those little jars and containers would be one more thing to find new uses for or to recycle.  Of course, we will continue to limit the amount of processed foods that enter our house.  I grew up in a house free of fruit roll ups and soda, and the tradition will continue.

Screen Time

Neither of us were allowed to spend all day inside watching TV or playing video games, and we plan on continuing that tradition with our little one.  We don’t want to ever use the TV or computer or iPod as a babysitter, and we would like to limit daily exposure to the less than two hours a day recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  We both realize what a challenge this might become, especially on long road trips and as the kid spends more and more time outside of the home.

Daily Reading

By reading each and every day to the little one, we hope to make it easier to limit the screen time as well as foster imagination and diction.  Reading and books were so important to me growing up, and I still love them (although I don’t prioritize reading as much as I should).

Wretched Excess

We are both relatively frugal when it comes to material purchases, although we make up for it with our epicurean expenditures, and this is something we want to continue with the kid.  Again we recognize that we won’t be able to completely stop family and friends, but there are strategies around the excesses of others.  In the line of regifting, I’ve heard of parents going through gifts sent by family who refuse to stop going overboard and culling the keepers and donating the rest.  Of the keepers, some go into storage to be gifted at a later time.  We’ll try to give experiences over stuff, and with the stuff we’ll try to be pragmatic with some and fun with others (here’s a great idea to help).  Besides our tiny little house is almost busting at the seams already with baby stuff, dog stuff, cat stuff, and our stuff.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!

 

Vinnie’s and Ultimate Ice Cream

As we approach the end of being a two top dining party, we’ve both had the urge to dine out more and more.  Most recently we attempted to eat at Circle on the Square but were foiled when they didn’t have any eggplant (not for the two sandwiches, the pizza topping, or the two dinners on their menu).  Instead of driving a bit further to Marco’s North, we decided to try a new place, Vinnie’s.  The menu held much the same as both Marco’s and Circle in the Square with the price points being similar as well (Circle in the Square is cheaper on the dinners, but they are counter service not table service).

The music was cheesy and cliched which perfectly set the scene for the food.  Pretty much everything is painted brown, and the carpet is dark and old looking too.  Of course, this all fits with the menu and helps to distance Vinnie’s from the former Savoy.  Everything except the food portions was mediocre.

Although the restaurant was far from busy, the two hostesses spent a minute or two discussing where we should be sat, and we were lead to the back to a little two top.  I believe our server was not alerted to the fact of our presence because we waited another several minutes before anyone noticed us even though another server and buser were attending to other tables near us.  After a trip to the bathroom and another few minutes, our server appeared to tell us about the specials ($5 martinis on a Friday including the fru fru cosmo and apple kinds) and take our drink orders.  True to Asheville style, the draft beer menu represents local breweries with Pisgah and Asheville Pizza that I can recall for certain.

We started with garlic knots as my honey was starving; the portion is great for the $4 price, but they were covered with a much too liberal dusting of what I like to call cardboard also known as parmesan cheese from a shake can.   Although the minced garlic proliferated the plate, it was as if it had had the flavor cooked right out of it, and for garlic lovers like us this was a major disappointment.  However, much like the music, it set the stage for what to expect with our entrees.  Both the baked ziti and my eggplant hero were large portions, and both were covered with an inordinate amount of mozzarella.  The hero is a simply eggplant, marinara, and cheese on a sub roll; for eight dollars, it is filling although less than flavorful.  Between the cheese (even after discarding over half of it) and the sub roll, the breaded eggplant would have really needed to be strong as would the marinara, but like the garlic knots the whole thing was just bland.  In their defense a sweet red pepper, a pepperocini, and a dark green pepper were served on the side.  I did not try the ziti, but it was gone before my sandwich was completed.  My hot sub arrived barely lukewarm, while my husband’s ziti was piping hot.

It is unlikely that I would ever choose to return to Vinnie’s; Marco’s South is closer, better, and sometimes sells something delectable from Short Street Cakes, and Nona Mia is about the same distance and far superior (both restaurants are also similar in pricing and portions).

In a bout of wretched excess, we drove all the way east to the flagship location of Ultimate Ice Cream because we didn’t think their Charlotte Street location would serve a brownie sundae (plus when we drove by the little shop was chock full, and I neglected to take a second potty break at Vinnie’s).  While The Hop was directly across the street from Vinnie’s and serves a much larger brownie sundae, their ice cream is just too sweet, and the featured flavor just doesn’t shine through.  Ultimate does occasionally over do it (mostly with the coffee flavors), but when you eat one of their flavors there is no guess as to what it is.

Being the massively pregnant one, my husband deferred to my choices for the sundae we were going to split, and fortunately he shared his plans to order a split pint to go of coffee caramel and peanut butter with chocolate flakes so I didn’t duplicate.  We ended up with ginger and pistachio topped with toasted coconut and at my husband’s insistence hot fudge sauce; the pistachio is maybe the one flavor I wouldn’t be able to pick out in a blind test, but the ginger was the perfect blend of sweet cream and spicy ginger bite.  The brownie stayed in the background, but I was massively disappointed to see a can of whipped topping rather than a bowl of in house made whipped cream.  I mean with ice cream this good, it seems a damned shame to top it with something from a can so I chose to forego the whipped topping.  I also love their chai, kahlua mocha almond, and cup of joe; before writing this I took a couple of sample bites of their coffee caramel and peanut butter with chocolate flakes, and I’ve had to add two more flavors to my favorites list.

Ultimate Ice Cream is served in many local restaurants across town, but I still decry the loss of their West Asheville partnership with the now defunct Two Spoons.  Of course it would be even better if they’d bring it south, although my waistline and wallet would suffer tremendously.

Cinnamon Kitchen

I believe Cinnamon Kitchen is the final new addition to the south end that I was interested in trying so a few nights ago we headed over.  They have a corner spot in Gerber Village with roadside frontage, and fortunately for everyone Five Guys has turned down the volume on their noise pollution, which should make dining on either one of the two patios a bit more pleasant (although the noise from Hendersonville Rd or fumes from the parking lot might not be anymore pleasant).  The interior is warm, and the tables are moderately spaced.  We sat on the opposite side of the bar divided by a five foot wall; unfortunately, this put us in hearing distance of the server stand behind the bar and in good view of the flat screen for the bar patrons.

After we were sat, we were served by two servers although the hostess advised Nick would be taking care of us.  This did nothing to improve service.  For the most part it also did nothing to really impair service either; however at one point our waters were removed to be refilled rather than just use the pitcher that was used later.  We received our appetizers from a food runner, and halfway through the server who had removed the waters returned to inquire about the appetizers at which point we reminded her about our missing waters.  She returned with only one, but my husband had his beer so we just let it go.  The other issue occurred at the end of the meal when our check arrived before we were finished (with about an hour of service remaining), so we ordered dessert then after finishing and having the plates cleared and having enough time to run to the ladies’ room we had to request the check.  Both servers were friendly if less than professional, but again overall it was mediocre not terrible service.

We ordered liberally because I’m almost always hungry these days, and overall the food was fine but not impressive.  I felt the opener and the closer were the best parts of the meal; I ordered some garlic naan, and it was really garlicky and not overly greasy as well as being a fair portion.  We also ordered two additional appetizers, which were less than stellar.  My hara bara kabob (wasn’t actually a kabob although the menu description does indicate it is a patty) was overworked potatoes formed into cakes with spinach and served with a huge chuck of icky looking lettuce and two sauces (tamarind and a green spicy mix); while the cake was gummy, the flavor was fine.  My honey had two large veggie samosas, and as I only had one bit I don’t recall if the potato was overworked.

My husband ordered the tandoori lamb, and the portion was generous.  It was served with again huge chunks of vegetables in the center with the lamb chops arranged in a circle around the plate.  The center vegetables were not seasoned but they had been cooked; although one could cut them at the table, it is just odd to be served such large pieces of vegetables.  The chops were served with sauce in a separate dish that my honey really enjoyed.  For my entree I replicated my Mela dining experience and ordered the bangan bhar.  Although my vegetables were much more bite sized, the eggplant was cooked down much more than the peppers or onions, and the tomatoes looked like the whole canned tomatoes we use at home to make red sauce.  The flavor and portion were fine, and it was also served with white rice and frozen peas on the side.  For dessert I went with the mango kulfi, and at less than four dollars I must endorse this as one of the best dessert options on this end of town.  The presentation did detract a bit from the dessert;  five or six cubes of mango kulfi were surrounded by two clouds of canned whipped topping that had been drizzled with chocolate syrup.  On the plus side, the chocolate syrup and whipped topping were off to side and could be avoided.

The beer selection might be considered impressive outside of Asheville, but nary a local brewery was represented on draft (Gaelic by the bottle).  While neither our food nor the service were outright bad, I feel Chai Pani offers much better food for much less money, and we both agreed that there is no reason to return to Cinnamon Kitchen (although thinking about that mango kulfi I might return to assuage my sweet tooth).

What’s Cookin?

I took a month or two off from cooking as a result of my aversion to the smell of raw garlic, but now that the phase has passed we’re back to switching off cooking weeks.  I still cannot eat enough nightshades, so many a dinner is Nona Mia‘s eggplant parmesan for me and the Farmhouse pie for my honey’s dinner and my lunch the next day.  Their eggplant is really spectacular because it is sliced thickly so you can actually taste the eggplant over the breading, and their tomato sauce is chunky with crushed tomatoes; the cheese is used with a lighter hand than most area restaurants, which for me is heaven because I want the eggplant not the parmesan.  The Farmhouse remains my favorite pizza that my husband doesn’t make with its goat cheese, basil, olives, roasted tomatoes, and (best of all) focaccia crust.

However, this post is what I’ve actually been cooking not how much we love Nona Mia.  Last winter, I fell in love with brussels sprouts baked with garlic, white wine, and butter in a covered casserole dish, but with the pregnancy, I’m not ingesting any alcohol be it cooked or not.  The recipe adapted quite well both going uncovered (my honey broke the lid) and alcohol free; in lieu of wine, we’ve added a some lemon juice.  In order to make it a meal, we’ve been eating it with grits, and I added about half a pound of tofu to the brussels to give us some protein.  The tofu also adds a soft texture like goat cheese, although I expected a more chewy texture.  I did not drain the tofu particularly well, which is probably the cause for the creamier texture.  With the dish being uncovered, I increased the temperature to 400F as they had cooked about forty-five minutes at 350F and still were way too firm to eat.  I didn’t bother to take any photos because I didn’t anticipate blogging this.

Aside from lasagna, my other favorite dish is from Smitten Kitchen.  I love goat cheese, butternut squash, and lentils so of course I was destined to love this dish.  To make it a bit more rounded, I added some garlic cooked kale, and  I used plain green lentils.  I am too lazy to roast the seeds, but both times I have made this we haven’t missed them.  The first round I made vegan, but the second batch proved that the goat cheese is essential.  I also didn’t add any heat aside from coarsely ground black pepper with the first batch (we corrected this with some sriracha after cooking).  My second batch received a healthy sprinkling of cayenne pepper along with the paprika, and I definitely used more than a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, although I didn’t bother to measure, I think it was more like a quarter of a cup,   The heat with the sour vinegar, sweet squash, and creamy goat cheese is just perfect.  Not to mention that lentils are an awesome and cheap source of protein and fiber without much fat.

Missed Anniversaries

Well, I’ve almost been away for two entire months.  It’s not because I don’t enjoying complaining about public transit and transportation and talking up my favorites restaurants, but I’ve been really busy reading hardcopy books.

It appears that I neglected to celebrate our second year of being a one car household in an area that really doesn’t do much to encourage regular use of public transit. I’m more than irked that ATS has decided to undertake increased marketing efforts rather than spend money on expanding service.  People know that the bus service exists, but it is under-utilized because it isn’t convenient.  I want it to be easier to buy passes; currently, one can visit the transit center with cash.  Why aren’t there refillable cards and self-service kiosks that accept cash or credit, even if they are isolated to the transit center?  It is cheap, and it is safe; however, when many routes end service before 7:30 how can anyone use ATS to have a dinner out or catch a movie or go to church?  If you don’t work first shift (or if you work first shift on a Sunday), it is very likely that you won’t be able to use ATS to commute to and from work, even if you live well inside city limit.  On the other hand, I am thankful that we live about a twenty minute stroll off the bus route and that my husband can get to and from most of his work shifts.  We’ve made it work these past two years because we believe in the good of public transit and the benefits of walking (with or without sidewalks on busy five lane highways or quite neighborhood streets).

The next milestone is our four year wedding anniversary. We opted to celebrate on a Wednesday night rather than the actual Monday our anniversary fell on, and we decided to revisit The Market Place.    I don’t recall the exact year of our last visit, but we were completely unimpressed with every aspect of our meal, especially the steep prices on the wine list.  Due to the passage of time and new ownership (even though I thoroughly respect Mark Rosenstein for all he has done and continues to do to support local food and farms), we decided to give it another go.   We were seated in the back close to where we sat at our last visit, and our server, Denise, was attentive and knowledgeable of the menu.   I opted for the edamame, because I cannot seem to eat enough edamame, and it was the only vegetarian appetizer that held any appeal (sorry I’m a bit too cheap these days for a $14 cheese plate); the chili soy glaze was pretty sweet, and it really detracted for the sublime simplicity of soybeans.  My husband enjoyed a generous serving of duck confit spring rolls that really looked pretty tasty.   For my entree I chose the agnolottis because again it was the only realistic vegetarian option since a local vegetable plate just seemed a bit boring.   Then again, how cliched for the vegetarian entree to be a pasta dish; however, cliched or not, it was good and filling and just what I really wanted.  Apparently we were in need of comfort food as my husband went with the pork chop entree. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to enjoy all of the juices because the food runner poured a good portion of them down my arm; the part he did enjoy was very satisfying, even if he really wanted more carrots and brussel sprouts.  Getting to wear his dinner was really were our experience fell flat (and my shirt is now ruined).  When it happened I requested a bar towel not a treated napkin that really does nothing to absorb liquid, but of course I received seltzer water and a cloth napkin (I should’ve demanded the bar towel).   The staff was apologetic, but rather than comp his entree or mine for that matter, they offered to buy us a dessert and two glasses of champagne, which we weren’t interested in anyway.   We ended up taking a boxed up a cappuccino chocolate torte, which was a nice after work treat the next day. Personally, I prefer the ambience and food at Cucina24, but this visit didn’t rule out future visits (although they are not likely to happen in the near future).

We opted to postpone our anniversary dinner due to a doctor’s visit, which would leave us with either great news or less than great news.  We got the great news, so we were a bit on cloud nine, and I just wasn’t able to demand a free entree nor was I able to enjoy anything alcoholic because earlier that day we had seen our baby’s heartbeat.  We also confirmed that I was about five weeks pregnant, and I’m now almost twelve weeks along, which is why I’ve been reading, reading, and reading some more about pregnancy and childbirth.  I am not suffering from morning sickness per se, but I am suffering from an incessant desire to eat edamame, eggplant, and pretty much anything else with bread and cheese as long as artichoke hearts, raw garlic, and pesto aren’t included.  My nausea is triggered by not eating enough (i.e., about every couple of hours) or eating too much at once (hence, I was truly not able to eat dessert at dinner).  Additionally, my eating idiosyncrasies have multiplied, and although they aren’t as bad as they were before I met my honey, they are irritating and frustrating.  Last week, I couldn’t stand the thought of eating roasted root vegetables (butternut squash, celeriac, and beets) and goat cheese, which normally, I would devour.  Therefore, I will not be posting anymore restaurant reviews until I feel normal about food again.  I do think I will continue to complain about public transit and the dearth of sidewalks even in parts of Asheville that have been annexed for years and years (here’s looking at you, Hendersonville Rd); now that it is dark around six p.m., I won’t be walking home, which means I have to pick my husband up from work since the last bus to our end of town runs about five to six hours before he gets off work.  Then again, since we’re planning on caving in and buying a second car rather than deal with a wee one and one car, I guess I won’t have as much to complain about public transit.

Afternoon Lunch

My Saturdays generally involve a stroll to the bus stop then to yoga then to the car for a weekly grocery store run, and generally, I will pack a lunch to eat in the park before walking to the car (that my honey drove downtown to work).  However, sometimes I’m either too lazy or forgetful so I’ll grab a bite because I certainly don’t want to go to the grocery store hungry.  I’ve been wanting to check out both The Green Sage and Nine Mile for months, and recently, I was able to do so (on separate weekends).

The Green Sage is located just north of Pack Square on Broadway in the former home of Beanstreets, and the solar panels mark the spot.  The interior is warm and inviting with a huge display case greeting you as you enter.  I really expected little more than coffee house fare, but the menu has several selections (French toast, eggs, sandwiches, soup, salads, smoothies, and plenty of pastries).  I opted for the quiche of the day, which was mushroom and spinach; my wedge of quiche came with a generous side salad.  The quiche was buttery and tasty, and the salad, with its huge pile of sprouts and spring mix, was the perfectly portioned foil for the richness of the quiche.  The service is counter service, and you are responsible for busing your own table.  The Green Sage composts the food waste, and the to-go containers are made of vegetable plastics.

Nestled in Montford, Nine Mile has a simple menu with light fare.  The bright yellow walls and friendly staff welcome regulars and tourists alike.  The Natty Bread served with my Jamaican Me Thirsty was a great respite from the heat of the dish.  I opted for rice and toasted almonds instead of the linguine option, and the sauce was tasty and hot with the vegetable medley (zucchini, squash, and cauliflower) that graces the entire menu.  I also received green and gold peppers that appear in the next item on the menu, More Fyah.  I was a bit surprised to find so many selections on the dessert list, but dessert was not in the cards for me on this trip.  The tables on the sidewalk look like a great place to people watch and say hello to the neighbors.

East versus West

After Two Spoons and Ultimate Ice Cream ended their partnership, I was forced to drive with my honey to East Asheville to visit the flagship store to confirm that months of craving weren’t warping my memory of truly ultimate ice cream.  My memory was vindicated, but at what cost?  Two Spoons has the location that doesn’t seem completely out of the way (we can almost call it on the way home from downtown, or we can roll it into a trip to Orbit or The Lucky Otter); they have a cute, tiny patio out back, chalkboard paint on the main seating area’s walls, bigger and better waffle cones, and the hot mama (a split single in a waffle cone).  Ultimate has the eponymous product (oh KMA, rum raisin, ginger, chai!), but their location is way out on Tunnel Road in a strip mall behind Pomodoro’s where we have absolutely no reason to ever be.  Due to pure convenience, we’ll likely return to Two Spoons constantly hoping the hyperbole will return, but I will also probably start catching the 13 after yoga for some more Ultimate action.

Ultimate Ice Cream

Two Spoons

I’ve expressed my love for Nona Mia on numerous occasions to anyone who will hear about it so any restaurant would be hard pressed to defeat them in my heart, and Piazza did not compare.  However, Piazza was shocking in just how little it cost us to eat there.  We had an appetizer, a beer for him, and two entrees for less than forty (including a twenty percent tip), and the food was good.  The pasta to sauce ratio was much too high, and the sauce was too buttery rather than the perfect, light Italian trifecta of tomatoes, basil, and garlic I expected; however the dish which easily turned into two meals cost less than $7 (I opted for the small pasta with one sauce).  The pesto our server raved about and the 10″ pizza were not anything to get excited about especially in this city with its plethora of pizza and pesto.  The calamari appetizer would put any calamari you’ve ever eaten at a major chain like Carabba’s to shame (it wasn’t heavy and greasy); however when compared to Nona Mia’s, it was over breaded, and the “spicy” red sauce was laughable with its absence of heat.  I was stoked to see tiramisu on the dessert page (it’s also on their website), but our server informed us their desserts change frequently and it wasn’t available on the day of our visit; the menu should reflect this rather than tease me with hopes of finding tiramisu to replace the now defunct La Catterina’s paragon.  Piazza has a lovely site with plenty of room for large parties along with a nice covered wrap around patio dining area that screens the view of 74 with old mattress springs adorned with bottles and lights.

The LAB

I visited the LAB a week or so after it opened, and I greatly enjoyed their beer sampler.  On my most recent visit I hit up the sampler again to hone in on my favorite brews, but I also enjoyed some food this go round.  The hummus plate appetizer was far superior to the portabella caprese sandwich; while the hummus and baba ghannouj may not have been the best I’ve ever had, their coupling with the cucumber spears and flatbread fit so well with the summer weather we’ve been experiencing.  Their awesome patio provided the perfect place to watch the afternoon downpour as well.  The portabello caprese sandwich seemed like a bit of an anachronism, and while the same might be said for the hummus plate, they spiced it up by offering garlic, scallion, and curry flavored spreads.

For an Asheville restaurant, it’s a bit of stretch to call their menu vegetarian friendly as they do, but they do brew good beer.  Their white is wonderfully refreshing, and even though I don’t really prefer IPAs, the LAB’s is nicely balanced.