Shhh, I am about to share a secret with you. More importantly it is a bona fide travel secret. Travel secrets that are worth they salt are rare.
Everyone seems to have a secret travel spot that they love and that they cautiously tell others about. Hidden by location or newness or by having survived years of passing fads these places are special and when you share them it is done with some trepidation. Basically you don’t want too many people to get to know about the old timey store, the great but inexpensive restaurant, the natural water slide or the isolated beach. As a special small spot, be it a tourist attraction or a restaurant, becomes known the quaint and unique touches at the edge of the painting disappear as the operators try to accommodate more people and more generalized tastes.
On the way home from our August 2008 southern excursion we stopped in Asheville NC. A number of reasons made me want to see the place. Asheville from the guidebooks is apparently an artists’ Mecca. As noted in the blog earlier we had previously stopped at the artisans’ haven of Berea, KY, (and a couple of other stops-one on the Blue Ridge Parkway) so this seemed liked a good addition to the tour. What the guidebooks said was basically correct.
Asheville is a southern city that used to be a mercantile center. It is a college town and a haven for old hippies of the Allman Brothers loving variety. Ann Arbor has some of the same feel but Asheville is more welcoming. Its streets are quirky in their layout, narrow at points but the building stock is pretty. It is a city with a history including hosting the likes of O’Henry and Thomas Wolfe at various times.
We wandered about the city. There is an old very cool central gallery that was originally set to be the base of a skyscraper that never got built. Inside this places neo-gothic façade you had your usual array of high end furniture, chocolatiers, espresso shops and book stores. Additionally there were a number of art galleries that abutted this square. Some great paintings and fine ceramic work were to be found.
Due to my membership in a travel affinity group we spent the night before at a Crowne Plaza. Because of major work to one of its courses the rate was really cheap. Asheville is a golf haven also. When we got up we decided to go into town to seek out breakfast. One of the restaurants we saw was called the Early Girl and seemed focused on southern regional cuisine with fresh ingredients. However the one that drew us in was the Tupelo Honey café. http://www.tupelohoneycafe.com/day_menu.htm Hey how could a place named after one of Van Morrison’s greatest songs go wrong? It didn’t. Subtle décor with beautiful oil paintings blended with the feel of an old southern lunch counter.
The food was out of this world. I had Petunia’s Pain Perdu. It was awesome and cooked just as a great French toast should be. The fresh blueberries went just an added flourish. The sweet potato pancakes that John Lee had were also phenomenal. (Go to website and check out the day menu). Even the normal stuff like the country breakfast was cooked to perfection. The music playing in the background was soft and eclectic. It was a damn near perfect dining experience; even the ice tea was perfect.
When you are on the road, if your travels take you by Asheville, stop in. It is a beautiful place and there are a number of things to please the eye. Your palette will thank you also. Hey just one thing though, don’t tell anyone who can’t kept a secret about Tupelo Honey, okay?
You know maybe it was because I was reading the Secret Lives of Bees that I threw in with the Tupelo Honey café. Maybe.
(I note the photo above is from the Tupelo Honey website. Yesterday’s shot of James Dean’s grave was taken by F. Todd on her Iphone.)
1 comment:
You ARE a foodie. Denials are useless.
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