Asheville is most definitely one of North Carolina’s jewels.  It’s a hip city with a vibrant downtown, plenty of breweries, tons of culture and shopping, diversity galore and a happening restaurant scene.  Seriously one of my favorite day trips.  Also, my bestie from college lives there so we always have a blast!

The Sights

So much to see and do here, and I didn’t have time in one day to do them all.  I’ll share other fun stuff I’ve done (just not on this particular trip)

Biltmore Estate

If you get a chance at Christmas, you have to go to the Biltmore for a look around.  Here’s the trick: make a reservation at one of the restaurants at night so you can go in a little early and check out all of the beautiful lights!  This was one of my favorite fun things we did!  There is one area, it looks like a patch of woods that has thousands of lights draped from the tree limbs.  There are adirondak chairs in there for relaxing and many people take picnics in (I’m told these lights stay up all year long).  It has to be seen, too cool to talk about.

Food

I thought because I visited on a Sunday I didn’t really need reservations.  I was wrong.  Every place on my wishlist was reserved up on Saturday when I went to plan this last minute jaunt.  So, don’t be me.  Plan your trip so you can get in to the restaurant you want!  But seriously, everywhere is good, so even if you mess up like me, you’ll eat well.

The French Broad Chocolate Lounge

No trip to Asheville is complete without coming to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. It is iconic! We arrived 10 minutes before they opened and were the first in line!

We selected a few items to take home: Marshmallows, chocolate chip cookie and a sticker.

The rest we had at the table to sample and all were very special. We tried the liquid truffle, one in milk chocolate and the other in honey lavender. The word that leaps into my mind is indulgent. They came in espresso cups but even that was too much for one person. It was just so rich! You must at least try these once, though. My daughter liked the flavor of the lavender honey, but not the garnish that sort of ruined the smooth texture. It was pretty though.

The salted caramel cheesecake was amazing! Smooth and creamy with a brownie bottom atop a squiggle of that caramel. And the size really wasn’t overwhelming. Perfect!

We also sampled a pecan tart. The filling was so thick it was almost like treacle, but so good! The crunch from the pecan topping and the crust made this a welcome sweet sticky relief.

If you are in Asheville, make sure you stop by. They truly have something for everyone and you will feel so spoiled! Even if you aren’t hungry, they will pack it to go!

Sake Sushi in Black Mountain

Not reaaaallly in Asheville, but we hit this place on the way home from Asheville while we were doing a little antiquing in Black Mountain.  There’s a cool new community called Cheshire Village that it so cool you should just do a ride by to check it out.  While there, stop at Sake Sushi for some really great Asian food!

We had spicy crab rolls, bento boxes and garden salads with ginger dressing.  We loved the sushi so much!  Small rolls, and perfectly flavored.  The salad was refreshing with real ginger in the dressing.  The bento boxes came with a spring roll, 3 pieces of a California roll, steamed rice and your protein.  We tried Katsu chicken, Katsu fish and Shrimp Teriyaki.  We all agreed that the chicken was best.

Regeneration Station and Junk Recyclers

Do you like repurposed furniture and funky finds?  This place is for YOU!  Huge warehouse full of every kind of houseware, vintage and otherwise that you can think of.  Each booth is as different as can be so you’ll never get bored.  Plus: they let you bring dogs in, so I had just as much fun looking at pooches as I did the cool stuff.  Quirky and funky rules here!

Here’s a cool blurb from their website:

“Tyler Garrison, founder of Junk Recyclers, started a full-service junk removal company focused on salvaging unwanted items and diverting them from the waste stream. Not long after, The Regeneration Station was born as an additional way of minimizing the waste that goes to landfills and contributes to the community in a sustainable way.”

An amazing day trip with lots to see and do.  Visit soon!!