Asheville, NC: Where to Stay and Eat

We just returned from a few days in Asheville and I thought I'd give you a glimpse into the little corner Chris and I have carved for ourselves in this town, specifically ideas of where to stay and eat.

We have been escaping to Asheville for about 8 years now.

The first time was our babymoon (I was 5ish months pregnant) and after a draining first trimester in record Atlanta heat, I was thrilled to feel alive again in the cool mountain air!

Believe it or not, I've never been to Biltmore and over the years we are spending less time in the artsy downtown area and a little more time in the surroundings of the Sourwood Inn.

So this is by no means a comprehensive view of Asheville (you can find a more thorough post here at Two Blue Lemons).

But I will include a few of our favorite Asheville restaurants at the bottom of this post.

When you are sincerely pleased, you are nourished. -Emerson

This is the Sourwood Inn, one of our favorite places in the world. I can't decide if I want everyone to know about it, or no one. It's a retreat for the soul, where love and blessings surround you whether you are chatting with the owners, walking through the forest or gazing at the fire in your room. (There's no WIFI and the only TV is in the game room).

We start here every day with a very full breakfast - the first day it was grits casserole, eggs, sausage, muffins, toast and fruit - all very well prepared! And as much as we can, we make it back for dinner which has been made by the same chef for 14 years. Artful comfort food.

This time we were only here for one dinner - chicken pot pie. I loved her take on it. A stack of seasonal vegetables perfectly roasted and served alongside chicken in a divine creamy-herbed sauce and topped with a flaky biscuit cracker. (I like that they serve tiny slices of bread with large pats of butter too - my kind of place!)(As you can see we did not attempt to follow the fast while on vacation!)

Here's the outdoor dining area...

Fireplaces in each room. Chris is now an expert on building fires (pyromaniac).

There's one man who takes care of keeping the rooms set up with plenty of firewood - it's a serious operation!

There are a couple miles of GORGEOUS hiking trails around the inn. Here is a view down to a pond surrounded by moss and benches.

Here's Chris hanging out in the bamboo forest across from the pond (we joked that Sears did a modeling shoot in an enchanted forest - because does he not look like a Sears catalogue model?! But better.)

Here's us at the pond.

Then we stumbled upon this tea house. We didn't remember it from before. It's tucked into a little part of the forest where several streams come together. You just walk over a couple of little bridges to get there.

I love that the roof keeps rain out but lets the sun shine in!

A stream flows right underneath...

Several outtakes later...apparently I have not yet calcified into mom-writer-researcher position. Yes! Can you believe this is all on the Sourwood property? I love this place! By the way it is totally affordable, especially mid-week!

We DO occasionally venture down the mountain into Asheville and when that happens, here are some of our favorite places to eat:

Salsa's - this place has some excellent Mexican Caribbean food and is very vegetarian friendly (although Chris got a delicious pork stew in a hot pot).
The Laughing Seed - offers vegetarian, vegan & raw international cuisine.
Greenlife Grocery - This is actually a Whole Foods takeover but retains a heavy focus on local. We got Kale Lemonade at the juice bar every day! So good!
White Duck Taco Shop - this is a little taqueria in the arts district. It currently has the best "score" of any Asheville restaurant. While we liked it, we didn't love it - the ingredients weren't top quality. But I could see us going back one day so I decided to include it.