Corner Kitchen, Asheville

Before leaving Asheville, we stopped at the Corner Kitchen for brunch in Biltmore Village.  The village itself is really cute (I try not to use this word but the village is honestly is cute)!  It is apparently where the workers who built the Biltmore Mansion lived during the construction and the planned housing has been restored into an area with shops and restaurants.  Unfortunately, it was cold and windy that morning so we didn’t enjoy the village itself but we did have a great brunch at the Corner Kitchen.  The restaurant is a converted house with several small dining areas with a few tables each.  We were seated right next to the cozy fireplace.  The entire space is comfortable and warm with bright walls and wooden tables.  I had the Hickory Nut Gap Chorizo and Eggs which was locally produced chorizo with cheesy scrambled eggs, salsa and tortillas.  It was delicious!  The chorizo had a nice spice which was great with the cheesy eggs.  G had the waffles which were awesome, light and delicate!  So light that they didn’t even need syrup!  Overall, a great breakfast in a warm, comfortable space.

Corner Kitchen
www.thecornerkitchen.com
3 Boston Way
Asheville, NC 28803-2653
828-274-2439

Horizons at Grove Park Inn, Asheville

We celebrated a delightful New Years Eve dinner at the Horizons in the Grove Park Inn in Ashville.  The Grove Park Inn is a luxurious inn and spa with a few different dining options.  The Horizons is the fine dining restaurant with a comfortable feel.  The dining room is warm and elegant with a piano and fireplace in the center.  The tables are adorned with a lovely white table clothes a single simple rose.  The large tables are well spread out and the set with large leather chairs which allows for quite conversation without having to fight over the neighboring tables.  I really appreciated this as it is quite rare these days in most restaurants.  Another lovely touch was that the hostess gave me a black napkin since I was wearing black thus avoiding the annoying white specks.

The Noodle Shop, Asheville

Over New Years we went to Ashville, NC for a couple of days of relaxation.  It is such a charming little town.  Based on a friend’s recommendation our first stop was The Noodle Shop, which is a little dive right in Pack Square in downtown.  It reminded me of the wonderful dive-y joints in Chinatown in Boston.  The interior is quite simple with just 10 tables.  The menu offered a variety of noodle soups and noodle dishes.  G chose a wonton noodle soup which was warm, hearty and satisfying.  I tried a mung bean and tofu noodle dish which was served with an XO type of sauce.  It was delicious!  It had a nice variety of vegetables and the sauce provided a great compliment to the delicate cellophane noodles.  I cannot comment on the authenticity but it was indeed tasty and pleasing.  Since leaving Boston we have not enjoyed a nice hearty bowl of noodles and the Noodle Shop hit the spot on a cold winter day.

The Noodle Shop
W. Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801
828-250-9898

Lantern, Chapel Hill

Lantern is a restaurant which has received acclaim far beyond the Triangle area for the creative dishes of Andrea Reusing and use of local and seasonal ingredients in Asian inspired dishes.  We met some friends for dinner there a few weeks ago.  The restaurant has a nice modern, yet cozy feel to it.  The dining room is done in all black and white however this starkness is softened with large white lanterns and elegant flowers between each seating area.

Sugarland Bakery, Chapel Hill

A couple of weeks ago we were entertaining our young friend (she is almost 5 years old!) and decided to try Sugarland Bakery for a treat.  It is a cute shop located right at the heart of the Franklin St.  They have a few tables to sit and enjoy your treats and a counter of treats; half is filled with baked goods and chocolate truffles and the other half is dedicated to gelato.  For the season they had a great miniature village set up in the window complete with moving ice skaters and children sledding down a hill.  This interested the little one for some time!  Then, we each proceeded to select a cupcake.  I tried the seasonal Egg Nog, G tried the red velvet and the she tried the double chocolate.  They were all quite tasty with rich icing.  As usual the each had much too much icing, which seems to be the current style in cupcakes.  The Egg Nog in particular had a spicy, egg-y flavor.  However, all three were a bit dry which was disappointing.  They didn’t have the delicate texture that you would expect from a cupcake that is over $3 each!  Cupcakes are the trendiest thing in baked goods right now but they ought to be melting-in-my-mouth to charge more than $3!!

Sugarland Bakery
www.sugarlandchapelhill.com
140 E. Franklin St.
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919-929-2100

Cafe Parvaneh, Chapel Hill

Discovering authentic family run places is always a treat!  Café Parvaneh is a Persian restaurant located next to a lighting store and a salon in a strip mall in Chapel Hill.  It is small, simple restaurant with seating for about 20 and a counter for take out orders.  It was pretty full when we arrived at about 7pm on a Friday and one large table filled with a family of Persians celebrating.  The husband and another woman were handling the front of the restaurant while the wife was in the kitchen.  The menu focuses on chicken and lamb dishes.  We started with the Aush Reshteh which is a bean soup with herbs and noodles.  It was delicious, hearty and rich!  The herbs provided just the right amount of flavor and depth to compliment the beans.  I tried the Khoresh Ghaimeh Badenjun for my main dish.  It is a lovely combination of sautéed lamb, eggplant and yellow split peas in tomato sauce flavored with sun-dried limes. The lamb was stewed to perfection and was tender and flavorful.  The split peas and eggplant added a nice sweetness and smokiness to the dish.  G tried the Khoresh Ghormeh Sabzi for his main dish.  It is a dish made of various herbs, lamb, and red beans flavored with sun-dried limes.  It too was quite tasty.  It had a similar flavor to the soup since the same herbs were used but again the lamb was cooked to tender perfection.  Both dishes were served with nice buttery rice.  The dishes were tasty and delicious but a bit oily.  The husband was helpful, explaining the different dishes and making sure we had everything.  We will surely be back to try other Persian dishes on the menu and to get our lamb fix!

Cafe Parvaneh
www.cafep.com
400 South Elliott Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919-929-2779

Hot Doug’s, Chicago

The tag line for Hot Doug’s is “There are no two finer words in the English language than “encased meats,” my friend.”  That pretty much encompasses the philosophy of this hot dog shop in Chicago.  This corner store located at the Roscoe and California pays homage to the sausage.  The menu includes regular Chicago style hot dogs but also different styles such as the polish sausage, bratwurst, and the Andouille sausage.  They also do several gourmet style special hot dogs, such as the Spicy Jerk Pork Sausage with Spicy White Peach Mayonnaise, Creme de Brie Cheese and Roasted Plantains and the Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris.

Our flight landed on Wednesday mid-morning and we went straight to Hot Doug’s.  The line was already out the door.  My sister and her husband had The Dog: Chicago-Style Hot Dog which they both enjoyed.  G tried The Sally Vega: Corn Dog and The Paul Kelly: Bratwurst.  The corn dog was delicious!!  The corn coating had a nice crispiness and a lot of great corn flavor.  I had the Portuguese Chourico with Smoked Paprika Dijonnaise and 12-Month Manchego Cheese.  It was wonderful!  It was a very spicy and flavorful.  The manchego cheese added a delicious saltiness.  It was honestly one of the best sausages I have ever had!  Gourmet hot dogs, what a brilliant idea!

Hot Doug’s
www.hotdougs.com
3324 N. California Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
773-279-9550