Downtown Asheville, NC

Reposted and edited from original post on Facebook Notes from May 21, 2009.

Downtown Asheville has a wide range of restaurants and shops but for me really not a lot of appealing shopping so more of a window browse and stroll kind of place. It is a great place to try lots of local beers and people watch and there are certainly lots of interesting folks to watch here. Not to mention dogs – lots of dogs, so bring your pooch as it is very dog friendly here.  We spent one day wandering around and enjoyed the following places:

Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria: This place was really cool and had an extensive and impressive beer list, both bottle and tap.  We had a wonderful white pizza with spinach and mushrooms and the 14 inch is plenty big for two people. I tried: Pisgah Endless Summer Ale – tasty, a little bitter but not too bitter, crisp; and Pisgah Pub Ale – very good, smooth and mildly sweet, very light.  Brad tried:  Catawba Valley Brown Bear Ale– very good (like Newcastle or Bad Penny); Pisgah Nitrogen Stout – very good (like Guinness); and Catawba Valley Farmer Ted’s Farmhouse Cream Ale – good, light, tasty, goes well with pizza.

Carmel's: Just had drinks – Sangria was excellent as it is made from a truly good wine with fresh juices and is not the overly sweet style that you find at a lot of places. Brad had a glass of house Cabernet.  There is a seat right inside the entrance where you can sit and watch the street which is good when it is too warm to sit outside - very nice.

Bier Garden: Only bar we found with TV’s after a quick search. We watched the Preakness and had a blast because of a crazy old man who was thoroughly lit and heavily into the race. Lots of yelling! This place also has a large beer list and I tried: Appalachian Copperhead Ale – okay, bitter; and Orange Blossom Pilsner – very light, crisp, mild honey, quite drinkable. Brad tried: Stoudt’s Scarlet E.S.B. – not great; and then decided to just go with a well liked known beer - Smithwicks.

Tupelo Honey Cafe: For dinner – started with pimento cheese and chips appetizer which was wonderful. I had shrimp and grits with andouille sausage and lobster – amazing! Brad had jalapeño NY Strip steak – very good.  We had to wait maybe 20 minutes for a table on a Saturday night and ended up being at a spot for two at the bar separating kitchen from seating area. This was a great spot to have dinner and watch and interact with the cooks and waitstaff.