A Taste Of Asheville

A TAST OF ASHEVILLE TOUR

While Rabbits Moon Studio is on site this summer in several different locations.  I thought besides the art and artists you should get a feel for the areas through their food and culture.  Asheville is a very progressive city, set in a more conservative area, in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  There are a couple of food tasting tours in Asheville.  This is the ones our friends suggested.  It had 6 major stops and a couple of small ones involving tasting of gourmet olive oils and vinegars.  This was the first food tour I had been on and I highly advise for anyone.  It is a great way to get to know an area and its community.  The Chocolate Fetish ships all over the United States and I dare say they have the best chocolates I have tasted outside of Europe.  I will include a link for you.  I recommend you order a sample!  This is a family affair.  A husband and wife started the business and then their art major turned artist daughter joined them.  She does the sculptural aspects and hand painting.     The store has doubled in size recently and always amazes me with their new recipe's and creativity.                      

 
                      

                             Chocolate Fetish  photo by elizabeth gordon

Vencenzo's Italian Restaurant/ Asheville

Vencenzo's Italian Restaurant was a real treat also.  We had a sample of home pasta with shrimp and scallops with a wonderful home made pesto sauce.  I can hardly wait to try out the whole menu.  The upstairs was beautiful and white table cloth dinning.  Where the downstairs was casual and exposed brick with music 5 nights a week...no cover charge either.  Wonderful Italian wines as well.

Down Town Asheville Pack Square

Asheville Art Musuem

Asheville Store Cat

Asheville is a pet friendly town.  Restaurant have out door areas where dogs are welcome and water bowls waiting. Many of the store owners have their resident cat or dog helping to mind the store.

Olive Kickin' Olive Oil and Vinegar Tasting

Olive Oil and Kickin' was a wonderful adventure.  I daresay I had never tasted oils and vinegars without bread before and was a bit unsure about that.  But I have to admit it was fun and I learned how to taste olive oil as if it were a fine wine.  I am really a big fan of balsamic dark chocolate vinegar!!!  I will add a link to their web site above for you.

Olive oil and vinegar  tasting containers

Locally owned by two women businesswomen

A new bakery, Karen Donatelli's Cake Designs and Pastries, in town was our last stop, but not last on our list.  A family that originally moved from Winter Park, Florida opened the bakery recently.  Though they had been catering and making wedding cakes, they missed the store experience. They are friendly and the food is wonderful.  Wait to you see those cakes.

European Bakery 

Red Velvet and Chocolate and Cream Cheese Icing.


Two other places on our stop