THE PODCAST

The podcast above was originally recorded on 07/07/2025 with my usual co-host Chef Tom LaFauci from Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville…

00:00 - 09:20 INTRO: Sneaky Busy Thursday, 4th of July Friday & Bananas Saturday09:21 - 11:10 EMPATHY FOR TEXAS: And Our Friends Here in North Carolina12:11 - 22:01 ROAD TRIP: Marshall Is Open!22:02 - 24:00 OTTO INTERRUPTION: Coco Update24:01 - 24:53 MANNA SPOT: Please Donate to MANNA Foodbank24:54 - 39:04 DUNNING KRUGER REPORT: 3rd Condiment Mystery Solved!39:05 - 52:15 WHERE’D YA EAT: Stone Bowl, Recess Coffee, Hell or High Water, Dairy King, Tienda El Quetzal, La Tropical, All Souls Pizza, Lingle Bros Hot Dogs, DayTrip, Asheville Forager, Lobster Trap, Mother Bakery & Mountain Madre52:16 - 54:51 BYE! Thanks To Deb & All The Listeners and WPVM 103.7fm!54:52 - 56:25 WPVM SPOT Please Donate to WPVM RADIO ASHEVILLE

THE NEWSLETTER

I ❤️ MARSHALL, NC - Y'all, we paid a visit to little ol' Marshall, NC not long ago, and tried to spread the love to as many places as we could while we were there. We popped into a cool little shop called On Your Bike, where we got some very delicious pastries to bring home. We can't wait to go back to try more!

Marshall is so cute and charming, and is making its come back for sure. If you can get out there, please try On Your Bike!

While there, we also stopped into MAL'S bar because we heard they serve hot dogs, and we had heard right! Even though I don't drink anymore, a good old fashioned hot dog-serving dive bar still feels like home to me, and Mal's sure did fit that bill! Just swap my beer for a root beer, and I'm allll good. This hot dog was also all good! A Nathan's Famous, heated up on rollers, and served on a basic trashy white bun. I added sriracha mayo from the condiment basket and it was perfection!

Thanks, Mal's! And folks, please be sure to pay a visit to Mal's bar the next time you're in Marshall, grab a dog, and a beer of some kind, and maybe even sign up for one of their arm wrestling competitions! 💪

We visited as many little shops and restaurants in Marshall as we could squeeze in, including Zuma Coffee, where we stopped for cortados, a tiny key lime pie, and a cookie, all delicious!

We also went to Zadie’s, where Dawn had a drink and we shared a refreshing dish of chickpea and cauliflower salad. On the way out of town we stopped into Madison Natural Foods to grab a few groceries to bring back to Asheville.

This trip to Marshall was too short, and we didn't get to do all the things, eat all the food, or go to all the places we wanted to, so we can't wait to go back for an overnight stay at Old Marshall Jail Hotel so that we can spend more time enjoying this little gem of a town. Please visit Downtown Marshall, NC if you can, and show them some love. ❤️❤️❤️

LATIN LUNCH: Thank you to The Line Cook Perspective for posting about La Tropical ice cream, "A little piece of Mexico in Asheville," on Weaverville Road. We were out that way for some other reason and recognized this place from Facebook, so we stopped in and wow! It's a wonderland of frozen treats from the simple to the extreme! You have to check out their social media and web site to get the full effect of the ice creamy insanity.

I opted for one of their all natural strawberries & cream popsicles and loved it. It took me back to my days of living in Chicago, where the popsicle vendors would ride their bikes through my neighborhood, and we'd wave them down for coconut, pineapple, mango, cinnamon, and horchata flavored popsicles. Good times. Super high recommends for La Tropical! Tons of choices, bright, fun colorful atmosphere, and very nice people! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When my mom heard about La Tropical Ice Cream on Weaverville Road she wanted to go, so we just kind of randomly picked Tienda El Quetzal, to have lunch at first, because it's right across the street from the ice cream shop. Wow! We were so impressed with our food, and with the whole experience! We were greeted warmly by the folks at the counter, who answered our questions and recommended the daily special of "guisado de res," or beef stew, and these two New Englanders are always down for beef stew!

We claimed one of the 4 or 5 tables, and browsed the Latin goods and groceries in the very cute convenient store while we waited for our food. My mom got a tamarind soda pop for us to share, and when the food arrived, we sat back down. The stew was delicious! It had large chunks of tender beef that were cooked perfectly and pulled right apart with just a fork, no knife needed. The sauce was flavorful, and savory, though very mild in terms of the heat. It was not much different than my Canadian grandmother's beef stew, and both my mom and I loved it! Super high recommends for Tienda El Quetzal! I'm looking forward to going back, trying more of the menu, and picking up some Latin groceries to bring home.

BLACK MOUNTAIN - Dawn and I took a little drive out to the Town of Black Mountain not long ago, and before anything else, we stopped into a new cafe / bakery called Recess Coffee, where we got coffee, a cookie, and a very unique and delicious little miniature quiche.

It had a wonderful, buttery, layered crust, and was very hearty and satisfying! Recommend.

After our brief stop for breakfast at Recess, we went to Catawba Falls in Old Fort for a walk up the trail and back, and then we returned to the Town of Black Mountain and paid a visit to the new Hell or High Water Restaurant, which is part of the Foothills Local Meats complex, where we heard that one of our favorite people, Chef Eric Morris is the executive chef! We didn't see Chef Eric, but we enjoyed a few dishes from his menu! We stared with the Stone Fruit Salad w/ romaine, tarragon, almonds, ricotta and of course stone fruit. It was cool, crunchy, tasty and refreshing after a hot day of walking. We also got the Low Country Mussels which were just as described, with new potatoes, corn, and bay seasoning, along with the mussels in a very nice broth and a side of bread. We rounded out our visit with an order of the Tortellini with ricotta and sausage, tomato, and anise hyssop, again in a very nice broth.

I admit that I don't know what some of those ingredients are, but it was great! I wanted to up-end the bowl and pour the broth directly into my mouth when the torts were gone! Everything was delish and we left feeling full and happy, although there's always room for Dairy King on the way out of Black Mountain, so we stopped in and a classic poop-emoji swirl of chocolate soft serve on a cake-cone. Yay! This is one of my favorite towns in WNC, and if I could live there, I probably would! It just keeps getting cooler. ❤️❤️❤️

ASHEVILLE FOOD TOURS: Experience Asheville the way that I do: THROUGH FOOD! Sign up for a food tour with me, and I’ll feed ya some real good stuff.

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