The Gastro Obscura Guide to Asheville Area Eats: A food and drink mecca awaits you in North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains. - Gastro Obscura

A food and drink mecca awaits you in North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains.
The Gastro Obscura Guide to Asheville Area Eats

Sponsored by

Asheville might be the best food city you haven’t visited. This mountain town in Western North Carolina has long been a destination for foodies–a self-proclaimed Foodtopia®–and beer lovers: thanks to the region’s rich culinary history, and the town’s quirky, creative soul, it has become a hotbed of culinary experimentation, top-notch microbreweries, and community-focused, farm-to-table food. Even better – it comes with a breathtaking mountain backdrop. Here are 10 places to explore some of the best food and drink in the region.

Explore
Alan Muskat hosts foraging tours in the woods near Asheville. Courtesy of Alan Muskat
DIRT DON’T HURT

1. No Taste Like Home Foraging Tours

The mountains and woods surrounding Asheville are brimming with plant life, much of which is edible. The land is ripe for foraging, which has a rich history here. The best way to experience local comestible plants is with No Taste Like Home, an organization that has been hosting foraging tours for over 20 years in the area. On a three-hour walk through local woods and meadows (available year-round) you’ll discover and sample wild fruit, nuts, greens, and mushrooms. Tours take place at one of several locations 5 to 45 minutes from downtown, and meet on-site; pre-registration is required. Tours also include an appetizer made from your day’s haul at a local restaurant: you might find yourself eating wild mushroom pizza, daylily tamales, or wisteria ice cream at one of Asheville’s renowned eateries. 

Asheville, NC

At Eda Rhyne, old distilling styles happen thanks to beautifully modern equipment. Courtesy of Eda Rhyne Distillery
WILD WHISKEY

2. Eda Rhyne Distillery

Co-owners Chris Bower and Rett Murphy are honoring the legacy of Appalachian bootleggers and herbalists by making spirits from local plants. While most people know of the area’s moonshining history, it’s a less commonly known fact that house-made spirits in Appalachia were also used for medicinal purposes, a tradition loosely passed down to Bower through his family. A visit to the distillery will have you tasting amari – herbaceous Italian-style after-dinner digestifs – each with its own Appalachian spin. Their Nocino, for example, uses local black walnuts, while the Amaro Flora mixes local bark with wildflowers. Pick up a few bottles to bring home and remember that crisp mountain air.

101 Fairview Rd Suite A, Asheville, NC 28803

Pick up some vintage threads, grab a beer, and if you’re brave enough – get hitched. Courtesy of Explore Asheville
ONE-STOP SHOP

3. Fleetwood’s

This local establishment’s windows have reworked the old adage of “Eat, drink, and be merry.” A painted banner, lit up by neon, reads: “Shop. Drink. Get Married.” Fleetwood’s is a ”Rock n Roll Wedding Chapel,” where you can get married on a lark, Vegas-style. It’s also a vintage shop – perfect for sourcing a last-minute wedding outfit – and a bar, where you can celebrate your nuptials or gain some liquid courage. Even if you’re not aiming to get hitched, Fleetwood’s is a must-visit in Asheville for its unique character that reflects the town’s lovable quirks and creativity. 

496 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806

A locally raised, locally butchered, locally cooked burger. Courtesy of Explore Asheville
MEET YOUR MEAT

4. Foothills Butcher Bar

Local food is big in Asheville. And since North Carolina is home to some of the country’s greatest barbecue pork, that includes local meats. At Foothills Butcher Bar in Black Mountain, you can grab burgers, poutine, and chili cheese fries, all made with locally sourced meat that Foothills’ network of family farms raises, and which Foothills employees butcher themselves. The operation began as a farmers market stand, and has expanded to a restaurant, a deli, and two food trucks. Here in Black Mountain, even the french fries are cooked in beef tallow – and yes, there’s local beer on tap.

120 Broadway Ave, Black Mountain, NC 28711

At Stoney Knob Café, the lampshades are as exciting as the menu. Sabrina Hill Photography
GET QUIRKY

5. Stoney Knob Café

This beloved community fixture in Weaverville, just a 15-minute drive from Asheville, has been open for over 60 years, a family effort from the beginning. Gus Dermas, a Greek emigrant who served in Korea before settling in North Carolina, opened the café as a come-one-come-all sort of place with his wife, Ismini, in 1960. Today their sons, John and Yotty, run the place. The menu is wide-ranging and internationally focused: a big group meal here might include a greek salad, a Cuban sandwich, a Jamaican shrimp wrap, and a Sichuan salmon stir-fry. It’s all served up in a dining room unlike any other: fuschia velvet-upholstered chairs line the diner bar, eclectic art lines the walls, and pink chandeliers hang from the ceilings. This is sure to be a meal you’ll never forget.

337 Merrimon Ave, Weaverville, NC 28787

The sunny interior—and many taps—of 7 Clans Brewing. Photo by Sabrina Hill / Good Grit Magazine
LAGERS FROM THE LAND

6. 7 Clans Brewing

Asheville is teeming with taprooms: it’s a city with a thriving craft beer scene. One of the breweries in town is 7 Clans Brewing, which is a majority woman indigenous-owned business, represented by members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. President Morgan Owle-Crisp and VP Collette Coggins began this brewery as a way to continue the longstanding tradition of First Peoples – often women – creating fermented beverages. At their taproom, you can sample beers like their signature Blond Ale, IPA, and Chestnut Brown, plus a rotating selection of beers, many of which use seasonal produce like strawberries and persimmons. On weekends, each day features a different local food truck, so you can sustain yourself through your beer tasting.

66 Sweeten Creek Rd, Asheville, NC 28803

The perfect place to sit in the sun and start your day. Courtesy of Explore Asheville
COMMUNITY CAFFEINE

7. Grind

This is a coffee shop, yes, but Grind is also a community space dedicated to supporting individuals and small businesses in the city. This Black-owned shop was recently voted one best in the state, and offers top-notch organic coffee and espresso drinks, with a handful of seasonal specials. Grab a pastry and enjoy the scene at a picnic table out front. Grind also offers a coworking and event space for locals, which has made it something of a community fixture.

346 Depot St, Asheville, NC 28801

The coconut macaroon brownies are, in a word, life-changing. Courtesy of French Broad Chocolate Lounge
BEAN TO BROWNIE

8. French Broad Chocolate Factory

Owners Dan Rattigan and Jael Skeffington have been making bean-to-bar chocolate for over 20 years, a journey that began in Costa Rica and has evolved in Asheville. Their shop downtown sells some of the best chocolates you’ll find anywhere: from sea salt caramel, to single-origin chocolate bars, to impossibly rich brownies. At their factory on Riverside Drive, you can take a tour of their impressive operation, where you’ll learn about cacao farming before learning about how cacao beans become chocolate bars and bon bons. The factory also offers curated tastings of bean to bar chocolate, and chocolate and wine.

821 Riverside Dr #199, Asheville, NC 28801

An heirloom tomato pie with arugula salad at Leo’s. Courtesy of Leo’s House of Thirst
DRINK LIKE A LOCAL

9. Leo’s House of Thirst

Asheville might be a beer town, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find great wine. And at Leo’s, you can find great natural wine – like Croatian Chardonnay, Georgian orange wine, and Lebanese Cinsault – in a backyard garden that feels simply idyllic. The bar is a recent addition to West Asheville, a quieter, more neighborhoody area, away from downtown’s bustling business district. While you sip your Cinsault, you can snack on a rotating food menu, which emphasizes local produce and classic wine pairings in equal measure. Offerings reflect the seasons, like carrot soup with crispy leeks, black lime, and dirty rice threaded with ramps, alongside deviled eggs and roast chicken. On Fridays and Saturdays, Leo’s offers a prix fixe lunch for $29. And if you’re not into wine, never fear: the selection of ciders, craft beer, amari, and nonalcoholic drinks here is just as exciting as the wine list. 

1055 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806

A typically luxurious afternoon of beer, food, and music at Pisgah’s outdoor stage. Sabrina Hill Photography
MUSIC AND MICROBREWS

10. Pisgah Brewing Company

Pisgah Brewing Company is one of the city’s longest-running craft breweries: founder Dave Quinn started the company in 2003, after spending years obsessively home-brewing his own beer. After winning awards for his Pale Ale, he started a small brewery in Black Mountain, which has since become a full-fledged taproom and venue. Now, you can enjoy Pisgah’s signature pale ale accompanied by delicious offerings from a local food truck, all while enjoying live music. From Thursday to Sunday, the Pisgah taproom is open and offers a rotating selection of beers, food trucks, and an impressive lineup of musical acts across two on-site venues. They even offer guest taps, which provide local cider and hard ginger beer for those seeking alternatives. 

2948 US-70, Black Mountain, NC 28711

This post is sponsored by Explore Asheville. Click here to learn more.

Keep Exploring
At Tierra del Sol, the moles are mind-bogglingly complex.

Gastro Obscura’s 10 Essential Places to Eat and Drink in Oaxaca

Oaxaca, the mountainous state in Mexico’s south, is celebrated as the country’s “cradle of diversity.” Home to 16 Indigenous ethnic groups from Mixtecs to Triques to Zapotecs, it also boasts the country’s greatest biodiversity, counting 522 edible herbs, over 30 native agave varieties distilled by some 600 mezcal-producing facilities, 35 landraces (unique cultivars) of corn, and some two-dozen native species of chiles and beans. Oaxaca de Juárez, the state’s colonial capital, is drawing record numbers of visitors these days for its cobblestoned streets and the arty graffiti. But the main draw is Oaxaca’s status as the culinary epicenter of Mexico for its dozens of mole varieties, an encyclopedia of corn masa-based antojitos—memelas, tetelas, totopos, tlayudas, tamales—and a baroque layering of colonial-Spanish and pre-Hispanic Indigenous foodways. Local chefs understand that to be culinary authority here one must be part botanist and part anthropologist—roles which they embrace with great relish. Among the welcome recent developments to the restaurant scene has been the great rise of female chefs, as well as a new interest in cooking from the state’s different regions in addition to the complex colonial flavors of the Valles Centrales surrounding the capital. Whether you’re after unusual moles from the rugged Mixteca region, breads made exclusively from Oaxacan wheat, or a country lunch featuring edible insects, our guide has you covered. From a cult street taco stand to a Michelin-starred chef resurrecting forgotten dishes, here are the culinary highs to hit.

Explore

A Gastro Obscura Guide to Family-Friendly Dining in San Diego

In San Diego, a city on the sea just over the border from the coastal state of Baja California, the freshness of the food leaps off the plate, thanks to chefs who are constantly finding new ways to turn local produce and seafood into something delectable. The city’s history, heritage, and proximity to Mexico—combined with the fresh, simple flavors of California cuisine—create a cross-border culinary identity known as Cali-Baja. It’s not just a fusion, but a lifestyle rooted in variety and simplicity. While San Diego has a long and celebrated tradition of excellent Mexican food—from street tacos to aguachile—that’s just the beginning. The city’s diverse neighborhoods each bring something unique to the table: hand-pulled noodles in Convoy District, beachside burgers in Ocean Beach, artisan pasta in Little Italy, and seafood-forward small plates in La Jolla. The commitment to bold flavor and local ingredients is unmistakable. And thanks to year-round sunshine and a laid-back beach culture, great food is easy to find and even easier to enjoy. This diversity of cuisine, paired with an adventurous, open-hearted spirit, makes America’s Finest City a standout destination for curious eaters and families alike.

Explore
wild horses swim in the waters of Assateague Island National Seashore.

The Explorer’s Guide to Outdoor Wonders In Maryland

With wild horses, a small elk called a “sika,” a massive population of bald eagles, and the once-endangered fox squirrel, the state of Maryland is home to a thrilling variety of wildlife. Across diverse ecosystems like swamps, cliffs, mountains, and sandy beaches, the state springs alive during spring and summer with the sounds of birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles that the state has been careful to protect. Perfect for outdoor enthusiasts, these parks, preserves, and protected areas across Maryland offer visitors a chance to encounter fauna they may have never even known existed.

Explore