Asheville, NC

Rhythm is either something you have or don’t have, but when you have it, you have it all over.—Elvis Presley

This quote summed up my favorite twenty minutes in Asheville, North Carolina.

Asheville is a beautiful, artsy small city in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. It is known as the location of the Biltmore Estate and art and craft beer. The surrounding beauty of the mountains make Asheville a wonderful place for a short or long visit in any season.

We visited Asheville near Christmas time years ago and toured the Biltmore Estate with its magnificent decorations. We recently visited Asheville in summer and decided not to tour the Biltmore again, but did go to Antler Hill Village, the home of the Biltmore Winery. If you have never been to the Biltmore Estate, it is worth the time and the $70 admission fee.

The city of Asheville is a lively city. There is music on the corners, there are people in the many good restaurants and in the squares. There is art.

On Fridays, you can bring your favorite type of drum and join the Friday night drum circle, that is open to all drummers. There are bongos, congas, timbales, djembes, cajons, tambourines, whistles, and any other thing you could beat on. This was my favorite twenty minutes I spent in Asheville. No, I did not have a drum, however I considered bringing it on my trip but just didn’t want to pack my djembe. I regret that decision now. The drum circle is crowded, raucous, and surprisingly together in rhythm. There are people dancing, which is quite entertaining. And there is a big crowd gathered. Don’t worry about trying to find the drum circle on Fridays, you will hear it. Just go where the crowd is and get lost in the rhythm. Don’t worry there will be others that will draw more attention than you.

I love the drive into Asheville on RTE 23/I-26 as you can see the Blue Ridge Mountains surrounding the city.

We were in Asheville less than 24 hours, so this is not a comprehensive list by any means of things to do. I will show you where we ate and visited.

We began by going out to the Biltmore to meet some old friends at Antler Hill Village after they toured the estate house and grounds. The drive to the village is beautiful.

The Biltmore’s Antler Hill Village has a few restaurants and shops and the Biltmore Winery. We ate barbecue at the Smokehouse. This was good barbecue, my wife had pulled pork and I had pulled chicken with the sauce. The sides were good but not memorable.

After checking into our hotel at Hilton Homewood Suites, which was very nice and comfortable and convenient to downtown Asheville, we rested for an hour or so. Then we headed into downtown.

We had our evening meal at Rhubarb. Our appetizer of assorted pickled vegetables were very tasty. My wife and I had the chef’s specialty of grilled Ashley Farms half-chicken with vegetables. This was good food, not outstanding since it was chicken and vegetables but very tasty nonetheless.

Open kitchen at Rhubarb.

Grilled chicken with veggies at Rhubarb.

We had our dessert at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. I highly recommend this.

3D wall mural in Asheville.

Local street musicians.

The lively Friday night drum circle is a must.

We ate breakfast the following day at Tupelo Honey. This is a really good choice to eat breakfast.

No matter what you order, make sure to get some potato cracklins.

My wife had the Old Skool breakfast bowl.

I had the Eggs Betty, a take-off on eggs Benedict.

I grabbed some coffee to go at High Five Coffee.This is a fun coffee bar. It was the last good purchase in Asheville as we headed to the beach.

For those of us who live in the eastern and southeastern United States, Asheville is a wonderful place for a weekend trip. For those of you in other parts of the globe, if you are in the area, I recommend a visit to Asheville located in a beautiful area of the US.

Blaze BBQ and Wings… Fannin’s Market

Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start—Anthony Bourdain

I love good barbecue.

In the past few years I have associated good barbecue with going on vacation. I would seek out the best barbecue joints on the way to the beach or wherever we were going. Sometimes this took a lot of research and extra drive time, much to the exasperation of Mrs. Big Surf.

Now I just have to cross the bridge from West Liberty into Index, for the barbecue gods have looked down on Morgan County, KY with big messy, saucy grins.

Larry Lewis and his wife Julie have opened Blaze BBQ & Wings. This is a small food trailer. They will be set up at Fannin’s Market in Index..The days of operation will be Saturdays. I think the menu may vary from week to week. This past Saturday was the opening of this new venture. There hasn’t been this much buzz about town since the Freezer Fresh reopened after the tornado. Consequently, so many folks came to Index that the food was consumed too quickly. This was a great testament to Larry’s reputation in our small community.

We joined the line on Saturday for a later lunch, hoping the line would not be as long. This strategy back-fired because the wings had already been eaten up. However, those of us in line did get a sample. Larry sent what was left of the wings out into the line for a sample. It was a good gesture on his part. The wing I ate was soooo good. The barbecue sauce was thick and sweet. I can’t wait for the full order next time.

My other strategy was for my wife and I to order meals that came with two meats and two sides. We would each get a pork portion and one of the three choices of wings and we could sample all four sides (this looks like one of those statistical probability problems I had in college). Since the wings were gone, we could not do that, so we split up the sides. She got home fries and regular cole slaw. I got the Cajun slaw and Nannie Mae’s baked beans. All sides were really good, but I highly recommend the Cajun slaw. The pulled pork and pork loin was delicious and the sauce was sweet and tasty.

I am so glad Larry and Julie are starting out on this endeavor, boosting the food presence here in Morgan County. I hope I can eat this wonderful food for many years. My only advice for Larry and Julie is get a bigger trailer to hold more food, they will need it.

Pulled pork, pork tenderloin, Cajun slaw, and Nannie Mae’s baked beans.

Same meats with home fries and regular slaw.

Larry Lewis served up some really good food. As David Letterman use to say, “It was a good kind of tired.”

I mentioned Fannin’s Market earlier. Sarah Fannin has owned and operated Fannin’s vegetable market in Index, Ky since 1995. She has a large vegetable farm and sells the produce in the market, she also sells vegetables from a grower in another county. The produce is always fresh and tasty. And it always looks appealing, which is important for me when I look for produce.

Fannin’s Market has provided a really nice place for folks to settle in and eat or mingle in a beautiful location overlooking the farm.

I stopped growing my own veggies a few years ago. The deer and groundhogs were better fed than me. So I let Sarah grow my vegetables for me. I still grow some herbs and a few banana peppers, for some reason the varmints don’t like them.

We have been fortunate to have Fannin’s Market for a number of years. So before you get in line for some good barbecue, stock up on veggies, fruits, and melons at Fannin’s Market.

Always great produce at Fannin’s Market.

Nicely decorated gathering area at Fannin’s, for eating or just good conversation.

Cozy tables overlooking the farm.

Istanbul…Heybeliada Island

I feel we are all islands in a common sea—Anne Morrow Lindbergh

If you are in Istanbul and want to take a break from the sightseeing and want to relax, then hop on a ferry and head over to Heybeliada Island. This is one of the Prince Islands, the second largest one in fact. It sits off the coast of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara,about a thirty minute ferry ride away.

Heybeliada Island is a wonderful place to meander through the streets at your leisure. There are no cars, except for service vehicles. The late afternoon sun gave us wonderful lighting to explore this island of wooden houses and store buildings, many built during the late nineteenth century.

I was drawn to a bygone time as I walked the hilly streets and thought of all the families that summered there away from the big city. I thought about how much I have in common with these folks that desire to live on this island, where the cares of life seem far away. The feel is definitely more relaxed here on Heybeliada Island and worth a day away from the city.