Good morning and happy Monday!

Mondays are easier to handle when you wake up before your alarm clock. Don’t you just love that?!

Ankur is still sleeping, but I’m curled up on the couch (next to Winston), and sipping on my coffee slowwwwwly since I don’t have to leave for work for another two hours.

This past weekend, Ankur and I went to Asheville and ate our way through the entire city. Well, not quite. But we did eat. A lot.

We went back to some of our favorite places, but we also tried some new-to-us restaurants and enjoyed those as well.

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Related Post: Best Places to Eat and Drink in Asheville

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1. White Duck Taco Shop 

Before we even checked in to our AirBnB, we drove straight to this taco place in the River Arts district. Not your typical taco shop. They’ve got so much variety – from kimchi tacos to Jamaican jerk chicken tacos to lamb gyro tacos. We wanted one of each. I eventually decided to go with 1) potato and mushroom, 2) tofu with Thai peanut sauce, 3) lamb + feta gyro. You really can’t go wrong here.

2. Homegrown

We actually stayed behind this establishment the last time we came to Asheville, but never got around to trying it then. We’re so happy we made the drive to this place for dinner on Friday night. Like their name suggests, the ingredients are locally sourced and so, so fresh. The prices are reasonable and the vibe is super casual and so-not-pretentious for such a great restaurant. I ordered the chicken with mushroom gravy, lemon pepper Brussels sprouts, and pomme frites. Ankur ordered an open-faced fried chicken on a biscuit. And we finished the meal off with an apple blueberry crumble. Soul food at its best.

3. Sunny Point Cafe

Ankur and I are both early risers, which works in our favor when it comes to going out for breakfast and brunch. The restaurant opens at 8AM and we were there by 8:30 and didn’t have to wait for a table. They had so many great breakfast options; it was hard to narrow it down. But, eventually, I went with the fall omelette (spinach, goat cheese, and butternut squash) with a side of home fries and a biscuit. Again, soul food at its best. With ingredients from their garden. That was located just outside their restaurant. The coffee was good. The hot chocolate was delicious. And their biscuits + homemade jam make me question why I’ve waited 30 years of my life to eat biscuits.

4. Trade and Lore Coffee

We came here last time and ordered a latte. Which was good. Not great. And I got the coffee this time. Which was good. Not great. I mostly just enjoyed the ambience of this place. It’s a great place to study/work/read – with both indoor and outdoor seating. Exposed brick. Nice lighting. A stage for live music in the evenings. I’d come back here again. And maybe order a tea.

5. Battery Park Book Exchange

We definitely had to come back to the amazing bookstore in the heart of downtown. The bookstore that sells happiness in more ways than one (e.g. books, coffee, wine, cookies, champagne). Ankur was able to get some studying done in the middle of the day, while I sipped on some black tea, ate one of their vegan cookies, and read my Kindle. Yes, I’m embarrassing. I pulled out a Kindle in the middle of a big, beautiful bookstore. (Not my fault. I was approaching the end of this book and couldn’t pull my attention away to another book).

6. The Gourmet Chip Company

We came here last time we were in Asheville, but it’s one of those lunch places that is pretty unbeatable. Their homemade kettle chips – topped with spices and herbs – are so addicting. We had initially walked around downtown in hopes of trying something new, but this place kept calling our name. And, yes, we did walk out with one of their to-go bags of Cajun chips to bring home. Oops.

6. Curate

This was actually one of the most recommended restaurants. Everyone – whether it be friends suggesting places or the Internet world suggesting places – recommended we try this restaurant. But we were pretty underwhelmed by it. We were trying to figure out why and we think it’s because we don’t really like red meat. So, everything we ordered was vegetarian. And this place is probably pretty well known for their meat selection and dishes. Their wine – on the other hand – was delicious. So it was not a completely failed mission.

7. Biscuit Head

Our last and final stop before heading back home. We tried this place the last time we visited Asheville. (Though, we ate at their other location closer to downtown. This location was much roomier and happier!). Again, we got there early so we didn’t have to wait very long. Ankur ordered one of their new Samoa lattes (the cup was rimmed with cinnamon and toasted coconut. YUM). And I may have had way too much jam. They have a “jam bar” that I didn’t really dive into last time because I had a side of gravy to smother my biscuit in. This time, though, I experimented with the jam and oh-my-gosh. I love jam. The biscuit alone was really good, but mostly, it was just a vehicle for the jam.

Other Things:

We really wanted to go hiking this time, but it was too cold so we mostly stuck around the downtown area. Ankur and I decided to check out the Asheville Salt Caves. Which are not caves at all. Rather, they’re just quiet rooms with Himalayan salt all along the walls and floor. It was an interesting experience. But, probably not worth the $25 (per person) that we paid.

We also spent some time just relaxing in our AirBnB. I watched the first episode of This is Us. And LOVED it. Is the only way to watch it with a Hulu subscription? I think this is going to be my winter hibernation activity.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Question of the Day:

• What would you add to this list?