This is a blog of my five-week exploration of culinary experiences in North Carolina. Baaswell Sheep is accompanying me and offering his own commentary on the trip, although he refuses to go into any place that serves lamb chops.
Select/click any image to see it at double (or more) the current size. Select/click on the large image or any part of the darkened area to return to the blog page. Note: Table of contents is now located at the bottom of the page.
You never know what's going to happen when you hit the road. Had another morning of driving a long ways without seeing anything interesting after we left the area we'd been in (Boone), so we pulled into the parking lot of another Subway. Went to the door and opened it, and it was immediately clear that the place was closed for renovations. Would have been nice if they'd maybe put up a sign or two and locked the front door! We spotted a Hardee's down the street and went there. My companion wanted to try the new BBQ Pulled Pork Frisco, but they were out of the pork! So, he settled for a traditional Frisco meal. I do wish he'd consider vegetarian a little more often, but at least he got fed and I nibbled on the french fries.
Sometimes I think my companion is completely loco. He wanted to visit the Catawba Falls a little ways east of Asheville, so we went down to the parking area and found it rather full, but we located a parking space. I bid him farewell as he started up the trail, warning him that the weather didn't look all that good. He made his way up to the lower falls and said that they were a bit crowded with people, so he went up the 580 steps (including navigating three stories of steps in a metal tower) to the upper falls. Just as he got there, the heavens let out once again with a good twenty minutes of heavy rain. I'd have been freaked out, but he said that he was there and there was no way to get anywhere else, so he just enjoyed the views while waiting it out. I guess that is a pretty impressive waterfall, and that's just the upper one. His pictures (below) of some of the lower sections are pretty nice, too. He then took the ridge trail back down, and says there were some nice mountain views along the way. He was still rather damp when he got back to the car, and I didn't want to let him in, but, well, he has a way of winning out with these kinds of disagreements.
Okay, I'm stretching this one a little bit, but what choice do I have when my companion buys dinner at a grocery store. But, we had a suite room for the night, and he didn't want to fool with going out for dinner. And, Ingles is a North Carolina grocery chain, based in Black Mountain, which is just east of Asheville (we actually went through the town on the way to Asheville from Catawba Falls). What you see is a chicken tikka masala with vegetarian based chicken, plus green beans, fruit cocktail, a roll, and lemonade. Honestly, it's a better meal than a number of our lesser restaurant finds, and I understand his wanting to wind down early when he has to be at an IT conference early tomorrow.
Please note that all restaurant and product names are used simply for referential purposes and links provided as a courtesy. Reviews are the sole opinions of the reviewer: no restaurant has paid to be listed here, and no restaurant is being explicitly endorsed. In other words, go out there, try them all, and form your own opinions!
You never know what's going to happen when you hit the road. Had another morning of driving a long ways without seeing anything interesting after we left the area we'd been in (Boone), so we pulled into the parking lot of another Subway. Went to the door and opened it, and it was immediately clear that the place was closed for renovations. Would have been nice if they'd maybe put up a sign or two and locked the front door! We spotted a Hardee's down the street and went there. My companion wanted to try the new BBQ Pulled Pork Frisco, but they were out of the pork! So, he settled for a traditional Frisco meal. I do wish he'd consider vegetarian a little more often, but at least he got fed and I nibbled on the french fries.
