Asheville Travel Diaries - COFFEE AND DENIM

Well it’s home sweet home for me and I am already missing Asheville! Florida welcomed me as soon as I got off the plane with a huge hit of good ‘ol humidity to the face. I am ready to get back to my normal routine and hopefully work on losing this 10 lbs I gained from all the amazing food (totally worth it!). If you have not been to Asheville, I highly recommend you put it on your list! It’s an amazing getaway that can fit into a long weekend. We did 5 days and it was more than enough time to do everything we planned.

WHERE WE STAYED

Renaissance Asheville Hotel: This hotel was located right in the downtown area and was truly a perfect location! It was walking distance to a ton of highly rated restaurants, bars, and shops. The aesthetic in the hotel was a mix of cozy+chic, a perfect combo that made it feel like your home away from home. The hotel also had its own restaurant and bar with food that’s open pretty late. We may or may not have ordered a mountain of tots covered with cheese at 12am, again, totally worth it. The patio area was also really nice so you can have some time outside with a drink in hand after a long day of hiking!

WHERE WE ATE

Biscuit Head: This was by far my FAVORITE brunch spot of the trip. They have two locations in Asheville and we went to the one by the Biltmore. It has a southern style menu with everything you can imagine on a biscuit. It is hands down worth the wait and the line moves quickly. They have a selection of homemade gravies and jams that were amazing. I opted for the dish called “The Asheville Benedict” and would highly recommend it.

Tupelo Honey: Also, a southern food restaurant. They rotate their menus based off of the season.

High Five Coffee : Quick, easy spot to grab coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Not to mention they make pretty lattes!

Sunny Point Cafe: Make sure to get there SUPER early to do breakfast. There is always a wait for at least an hour, so if you get there when they open (8am) you stand a better chance at not having to wait in line too long. **The long wait could have been because we went in the summer, but just wanted to share our experience incase you want to check it out.

Packs Tavern: We ate here for dinner on the first night and it was delicious! It’s has a mix of Southern/American style food with a great atmosphere. They also have live music from Thursday night-Sunday night. For an appetizer, we ordered the Tavern Pretzels with Beer Cheese and the Shrimp and Grits.

Nine Mile: This was a Caribbean inspired restaurant and it was AMAZING. One of my favorite spots we ate for sure.

Mamacitas Mexican Grill: This place was more or less like a high-end Chipotle/Moes. You can build your own bowl, tacos and burritos. It had a casual vibe and was in between some good breweries!

Modesto Wood Fire Kitchen: This was more upscale dining that offered Italian style dishes. They also have a seasonal menu that rotates.

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant Asheville: This place had really good Sushi! There is also hibachi and other entrees on the menu as well.

Biscuit Head (my FAVORITE meal):

Packs Tavern Appetizer:

Nine Mile:

THINGS TO DO

Biltmore Estate: We spent almost a whole day here! I would recommend buying admission tickets ahead of time and printing them out so you don’t have to wait in line. When you buy the admission ticket you pick a time you want to do the tour of the Biltmore house and you cannot do the tour until your tour time. We used the time in-between to check out the gardens. The house tour in total took us about an hour and a half. It is a self-guided tour unless you buy/add on the other packages. I would recommend if you are better with a tour guide (and don’t want to spend a lot of $$), buying the audio to be able to listen along to learn about each part of the house. It was about $13. My husband just read through the booklet they gave for free that also guided him through the house, so that’s an option as well. Also, fun tip, there are no bathrooms in the Biltmore so make sure you use the restroom before you go in for your tour – or you’ll have to go back outside and through the security line again like I did. The admission tickets also include a free tasting at the winery, which was fun! It was nice because when we went next store to their Wine Bar, we already knew what we liked. They also had some great cheese and cracker / charcuterie plates for a snack.

Asheville Pinball Museum: This was SO MUCH FUN! If you want to feel like you’re 12 again, I highly recommend going there. It’s basically an all-you-can-play arcade featuring 75+ pinball machines & classic video games, with a bar! You do not need tokens or quarters and it’s $15 on the weekend for all day. We went in the summer which is known to be more crowded, so we were put on the waiting list and just walked around downtown until they called us.

Hiking: We hiked some trails in the Pisgah National Forest . There are several trails located in the forest so make sure to do your research on which one you want to do depending on how long or hard they are (click the link above to see more info on each trail). We did Mt Pisgah (2.3 miles round trip) which had a breathtaking view at the end! We also did the Craggy Gardens and Craggy Pinnacle Trail. The Craggy Pinnacle trail is a short mile hike (.9 miles round trip) that offers amazing panoramic 360-degree views! Skinny Dip Falls was another place we stopped on the way back from one of the hikes. It’s a short hike through a tranquil forest that leads to a waterfall. Definitely bring your bathing suits! It’s super cold water but really refreshing after a long day of hiking.

Shopping: Grove Arcade: It’s an indoor mall style with local shops and restaurants. Mast General Store: This place is stocked with so many random things (toys, home goods, food items, etc). We bought a cute Asheville coffee mug and my husband bought polarized glasses for $35. Definitely recommend stopping in!

Brewery Tours: We did the New Belgium Brewery Tour which is free! You just have to sign up online ahead of time to reserve your spot. The tour was about 90 minutes long and included tastings of 3 different beers. You can spend a lot of time here and they have a bunch of games that you can play both inside and outside of the brewery.
Other Breweries to go to: Wicked Weed, Highland Brewing Company, Bhramari Brewhouse, and Asheville Brewing Company.

Asheville Pinball Museum: