Thursday, September 13, 2012

TAP: The Asheville Public september 8, 2012

I initially tried The Asheville Public right after it was re-christened from the Silver Dollar. I believe because of the previous status as a greasy spoon diner, and my general expectations of a good breakfast at such an establishment, my judgement of The Asheville Public may have been prejudicial. I did not enjoy my first experience there and had put off going back, even though I think everyone deserves a second chance.

Thankfully that second chance arrived as a gift. My wife, having never used her Groupon account received a free $15 to spend on a certificate and due to the timing and expiration of that free $15 certificate, The Asheville Public was the only thing available. We lucked out and had $30 to spend on dinner at no out of pocket expense and this gave us an opportunity to try The Asheville Public again.

We opted to have dinner this time around and am I ever happy we did. The beer selection at The Asheville Public is great, with many locals and craft brews available. I ordered a Ninja Porter and perused the menu. My wife is a former pastry chef and she noted that they had strawberry shortcake on the dessert menu. With this in mind, I opted to try and order something less expensive and leave money and room for dessert. I got a plate of something called Boerewors, which is a South African sausage over mashed potatoes with gravy and red bell pepper. My wife had a butternut squash ravioli with pecans and a burned butter sauce. Neither one of us was disappointed. This meal was superb.

When the strawberry shortcake arrived, it was also quite delectable. It was an old style shortbread with a homemade strawberry compote and whipped cream. It really hit the spot and we wound up getting out of there for the $4 I spent on beer only. I'm not suggesting anyone else could get a meal that cheap there, but 2 people eating for under $30 wouldn't be unheard of and the food was great. I'll definitely be going back again, although I may leave this as a lunch and dinner restaurant and find somewhere else for breakfast as I still am leery of that meal being great at this venue.

***1/2 3.5 asterisks

TAP: The Asheville Public
175 Clingman Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 505-1720

TAP: The Asheville Public on Urbanspoon

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Back from hiatus!

Hi people. I've not blogged about food in a while, although I've certainly been eating some. I need to catch up and shout out about some of my favorite places around town to grab a bite. I did update the sister site - Bill's Asheville Tavern & Pub Review today, so check that out if you like bar food.

I'll post more on here in the next week. Sorry for being away so long.