South Slope brunch, Blue Ridge dining, Cherokee foodways
ASHEVILLE – A South Slope restaurant introduces new weekend dining options. An Asheville chef hits the road for a premier dining experience. A spring series launches exploring food traditions with cooking demonstrations.
Shaking it up with a ‘boozey’ brunch
Holeman and Finch is now serving weekend brunch with Appalachian-inspired dishes and traditional cocktails.
The brunch menu is available from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, showcasing more of the restaurant’s whole-animal and vegetable cookery.
Holeman and Finch, opened by chef Linton and Gina Hopkins, is at 77 Biltmore Ave. on the South Slope.
Diners can get their share of light and hearty, sweet and savory fare.
The Appalachian Breakfast is a reinterpretation of the classic English dish. It come with two eggs, country ham steak, liver sausage, regional beans, seasonal tomato and country hearth toast.
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The frittata is made with crisp beef fat potato, confit duck, farmhouse cheddar and scallions.
The buttermilk griddle cakes are pancakes described as studded with local French Broad milk chocolate chips and apple and chess pie with grated cheddar and house clabber.
The popular H+F Cheeseburger and french fries, plus several desserts, coffee and teas and more make up the dining menu. The brunch bar menu offers nonalcoholic and spirited beverages, including beer, cider, wine, cocktails and “boozey shakes.”
Holeman and Finch is putting more power in the hands of guests with the addition of a “build-your-own Bloody Mary card.” Imbibers begin by choosing a base spirit, then the broth/stock, and on to the citrus, rims and sauces. Garnish options range from classic celery to Hopkins’ signature “crunchy gentleman” sandwich.
View the full menu at holeman-finch-avl.com.
Dining under the stars
Fine dining is getting a change of scenery that will give diners plenty to photograph beyond their plates.
Skyline Lodge and Oak Steakhouse is bringing back its annual “Under the Stars, On the Rocks” guest chef dinner series.
Asheville Proper’s Owen McGlynn will be the featured chef March 22 preparing a seated al fresco dining experience. The menu is a collaborative effort of McGlynn and Jeremiah Bacon and Anne White of Oak Steakhouse.
The dinner will begin at 6 p.m. on Skyline’s outdoor pavilion, providing a backdrop of the sun setting across the Blue Ridge Mountains. The cost is $150 per diner, which includes four courses consisting of regional ingredients cooked on an open flame. Tax and gratuity are not included.
Reservations are required and can be made at OpenTable. Skyline is at 470 Skyline Lodge Road in Highlands.
Food with roots
Go back to the origin of food and gain a new appreciation in a new series exploring food sovereignty.
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is hosting a spring lecture series from March through May with virtual and in-person events on the schedule.
The guest lineup features Cherokee innovators, advocates and “culture keepers dedicated to preserving Indigenous foodways and plant gathering traditions.”
On March 22, Nico Albert, owner and executive chef of Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods, will host a live presentation. The Cherokee Nation chef will travel from Tulsa, Oklahoma to discuss food sovereignty and host a food demonstration of several dishes for the audience. The event will begin at 2 p.m. at Bird Town Community Center in Cherokee. Or catch the virtual screening of the lecture and Q&A session with MCI staff at 6 p.m. March 28 on MCI’s YouTube.
On April 20, MCI will present a virtual lecture with Q&A about on the subject of “Corn: A Look at Traditional Foodways & Cherokee Identity.” The screen will air at 6 p.m. on YouTube.
On May 18, tune in for a virtual experience on “The Seeds We Bear: The Ties Between Food, Identity & Motherhood.”
For more details on the sessions and speakers, visit mci.org/learn/programming.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
