During our time in Asheville, we managed to visit several great restaurants and bars. Of course, the best part was learning about the manmosa 🙂 and tasting terrific food such as the deer sausage and short rib.

This review of the bars and restaurants we frequented in Asheville is a part of the Blue Ridge Excursion. For more information on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

Hotel: Fairfield Inn & Suites Tunnel Road, Asheville, North Carolina

Hiking on the Appalachian Trail

Food and Drinks in Asheville (This Article)

Conclusion

Wicked Weed Funkatorium:

Wicked Weed is one of the most famous breweries in the Southeast. The Funkatorium is a giant space in Asheville that focuses on their sour beers. Additionally, they serve food and allow for purchasing of special barrel aged sours as well. In short, heaven for a sour fan like me!

We had a great time. The food was solid (we mostly nibbled on appetizers before dinner) and the beers were spectacular. As you can see in the picture, we had brussels sprouts and split two flights of beers. While it appears the menu changes, the beers seem to have stayed the same. We had the barrel-aged sour flight and limited release flight. Both were excellent, though the White Angel varieties were the highlights.

If you’re in Asheville and are a beer fan (especially sours), I cannot recommend visiting the Funkatorium enough!

The Admiral:

The Admiral is one of the most highly regarded restaurants in Asheville. The food was excellent though the service was a bit lacking from a quality restaurant. We were at a corner table, which with only a couple of other tables, should have meant efficient and friendly service. Instead, food was brought inconsistently and we waited for a while before receiving the check. The menu is constantly rotating but this is the current menu.

The menu has since changed but we started with a couple of appetizers– a fresh fish and vegetable mélange and a beef tartare board.

The tartare was a hit. The rest of the board was fresh and tasted great, particularly the mustard, but the tartare was the main attraction.

The first of two main courses was a delicious short rib. This was one of the best parts of the meal, though not the absolute best (as you’ll see soon!). The sear was crispy but the meat was still juicy. I’m a sucker for short rib and this certainly lived up to expectations and then some!

Finally, the magnum opus: deer sausage. While not the most unusual entrée, it’s one that you should order when you see it! We did and certainly were not disappointed. What a way to end the meal!

Sawhorse:

For brunch on Sunday, we visited Sawhorse. This is an old-fashioned diner type of restaurant and was quite crowded when we arrived. After waiting for about 20 minutes to be seated, we looked at the menu and I learned of the glorious manmosa! For the uninitiated, that is a mimosa with beer instead of champagne (or often an even worse cheap prosecco). Unfortunately, Sawhorse is now closed, so you’ll have to take my word for it. 🙁

I opted for a wonderful meat pie with eggs, potatoes, and a salad. The pie was delicious, though the eggs and potatoes were less stellar. Good thing the meat pie and to less of an extent greens were more than enough to make up for it!

And besides, the manmosa was the best part of the entire trip! Who says you can’t learn anything from visiting a restaurant?

Summary:

The food and drink portion of our Asheville trip might look a bit different from the other trip reports as our meals were truly family style. The highlights were definitely the deer sausage at The Admiral and learning about the beauty of the manmosa at the Sawhorse. Next up a recap of the trip in Asheville!

Evan