Fun food in Asheville

Don't you love exploring new cities?

Traveling is great because you get the opportunity to observe different lifestyles, fashions, land formations, and people.

Not to mention the fantastic food you just have to try while traversing the streets.

When Mr. PT and I traveled around Europe last summer, I had a great time sharing our unique eating experiences with readers.  If you missed that entry, see it here!

Well, last Thursday, I hopped in the car to meet up with my mother and 2 sisters in Asheville, NC for a girls only weekend!  We had such a great time seeing the sights and spending time with one another.  

And, oh my goodness, did we eat some fantastic food!  A lot of my pictures did not turn out as well as I had hoped, so I'll give you the cream of the crop.

The first restaurant we checked out was called Bistro 1896.  We sat outside on the front patio and enjoyed people watching and local street performers.  The food was incredibly fresh with delicious flavors and textures.  I was not too hungry, so I ordered an appetizer as a meal.  Thank goodness I did because the Bistro Bruschetta was out of this world!

 Bistro Bruchetta

        Tomato, basil, red onion, fresh mozzarella & Asiago cheeses, balsamic reduction          

My sister enjoyed this delicious dish:

 Chicken Salad Sandwich

Grapes, walnuts and Dill-Havarti cheese with field greens on toasted whole wheat

The next day, the group was hungry for brunch.  The women in my family all have a special place in our hearts (and stomachs) for Latin food.  If it's spicy, cheesy, and tossed with salsa and avocado, bring it on!  

So you can imagine our excitement when we stumbled upon Chorizo!  Everything on their menu sounded so delicious, it was difficult to order just one dish.  However, in my opinion, I ordered the most delicious item on the menu.

Latin Nachos

 chicken, black beans, goat cheese, salsa, avocado, ranchero
sauce, topped with one fried egg

Words cannot describe how delicious this was.  I was convinced with black beans, avocado, and goat cheese in a crispy shell.  But to top it all off with a fried egg??  Brilliant!!

This restaurant was so awesome we decided to return the following night for dinner.  Although I don't have an image, you can picture it...an Anaheim chile pepper stuffed with spinach-goat cheese, served alongside green beans, roasted pepper, olive, eggplant, artichoke, and yucca.

YUM.

We also had a wonderful dinner of tapas at Curate.  Again, no pictures, but if you decide to check it out, I encourage you to dive into the berenjenas la taberna (fried eggplant drizzled with honey and rosemary), escalivada (roasted red pepper, onion, and eggplant drenched in a sherry vinegar dressing served on crusty bread) and pan con tomate (crusty bread with fresh tomato, olive oil, and manchego cheese).

So if you find yourself near Asheville, NC, check out these delicious stops along the way!

Combine with vacation exercise...formal workouts can be difficult when you are exploring new territory in your street clothes.  Instead of feeling the need to run a 5k, squeeze in mini-workouts throughout the day.  Park the car a decent distance from the car, take the stairs instead of the elevator to your hotel room, and haul your shopping bags around with pride!