Food Highlights: Asheville, NC [Breakfasts]

Remember when I went to Asheville, NC last March? Well last Friday, my friend Sarah and I embarked on a long weekend "vacation" to that exact mountain town. The last time I was there, Boyfriend and I spent only a few hours exploring the area and I was eager to return for more!

I'm sure no one is surprised to hear that the majority of our trip planning involved food. Sarah and I both love food and have very similar tastes. We will eat any and every thing that peaks our interest; and it's pretty typical of us to order an entree for ourselves and one to share (best strategy ever). In January, I started researching and forming a list of restaurants, which we ultimately had to narrow down.

It only seems appropriate for me to start off by talking about breakfast, as it's the first meal of the day. For being on vacation, I found that my breakfast choices were surprisingly well balanced. In a city that loves local, it was difficult not to be tempted by their local produce and products like cheese, sausage, and breads.

Over Easy Cafe (32 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801)

Our first breakfast of the trip was Saturday morning at Over Easy Cafe. With it being vacation, we allowed ourselves to sleep in and didn't get to the restaurant until around 10:00AM. It was a mistake that you should try to avoid at all costs. We were told it'd be close to an hour wait, but decided to suck it up and grab some coffee at the bar, like the hostess suggested. An hour and a half later, we were seated.

First up, we decided to split and try their freshly squeezed hydration juice of carrots, greens, apple, and celery. I thought it was delicious! It was slightly sweet, with an earthy finish.

I had the "hash bowl", which came highly recommended by our server: Mixed red, gold and sweet potatoes, carrots, roasted beets, turnips, broccoli, butternut squash, and sausage topped with smoked gouda and one egg, any style. My style? I felt it was only right to order an over easy egg. Ok, it was actually medium. Although I'm still a bit hesitant in ordering them, I'm fully embracing my eggs anything-but-scrambled. And yes, the meal was as good as it looked--maybe better!



Sarah ordered the truly unique lavender french toast: granola encrusted local challah, drizzled with a vanilla lavender yogurt sauce and maple syrup.

Early Girl Eatery (8 Wall St,  Asheville, NC 28801)

Applying what we learned from Saturday morning's breakfast-turned-lunch experience and wanting to get a head start at Biltmore, we walked up to the Early Girl Eatery 10 minutes before opening. It seems that everyone takes this place's name to heart, because there was already a line formed on the sidewalk. People peacefully glided in once the doors were opened and we walked back into the epitome of a breakfast room: light blue and yellow walls, and one was entirely windows with white curtains and hanging plants. It's hard to believe that any day started here would end poorly.

Sarah ordered banana bread, which I ended up sampling. It came out warm, and was spot-on in texture and flavor.

Funnily enough, we both ended up ordering breakfast bowls: the veggie (me) and the porky (her). 

The veggie breakfast bowl came with black-eyed peas, spinach, scrambled eggs and farmstead cheese smothered in a herb cream gravy---which I shamelessly swapped out for bacon gravy. Sarah's porky breakfast bowl came with home fries, BBQ pulled pork, scrambled eggs, farmstead cheese smothered in bacon gravy.

Also, I ordered a pancake on the side...it wouldn't be the weekend without pancakes. The multigrain pancake was surprisingly light and made even better with the side of pure maple syrup.

Green Sage Cafe & Coffeehouse (5 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801)

On our last morning, we woke up the same way we feel asleep: utterly full. When mapping out our breakfasts, I'd planned on getting pancakes at this cafe; but the only thing my body was close to craving was something familiar. Oatmeal is familiar, although maybe boring to some, so I opted for a cup of their apple sunflower oatmeal (rolled oats, apples, raisins, craisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, honey & spices--almost all which were organic) and a coffee, which came out to an incredibly reasonable $5 and some change. Sarah went a similar route and got the maple walnut granola with yogurt and fruit

Following breakfast on the last day, we packed up and started the drive home. We made a final stop for a quick hike up a mountain not too far off the highway. It was great to get in a bit of exercise and to view the blue ridges surrounding us one last time.

Stay tuned: Next week I'll be covering our dinners & other food adventures!
(Hint: chocolate)