Greenville Fun

As part of our southern vacation we stopped by Greenville, SC to visit some friends. While there we checked out the Blue Ridge Brewing Company a local brewpub in downtown Greenville. We had a good time sampling the beers.

Later on we met some friends at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria. This place was amazing. Pizza and great craft beer in one place? Yes please!!!

If you are a huge craft beer fan the secret is to go to the upstairs bar to get beers that are not served downstairs. The upstairs was closing soon for a private party but before then I got to sample some awesome beers. I even got to order a pint of the coveted Westbrook Mexican Cake. It was very good. Too bad it is next to impossible to get a bottle of that to take home, especially as a non-local.
The Palmetto beers I tried are highly recommended as well. I will need to visit the Palmetto and Westbrook breweries on a future trip to Charleston.

Later after dinner we went out to see some local music at Smiley’s Acoustic Cafe.

The band that was playing was pretty entertaining and it was a packed crowd. Definitely a fun night. Greenville, SC you may have made me change my opinion of you this trip!

Asheville Breweries Part 2

Before leaving Asheville we made a couple more stops to try some more brews. First we went back to Wicked Weed brewery to get a flight. The downstairs tasting room was not open yet so we only got to choose from the selection we could get at the bar upstairs. I got to try a wide variety of their beers.

Brazil Caipirinha Ale

I took back a growler of one of the session beers.

Lastly we stopped off at Lexington Avenue Brewery (LAB). Again we found out that Jude Law had also visited this place a day or so earlier. Such a shame we kept missing him. It was a nice establishment with good mood lighting. In the evenings you can see musical acts here.

We walked around a bit to get one last look at this great city that we got to enjoy for a few days. It has been a great trip. We have added Asheville, NC to our must return list.
See you soon Asheville…

Asheville Breweries Part 1

Cider from Noble Cider

After we arrived in Asheville our friends took us straight downtown to start experiencing the wonderfulness of Asheville. We started by getting a brew from the tasting room of Wicked Weed. The world cup was on so we got to watch a match while trying some great beers.

Soon the kids were hungry so we decided to get some pizza from Asheville Brewing Company. It is a great place to take the kiddos. The outdoor area comes equipped with lots of activities to keep the little ones occupied while you are trying to eat and sip your beer. The boys I visited with had fun playing there.
Look at this guy. Isn’t he adorable!

Then we went back a couple days later to check out the breweries in Asheville’s South Slope district. There we started with a visit to Green Man Brewery.

Our visit once again coincided with the world cup. We got to watch soccer while we sipped beers.

I really liked Green Man’s selections but my favorite was the ESB. It was easy to drink and full of flavor. We brought home a 6 pack of 2 ESB, 2 IPAs and 2 Porters. I really wish we would have brought home some more ESB.

It was a fun place to hangout in a warehouse type building.

After Green Man we walked over to one of the newer breweries in town Twin Leaf Brewery.

We tried a number of their regular offerings and seasonal beers. A standout was the Luminosity.

The tasting room has adopted the rustic look that is very popular now with tasting rooms and farm to table restaurants. It was very welcoming as was the friendly beer-tender. The only complaint is it got quite warm inside. They tried to offset it a bit with fans. Should be very comfortable to visit in cooler months. We were told there plans to open it up a bit to let more of a cross breeze in. Even as is I would visit again. I liked it there.

Because we were old it was time to go. Luckily we had one more day in the city to try a couple more breweries.

Beyond BBQ – Midtown Memphis

Upon my last visit to Memphis I stayed a bit closer to mid town. This opened me up to many more dining out possibilities. I spent two nights exploring this area a bit.

The first night I settled on eating at Chiwawa upon recommendation of a friend. Chiwawa specializes in American and Mexican street food.

The evening was nice so I settled on a table on the outdoor patio.

I decided to start with a local beer.

They had a 3 taco special that night. I settled on the delicious taco del sol, flavorful carne asada, and the not so exciting aftershroom delight. The shroom taco could have used something more…not sure what.

A couple of nights later I decided to head back down to another part of midtown. On the way I came across this used records store. It caught my eye because it shares a name with one of my favorite terrible movies (and also mentioned in a great Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem).

I found parking spot in the Cooper-Young neighborhood and walked around.
The first thing that greeted me was this cool decor of an overpass.

This area has nice bike lanes and racks.

On the way to dinner I passed by the interesting House of Mews. The House of Mews is a sanctuary that houses cats until they can find a permanent home. There are mucho kitties in this place.

Upon recommendation from a friend I decided to eat dinner at Sweet Grass. Sweet Grass is a southern bistro with a farm to table flare. There were many local ingredients on the menu. Next door is their sister restaurant called Next Door that provides a more casual dining experience. I chose to eat at the more formal restaurant.

I was dining alone and given a table in the front of the restaurant looking outside to the street. I thought that was nice of them to give me something to look at while dining.

The restaurant itself is tastefully decorated with nice wooden tables.

Starting off they brought some warm corn bread and butter. I am not normally a cornbread fan but this cornbread was amazing. It was soft and flavorful and heaven with the butter. I couldn’t stop eating it (It made me too full to try a dessert later).

I started off by ordering their special drink Green Fork ($1 of each goes to charity). It was good but not my cup of tea. I am not a huge midori fan.

For the main dish I settled on the medium plate chuck roast over the mushroom barley risotto. The meat easily fell apart and was full of great flavor. I really like what the risotto added to the dish. There was just the right amount of savory gravy.

As a side dish I was intrigued by the butternut squash goat cheese flan. It arrived on its own plate with a look of a lumpy yellowish flan. It was a good choice, The flavors were amazing.

I wish I would have saved room for a dessert but I was full. I walked around the area a bit more after dinner and noticed many more places to dine and drink at. If I end up in Memphis again I will definitely return.

Asheville River Arts District

During a recent road trip to visit an old friend she suggested we spend a day doing the Asheville River Arts District studio stroll one Sunday.

The river arts district is an old industrial area of Asheville near the French Broad River that was re purposed into studios for local artisans. Every second Saturday the artisans open up their studios for guests to come in and watch them work. We attended during a twice a year event that opens the studios all weekend.