Asheville 2019 Archives - Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com http://52.2.50.146/category/trips/asheville-2019/ Travel Blog, Photography, Reviews, Résumé, Music, Food Guides, and More Thu, 31 Aug 2023 19:35:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://isaactchurch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cropped-Site-Icon-2-32x32.jpg Asheville 2019 Archives - Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com http://52.2.50.146/category/trips/asheville-2019/ 32 32 Day 3 – Asheville 2019 https://isaactchurch.com/day-3-asheville-2019/ https://isaactchurch.com/day-3-asheville-2019/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2019 04:59:02 +0000 http://isaactchurch.com/?p=2731 Chestnut, Downtown Asheville, Blue Ridge Butcher Bar, Montreat

The post Day 3 – Asheville 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]>

Our weekend in Asheville and Black Mountain was wonderful. Our cottage was great, save for the fact that it only had two bathrooms a tiny water heater, and often ran out of hot water. Thus, the Snapchat below:

Showering

Our original intention for Sunday morning was to have our own little worship service in our cabin, but unfortunately we all overslept and were in a rush, so we had to settle for a car singalong instead. We left Creekside Cottage shortly before 09:45, and headed to downtown Asheville for our brunch at Chestnut.

Brunch - Chestnut

Chestnut is one of my favorite restaurants not just in Asheville, but in North America. I had been several times, once with Faith on our honeymoon. However, I’d never gotten to experience their brunch before. As expected, it was absolutely wonderful; in my opinion, the best meal we had all weekend. I’ll list our menu selections and Chestnut‘s descriptions below:

  • CJ: Poutine
    • House Cut Fries, Benton’s Bacon Red Eye Gravy, Local Cheese Curds, Sunny Side Egg, Scallions
  • Christina: Avocado Toast
    • Del Vecchios’ Focaccia, Avocado Puree, Bacon, Sliced Heirloom Tomatoes, Eggs
  • Daniel: Eggs Benedict
    • House-Cured Smoked Canadian Bacon, English Muffin, Poached Eggs, Hollandaise Sauce
  • Sarah: Shrimp & Grits
    • SC Adluh Cheddar Grits, Bacon, Cherry Tomatoes, Serrano Peppers, Spinach, Peppercorn Cream Sauce
  • Isaac: Donut (+ Shrimp & Grits!)
    • Served with a Chestnut Glaze and Powdered Sugar 
  • Faith: Eagle Street Chicken and Waffle
    • Southern Fried, F.S. Carbon Waffle, Creamy Sausage Gravy, Chipotle Honey Drizzle
Breakfast at Chestnut - Photo by Sarah
Eggs Benedict
Poutine
Shrimp & Grits
Chicken & Waffles
Donut/Doughnut
Chestnut
Asheville, NC

Excellent food, and has been consistently good every time I’ve been there. Bruch is great, but their lunch and dinner menus are great too.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Downtown Asheville

After breakfast, we explored downtown Asheville for several hours. We started at Diamond Brand Outdoors, headed up to the Mast General Store, and then went in many other shops, including a bookstore, the Chocolate Fetish to grab some truffles, and others.

Chocolate Fetish
Book shopping
Double D's Coffee Bus - Photo by Christina

The Ames and Hinshaws decided they wanted to tour Highland Brewing Company, and there were only four spots left, so Faith and I split off for a while to go to a few stores on Tunnel Road while the other four enjoyed the tour.

Foothill Local Meats

A short time later, we regrouped in downtown Black Mountain, where we decided to seek out a late lunch/early supper at Foothills Local Meats’ Butcher Bar. We got an assortment of cheeseburgers, house-made hot dogs, and fries. In lieu of fries, Faith and I got a mac and cheese skillet to split.

Notice the door handles
Watching a train go by
Chart of beef cuts
Beef cuts ordering guide
Some of the best mac and cheese I've ever had
Blue Ridge Butcher Bar
Blue Ridge Butcher Bar - Foothills Local Meats
Black Mountain, NC

Simple menu, but everywhere is exceptionally well done. They now have a new complex open closer to the heart of downtown, with broader menu offerings.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Montreat

Feeling satisfied after devouring our food, we decided to make one last stop before we wrapped up the weekend: Montreat, NC. Home to Montreat College and one of Ben Long’s frescoes, Montreat is a beautiful place to relax and enjoy the scenery. We walked around the lake for a while and took some group photos, finally remedying the lack of photos of the six of us.

Photo by Daniel
Montreat College
The girls
Lake Susan - Photo by CJ
Our years of marriage
Well, we tried to do a cute photo...
The dam

After wrapping up our photoshoot, we walked up to the Prayer Chapel to view the fresco.

The Chapel
"The Prodigal Son"

Heading Home // Conclusion

Leaving Montreat, we headed back home to impending snows, even colder temperatures, and an awaiting workweek. Welcome to Boone. It was a wonderful, fun, relaxing weekend in Western NC, and I’m sure we will all remember it fondly. We definitely hope to do it again sometime, and even talked about venturing up to Washington, D.C. for a long weekend sometime.

After a quick pitstop in Marion for gas, we made it safely back to Boone around 19:15. Faith and I went to her cousins’ house for dessert, and didn’t make it home until 21:45; thus, the reason this post is delayed.

Things to Come

As you may remember, I mentioned an upcoming surprise…

I’ll post details (via a new blog post) about that in the upcoming weeks. Faith and I are very excited to share our latest plans with you! I’ve been planning this for quite some time, and am almost ready to give you a preview.

Bern, Switzerland
A tiny preview

Goodbyes

Thanks for following along with us this weekend! We hope you enjoyed reading our posts, and will follow along in the future.

From our “Family” to yours,

Isaac & Faith, CJ & Christina, Daniel & Sarah

"Family Dinner"
"Family Dinner"

The post Day 3 – Asheville 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]> https://isaactchurch.com/day-3-asheville-2019/feed/ 5 Day 2 – Asheville 2019 https://isaactchurch.com/day-2-asheville-2019/ https://isaactchurch.com/day-2-asheville-2019/#comments Sun, 27 Jan 2019 03:42:49 +0000 http://isaactchurch.com/?p=2706 Blue Ridge Biscuit Company, Downtown Asheville, Basilica of St. Lawrence, Pinball Museum, Tupelo Honey

The post Day 2 – Asheville 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]>
Creekside Cottage

This morning, we were somewhat ambitious, woke up early, enjoyed some coffee from CJ the brewmaster, and left the cottage around 08:00 to head to Blue Ridge Biscuit Company in Black Mountain for breakfast before heading to Asheville for the day. Everyone got some variety of biscuit, except for Faith, who got a waffle with fruit and cream.

Blue Ridge Biscuit Company

Blue Ridge Biscuit Company
The "Run Chicken Run" biscuit
Blue Ridge Biscuit Company
Mountain Mama - a biscuit with pimento cheese, lettuce, tomato, a grit cake, and a blackberry balsamic reduction
Blue Ridge Biscuit Company
Black Mountain, NC

Always a great stop for breakfast if we’re in the area. Their more creative menu options are great too, in addition to the classics.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Shopping

We left downtown Black Mountain and headed down past the Asheville airport towards Arden to do some shopping at Target/Marshall’s/Ross, and then headed back north to REI in Biltmore Park.

CJ found a new camera at Ross

Lunch - Tupelo Honey

Around 14:15, we headed downtown in search of lunch, and ended up settling on Tupelo Honey, largely because a few of us were famished.

Round 2 of biscuits for the day
The Appalachian Salad - spinach, pumpkin puree, pecans, blueberries, and maple vinaigrette
Fried pickle and pimento cheese burgers
Tupelo Honey
Daniel liked the watermelon radish on his salad

Downtown Asheville

After quite the sustaining and tasty lunch, we walked over to see the Basilica of St. Lawrence.

The Basilica of St. Lawrance

We enjoyed the Basilica’s beautiful architecture for a while, and then took a short walk over to the Asheville Pinball Museum, which sports a rather impressive collection of antique pinball machines and arcade games. Surprisingly, most of the machines in the museum were still functioning.

A few of the many pinball machines in the museum
The inner workings of a pinball machine

Supper

On our way out of downtown, we headed over to Trader Joe’s on Merrimon Avenue. We all got several items to take home with us, and picked up some finger food for a light supper.

Summer sausage, cheddar/gruyere hybrid, and a Swiss cheese
Chopping up supper
Eating by the fire
CJ fell asleep, as usual

Around 20:00, we decided we were sad we hadn’t gotten cheesecake earlier, so CJ and I made a run to the local Ingles (which is the largest grocery store I have ever been in). We picked up a vanilla bean cheesecake and some strawberry topping, brought it back to the cottage, and enjoyed it while playing a variety of games and hanging out for the remainder of the evening.

Cheesecake

Conclusion

A fun fact to close the day: we counted 126 roosters in or on things in this cottage. The owner might have a bit of an obsession; however, it is very well decorated.

That’s all for today! Tomorrow morning we’re planning to eat brunch in downtown Asheville and then explore downtown some more. Until next time…

-Isaac, Faith, CJ, Christina, Daniel, and Sarah

The post Day 2 – Asheville 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]> https://isaactchurch.com/day-2-asheville-2019/feed/ 2 Day 1 – Asheville 2019 https://isaactchurch.com/day-1-asheville-2019/ https://isaactchurch.com/day-1-asheville-2019/#comments Sat, 26 Jan 2019 02:51:03 +0000 http://isaactchurch.com/?p=2638 My Father's Pizza and Pasta, Creekside Cottage

The post Day 1 – Asheville 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]>

The “Family Vacation” officially began at 5:30pm on Friday, January 25th, as we departed Boone and began our drive to Asheville, or more accurately, Black Mountain.

The Beginning

After a fairly eventless drive (save a few throwback songs that made us all feel old),  our gender-segregated cars arrived at Creekside Cottage, our abode for the weekend. We took the time to look around and unload our luggage, but quickly headed back to downtown Black Mountain to grab dinner at My Father’s Pizza and Pasta.

My Father's Pizza and Pasta

Daniel, Faith, and I had all been there before, but the other three (Sarah, Christina, and CJ) had not. We split two pizzas, a Margherita and a Skinny Pig (balsamic, garlic, olive oil, bacon, arugula, and Asiago cheese), as well as two orders of breadsticks.

Creekside Cottage

After dinner, we headed back to our rental house for the evening. The cottage is very nice, and the owner even left a plate of cookies for us! I’ll post a few photos of the cottage. As I write this, we’re getting ready to play Scattergories, so I’d better hurry it up and get this posted… 

Creekside Cottage
Trying to start a fire
Creekside Cottage
Creekside Cottage
More fire attempts
The snack stash for the weekend
One of the bedrooms
Fire!
Scattergories at Creekside Cottage

Conclusion

For those of you just now joining us, this blog is a lot more low-key and uneventful than previous ‘Church Trip’ iterations. Tomorrow probably will be as well, but I will still keep up the blog so we can document this weekend together. Until next time….

– Isaac, Faith, Daniel, Sarah, CJ, and Christina

The post Day 1 – Asheville 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]> https://isaactchurch.com/day-1-asheville-2019/feed/ 2 Introduction – Asheville 2019 https://isaactchurch.com/introduction-asheville-2019/ https://isaactchurch.com/introduction-asheville-2019/#comments Tue, 01 Jan 2019 16:21:01 +0000 http://isaactchurch.com/?p=2452 Family Dinner, Asheville Trip Preview

The post Introduction – Asheville 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]>

For many years, I’ve hosted what we affectionately refer to as “Family Dinners”. While food is involved, family [usually] isn’t, and the meal is not necessarily at the end of the day. Basically, a group of 6 friends–sometimes more, sometimes less–gather together semi-regularly to cook together, eat, catch up, watch movies, play music, or take naps.

At our homes (typically my apartment), we’ve experimented with lots of recipes and cooking techniques over the years. The core six include: the Ames, Daniel and Sarah; the Hinshaws, CJ and Christina; and the Churches, Isaac and Faith.

This tradition started with Sunday post-church meals, where we would cook some food, and then collapse on the couch after a long morning of playing on the worship team at church (Daniel, Christina, Faith, and I play/sing; CJ runs sound; Sarah is the odd one out). We tend to make one fancy, well-presented plate of food, and then glop it on as we devour the rest of it. I’ll post a few pictures of our handiwork below.

Family Dinner Photos

Family Dinner
Daniel manning the stove
Polenta cakes with Italian sausage, fresh Basil, and a Florentine sauce
Clementine Cake - addmittedly, this was not as good as it looks

Background

The Ames and Hinshaws have been married for years now, so Faith and I have been the odd ones out. However, now that we’re married, we all decided to go on what one might call a “couple’s retreat”, or as we’re referring to it, the “Family Vacation”. We’re renting a cabin in the Asheville area (Black Mountain to be specific), and are going to explore the Asheville area for a weekend. CJ and Sarah have never really been to the area before, so we’re all excited to explore some, and hopefully have a fun weekend together.

Oh, and I’m now realizing I should probably introduce everyone…and I’m also realizing that a picture of the six of us doesn’t exist, which is quite remarkable if you consider how much time we’ve spent together over the years.

Asheville, NC
This is as close as I could get...apparently Christina was away from the table
A photo I took of Christina and CJ on Table Rock
Sarah, Faith, Isaac, Daniel
CJ and Christina at our wedding, feat. Vance doing something weird with his phone
Tailgating - plus Trevor, minus Faith
Another wedding photo

Follow Us

I thought I’d document our travels as best as time allows. As with my Washington, D.C. blog from a couple years back (if anyone has been reading my posts that long), I’m sure everyone will collaborate on the stories and photos. There are several capable photographers in our group, so maybe between us we’ll get a few decent pictures. Maybe we’ll even get a picture of the six of us.

Currently, we have no set itinerary, other than to explore downtown Asheville and Black Mountain, and eat some good food.

Thanks for reading along! You can subscribe to my email updates using this link. I know the newsletter was broken during my last trip, but the issues should be fixed now.

Subscribe

The post Introduction – Asheville 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]> https://isaactchurch.com/introduction-asheville-2019/feed/ 6