The Carolinas: a Short and Sweet Trip

A week ago Monday, Ed and I set off on one of our car trips; this time heading east to the Appalachian towns of Greenville, SC and Asheville, NC. As with each of our trips, we take our time, often choosing back roads or going out of the way to find a good cup of coffee/scone or BBQ sandwich. This trip was short and sweet — only five days — but jam packed with all the things we love to do.

We chose Greenville because we stopped there one night on our way home from a trip down south and were smitten by its vibrant downtown. We wanted to see if our first impression would hold up. It did! 

We stayed at the downtown Westin Poinsett Hotel, a beautiful old hotel located next to the best bookstore ever and just down the street from the Yee-Haw Brewing Company. Dinner the first night was at Sassafras Southern Bistro.

We spent the next day exploring downtown Greenville, starting with a latte and pear galette at Coffee Coffee, a coffee shop by day, a dim-sum restaurant by night. Afterwards, we took in the Upcountry History Museum, a small museum that examines the long history of South Carolina's upstate counties.

Then we headed to West Greenville to check out the Six & Twenty Distillery where Ed purchased two bottles of their specialty whiskeys. We lunched on the patio of Persimmon on Main, a Persian spot; for dinner, we chose Restaurante Bergamo, which features northern Italian food and drink. Both good choices. 

The next morning it was on to Asheville, via the old road, looking to buy some boiled peanuts along the way. That night, we had a reservation at Cúrate, a spanish tapas bar and one where we had dined six years ago on another trip to Asheville. The menu was extensive and every item sounded delicious. As much as I love studying menus to come up with a hopefully brilliant dinner, it was just too hard. So we asked our server to bring us his recommendations. He did, and from the first course of pan de tomate with anchovies, to the last of basque cheesecake with a glass Pacharian liquor, our dinner was exquisite. 

On Thursday, we spent the entire day exploring the North Carolina Arboretum and the Asheville Botanical Gardens. We happily wandered though the gardens, trails and forests. I have an app on my phone called “Picture This” which does an incredible job of identifying plants based on a snapped photo. It got a great workout on our explorations. 

When we told our kids of our travel plans, Mary sent me a link to a restaurant she had on her radar in Asheville: Neng Jr’s. As described in a Bon Appetit article, “Chef-owner Silver Iocovozzi has created a restaurant where Filipinx flavors meet North Carolina traditions.”  The very week that Mary told me about the restaurant, it was named as one of the top 2023 restaurants by the New York Times. 

Of course, reservations at the 20-seat spot were impossible to come by, but the reservation page noted that one could call for a last-minute walk-in spot should someone cancel. It was a long shot, but I called that morning and left a message asking if any spots were available. Sure enough, that afternoon I got a call saying they had had a cancellation and a table for two was ours at 7 p.m. It was our great fortune as the night was one of the most joyous and memorable meals we have ever had. 

We took an Uber to the restaurant and were dropped off at the restaurant’s Haywood Street address. We had been told to walk down a nearby alley, past a large mural and enter the restaurant via a back door, and then up a dark staircase.

We were warmly greeted by Cherry, husband to Silver, and shown to our tiny table in a tiny room. It was one of the strangest and most intimate restaurants I’ve been in, with only with four tables and a dozen seats at the bar which overlooked the open kitchen. Even from our table, we could observe Silver smiling, dancing and cooking up dishes, assisted by the bartender, one server and one dishwasher. 

The menu was limited but our server did a wonderful job of explaining each item. We ordered. I wish I had taken a photo of the menu because I can’t recall the names of the dishes we ordered. The names might be forgotten, but the tastes were not! One course was a pickled shrimp dish served with steamed rice served in a bamboo segment, another a grilled eggplant and our main course was a beef cheeks stew.

For dessert, we shared a scoop of cheddar cheese ice-cream. Yes, you read me right: Cheddar Cheese. All strange. All delicious. I would go back in a heart-beat and would encourage any who are adventurous diners to plan ahead and make a reservation.

With memories of that glorious meal, we headed home the next morning, pulling into our drive 850 miles later. What fun it was.