|
Photo by Paddy Riels, Operations Manager, Asheville Food Tours
My friend and fellow food tour guide, Paddy Riels, and I recently popped into Foggy Mountain Brewpub right before leading our tours, just to grab a quick bite and go. Even though it was more or less packed when we got there, our minds were made up, so we grabbed a table and, boom! In no time at all a server was there, bringing water and such. Paddy and I made quick decisions and placed our order without delay: One smoky tomato Alfredo, and one Cuban sandwich, both to share.
Paddy and I soon realized that we had much less time than we thought we did, and our server, knowing we were planning to share our lunch and observing us nervously looking at our phones, brought the sandwich out first. Yay!
I am not an expert on Cubans, but this one was great in my opinion! It had all the right ingredients, no weird stuff that didn’t belong there, and was prepared just right as far as I could tell. Moist and flavorful, it was the right size and shape, and was pressed on the grill to give it a nice flat, crispy outer crust. Sometimes pressed sandwiches can be a little too hard on the outside, but that was not the case here; it was perfect. Paddy is more of a Cuban aficionado than I am, and he gave it the “One-eyed Paddy stamp of approval,” which is among his highest accolades. #truestory The Cuban also came with pita chips and beer cheese, and I confess that I could make a meal of the beer cheese alone. So good.
The smoky tomato Alfredo arrived quickly, and we tore into it like hungry jackals. Oh my gosh. What can I say? This dish is dreamy. It’s everything that I ever wanted from a plate of food. It’s large in size. It’s deep in flavor. It’s got cheese. And smoke. And chicken. It even has vegetables, like tomatoes, zucchini and such, so it’s healthy! Of course, everything is covered in cheese so this dish is rich, and heavy as can be, so show up hungry for this one. And for the love of your own sanity, do not think about the calories. Calories do not exist.
This lunch was delicious on all counts, and super-props to the kitchen, and our server for getting us fed and out the door so quickly. Paddy and I both made it to our tours with plenty of time.
Please pop into Foggy Mountain Brewpub on your own soon. It’s a fun spot that’s family friendly (we were surrounded on all sides), has great food, beer of course, and it’s a local favorite for sure!
Find all the food specials, new menu additions, events and more from Foggy Mountain Brewpub by checking out their Dig Local Profile.
|
