Restaurant Review - Black Mountain, NC

During the first weekend in November, I flew south for a much needed weekend away. The reason for the getaway was the First Annual Reunion Vacation Weekend. I was reunited with my dear friends, Mullins, Sam, and Browning for the first time in three years. We all worked together at my first ad agency in New York which at the time was called The Media Edge, or TME for short (I believe it is now called something else, but will be stamped in my memories as TME). Through this workplace, I got to know a lot of great people. Mullins, Sam, Browning, and I became good friends. Our friendship has endured the moves out of the area for each of us, me in Boston, Mullins in Knoxville, Sam in Raleigh, and Browning in the New Jersey suburbs.

A bonus to seeing these great women, was eating great Southern food. In the New York days, I was schooled on things such as grits and hush puppies and one can not find true Southern food that easily in Boston. My appetite was building in anticipation of the jaunt to Asheville, North Carolina. On Saturday morning, we went to the Morning Glory Cafe in Black Mountain. I had the Black Mountain breakfast, consisting of eggs, with a choice of hashbrown or grits, and bacon or sausage. Of course, I had to go for the grits. They were delicious and were provided great nourishment for our visit to the Biltmore Estate.

After exploring the estate, we headed to Asheville to walk around. Our late night festivities on Friday meant that afternoon caffeine was necessary. We stopped in the The Sisters McMullen for a dose of coffee. While there, we were tempted by the sweet and savory pastries in the display case. We all loved what we got, a cream horn for Mullins, a quiche for Sam, a black and white cookies for Browning, and a snickerdoodle for me. I was tempted to get the Boston cream cupcakes but gave into the temptation for a cookie as it would be easier to eat while walking. We wanted to get a late lunch/early dinner in Asheville, however restaurants were closed from 3 until 5. We headed back to Black Mountain where our cabin was located. The previous evening we had located Phil's BBQ Pit. Browning and I took on the menu and won that battle. She had a plate of BBQ pork and chicken with hush puppies. I had the ribs with hush puppies, baked beans, potato salad, and drank sweet tea. Everything was good, although the sweet tea was a bit too sweet for my liking.

All in all, this was a great trip. I loved spending time with the girls. I laughed so hard all weekend. There were many great memories that were made for the First Annual Reunion Weekend. I can not wait for next year's trip in a location to be determined. Some ideas include Maine or Savannah.