“Asheville needs a yacht club,” Billy McKelvy declares inside the newly opened Asheville Yacht Club downtown. Photo By Jon Elliston Tiki bars typically thrive on their implicit promise to tranquilize its customers with fruity, high-proof drinks. Donn Beach, who launched the midcentury tiki craze from his Pacificana-seeped bar in Los Angeles, famously offered a cocktail … Read more
They’ve got legs, they know how to use them: The Carolina Mountain Club has announced its calendar of early 2008 hikes. If you can bear to pull yourself away from season eight of America’s Next Top Model, you might consider joining club members for a ramble up the slopes of Butter Gap or “the other” … Read more
Among serious foodies, it’s a big deal just to dine at one of the signature establishments owned by acclaimed chefs like Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud. But Tom Michaels, a plant pathologist from east Tennessee, went one better last year, becoming a supplier to these and other kitchen stars. As chronicled in this column, his … Read more
If you’ve driven or walked down Biltmore Avenue near Pack Square on a Friday evening between 5 and 6 p.m., you may have noticed a group of women, clad mostly in black, standing silent and still in our public square (or what’s left of it) displaying a large, hand-sewn banner. It reads “Women in Black … Read more
Congratulations: You survived the holidays. You ate, drank and were merry; maybe you even found yourself snagged under the mistletoe. You rang in the new year with style and shared your resolutions with friends and family. But what about now? Feeling a bit overwhelmed by those overzealous New Year’s resolutions? Relax: It’s OK. Don’t let … Read more
Four years ago, as I spent hours canvassing West Asheville for [Council member] Brownie Newman, I thought I was increasing the total Buncombe housing supply—and resulting affordability—because of his (still-unfulfilled) promises to increase walkable, high-density housing in the city. I had some idea that he wasn’t big on similar housing near my farm, even though … Read more
I recently saw this quote on a bumpersticker: “I Love My Country—But I Hate My Government.” Where does one acquire such a plaque? Sound bites define our apprehension of the news. In-depth anything seems to slink away from those who speak via the media. Yesterday’s news is all but forgotten. The lives of our friends … Read more
Bush, a la his wrongful push into Iraq, is ignoring intelligence reports telling us Iran had abandoned its nuclear development back in 2003. He claims not to have known about the information until it was recently released. According to The Washington Post, he has known about it for months but has continued his saber rattling. … Read more
Choosing a person for the office of president of the United States is the most difficult decision that a citizen of America must make. The person I chose is of high quality in character, integrity, wisdom, knowledge, education, experience, and a love for our Creator, [the people] and for our nation—[some]one of obvious moral and … Read more
With all the crap restaurants that have opened here, there is at least one ethnic base left uncovered: the delicious soup known as pho. It can be had in most major cities in America, but why not here? I would gladly trade in at least six sushi places and most of the teriyaki (or maybe … Read more
