Poppies Gourmet Farmers’ Market in Brevard recently began stocking a locally produced beef that area agriculture advocates are touting as one of the few commercially available North Carolina meats without growth hormones or antibiotics. According to Peter Marks of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, most N.C.-born beef cattle are sent north for a farewell diet of feedlot grain. BusyBee Farm’s animals, by contrast, spend their entire lives in pasture. Poppies carries ground chuck and ground round from the century-old farm.
The folks at Mountain Brew Cafe and Bakery in south Asheville are hoping to percolate social activism by making their newly expanded private gathering rooms available to community and nonprofit groups. The café, at 3480 Sweeten Creek Road, serves free-trade organic coffee and fresh baked goods. To learn more, call 687-9009.
Asheville bloggers are taking aim at the community’s collective plate, with one dedicated culinary blog aspiring to track the local-food scene emerging this summer, and another reportedly in the works. Gourmet Grrl, a self-described breakfast hater and Lambrusco drinker, has posted reviews of Modesto and Mountain Magnolia Inn at shewhoeats.wordpress.com. General-interest bloggers are also keeping tabs on area eats: Last month, BlogAsheville reported on the impending opening of The Thirsty Monk, a Belgian beer bar coming to Asheville.
