What I Ate in a Day, Asheville Version
North Carolina surprised me with these vegan options!.
Hi Plant-Powered Pals!
Have you heard of Asheville? It’s a city in North Carolina that surprisingly had great vegan options. I visited for four days and we basically went on a vegan food tour the whole time 10/10 traveling for food.
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Getting To Asheville
To get to Asheville, I flew Allegiant because they have a new direct flight from Sky Harbor to Asheville and it was only a $59 trip one way. Score! The only bad part about fighting a budget airline is… no free snacks. There is nothing worse than a 4-hour flight without snacks.
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WHAT I ATE
I could be totally off my rocker here, but North Carolina seems like it would be part of the Southeast where it’s very much comfort cooking and lacks vegan options, i.e. Georgia I am looking at you.
I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the number of vegan food options available. I did a little clicking around in the Vegan Travel Group before going, but I really didn’t know what to expect. That may be the best way to do anything because I had no expectations they were exceeded.
I can say that I may have come across my new favorite food truck… I will share them from worst to best to keep the anticipation high. After we ate at every restaurant, we decided where they fit into our ranking system for this food tour we created.
I definitely don’t want to discourage any of these restaurants or drag them through the mud but this is my 100% honest review. So do with this information what you wish.
Laughing Seed Cafe
40 Wall St, Asheville, NC 28801
This was my least favorite option for various reasons. The location is really pretty, on a cobblestone-like road with a lovely outdoor seating area. The service was also really great. I had issues with this restaurant mostly with the food and absurd fees.
What I Ordered: The Harmony Bowl ($19) — a Seed Classic Plate with layers of organic brown rice, black beans, marinated and grilled organic tofu, steamed seasonal veggies, and sesame ginger sauce.
The tofu could be subbed for tempeh; adding items like avocado, kimchi, and kraut would be an additional $3.
I am a huge sticker on tofu quality. If you can’t do tofu right, don’t make it. This is why many people think they don’t like tofu because they’ve had a poorly prepared option.
This tofu was SPONGY like it had not been pressed at all. It should be a crime how this tofu was prepared. The seasonal vegetables were the cheapest vegetables known to man (broccoli, carrots, zucchini, summer squash, and 1 leaf of broken-up kale). The rice and beans weren’t seasoned and the “addicting sauce” tasted like a tahini-based dressing I could make at home.
They added an arbitrary 3% kitchen appreciation fee to all checks and charged a 15% service fee for all take-out and to-go orders. These fees bothered me especially because the menu prices were already very high for common kitchen items. I get that times are tough right now for restaurants, but a $19 dish for something so simple was insane.
The Trashy Vegan
697 Haywood Road Unit E, Asheville, NC 28806
Okay, this place was COOL, like you were a cool cat if you ate here. A lot of props for having unique menu items and being mission-led. I was really impressed with the food, service, and community they have built. The location is in a shopping plaza and it’s tucked in the corner.
What I Ordered: The Donut Burger ($12) — Impossible patty, cheddar cheese, Just egg, chipotle Mayo on a vanilla glazed donut bun + Fries ($3.50).
I have a personal beef when burgers don’t come with fries because I feel like they are a combination you shouldn’t split up like peanut butter and jelly, but alas.
I don’t know about you but I have never seen a donut burger so this was something I 100% had to try at least once in my life and this day was the day. Before ordering, one of my main concerns was that the burger would be too sweet from the donut and not for the first couple of bites. It was like a sweet treat about halfway through, but I still recommend trying it at least once!
A remarkable part of this restaurant is the “pay what you can model” they offer meals to those who may not have the finances or funds to buy their meals. By letting the server know you can pay as little as $0 to eat. We saw many unhoused people getting free meals!
Plant
165 Merrimon Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
Plant is like the high-end version of plant-based eating. They are only open for dinner from 5:00 pm on Wednesday to Sunday. 90% of the menu is organic and local when possible. You 100% need a reservation to eat here. It was packed and had people waiting. You may be seated inside or outside on the back patio for dining.
Our server was awesome and knowledgeable and we had a fun experience here. We ordered tapas-style and used sharing plates to try more menu items.
What We Ordered: [Plant] Cheese Board ($21)— aged cashew · farmer’s pecans & flowers · almond ricotta · roasted garlic & olives · rosemary amber & fruit · pickled vegetables · black garlic oil · house bread*
Crusted Seitan Marsala ($28)— cauliflower-potato whip · farm greens · fennel salad · squash · black lentil-mushroom marsala
Ravioli ($15) — mushrooms & ricotta · kabocha squash alfredo · macadamia parma · italian olive oil , sherry & truffle
Fancy restaurants scare me because I am, if you couldn’t tell, a burger-and-fries kind of gal. I will say that though this restaurant is fancy, it didn’t get the uppity kind of vibe. It was a more Mark Cuban posh type of vibe. Out of these options, the Setian was my #1 and gave a vegan take on a classic meat and potatoes dish.
Smokin’ Onion Food Truck
Okay, this was the best food truck I’ve eaten at and I’m not kidding. On the first day of my visit, the stars were aligned and there happened to be a vegan festival.
Before leaving Smokin’ Onion was one of the places I scouted out so you can imagine how excited I was to see them at the event. My expectations were met with really freaking tasty food. We shared an app and dessert and got the same entree because why not?
What We Ordered: Fried Pickles ($8), Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie ($4),
What I Ordered: Buffalo Cauliflower Wrap ($14) — Crispy Cauliflower dressed in buffalo sauce, lettuce & tomato with a drizzle of our ranch dressing all wrapped up in a soft tortilla.
The wrap comes with a choice of fries, a basic side salad, or fried Brussels sprouts. ← I highly suggest getting the Brussels. They aren’t battered and deep fried so they still resemble vegetables and are some of the best Brussels I think I’ve ever had. I will be dreaming about these until I go back. If you’re a pickle person, you must try their pickles, omg.
The service was fast and they handed out beepers so you know when the order is ready. It seemed like the lemonade was pretty popular, too, but we had drinks from the brewery instead.
Other Places I Tried
Chocolate Lounge — Vegan Hot Cocoa
The Hot Ice Cream — Vegan Ice Cream Flavors
Look at this cute mushroom we saw hiking
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