Last October, me and my husband celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary and we decided to take a trip to Asheville! We had never been to the mountains together and decided that this would be a great trip for us because it was only a few hours away. Before I go anywhere, I always do research so I know what’s what and of course this includes checking out the food scene. I was so excited to discover that Asheville was so vegan friendly! Some even call it the best vegan city of the south. I must say, it was nice to go into a restaurant and not worry if they would have anything (besides fries) for me to eat. Check out my reviews of the different Asheville Vegan friendly restaurants below for my thoughts!
Blue Dream Curry House
Asheville, NC 28801
This was one of our first stops while in Asheville. I love a good curry and this one was AMAZING. After eating here I was trying to figure out a way to visit again before leaving town. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but I will most certainly be back! Pictured here is their “Panang” (gluten free) with ‘No Evil Foods Plant Meat’. I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this meal. I savored each and every bite! My husband ordered the yellow curry and his was really good too. If you’re in the Asheville area, this is a spot that you can’t miss! Do yourself a favor and check it out!
Vortex Doughnuts
Asheville, NC 28801
I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE. Perhaps it’s because we don’t have a vegan-friendly doughnut shop in Durham? I don’t know, but it doesn’t change the fact that Vortex Doughnuts are amazing. What I love most is that they ALWAYS have vegan options available. More than one! I ordered 4 and I seriously could have eaten them all in one sitting, but I practiced self control 🙂 My favorite was the Apple. It was pure perfection! I’m excited to go back and try other flavors as they’re always switching them out. Again, do yourself a favor and check them out! SO good! Asheville vegan folks are way too lucky!
Biscuit Heads
Before getting to Asheville, my husband and I heard wonderful things about this place! One of his co-workers told us that this was a restaurant that we couldn’t miss, so we made it a point to go. We arrived and were taken aback by the line! I think we waited for about 30-40 minutes before being seated. Not too shabby, I guess. The fact that they offered vegan biscuits was a super plus for me and I was excited to try their vegan chorizo. What I thought was really cool was the fact that they offered such a variety of jams to choose from. I can’t remember any of the names of them, but trust me… you’ll be wanting to try them all!
Okay, so about the food… I wasn’t too thrilled with the vegan chorizo. Perhaps that’s because I’m so accustomed to the Trader Joe’s version, which is AMAZING. This one just didn’t compare. However, the biscuit on the other hand was reaaaaally good! The waitress forgot about my order of tots, and because I had to wait so long, she brought me an additional biscuit to make up for it. WIN! In case you were wondering, the tots were pretty standard, nothing to write home about. I was a little bothered by the pool of grease I found them to be sitting in once I finished them. Would I go back? Yep! That biscuit and those jams were so good!
Strada
Asheville, NC 28801
Because me and my husband were celebrating our anniversary, we wanted dine some place that we could dress up. Strada seemed to fit the bill. They also offered vegan options, which I thought was great! Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of the dish pictured above, but it was a special they had for the week because they were participating in a city-wide vegan challenge. To be honest, I wasn’t impressed at all. I thought that they noodles were way too large, making them awkward to eat (twirling fat noodles around your fork is more difficult than one might think). I think it featured a vegan sausage, but it was just okay. My husband ordered an eggplant and he really enjoyed it. For dessert I ordered their seasonal gelato (I believe it was blueberry) which was really good! Would I go back? I think so. Only because I would want to try one of their permanent menu items. They offer vegan eggplant meatballs, and they sound pretty good to me!
Green Sage Cafe
Asheville, NC 28803
On our last day in Asheville, we were looking for a place that didn’t have a ridiculous wait. It was Sunday morning and all the places that we wanted to try had hour-plus wait times and we were starving so that wasn’t going to fly! I got on Yelp and came across the Green Sage Cafe. They offered regular and vegan friendly items, so we went with it! I ordered the breakfast burrito with tofu eggs, black beans, spinach, root hash and avocado salsa. Oh, and a side of fries! I wasn’t super impressed with the burrito, but it was good. Just not great. The fries were really tasty, too. Would I go back? Yes, but for lunch or dinner, as there are more options for me to choose from.
The Cantina
This was our very first stop when we got to Asheville. We were looking for some place that was close to the Biltmore Estate with menu options that could be easily veganized. Welp, Mexican food is usually pretty easy to make vegan so we decided to go with The Cantina. I ordered the ‘Ashevegas Burrito’ (minus the cheese) with a side of Mexican rice and the black bean and corn salad. Don’t be fooled by the picture! The sauce on the top kinda looks like cheese, huh? Don’t worry folks, I double checked with the waiter that it was cheese-free.
This meal was good, but it would have been even better if the burrito came with rice in it! The side of Mexican rice was really tasty and was probably my favorite part of the meal. Overall, I thought the food was good, but not great. They lost points with me by charging for the chips and salsa. I don’t know about where you’re from, but in the Triangle chips and salsa are free! It’s like getting free bread at a fancy restaurant. It’s the same thing!