Sunday night: Mela Indian Restaurant
It was the first real food in the last 12 hours. Oranges, pb&j and rice chips helped us make good time to Asheville.
1 Allagash beer, 1 Highland porter both good, spinach goat cheese naan, entrées – Mela Lamb and Kozi Milagu Chettinad (hot), more naan (garlic), two more beers (Kwakk-Belgium and Palma Louca-Brazilian?) Awesome.
B&B breakfasts: So far have begun with a muffin. I don’t remember what kind we had on Monday; yesterday was blueberry, today cinnamon swirl. Oh, did I mention we get “tea cakes” in the afternoon? Sunday we had chocolate chip cookies, Monday, chocolate frosted mocha loaf & pecan bars, yesterday – Chocolate frosted chocolate cup cakes. They are still sitting in our room because Brad says we cannot eat them. Wait until we get back from the today's (Craggy Mt.) ride. Yum! The “middle course” of breakfast has been some kind of fruit. Yesterday was a baked peach (o so yummy) in a champagne cream sauce and today was cooked pineapple with craisins in a zinfandel sauce. Oh the sugar rush. Monday’s third course for breakfast was very light waffles with Jimmy Dean sausage. I had two servings (mistake #1) they were so good. I figured they melted in my mouth that I would be okay riding. Ha! I was wrong. My belly was in the way the whole time on Monday riding Elk Mt. Scenic that if any dog chased me down, I would be dog food for the day. Yesterday was an egg frittata with onions & cheddar cheese and a side of sautéed herbed potatoes. Today (Wed 2/21), spicy bacon with almond crusted French toast. The other couples at the table did not finish their two pieces of French toast. I thought, I’ll take care of that but I held off; probably not proper etiquette. Oh, and did I mention the damn little candy dishes with Hershey nuggets all other the house?
Monday night dinner was at an Asian place called the Noodle Shop. They had maybe eight tables that sat between two to four people. Asheville is hopping downtown and the waits can be as long as 1 1/2 for a place to eat if they are small like this restaurant. We had calamari, a dish of soy beans, tofu Pad Thai and I had Da Lu Noodle - Vegetable broth prepared with spinach, tomatoes, bean curd slices, carrots, scallions, cabbage, zucchini, yellow squash, nappa, cilantro, and eggs. Served with your choice of noodles. (Vegetarian)
Tuesday we ate at Salsas . I had the best margarita yet. Citrus-infused haberno flavored margarita. We both had specials. I stayed vegetarian because I am off-setting it with all the pastries, chocolate and breakfasts. Ha! I’m still pudgy but happy. Brad had the pork enchilada with slow roasted pork, roasted peppers, eggplant, coconut sauce, and melted smoked cheese served with rice, beans and salad. I cleaned up a bowl of stuff chayote. I think all the meals come in a big white bowl so they can pile it high. My stuffed chayote was a brazilian squash filled with roasted carrots and sautéed mushrooms, curry sauce and topped with goat cheese… with a side of rice, beans and salad. I actually got guacamole, beans and a tamale! Oh, and it was worth it. We drank some beers at Ed Boudreaux's Bayou Bar-B-Que to catch some Mari Gras Blues. We had samples of Mad Hat (not so good seasonal beers – they tasted a bit flowery).
I don’t know if I can keep up with all the restaurants and eating. This place is hopping. Yesterday was Fat Tuesday and I was keeping right in step with the “holiday”.
