Best Things To Do in Asheville, From Local Experts
This charming North Carolina mountain town has world-class dining, excellent beer, and plenty of mountains, rivers, and trails to explore
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Asheville, North Carolina, is surrounded by Pisgah National Forest and the Black Mountain Range—ripe terrain for adventure. These five locals provide the lowdown on one of the region’s most vibrant cultural and outdoor-recreation hubs.
Katie Button
Chef and TV host
Asheville punches well above its weight when it comes to the culinary scene; the city of just 94,000 boasts multiple James Beard nominees at the helms of various kitchens. Button is one of those standouts, captaining the tapas-heavy Curate and La Bodega, a Spanish-inspired market and bakery.
The four-time James Beard nominee, cookbook author, and TV show host (check out From the Source on the Magnolia Network) learned to cook as a child and did stints in restaurants in coastal Spain, Los Angeles, and New York before settling down in Asheville in 2011. “People have to make their own way here and create something for themselves,” she says.
To experience the local culinary scene, Button recommends starting with coffee and a vanilla glazed donut from Hole in West Asheville, then making your way to the North Asheville farmers’ market (Saturdays only), where bread bakers, veggie growers, artists, and musicians gather on the town’s University of North Carolina campus. Take a field trip to Hickory Nut Gap, a farm that produces proteins for the best restaurants in town. You can shop the farm store for your own ingredients, take a tour, and even sign up for a butcher class.
For lunch stop at Little Chango, which serves Latin American–inspired dishes in Asheville’s vibrant South Slope district, then grab a happy-hour negroni and a table on the sidewalk at Contrada, a casual Italian restaurant with a great bar. Save room for dinner at Curate, where you should order the rossejat, a noodle-based take on paella with squid and shellfish stock that Button describes as “the essence of the ocean.” Cap off the night with a show at Rabbit Rabbit, a nearby outdoor venue that books an eclectic array of national acts, from Modest Mouse to Shakey Graves.
