I don’t remember what we did yesterday morning (sleep, I think??) – my day started with lunch. And WHAT. A. LUNCH.
Curate is the best-known restaurant in Asheville. It is tapas. It is magic.
This is the kind of meal that you travel for. It’s the kind of meal that completely kills conversation about anything other than the food, and how good it is, and how happy you are to be eating it. The kind of meal where you order dessert even though you’re stuffed, because you can’t bear to miss a part of the experience. As we ate, I looked forward to each new course, the level of deliciousness was so consistent. I’ve never felt less guilty about spending money on a meal – and my tab still came to under $50. In Manhattan, the same meal would have cost twice as much. When we left, we were reeling. You should really eat here. Please. It is worth detouring to Asheville just to stop here, at Curate.
Oh, and we immediately made a reservation for Saturday, too. 😛
First course: olives, to whet our appetite. Tantalizing, salty, brief.
Pork lard on toast. Instantly skyrocketed to a place on my top-ten list of best food items I’ve ever eaten. (Yes, I keep track. Does anyone else do that?)
**completely blissed out** these things are consciousness-erasing.
LAMB, cooked in spices, plus pickles tangy and crunchy!
Shrimp and garlic and broth and garlic and more garlic (you can never have too much)
Phil’s main course – according to him, best sausage he’s ever had. Also, the only beans I have enjoyed eating in about ten years.
I was stuffed by this point… fried, honey drizzled eggplant.
My dessert – creme brulee, kind of, but much lighter cream and with strawberries at the bottom!!
Phil’s dessert – raspberry and cooked strawberry sorbet with a bunch of garnishes I don’t remember, except one of them was mint goat cheese