Uncorked Asheville
Your Asheville, NC tea (or craft beer) for restaurant reviews, local events, itineraries, and things to do. Map out nearby day trips and overnight getaways because Tom and I will absolutely drive 2 hours for a cascading waterfall, a cheesy-fun gimmick, an alpaca farm, a picnic with cows on a mountain bald, and a delicious burger by the river. 💙 Christine, your indie AVL travel writer since 2019.
🍂 Start Planning Your Fall In Asheville
Good Morning Reader, This newsletter has a lot of information. Keep reading for: 2026 updated fall planning guides: fall hikes, when & where to see fall colors, fall festivals, fall things to do, Stars Hollow in Asheville, & Blue Ridge Parkway itineraries The sausage and pepper sandwich that will make your mouth water August 2026 events & festivals around WNC/the Upstate A tease for our fun Hickory, NC overnight A sad family update and a new Animal Urgent Care facility in Asheville from our...
✨ Haw Creek, Hiking, & a New PDF Guide for You ✨
Good Morning Reader, From 5-star reads to the coolest murals, this newsletter is filled with our latest recommendations for coffee, waterfall hikes, sushi, and more. 💕 A Few Places to Love in East Asheville (& Haw Creek) Lately ☕️ East Asheville has been bringing us so much joy this steamy summer. A few highlights: 🍻 The Whale Outpost - This is a cozy bar and bottleshop with multiple seating areas, two arcade machines, and local art. I went to grad school in Tampa, so I love seeing St. Pete’s...
🐻 Asheville in July: Events, Our Wild Neighbors, & Places To Love
Good Morning Reader, It's going to be a hot one here in Asheville this holiday weekend. I'm not sure I'm ready. My garden is wilting. Below, find upcoming July events, new YouTube videos filled with recommendations, a few great places Tom and I are loving lately, and how the internet is slowly killing my soul. 💕 6 Places To Love Around Asheville, NC Right Now 🌱 Plant Bar - With locations in West AVL and Downtown, we FINALLY made it into the gorgeous Haywood Road location for iced coffee and...
☕️ A flower shop latte, a pirate ship playground, & a matcha cookie the size of my face
Good Morning Reader, Tom and I have been drinking our way through Asheville's coffee shops for 7+ years, and this is the list I wish existed when we moved here. And nope. It is not the same five spots on every travel blog (that closed 5 years ago with AI photos of... pasta). Our Picks For The 15 Best Coffee Shops in Asheville Think: A flower shop with vegan matcha cookies and strawberry lattes. A trendy biscuit café in the River Arts District (RAD) with decor that belongs in an equally rad...
My Asheville garden has been humbled (again and again)
Good Morning Reader, Asheville gardening is not quite like gardening anywhere else. The elevation, the clay soil, the wildlife, the unpredictable late frosts... it can be a lot. Updated for 2026, this is what a beginner (who has been humbled many times) has learned about growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers in the NC mountains, including raised bed tips, companion planting, local events, and who sells the best plants. Pictured above: Plant shopping at Painters Greenhouse & Reems Creek, our...
🍔 We Ate All The Burgers In Asheville So You Don't Have To
Good Morning Reader, If you follow our adventures on social media, you saw that Tom and I tried to catch the peak azalea bloom at Biltmore Estate (4/21). We missed it - and had a good laugh commiserating with everyone else who showed up expecting those vibrant colors. We were also on a Biltmore/Cedric's Tavern burger mission (new pics!) - and that, we accomplished... Don't Tell My Doctor, But We Updated The Burger Guide I'll never forget when I had my annual physical, and my primary asked...
Burgers, Bookstores, & One Town That Really Needs Your Visit
Good Morning Reader, The weather in Asheville has been gorgeous, and not even our raging allergies can keep us inside lately. Keep reading to see all that we are loving and doing in Asheville, including updated itineraries for visiting Marshall and for our fellow book lovers. 💕 What To Love In Asheville This Month The Angeleno latte at ButterPunk & a GF burger at Hail Mary ☕️ ButterPunk - Fun biscuit & coffee cafe in the River Arts District; while here, drop into Pink Dog Creative, filled...
The mountain town Asheville locals keep to themselves (+ spring events)
In a rush? Discover the mountain town 15 miles from Asheville with a genever and whiskey distillery, NC's smallest boutique hotel, and the best Cuban cafe. Good Morning Reader, Have you been watching Cúrate's Katie Button compete on the brand new television series, America's Culinary Cup, created by Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi? Katie is such an amazing and inspiring chef - and she does it with respect, style, and class, helping other chefs and representing the best of Asheville. In her...
Fake Spring, Real News: Two exciting places opening & one town that deserves the hype
In a rush? Start with our Weaverville day tripping itinerary. Good Morning Reader, We've enjoyed a lovely fake spring 🌷 with 80-degree temperatures, followed by rain, snow, & hail all in one week ❄️. Not to mention those beautiful, evil, and invasive Bradford Pears are blooming. Achoo. ✨ A couple of Asheville updates to kick off your weekend: ✨ I received a press release announcing that All Day Darling, currently operating in quaint Montford, is breaking ground on a second location. The new...
A $70 men's haircut & the three B's
In a rush? Read our brand new Banner Elk itinerary. Good Morning Reader, Tom's newer barber messaged him the day before his appointment to cancel, noting he had moved salons, more than doubled his prices, and was now charging $70 starting for a men's haircut - and $70 more per hour after that. It all felt very Asheville... We had to laugh; those prices are honestly ludicrous, and my friends in NYC and Boston don't even pay that. As you say in the South, though, bless his heart. Needless to...
Your Asheville, NC tea (or craft beer) for restaurant reviews, local events, itineraries, and things to do. Map out nearby day trips and overnight getaways because Tom and I will absolutely drive 2 hours for a cascading waterfall, a cheesy-fun gimmick, an alpaca farm, a picnic with cows on a mountain bald, and a delicious burger by the river. 💙 Christine, your indie AVL travel writer since 2019.