This weekend I made a delivery to GreenLife Grocery in Asheville (note to western Carolinians – you can now buy our coffee at Greenlife!!). I could have done a backhaul with Appalachian Harvest, but I wanted to see Greenlife first hand, and figured I could accomplish a few things on the trip (like some sales calls!).
When I got there, I met Richie at receiving and he made my day – hell, he made my week – with one simple comment… “man, I loved that Old North State Blend“. Indeed, Richie, it is a fine blend, but looking around Greenlife I know that you are a man who tastes some fine food and fine coffees, so that was high prasie, indeed. I must say that Greenlife is a fine little grocer, and I wish we had one in the Triangle. I picked up some organic lettuce from Mackey farms in Mars Hill, NC, some leeks, a little herb-wine finishing butter, a Pinot Gris from King Estate (sadly Greenlife had no Yadkin Valley wines, my favorite of which is Rag Apple Lassie), and a caeser dressing in anticipation of dinner with friends on top of nearby Young’s Mountain.
I had a very pleasant dinner with my friends, who just that day had caught several fine, large white bass in Lake Lure. We prepped the fish by rubbing in some olive oil, salt and peppering liberally, stuffing the cavities with herb butter and shredded leeks, then wrapping in foil packets and grilling. Accompanied with that Mars Hill lettuce caesar salad and glass or three of Pinot, looking out at the mountains, it easily ranked among the best meals ever. We watched Duke basketball (too painful to talk about) and The Last of the Mohicans, which is a great movie but really difficult for us because the movie is supposedly set in 1757 New York State, but it is so obviously North Carolina (it was filmed in and around Chimney Rock).
So speaking of Chimney Rock, I wound through there and Bat Cave, NC. If you’re in that neighborhood, be sure to stop at Coffee Crumbs at 438 Main Street, just beyond Chimney Rock Park – Joyce and Angel make a great espresso.
After nearly 600 miles, I came to really appreciate a couple things. First XM radio, specifically X Country, channel 12 – it’s the kind of station that requires listening time, it’s not just simple ear candy – and the South by Southwest coverage, which just happened to be this weekend. Second, my Chevy Silverado 4×4, which is strong and comfortable, climbs steep, rutted mountain dirt roads like a billy goat, and will pass anything on the road except a gas station. After all that driving I am pretty sure we will have more news to report in the near future from western Carolina and eastern Tennessee – stay tuned.
