My love planned an awesome getaway for us to Colorado, but we had a complete change of plans when the local news said yes to an interview for Celiac Awareness Month and our travel plans back had no wiggle room for error. We love the outdoors and wanted an active mountain getaway, so this is when it’s such a blessing to live just a couple of hours from the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Knowing how celiac friendly Asheville is, this made for the perfect trip! One of the many reasons I love this wonderful man is that when he says he’s got it, I know he really does. (Sometimes my stubborn brain needs a reminder, but he’s wonderful at planning.)
Our first stop was Linville Falls picnic area. He packed a mini grill, brats (thank you Aldi for the gf brats this month), cheese, grapes, crackers, & Palmetto Cheese (the most addictive pimento cheese ever) and of course beverages for the perfect outdoor picnic. It was wonderful quiet time for us to eat, enjoy each other’s company and walk around the area, enjoying nature. This stop was strategically planned so that we could explore Linville Caverns after our lunch break. It’s been years since I have explored caverns. If you haven’t been inside a cave lately, a few tips to help: it’s cold in there, so bring a jacket, like 52 degrees cold. If the cave is active, that jacket you are going to bring in with you will be most helpful if it’s a light rain jacket.
We stayed downtown with so many wonderful options for dinner. Our first night, we lucked out and were able to get into Posana for dinner, without a reservation. That’s also because we were perfectly fine with eating at the bar, which turned out to be a great decision. Greg took fabulous care of us! I knew that Posana came highly recommended, but what I didn’t know was why. The entire menu is gluten free. The only gluten in the entire restaurant was a local beer they have on tap. (Notice the disclaimer for gluten on the beverage menu, instead of the usual disclaimer for what is gf.) We were informed the owner of the restaurant’s wife has celiac and the owner opened the restaurant so that she and others with celiac had somewhere safe they could go out to eat. Seriously, this was so exciting!
We started with some awesome beverages: Aviation for my man and a Hellbender for me. The Hellbender is a beverage that just won awards at a recent contest. I hate banana flavored stuff for the most part, but after this meal, I think I might be converted. And since the restaurant was completely gluten free, we chose to enjoy appetizers through dessert. We started with the Ricotta Gnocchi (with roasted carrots, English peas, guanciale, & Three Graces Dairy ramp goat cheese) because I can’t remember the last time I was able to have gnocchi. This was so delicious. If we weren’t in public, I probably would have tipped the bowl up when we were done to slurp the most perfect garlic butter I have tasted. If you aren’t willing to eat a meal at the bar and can’t get a table, you have to at least stop and eat this. For entrees, my sweetie had the Seared Duck Breast (with chicories, local strawberries, balsamic cipollini onions, and toasted cashews) and I had the Seared Scallops (with asparagus, baby bok choy, sugar snap peas, and chili jam, but I omitted the cilantro.) They told me ahead of time they were out of scallops, but they were substituting some delicious Alaskan Salmon. Mine was definitely great, but I think I liked my sweetie’s dinner a bit more. While we considered skipping dessert, that was until we saw the menu. When I am overwhelmed with too much yumminess, I love to ask the wait staff what their favorite item is and why. Banana pudding is one of those southern desserts that so many people love, but I quite honestly don’t miss. Greg told us it was that good and different from others that we had to try it. Once again, this was a time that I was grateful to take the staff’s advice. If you can’t eat a full meal here, maybe you should make sure to add dessert to the plan, but honestly, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice if you skip the entrees. Just plan on eating here! We had great convos with Greg since the bar wasn’t slammed and when we took his advice on dessert, we were blessed with getting to try a drink he was in the process of perfecting and needing feedback on. All I can tell you is that raspberry and banana isn’t a flavor combo I would have pictured, but he mixed it with some other ingredients that gave the most perfect flavor. If this makes it on the menu, now you know what your dessert drink is going to be. I’m so grateful we had dinner here and if we weren’t heading home so quickly, we definitely would have been back in there on Tuesday night when he was working again.
As usual, we started our days fueled with the awesome protein shakes that keep my tummy happy and full, especially with a day as busy as my sweetie had planned. We both had some work to do first thing before heading out for the day, but Chimney Rock was next on the list of fun. I started to get a bit concerned with how quickly the temperatures started to raise, but they leveled off and we had a beautiful day for a hike. We stopped part of the way up for a mini picnic with items that easily fit in the camelback backpack: grapes, cheese, protein bar, and some fuel for endurance carbs.
We went for a more basic dinner on night two, Mellow Mushroom for pizza. I hadn’t spent the time previously reading the gf disclaimer on the back of the menu until this visit, but after reading the reviews on Find Me Gluten Free and so many expressing concerns with pizza in places that serve regular pizza, I was curious. (See photo for details on this.) After reading the disclaimer, I found it interesting that our server still asked me if gluten free was a preference or a requirement. According to their gluten free disclaimer, they take precautions whenever someone orders gf. I felt good knowing that proper safety requirements were followed.
We had two choices for dessert. I kept reading positive reviews for French Bread Chocolate Lounge. I am fairly certain we must have hit it at a really bad time because the selections were limited and unimpressive. We headed over to Ben & Jerry's. What can I say, my guy is a Vermont native and I love ice cream. First impressions mean everything. When I was greeted by a sign on the glass stating that if you have allergies to let them know because they may need to take proper precautions, I was excited because I usually have to request this. The senior employee working guided the staff person waiting on us when she heard I have celiac to do glove change, fresh scoop, and that my food would need to be scooped from fresh containers opened out of the freezer from the back. This was so exciting to me, as usually I have to speak up about these requests. They then handed me a book with the updated guidance from Ben & Jerry's corporate on what is and isn't free of different allergens. This is when I wish that I had taken a picture. Update on flavors: if you previously enjoyed Phish Food, it is no longer a safe option. Insert the crocodile tears here.
On the trip home, we started our day once again with the nutrient packed protein shakes. It's just a part of our commitment to be healthy for each other. He planned two more adventures before we headed out: shooting at a local indoor range and WNC Nature Center. We had been discussing the range for a while, as it's something I want to get more comfortable with and let's just say I have room for growth. The Nature Center is something that definitely had promise. I think we both had expectations of there being a few more animals.
All in all, we had an amazing anniversary getaway. My love did a fantastic job planning and rescheduling to accommodate the news filming and for that, I am grateful. I am so appreciative of towns like Asheville, where the biggest challenge is choosing between so many safe gluten free options. Until next time, Asheville. We will definitely be back!
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