HOMEGROWN

In the 35 years we've lived in the area, Asheville has gone from a virtual food wasteland to a foodie's paradise. There are so many great places to eat that I only wish I had the time and money to enjoy them all.

But HOMEGROWN  is really special. Its focus is local, seasonal, affordable food and Claui, who works there, has been tantalizing me with descriptions of the specials of the day. 

 

Miki Kilpatrick, one of the owners, describes HOMEGROWN as “slow food right quick.” HomeGrown, she says, will offer as many local foods as possible on the menu. “We’re going to try to hit a 90 percent bench mark, and do lots of canning and preserving to get us through the winter with local food,” she says. “We’re really trying to make it our mission to make local food affordable and convenient.” 

Though that sounds like no small feat, Miki says, “I grew up on a farm in Madison County putting up vegetables for the winter. That was just a part of life then." 

That farm is just around the mountain from us. We've known Miki all her life and are so proud of what she's doing.

I had the delicious  Lamb Wrap  -- Local lamb (East Fork Farm) with Fresh Arugula (Bountiful Cities Project), Goat Cheese (Looking Glass Creamery) & Pickled Heirloom Tomatoes (Long Valley Organics).

The extensive menu offers many choices, entrees (a tempting chicken pot pie,) sandwiches, (including a duck taco that really sounded intriguing,) salads, and, I was pleased to note,  fabulous tomato-basil soup (tomatoes & basil from Wool Branch Farm)  -- Wool Branch Farm is us -- Justin and Claui supplied those tomatoes and that basil -- oh, the pride.

It's a cheerful, casual restaurant and the food came out in surprisingly quick time. I only regret I didn't take a picture of it -- alas, it looked and smelled too good to do anything but dive right in!