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Hi all,

NOTE: This post had to be split up due to the listserv size
limitations.

My GF friend and I had a wonderful time in Asheville. Our
dining experiences were mostly very good.  I’ll share the
inputs I got from folks on the listserv. They came in
quickly after my initial request and were definitely
appreciated!

But, first, I’ll share what we experienced.

Friday evening, we went to Doc Chey’s Noodle House, which
was recommended by several folks with caveats, of course.
We called ahead, we talked to our server, and requested the
GF menu. The place was extremely busy, so we did not speak
to the manager. Our wait for a table was 30 minutes, so we
shopped nearby and came back. The menu has a “wheat-free”
section and a “low wheat” section—that latter one concerned
me. Also, the wheat-free section of the menu talks about
dishes being vegetarian. I realize that some folks are
vegetarian and GF, but when I was talking to the server
about it, she said that vegetarian meant that there was no
soy sauce, so clearly she was not knowledgeable. I tried to
clear that up, but she was not very receptive.  I ordered
the Thai fried rice with chicken and my friend ordered the
Thai fried rice with salmon. She also ordered the cucumber
salad. The food tasted good, but I immediately had concerns
after feeling a bit funny (I do react quickly). So we had
the remainder of our food boxed up to go with us. However,
we both felt we had been glutened as time went on and threw
the take out boxes away. It didn’t help that the server
brought us fortune cookies at the end of the meal. That
said, this place is probably fine when it is NOT busy and
you can speak with the manager. 

Saturday lunch, we ended up at Fig. What a wonderful place!
I had the butternut squash soup and the tarragon chicken
salad on greens. (I love soup so any time I can get a good
GF soup out, I do.) My friend had chicken liver mousse with
fennel salad and then roasted beet salad. The food was
superb, the service was impeccable, and we felt confident
about the safety of our choices from interaction with our
server and the chef (via our server) and felt fine
afterwards.

Saturday evening we ate at The Corner Kitchen where we’d
made a reservation. It, too, was very busy, but our server
was extremely attentive and while knowledgeable on
gluten-free options, he still checked with the chef several
times. I got a grilled rainbow trout and it was
outstanding. (The menu item was pecan crusted, but that
contained flour. Since they don’t prepare the fish ahead of
time, they just grilled one for me.) With that came, mashed
sweet potatoes, and green beans. I don’t remember my
friend’s entrée—sorry. But, we both got dessert. I got the
ginger crème brulee and she got the flourless chocolate
pear brownie cake with fruit conserve and vanilla ice crème
(shown as gluten free on the menu). We each took a taste of
the other’s dessert and they were both great. It really was
a very fine meal and the service was outstanding. Again,
there were no consequences.

Sunday for a very late lunch, we ended up close to Chili’s,
so we checked it out since it was on the recommended list.
We were a little skeptical, but ordered from their GF menu
and did fine. We both got the honey barbecue ribs, but I
also had baked potato soup and a chocolate milkshake. She
added broccoli and garlic and herb mushrooms to her meal.
There were a few other choices like salmon and lots of side
order choices. We thought the food was good, the service
was good (they were very busy as well), and we suffered no
ill effects. I’d go back. They do have to print out the
menu for you and there are no prices or size information on
the GF menu. The ribs order is a full rack of ribs. The
soup is a bowl. So ask questions and/or look at the regular
menu as well to get more info on what you are ordering.

Our other meals were breakfasts eaten in our room from food
we’d brought with us and some snacking out and about. For
example, we had coffee and chocolate at Biltmore Estate.
The confectionary shop there will pull the labels out for
you to read so you can eat safely. 

Hope this helps anyone planning to go to Asheville! We
enjoyed ourselves very much. Thanks again for the help!
Stay tuned ... next email will contain the original
feedback I received.

Shirley Braden
King George VA

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