My husband and I will be visiting North Carolina in early-mid August and will be spending our anniversary (38th)in the Asheville area. Could someone please recommend a good restaurant suitable for an anniversary celebration? Any other "tips" about things to see and do in Asheville would be appreciated as well. (We have already been to - and enjoyed - the Biltmore House.) Thanks for your input!

A couple of restaurants that we always enjoy when visiting Asheville are The Flying Frog, Cafe on the Square,and Gabrielle's at Richmond Hill Inn.

Biltmore Village has some great galleries and shops.
A drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway is always a good way to spend some time.
Many of the small towns surrounding Asheville are enjoyable as well.

I've been trying to resurrect my post from last month regarding best restaurants in Asheville -- I got some great recommendations but, for some reason, can't get the search function to locate it.

However, we had a truly superb dinner at Savoy(www.savoycucina.com), and would definitely eat there again - in fact, can't wait to eat there again. And Southern Living magazine recently had an article on Asheville -- their recommendations include Rezaz for dinner, Laurey's for lunch (www.laureysum.com) and Early Girl Eatery (on Wall Street) and Tupelo Honey Cafe (College Street) for breakfast/brunch; I haven't tried any of these.

For general Asheville info, check out exploreasheville.com, Convention & Visitors' Bureau website, or asheville.com

Unfortunately, Southern Living is known for making mediocre suggestions (although they do find a pearl now and again). Rezazs and Tupelo Honey are both average. Not bad, but nothing to get excited over. And if you want a sandwich for lunch, I would do Blue Moon over Laurey's.

vboltin - I'm blanking on a rec. for a special occaison restuarant in Asheville. The better restauarsnts tend to be more casual. You might want to read my post in response to the "dining in Asheville" question.

I'll let Litespeed advise you on restaurants, as she is the resident food snot (and a big ol' wink at Litespeed!), and I have a nasty habit of recommending restaurants that I later learn are chains.

Meanwhile, I'm the man to talk to about Asheville attractions. Can you tell me what you're specifically interested in? Asheville is a destination that could effortlessly occupy more than a week, because there's a LOT to see and do here. Name your poison, and I can help you out.

Hey guys, isn't there a restaurant called Market Street or Market something downtown that might fit the bill? I haven't eaten there, but have seen pictures and walked by one afternoon and watched them making fresh pasta in the window. Looked pretty nice. It's on our list for when we next visit.

Brian - you mean the Marketplace (I think, I have a hard time getting their name right too.) IT's on Wall St. They re-did their outdoor dining space recently, added cool rusted iron planters to block it a bit from the street. Also added a less expensive, casual menu for the patio dinners.

I have been there twice. It's pretty good, not fabulous, but I AM a food snot (wink to Haunted). And I'm extra hard on places that are "fancy". If I have to make my husband wear long pants in summer (his idea of hell) I want VERY good food. We may give it another shot now that we can eat outside (God, for snobs, we sure do sound like slobs!)