Admittedly, I do a lot of complaining here about the Asheville dining scene and how the downtown (and River Arts…and West Asheville) fine dining scene isn’t for me—I’m just not its target audience. A large part of that, which I’ve probably also mentioned before, is that part of my rapid transformation into my father is that I just find it hard to justify spending $150 on scallops with raisin foam or $45.00 on a piece of schnitzel when say, seafood shacks and reasonably priced, delicious German restaurants also exist. It’s just not how I want to spend my money, and I think the whole foodie scene is more marketing than anything.
That being said, I enjoy food. However, I don’t consider myself a foodie (never a foodie), but a food enthusiast: I like trying new restaurants. I love a good, long meal, and frankly, I enjoy eating so much that in between working on this draft, I’m also suit shopping for my cousin’s wedding since my waistline has expanded significantly since the last time I had to put one one two years ago. I just get frustrated sometimes, in Asheville, that eating is so unnecessarily expensive, with again, in my humble opinion, often not a great ROI (there are some exceptions, obviously. For example, and I know this is super on the nose, but I’m never mad an expensive meal at Curate).
This is my long-winded way to say that there is a great, under-the-radar fine dining experience in Asheville that I love and have always had a good meal at. It’s not downtown, in West Asheville, nor the River Arts. It’s called Copper Crown, and it’s located in a strip mall alongside an orthodontist’s office (I initially wrote out “and a tanning salon,” but then checked and found that wasn’t accurate, but this specific strip mall definitely has the spirit of one where a tanning salon would be) on Tunnel Road.
Editor’s Note: For the uninitiated, Tunnel Road is Asheville’s mecca of big box stores and chain restaurants. It is, unsurprisingly, not somewhere the fine dining crowd frequents.
I had dinner at Copper Crown earlier this month. My friend and I split crab cakes as an appetizer (very good, but to be honest, crab cakes—along with eggs benedict and lasagna—are one of those foods I always end up wanting to like more than I do), and a pot-de-creme for dessert. I had two Highland IPAs (the new Trailbound IPA is delightful), and my entree was: medium rare steak in a bbq demi-glaze over a white cheddar and garlic orzo. I both wanted to lick the glaze off the plate when I was finished and find some way to take it home and fuck it because it was that good. The steak was supposed to come with asparagus, but when I mentioned to the bartender that I didn’t love asparagus, he didn’t hem or haw or tell me that’s how the chef recommended it, but happily suggested subbing in a German potato salad, which was equally delightful. The entire experience? $50 and some change plus tip. For the quality of the food and the unpretentiousness of the staff, that’s beyond a steal.
Copper Crown has a rotating-ish menu, and I’ve already made reservations to go back…because listen to the sound of this fried chicken dish: Fried chicken breast with sweet potato johnny cake, petite salad, cane syrup, and herb butter.
And my entire overly wrought introduction serves a purpose here. To showcase that you can do interesting, foodie-esque food that is more substance than concept.
AshevilleExplorer 