Like Siracha and Tahini before it, a couple of years back, Nutella was one of those condiments that people attempted to make into their personalities.
I never bought it.
I always considered Nutella overrated. I always felt like it was never as chocolatey as I wanted it to be, yet somehow also too desserty for a spread (I have very particular food takes for someone whose favorite food is wings), and always a little too heavy.
Editor’s Note: I say this every time I use the term overrated, but it bears repeating. Being overrated isn’t bad. Far from it. A lot of delicious foods are overrated. It just means it’s not as good as people make it out to be.
Asheville, however, is making me reconsider my stance on Nutella. I’m dangerously close to becoming a certified fan.
This change first happened when I was introduced to the Taco Billy cookie, which I’ve written about previously. Now, obviously, you don’t go to a taco place thinking you’ll be a Nutella convert (or thinking you’ll get Nutella in any form, to be perfectly frank). Still, now, sometimes I stop at Taco Billy just to grab some of their Nutella cookies.
Strike two was my recent introduction to the Ultra Coffee Nutella muffin. I have a friend who raves about this muffin, but I never really gave it a chance as a Nutella skeptic. I scolded him after trying this recently for not pushing it hard enough on me because, Jesus Christ, it’s fucking good. I stopped by Ultra just before Christmas, and though I usually go there for something savory (I’m obsessed with their Joey breakfast sandwich), I’d already had an omelet and was craving something sweet. One Nutella muffin was left in the bakery case, so I gave it a go.
You know how many muffins have either way too much or way too little filling or flavor? This was the perfect amount. Every bite had some Nutella, but it didn’t go overboard into sloppy (though I advise eating this bad boy with either many napkins handy or a fork and a knife).
I look forward to whatever other tastebud definites Asheville has me reconsider for the remainder of 2024. Change is good.
AshevilleExplorer 