When traveling around on all ends of town, we try to find some food spots that folks are talking about. We had passed by Brooklyn Bros Pizza in south Asheville – Arden NC many times, but never stopped by. Finally, we did!
The Garlic Knots were great. Breads with Italian dinners in a must!
The Eggplant Parmesan we incredible! Made perfect.
Our photos of the actual pizza did not come out, so we will be heading back soon to try again. Stay tuned for part two!
When you think about Asheville breweries, the first thing that comes to mind is craft beer of course. But after a short time, and a few brews, your stomach starts to kick in and put in a food request. You can always go to a restaurant that features plenty of local Asheville beer, as so many places do. Barley’s Pizza for example is a staple in downtown Asheville, and although Highland Brewing started their operation in the basement, they have never actually brewed any beer themselves. Instead they have a pizzeria that hosts craft beer taps from the local area, as well as specialty nationwide taps.
Many of you want that brewery experience. In the past, breweries kind of strayed away from food for the most part. Some did not want to seem competitive with eateries, while other just didn’t want the responsibility of food. Because if the food is not great, the beer begins to not taste so great either; consistency is important. So they either offered bar snacks or maybe even featured one of the local food trucks.
Now several breweries in Asheville are serving some delicious food options, and we even caught ourselves going there for the food first, and drinking a brew as an afterthought.
Here are the Asheville breweries-eateries that you must try:
Stopped by Favilla’s Pizza in West Asheville the other night and got some deliciousness to go. I have to say, that this pizzeria is about the closest you are going to get to New York “Hole-In-The-Wall” Style Pizza in the Asheville area. The upper photo is their meatballs and sausage dish, and the other is a regular slice, a “Grandmas” piece (our fave), and their so tasty pinwheels. They expanded into a new dining room at their flagship location last year, and now a new expansion announcement is about to happen any day now!
The Asheville Pizza Showdown was a huge success. Lots of great pizzerias from the community came out to support Manna Food Bank. Breweries like Craggie Brewing, Pisgah Brewing, Dry County Brewing, and Highland Brewing donated the beer to sponsor the event.
The race was close, but here are the Top 3 Pizza Showdown Winners for each category:
Cheese Pizza
1st Place – Pomodoros Cafe – with locations in East and South Asheville
2nd Place – Frank’s Roman Pizza – with locations in East Asheville and Enka
3rd Place – Woody’s Pizza & Hoagies – located in East Asheville
Specialty Pizza
1st Place – Favilla’s New York Style Pizza – located in West Asheville
2nd Place – Strada Italiano – located in Downtown Asheville
3rd Place – The Pizza Shop – located in Spruce Pine NC
People’s Choice Pizza
1st Place – Rollin’ Stone Pizza Company – located in Black Mountain NC
2nd Place – Woody’s Pizza & Hoagies – located in East Asheville
3rd Place – Vinnie’s Italian – located in North Asheville
Special thanks to Tribe Management for organizing the event, and to OX + CO for all of the graphic design work. We would also like to thank Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria for the tents!
Thank you to our sponsors on the graphic below:
The Asheville Pizza Showdown is featuring some great pizzerias from the Western North Carolina area. There are plenty of Pizza places in the AVL area. Some did not make the first draft and some could not stand up to the fierce competition; but here are the 8 that made it:
1. Strada Italiano – this was our 1st place winner of the Cheese Pizza category in 2010. They are coming back this year to hold up their title.
2. Frank’s Roman Pizza – this was our 1st place winner of the 5 Topping Pizza category in 2010. Barry says they are ready and coming to win again.
3. Vinnie’s Italian – this was our 1st place winner of the People’s Choice Pizza category in 2010. They are coming back to keep their title.
4. Pomodoros Cafe – this year they are coming back with a great pizza to showoff and down!
5. Favilla’s Pizza – new entry from West Asheville, lots of fans and getting ready to battle it out for a win.
6. Woody’s Pizza – new AVL entry from East Asheville and ready to showdown! White pizza champs battle in the cheese and 5 topping categories.
7. Rollin Stone Pizza Company – new WNC entry into the Asheville Pizza Showdown from Black Mountain NC!
8. The Pizza Shop – new WNC entry from Spruce Pine NC! Also featuring their beer from Dry County Brewing.
All of these places are already winners to us and many. These are the cream of the pizza crop. Maybe they are not to you, yet. But go and check them out, and you will surely have a new fave on your must eat list. All of these great pizzerias are coming out to support Manna Foodbank and the local community they are a part of every day.
See the Breweries Sponsoring the Asheville Pizza Showdown
Get Your Tickets Here: Asheville Pizza Showdown 2012
And Special Thanks to our Sponsors!
