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Episode 199: The Penultimate Show!
THE PODCAST
The podcast above was originally recorded on 07/28/2025 with my usual co-host Chef Tom LaFauci from Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville…
00:00 - 05:24 INTRO: Climate Change & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy05:25 - 10:44: ANNOUNCEMENT: Putting A Cap On This Baby10:45 - 11:25 MANNA SPOT: Please Donate to MANNA Foodbank11:26 - 32:37 FOODIE GAMES: How Many, Name That Sandwich & Lightening Round32:38 - 33:30 MOWABC SPOT: Please Donate & Volunteer for MEALS ON WHEELS33:31 - 40:10 WEMO CONCLUSIONS: The Price Of Eggs Will Go Up & Down & Birds Are Gonna Die By The Millions40:11 - 45:55 WHAT A WORLD: Ice Cream Sandwich Recall & Ozzy Burrito45:56 - 50:39 CELEBRITY CULTURE: Dinner With Bourdain50:40 - 52:08 BIG WIENERS & GOOD VIBES: Bear’s Throws A Party52:09 - 54:14 BYE! Thanks To Deb & All The Listeners and WPVM 103.7fm!54:15 - 55:48 WPVM SPOT Please Donate to WPVM RADIO ASHEVILLE
THE NEWSLETTER
SANDWICHES! If you want to have a classic deli counter sandwich experience in downtown Asheville, head on over to The Asheville Forager grocery store and deli on Wall Street! I went recently with my fellow tour guides from Asheville Food Tours just to check it out, and we ended up getting a TON of food in the form of a full-sized Italian grinder (it was literally as long as my forearm!), a 1/2-sized "Bunkum" (it was still huge) and their enormous Pastrami Rueben. These sandwiches were AWESOME!
The Italian took me straight back in time, to my teens and twenties living, working, and attending college in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a very authentic representation of the kind of food offered by the delis and restaurants that I grew up with in New England.
The Rueben was outstanding. Epic in proportions, perfect in execution and overflowing with meat and flavor! I was too full to try Sarah's Bunkum grinder, but it looked and sounded just as good as the other two, and she crushed it. The atmosphere is lovely, the setting is clean and bright with fun decorative details, and the grocery store is filling up with excellent local, regional, national and international food options for us! Super high recommends for these sandwiches, and for the whole experience. Thanks, Asheville Forager! You're a very welcome addition to downtown!
NEIGHBORHOOD JAM: We did one of our favorite things last week, and visited our neighborhood pizza place, All Souls Pizza on Clingman Ave in the River Arts District, where we got our three standard go-to items: The Honey pizza, with pepperoni, tomato sauce, peperoncini, mozzarella, and local honey, along with the large Bibb Lettuce Salad with radishes and herb vinaigrette, and two soft-serve cones!
We do this exact same routine at least once a month and it brings us a lot of joy and comfort! We love the food and the staff and owners of All Souls. Chef Brendan and his crew are making some of the best food in town, and have been for many years!
And, yes, my soft-serve was dangerously droopy, but I attacked it with all the speed and precision I could muster, and got it taken care of without losing a drop! 🙂
FANCY BURGERS: Yes, no big surprise, we returned to Mother on the South Slope for dinner, where we enjoyed another outstanding meal. We shared the house bread, a panzanella salad, and one if their insanely delicious and very popular lamb burgers.
We were seated at the bar, and I must have seen a dozen burgers come out of the kitchen that night! Word is out about this restaurant, and this burger. It's big and juicy and savory and just melts in your mouth. They dress it with whipped feta, harissa aioli, pickled fennel and local greens.
It's in my top five favorite burgers right now, and in my top two "fancy burgers," along with Table. Spendy, yes, but worth the splurge every once in a while in my opinion, and the opinion of a dozen other people that night at least! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
EATING SKULLS: If you're like me, and you think that eating chocolate skulls is always appropriate, The Chocolate Fetish, located on Haywood Street in Downtown Asheville has their Halloween stuff out already!
But if you’re thinking, “Well it’s not even September yet!” You’re right, they’ve got a big jump on Halloween, and if that upsets you, please ignore the fact that they also have their chocolate turkeys out for Thanksgiving already! Here’s how I feel: I like shapes. I like chocolate, and I’ll eat turkey-shaped piece of chocolate any time of year!
NEW FAVE RIBS: We got some insanely delicious char sui ribs from Wildwood Still on a food tour recently. So flavorful and cooked to come right off the bone. Chef Austin and his crew are kicking out some of my favorite jams in Asheville these days, and these ribs are now my new faves.
This is the tour-sized portion. A regular order has four ribs. I recommend both the restaurant *and* coming on a tour with me or Sarah and Asheville Food Tours!
— end —
Get full access to Stu Helm: Food Fan at stuhelmfoodfan.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Stu HelmTHE PODCAST
The podcast above was originally recorded on 07/28/2025 with my usual co-host Chef Tom LaFauci from Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville…
00:00 - 05:24 INTRO: Climate Change & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy05:25 - 10:44: ANNOUNCEMENT: Putting A Cap On This Baby10:45 - 11:25 MANNA SPOT: Please Donate to MANNA Foodbank11:26 - 32:37 FOODIE GAMES: How Many, Name That Sandwich & Lightening Round32:38 - 33:30 MOWABC SPOT: Please Donate & Volunteer for MEALS ON WHEELS33:31 - 40:10 WEMO CONCLUSIONS: The Price Of Eggs Will Go Up & Down & Birds Are Gonna Die By The Millions40:11 - 45:55 WHAT A WORLD: Ice Cream Sandwich Recall & Ozzy Burrito45:56 - 50:39 CELEBRITY CULTURE: Dinner With Bourdain50:40 - 52:08 BIG WIENERS & GOOD VIBES: Bear’s Throws A Party52:09 - 54:14 BYE! Thanks To Deb & All The Listeners and WPVM 103.7fm!54:15 - 55:48 WPVM SPOT Please Donate to WPVM RADIO ASHEVILLE
THE NEWSLETTER
SANDWICHES! If you want to have a classic deli counter sandwich experience in downtown Asheville, head on over to The Asheville Forager grocery store and deli on Wall Street! I went recently with my fellow tour guides from Asheville Food Tours just to check it out, and we ended up getting a TON of food in the form of a full-sized Italian grinder (it was literally as long as my forearm!), a 1/2-sized "Bunkum" (it was still huge) and their enormous Pastrami Rueben. These sandwiches were AWESOME!
The Italian took me straight back in time, to my teens and twenties living, working, and attending college in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a very authentic representation of the kind of food offered by the delis and restaurants that I grew up with in New England.
The Rueben was outstanding. Epic in proportions, perfect in execution and overflowing with meat and flavor! I was too full to try Sarah's Bunkum grinder, but it looked and sounded just as good as the other two, and she crushed it. The atmosphere is lovely, the setting is clean and bright with fun decorative details, and the grocery store is filling up with excellent local, regional, national and international food options for us! Super high recommends for these sandwiches, and for the whole experience. Thanks, Asheville Forager! You're a very welcome addition to downtown!
NEIGHBORHOOD JAM: We did one of our favorite things last week, and visited our neighborhood pizza place, All Souls Pizza on Clingman Ave in the River Arts District, where we got our three standard go-to items: The Honey pizza, with pepperoni, tomato sauce, peperoncini, mozzarella, and local honey, along with the large Bibb Lettuce Salad with radishes and herb vinaigrette, and two soft-serve cones!
We do this exact same routine at least once a month and it brings us a lot of joy and comfort! We love the food and the staff and owners of All Souls. Chef Brendan and his crew are making some of the best food in town, and have been for many years!
And, yes, my soft-serve was dangerously droopy, but I attacked it with all the speed and precision I could muster, and got it taken care of without losing a drop! 🙂
FANCY BURGERS: Yes, no big surprise, we returned to Mother on the South Slope for dinner, where we enjoyed another outstanding meal. We shared the house bread, a panzanella salad, and one if their insanely delicious and very popular lamb burgers.
We were seated at the bar, and I must have seen a dozen burgers come out of the kitchen that night! Word is out about this restaurant, and this burger. It's big and juicy and savory and just melts in your mouth. They dress it with whipped feta, harissa aioli, pickled fennel and local greens.
It's in my top five favorite burgers right now, and in my top two "fancy burgers," along with Table. Spendy, yes, but worth the splurge every once in a while in my opinion, and the opinion of a dozen other people that night at least! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
EATING SKULLS: If you're like me, and you think that eating chocolate skulls is always appropriate, The Chocolate Fetish, located on Haywood Street in Downtown Asheville has their Halloween stuff out already!
But if you’re thinking, “Well it’s not even September yet!” You’re right, they’ve got a big jump on Halloween, and if that upsets you, please ignore the fact that they also have their chocolate turkeys out for Thanksgiving already! Here’s how I feel: I like shapes. I like chocolate, and I’ll eat turkey-shaped piece of chocolate any time of year!
NEW FAVE RIBS: We got some insanely delicious char sui ribs from Wildwood Still on a food tour recently. So flavorful and cooked to come right off the bone. Chef Austin and his crew are kicking out some of my favorite jams in Asheville these days, and these ribs are now my new faves.
This is the tour-sized portion. A regular order has four ribs. I recommend both the restaurant *and* coming on a tour with me or Sarah and Asheville Food Tours!
— end —
Get full access to Stu Helm: Food Fan at stuhelmfoodfan.substack.com/subscribe