It's not often that I'm able to say yes to going somewhere cool for the weekend, so when my friend asked if I wanted to go to Asheville to help her find a place to live, I was pretty psyched to be able to say yes. I hadn't been since college, and things have changed. "The people" are raving about this town for a reason. There was an almost overwhelming number of cool and interesting things going on, not the least of which was the beer scene.

Our first stop was Wicked Weed, where I had the Pernicious IPA (the lighter colored one above), and Ashley had the Tyranny. Amazingly delicious, and served in a very cool atmosphere--trendy yet earthy. One thing that struck me on this visit is that there appear to be some very good iron workers (people doing iron work?) in Asheville. We saw large pieces of metal that could have been used in the floor of a workshop re-purposed as asymmetrical shutters and custom arced bar stool tables with metal frames and wooden tops at Hi Wire, where they also had some amazingly huge lanterns (perhaps 10 feet wide?), as well as a delicious Pale Ale (but they're apparently known for their lagers).

Dinner the first night was at White Duck Taco Shop. I am a lover of tacos, and we don't get a lot of good ones in West Virginia. (Though to give credit where credit's due, Charleston's Black Sheep does count.)

The ones at White Duck did not disappoint. Below on the right is the fish. On the left are mushroom potato and the Goucho (I think), which was filled with tostones and chimichurri. All three were fantastic, but to my surprise, the star was the mushroom potato. It was so perfectly seasoned, and the textures were amazing. The margarita was also spot on.

Last stop on Friday was at Green Man Brewery, where they allow doggies in the tap room and serve a nice Pale Ale.

I took a whole lot of pics, so there's more to come.