New restaurant, Cold Mountain events, more food news: What to know
ASHEVILLE - Asheville's first brewery returns with its popular seasonal beer collection and celebratory event series; a downtown smokehouse hosts a temporary eatery and bar; and a restaurant founded on healthy eating gets new owners.
Cold Mountain 2023
Highland Brewing’s major holiday kickoff and seasonal beer celebration week is set for Nov. 9-12.
On Sept. 26, ticket sales went live for the anticipated Cold Mountain beer release events. Tickets will be required to visit Highland’s main campus at 12 Old Charlotte Highway during the event weekend.
Tickets will not be required to visit Highland’s downtown taproom at S&W Market.
Cold Mountain, first released in 1996, captures the essence of the wintertime with warming notes of vanilla, hazelnut, dark fruit and cinnamon.
Event guests will get the first taste of this year’s brews in the taproom and at the special events, plus early access to purchase Cold Mountain to-go.
This year’s brews include the traditional Cold Mountain Winter Spiced Ale, plus Coconut Cold Mountain, Imperial Cold Mountain and Chocolate Hazelnut Cold Mountain, which may be purchased by the case.
Imperial and Barrel-Aged Cold Mountain are two spinoffs that will be sold as a la carte packages – a limited inventory will be reserved for each event session and sold first come, first serve.
Highland’s full schedule and information for preordering Cold Mountain are available on the brewery’s website, highlandbrewing.com/coldmountain/.
Event highlights:
Nov. 9. Cold Mountain Beer Dinner. Bun Intended’s Cameron Kozlow will curate a winter forest-inspired dinner with Cold Mountain beer pairings, including a Smoked Cold Mountain. Highland's Sensory Scientist, Megan Rayfield, will provide commentary. The ticketed event is for ages 21 and up. Cost: $120.
Nov. 10-11. Daytime Celebration Sessions. From noon to 4 p.m., Highland will host a family-friendly bash in its taproom and Meadow that includes access to live music, food trucks, disc golf courses and more. Plus, adults may visit the cigar lounge. Cost: $10.
Nov. 10-11. Evening Celebration Sessions. From 6-11 p.m., the party will continue for adults ages 21 and up only. The evening will include a silent disco. Cost: $20.
Nov. 12. Cold Mountain Family Day. Bring the whole family for a day of live music, food, games and kids’ activities in the Meadow. Cost: $10.
Cold Mountain will hit retail shelves on Nov. 13.
Hotbox
Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse’s seasonal sandwich shop and bar, Hotbox, has made its debut with a menu of smoked bites and craft cocktails.
Hotbox, a “little box bar” on the side of the South Slope restaurant at 121 Biltmore Ave., was designed to complement the smokehouse and cater to casual diners.
“We’re really focused on the smoked meat element of Ukiah,” Executive Chef and owner Michael Lewis said. “You’ll see a lot of similarities in the barbecue platter and sandwiches that are offered at the Hotbox that you will see in the same items in the restaurant. Just much more casual.”
Ukiah’s menu features a pastrami-brined short rib, and the Hotbox serves a variation with brisket or served as a pastrami sandwich.
The pastrami sandwich is made with house-cured and smoked wagyu pastrami with Japanese mustard vinaigrette served on toasted rye bread sourced from The Rhu.
The menu also features a pulled pork sandwich made with a Kyoto-Carolina rubbed, sauced and house-smoked pork butt served on a potato roll.
The cocktail menu features tiki-style cocktails on ice and frozen, as well as craft beer, seltzer, sake, wine and Japanese whisky.
Hotbox is open from 5 p.m. to "until" on Fridays and Saturdays through mid-fall, weather permitting. Lewis plans to extend operation hours and days when the concept reopens in the spring.
At Ukiah, a new seasonal menu will roll out in October incorporating fall ingredients like collard greens, corn, tomatoes, figs and pumpkins. Also, produce sourced from Lee’s One Fortune Farm, including Korean pears.
For more, visit hotboxavl.com and ukiahrestaurant.com and follow on Instagram @@hotboxavl.
Clean Eatz
Neal Gartrell is celebrating the acquisition of his fifth Clean Eatz café at 1950 Hendersonville Road No. 11 in South Asheville.
Seven years ago, Gartrell and his wife invested in his first franchise location of the company that was founded in 2013. Now, the entrepreneurs own four in Tennessee and purchased the South Asheville restaurant ― which he said opened nearly two years ago ― from a former franchisee this year.
Healthy eating and lifestyles are driving motivations for the business partners.
“We are so committed to what we do, and we love what we do because when we get into communities and churches and schools and we bless people with healthy options, and we have people who tell us how much it affects their life ― that’s what it’s all about,” Gartrell said.
The café’s menu offers custom bowls, snacks, burgers, wraps, smoothies, kids' meals and more.
A few of Gartrell's favorites are buffalo chicken pasta (or buf-mac), teriyaki chicken and beef taco bowl.
Clean Eatz offers a customizable fresh meal plan service, for as low as $6.52 per meal, with a new menu every week.
“Our customers never get bored. It’s always something new,” he said. “It’s not a subscription. You can pay for it when you pick it up or when you order it online. You can skip two weeks and come back to it. It’s really what you need to get you through a busy lifestyle.”
Clean Eatz’s freezers are stocked with 60-80 to-go dishes that rotate daily, he said. The meals are fully cooked and made in-house and frozen in single-portion servings and may be prepared in the microwave.
The meals are offered as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, keto and low-carb, too. On average, dishes are below 500 calories.
“We’re for everybody. If you’re trying to maintain your weight, lose weight, gain weight, we have meals for all those things,” Gartrell said.
For more, visit cleaneatz.com.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: What to know about Highland's Cold Mountain event tickets, more
