The Silver Skillet was one of the first entries I posted on this blog and, being new to the area, had only been there a few times. I decided that the Skillet deserves a more reflective review.
The Skillet is a good 60 years old at this point. It's a Georgia Tech institution. I see colleagues there regularly (sometimes that's good, sometimes not so good). But clearly it has a wide following---the 14th Street bridge construction put a dent in their business, so a lot of people must cross the great I-85 chasm that separates geeks and suits in order to have their breakfast. The Skillet wears its age well. It doesn't play up its quaintness or its fame. It's just one of those places that never changes.
The piece de resistance of the Skillet is the biscuits and gravy. The gravy is silky smooth. Luscious is the best term I can think of to describe it. The biscuits hit the perfect balance between flakiness and moistness.
I think that lunch at the Skillet isn't quite up to the same level as breakfast. But a hidden gem on their menu is the lemon icebox pie. It is a perfect specimen of a species that one doesn't see every day. Try it some time---remember that pie is the All American breakfast...
Luella's is a nouvelle BBQ outfit on the north side of Asheville. It is nestled among the trees in a lovely neighborhood. The restaurant has lots of windows for inside seating and plenty of outside seating. Service was courteous and amazingly fast. This is a combination plate with pork and brisket. Both were very moist and tender. For the pork, I tried both the mild and hot vinegar sauces. To my surprise, I preferred the milder one because it didn't assert itself too much. I enjoyed the spicy tomato sauce for my brisket. The hushpuppies were very good. The fried okra was fresh out of the fryer and excellent. The slaw was of the vinegary variety, which I usually enjoy, but this version is heavy on the white stuff and didn't have quite enough variety in tastes for me.
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