San Jose CA: @YC Coffee

Faced with a few minutes of free time, I decided to check out San Jose's Japantown. Tbese days the neighborhood is home to a mix of cultures plus some urban gentrification. I stopped by @YC for a quick snack.

I found a store decorated with quite a bit of art. The proprietors were friendly and welcoming, clearly proud of their shop.

My bagel with cream cheese hit the spot. I sat down and enjoyed it before heading out into the world.

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Asheville NC: Luella's BBQ

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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