I noticed for the first time today a lady selling tamales in the driveway next to the Mexican consulate. The consulate is on the I-85 access road north of Cheshire Bridge. I stopped by and picked up a package of three; given the choice between corn-wrapped and banana leaf-wrapped, I went with corn-wrapped. I took them home and broke out one for dinner.
The tamale was excellent: nice moist chicken with a soft, gentle burn; dense and flavorful masa jacket. I ate my excellent tamale with some potato soup I cooked up with a few potatoes and some turkey stock from Thanksgiving. A very satisfying meal.
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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