The summer evening was a perfect time to walk to the Wharf for a relaxing dinner. The wharf has been developed with new apartments and restaurants but I headed to the traditional end. The fish markets there are huge with an amazing array of fresh fish. They also cook fish, mostly fried but also raw oysters. I ordered this wonderful fried seafood assortment from Jessie's Cooked Seafood. The stands are arranged to be well below sidewalk level, an interesting configuration that I haven't seen before. After a few minutes, the fish emerged from the fryer: red snapper, crab cake, onion rings, corn pudding. The fish was extremely fresh and wonderful to eat. The corn pudding was sweet, almost dessert-like, and very much a treat. I sat near the stand to eat my fish, then moved near the water to enjoy the view and the people.
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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