Top Asheville Likely To Sell Out

Six tastings, one walkable loop through downtown Asheville, and a food scene most visitors miss. Start with a chargrilled Indian street food roll in warm flatbread with slaw and chutney, then a buttermilk biscuit built around dry-cured Appalachian ham. Next, a pressed panini on toasted ciabatta from a shop better known for its hand-cut potato chips. Somewhere in the middle, your Secret Food Tours guide leads you into two local artisanal shops for tastings kept off the itinerary until you're standing in front of them. Dessert is a quarter-pound ice cream cookie sandwich. Your guide lives in Asheville and will tell you why the arcade outside was meant to carry a fourteen-storey tower, how the city's refusal to default on a Great Depression debt saved the buildings you're standing in, and where locals eat on a night off. Small groups, an easy walking pace, and a guide with strong opinions about where to eat next.