Photo: Kelsey Jensen
If you enjoy traveling you might agree that the food is critical to your overall experience.
Asheville is definitely a town that showcases food as a huge part of the destination. If you live here, maybe you’ve noticed that traveling to other towns can be a letdown in the joy of eating. Leaving town? Time to go on a diet!
So when I was invited to dine at Café 64 on Haywood Street in downtown Asheville, it was a chance for me to put on a Visitor Hat and pretend I was traveling to a new city without actually leaving home. I’d never heard of Café 64 so to prepare for this…I did nothing. I didn’t look at their website or menu. I wanted the full experience of surprise. A food adventure in my own hometown.
Gary Taylor, the owner, came here two years ago, a west coast Mad Men kind of man, leaving a long career as owner of an established Los Angeles ad agency to follow his life-long dream of opening a mountain-town café. That’s where Asheville comes in, and Café 64.
Café 64 is a breakfast and lunch spot with a great location in the middle of downtown, just across the street and a few doors up from Malaprops. My lunch-mate Tom and I came in on a rainy summer afternoon, after what had been a busy breakfast and lunch crowd. There was a café board on the sidewalk with a preview of a few items to chew on before sitting down. A strawberry shortcake desert had a great ring to it, along with a breakfast burrito. High anticipation for our Visit To A New Place!
The Café isn’t too large, but has ample seating for the walk-in crowd, about 20 seats, plus a counter and a couple of sidewalk tables. It’s bright and pleasant and has an unassuming atmosphere. We were seated at a table with a nice view of Haywood St. awash in umbrellas.
We sat down to the unveiling of the menu, and it did not disappoint. In fact, there were so many beyond-the-ordinary descriptions it was difficult to choose. Really. It was distinctly continental — a café, not a coffee shop/restaurant.
The menu offers a good choice in vegetarian and vegan options, gluten free, organic and locally sourced foods. Of course they have coffee but also serve espresso drinks plus teas and botanicals. I have to add — a breakfast restaurant that doesn’t have mind-blowing coffee is just plain mean and I won’t go back. I don’t care how great the food is. No worries, Café 64 has excellent coffee. (Bean Werks from West Asheville). So we started with coffee while savoring the menu.
On the breakfast side of the menu, a simple skillet breakfast popped out first. A combination of familiar home-style breakfast favorites, guaranteed to satisfy:
“Two farm fresh eggs over country potatoes mixed with caramelized onions, bacon and roasted red peppers, topped with white cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes and scallions.”
Or for something you probably wouldn’t make at home, Smoked Salmon Scramble: “Farm fresh eggs scrambled with smoked salmon, red onions, cream cheese and chives, served with country potatoes or grits and your choice of toast.” And they use our local Annie’s Bakery — delicious, fresh-baked breads.
How about Carolina Shrimp and Grits? Or homemade Granola? I admit I have a sweet tooth, so I was pretty tempted by the Banana Oatmeal Brulee:
“Oatmeal prepared with cinnamon and brown sugar then topped with caramelized bananas” Warm, sweet, comfort food…yum.
But since it was going on 2 p.m., as much as the breakfast menu called to us, lunch won us both over (although breakfast is available all day). And, you guessed it, it was very hard to choose.
The lunch menu features sandwiches, panini’s and salads. Right out of the gate, a New American sandwich twist out of a centuries old New York salad — Waldorf Chicken Salad Sandwich: “Grilled chicken, toasted walnuts, chopped granny smith apples, red grapes and chopped celery, topped with mixed greens on a lightly toasted croissant.” Croissant? Yes, please!
The roast beef sandwich tempted Tom. Here’s why: “Angus beef, caramelized onions, arugula, parmesan, and horseradish mayonnaise, served on a country baguette” A simple roast beef sandwich, taken to another flavor level with arugula, Parmesan and caramelized onion. (Tom’s a sucker for arugula, you could put it on, say, pancakes, and you’d roll your eyes and he’d say “What? You don’t like pancakes?”)
More sandwiches tempted, but I decided on the Tempeh Avocado: “Seared balsamic and soy-marinated tempeh, sliced avocado, melted provolone, sliced roma tomatoes and mixed greens, on toasted whole wheat bread with roasted garlic aioli.”
I’ve had many a tempeh sandwich around town and I would put this one up against the best. The thickly sliced and seared tempeh was delicious. The tomatoes and greens were deep in color and taste — very fresh. The avocado was a perfect pitch, creamy, but not too ripe and blended well with the garlic aioli.
The Annie’s bread was yummy (to make a great sandwich, you must have great bread). The sandwiches come with a choice of sides and I chose potato salad. It was nice; the potatoes were almost al dente, if you can call a potato that. I mean it in a good way… it wasn’t mushy. Looking around, the portions are nice — I could only eat half of my sandwich, so wrapped half to go.
Tom went with a salad, and the menu has half a dozen to choose from, so it’s a tough choice. Like this one, The Portofino: “Pesto-tossed artichoke hearts, roma tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and fresh mozzarella on a bed of mixed greens tossed with balsamic vinaigrette, served with olive oil crostinis.” Pesto artichoke hearts!
There was a garden-fresh Grilled Chicken Cobb salad with the usual suspects, plus avocado and thickly-sliced hickory smoked bacon, and an herb vinaigrette.
There were several more, but he settled on the Walnut-Crusted Goat Cheese salad: “Sliced strawberries, candied almonds, and a pan-fried walnut-crusted goat cheese medallion over a bed of mixed greens tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.”
As with my sandwich, the presentation was beautiful. Bright, bold vegetables with intense fresh flavors. The goat cheese medallion was a rich, warm, creamy cheese covered with walnuts; really delicious. The candied almonds added a sweet crunch, and the bright red strawberries paired well with the balsamic. The salad, a generous size, came with garlic toast, of course made by Annie’s, light and flavorful.
The sidewalk sign had seared the strawberry desert in my brain, so we weren’t leaving without it. It was a ‘strawberry shortcake’ of sorts, with a wonderful homemade biscuit for the shortcake.
The biscuit was perfect – a bit of a sweet crunch on the outside and light and fluffy inside. Neatly sliced open-faced with in-season strawberries, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a sweet cream drizzle, and homemade whipped cream on top. If you’ve been yearning for strawberry shortcake, this one is yours. It’s as grand as it sounds, and there was plenty for two to share.
Café 64 seems to have everything going for it: delicious, unique dishes prepared with very fresh ingredients, “wow” presentation, surprisingly low prices and the quality we’ve come to expect in Asheville. Kudos to chef Michael Silver and Gary Taylor for making my midday journey live up to a special place.
Café 64
64 Haywood St., Downtown Asheville, 28801
(828) 252-8333
Monday – Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.