• Asheville’s Biltmore Estate will host Field to Table Festival: A Taste of Appalachia Sept. 19 through 28. The event includes wine barrel tastings and panel discussions about Appalachian food and farming with such topics as “Barbecue Nation,” “Benton’s Bacon Cotton Candy and Other Kitchen Magic,” “Shuck Beans and Mountain Connections,” and “I Eat My Peas with Honey.” River Bend Barn will represent the field aspect, exploring how plants and animals are raised and providing examples of southern Appalachian field-to-table practices. Members of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, a nonprofit organization that supports farmers and rural communities in western North Carolina, will assist with cheese making, butter churning, home canning and preserving, sorghum making, and home brewing demonstrations. Speakers include Sean Brock, executive chef of McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston, S.C., and food writer John T. Edge. For schedule and ticket prices: www.biltmore.com.
• Zink American Kitchen, part of the Harper’s Restaurant Group, 201 N. Tryon St., has reopened after months of extensive kitchen renovations. Executive Chef Tom Condron and Zink’s Chef de Cuisine Jon Fortes have revamped the menu. New are a burger bar at lunch, sloppy Joe sliders, a grits bar and lobster mac and cheese. www.zinkamerican.com.
• GW Fins, 525 N. Tryon St., now closed for lunch, is featuring fresh, not frozen, king crab served chilled with a Creole mustard and spicy blue crab slaw ($34).
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 2, 2008.
