We may have gotten together for the donut run, but our weekends always involve more than just donuts! The first night we had dinner at La Guinguette, a place that describes itself as a French and Latin cafe. Their menu is a really interesting mixture of crepes, tamales, and empanadas.

We started dinner with a charcuterie board because we always love a good meat and cheese tray. I went for the tamales and got a pork and a cheese one – they were huge, and I could barely finish them, even after sharing a few bites with the girls! The pic below are the empanadas. I think we were so hungry and excited to see each other that we forgot to get pics of the other entrees.

We rented a cabin in Black Mountain – between Asheville and Marion – for the weekend, so after the Carolina Donut Festival (click the link for my post on that event!) we went into the downtown Black Mountain area to walk around and grab some lunch, ya know, because we needed more food. We had lunch at a tavern/brewery, and I’m usually really good at remembering names of restaurants, but I can’t remember a thing about this place. It wasn’t because the food was bad…maybe I was experiencing a sugar coma or crash?

We walked around downtown Black Mountain for a bit, which is cute and had more things to do than I anticipated. We also made a four-legged friend who was very good at selling shoes and had excellent posture!

That evening we had reservations at Cúrate in Asheville. We were all really excited about trying it because it’s one of Nicole’s favorite places to eat.

Our table was right next to this counter where they were preparing a lot of the meat plates. It was fun and strange to watch them shaving meat off this giant leg of…animal.

Our first priority was drinks! Three of us had the sangria, and I think the other was a gin and tonic.

After our toast, everything was a blur! Nicole was our guide to the menu, but the waiters and waitresses are also really great about making suggestions. I have absolutely no idea what we ordered, so I’ll try my best to navigate and explain our food pics (and I know some of our food is missing…). I’m also a little disappointed in the quality of my pictures. The better pics are ones that I probably stole from the ladies.

I have no idea what anything in the above pic is (meat and cheese and bread, obviously, but I’m not sure what kind). All I know is that I ate it and was happy.

Our next round included patatas bravas and pimientos de piquillo rellenos and a salad in the back that we destroyed pretty quickly. Not pictured are lamb skewers and two desserts.

The rest of the evening was spent taking full advantage of the hot tub (definitely the best part of any cabin experience!). We also had a message from our hosts before we arrived to look closely for all the bear carvings on the property.

The next morning, our plan was to pack up and have brunch at Louise’s Kitchen in Black Mountain. This restaurant is in an adorable old house, but they don’t take reservations, so you have to get there pretty early to avoid a wait. We didn’t manage that, so we had to come up with a quick plan and ended up finding The Black Bear Tavern (people are all about their black bears in this town!). Their website wasn’t working for me to link, so this link connects you to their Facebook page.

We got in immediately and all four of us ordered The Big Bear Breakfast – a biscuit topped with white American cheese, bacon, two scrambled eggs covered with homemade sausage gravy, and surrounded by potatoes. Even though it looks like a hot mess (or as my mom would say, “a stomachache”), it was so delicious and a perfect meal to enjoy as the rain started pouring down!

We all frequently meet up in North Carolina because it’s a pretty central location for us. What places do you recommend for weekend trips? I’d love to have suggestions for the future!