GET OUT! Outdoor tables and fresh-air food

OUTDOOR TABLES AND FRESH-AIR FOOD

SUNNY POINT CAFÉ

PHOTO BY ALICE OGLESBY

BY KAY WEST

With Foodtopia as its nationally recognized brand and the hospitality industry one of the biggest sectors of its local economy, the suspension of indoor dining in Asheville just weeks before peak visitor season in 2020 was a stat-level emergency. The city responded with new policies that enabled restaurants to expand outdoor seating into privately owned parking lots, specified city sidewalks and storefront street parking. Although indoor service has resumed, al fresco dining spaces remain popular because nothing whets the appetite or soothes the soul more than a breath of fresh mountain air.

• In the River Arts District, Smoky Park Supper Club offers riverside seating on its lawn and elevated deck — the

Adirondack chairs are particularly popular. Chef Michelle

Bailey has created a seasonal, regionally sourced menu of wood-fired American cuisine that includes starters, sandwiches, burgers and more. The Smoky Park Burger, which features aged cheddar, charred herb mayonnaise, grilled onions and house pickles on a sesame bun, has a cultlike following.

• When the pandemic made outdoor seating a necessity,

Asheville’s most personable French chef/restaurateur, Michel

Baudouin, wasted no time or sentiment in flipping his beloved petanque court outside East Asheville’s RendezVous into a chic and stylish open-air boite. Large canvas umbrellas shelter tables, cane bistro chairs and heaping cones of his famous frites.

• If your fantasy dinner party companions include culinary icons Julia Child and Edna Lewis, then West Ashville’s equally iconic Sunny Point Café has a table for you. The all-day, mother/daughter-owned, fresh-made comfort food eatery commissioned local muralist Gus Cutty to adorn the walls of its large patio with those familiar faces. Additional tables installed throughout the sprawling edible garden might tempt diners to pick their own veggies, but the kitchen has you covered.

• Zia Taqueria operating partner Robert Tipsword thought inside the box to create outdoor dining options in 2020, chalking 14 individual squares on the parking lot surface for picnic tables. The open-air option was a hit, so the impromptu seating area became a permanent fixture, accommodating West

Asheville neighbors and visitors lured by Zia’s extensive menu of Mexican-influenced specialties and mucho margaritas.

• Occupying one of six buildings constructed in 1933 by the

Civilian Conservation Corps, Forestry Camp — with Burial

Beer Co.’s main production facility occupying the other five — offers one of Asheville’s most unique dining and drinking experiences. Chef Mike Achberger’s Appalachianinspired menu features whole-animal butchery. Fine dining is offered upstairs, with snacks and more casual fare available downstairs. The fully weatherized rooftop deck and covered and uncovered patio and picnic areas provide year-round outdoor seating.

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