Asheville Cabin Trip, July 2015

We rented a cabin near Brevard, NC for three nights with some friends (and their kids).
We were just outside of Pisgah National Forest.

Brevard is less than an hour south of Asheville, where there's always plenty to do (and eat)...

More details.

BurgerFi in N. Cary

Only one choice for vegetarian fare at the chain BurgerFi:
the quinoa burger

Overpriced and overly greasy (the french fries are done in peanut oil). Add a milkshake if you're needing to meet your health insurance deductible this year.
We made the mistake of ordering the large fries (not the bucket, just large), but it was still too much.

We survived, and it was all quite edible, but I think it'll be awhile before we gorge on burgers & fries again.

Happy 4th!

All-vegan strawberry, lemon, and blueberry cookies.

El yummo! 'Murican style.

Himalayan in Cary

We've been to Himalayan Nepali Cuisine I don't know how many times.
It's always good, and not quite as spicy-hot as Indian food.
Plenty of vegetarian options, and a few vegan ones too.

This establishment has been open in Cary for over a year now, and was the only Himalayan restaurant in the county (or state, as far as I know), but just recently a Tibetan restaurant opened up in the same strip mall! Very odd.
Coincidentally, this Himalayan restaurant now seems to have all new management and waitstaff.

We ordered the usual Veggie Pakora appetizer this time, and it seemed possibly even better than usual.

The Himalayan Lentil Dal Fry and Onion Kulcha were also excellent as usual.
So we'll keep this as one of our regular faves.

New Tibetan Restaurant

I've been waiting for weeks for this Tibetan Restaurant to open. Not to be confused with the Himalayan Nepali Cuisine place two doors down that has been open for over a year now...

Very veg-friendly. "Tibetan Restaurant" has plenty of appetizers, main courses, drinks, and desserts to satisfy the hungriest of patrons. (I didn't notice the Thai Iced Tea until too late. )

We ended up ordering three entrées (each at regular prices) to make a nice full meal for the two of us. A bit more expensive than the local competition, but still a fair deal.

Filed under "Momo", the Veggie Baklap (5 Pcs) was a good random choice today. Definitely not a main course you'd want to eat all by yourself; it makes an excellent side dish for 2-5 people. Deep fried (but not terribly greasy) pastries filled with cauliflower and chives (that's our guess). Good, but one is enough to satisfy that craving.

We ordered the Tofu and Veg Soup, but somehow ended up with the Sweet Corn Soup instead. Still quite good; a nice hominy & black bean base with potatoes and cauliflower, carrots and a nice broth. This bowl was just large and hearty enough to justify calling it a "main course".

Lastly, the full Tse Khala Nazom comes in a tray. This was my favorite. It has a little bit of everything, and makes for a perfect one-person meal.

As usual we said "not spicy" to our waitress, and luckily everything was just that: very flavourful, but not hot-spicy at all. There were side-cups of extremely hot Sriracha-style dip, but we didn't touch them.

Next time, we might get a drink &/or app and dessert rather than an extra entrée.

Another plus: they're open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. Yay!

Overall, a good meal. We'll definitely be visiting again sometime. Since this restaurant has just opened, they may even change a few things in the near future.

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Update 7/20/2015:

Went back a second time and remembered to order the Thai Iced Tea. It was fine, but unfortunately mostly just sweet cream with a splash of tea in it. Not quite as nice as other Thai teas in the area.