The River Arts District in Asheville overflows with hundreds of studios: potters and knitters, glassblowers and jewelry makers, most of whom you can visit on a whim. But only one offers a candied ginger twist for you to nibble while you wander and stare longingly at the ceramic plates, or an apple-and-quince brioche pudding to eat off of one of those very dishes. Husband-and-wife team Akira Satake and Cynthia Pierce combined their talents — his art and her baking — when they opened Yuzu, a gallery meets micro-bakery in 2013. Last summer, they moved to a new space almost twice the size. Here, Pierce can continue to surprise visitors with Japanese flavors woven into familiar desserts. “I like being out of the box,” she says. “I like when people come in and say, ‘I don’t recognize this.’”
Café Yuzu
191 Lyman Street #165, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 545-7447 or yuzubycynthia.com
In North Carolina, spring brings the scent of fresh-cut grass and memories of helping Dad mow the lawn.
Nostalgic burger joints are like time machines, delivering something extra special that keeps us coming back.
This tiny city block in downtown Greensboro once had a gigantic reputation. Not so much for its charbroiled beef patties — though they, too, were plentiful — but for its colorful characters and their wild shenanigans.
In the 1950s, as Americans hit freshly paved roads in shiny new cars during the postwar boom, a new kind of restaurant took shape: the drive-in. From those first thin patties to the elaborate gourmet hamburgers of today, North Carolina has spent the past 80 years making burger history.
