The South - Eastern USA - page 656

toffees on your bedside table. The upscale mountain cuisine at the inn's restaurant, Sim-
plicity, is worth a trip in itself.
Six Pence Pub PUB$$$
( www.sixpencepub.com ; 1121 Main St, Blowing Rock; mains $9-18; restaurant 11:30am-10:30pm
Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat, bar to 2am) The bartenders keep a sharp but friendly eye on
things at this lively British pub, where the shepherd's pie comes neat, not messy.
Hob Nob Farm Cafe CAFE$$$
( www.hobnobfarmcafe.com ; 506 West King St, Boone; breakfast & lunch $3-12, dinner $8-15;
10am-10pm Wed-Sun; ) Gobble up avocado-tempeh melts, Thai curry bowls and sloppy
burgers made from local beef at a wildly painted cottage near ASU. Brunch is served un-
til 5pm.
Information
Visitor Center ( 800-438-7500, 828-264-1299; www.highcountryhost.com ; 1700 Blowing Rock
Rd; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, to 3pm Sun) The High Country visitor center has info on accom-
modations and outdoors outfitters.
Asheville
With its homegrown microbreweries, decadent chocolate shops and stylish New South-
ern eateries, Asheville is one of the trendiest small cities in the East. Glossy magazines
swoon for the place. But don't be put off by the hipsters and the flash. At heart, Asheville
is still an overgrown mountain town, and it holds tight to its traditional roots. Just look
around. There's a busker fiddling a high lonesome tune on Biltmore Ave and hikers
chowing down after climbing Mt Pisgah. Cars swoop on and off the Blue Ridge Park-
way, which swings around the city. A huge artist population and a visible contingent of
hard-core hippies also keep things real.
Sights
Downtown is compact and easy to negotiate on foot. The art-deco buildings remain much
as they were in 1930. The shopping's fantastic, with everything from hippie-dippy candle
shops to vintage shops to high-end local art. West Ashville is an up-and-coming area,
still gritty but very cool.