Asheville, North Carolina

There's a short stretch of I-240 along about the Montford Road exit in downtown Asheville where Democracy Now's Amy Goodman meets John Boy and Billy. This cacophonous and utterly incongruous confluence occurs at 103.5 on your dial, where the WPVM ("The Progressive Voice of the Mountains") low-power signal is unceremoniously shadowed and overcome by Classic Rock WIMZ. Welcome to Asheville.

Yep; a convergence of the old and the new, that's Asheville - and the happy news is that for the most part it works, rendering an alchemic admixture of tradition and progression … generally speaking.

Take that exit, the Montford Road exit (Exit 4C), and head north on Montford Avenue. You're entering Montford Park, one of Asheville's loveliest historic neighborhoods, final resting place for Thomas Wolfe and O. Henry as well as home to an interesting amalgam of the living: working-class families who've passed down homes for generations; restless renting youth (downtown's within walking distance); and the refurbishly minded, many of whom are employed by the University of North Carolina at Asheville, a short drive away. Oh; and condos … now there are condos - the source of some considerable unease among those who prefer things the way they were, or who at least prefer that when city council strikes a deal with condo developers to include in agreed-upon development plans a wooded buffer of a given density, council enforce that provision or be prepared to hear about it. The point here being that in Asheville, folks don't tend to take stuff sitting down, recognizing that the abovementioned harmony of old and new isn't realized without some effort.

Head back now to Exit 4C. Just as you approach I-240 you'll pass, on your left, the excellent Reader's Corner used-book-record-CD store (31 Montford Ave.), then the Food Lion SkatePark (35 Cherry St.), then, just as you pass over the bridge, on your right, Three Brothers (Greek) Restaurant, an Asheville institution, and you're now on the edge of downtown. And downtown is one of the two primary general impetuses for having traveled (or moved) to Asheville in the first place: the other being (oh, yeah) those mountains, those gorgeous mountains that shape the 2,000-or-so-foot basin (depending on where you are in town, that elevation fluctuates dramatically - for gosh sake, there's a mountain - albeit now with an "open cut" in it, through which six lanes of traffic travel - right in the middle of the city limits) in which Asheville rests.

Downtown Asheville was once effectively closed - boarded up, experiencing a couple decades of serious downtime. Not so nowadays. "Hip" is the term you're likely to most frequently hear describing downtown Asheville - or, alternatively, "funky." And that it is (at least for now; more on that later).

A good way to familiarize yourself with downtown Asheville is to take the Urban Trail, which starts across the street from Pack Place and meanders for 1.7 miles through downtown proper, with 30 stations describing aspects and eras of Asheville's culture and history. You can take a guided tour or do it yourself. For more information, contact the Asheville Area Arts Council at (828) 258-0710 or info@ashevillearts.com. Don't miss Wall Street (photo) with its collection of small upscale shops and cafes on what is as close as to a pedestrian street in Asheville. (There are cars but they have to go really slow.) You enter Wall Street by Asheville's version of NYC's Flatiron building where on weekends there is usually a street musician or two.

Just north of Wall Street is the Grove Arcade, said to be America's first shopping mall. The Grove Arcade opened in 1929 and thrived until World War II as one of the country's leading public markets. There are cafes, shops, restaurants, a food market and like all of downtown Asheville, wireless if you need to take time away from your tour to answer a few e-mails or even try to figure out where to go next. Outside the arcade are street-vendors selling anything from local honey to jewelry to tie-dye T-shirts, apparel that seems very appropriate to life in Asheville. Check out Asheville's smallest middle-eastern restaurant, Ali Baba for falafils, hummus, babaganoosh and shishkabobs and talk to Fathi, Reda and Amro Ali who can tell you all about their home city of Alexandria, Egypt.

If you crave Mexican go to Salsa's where you can get healthy portions of healthy (relatively) Mexican food. Their salsas and their nacho plate are what nachos are meant to be and the stuffed jalapenos are the hottest I have eaten... ever. (I could only eat two and I wished I hadn't.) The restaurant is very popular and very small so expect to wait if you go at a peak eating time. We ate here 5 years ago and have been back every time we visit Asheville. I invite every sports bar and pub owner in America to come hear for nacho lesson. Heavy on the melted cheese they are served in a crispy tortilla shell.  The restaurant is up-beat and colorful and attracts customers who are too.  The same owners have the Zambra restaurant serving Spanish tapas with a Middle Eastern twist. Zambra has Asheville's most beautiful dining room, an extensive Iberian wine list and live Latin music on weekends. For no-frills NY style diner-luncheonette visit The Mediterranean Restaurant at 57 College Street. Though they have been famous for 30 years for their breakfast, particularly their hashbrowns, chef-owner Peter Apostolopoulos (photo), from Karpenissi, Greece has daily specials and Greek dishes like gyro, Greek salad and southern cooking. If you are budget-concious (like a student, artisit or musician) this is a good bet, with prices that seem twenty years out of date.

But everything you're going to want to see won't be found along the Urban Trail. The Lower Lexington Avenue businesscommunity is home to a notable lineup of shops, boutiques, dives, small restaurants and whatnot, including Rags Reborn Eco Chic Boutique (photo-a second-hand clothing shop that would not be out of place in New York's East Village), Kosmos Designs (handcrafted teak furniture), Sky People Gallery and Design (contemporary art), Max & Rosie's Cafe, Bodega Community Market, Minx (contemporary fashion), Shady Grove (fresh flowers), Liquid Dragon Tattoo Art Studio, Downtown Books & News, Lava Boutique (clothing/jewelry/cosmetics/knives), Hip Replacements (vintage clothing), Izzy's Coffee Den, Instant Karma ("Asheville's funkiest, coolest shop!"), Octopus' Garden (tobacco shop), Green Eggs and Jam Records, Adorn Salon, 26 Records & Clothing, The Honey Pot (vintage and retro clothing), Heiwa Shokudo (Japanese cuisine), Flipside (skate shop), Voltage Records, Forever Tattoo, On a Roll Screenprinting and Design, Madame Butterfly (not sure), Peace Garden (ditto), Crucible Glassworks, Make Me Fabrics, Rosetta's Kitchen - and my apologies to those I may have missed.

Lower Lex is, essentially, what downtown Asheville is all about - and to some degree, by extension, what makes Asheville interesting and vital: an unconventional entrepreneurial spirit, open for business to all. Lexington Avenue is a taste of the Haight, here and now. Which is why some recent indications that downtown may be homogenizing are certainly disturbing. Two very vibrant members of the Lower Lexington community - Vincent's Ear: bar/ gallery/live-performance space/hang-out for those quite happily on the fringe, and the Asheville Community Resource Center: grassroots nonprofit collective/live-performance space/alternative reading room - have recently been sent packing by landlords. Again, though, those who care aren't taking these ominous, indication-of-gentrification developments sitting on their backsides.

Stay tuned.

Head now though on up to Pritchard Park, in the core of which some seriously professional hangin-out goes on (speed chess, performance art, ad hoc mercantilism, that sort of thing), and rimmed by several businesses you should visit. Tupelo Honey Cafe is probably best known for Sunday brunch, but well worthy of consideration for any meal, any day. Here you'll find some wonderful variations on Southern breakfast (served all day) classics and some mighty tasty entrees, sandwiches and salads. Among the favorites: shrimp & grits, "Low Country Salmon," fried chicken, Cajun catfish and the Elvis-inspired peanut butter-banana-and Tupelo honey sandwich. A couple doors down, at 22 College Street, is Mayfel's, and it too is well worth tuckin' into, featuring Po Boys and other fine Louisiana fare. Along the same row is College Street Grill & Pub, and just across the park you'll find Jerusalem Garden Cafe, offering Moroccan and Mediterranean cuisine. While at the park, you should also visit Karma Sonics Music & Video, because they have good stuff and they're an independent, and that's a fine thing.

Time for a cold one - so head south down Patton Avenue about a half block to Jack of the Wood, home of Green Man Brewery, for a selection of their own microbrews and a few others and some good traditional pub grub.

There are a number of wonderful places to visit in Asheville away from the downtown area. You're aware, of course, of the Biltmore Estate - the largest private residence in the country, open to the public for tours for 75 years now. The Grove Park Inn  (photo)is a nice enough place to stay, and (very small) rooms can be had at a not-unreasonable price. But if you're camping, staying with a friend or at a motel (pronounced with a long "o"), head on up to the Inn along about sundown, order a large martini with three olives in the lobby bar (the large fireplaces within which are especially nice in dead-cold winter) and step out onto the porch, where you'll be afforded one of the most spectacular sunset vistas in the city - presumably why the mountain on which it sits is called Sunset Mountain.

West Asheville is home to some of the very coolest small businesses in town, and has its own particular, quite pleasant character. Biltmore Village also has some quant-ish shops and such worth moseying through.

Check back in here soon. In the meantime, I'll be adding the scoop on sports and rec, the River District, Wall Street, Doc Chey's Noodle House (a big favorite of mine), the Asheville Film Festival, additional downtown attractions and sundry Asheville coolness.

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