Asheville vegetarians and vegans rejoice! For the entire month of October many of Asheville’s best restaurants will be participating in the “Asheville Face-Off”; a plant-based vegan competition that will challenge restaurants around town to create innovative & delicious plant-based dishes for the entirety of the month.
The competition is presented in combination with Asheville Vegan Outreach and No Evil Foods. The former is a local initiative that aims to end animal exploitation through the promotion of a vegan lifestyle, and the latter is a local Asheville company known for making delicious, plant-based, meat substitutions. Together, with the Face-Off, they hope to raise awareness of animal treatment and promote plant-based lifestyles.
Several of Asheville’s top chefs will be participating. At Strada Italiano, Chef Anthony Cerrato has created a mouth-watering version of their locally famous Chicken Marsala using No Evil Foods “The Prepper” for the protein. The “chicken” is simmered in their rich Marsala wine sauce with sauteed mushrooms over linquine. Perfect comfort food for the cooler weather!
Our friends at Zia Taqueria have created another unique dish using the traditional technique of mexican-stye tamales. The Tamales will be filled with yellow squash and red chili and topped with green hatch chili and a cashew crema. Yum!
Other participating restaurants include Gan Shan Station, Dobra Tea West, Corner Kitchen, Chestnut, Social Lounge, Plant, Mellow Mushroom, Rezaz, West Village Market, Green Sage Cafe (all three locations), and Posana.
Interested in checking out these plant-based goodies? Swing by any of the participating restaurants and enjoy one of their vegan creations; afterwards you will receive a card with all the information needed to vote online for your favorite dish. You can also get more information on the Asheville Plant-based Face-Off Facebook page. Both diners and chefs will receive prizes and recognition at an awards ceremony following the Face-Off. If you’re a social media enthusiast, be sure to tag your photos with #AVLFaceOff to be eligible!
Also, vegetarians and vegans are always welcome on our walking food tours, where you can experience several of these restaurants participating in the Face-Off any day of the week!!
