Greetings Foodopia fans and sweet tooth aficionados! We always count ourselves lucky to live in an abundance of so many amazing restaurants here in Asheville. Of course one of the hardest parts of being in the midst of so many wonderful dining options is deciding which to enjoy! This hardship extends far beyond the reach of dinner plans and ebbs into everyday decisions such as coffee meet-ups, beer destinations and of course delicious dessert options. Thankfully, Asheville expert blogger Travlavl has highlighted some of the best spots in Asheville to satisfy that sweet tooth. Below is an excerpt on the region of downtown in specific, and the full article covering all of Asheville’s sweet neighborhoods is available here.
SWEET ASHEVILLE
Looking for something sweet? Asheville has you covered – with dessert and chocolate shops throughout the city (not to mention ice cream and donuts, but those deserve their own features!).
Here’s a breakdown of Asheville’s sweetness by location, starting with:
Downtown
city bakery
60 Biltmore Avenue Downtown & 88 Charlotte Street North Asheville
Hours (Charlotte Street location closes earlier) Monday – Saturday 7 am – 6 pm, Sunday 7 am – 5 pm
Since 1999. Serving artisan breads and pastries, along with breakfast and lunch options. Open at 7am, they offer a smoked trout plate with homemade bagel, egg and cheese sandwich on huge cheddar scallion biscuits, stuffed avocado salad, and classics like reuben, BLT and club sandwich.
french broad chocolate lounge
10 S. Pack Square Downtown Asheville
open 11am-11pm Sunday-Thursday, 11am-midnight Friday & Saturday.
One of the most popular places for chocolate in Asheville since it opened on Lexington Avenue in 2008, the French Broad Chocolate Lounge relocated to Pack Square. French Broad offers vegan chocolate, many interesting flavors of truffles like Lavender Honey Caramel, Rose, Cardamom & Pistachio and salted caramel, cakes, cookies, and an entire menu of drinking chocolate. They also expanded, featuring ice cream and grab and go chocolate next door at the French Broad Chocolate Boutique – Chocolate + Milk 10 S. Pack Square DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE, NC, and offering tours and tasting at the French Broad Chocolate Factory 21 BUXTON AVE. www.frenchbroadchocolates.com
chocolate fetish
36 Haywood Street Downtown Asheville
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11am-7pm, Friday & Saturday 11am-9pm and Sunday 12pm-6pm.
The Chocolate Fetish at 36 Haywood Street Downtown, has been crafting award-winning chocolates in Asheville since 1986. It has been ranked Best Chocolatiers and Confectioners in America. Stop by their Haywood Road storefront downtown Asheville for a frozen chocolate banana, a pecan turtle, assorted truffles and chocolate rounds. They also do many specialty chocolates for the holidays, gifts, favors, and chocolate shoes and cowboy boots.“Through the Glass” Guided Tours offered Wednesday-Friday at 1:30 pm.
asheville chocolate
25 Broadway Street, Downtown Asheville
Hours: Sunday & Monday 12pm-6pm, Wednesday & Thursday 10am-10pm and Friday & Saturday 10am-11pm (Closed Tuesdays)
(formerly Chocolate Gems) offers handcrafted truffles, local gelato and decadent drinks. https://www.avlchocolate.com
sunshine sammies
99 S Lexington Ave – Downtown Asheville, NC 28801
Summer hours: Sunday-Thursday 12pm-10pm, Friday and Saturday 12pm-11pm.
Known for their handmade (huge!) ice cream sandwiches, Sunshine Sammies started out as a solar powered pushcart in the summer of 2013. Now with a physical location, they also have pushcarts and a vintage ice cream truck named Sunny that can be seen around town. Pick the cookie and handmade ice cream of your choice to make you Sammy (I like the potato chip cookie and vanilla bean ice cream – yum! but strawberry ice cream on sugar cookies is a close runner up), they also offer waffle tacos, housemade marshmallow s’mores, fresh baked cookies, local soda floats and much more!
karen donatelli
57 Haywood Street – Downtown Asheville
Tuesday-Thursday 10am – 6pm, Friday and Saturday 9am-7pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Karen Donatelli specialized in cake design for special occasions, and also opened a bakery and cafe on Haywood Street downtown Asheville in 2012, serving croissants, brioche cakes, and pastries.
http://www.donatellicakedesigns.com
double d’s
41 Biltmore Avenue – Downtown Asheville
Not just a fun double decker bus, Double D’s serves fancy coffee drinks and delicious treats like muffins, cookies, milkshakes and warm brownie sundae’s. Head’s up – the bus is cash only, and hours vary by season.
the soda fountain at woolworth walk
25 Haywood Street – Downtown Asheville
Monday-Saturday 11am-5pm, Sunday 11am-4pm.
This technically goes under the ice cream category, but the old fashioned Soda Fountain at Woolworths, serving milkshakes, malts, banana splits, egg creams, and ice cream sundaes. They also serve lunch, and although this counter is nostalgic, item like the black bean burger, hummus plate and veggie dog remind you that you’re still in Asheville, and the 5&10 is actually a huge art gallery.
old europe
13 Broadway, Downtown Asheville
open from 7am-11pm Sunday-Thursday, and 7am-midnight Friday and Saturday.
Old Europe has been serving European-inspired desserts and locally roasted coffee downtown Asheville since 1994 – the oldest coffee shop downtown. Early morning breakfast options like daily quiche, croissants, muffins, and cruffins, along with delectable desserts like Tiramisu, French Creamy, Hazelnut Napolean, Lemon Bavarian and Godiva Cheesecake. They also offer an assortment of macarons daily like lavender caramel, strawberry mint and pistachio. Made fresh daily, it’s hard to choose. They also serve wine and champagne for a great late night date night or celebration.
We are thrilled to offer several of these wonderful dessert options on our daily walking food tours! Of course no food tour would ever be complete without dessert, and on any given day you might have the opportunity to try French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Asheville Chocolate or Sunshine Sammies! Visit our website at www.eatingasheville.com for more information and to book your spot today!
Cheers Asheville!
