Summer is around the corner and in addition to guiding food tours to Asheville’s best restaurants on a daily basis, we also get to know what restaurants in Asheville are up to in a rather uniquely familiar kind of way. Even the most diehard regulars at most only visit a handful of restaurants in Asheville as often as we visit thirty of them, and it is pretty fun seeing what they are all up to. One of our favorite Asheville farm to table joints that tends to escape a lot of the media spotlight is Isa’s Bistro, situated right in the heart of downtown Asheville at the corner of Battery Park and Haywood in the historic Bon Marché building. Chef Duane Fernandes is consistently producing some of the best menus in Asheville down below the Haywood Park Hotel, and if you didn’t know, Isa’s Bistro has the best patio in downtown that is shady and always flanked by some of the best street music being performed. They are the only Asheville restaurant that offers valet parking and on top of skillfully prepared southern-influenced American cuisine they have a great offering of classicly inspired cocktails.
We sampled the sangria variations they are mixing up this spring, and were so refreshed that we had to share the recipes. So, for your big outdoor bash this year, or the family reunion picnic, or for your beach vacation, or for your porch in the evening, here you go. The red sangria combines traditional red wine with brandy, sweet blood oranges, fresh ginger, fiery cinnamon sticks and a splash of sparkling – creating a refreshing cocktail with a spice induced kick while the white sangria offers a more tangy take – white wine, brandy, sparkling, succulent oranges and passion fruit with grated ginger and chopped basil.
Red Sangria
2 bottles red wine
1 cup brandy
1 cup triple sec
1 cup orange juice
1 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup simple syrup
½ cup blood orange puree
1 orange-cut into wedges
1 apple-cut into wedges, core removed
1 cup grapes
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 cinnamon stick
Stir all ingredients together and let sit overnight.
White Sangria
2 bottles white wine
¾ cup brandy
¾ cup triple sec
¾ cup passion fruit puree
½ cup apple juice
½ cup orange juice
½ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup lime juice
½ cup simple syrup
1 orange-cut into wedges
1 apple cut into wedges, core removed
1 lemon-cut into wedges
1 tablespoon grated ginger
½ cup chopped basil
Sir all ingredients together and let sit overnight.
Have a party!