For
over a century, Highlands NC has provided a mountain respite for visitors from
all over the country. The resort town is located at an elevation of 4,118 feet,
making it one of the highest towns east of the Mississippi; the surrounding
mountains feature an abundance of recreational opportunities including hiking, fishing,
waterfall photography and golf. In the postcard-perfect town of Highlands you’ll
find a thriving arts scene (including the renowned Bascom Center), antique shopping,
upscale boutiques, and fine-dining in a wide selection of restaurants. However
the peak of foodie-delight comes in November, during the annual Highlands Food
and Wine Festival.
Formerly
known as Highlands Culinary Weekend, the festival celebrated its eleventh anniversary
this year. Attendees were encouraged to explore nearby trails and waterfalls in
between events, and local restaurants hosted individual dinners in partnership
with the culinary and wine talent in town for the festival.
Truckin’,
Friday’s food truck event, brought a wide array of food trucks from all over –
including Greenville and Asheville – to complete a food-triangle-of-fame of
sorts. The four hour event took place on Old Creek Circle, amidst tall trees
decked out in autumn colors, on a chilly yet sunny Saturday, and proved that
once again, the Highlands Food & Wine Festival is worth the trip!
On
hand from Asheville was James Beard nominee Elliot Moss with his signature
Buxton Hall Barbecue, chipotle cheese grits, collard greens and slaw, the pulled
pork bbq bringing back memories of Greenville’s food festival euphoria that recently brought them down our way. Other highlights included Farm to Fender (also Asheville)
with their Flying Goat BLT: smoked bacon, fried green tomatoes & local goat
cheese, complimented by a side of Tabasco honey cauliflower wings.
A
third vendor from Asheville was Bun Intended, the traditional Thai steamed
buns and bao truck. Their Pork Belly Bao (with seared pork belly, cucumbers, pickled
carrots & daikon, herbs, green onion and apple BBQ sauce!) and the Vegetable
Bao are on my personal Truckin’ best-of list.
Greenville
favorites Automatic Taco also had pork belly, theirs prepared Korean style with
kimchi, cilantro and cashews. Despite worrying about stomach capacity and my
ability to try everything, I admit that I couldn’t skip them, even though the
Pork Belly Taco is what I usually order when I catch up with them here in town. (Very
professional of me, right, making sure they were up to standard up in NC!?)
To
complete the Asheville-Greenville-Highlands triangle, multiple local chefs participated
during other festival events, including Adam Lewis of Mountain Fresh Grocery
and Wolfgang Green of Wolfgang’s. However for Truckin’ we got lucky with a
couple of food trucks from within the triangle - Backwoods Bakery and The Velvet Cup – and BrineHaus all the way from Raleigh! It was my first time
trying BrineHaus, but the Tabasco sweet potato wings absolutely amazing,
especially when paired with an IPA from Oskar Blues.
Beverages
included cocktails from Tito’s Handcrafted Vodka, beer by Oskar Blues, and four
wine distributors: Ecovalley Wines, Meeker Vineyard, Merry Edwards and Schug
Winery. Tito’s had brought the bus, and I wasn’t the first (nor the last)
festival-goer to take advantage of the comfortable leather seating to digest
and recharge before the next course!
 |
| Backwoods Bakery with a mobile pizza oven |
In
addition to the cream of the culinary crop, this year’s Highlands Food &
Wine Festival brought a spate of musical acts to western NC: JJ Grey &
MOFRO, Love Canon, Liz Vice and the iconic Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New
Orleans. The Futurebirds put on a great show before the Truckin’ headliners,
Dawes, took the stage; it wouldn’t surprise me if folks came to Highlands just
as much for the music as they did the food.
Between
the Sip & Shop wine adventure on Friday, the Main Event that takes over
Main Street on Saturday, various wine tastings throughout the weekend, Gospel
Brunch on Sunday and a Generous Pour (concert) with the Preservation Hall Jazz
Band, the Highlands Food & Wine Festival was really the “Height of
Happiness” for food and music lovers, allowing total immersion in food, wine,
music and mountains. And if you’re around
for the festival, maybe I can suggest a few other stops while you’re in town…?
Sunset Rock, Highlands
Mountain Waters Scenic Byway, Highlands to Franklin (4 waterfalls!!!)
Whiteside Mountain, between Highlands and Cashiers
For
more on the Festival, checkout the website www.highlandsfoodandwine.com.
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