[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by KJ10

I did PCD a few months back and my brother and I stopped at Biltmore on the way down. We had a drink and lunch in the courtyard before the tour and it was very cool. When you are leaving you drive right in front of the house and you can hop out for a picture. That was my plan until BMW threw a stop sale my way and I had to leave my car in Spartanburg.

They threw a stop sale after having scheduled PCD? Yikes... I've heard a lot of people in my build week with stop sales currently as their cars sit at VPC, luckily no stop sale on mine.

[KJ10]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

They threw a stop sale after having scheduled PCD? Yikes... I've heard a lot of people in my build week with stop sales currently as their cars sit at VPC, luckily no stop sale on mine.

Thanks to both of you. It was definitely not ideal as I got the call the day before I was set to leave. Had to change plans a bit and they offered to reimburse for flights home which I thought was nice. But I have yet to see the check and have not had much luck getting answers on when I can expect it

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by KJ10

Thanks to both of you. It was definitely not ideal as I got the call the day before I was set to leave. Had to change plans a bit and they offered to reimburse for flights home which I thought was nice. But I have yet to see the check and have not had much luck getting answers on when I can expect it

That's frustrating! I swear I've never heard of so many stop sales as I have these past several months.

[wtwo3]

Ok guys, here's a very preliminary itinerary following PCD. Day 1 is travel into Greenville, Day 2 is PCD, so this is Day 3-5. I've tentatively decided to spend 1 night in Asheville, then drive straight to Louisville the next day, and then home. So I'll be skipping Knoxville by popular opinion.

As far as things to do - I think the Biltmore would be awesome but I'm not sure I can fit it into the schedule unfortunately.

Looking for recommendations for:

- Brunch spot in Greer/Greensville, SC area
- Dinner spot in Asheville, NC
- Dinner spot in Louisville, KY

Any other must-see things that I can either fit in or replace on this schedule.

[kscarrol]

Asheville = Curate downtown. For something more casual, the Sierra Nevada brewery near the airport (south of downtown) has some pretty good eats to go along with the beer choices. Of course plenty good options on the beer front in Asheville, Wicked Weed has food, Burial Beer is excellent as well but don’t recall food being available.

For brunch I would go with Select in Greer but make a reservation as it will get crowded with a long wait if no reservation.

[RickFLM4]

Pretty nice agenda. Pretty packed.

I'd recommend staying in downtown Asheville (lots of hotels and AirBnB's), at the Grove Park Inn or at the Grand Bohemian. I'll second Curate but you need to make a reservation ASAP - it may already be booked for a Friday (and they are closed on Mondays). Limones is also excellent about a block away (also need reservation), with many other options available with / without reservation. Before dinner, you might want to check out Antidote. After dinner, you might want to pass by the French Broad Chocolate Lounge.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Pretty nice agenda. Pretty packed.

I'd recommend staying in downtown Asheville (lots of hotels and AirBnB's), at the Grove Park Inn or at the Grand Bohemian. I'll second Curate but you need to make a reservation ASAP - it may already be booked for a Friday (and they are closed on Mondays). Limones is also excellent about a block away (also need reservation), with many other options available with / without reservation. Before dinner, you might want to check out Antidote. After dinner, you might want to pass by the French Broad Chocolate Lounge.

Yup Curate is booked for any reasonable times on that date already I'll check out Limones. I also came across this restaurant "Chai Pani" which seems to have a pretty interesting Indian-fusion menu - but wonder what the wait times would be like since it seems like a really small place. Definitely will walk over to the chocolate lounge after dinner!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Asheville = Curate downtown. For something more casual, the Sierra Nevada brewery near the airport (south of downtown) has some pretty good eats to go along with the beer choices. Of course plenty good options on the beer front in Asheville, Wicked Weed has food, Burial Beer is excellent as well but don’t recall food being available.

For brunch I would go with Select in Greer but make a reservation as it will get crowded with a long wait if no reservation.

Select looks great for brunch and pretty conveniently located. Putting that on the itinerary!

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Yup Curate is booked for any reasonable times on that date already I'll check out Limones. I also came across this restaurant "Chai Pani" which seems to have a pretty interesting Indian-fusion menu - but wonder what the wait times would be like since it seems like a really small place. Definitely will walk over to the chocolate lounge after dinner!

We haven’t tried Chai Pani. It is owned by a recent James Beard award winner who has become a bit of a celebrity chef. I’d expect it to be very popular, especially on a weekend. He also is an owner (or partner?) in Buxton Hall BBQ, which we like a lot (no reservations though).

Limones and French Broad Chocolate Lounge are about 2 blocks apart. Aloft, AC Hotel and The Foundry are all very close by.

[kscarrol]

And the Wicked Weed brew pub is just down the block from Aloft and Curate.

[x3sm]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

I'm planning a road trip from Greenville, SC to home in Chicago, IL. My current tentative plan is to make stops in Knoxville and Louisville, but the plan is somewhat flexible. What's not so flexible is time (meaning I can't make this a long trip). So I'll at most be making 2 stops for 1 night each (i.e. 1 night in Knoxville and 1 night in Louisville).

Dates are tentative but aiming to spend evening of 2/9 in Greenville then possibly head out on 2/10, to be in Chicago by 2/12.

Any ideas or recommendations for Greenville/Knoxville/Louisville and/or other cities i should consider instead en route?

Places to go
Things to do/see
Places to eat

Thanks all!

As a lot of people already mentioned, definitely visit Asheville. We just moved here and OMG, loving it. For food places I would suggest Bargello, La Bodega by Cúrate, Tall John's, Vivian. if you want to try something different and very delicious, try Nine Mile (Caribbean Cuisine) at 33 Town Square Blvd. You should stop by Grove Park Inn, beautiful views. Lastly, if you can, definitely go to Biltmore. If you're into coffee, Rowan is amazing and so is Farewell Coffee. For late night desert I suggest Old Europe in downtown, its delish. Also, you can go up AC Hotel in downtown, there is a rooftop bar with food and amazing views of the mountains. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

[n33d4speed]

When you leave greenville, if you decide to make a stop in Asheville, you can do yourself a favor and take one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the area. It's "Old Highway 25" and runs from Norther Greenville into Saluda, NC. At the end of the road, the small town on Saluda has one of my wife's and I favorite little restaurants, The Purple Onion. Get a cup of local ground coffee and a few of the homemade pastries or a slice of cake. That road alone is worth the trip, but the town of Saluda is like Mayberry turned Hippy.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by x3sm

As a lot of people already mentioned, definitely visit Asheville. We just moved here and OMG, loving it. For food places I would suggest Bargello, La Bodega by Cúrate, Tall John's, Vivian. if you want to try something different and very delicious, try Nine Mile (Caribbean Cuisine) at 33 Town Square Blvd. You should stop by Grove Park Inn, beautiful views. Lastly, if you can, definitely go to Biltmore. If you're into coffee, Rowan is amazing and so is Farewell Coffee. For late night desert I suggest Old Europe in downtown, its delish. Also, you can go up AC Hotel in downtown, there is a rooftop bar with food and amazing views of the mountains. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

Awesome, thanks for the suggestions! I did want to check our Biltmore but unfortunately the way my schedule's working out I'm not sure I'll be able to do that. Definitely wish I had more time in each location. I have a feeling with it being a Friday night a lot of the restaurants will be pretty busy, so I appreciate the suggestions - I should find some availability at at least one on the list.

So far I've got:

Chai pani
Red ginger
Bargello
La Bodega
Tall John's
Vivian
Nine mile

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by n33d4speed

When you leave greenville, if you decide to make a stop in Asheville, you can do yourself a favor and take one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the area. It's "Old Highway 25" and runs from Norther Greenville into Saluda, NC. At the end of the road, the small town on Saluda has one of my wife's and I favorite little restaurants, The Purple Onion. Get a cup of local ground coffee and a few of the homemade pastries or a slice of cake. That road alone is worth the trip, but the town of Saluda is like Mayberry turned Hippy.

Always up for a scenic drive! That'll be perfect if I can leave Greenville early enough. Current plan is to leave around 5ish which should give me at least an hour daylight to enjoy this route. Will put it on my itinerary!

[x3sm]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Awesome, thanks for the suggestions! I did want to check our Biltmore but unfortunately the way my schedule's working out I'm not sure I'll be able to do that. Definitely wish I had more time in each location. I have a feeling with it being a Friday night a lot of the restaurants will be pretty busy, so I appreciate the suggestions - I should find some availability at at least one on the list.

So far I've got:

Chai pani
Red ginger
Bargello
La Bodega
Tall John's
Vivian
Nine mile

Yeah, there is a wait almost every night, downtown is busy every day of the week. There are some restaurants that are booked out for weeks ! I will also suggest Red Stag Grill, its at Grand Bohemian Hotel and that whole area is beautiful, its called "Biltmore Village."

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by x3sm

Yeah, there is a wait almost every night, downtown is busy every day of the week. There are some restaurants that are booked out for weeks ! I will also suggest Red Stag Grill, its at Grand Bohemian Hotel and that whole area is beautiful, its called "Biltmore Village."

I noticed! One of the recommendations - curate, is already booked out for that date... a month in advance!

I'm hoping to not have to go the reservation route only because I'm not entirely sure what time I'll be getting in to Asheville - just depends on how that day progresses. Let's see... Will add Red Stag Grill to the list!

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Awesome, thanks for the suggestions! I did want to check our Biltmore but unfortunately the way my schedule's working out I'm not sure I'll be able to do that. Definitely wish I had more time in each location. I have a feeling with it being a Friday night a lot of the restaurants will be pretty busy, so I appreciate the suggestions - I should find some availability at at least one on the list.

So far I've got:

Chai pani
Red ginger
Bargello
La Bodega
Tall John's
Vivian
Nine mile

Hey don’t forget Limones…. Also I second Red Stag. I didn’t mention it because our last visit there was not good - they were having issues in the kitchen and they made it right in the bill. But it is a normally a great place and we will go back again when we are there.

x3sm where are you in Asheville? My wife and I have a condo downtown (part-time residents).

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Hey don’t forget Limones…. Also I second Red Stag. I didn’t mention it because our last visit there was not good - they were having issues in the kitchen and they made it right in the bill. But it is a normally a great place and we will go back again when we are there.

x3sm where are you in Asheville? My wife and I have a condo downtown (part-time residents).

Yes! Limones as well:

Chai pani
Limones
Red ginger
Bargello
La Bodega
Tall John's
Vivian
Nine mile

ONE of these should have availability for a party of 2 on a Friday night walk-in

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Yes! Limones as well:

Chai pani
Limones
Red ginger
Bargello
La Bodega
Tall John's
Vivian
Nine mile

ONE of these should have availability for a party of 2 on a Friday night walk-in

I’d make a reservation somewhere that doesn’t charge for cancellations just in case….

[br438]

As others have said, Asheville is a gold mine of opportunity. - some good Japanese restaurants as well... Pack's Tavern is just good-ole food done right with good service... if you're looking for something more pedestrian.

If you're going to eat at Chai Pani, go in an off-hour, right when they open.

Unless you park off-site and walk, the Grand Bohemian (main lodge) is valet parking... just an fyi. We're all hoping for a full report once your trip is done.

enjoy!!!!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by br438

As others have said, Asheville is a gold mine of opportunity. - some good Japanese restaurants as well... T=Pack's Tavern is just good-ole food done right with good service... if you're looking for something more pedestrian.

If you're going to eat at Chai Pani, go in an off-hour, right when they open.

Unless you park off-site and walk, the Grand Bohemian (main lodge) is valet parking... just an fyi. We're all hoping for a full report once your trip is done.

enjoy!!!!

Now I'm really wishing I had more time in Asheville One night seems like it's definitely not gonna cut it. If I had it my way I'd spend the weekend there before making the trip up to Louisville, and then eventually home to Chicago.

I don't have high hopes for getting in to Chai Pani - I think it opens at 5:30 for dinner and I don't anticipate getting in to Asheville until 6:30 at the earliest. But worth a shot.

[DubaiRich]

If you don't have reservations, see if bar seating is available. That works here in Napa