Eating in Asheville: Aye to the Admiral

I don't ask for much from a restaurant meal: Great ingredients, well-prepared. A little thought put into it. And I like flavors so strong, they grab and hold my attention enough to make me want to ignore everything and just live in that moment for a little while.

I made my second visit to The Admiral in Asheville recently. It's a strange little restaurant in what looks like it used to be a gas station. It's in West Asheville on Haywood, at what some people call Five Points. Parking is a dice-toss that might leave you circling for a few blocks.

I'd call the interior tawdry-chic: Dark, with a low ceiling, lots of repurposed vintage furniture and touches of yellow and red lighting. There's an old Budweiser sign with neon strategically blacked out so it appears to spell "dive." The cooking line is three guys behind a counter, laboring with intense choreography to turn out a short menu of small plates, entrees and a short list of desserts.

I stick with small plates, to have more room to try things. Pork belly has almost worn out its welcome on menus, but this version took it back to what I originally liked about it: A surprisingly large square of belly, cooked soft on the inside and crisped and sticky on the outside, served on top of red potato salad with crisp fried onions. It was a mixture of creamy, sticky, cool and crisp.

My husband settled on a full-size plate of diver scallops with a vanilla-sweet corn sauce.

But the dish that grabbed my attention was the Ethiopian Beef Tartare. Yes, raw beef can be risky, but if they're willing to serve it, I was willing to try it. It involved raw egg, too. So sue me.

It arrived on a rough, wooden cutting board: A pile of minced red beef mixed with red spices. A little indentation on top with a raw quail egg. A dab of creamy fresh goat cheese. A pile of crisp, hot, french fries. And a small pool of a sweet, fruity house-made ketchup.

The beef was mixed with so much spice, it was intensely hot and salty, almost painful to eat. Just when it got overwhelming, you could mix in a cooling, creamy bit of goat cheese, or a little of the ketchup, or a break from the crispy fries. Every bite was different, every combination a change-up.

It was a little scary and a little dangerous, and it tasted like comfort food in hell. I loved every bite of it.

It was so intense, the powerfully flavorful ginger-lime creme brulee I picked for dessert almost tasted bland. It was so affecting, I was still thinking about it a week later.

That's a restaurant experience worth my bill.

The Admiral, 400 Haywood Road, Asheville, 828-252-2541, theadmiralnc.com. Dinner only, 5-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Reservations strongly suggested. The menu features local, seasonal products, so it changes frequently. Small plates range from $6 to $12; entrees are in the $25 range.

Love for Charlotte: Michael Voltaggio shout-out

Charlotte got a little tap from Michael Voltaggio, one of the "BroVos" and the winner of season 6 of "Top Chef."

In the July issue of Food & Wine, the Volt gave his own Top 10 list. Under "regret," this was his answer:

"I wish I'd learned to play an instrument. There's a piano in the Charlotte, North Caroina, airport, right near the food court. Random people sit down and play and fill the airport with music. I always wish I could just sit down at that piano and start playing."

Aw, chef! That's as sweet as an airport full of rocking chairs. But surely a chef can do "Chopsticks."

Today in Food: More on Matthews and plates

If my column inspires you to visit the Matthews Community Farmers' Market, this weekend's 20th anniversary celebration on Saturday morning will include free cupcakes, prints of a market painting by NoDa artist David Thayer French, a grilled-pizza demo by Art Institute chef Joe Bonaparte, live music and speechifying. The market is at 188 N. Trade St. in Matthews. Details: www.matthewsfarmersmarket.com.

Also in today's food coverage: Andrea Weigl breaks down the new healthy-plates logo, and recipes for turkey keema, tuna steaks, apple pie and Gwyneth Paltrow's version of chicken stir-fry. Find all that at www.charlotteobserver.com/food.

Name that fruit: Ground cherry

I was finishing up my Saturday shopping at the Matthews Community Farmers Market the other day when manager Pauline Wood ran up and said, "You've got to taste this."

The name of the blog is I'll Bite, after all.

What she had found were tiny yellow fruits covered in a light green husk. They looked like very small tomatillos. But they didn't taste anything like them. Pauline described the flavor as crispy pear. I'd say sweet with a hint of pineapple.

What we had stumbled on were the first ground cherries I've seen in markets around here. Our confusion is understandable: They hide under a lot of names -- strawberry tomatoes, husk tomatoes, dwarf cape gooseberries. They are a member of the nightshade family, so they are distantly related to tomatoes, but nightshade is a mighty big family. The genus is Physalis in the solanaceae family. Apparently, green ones can make you sick, so don't try to forage for them unless you really know what you're getting.

Technically, a tomatillo is a cultivated ground cherry, so my first guess wasn't too far off. But ground cherries are much sweeter.

Latin and family matters aside, they are tasty little things, with a haunting, sweet flavor and crispy texture. Besides eating them raw or in a salad, you can make them into jam, bake them into little tarts, or dry them with a dehydrator. In a 2007 issue of Edible Boston, I found a suggestion from chef Anna Sortun to toss them in a pan with warm olive oil and use them in a stuffing with Serrano ham.

Whichever you do, you'll have to do it quickly. The vendor only brought them to let people sample them, and he expects to only have enough to sell them next Saturday. They're so rare in this market, he's s not even sure what to charge for them. If he has them, they'll be in the second tent from the entrance by the parking lot, next to the Community House.

Lee Brothers in your house

I was once doing a story on food in Charleston when I hooked up with Matt and Ted Lee for a couple of stops. They took me to one of the great fried-chicken places, a tiny joint called Martha Lou's. As we walked in the door, the guy behind the counter hollered out, "Lee Brothers in the HOUSE!"



OK, long way to explain that South Carolina is having a contest where you actually can win Lee Brothers in your house, to cook for your supper club. The S.C. Department of Agriculture is sponsoring "Lee Brother Your Supper," a campaign to encourage people to buy certified S.C. produce and products.

Through July 31, you can enter the free drawing to win a supper-club dinner cooked by Matt and Ted using all-S.C. food. (Your supper club event must be held in South Carolina for no more than 50 people.) There will also be weekly drawings for T-shirts and copies of their newest book, "Simple Fresh Southern." Get an entry form online at www.leebrotheryoursupper.com. If you're not from South Carolina, you still can get daily Lee Brothers recipes and cooking tips.

Photo: grubstreet.com.

Good news for N.C.'s Bamboo Ladies

In our guide to N.C. food gifts in December, Andrea Weigl and I included Bamboo Ladies Pickles, made in Raleigh by Carla Faw Squires. Squires got a little more attention today, with a shoutout by Florence Fabricant in the New York Times. (Oh great - now we'll never be able to get them!)

The pickles really are unusual and delicious. Yes, they are made from bamboo, from a family recipe. They get attention when you put them out for hors d'oeuvres or on an antipasti platter. In Charlotte, I found them at Dean & Deluca and the Common Market, ranging from $8 to $10 for an 8-ounce jar. Or you can get information at www.bambooladies.com.

Coming Wednesday: Steaks and (bad) pizza

Yes, that is a Chef Boyardee pizza made from a boxed kit. And yes, I made it (and ate it). It's part of our Father's Day tribute in Wednesday's Food section.

Don't worry, we have better food in honor of fathers, too: Experts Walter Royal of the Angus Barn, Robert Brener of Johnson & Wales and Vic Giroux of What's Your Beef share their tips for grilling the perfect steak.

Also: Whether it's OK to eat fruit on an empty stomach, and recipes for Green Goddess dressing, turkey wraps and bacon blue-cheese burgers.

Look for it all on Wednesday at www.charlotteobserver.com/food.