How much do you love pimento cheese?

I know some of you aren't exactly reasonable on the subject of pimento cheese. So I'm just going to put this one out there and back up a few steps:

The restaurant Tupelo Honey in Asheville has started something the world is surely waiting for: A Pimento Cheese of the Month Club. For $199 (with free shipping if you order before Mother's Day, not that they're making a hint), you get six shipments, one every other month for a year.

Each shipment includes 16 ounces of "gourmet hand-crafted pimento cheese" from the restaurant, 7 ounces of grass-fed charcuterie from Hickory Nut Gap Farm, and artisanal vegan crackers from Roots and Branches.

For more information or to sign up, go to www.tupelohoneycafe.com.

And before you get all het up, remember: I did not willingly type the words "gourmet hand-crafted pimento cheese." I'm just the messenger, people.

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.

Cookbook giveaway: Who won "Tupelo Honey"?

Rhonda Mathis of Charlotte is the winner in our random drawing for a copy of the cookbook "Tupelo Honey Cafe," by Elizabeth Sims, featuring recipes from the little restaurant in downtown Asheville.

While we're on the subject of Asheville, here's a question for you: What's your don't-miss eating experience there these days? I'm making a trip over there soon. On my list: 12 Bones and Doc Chey's, and a return visit to The Admiral.

I've already been to Barley's Taproom, Chocolate Fetish, Early Girl, Tupelo Honey, The Market Place, the Laughing Seed and Zambra. And of course, I've made many trips to the French Broad Food Co-Op and the Grove Arcade.

What else should be on my list, Asheville fans?

Asheville: Best small town for food?

Thedailymeal.com, the Web site started by Colman Andrews (Saveur, books, etc.) posted a list today naming picks for "9 Great Small Food Towns."

To clarify, that would not be towns with small food. (That would be New York, where you get very small portion for very high prices.) No, this list is small towns with great food.

The first town on Daily Meal's list: Asheville, the best-kept secret in the food world. Between the local-food mania, the incredible turn-of-the-century architecture and all those students from UNC-A and Warren Wilson keeping it lively, it gives much bigger food towns like San Francisco a run for their diners' money.

Daily Meal named restaurants like Corner Kitchen, Table and Fig, but I'd also add Tupelo Honey, Early Girl and The Admiral in west Asheville. I ate at the Admiral last fall and loved it, for the eclectic setting, the wide-ranging menu and the creative cocktail list.

I can also make another nomination: Everybody visits the N.C. mountains in the fall, but the spring is even more beautiful and not packed with everybody who is visiting in the fall. Not that I'm dropping a hint or anything, but if you have a weekend to spare this time of year, you ought to consider it.

In the meantime, what's your pick for best small food town? Surely Carrboro/Chapel Hill deserve some love, too.

Food roundup: Markets to mountains

With the first sunny weekend since mid-September on tap, things are busy in the local food world:

-- I have to miss my farmers market run Saturday (parental duty calls), but you shouldn't. On the last couple of Saturday mornings, I've seen more food than shoppers. Pity -- you're missing fresh mushrooms, a huge variety of apples and winter squashes, greens from dinosaur kale to baby collards, eggs, pork and lots of fresh chicken. Winter hours are starting to kick in -- this is the last Davidson Farmers Market until Nov. 21 -- but the Charlotte Regional on Yorkmont Road, the Matthews Community Market and the Davidson markets are all open tomorrow. Go show the farmers some love (a little cash wouldn't hurt, either).

-- If you're heading to the mountains, Asheville has added an unusual event, The Legendary Inns Gingerbread Tour. It starts this Saturday and runs on weekends until Jan. 2. Four gingerbread artists, including Grove Park gingerbread champions Clifta Davis and Deni Cole, have created gingerbread versions of four bed and breakfast inns. A $30 ticket gets you tours of all four inns and their gingerbread countparts, plus transportation by Gray Line Trolley. Get details and tickets: www.ashevillegingerbread.com.

-- Speaking of gingerbread, it's contest season. Here's one: the Candy Factory in Lexington holds its 6th annual gingerbread house decorating competition, to benefit Habitat for Humanity. For a $10 entry fee, you get to pick $10 worth of candy to use on your creation. Completed houses have to be delivered for display by Nov. 20. Prizes will be given in three categories (adult, teen and family with children ages 12 and under). Details: www.sweettoothgifts.com.

-- Wine fans should make plans to go to EarthFare in SouthPark at 6 p.m. Nov. 11 for the Wednesday Wine Down. $15 gets you a lecture from one of their wine vendors, an hors d'oeuvres tasting, and you get to pick a bottle of wine to take home. You need to reserve a seat; sign up at customer service. While you're there, take a look at the rest of the calendar, which includes a kids' cooking class Nov. 14 and a Grapes & Hops tasting Nov. 17.

-- Southern cooking teacher and author Damon Lee Fowler ("Classical Southern Cooking," among other books) will speak at the Clover Public Library, 107 Knox St., Clover, S.C., at 1 p.m. Nov. 14. Go to www.yclibrary.org for details.