Early Girl Eatery - Asheville, NC Review

Yum in my tum!!

Early Girl Eatery made my taste buds happy without any added guilt this holiday!

You can find the Early Girl Eatery in the quaint, adorable city of Asheville, NC. Nestled between lovely shops along the cobblestone Wall Street, the Early Girl is a little gem. This gal is gaining popularity quick. I suggest you get there before it's featured on the Food Network and slammed with tourists like other similar Asheville fave's like Tupelo Honey.

I totally love the Early Girl Eatery's motto (which they do seem to uphold): "Simplicity, Quality & Local Flavor"

The atmosphere at Early Girl feels warm and southern-ish but they don't over do it with country bumpkin stuff. No rooster paintings or tin cans hanging anywhere [thank goodness]. The space is open and colorful with lots of narrow windows allowing natural light to brighten the restaurant. They have both regular tables and cool 'picnic table-like' benches using recycled church pews. Local artist's works are featured on every wall... really gives the place a eclectic, funky feel.

Early Girl Eatery serves up southern inspired meals from scratch. Yes, from scratch like true southerners should ya'll. The owners also claim to buy almost all ingredients used in their kitchen from local NC farmers. I always appreciate restaurants that support their hometown agriculture, big bonus points there! The menu changes seasonally and daily specials vary every day as you would expect.

I visited the Early Girl for Saturday brunch. There were several people waiting to be seated but the line moved quickly. Our party of four only waited about 20 minutes to get a table. Not too shabby for an up and coming restaurant in Asheville that has gained a ton of buzz recently. The hostess and servers were so welcoming and cheery. After our party was seated the waitress quickly came to take our drink orders. I could tell she was pretty slammed with other tables yet she still managed to get to us promptly. I had fresh squeezed OJ and a nice cup of coffee. Then chose the Black Bean & Cheddar Omelet from the daily specials list. Outstanding! Simple, tasty and the serving size was reasonable. I am really picky about portion sizes when dining out. I loath restaurants that drop a huge trough of food in front of you. It's wasteful and totally unhealthy for one person to eat five pounds of food in one sitting. Fortunately, the Early Girl serves perfect portions that leave you satisfied and not overly stuffed. I was a clean plater and didn't feel a bit ashamed!

Here are a few examples from Early Girl's menu to get your mouth watering:

Breakfast - Biscuit & Gravy: homemade biscuit topped with vegetarian herb cream gravy    $3.00

Lunch - Cheeseburger: Locally raised hormone-free beef topped with farmstead cheese, basil mayo, lettuce, tomato, and grilled red onions   $7.75

Dinner - Duck Breast: pan-seared, with roasted shallots, sweet potato fritters and sautéed greens    $16.95

Brunch - Homemade Quick Breads: pumpkin ginger or banana bread    $3.00

** There are several Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten-free items all over the menu too.

Check out Early Girl's website here: www.earlygirleatery.com

I highly recommend this place. I'm going back to try out their Dinner menu next time I'm in town.