Another Home Run at Posana Cafe!

Citrus Crab Cakes with Caper Remoulade

Dining at Posana Café, the gluten-free gem of Asheville, NC is always a treat. Our recent trip up to the artsy city in the mountains was extra special due to the lovely views for half the drive up. The roads were clear but the area was blanketed in gorgeous white snow. Being from Florida, this was something I’ve rarely witnessed before. Usually we get one snow day a year – if we’re lucky – and then it turns to dirty icy mush. I would not want to deal with the snow issues that so many people are dealing with now, but seeing the snow on the drive to Asheville was stunningly beautiful.

Encrusted Goat Cheese Trio

We had dinner at Posana Café but it was too cold to walk from our hotel, even though in warm weather (and walking shoes) it would definitely be possible to make the trek. Because there is nothing off limits to the gluten-free set at Posano Café, it’s fairly difficult to decide what to order. After realizing that we really wanted to try four of the appetizers on the menu, we finally settled on crab cakes and the nut encrusted goat cheese and figs with toasted baguette. I’ve only had gluten-free crab cakes three times in restaurants and these topped them all, to say the least. We split each appetizer and it was really tough to give up a crab cake. But then I tasted the toasted French bread drizzled with balsamic vinegar slathered with the encrusted goat cheese made the trade fair. Truth be told, I could have eaten my weight in both the crab cakes and the goat cheese dish, but we had entrees and desserts to come.

Seared Scallop Lasagna Roll

Chocolate Roulade

Our main courses included the seared sea scallops lasagna and chicken penne pasta. The chicken dish was tasty and made with fresh ingredients, as expected. The lasagna was one of those dishes that you kind of can’t believe is both exquisite tasting and gluten-free. Much attention is paid to presentation at Posana Café, so when the taste of the food is more impressive than the beauty of it, you know you’re in a special place. For dessert we ordered the maple cheesecake and chocolate roulade. The cheesecake was lighter than most versions and had a lovely flavor and fabulous crust. The roulade was really rich and decadent and the house made coffee bean ice cream served with it was divine.

French Toast

The next morning we actually split an incredible omelet with bacon and tri colored potatoes at the hotel. My husband had to eat when he wakes up and we were checking out of the hotel before heading to Posana Café for their famous brunch. We ordered the French toast as an appetizer and it was out of this world delicious! The bread is made in house and I think it has almond flour in it due to the nice texture of it. Pure maple syrup and fruit accompanied the toast.

My husband ordered an egg and chirizo dish and I ordered the bacon egg and cheese biscuit with home fries. My husband loved his meal, but spicy eggs are not my thing so I didn’t taste it. The biscuit was the only one I’ve had in a restaurant since going gluten-free and it was a bit of an emotional experience for me. The biscuit was wonderful and I ended up regretting the decision not to order some to take home, as my husband suggested. We did take a three cheese and mushroom scone home to enjoy the next day. It was incredible, just like the last sweet scone we had there.

Just like our first visit to Posana Café, the service, food and ambiance were simply perfect. The owners Martha and Peter were as gracious as always. We even got to meet their darling children this trip. Their son mentioned the strawberry ice cream after we’d finished dinner so my husband insisted on having it for dessert after brunch the next day. I’m not a strawberry ice cream person (or an ice cream person for that matter) but Posana Café’s strawberry creation was out of this world fabulous! The folks in Asheville are lucky to have such a wonderful place to dine – whether they can eat gluten or not.

Special thanks for Posana Cafe for hosting my Triumph Dining event in their lovely event room on March 6th, at 10 am! Details can be found on the Speaking Engagements page on my website.