Dinner On The Square

Asheville, North Carolina, has numerous charming neighborhoods, which include diverse restaurants celebrating many different cultures. Among our favorites are those offering fresh, locally sourced vegetables prepared and presented with creativity.


On Saturday, we shared a delightful meal at Posana Restaurant, located in the landmark Pack’s Square downtown.

A marinated local mushroom appetizer to share.

Peter and Martha Pollay spent months renovating the historic space with sustainable and green materials to create a modern, inviting dining room as well as an expansive outdoor patio.

We enjoyed perfect salads and shared various excellent dishes, including these fresh from the oven breadsticks. Posana has a very impressive wine cellar.

My superb Romano Bean Salad included local greens, red celery-whipped ricotta, shaved beets, sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. I consider the salad my main course.

Mr. Mickey very much enjoyed the Compressed Watermelon Salad with local cucumbers, Three Grace’s feta, endive, mint-jalapeño vinaigrette.

We shared a beautiful dish of Seared Scallops as well as a side of New Potatoes. Every bite was pure perfection.

When we share various plates and courses, we can sample several items from the menu without waste. Neither of us enjoys large volumes of food. When the restaurant’s offerings do not include vegetarian dishes, we look for wild-caught fish, a simple seafood dish, or we have been known to order from the sides to create a vegetarian meal of our own making.

To top off this perfect meal, we shared the Black Forest Cake. It is a flourless chocolate cake with vanilla mousse, brandy cherries, pistachio soil, meringues. Excellent with a glass of Sauternes. Sauternes is a French sweet wine from the Sauternais region of the Graves section in Bordeaux.

The streets of Asheville offer a show that never ends. The street performers who share their talents in music, dance, mime, and even poetry writing, to watching the Bohemian locals and tourists from all over the world. Each visit is different, and each neighborhood offers its unique flavor.

My look for the evening included a comfortable red knit jacket by IC Collection was a gift from My Fair Lady. The shoes are VANELi ‘Aliz’ Slingback Pumps here. The bag is a few years old.

33 Comments
  1. North Carolina seems like a wonderful state to visit. Your blog has showcased some fabulous restaurants, beautiful towns and amazing scenery from your date nights and days out.
    Definitely on the agenda for our next trip to the US. So looking forward to it. Thanks for the inspiration Susan.

  2. I wore your 709 pants yesterday to a bridal shower and they are the most lovely and comfortable pants ever ( even in the hot weather). Question: I have those 709 in a medium ( I sized down and they fit beautifully) but I am 5’3” and needed a little heel with them. I want to try your petite 708 to wear with flats. Would I also get the 708 petite in a medium like my 709 regular length, or should I go up a size in the 708 to a large? Thank you!

  3. I love your posts about these trips! Wise advice to depend on for sure. My biggest problem is the food….I look so forward to eating at the restaurants I overeat! But, I love the idea of sharing….and different dishes too. Beautiful pics.

  4. Susan, I have to tell you that you are my go to site for fashion. I absolutely love your style! I especially love the tutorials you post from time to time. You have no idea how much you have taught me. My husband and I love Asheville and plan a yearly trip each December for the past 12 years now. Do you happen to know of any off the beaten path dining options that might be found among the eclectic neighborhoods around the city that you could recommend? Thanks for sharing your many adventures!

    1. Montford is one of my favorites. Montford was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and it was designated a local historic district in 1981. I enjoy the treelined streets, unique architecture, and a couple of good Cafés. It’s a great neighborhood to walk through.

  5. Susan:
    I love Asheville, too, and have visited that very restaurant with a friend who grew up in the area. It’s a vibrant scene!
    Wanted to recommend a restaurant in Lenoir, N.C. to you called “The Chef and the Farmer”. The founding chef is from the area and she stars in a series on PBS called “A Chef’s Life”. It might be worth a trip just to eat there. Of course, reservations are a must! Check it out.
    Love your outfit. I have the black and the blue pieces. I can make so many outfits with the addition of a jacket or a scarf. I probably could just get rid of most everything else in my closet! (I’m not quite there, yet.)
    Chris Waters

    1. I cannot wear petite, in seam too short. Had the 709 shortened but seamstress said they were more work because of the slit, but I do like them.

  6. Thanks for sharing and for the thorough explanation of each item. It all looked lovely.

    My hubby & I also enjoyed a lovely weekend not quite has elegant but within our budget.

  7. Hi Susan, you look amazing in red. I just showed this blog to my husband who was very impressed by the good looks and vibrant appearance of both you and Mr. Mickey. And, we plan to recreate these dishes ourselves, they look so wonderful. I enjoy seeing all your adventures.

  8. I was reminded of the need to consider clothing choices carefully when dining at a restaurant in hot weather.

    I went for dinner on the weekend. A woman at a nearby table had to be pried out of her chair by her dining companion because she had worn a very short outfit sans hosiery. Heat and humiidity are a bad combination with vinyl chair seats. Who would have thought this could happen? Very embarassing for her.

  9. Love Asheville, love your slingback pumps and the restaurant looks amazing. Can’t wait to visit Asheville again to enjoy the area. We live in Nashville so it’s a little bit of a trip . Thanks for taking me along.

  10. Susan I love “going along” on your adventures so much that my husband and I are planning a trip to NC in two weeks. We live in Indiana. I’m looking back through your past posts to put together a little 3 or 4 day get away. I just can’t decide whether we should stay in Asheville or move to different hotels. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thank you!

    1. I hope you have a fabulous time! If you are visiting areas away from Asheville, you may want to change hotels. For example, it is a couple of hours driving time from Asheville to Blowing Rock. When travel on the Blue Ridge Parkway it is always a meandering indirect route that will take much longer than if you are traveling on the Interstate highways.

  11. We tried to go to this restaurant the last time we were in Asheville. But I don’t think they serve lunch

    1. You are correct. The restaurant serves brunch on the weekend, but it is not open for lunch.
      Dinner Hours
      Tue-Sun: 5:00pm – 10:00pm
      Closed Mondays
      Brunch Hours
      Sat & Sun: 10:00am – 3:00pm

  12. Did you have the hem of the red jacket altered? It looks very hi/low on the My Fair Lady link, but not on you.

  13. Keep looking at the pants. These questions are holding me back from the purchase. I am 5’5” .I wear a 10 or 12 in a pant, th pants have give and not a tight waist band I am a 10. Do you think a 10 or 12? Also, on th verge of petite if the run long. I occasionally wear a petite. What is your take on it? Thank you.
    I so enjoy your blog! Trying to narrow my clothes down and you are so helpful with words of “letting it go” if it isn’t right!

  14. Susan, there is a wonderful jewelry designer in Asheville. Her name is Suzanne Q Evon. Be on the lookout for her lovely jewelry. It is sold in a number of Asheville shops.

  15. Another great outfit and adventure with you two. Thanks for taking us along. The foods are best I’ve seen with travel. Very unique, sophisticated without being too precious. You know where it is that’s for sure. Thanks.

  16. Again, as usual, I love youroutfit. Red and black are so lovely together. Also, you and Mr. Mickey look adorable. The food looks yummy too.

  17. Susan, I love your outfit. You look smashing, as always. I can’t wait to go to Posana’s and try all those marvelous dishes! Thank you for showing off our beautiful region with such style and panache!

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