Early Girl Eatery

Who says Southern food can’t be tasty and healthy?

Tucked along historic Wall Street in the heart of Asheville is the Early Girl Eatery, which serves up Southern style dishes daily from a menu that won’t leave you with a fried-food carb coma. 

This spunky restaurant is popular with both curious tourists and health-conscious urbanites who savor meals made from scratch. For breakfast, bunch, lunch or dinner, an Early Girl respite hits the spot before or after a walk through Asheville’s eclectic downtown shops. 

Named after a sweet tomato variety that ripens early and grows in cool climes, the Early Girl is all about serving fresh ingredients — sans chemicals or hormones — organically grown by local farms. Dishes include vegan burgers, sesame tofu salads and avocado and sprout sandwiches for the particular palate as well as Southern staples like shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy, pulled barbecue with coleslaw, and buttermilk pancakes. 

Owners John and Julie Stehling met in Charleston, S.C., where they were working at the Hominy Grill for John’s brother. After traveling extensively throughout the U.S. and Asia, they decided to start their own restaurant. Early Girl opened in October 2001 and continues a brisk business while supporting locally grown food and sustainable farming practices. Weekend brunches bring in the crowds, but don’t panic if there’s a dozen or so ahead of you. It’s a quick wait and the food is worth it. 

For the Dixie carnivore in you, chomp away on country style ham and biscuits, barbecue sandwiches, and cheeseburgers. For the strict vegan, there are plenty of salads, eggplant and tofu sandwiches, and homemade vegan sausages and gravy. Other lovely delights include (for breakfast) spinach potato cakes, pumpkin ginger or banana breads, and eggs scrambled with shiitake mushrooms, local sausage and sweet potatoes. Wash it down with some freshly squeezed OJ — though these glasses come small. Brunch specials might include a stack of cranberry and almond pancakes or variations on a cheese and herb omelet. Lunch features burgers and sandwiches, soups and salads, along with amenities like fried tobacco onions, beer-battered grouper and cornbread. 

For dinner, be sure to book a reservation — except Monday nights when they’re closed. Start with an apple and walnut salad with feta cheese or black-eyed pea cakes with house salsa and avocado relish, and move on to grilled wild sockeye salmon with peach chutney, grilled asparagus and candied yams. Or for a heftier appetite, savor the house meatloaf (prepared with local, hormone-free beef) and served with herb gravy, mashed taters and stewed collard greens. 

Come early and linger. Or better still, check out Early Girl’s Web site, which includes original recipes, a newsletter, merchandise with the retro girl-with-tomato logo, and links to programs that promote sustainable farming practices in the Carolinas. 

8 Wall Street • Asheville, NC 28801

(828) 259-9292 • www.earlygirleatery.com