Village Social — Restaurant in North Carolina

I have traveled all over the country for the last 5 years doing reviews on restaurants so that the large growing population that is celiac or gluten allergy can rest assured the restaurants I review are safe and can be trusted to eat. This being said, I have been a pass holder for the biltmore for 14 years now. I love coming to Biltmore for many reasons, but one is the food and live out of state, but come several times a year. On this trip, I decided to eat at this restaurant because the stable cafe closed early. I have eaten here in the past and never had a problem till this visit. The server was pleasant, but when I started asking questions about the gluten-free options, she got on the offensive and a little rude. I have to literally question servers about the food and how it is prepared to ensure I don't get cross contamination or gluten in my food. I was assured it was with my choices. As you can see in the photos, I got the chips and hummus to start because I was hungry only eating breakfast and didn't want to stop on the way up on my 4 hour drive. The chips and hummus were delicious. I overheard the server next to use offering an egg drop soup and had to ask if it was gluten-free. She went to ask and stated it was, but it wasn't on the menu as such. I should have known not to try. The soup came, and the trout meal I had ordered. The trout had fried round strips on top that I had never seen before served at the Stable Cafe. So, I asked the person who brought my food, not my server, what it was, and is it gluten-free? The guy said it was fried onions in batter. That was a red flag for me. I immediately asked if it fried in a dedicated frier here or somewhere else? He did not know, so I then asked my server. This is when she got snoody with me, which I have to add to my table was only one not being frequent to see if we needed more drinks refilled like the others and we did run out of drink while waiting for our food. The place wasn't busy either. So, she stated that my trout was gluten-free because it's stated on the menu that way. I had my doubts, which I should have listened to. Why ? In my years of traveling to thousands of restaurants, when hearing these words means either the batter used to fry, the onions are not gluten-free, or the frier is not a dedicated for just gluten-free. Needless to say, I had a reaction to either the fried onions on the trout or the egg drop soup. Either way, I had to run to my car for medication. Luckily, I parked close. My server was nowhere around, so I told the server I got the egg drop soup from I had a reaction, and it contained gluten. No reaction from her as I walked by pushing my friends wheelchair, hoping I would make it back to my car and where I was staying for the night. Needless to say, I will never trust this restaurant again. I don't care about the money which i have no compilation for the meal was offered. I do care that people like me can eat at a restaurant and can be free of fear that I might die from cross-contamination or gluten in my food. I left as fast as I could to take care of my medical needs. I was also pushing my friend around in a wheel chair who is disabled. I treated him to a meal because he is dying from a rare muscle disease that has roughly 3-5 years left.

Would I recommend this restaurant? Absolutely not if you have celiac or gluten allergy. Would I return to this...

I spent the day touring the beautiful lavish and pretentious Biltmore estate then made my way to the winery and after that I felt as if I should go to Asheville to eat dinner, but then I saw the menu at Village Social and decided to try it. Dress code didn’t matter. Appetizers were very vegetarian friendly. I chose the pickle and cheese plate $21 for 3 cheeses, pickled cauliflower, carrots and asparagus. All accompanied by some focaccia bread. I found the pickled veggies to be so delicious. The carrots had a flavor I couldn’t quite place… ginger? The bread was softer than I am used to for focaccia and light on herbs and spices. The cheese- one was a goat cheese, so good! Another was espresso goat cheese, it was just okay, but I did love the unique flavor. The Brie was not good. It had an odd texture, wasn’t served warm and had a soapy flavor in my opinion… however, it was the only thing I didn’t enjoy at all. I moved on to try the Beets with goat cheese and orange thyme dressing. My toes curled for this one. Melt in your mouth flavors that kept me wanting more. Portion was good. I also tried the fried green tomatoes with hot honey drizzle and pimento cheese dip. First bite I found the tomato too tough, the breading was strange and maybe overcooked? The hot honey was jalapeño infused and it was the hit. The pimento cheese was puréed- no big chunks of cheese unfortunately. I didn’t even finish my first tomato. It was not my favorite but I liked it better than the brie! So at this point I am full. I am sad I can’t try anything else. They had a meatloaf that everyone was ordering and it looked really good for a meat dish, the waitress said it was the blueberry barbecue sauce that made that dish. I had wanted to try the Vegan Pumpkin Risotto, which she also said was amazing, but I was too stuffed and loved how healthy my food choices were so far. I then decided to skip to dessert, settling on the apple cobbler and then also a scoop of the ice cream flavor of the day which was mint Oreo! So much fun. Really the best part of the meal. The apple cobbler was interesting, the outside of the dish was warm, but the inside was barely room temp. Then ice cream on top. I found it too be almost too sweet, hardly any apples and too quite honest, the fact it wasn’t served even warm seemed like poor execution. For the prices on this menu, I’m shocked to see even this many flaws falling through the cracks. I am a tough critic though. I give this place 4 stars because the service was spot on and they didn’t seem to care what people were wearing, but the food was over priced in my opinion. Should be some kind of meal voucher or discount for buying the tickets. No bathrooms on the 1.5 hour tour of the house and then another Benjamin to eat dinner on property. Hilarious experience. Menu is seasonal so it will change, this is good if you get...

Enjoyed my meal here tonight. Service was good, and food quality was high. 🍽 The entree selection for vegetarians was meager - they offered only a vegan ramen bowl. TBH it was lovely, once I subbed a runny egg for the snow peas, but here’s the thing: vegetarians need something to sink our teeth into. We don’t want to make a meal of a salad, or a squash and quinoa plate - blech! For pity sakes, take one of the widely available and delicious meat substitutes available today, and either just sub it into a regular meaty entree, or use some imagination and make me something original and fabulous. I can make ramen or a vegetable plate at home. I’m dining out, and I’d like something special. 🍽 Dessert was ridiculous, a maple chocolate half baked cookie with vanilla ice cream, salted caramel sauce, and candied walnuts. Crazy decadent and super rich. Couldn’t finish it.

Update, Another supper: Village Social’s appetizer game is strong - the Estate-grown Cornbread was well-executed, and the Beets & Burrata dish was most satisfying. True, it’d be difficult to mess up a beet-Burrata pairing, but to the chef’s credit the ingredients were not overwrought, and the natural flavors and textures shone stunningly.

The restaurant’s vegetarian entree options continue to underwhelm. The lone offering, the Winter Risotto, sounded a bit tired and maybe a little sad. Adequately full after my appetizers, I took a pass on another course; it’s difficult to justify $28 on what amounts to a fancy plate of rice.

Service was...