Asheville NC, 28801
(828) 259-9292
In the Media
New York Times
"Grab a hearty but healthy breakfast at the Early Girl Eatery, a friendly haunt of hip Ashevillians for the past six years that culls its ingredients from local farmers. Try the sausage and sweet potato scramble, a delicious mix of eggs, sausage, shiitake mushrooms, spices and sweet potatoes." (9/30/2007)
"Freshness is the appeal of Early Girl Eatery...named for a tomato popular with gardeners. The long list of vegetables may include baked lima beans and squash casserole. Entrees like roast chicken with herb gravy are straightforward and flavorful. The uncluttered dining room is decorated with jars of home-canned vegetables and plants hanging in the windows. Dinner for two with wine is about $50." (9/8/2002)
National Geographic Traveler
"Well before "locavore" became a buzz word, John and Julie Stehling looked to local sources to supply their Asheville, NC restaurant, the Early Girl Eatery. They wanted to support farmers making the transition from tobacco to food. Named for a cool-climate tomato, Early Girl is one of a growing number of innovative restaurants in town showcasing the bounty of today's Appalachia and drawing visitors to their tables." (9/2007)
USA Today
"For the ethically picky, Early Girl Eatery, Asheville, NC" (5/4/2007)
Our State Magazine
"For the 100 or more loyal regulars, the Early Girl Eatery is as close to home as it gets." (Fall 2005)
Southern Living
"Morning at its best -- start with breakfast at Early Girl Eatery. They serve lunch and dinner too, but I had to try a lazy Saturday morning feast. I skipped the tofu scramble. (You'll see a lot of tofu on menus in this town). But the stack of buttermilk pancakes with double-cut bacon on the side wonderfully satisfied my a.m. appetite. The stone-ground grits they serve are milled nearby and come with a generous pat of butter. Biscuits arrive at the table with that soothing flavor of home -- without you making the effort or mess in your own kitchen. John and Julie Stehling own this place, and John's brother runs the slightly similar Hominy Grill in Charleston, South Carolina -- another favorite we've shared with you in the past. (March 2003)
Gourmet
"Coining a restaurant name and marrying it with a logo that captures the prevailing gestalt is no small task. John and Julie Stehling, owners of the two-year-old Early Girl Eatery, in Asheville, North Carolina, wanted something that would herald their commitment to fresh-from-the-farm vegetables. Pattypan Squash was fey; Better Boy was in-your face. Early Girl, a reference to an early-maturing tomato, was a last-minute choice. Emblazoned with a pop-art logo that has a retro naivete, Early Girl T-shirts are now snapped up by visiting and local fans alike." (October 2003)
Hemispheres (United Airlines Magazine)
"Head downtown for breakfast. Amble east from the Wall Street parking garage to Early Girl Eatery, named for a type of cool-climate tomato. The fare reflects the city's support for local growers. The fried green tomato sandwich with bacon is a standout. A nip in the air? Try the vegetarian version of biscuits and gravy seasoned with fresh organic herbs." (September 2002)
Charlotte Taste
"If holiday travel takes you to Asheville for a Biltmore House visit, try the Early Girl Eatery for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Offering quality, made from scratch food in a relaxed setting, the Early Girl takes pride in bringing customers the best in fresh produce, organic ingredients and local dairy products. Breakfast choices include omelets and a good ole Southern breakfast or 2 eggs your way with grits and toast, bacon, sausage or ham. Or try a tofu scramble of marinated tofu, peas, red onions, mushrooms, tomato and spinach. Lunch favorites include the Eggplant Sandwich, Turkey Club, Vegetable Plate or Lentil Salad with Mint, Red Peppers and Feta. At dinner try one of the small plates of black-eyed pea cakes and finish up with the bulghur with farmstead cheese and corn." (December 2003)
Organic Style
Like the hybrid tomato for which it is named, this restaurant was a quick bloomer. Thanks to careful groundwork, success hit soon after John and Julie Stehling opened their casual, organic-driven restaurant in downtown Asheville in October 2001. "When we moved here, we spent three months driving around, meeting farmers, and joining everything we could think of to get in the loop," says John, the executive chef, who made partnerships with more than a dozen area growers for the menu and local artists for the funky, festive decor.
Turning Point: "I worked as a cook at a dance festival in western Massachusetts -- there were a lot of macrobiotic people and international performers from Cambodia and the rest of the world. I was exposed to different eating habits, and it raised my awareness."
Signature Dish: "Spinach potato cakes -- they're almost like latkes. We take cooked potatoes and run them through the ricer; add local cheese, organic eggs, cooked fresh spinach, lemon zest; and top it with a seasonal tomato gravy."
Source He is Proudest Of: "We work with the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, which is trying to shift farmers from tobacco to organic-produce crops." (January / February 2004)
Asheville Citizen Times
"The brunch customers cleaned out the cooler at Early Girl Eatery Sunday.
As a result, the more than 100 friends, regular customers and family members who turned out Sunday night to help celebrate the Wall Street restaurant's first anniversary found a modest buffet. A beaming John Stehling greeted people at the door, encouraging them not to wait if they wanted something to eat. "We had our best single day ever for brunch today, and my coolers are empty -- there's not much food left!" he said.
Despite that, the restaurant co-owners were greeted with hugs and congratulations.
For 34-year-old John and his wife Julie, 32, the past year of cultivating a clientele for their Early Girl Eatery has meant long hours and a dedication to customers. The couple's successful nouveau-Southern restaurant is well known for its biscuits, vegetable plates and updated twists on Southern favorites.
They took their first day off since the restaurant's opening Monday. Even then, they came in to order food for Tuesday's menu.
For the young couple, it's been quite a year -- one that started with them living in a tent while waiting for space to open up for the restaurant, an office and a house.
"We went from not having a rent payment to renting three properties all in one week," John said. "Everything just all came together at once."
Will Morris of Asheville was one of the restaurant's earliest customers. "I'm addicted to the biscuits," he said. "The cooking has a certain flair to it -- it's traditional with a little something extra."
Some customers became regulars without even realizing it. "I didn't know I was coming here that much," said A.J. Browder of Asheville, "Until one day Julie said, 'I just wanted to thank you for coming in here every week.'" Browser admits to being hooked on the homemade sausage and Hangtown Fry, a rich breakfast special consisting of eggs scrambled with fried oysters and bacon strips.
"They take such good care of you -- it's like dining in your living room," said Keturah Orr of Brevard, another regular.
Locals aren't the only ones to notice -- Early Girl was recently mentioned in the New York Times. And a story in this month's Food and Wine magazine details the Stehling family Thanksgiving in Charleston, S.C., last year with John, brother Robert (who owns his own restaurant) and dad Bob (a baker) all contributing to a sumptuous feast.
Turning a dream into reality
The restaurant, which specializes in traditional Southern cooking with twists such as biscuits with vegetarian herb cream gravy, is the culmination of a life-long dream for the Stehlings, who worked in various local restaurants before striking out on their own last year. For John, opening a restaurant came naturally.
"I grew up just outside Winston-Salem, and for years my father was a baker at Old Salem," he says.
After getting a degree in restaurant management from East Carolina University, he went to Charleston to help his brother Robert open his critically acclaimed restaurant, The Hominy Grill. There he met Detroit-area native Julie, and they began planning their move to Asheville.
"My parents were into backpacking and kayaking," John relates, "and we spent a lot of summers in Asheville. I've known for 15 years that I wanted to have my family here."
After moving to Asheville in 2000, John went to work in the kitchen at Savoy and Julie went to The Golden Horn. They both worked at Tupelo Honey when it opened, all the while looking for space for a restaurant of their own.
"We went through the Mountain Microenterprise program, and it really helped us get started," Julie said of the local program that gives small businesses a start. "I didn't have a business background at all, and it was a great help having the other people in the class to talk to about your business -- you really put a lot of things on the table in that class."
One of Early Girl's secrets to success is their commitment to using fresh and organic produce as much as possible. John grew up helping his parents grow organic vegetables at their home in Kernersville, and he seeks out working relationships with area farmers to keep the restaurant supplied with the freshest ingredients.
The hardest decision in the beginning was what to name the new restaurant. The couple e-mailed possible names to all their friends and found that "everyone loved and hated (them) all equally," according to Julie.
After rejecting suggestions from well-meaning family and friends for "J.J.'s" and "Evil John's," they turned their attention to the produce aisle. "We wanted something heirloom like squash or tomatoes," said John. "We eventually found Early Girl, and the logo just sort of popped into our heads."
Early Girl has a definite family feel to the place, which is no accident -- one of the cooks worked for John's brother before coming to Asheville, and the other has been friends with Julie for 12 years. Once a month, John's dad arrives with stone-ground grits from an 18th century grist mill in Greensboro, and he has started working at the restaurant several days a week turning out his signature desserts.
According to Julie, their families did everything from lending money to painting to help get the restaurant started. The family feeling extends to customers as well. "John and Julie treat you like you're a member of the family." Morris said. "They are just warm, genuine people." (October 2002)