I typically focus on local restaurants, but as many of you know, we go to the mountains a lot. If you have ever been with me, I have absolutely taken you here and I have been known to eat here 1-3 times over a weekend!! This is one of my favorite restaurants in Boone and there are still a ton of people who have never heard of it (they opened in August of 2014). Kind of great for me as I can usually always get in without too much of an issue, but I cannot keep this a secret any longer….it is just not right. It is also a small, family-owned and operated business that does a number of great things for the community. For those of you who know me and have read past blogs, you know that I stay away from chain restaurants for a variety of reasons, but the main reason is that it is so important to support locally-owned and managed restaurants (Ruth Chris is one of those exceptions, which I have blogged about….the other I guess is Chik-fil-a).
Lost Province is located in downtown Boone right off King St. and right around the corner from The Mast General Store (a must see when you are visiting). I have yet to make a trip to Boone and not stop here to eat for either lunch, dinner or brunch (they have a brunch pizza that is life changing). They have recently changed their menu slightly (some things they removed made me sad), but there is something for everyone here. The atmosphere inside is fantastic and they have a great patio seating area for warm days where you can bring your dogs as well. Oh, and they are a brewery too and I have yet to consume a beer that I did not enjoy.
They are definitely known for their pizzas and have an amazing wood fired oven (you can see it slightly above too). They make all of their crusts and bread from scratch daily too. I am INSANELY obsessed with their grilled pimiento cheese sandwich on sourdough bread….so much so that the last four times I have been…..I could not get myself to eat something else! I have had a lot of pimiento cheese sandwiches from many of different places and this is by far the best one I have come across. The cheese is so flavorful, the texture is so smooth and the way the cheese melts over the bread is dreamy. The bread itself is also great and it is grilled to that crispy perfection. Dammit I need this sandwich in my life right freaking now!!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean, come on….check out that cheesy goodness and tell me you could resist such awesomeness!!??? Okay, let me get back to this brunch pizza I mentioned earlier. First time I ordered it, I have to admit I was somewhat unsure how great it would be, but the description and ingredients on it immediately caught my attention. It is called their Mornin’ Sunshine pizza and includes Mascarpone, Shaved Country Ham, Slivered Leeks, Sunnyside Eggs & Ashe County “Squeaky Cheese” Curds. I promise to edit this post the next time I am up there to include a picture as I could not find one and I know I have taken a picture of it many times!!! This pizza is rich, but goes down surprisingly fast and easy! First time I had it, I was there for brunch with two of my friends (a girl’s weekend at my mountain place) and we ordered a bottle of champagne with a side of OJ (they fresh squeeze the OJ there, which is amazing….and don’t judge…I like to make my own mimosas as I prefer 3/4 bubbles and 1/4 OJ distribution), house made donuts (I am not sure that they kept this when they dropped the separate brunch menu) to start. The donuts were great and came with various dipping sauces, but the pizza was absolutely the highlight of the meal and we literally licked our plates. Just trust me and order it…it is life changing.
As far as other items, my son ordered their beer mac and cheese where you get to choose toppings to put into it like if you were ordering a pizza. This was not my favorite thing, but could be because it has a very strong smoky flavor (due to the smoked gouda it is made from), which is not my thing. Also, once you have had Ashley Christensen’s mac and cheese from Poole’s Diner, it is very difficult to be wowed by others’ versions. I have had other pizzas and always been happy. Now, my daughter does not like their pizza as she is insane and does not like wood-fired pizza. However, she thinks their butter pasta is magical…..I keep deleting what I want to write here next, so moving on. We have had a number of their other sandwiches, specials, etc. and all of them have been pretty fantastic.
Okay, now I need to figure out when I can get back up into the mountains and to Lost Province. Oh, I forgot to mention….be sure to check their website when you are in the mountains as they often have some decent live music!
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