Stone-ground grits are a time-honored tradition of the American South, second only to stealing magnolias and midnight Yankee tipping. Indulge in refined southern customs with today’s Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of contemporary southern cuisine at The Blackbird in Black Mountain. With a seasonally rotating dinner menu punctuated by local ingredients, The Blackbird proffers contemporary southern cuisine in a casually elegant, mountain-view setting. Rev stomach engines with a collection of small plates, such as the house-made sausage with creamy grits, caramelized onions, and a roasted-red-pepper demi-glaze ($8), while warming undercarriages in front of the restaurant’s outdoor stone patio fireplace. Sunburst Farm's trout big plate—caught, pan-fried, and released into buttermilk mash, french beans and tasso-hominy sauce—melds nuanced flavor with local flair ($18), as does White Mountain Farm's pork chop with sweet mash, spiced apples, farm vegetables, and an apple-jack demi-glaze ($18). Lunchtime offerings include grilled sandwiches and special plates, such as catfish 'n' chips with chili-lime remoulade, perfect for snack breaks in between high noon duels and midafternoon performance meetings ($10).

Reviews

Mountain Xpress reviewed The Blackbird's New American cuisine. TripAdvisors give the restaurant an average of 4.5 owl eyes. Eight Yelpers give The Blackbird 4.5 stars, and 72% of Urbanspooners recommend it.

• In the daytime, the large floor-to-ceiling windows that span the restaurant afford views of the surrounding courtyard and mountains while letting light pour in. During the night, the restaurant is brightly lit, inviting and warm. – Mackensy Lunsford, Mountain Xpress
• Excellent place to eat after working up an appetite hiking in the mountains. – txtravelgrl, TripAdvisor