Editor’s Note: Fork & Dagger is 828newsNOW’s anonymous restaurant review series, written by our independent Grub Scout—no freebies, no press perks, no agenda. Grub Scout pays full price, visits unannounced, and takes notes on food, service, atmosphere, and value. Each review reflects a recent, honest experience rated on our 1‑to‑5 fork scale. We aim to help you discover standout dining spots—from casual diners to white‑tablecloth affairs—one bite at a time.
Right upfront, I should make a disclaimer: I love this place. My friend had his bachelor party here a couple years ago, and we all had a blast. The food was good, and you just can’t go wrong with beer paired with mini golf. Why the disclaimer then? Because this food review will not be pretty.
I really like the vibe of Salt Face Mule Brewing Co. It’s typical Asheville, a brewery with food, and mini golf. You know, family fun, but the parents can get ripped. No judgment here, though. I get a kick out of that.
The Holla Atcha West Coast IPA was tasty, as was the house-made hard seltzer and the Bless It Hazy IPA. Overall, this is a solid brewery.
The Buns of Anarchy burger was very well done — it was essentially burnt. Burgers should not taste that carcinogenic.
The meatloaf sandwich was more like a chopped beef patty. I don’t know what they were going for here, but it was not meatloaf. Days later, and I’m still confused. The cornbread bun was quite disappointing as well.
The fried chicken sandwich was strange. The chicken was good, but the buttermilk jalapeño cheese was a disaster, a runny sauce that was as confusing as the meatloaf.
The steak hoagie with au jus was the only sandwich that was passable.
But, hey, the fries were pretty good, your standard diner fry with seasoned salt.
This is another one of those places with no server, and you have to go to the bar to order each time you want something from the children they’ve scrounged up to work there. This place is definitely a victim of the post-COVID veteran service industry worker departure. It’s rampant in Asheville and very disheartening. The place seemed to be managed quite poorly. Honestly, it felt like their grand opening was yesterday.
On the plus side, they made a big mistake with the tab and ended up comping our drinks, so there’s that.
My suggestion: drink their booze and play their golf, but skip their food.
