Asheville Eats Sandwiches

Summer is the perfect time for picnics, especially in the south - it's practically required. Depending on how much time you have and what your preferences are that can be a blanket spread out on one of Asheville's picturesque hiking trails or just bringing lunch to one of Asheville's parks. Either way, the end game is to spend relaxing quality time with the people that matter to you and we get that.

While there are several classic sandwiches, sides and drinks that have come to be iconic to outdoor dining. But, sometimes rather than sticking to old faithful, it's time to mix it up a little with a new recipe. Try these flank steak sandwiches with blue cheese. The perfect cross between picnic food and a grilled sandwich, you mouth will start watering just reading the recipe. If you like the layers of hot onions and bell peppers over slices of flank steak and a thick slice of blue cheese with piles of arugula and mayonnaise, then you might be interested a menu with other twist on classic picnic items. If you think things like lemonade iced tea, peppery grilled okra with lemon-basil dipping sauce, and baked bean crostini sound like complimentary dishes to a flank steak sandwich, you should definitely check out the menu.

Note: This recipe was originally intended for soft-ripened, blue-veined cheese.

 You can substitute hamburger buns for ciabatta rolls (but, seriously, ciabatta's are delicious)

 You can also substitute brie for the blue cheese. The key is to remove the wax-like rind before weighing the brie.

 Finally, you can substitute herb-marinated chicken breasts for the steak (if you're not comfortable improving your own marinade, you can use this recipe for the steak or the chicken). If you think you would prefer chicken, there are a few other tweaks you can do that are also listed on the printable recipe card above.