re: North Carolina Vacation - Breweries and Restaurants

French Broad is pretty cool. Eat at Wicked Weed, the lamb burger was fantastic. Check the schedule of the Orange Peel. Awesome music venue about the size of the chimes. The Funkatorium is cool if you dig sours and funky brews. Appelachian Vinter or Buisin are good choices for bottle shops. I would add Burial, Hi-Wire, and Pisgah to the list of brewers you should tour. If you don't mind being super touristy there is a beer tour bus that can take you to a bunch of spots in one day.