Stoobie award news
- January 19, 2023 -
We’re thrilled to announce that Session Café and Bar won a Stoobie Award for Best Music. The high honor is bestowed by Stu Helm, the writer behind StuHelmFoodFan.com and Asheville Food Tours.
“Alrighty, Y’all! It’s time for me to name the winners in every category of the 2022 Food Fan Awards, the 10th Annual Stoobie Awards!” Stu writes in his latest web post.
“When it comes to choosing winners, sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s a no-brainer, and on rare occasions I add a new category just to honor a particularly awesome food experience. Again, as always, please keep in mind that the winners below represent the best of what I personally ate all year long in 2022. Try as I might, I just can’t eat everything in WNC, so please forgive me if your favorites didn’t make it onto my list of nominees or winners.”
Session was previously made aware that the café was nominated in the Sandwich of the Year for its egg salad sandwich. (If you haven’t tried it, stop in for lunch! We’re now open daily, 9am-3pm.)
But somehow it seems even more fitting to take home the title for Best Music because:
1) After all, Citizen Vinyl boasts not only a delectable café and bar, but an analog music store, an event space, and a record pressing facility. So yeah, music is kind of our thing.
2) We know how important music is when it comes to soundtracking your day. So when you stop by, our “background” music is a lot more than a Spotify playlist. Our staff and select DJs spin album sides — from our own vinyl library and new releases available from Coda – as well as records made in Citizen Studios, which is also housed at Citizen Vinyl. (More about that in our next Liner Notes.)
Here’s why Stu selected Session for the award:
“I have screaming tinnitus in both ears, It’s the bane of my life. It started when I was a teenager and has gotten worse over the years. It sucks and there’s no cure. if you have it, you know what I’m talking about. One of the treatments for tinnitus is called “masking,” which is just shorthand for giving your ears something else to listen to, thus hopefully distracting you from the constant loud ringing caused by the disorder. So, to keep from going completely insane, I listen to talk radio, TV, white noise, and especially music every waking moment of my life. … I am constantly in search of new music to listen to. That’s why, when I’m out at a cafe or restaurant and I hear music I’ve never heard before, or have only heard on a very limited basis, I take note, I get excited, I allow myself to listen and enjoy, and I might even ask the staff what’s playing.
“Nobody does it better than Session Cafe at Citizen Vinyl. Music is their whole schtick, with a recording studio, a vinyl press, a record shop, live shows, and a full-time music programmer. With all that, you’d expect their music choices to be the best, and they are. Session cafe has great food & coffee, a full bar, tons of space & light, and they are my Best Music winners for 2022!”
Thanks, Stu! Read about all the Stoobie winners here.
