Meet three chefs and a brewer who are leading the way in Asheville, North Carolina.
Later, I enjoyed a tangy bowl of ceviche and a frozen pisco sour, relishing the tart citrus.
Family-style Filipino Food
The first thing Silver Iocovozzi learned to cook was rice.
Clockwise from left: A night out at Neng Jr.âs; chef Silver Iocovozzi, the restaurantâs owner.Credit:MURRAY HALL; TIM ROBISON/COURTESY OF NENG JR.âS
His mother always had a batch ready when he got home.
Rice has texture and warmth and steam and gumminess, Iocovozzi says.
It gives you the comfort of cooking.
From left: Chicken pakora at Chai Pani; chef Meherwan Irani, founder of Chai Pani.TIM ROBISON/COURTESY OF CHAI PANI
Iocovozzi was nicknamed Neng Junior after his mother, who is known as Neneng to her friends.
He was raised in North Carolina, but his moms Filipino culture played a huge part in his upbringing.
(This year, its a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.)
The bar at Cúrate.EVAN SUNG/COURTESY OF CÚRATE
The restaurants decor is a colorful celebration of LGBTQ culture.
This cuisine doesnt represent what Meherwan Irani grew up eating in Maharashtra, in western India.
Naan was something I ate maybe once a year, he says.
Morgan Owle-Crisp, the founder of 7 Clans Brewing.SABRINA HILL/COURTESY OF 7 CLANS BREWING
Elsewhere in Asheville, Irani operates Spicewalla, a spice shop, and Buxton Hall, a barbecue restaurant.
Now the brewery has seven different beers, plus rotating seasonal flavors.
She admits that her business has raised eyebrows in her community.
From left: Appetizers and drinks at Cúrate, Chef Katie Button, co-owner of the Asheville tapas restaurant Cúrate.EVAN SUNG/COURTESY OF CÚRATE
She opened her taproom in Biltmore Village, south of downtown.
Even people who live in North Carolina sometimes forget there are Native people, she says.
For me the brewery was a way to say that we are still here.. She got her start at Cafe Atlantico in Washington, D.C. and also met her now-husband, Felix Meana.
In 2011, the couple moved to Asheville with dreams of settling down and building a restaurant.
(Meana is a co-owner of Curate.)
Focusing on Spanish cuisine was a natural fit.
Curates menu is simple, allowing the excellent produce and meats to shine.
Naturally, it serves perfect, thinly slicedjamon iberico de bellota,made from acorn-fed pigs.
The long road has paid off: Curate won the 2022 James Beard Award for Outstanding Hospitality.
Weve been working hard to introduce our team to new things about Spain and Spanish food, Button says.
And thats what we also do with our guests create newness and excitement.
