Tag: Dining

Filipino Hospitality In Asheville And Famed Thru-Hiker Shares Journey, Inside Appalachia

This week on Inside Appalachia, a chef has created a hidden culinary hot spot in Asheville, North Carolina that’s attracting national attention for its eclectic menu and Filipino hospitality. Also, every thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail begins with a first step. Famed hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis shares hers.

This week, a chef has created a hidden culinary hot spot in Asheville, North Carolina that’s attracting national attention for its eclectic menu and Filipino hospitality. 

Also, every thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail begins with a first step. Famed hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis shares hers.

And the holy month of Ramadan ends with a feast. But war and famine in Gaza muted some of this year’s celebrations.

We’ll have these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Filipino Hospitality With A North Carolina Flair

Chef Silver Iocovozzi brings elevated fare and Filipino hospitality to Neng Jr.’s in Asheville.

Photo Credit: Will Crooks

Asheville, North Carolina has an eclectic dining scene and one of its “hidden” gems is Neng Jr.’s. It serves elevated Filipino cuisine in a little restaurant that’s tucked away in an alley on Asheville’s artsy West Side.

Folkways Reporter Margaret McLeod Leef visited and brings us this story.

Tackling The Appalachian Trail With Jennifer Pharr Davis

Jennifer Pharr Davis shares the story of her first steps into the world of trail hiking.

Photo Credit: Keith Wright

Few people know the Appalachian Trail (AT) better than Jennifer Pharr Davis — a North Carolina native who’s thru-hiked the AT three times. 

In 2008, on her second thru-hike, she set the record for the fastest Appalachian Trail hike by a woman. Three years later, she thru-hiked it again — and set the record for the fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail by anyone up to that point.

Last year, Mason Adams spoke to her about some of her hikes — and how they shaped her identity as an Appalachian.

Ramadan In The Mountains

Men serve themselves their iftar meal at the Islamic Center of Morgantown, March 24, 2024. One of the sponsors of the night’s iftar, Mohamed Hefeida, can be seen wearing a mask.

Photo Credit: Chris Schulz/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

This year, April 9, marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic faith. During Ramadan, observant Muslims fast from sunup to sundown. Their fast is traditionally broken with a feast called an iftar. In Morgantown, West Virginia, the meal was overshadowed this year by the war in Gaza.

WVPB’s Chris Schulz reports.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Hotdog, Sean Watkins, John Blissard, Jeff Ellis, Brew Davis and Dinosaur Burps.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our Executive Producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from Folkways Editor Nicole Musgrave.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Mapping Appalachia's Food and Farm to Table Destinations

Agri-tourism is not a new concept to Jennifer "Tootie" Jones. A fifth generation farmer, she raises grass fed beef on Swift Level Farm in Lewisburg. She…

Agri-tourism is not a new concept to Jennifer “Tootie” Jones. A fifth generation farmer, she raises grass fed beef on Swift Level Farm in Lewisburg. She was one of the farmers who attended yesterday’s event at the Capitol Market. She sells beef to 14 West Virginia restaurants and several retail stores, some of which are featured on a new online map, called Bon Appétit Appalachia, a project by the Appalachian Regional Commission. There’s also a print map, which lists 283 food destinations across the region, including:

  1. Capitol Market, Charleston
  2. The Wild Ramp, Huntington
  3. South Side Depot, Parkersburg
  4. The Custard Stand, Webster Springs
  5. Swift Level, Lewisburg
  6. Thistledew Farm Proctor
  7. The East End Bazaar, Charleston

The map was distributed to tourism agencies and ran in a magazine called Food Traveler. The premier of this map was celebrated at an event yesterday at the Capitol Market in Charleston.

Jones’ Swift Level Farm is featured as a destination on the Bon Appétit map. “We love people of all ages coming to the farm, and we have activities for children. They can feed the chickens and collect eggs and feed the pigs and run free in the grass, and not worry about anything except having fun,” says Jones. 

Credit Roxy Todd
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Pickens Maple Syrup and Homemade Bread from Jeff’s Bakery in Frankford

The movement to promote regional food could help give farmers like Jones a boost by helping them establish their farms as tourist destinations.

Yesterday’s event also celebrated the work of farmers and chefs who have been behind the local food movement in West Virginia for some time.

“My name’s Dale Hawkins. I’m one of the owners of Fish Hawk Acres in Rock Cave. We believe local food is important for the economy of West Virginia because it’s going to keep the money as opposed to sending it out of state.” Fish Hawk Acres is also featured on the Bon Appétit Appalachia Map.

At the event Hawkins displayed local breads, homemade ramp mustard, and one of West Virginia’s most iconic local foods—Pickens Maple Syrup.

According to Mandala Research, nearly 80 percent of all leisure travelers list dining and other culinary activities as a top priority. As local food movements across the country begin to take root and the term foodie has emerged in urban areas, Appalachian festivals, farms, and farm to table restaurants could benefit by promoting the region as a tourist destination.

Credit Roxy Todd
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Granola made by Fish Hawk Acres in Rock Cave

The Appalachian food map features businesses and events from 13 states, with events like a Green Bean Festival in Georgia, a Pawpaw Festival in Ohio, and a Liver Mush Festival in North Carolina.

Although the Mountain State is known for its many festivals, only the East End Bazaar in Charleston is listed as an event for West Virginia on the printed map. Other events, like the West Virginia State Fair, are included on the online version, which has about 300 more destinations than the printed map.

Governor Earl Ray Tomlin joined ARC federal co-chair Earl Gohl and state Commissioner of Agriculture Walt Helmick and officials from the West Virginia Division of Tourism to announce the maps.

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