The 6,000-foot peaks at the southern end of the Appalachians loom over a region vibrant with organic farms, wild delicacies and a dining scene as eclectic and varied as the multicolored blossoms that carpet the mountains this time of year. Like many of their counterparts across the country, restaurants in the Southern Appalachian region, which includes parts of eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and southern Virginia, are taking advantage of their backyard bounty with an increased focus on organic foods. But while Appalachian chefs serve up seasonal produce and local meat dishes, they’re doing it with a distinctive Southern style.
“We have a lot of local organic, free-range-type farms,” says Treavis Taylor, owner of the 32-seat French bistro Fig in Asheville, N.C. “One of our biggest trends is to utilize as much of that fresh food as we can.” Wild mushrooms, such as the hen-of-the-woods that grow abundantly in the area’s moist climate, are a favorite. His executive chef Bill Klein also likes to cook thinly sliced local lobster mushrooms in whole butter accented with garlic and herbs.
Klein occasionally serves trout and trout caviar from a nearby farm and regional apples in the fall, but he is mostly drawn to the “life force” of produce plucked from the local market. “I go to market and pick things that sparkle, that are alive,” Klein says. “They’re just glowing.”
Not only is local produce available at the peak of its freshness, but shopping regionally helps restaurants connect with the neighborhood, Taylor says. “You’re going with the sustainable agriculture, and you’re also sustaining your community,” he says.
Darrin Shelley, executive chef at the upscale Troutdale Dining Room in Bristol, Tenn., chooses local products for the same reasons.
“We have farmers markets with stuff we can handpick ourselves,” he says. “It’s a great source for inspiration.” Shelley is eager for warmer weather, so he can put his favorite pairings of local berries and savory dishes back on the menu. In the summer, the restaurant offers such meals as pan-seared scallops with a blackberry and habanero coulis and duck breast with pickled strawberries and oranges, flavored with Grand Marnier.
Southern Appalachian restaurants have embraced the local, organic food trend, but they’re not neglecting the Southern cuisine for which they’re best known.
“We try to take comfort food and give it a little bit of modernization, present it in a different way,” says Eric Scheffer, owner of the Italian-Mediterranean restaurant Savoy in Asheville. For example, Savoy tweaked a traditional favorite by serving a pot pie stuffed with lobster.
Cody Boyer, executive chef of The Starving Artist Cafe in Abingdon, Va., also aims to create a unique blend of new flavors and Southern classics. He is considering a deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich and already is planning for a lobster corn dog and Southern-style sushi: pulled pork wrapped in braised collard greens, with stone-ground grits instead of rice.
Bistro 105 in Jonesborough, Tenn., offers a new take on the classics with such dishes as salmon encrusted with pecans and panko and served with a mixture of grits and mashed potatoes. Executive chef A. Todd Dawn also serves up house-made potato chips. “I do a combination of Yukon gold, red bliss and sweet potatoes,” Dawn says. “I’m seasoning them separately and combining them with a taro chip.”
Dawn says his Southern-fusion technique is all about teaching his customers to enjoy new flavors. “I’m trying to give them household names that they understand, and then give them a little bit of a twist to try to educate the public,” he says.
Shelley of the Troutdale Dining Room also encourages diners to try new things by offering a chef’s tasting menu. “We’re trying to get our customers used to just coming in and being surprised,” Shelley says. “That gives them a chance to experience something new.”
This approach seems to be working. Chefs in the region say that Southern diners have become much more willing to try new flavors. For example, Fig in Asheville offers a popular sweetbread. “People are very receptive to it,” Taylor says. “They’re getting more experimental and open to different meats.”
This trend holds true at Flat Rock Grille, a casual steak and seafood chain with six locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Virginia. “People are experimenting, and we want to make sure we’re being innovative,” says Fred LeFranc, Flat Rock’s president and chief executive.
Flat Rock has had success in infusing an Eastern influence in its side dishes and sauces. In the restaurant’s popular Hong Kong chicken salad, “we have developed a really wonderful Asian dressing that has got a little bit of a bite to it,” LeFranc says. “That’s something that, a few years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to offer.”
The restaurant also serves seared sashimi tuna and has added chipotle-ranch and sweet Asian chile sauces to its calamari appetizer. Customers have embraced the menu items and have become increasingly adventurous when it comes to food, LeFranc says.
“The level of sophistication in your average diner has improved dramatically,” he says.