Photo Credit: Lynne Harty

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AIRfare

 

AIRfare, a monthly e-newsletter, by the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association, connecting loyal local food lovers to Asheville’s flourishing culinary scene. The newsletter highlights AIR chefs and restaurants, local food-related events, culinary news, and fun facts about AIR members and partners. AIRfare is presented by longtime partner, McGuire Wood & Bissette.

Check out our top stories from the May edition of AIRfare below.

The Chef
Letting It Fly
Jargon executive chef Ryan Kline thrives in West Asheville

Jargon chef Ryan Kline

Crispy pig ears aren’t for everyone. But a surprising number of people have a fondness for them and will be happy to know they can almost always be found at the top of the menu at West Asheville restaurant Jargon, thanks to executive chef Ryan Kline.

“We do a lot of those,” he says. “Sometimes we might have tails or trotters, but usually it’s ears. There’s always an offal thing on the menu.”

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The Farm
GREAT EGGSPECTATIONS
Dry Ridge Farm supplies Asheville locals and restaurants with eggs aplenty

At Dry Ridge Farm, there’s no doubt which came first: It was the chicken.

When Wendy and Graham Brugh bought land in Mars Hill in 2011, their goal was to start an operation that could quickly get product to local farmers markets. So they bought 150 laying hens, and by spring 2012, they were selling their eggs at the East Asheville Tailgate Market, the Oakley Farmers Market and ASAP’s Asheville City Market South in Biltmore Village (the latter two are no longer in operation).

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Front of House
At Your Service
Bass player Jesse Gentry gets in the groove at Carmel’s

Before he arrives at Carmel’s Kitchen & Bar at 10:30 a.m. for a full shift on his feet, Jesse Gentry has been on a 3-mile run. And then he goes to the gym. When he gets to work, he’s revved up and ready to roll.

“I’m a physically active person and I like doing physical things when I get to work — set up the drink station, brew coffee and tea, mop the floor. It’s kind of a joke at the restaurant, but I do have a passion for mopping,” Gentry says.

He has a deeper passion for music, which is what brought him to Asheville in 2010.

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Read the April 2023 AIRfare featuring chef Brian Crow of Chestnut and Corner Kitchen, pommes frites from Bouchon and Rendezvous, and ciders from Botanist & Barrel.

Read the March 2023 AIRfare featuring chef/owner Mike McCarty of The Lobster Trap, Sunny Point garden manager Alice Oglesby, and Luella’s BBQ’s popular sauces.

Read the February 2023 AIRfare featuring chocolatier Julie Williams of The Chocolate Fetish, setting the stage for romance at Zambra, and chef and grower Evan Chender of The Culinary Gardener.

Read the January 2023 AIRfare featuring Buxton Hall BBQ chef Nick Barr, City Bakery’s artisan breads, and Pulp & Sprout’s juice press machine.