A new NC restaurant was named one of the best in America by The New York Times

A new Asheville restaurant was named one of the most exciting spots to eat in the country right now.

It took years for the Asheville restaurant Good Hot Fish to open, but only a few months to land on a New York Times list of the best places to eat in America .

Good Hot Fish, the first restaurant from acclaimed and talented chef Ashleigh Shant i, was named one of the 50 Best Restaurants in America by The New York Times . It was the only North Carolina restaurant included in this year’s list.

Shanti has stacked up some serious accolades in her young career, including a semifinalist honor for the James Beard Rising Star Chef award and a spot in Season 19 of the TV series “Top Chef .” She spent time as the culinary assistant of Chef & the Farmer owner Vivian Howard , and at minibar by Jose Andres . Shanti was previously in the New York Times spotlight in 2019 when she was included in feature on the 16 Black Chefs Changing Food in America .

Good Hot Fish opened in early 2024 in downtown Asheville, but Shanti launched the project years earlier, even doing a pop-up in the Triangle in 2021.

What’s the menu like at Good Hot Fish?

The new counter service fish camp specializes in fried seafood and Southern sides.

The current menu features a classic fried fish sandwich on white bread with pickles and buttermilk tartar sauce, plus chef-style fish sticks, fried catfish, a thick shrimp burger and a trout bologna sandwich.

Sides include stewed greens with smoked turkey, a baked mac and cheese with a golden brown and dappled crust and salt and vinegar pork rinds.

“Southern fish camp meets Black Appalachian foodways at Ashleigh Shanti’s easy, walk-in restaurant in the center of the brewery-heavy South Slope district,” writes Southern-based New York Times national food correspondent. “Leave it to a former chef de cuisine to make her own versions of Old Bay and sorghum-kissed hot sauce to season thick, tender fried fillets of catfish encased in crunchy, locally milled cornmeal.”

‘Very huge honor’

In a post on the Good Hot Fish Instagram page, the restaurant marked the honor.

“Congrats to our tiny team on this very huge honor,” the post reads . “Seems the fancy NYC folks quite like our lil diy fish fry spot. S/o to our friends and faves that made the list too. Y’all are crushing it. Come stop by one of @nytimes favorite places in America. Party starts rn.”

This is the fourth year The New York Times has published a national list of its favorite restaurants in America. Last year it also looked to Asheville for the sole North Carolina mention — the Filipinx restaurant Neng Jr.’s. In 2022, the New York Times included Leah & Louise in Charlotte and in 2021 featured Asheville’s Chai Pani and Davidson’s Kindred.

Curiously, no Triangle restaurant has been featured.

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