Kay West

Dec 3, 2024 | carolinas.eater.com | Erin Perkins |Matt Lardie |Kayleigh Ruller |Kay West

Each year, the Eater Awards is an opportunity for editors to reflect on what made the best restaurants, bars, food trucks, and otherwise exciting dining experiences across the country. In 2024, the Carolinas were all about preservation, from preserving family traditions in Asheville and Charleston to preserving restaurant legacies in Durham to preserving the art of fine dining in Charlotte.

Oct 18, 2024 | carolinas.eater.com | Kay West

Johnny Autry In her first cookbook, Our South Black Food Through My Lens, chef Ashleigh Shanti takes readers on a road trip through the cultural and culinary landscapes that shaped her. The stories, recipes and lushly colored photos by Johnny Autry travel through five regions that map her life from birth through her current home in Asheville.

Oct 17, 2024 | nashvillescene.com | Kay West

“Products with purpose” is how Thistle Farms describes the home, bath and body products that began 25 years ago with candles hand-poured into glass jars in the tiny kitchen of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Chapel. Though manufacturing is now based in a 22,000-square-foot facility, the candles are still made by the hands of women survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction.

Oct 17, 2024 | nashvillescene.com | Kay West

Had priesthood and a lifetime dedicated to serving the homeless not drafted him, Charlie Strobel — the founder and shepherd of Room In The Inn — might have made a deal with the devil to play professional baseball. He reveled in the promise of a field of dreams, green grass stretching back to an outfield wall, a ball soaring away into the blue sky, the endless possibilities of a game not played to a clock.

Oct 17, 2024 | nashvillescene.com | Kay West

If the lengthy menus of conventional Indian restaurants freeze you into choice paralysis, take a deep breath and check out Curry & Tikka, whose menu clocks in at 43 items and eight house-made breads. Chef-owner Dinesh Jagga takes it to the street with youthful exuberance and a bit of irreverence in his sleek, fresh space. Classic dishes are pared down, flavors are as bright as the colors, and there’s a sense of fun to the menu’s “India With a Twist” section, in particular the Tikka Mac & Cheese.