Tastee Diner

"Tastee Diner, a 75-year-old diner and dive bar, makes the kind of food that’ll soak up whatever the prior night’s libations require. The smoked pork congee, the hangover hashbrowns, the melty, messy egg and brisket on a biscuit will all do the trick in the morning hours. Or try the livermush egg sandwich, which chef Steven Groff says is an ode to North Carolina’s humble roots." - Kayleigh Ruller

"Embrace the flavor of the offbeat neighborhood by starting the day off with breakfast at Tastee Diner, an old-school diner from the 1940s recently zhuzhed up with eclectic punk-rock flair by chef Steven Goff." - Gina Smith

"Most eating challenges are meant to test the diner, but Asheville chef Steven Goff saw a visit from competitive eater Raina Huang as a way to test himself in the kitchen. His restaurant Tastee Diner didn’t have a food challenge on the menu when Huang’s producer called, but Goff wanted to see what he and his team could throw together. “I want the place to be fun and non-pretentious,” he says, “So we said yes and tried to cook the best we can.” Tastee Diner is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so Goff chose two items from each menu for Huang to eat. He served roasted bone marrow with okonomivaki, a bacon cheeseburger, Carolina Reaper chicken wings, a giant egg sandwich, and a pork congee bowl — the star of the spread was the smoked crispy pig’s head. Goff smoked half of a hog head for five to six hours, confited it, and then fried it. “It’s so crunchy that you have to shatter the cheek skin with your spoon to get into all that fat and meat,” he says. The head was served with naan and banchan, which included pickled items, coleslaw, and potato salad. After Huang’s TikTok video of the challenge launched, Goff says that demand for pig’s head is up, but he says to call ahead so he has time to reserve a few from Hickory Nut Gap Farm." - Erin Perkins

"Tastee Diner, opened in 1946 on Haywood Road in what was then thoroughly working-class West Asheville, is one of the oldest restaurants in town. It has the same footprint and probably some of the original grease somewhere on the premises, but since purchased by noted local chef Steve Goff in 2022 and re-opened in 2023 after an extensive, but history-respectful remodel, has an all-new menu. Goff — known for over-the-top creations —  has taken an eclectic range of diner origin stories, thrown them in the Goff-erator, and out comes a menu with everything from steak and eggs and hangover hash browns to burger and fries, baked ziti sandwich, and regional classic Carolina dogs." - Sara Akhavan, Kay West, Matt Lardie, Kathleen Purvis, Nikki Miller-Ka

"That’s where veteran chef Steven Goff revamped a beloved greasy spoon, Tastee Diner, into a high-lowbrow cafe." - Nikki Miller-Ka