North Carolina restaurant and its chef earn recognition 3 times in a week. Here’s why
A North Carolina restaurant and its chef earned national recognition — three times within one week.
Neng Jr.’s in Asheville ranked among the nation’s best new restaurants on lists from The New York Times and Bon Appétit magazine.
The accolades published in mid-September, the same time the restaurant’s chef — Silver Iocovozzi — received another honor. Iocovozzi ranked among the top innovators on Time100 Next, which highlights “rising stars” in several industries.
To create the innovator rankings, Time magazine said it turned to “research and reporting” from staff working across the world. It sifted “through hundreds of suggestions and then (met) each week to debate who belongs on the list.”
Why did the NC restaurant receive praise?
Iocovozzi earned the nod about a year after opening Neng Jr.’s, described as a Filipinx restaurant. In Time, the restaurant received praise for its duck breast adobo, a dish that fellow chef Angela Dimayuga said made her feel like she was having a special experience.
“The dish had both the essential Indigenous flavors of umami-sour soy-vinegar and a luscious layering of rich fortification by an expert saucier,” Dimayuga wrote. “Silver has always had a point of view with a steadfast vision — they know what they want, and they can see where they are headed. They take a meticulous approach to studying, referencing, and annotating flavor, as the best chefs do.”
Meanwhile, teams from The New York Times and Bon Appétit recognized Neng Jr.’s for being a smaller restaurant that serves bold flavors.
“Pork belly as crisp as cracklings is served with a tangle of chewy hand-pulled noodles,” Bon Appétit wrote. “And big, juicy oysters are dressed not with watery mignonette but a sunny quail egg yolk, pearls of seaweed, and fragrant black vinegar.”
The restaurant took to Instagram as it basked in all the praise — and reveled in the opportunity to host a reporter from The New York Times.
“Neng Jr.’s has always been a place to connect with people, to share stories and food,” wrote Cherry Iocovozzi, Silver’s husband and the co-owner of the eatery. “Our proudest moments happen in the restaurant when people are genuinely enjoying themselves and find comfort in our space.”
The honors come after Neng Jr.’s was named a best new restaurant finalist for the prestigious James Beard Awards in March.
Several other Asheville restaurants have made their marks on U.S. lists this year, and the popular mountain tourist spot also has ranked among the nation’s best places to eat and top destinations for beer lovers, McClatchy News reported.
