"At Good Hot Fish, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the go-to move is the restaurant’s namesake: fried catfish dredged in local cornmeal served between thin slices of white bread with a generous dollop of tangy buttermilk tartar sauce. The sandwich — and the restaurant — are odes to the fish camps that once proliferated around Southern Appalachia as well as the “badass fish-frying women” of chef Ashleigh Shanti’s childhood in Virginia Beach. Shanti first garnered national attention for bringing Affrilachian flavors to the menu at Asheville’s Benne on Eagle. At Good Hot Fish, where she is both owner and chef, she’s telling more of her story. The dining room proudly displays her parents’ collection of Jet magazines, black-and-white photography of Black Asheville, and cheeky paintings illustrated by her wife. The menu, full of twists on Southern staples, pulls inspiration from Black Appalachia as well as a bit of Japan, where her father used to travel for work. Instead of cornbread, Shanti offers a sweet potato okonomiyaki, which is every bit as comforting. She turns local steelhead trout into a slice of lunch meat for a riff on the classic bologna sandwich, griddled with translucent white onions, slices of American cheese, and a hit of mustard. Finally cooking exactly how she likes, Shanti is also cooking for her chosen community of Asheville, who supported her pop-ups and queued up on day one of Good Hot Fish. And when Hurricane Helene devastated the region, she was among the first wave of chefs volunteering to provide meals to her displaced neighbors. Her restaurant wasn’t damaged by the storm, but without potable water, most of the area businesses remain closed. When the region’s systems and roads are restored, the establishments of Western North Carolina deserve our support, including a meal at Good Hot Fish. — Erin Perkins, Eater Carolinas editor" - Eater Staff