Greet 2025 with recipes and updates from Asheville restaurant and bar owners

As Western North Carolina prepares to bid an exhausted farewell to a turbulent and tragic 2024, a few of the city’s notable food and beverage professionals have agreed to help Xpress readers usher out the old and welcome the new with some celebratory recipes they hold near and dear.

Below are a few make-at-home ideas for sips and bites to help ring in 2025 — plus a few important updates about the local restaurant and bar scene.

Brandon Davis and Davie Roberts

DayTrip and The Malvern

In late August, married couple and longtime Asheville food and beverage industry veterans Brandon Davis and Davie Roberts launched their 1970s-themed bar, DayTrip, at 219 Amboy Road. Just over a month later, Tropical Storm Helene literally washed away their dreams when flooding destroyed the building and everything in it. But 2025 is looking brighter.

In early December, Davis and Roberts joined Michael Piroli and Taylor Godleski as co-owners of West Asheville bar and restaurant The Malvern, which reopened Dec. 12 as DayTrip: Winter Vacation — a three-month pop-up. In March, Davis says, The Malvern will reclaim its space, and DayTrip will be reborn in a brand-new location — the old Moog Music complex at 174 Broadway.

Davis and Roberts share two New Year’s Eve cocktail recipes — the Hissy Fit and the Pink Squirrel. Though ingredients for the Hissy Fit are easier to source in Asheville, Davis says, the Pink Squirrel is basically DayTrip in a glass.

“The name, the taste and the look all represent DayTrip: vintage, delicious and gay — Yuletide gay, that is!” says Davis. “This is one of the first drinks we put on our menu for DayTrip, and the taste takes us right back to opening our bar a month before Helene tore it apart. It makes me feel cozy and comforted.”

Hissy Fit

¼  ounce grenadine
¼  ounce lime juice
1½ ounce pineapple juice
½ ounce St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1½ ounce Havana Club white rum

Combine ingredients with ice, shake and double-strain. Serve in an ice cream bowl coupe with no ice. Garnish with a cherry and a pineapple frond.

Pink Squirrel

1½ ounces heavy cream
1½ ounces Creme de Cacao
1½ ounces Creme de Noyaux

Combine ingredients with ice, shake and double-strain. Serve in a pink scalloped coupe glass with no ice. Garnish with nutmeg powder.

Eva Rodriguez-Cué

Haywood Famous

Eva Rodriguez-Cué also launched her new Haywood Road business, Haywood Famous, in August. Fortunately, her storefront avoided damage from Helene and reopened in early October to continue offering its evening coffee bar/sober nightlife concept to the community. For alcohol-free New Year’s Eve celebrating, Rodriguez-Cué shares a mocktail recipe that nods to her Cuban heritage.

“In my family, we carry the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes in the 12 seconds before midnight on New Year’s Eve,” she explains. “With a resolution assigned to each grape, it is a way to let go of last year’s regrets and step into the next year with ‘grape’ intentions. I will be celebrating this year with a fresh take on the old tradition: a sparkling grape mocktail featuring the sober New Year’s favorite, Welch’s Sparkling White Grape Juice and Cooperative Coffee’s Gravity Blend cold brew.”

Sparkling grape mocktail

1 ounce cold brew coffee
2 ounces Fever Tree Premium Tonic Water
4 ounces Welch’s Sparkling Grape Juice

Mix cold brew and tonic water, then add grape juice. Top with ground ginger and frozen grapes on a skewer, then enjoy!

William Dissen

The Market Place

Every Sunday afternoon and evening until the new year, The Market Place chef and owner William Dissen is celebrating the season with his Shell or High Water oyster roast pop-ups on the patio of the 2024 James Beard Award-nominated Wall Street restaurant. For New Year’s Eve, he’s put together a three-course prix fixe dinner featuring choices like buttermilk-fried quail, wood-grilled ribeye with bourbon-roasted mushrooms and handmade wild-mushroom tagliatelle. But for those who’d like to try their hand at creating a memorable New Year’s Eve meal at home, he offers a recipe for cioppino, an Italian seafood stew, adapted from his 2024 cookbook Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted in the New South.

“I love this recipe because it is a great way to use preserved tomatoes from the summer months or great canned tomatoes from the market,” says Dissen. “It’s an easy dish to feed a lot of people that’s packed with flavor. And if you celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes, it’s a great dish to celebrate the season. Also, I am on the Blue Ribbon Task Force for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, and it’s a wonderful recipe to showcase using various sustainable seafood species.”

Cioppino and sourdough toast with saffron aioli

Serves 6

For the saffron aioli:

1 teaspoon saffron
1 cup water
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon raw garlic, minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra to taste
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper, plus extra to taste

For the cioppino:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ cups small diced yellow onion
1 cup small diced fennel bulb
½ cup small diced celery
2 tablespoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup Pernod
1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth (or water)
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 dozen littleneck clams, cleaned and steamed
1 pound mussels, cleaned and beards removed
1 pound snapper, large dice
1 pound 21/25 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 tablespoons roughly chopped basil
4 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley

6 thick slices sourdough bread, toasted

1.     Prepare the aioli: Place the saffron and water in a small saucepan, set over medium-high heat and simmer until there is only 1 tablespoon of liquid left, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
2.     Place the saffron mixture, mayonnaise, garlic confit, lemon juice, salt and white pepper into a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
3.     Refrigerate for up to one week.
4.     Prepare the cioppino: Place 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy-bottom pot or Dutch oven and set over medium-high heat. Add the onion, fennel and celery and stir to combine. Cook until the vegetables are translucent and tender, five to six minutes.
5.     Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until aromatic, about two minutes.
6.     Add the white wine and Pernod and stir to combine. Cook until the liquid reduces by half, five to six minutes.
7.     Add the tomatoes and fumet and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to puree to a rustic consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
8.     Return to medium heat, add the mussels, snapper and shrimp, and stir to combine. Cover and cook until the mussels have opened and seafood is cooked through, about five minutes.
9.     Ladle the cioppino into large, shallow bowls, drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and garnish with the basil and parsley. Serve with toasted sourdough smeared with saffron aioli.

Paul Pike

Master BBQ

Back in February, Asheville fans of Filipino cuisine rejoiced when chef Paul Pike and his wife, Julia, permanently installed their food truck, Master BBQ, at Zillicoah Beer Co. on Riverside Drive in Woodfin. Serving traditional Filipino barbecued meat skewers and comfort food dishes made from family recipes, Master BBQ quickly gained a devoted following.

Many in the community grieved with the Pike family when flooding from Tropical Storm Helene severely damaged the little trailer on Sept. 27. But just in time for the holidays, rejoicing has commenced again. After extensive repairs to the trailer, Paul Pike resumed cooking duties in mid-December in a temporary location at Outsider Brewing Co., just up the road from Zillicoah at 939 Riverside Drive.

For celebrating the new year, the chef suggests a simple Filipino recipe that’s both festive and sweet.

“Filipino fruit salad is a beloved dessert often served during special occasions like Christmas, the new year and birthdays,” says Pike. “It’s a sweet, creamy salad made with a variety of fruits, mixed with a rich dressing of sweetened cream and condensed milk. This simple yet indulgent dish can be enjoyed chilled and is perfect for any festive celebration.”

Filipino fruit salad

1 can (16 ounces) fruit cocktail (drained, or you can use a mix of fresh fruits like pineapples,  apples, grapes and bananas)
1 cup young coconut strips (coconut meat, fresh or frozen)
1 bottle (12 ounces) nata de coco (drained, get it from your favorite local Asian store)
½ cup cheddar cheese, cubed or shredded (optional, for a savory twist)
1 can (14 ounces) condensed milk
2 cans (7.6 ounces each) table cream (also called media crema, this can be found in cans at most local grocery stores)

1. Drain the fruit cocktail and nata de coco well, ensuring there’s no excess liquid. If using fresh fruits, peel and cut them into small cubes. Cut the young coconut meat into strips or use frozen ones for convenience.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the fruit cocktail, young coconut strips and nata de coco. Add the cubed cheddar cheese (optional) for an added savory note.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the condensed milk and table cream. Stir until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
4. Pour the creamy dressing over the mixed fruits and gently toss until everything is well-coated. Be careful not to mash the fruits while mixing.
5. Transfer the fruit salad to a serving dish and refrigerate for at least two to three hours or overnight. This allows the flavors to blend and the salad to chill properly.
6. Serve the Filipino fruit salad chilled, garnished with additional cheese or fruits if desired. It’s perfect as a dessert for holidays or as a sweet treat after a meal.

Notes: You can use a variety of fresh fruits like bananas, apples, pineapples and grapes to customize your salad to your liking. If you prefer a richer texture, use heavy cream instead of table cream or add a bit more condensed milk for extra sweetness. The addition of cheddar cheese might seem unusual, but it adds a delightful contrast to the sweetness of the fruit salad.