If you believe “Good dining is good theatre…” (The restaurant is the stage. The host, kitchen staff, bartender, and waiters are the actors. And, the food is the script.) Then you would probably agree with me that Jargon earns a Tony Award just about every night. With backgrounds steeped in the arts, owners Sean and Shelly Piper settled in Asheville in 2010 and by 2014 acquired the historic 715 Haywood building and transformed the space into a very efficient but comfortable dining room. The interior design is an eclectic ensemble of wall art, framed mirrors, retro light fixtures, relaxed seating, and expertly adjusted lighting and background music which together throw off a very intoxicating vibe. Quite a stage. As for the food, Chef Ryan Kline is a hard act to follow. He sources his ingredients from local growers and his ever-changing menu reflects top-quality seasonal offerings with his own unique spin. On my last visit we started off with a nice Cotes du Rhone-Villages, Grenache-Syrah and a few appetizers including and order of Crispy Smashed Fingerling Potatoes tossed in sour cream and onion dip, herbs with espelette pepper, Citrus Roasted Pickled Gold Beets with an avocado, cashew crema, frisee and pumpkin seed-quinoa crunch and Bread Service of four house Hokkaido milk bread rolls, and seaweed butter. Moving on to the entrees we all sharded the HNG Hanger Steak, sliced and served over papas bravas, charred broccolini, cebollitas, hazelnut romesco and nasturtium chimichurri, the Crispy HNG Pork Chop with sticky rice, Summer squash kimchi, gochujang and finally a vegan selection of Tidewater Santee Gold Rice Congee crispy Santee rice, chili crisp, market vegetables, marinated tofu. I’m not a tofu fan but this was not bad. We ordered the Tres Leches cake which was good but a very distant cousin of the traditional version. We are told that the best dessert offering is the Chocolate Crunch Cake, a chocolate mousse and crumble with spruce tip ice cream. I’ll hit that next time. The house-made cocktails, local beer sections and extensive wine lists are all well thought out and presented. And finally, like any great theatre production, the music at Jargon is an important part of the experience. As you enter the restaurant to your right of the hostess station you will see a 50’s era functioning turntable and a huge collection of vinyl LP’s. Jazz is usually spinning. So cool.
Hours: 5:00 pm-9:00 pm every day (until 10:00 pm on Friday and Saturday)
715 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806 – West Asheville
PH: (828) 785-1761