The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association has recognized The Market Place's Chef William Dissen with the esteemed Restaurateur of the Year award.

The Market Place has been a fixture of downtown for nearly 50 years, widely recognized as Asheville's first farm-to-table restaurant. Dissen has served as executive chef and owner for the past 17 years. "To get an accolade that says 'you guys are among the best in the state of NC,' which has thousands of restaurants, shows me that even all these years in, we’re doing a great job and people are noticing our commitment to quality," Dissen said.

That commitment is even recognized beyond the state level. This week, the New York Times recognized Dissen for his role in the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, which helps restaurants source sustainable seafood and protects our waters from overfishing.

The nomination for Overall Restaurant is about food, atmosphere, and hospitality. | Photo via @market_place_avl

With this wealth of restaurant expertise, we thought we'd put Chef Dissen in the hot seat and ask him to dish on Asheville's restaurant scene. Answers have been edited for length + clarity.

If Asheville were an ingredient, what would it be?
You know, I think the quintessential ingredient for the town and the area is wild ramps. Especially as we're heading into spring here, they start to flourish. An old timer told me "tax day is ramp day" because that's when they flourish and are really ripe in the forest.

So, you have some friends coming into town. Which three local spots are you taking them to?
One of my favorite places to go is Iron and Oak barbecue on Riverside Drive. You're sitting out at the picnic table and eating this delicious barbecue. I love their ribs. There's something really, really charming about it. It's awesome.

I really love Tall Johns on Montford. Their roasted chicken and steak tartare are delicious, and it's close to my restaurant downtown. I could walk there. I think it's a great spot.

And then, with kids, they want pizza and tacos and that kind of stuff. We love All Souls Pizza, and we love Taco Temple also.

Who are some local chefs you're watching right now?
I have a friend who worked for me for a little while, Luis Martinez. His restaurant (Taqueria Rosita) is closed now, but he has Tequio Foods, and I think he's working on some new ideas for Asheville. I love his dedication to sourcing Oaxacan ingredients, Oaxacan corn, and really putting that on his back. I think it's tremendous what he's doing.

I had a great dinner recently at Golden Hour. Kevin Chrisman is the executive chef over there, and I think he's doing some really great stuff.

And there are two places I'm really excited about that are coming to Wall Street. Flour's moving from the S&W to the old Laughing Seed location and they've got a trio of owners that I think are hungry, pun intended, to really excel, and they're doing a good job. And then, the old Rite Rite across the street is going to become Slava, a Ukrainian bakery. I'm very excited about that.