Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 78
TASTEE DINER, ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
The Meaning Behind the Meals
The diner is an integral piece of Asheville history and testament to one man's determination.
BY FRED & JILL SAUCEMAN | PHOTOS BY FRED SAUCEMAN
F
78 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
rom the time he left home at the age of
15 until he became a father 11 years later,
Steve Goff slept under bridges. He hopped
trains. He battled addiction.
A native of the Bay Area of northern California,
he moved with his family when he was very young to
Greenville, South Carolina. When he decided to abandon
his parents' home, he headed for the closest big
city, Atlanta. From there, he hopped his first train, all
the way to Arizona.
Steve Goff has known the streets of New Orleans,
San Francisco, Seattle, Portland. He was fined $2,000
for sleeping under a bridge in San Diego when the authorities
knew he had little more than a few coins to
his name.
" I'd wake up, obtain food, obtain beer, go to sleep
and then do it all over again, " he recalls. " You're dehumanized
24/7. "
It was in New Orleans where his life began to
change, when some " tattooed chefs, " as he describes
them, convinced him that he would be a good candidate
for culinary school. They were right.
Goff enrolled at Asheville-Buncombe Technical
Community College in North Carolina, eventually
completing a degree in culinary arts and then a certificate
in baking and pastry arts.
At the end of the spring term this year, he was invited
back, to judge the seven-course meals prepared
by members of the graduating class. He didn't have to
drive far. Steve Goff is a culinary celebrity in Asheville
as the owner of the Tastee Diner on the city's west side.
" I'm super tight with A-B Tech, " he tells us, as he
recounts the ups and downs of his life story.
In a 104-year-old building that originally housed a
garage, Goff dishes up Southern favorites like biscuits
and gravy, fried bologna sandwiches, country fried
steak and pot roast. Reading his menus, you immediately
understand that Goff has fun with food. The I-26
Pile Up consists of pulled pork, macaroni and cheese,
collards, mashed potatoes and brown gravy.
http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - Cover4
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