For Anthony Bourdain's birthday, we revisit one of our first stories, which also happened to be his obituary. We miss you, Tony. Every day.

As the governor decides whether to push North Carolina into phase 3 of reopening, or knock us back to phase 1 because of the booming cases of coronavirus, we look at the shape of the state and wrestle with the future of this lockdown.

Home Fried Episode #30 -- Bringing down the Confederate Monuments w/ Jon Elliston by Dirty Spoon Radio Hour

Bars have been hit particularly hard by the North Carolina shutdown. In addition to not being a part of the first phases of opening, the state also voted against allowing bars to sell bottled cocktails to go, leaving many proprietors wondering how they will survive. Stefan Huebner runs one of the best bars in Charlotte, the much beloved Dot Dot Dot. We talk to Stefan about what the next few months look like for bars in the state, and what things have been like in Charlotte.

The Hop is an Asheville institution. Opened in 1978, it has been doling out ice cream to a few generations of kids, and since Ashley and Greg Garrison bought the place in 2008, The Hop has become ubiquitous in Asheville. Bu like so many other food related businesses in Asheville, this pandemic threatened to put them out of business. We talk with Greg about what things might look like moving forward, knowing that we aren't out of this storm quite yet. For more on the Hop, head to their web page: www.thehopicecreamcafe.com

Lauren Maxwell reconcile's her southern heritage and draws life lessons from a tomato sandwich, Georgie Smith celebrates a beloved bean of the Pacific Northwest, and Erica Landis learns about compassion fatigue while working in a New Jersey liquor store.

As protests in Asheville over the killing of George Floyd continue to escalate, the Mayor has issued curfews to try to clear the streets. Today, we bring you a special audio collage of the streets the hour before the curfew went into place.

With all the conjecture about China these days, we decided to head directly to a source for some clarification. Spencer Musik is the Managing Editor of China Xinhua Sports in Beijing. A native of Rome, Georgia, he actually returned to the states during the outbreak to care for family, but with a life split between the US and China, he offers a unique perspective on both nation's response to the pandemic.

As North Carolina enters Phase 2 of the reopening process in the wake of Coronavirus, the infection rate spikes as restaurant workers are called back to work. Here's our look behind the scenes at the front line workers and the stark choices they are facing. Between small businesses struggling to hold on and workers fighting for their health, the friction feels like a tinderbox, ready to erupt at a moments notice.

No Home Fried today! We are busy putting together a special report for Saturday from Dirty Spoon called Tinderbox; a look at restaurant workers going back to work in the midst of this pandemic. Find it wherever you get your podcasts by subscribing to the Dirty Spoon Radio Hour.