The Southern Foodie: 100 Places to Eat in the South Before You Die (and the Recipes That Made Them Famous)

By Chris Chamberlain

Thirteen states, 100 chefs and 134 recipes later, one thing is clear: the food of the American South tells a story that spans the distance from New Orleans to Louisville, Little Rock to Charleston, Nashville to Dallas, and every city in between.

Meet the people keeping the tradition alive and reinventing the flavors of the South while exploring its evolution of the region’s best restaurants.

Swing down to the Gulf Coast and wade into a chef’s wonderland of fresh seafood and spicy heat. Check out the culinary creativity in the Carolinas where you’ll find traditional smoked pork barbecue alongside Southern favorites made with fresh, local produce. Explore the restaurant kitchens of Atlanta and Nashville where the chefs aren’t shy about fusing comfort food standards with international flair and unexpected techniques. 

Join food and drink writer Chris Chamberlain for access to the South’s best recipes and the kitchens where they were developed. 

In The Southern Foodie, Chamberlain explores the South’s culinary culture with favorites such as: 

• Jalapeño-and-Cheese-Stuffed Grit Cakes from Mason’s Grill, Baton Rouge, LA
• Roasted Heirloom Pumpkin with Mulled Sorghum Glaze from Capitol Grille, Nashville, TN
• Country Ham Fritters from Proof on Main, Louisville, KY
• Blue Crab Cheesecake from Old Firehouse Restaurant, Hollywood, SC
• Apricot Fried Pies from Penguin Ed’s Bar-B-Q, Fayetteville, AR  

The Southern Foodie you where the South eats and how to create those distinct flavors at home. You’re sure to rediscover old favorites and get a closer look at the delicious new traditions in Southern cuisine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Sep 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9781401601706

Chris Chamberlain

Chris Chamberlain is a food and drink writer basedin Nashville, Tennessee, where he has lived his entire life except for four years in California where he studied liberal arts at Stanford University and learned how to manipulate chopsticks. He is a regular writer for the Nashville Scene and their "Bites" food blog. He has also contributed to the Nashville City Paper , Nashville Lifestyles magazine, 2001 Edgehill and atwww.geardiary.com. One of his favorite things in life to do is to put a shoulder on the smoker and watch SEC football all day long while waiting for his pork reach "pig-picking" temperature as slowly as possible.

Book preview

9781401601638_INT_0001_001

© 2012 by Chris Chamberlain and Bryan Curtis

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Photography by Ron Manville

Food Styling by Teresa Blackburn

Photo on ♦ from Fotolia.com

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [e-mail].

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chamberlain, Chris.

  The Southern foodie: 100 places to eat in the South before you die (and the Recipes That Made

Them Famous) / Chris Chamberlain.

     p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4016-0163-8 (pbk.)

  1. Cooking, American—Southern style. 2. Restaurants—Southern States—Guidebooks.

3. Southern States—Guidebooks. I. Chamberlain, Chris. II. Title.

  TX715.2.S68C47 2012

  641.5975—dc23

2012008644

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 16 QG 6 5 4 3 2 1

9781401601638_INT_0003_0019781401601638_INT_0004_001

CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

Alabama

Arkansas

Florida

Georgia

Kentucky

Louisiana

Mississippi

North Carolina

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

West Virginia

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Index

9781401601638_INT_0006_001

INTRODUCTION

Sometimes, it seems like you can make anything better simply by putting the word Southern in front of it. Southern hospitality. Southern culture. Southern rock. Southern football. Southern literature. Southern Living. Southern cooking.

The cuisine of the South is often referred to as comfort food. This is not only because it can fill you up when you are hungry or warm your belly on a cold day, but also because the cooks who inhabit Southern kitchens genuinely seek to offer comfort to the lucky folks who share their repast. Love is the implied first ingredient in many favorite recipes. That’s why they are passed down from generation to generation, scrawled on index cards, saved in well-worn notebooks, submitted to websites, and now appear in The Southern Foodie.

Clearly it is an oversimplification to lump all Southern food together. The residents of the thirteen Southern states make up a diverse culture, and various types of cuisines are revered in specific parts of the region. However, as much as these cuisines are venerated and vociferously defended as the best, elements of these cuisines are often shared.

Although Charleston and New Orleans are almost eight hundred miles apart, they enjoy similar culinary resources in the superb shrimp, fish, and oysters that come from nearby waters, and the rice and okra that grow in local fields. So it should come as no surprise that Low Country cooking shares so many characteristics with Cajun and Creole cuisine. A plate of Savannah red rice could probably fool many Louisianans into thinking they were enjoying their mama’s red beans and rice, and an Appalachian lunch of buttermilk biscuits and pan-fried catfish would look very familiar on the table of a family in the Mississippi Delta.

This is not to say that Southerners agree on everything when it comes to food. Just get a bunch of them together and ask about barbecue. This topic is more volatile than asking a group of adult Southern males about their favorite college football team. Texans will argue that barbecue should consist of only beef products and, bless their hearts, may even use the word as a verb. The rest of the South tends to prefer pork for their barbecue of choice, with the notable exception of certain parts of Kentucky where elderly sheep had best not stray too close to the smoker when there’s a church picnic planned for tomorrow. We Southerners have strong opinions about whether our barbecue sauce should be mustardy, sweet and tomato-based, or tangy from vinegar. Heck, we can’t even agree on how to spell barbecue, I mean barbeque, no, I mean BBQ . . .

One place that Southerners always come together is at the table. Food is served family-style to emphasize the importance of sharing (and to make it easier to snag that extra biscuit.) In this book you will find recipes from one hundred chefs from across the South. These culinary geniuses include James Beard Foundation Award winners, television stars from Top Chef Masters and Iron Chef, and some rising stars who are just now making their mark on the national culinary scene. There are also fantastic recipes from cooks who work the line at soul food joints, men who shovel coals into a pit as they apply smoke to meat, and bakers who spend their days elbow deep in flour creating delicious pies and pastries.

What they all have in common is the desire to make people happy and the willingness to share their precious recipes with readers so that you can experience a little slice of the wonderful food they make while re-creating it for your own family. All these talented chefs ask in return is that you share the results with someone you love.

1

ALABAMA

Cotton Row

POT ROAST

Fox Valley Restaurant

FOX VALLEY’S CHILLED CANTALOUPE SOUP

Garrett’s—The Art of Food

SEARED JUMBO SEA SCALLOPS WITH

BLACK BEAN AND MANGO SALSA

BLACK BEAN AND MANGO SALSA

Highlands Bar and Grill

ROAST QUAIL WITH FIG RELISH

Hot and Hot Fish Club

SWEET CORN SUCCOTASH

Irondale Café—The Original Whistle Stop Café

IRONDALE CAFÉ BUTTERMILK PIE

IRONDALE CAFÉ CORNBREAD

LuLu’s at Homeport

CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE WITH MOCHA GLAZE

LUMP CRAB À LA LULU OVER

GARLIC CHEESE GRITS

GARLIC CHEESE GRITS

Mountain Laurel Inn

BUBBLE BREAD

The Waysider

WAYSIDER CHEESE GRITS

WAYSIDER SQUASH CASSEROLE

Wintzell’s Oyster House

BACON-WRAPPED SHRIMP

OYSTERS MONTEREY

COTTON ROW

100 Southside Square

Huntsville, AL 38501

[phone]

www.cottonrowrestaurant.com

Chef James Boyce’s Cotton Row Restaurant is located in a charming three-story brick building right on the courthouse square of Huntsville, Alabama. The edifice dates back to 1821, when it was constructed alongside the old cotton exchange. The romantically rustic ambiance makes Cotton Row a favorite date night locale for Huntsville residents and visitors looking for a unique dining experience with an emphasis on the Southern hospitality of days gone by.

No matter how spectacular the décor might be, it is overshadowed by what the kitchen puts on the plate. Trained at Le Cirque in New York City, Chef Boyce has created an upscale menu of seasonal regional specialties. The list of entrées emphasizes seafood and inventively prepared game and beef dishes. If your appetite or your wallet doesn’t allow for that much food, Cotton Row is also open for lunch with smaller portions and creative sandwich options.

In the nineteenth century a ploughman’s lunch was a cold midday meal, usually consisting of a chunk of cheese, a pickle, and a piece of bread. At Cotton Row you can expect a lot more from the Ploughman’s Specials, which are small plates that can be ordered as an appetizer or combined to create a tapas-like meal. They are also excellent for sharing if your dining companions are generous types.

Desserts have a more international flavor than the rest of the menu, but you won’t be disappointed by the fact that you’ve left the country on your culinary tour as you enjoy treats like Tahitian Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée and plates of exotic cheeses accented with seventy-five-year-old balsamic vinegar.

Groups that are looking for private dining options at Cotton Row can enjoy a meal in the Cedar Pipe Cellar beneath the main dining room. This huge wine cellar houses the restaurant’s collection of almost five thousand bottles. Special menus can be constructed around patrons’ particular wine choices, or lucky diners can place themselves in the capable hands of the chef as he creates unique tasting menus. A meal in the Cedar Pipe Cellar also includes a tour of the kitchen where the magic happens.

With a modern menu steeped in old Southern traditions and a location in a historic building less than five miles from the US Space and Rocket Center, Cotton Row might seem like a place of contradictions. The truth is that it maintains a wonderful balance between old and new that has allowed it to become a real star in the Rocket City.

CUISINE: American cuisine with strong Southern influences

ATMOSPHERE: Seductive and historic

SPECIALTIES: Seafood, especially Scallops

INSIDER TIP: If you’re a Martha Stewart fan, watch her magazine and her network for frequent contributions by Chef Boyce.

3

POT ROAST

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 to 4 pounds bottom-round or top-round roast

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon pepper

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium onion, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 stalk celery, cut into ¾-inch pieces

1 large carrot, cut into ¾-inch pieces

1 sprig fresh rosemary

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

2 cups beef broth

1 cup quartered assorted mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 300°. Place a large casserole dish (with a cover) over medium-high heat on the stovetop and add the olive oil. Season the roast with the salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, brown the meat on all sides and then remove the meat from the casserole dish. Add the garlic, onion, celery, and carrot to the casserole dish and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly brown. Add the rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, and butter, and cook until the butter is melted. Lower the heat to low and sprinkle in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly and scraping the pan so the flour does not stick, for 2 minutes. Add the vinegar to the casserole dish and cook until the vinegar is reduced to one-third. Add the tomatoes and crush lightly with a spoon. Add the beef stock and mushrooms and stir until the ingredients are well mixed. Return the roast to the dish and cover. Cook on low heat for 2 ½ to 3 hours, until the meat is fork-tender. Remove from the oven and let the pot roast cool in the liquid before slicing and serving.

» MAKES 6 SERVINGS

FOX VALLEY RESTAURANT

6745 Highway 17

Helena, AL 35114

[phone]

www.birminghammenus.com/foxvalley

You have to slow down when you’re looking for the Fox Valley Restaurant or you’re liable to drive right by. Located between a gas station and a liquor store, this hole-in-the-wall gem serves some of the best seafood in Alabama at amazingly affordable prices. About a half hour south of downtown Birmingham, Fox Valley offers fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere with an emphasis on fresh local ingredients. With an exceptional wine list to accompany the menu, diners can receive all the benefits of a fancy white-tablecloth dining experience without paying uptown prices.

Particular specialties of the house are the Crab Cakes served with brown garlic butter. There are even those who will hold up the Fox Valley’s Crab Cakes against the best from Maryland. Those are fighting words, but if you listen to the calls going into the line chefs, you’ll hear the Steak and Cake combo called over and over again.

The co-owners and executive chefs, Sue Lemieux and Anthony Mangold, met years ago when they were cooking together in a restaurant in Athens, Georgia. They respected each other’s culinary ideals and knew they had to start a cooking venture together. After operating a business baking desserts and breads for Birmingham-area restaurants for a few years, Sue and Anthony decided to make the leap of faith and open Fox Valley.

Their concept of combining local produce and fresh seafood together in interesting ways was immediately welcomed by the Birmingham dining community. Creative appetizers range from ice-cold Watermelon and Peach Soup to a savory Fried Stuffed Mirliton filled with sautéed shrimp and smoked sausage. Main dishes revolve around many of the same seafood elements that make up the outstanding starters. The aforementioned Steak and Cake pairs the garlicky goodness of the crab cake with a char-grilled filet mignon. Gulf fish like red snapper, triggerfish, and scamp often make appearances on the nightly specials.

Thanks to their wholesale bakery background providing sweets and treats for over thirty of Birmingham’s best restaurants, you know that the chefs can create some outstanding desserts and breads. The dessert menu changes almost every day, but you can’t go wrong if you see Anthony’s Strawberry Shortcake on the list.

Feel free to drop in wearing your casual clothes or dressed to impress. At the Fox Valley Restaurant, the emphasis is on what’s on the plate. Step through this particular hole-in-the-wall and you’ll find yourself in a diners’ wonderland.

CUISINE: Fried seafood, burgers, and sandwiches

ATMOSPHERE: Fine dining in a nonpretentious environment

SPECIALTIES: Steak and Cake

INSIDER TIP: If you happen to find out that the Fox Valley’s addictive Crack Pie is on the dessert menu, order it in advance because the kitchen staff has been known to eat most of it before dinner even begins.

5

FOX VALLEY’S CHILLED CANTALOUPE SOUP

1 small ripe cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and chopped into chunks

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup lime juice

1 teaspoon lime zest

Sugar (optional, depending on ripeness of cantaloupe)

Fresh raspberries for garnish

Fresh mint for garnish

Purée the cantaloupe in a food processor or blender, in batches if necessary, until liquefied. Pour into a large bowl. Stir in the cream, lime juice, lime zest, and a little sugar if necessary. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours. Place 6 serving bowls in the freezer until ready to serve. Ladle the soup into the frozen bowls and garnish each serving with raspberries and a sprig of mint.

» MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Note: Although this soup is offered as a starter at Fox Valley, many people order it as a light, refreshing dessert.

GARRETT’S—THE ART OF FOOD

7780 Atlanta Highway

Montgomery, AL

[phone]

www.garrettsartoffood.com

Located in the capital city of Alabama, Garrett’s was opened in 1995 by Chef Gary Garner, who set out to create a restaurant that would establish itself as the capital of Montgomery dining. With an inventive bar, a spacious modern dining area, and an original menu full of well-executed dishes, Garrett’s has achieved that goal, according to plenty of Montgomery diners. Thanks to a sleek design scheme that features dark wood and shiny metal furniture and a bar with an actual waterfall cascading down the back wall, Garrett’s could be easily mistaken for a trendy Manhattan bistro.

The Art of Food is more than just part of the name at this beautiful art deco location on the east side of Montgomery. It’s also the mantra that the kitchen repeats with every dish as it creates artfully crafted presentations of exquisite food. Luckily, in contrast to other chichi restaurants where it seems like there is a contest to be the biggest minimalist and place as little food as possible on huge white plates, the folks at Garrett’s believe in serving a healthy portion of food with actual side dishes instead of foam or a swirl of flavored oil for a garnish.

The food is not only beautiful, but delicious too. The Center-Cut Filet Mignon with Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce is so tender that you can cut it with a fork and comes accompanied with both smashed potatoes and a medley of seasonal vegetables. Chef Garner features at least two fish dishes daily based on what looks like the freshest fare from his fishmongers. If you happen to visit on a day when he’s preparing Pecan-Crusted Grouper, count your lucky stars.

Desserts are decadent and big enough to share. Some of the best happen to have spirits as a major component, so you can have your after-dinner drink in a bowl in the form of New Orleans–Style White Chocolate Bread Pudding that comes smothered in whiskey sauce, or the famous Pecan Pie Martini served with Jack Daniel’s ice cream.

Rare for a fine dining establishment like Garrett’s, a midday meal is also served with a choice of entrée and two sides for an elegant affordable lunch. The businesspeople of Montgomery are lucky to have this sort of option available to them. Any extra opportunity to enjoy the food at a place this unique is definitely a good thing.

CUISINE: Sophisticated dishes to stimulate all five senses

ATMOSPHERE: Hip and modern

SPECIALTIES: Filet Mignon with Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, New Orleans–Style White Chocolate Bread Pudding

INSIDER TIP: Garrett’s offers an Early Dining menu with appetizers and entrées at about half off the dinner prices. It pays to skip lunch.

9781401601638_INT_0015_001

Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops with Black Bean and Mango Salsa

8

SEARED JUMBO SEA SCALLOPS WITH BLACK BEAN AND MANGO SALSA

32 scallops

½ cup dry fish seasoning

Black Bean and Mango Salsa (recipe follows)

Clean the scallops and detach the side muscle if necessary. Spray a medium skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat the skillet over high heat until very hot (no oil or butter is needed). Sprinkle the scallops evenly with the dry fish seasoning. Depending on the size of the scallops, cook for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, until the scallops are evenly browned. Turn off the heat, flip the scallops over and cover. Allow the scallops to rest for 3 to 4 minutes. Do not overcook or the scallops will become very tough. Serve the scallops on a bed of Arugula greens topped with Black Bean and Mango Salsa.

» MAKES 8 SERVINGS

BLACK BEAN AND MANGO SALSA

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup rice vinegar

Juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

1 (12-ounce) can black beans, drained

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced

½ cup diced red bell pepper

½ cup diced red onion

1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl emulsify or gradually whisk together the oil, vinegar, lime juice, and garlic to create a dressing. Fold the black beans, mangoes, bell pepper, red onion, chives, cilantro, salt, and pepper into the dressing. Serve as a dip or as a topping for broiled or grilled fish.

» MAKES 8 SERVINGS

HIGHLANDS BAR AND GRILL

2011 11th Avenue South

Birmingham, AL 35205

[phone]

www.highlandsbarandgrill.com

Under the auspices of executive chef/owner Frank Stitt, Highlands Bar and Grill is consistently ranked among one of the top restaurants in the entire country. Chef Stitt is a perennial nominee for the James Beard Awards for Best Restaurant in the region and won the Beard Award as Best Chef in the Southeast in 2001. In addition to opening two other successful Birmingham restaurants, Chez Fonfon and Bottega, Chef Stitt stills runs the kitchen at Highlands, where he serves a menu that changes daily based on the freshest seasonal ingredients available.

The menu is crafted with dishes designed to feature the flavors of the region’s unique foods, often through the use of fine French culinary techniques and presentations. The chicken offering on the menu may appear as Poulet Rouge with a Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto, but that yard bird isn’t necessarily as highfalutin as it sounds. That chicken was pecking around in some Alabama red clay last week. The seafood dishes are similar, with classic European treatments of the freshest fish from the Gulf of Mexico or nearby streams and lakes.

Unlike at some other fancy restaurants, the menu descriptions reveal many common ingredients that you will recognize, but in unexpected and sublime combinations. An order of Seared Scallops, for example, might be accompanied by an old-fashioned Hoppin’ John made with field peas, okra, cherry tomatoes, basil, and olive oil. In your bread basket crusty French rolls nestle happily side by side with crackling cornbread muffins.

If you do have any questions about the ingenious menu, the top-notch waitstaff is both informed about and interested in the food being served and genuinely wants diners to have the best experience possible. Chef Stitt is also known as a master in the field of food and wine pairings and offers a voluminous wine list to ensure that just the right bottle will be available to embellish the flavors on your plate.

Birmingham residents consider themselves very lucky that a native Alabama son like Chef Stitt chose to return home after studying fine cooking in California, France, and Italy. Gastronomes all over the country also recognize the jewel that resides in the Magic City and have been beating a path down Interstate 65 for years to enjoy the transcendent food of Highlands Bar and Grill.

CUISINE: Southern ingredients cooked with French sensibility and techniques

ATMOSPHERE: Classy with impeccable service

SPECIALTIES: Stone-Ground Baked Grits, North Carolina Fish Muddle

INSIDER TIP: Definitely make reservations in advance, but go ahead and arrive early for a wonderfully crafted cocktail before dinner in the lively Highlands bar. After all, bar is one-third of the restaurant’s name.

10

ROAST QUAIL WITH FIG RELISH

ROAST QUAIL

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, diced

2 shallots, diced

1 cup crumbled cornbread

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup walnut halves, lightly toasted, divided (reserve ½ cup for relish)

4 semiboneless quail, wing tips trimmed, rinsed and patted dry

FIG RELISH

½ cup walnut halves (remaining from quail)

8 figs, cut into wedges

1 shallot, minced

4 fresh basil leaves, torn

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

To make the roast quail, preheat the oven to 450°. In a medium sauté pan, heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, celery, and shallots and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add the crumbled cornbread, butter, and thyme. Toss thoroughly with your hands to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cavity of each quail with salt and pepper, and then stuff a little of the cornbread mixture and walnuts inside. Season the outside of each quail with salt and pepper and tie the legs together. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over high heat in a heavy ovenproof sauté pan just large enough to hold the quail without touching each other. Add the quail and sear, turning occasionally, until golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the quail for 6 to 9 minutes; the breast meat should still be a rosy color.

Meanwhile, make the fig relish. In a medium bowl toss the remaining walnuts, figs, shallot, basil, vinegars, and oil, and season with salt and pepper. Remove the string from the quail. Place a spoonful of creamy grits in the center of each plate, top with collard greens, and place a quail on top of the collards. Garnish with the fig relish.

» MAKES 4 SERVINGS

HOT AND HOT FISH CLUB

2180 11th Court South

Birmingham, AL 35205

[phone]

www.hotandhotfishclub.com

Hot and Hot Fish Club takes its name from Chef Chris Hastings’s great-great-grandfather’s hunting and fishing club for country gentlemen established in the early nineteenth century in South Carolina’s Low Country. Meals were shared family-style at a communal table where generations of hunters swapped stories and lies. The restaurant is located in a building that housed a hamburger joint in the 1950s and a pool hall during the ’70s and ’80s. Along with his wife and fellow chef/co-owner, Idie, Hastings saw the possibilities of the historic building and set about designing and building an award-winning restaurant with the same attention to beauty and composition that characterizes the menu. The result is a strikingly beautiful building filled with art on the walls, and an open kitchen where you can see the chefs create art on the plates.

Like Crimson Tide fans hoping for a seat behind the bench, diners line up to wait their turn to sit along the chef’s counter and watch the

Reviews for The Southern Foodie

[gincam · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

With "The Southern Foodie", writer Chris Chamberlain takes us to "100 Places to Eat in the South Before You Die", and then shares "The Recipes That Made Them Famous". Roadies and Foodies, Unite! Rejoice! I am Southern to the bone, half-Virginian and half-Tennessean, and I can tell you, no bones about it, that we eat good here in the South, really good. We are much more than fried food and grits. Those foods are delicious and traditional, but they are just a small portion of the food bounty to be found throughout the American South. "The Southern Foodie" takes you on a thirteen-state taste trek, from VA to FL and all Southern states in-between, and each stop is a treat. The people, the places, and the plated-up dishes are all equally appealing, and true foodies will soon have their car keys in hand as their rumbling tummies drive them from one destination to another. Here's just a sampling of some of the featured recipes: "Sweet Corn Succotash"; "Ramsey's Kentucky Hot Brown"; "Apricot Fried Pies"; "Redeye Shrimp & Grits"; "Bread Pudding with Irish Whiskey Sauce"; "Yellow Crookneck Squash Casserole"; "White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie"; "Hattie's Pecan-Crusted Catfish"; "Southern Fried Chicken BLT"; "Country Smothered Pork Chops"; and "Key Lime Chess Pie". The food culture of the South cannot really be confined to one or two labels. The first settlers from across the sea brought with them a food heritage which, for survival, had to be blended with the food wisdom of the Native Americans. From then on, America has truly been a "melting pot". The South is one big happy convergence of what we grow, what we know, and what is introduced to us from the world around us. You will find this to be true in the pages of "The Southern Foodie".Review Copy Gratis Thomas Nelson Books via BookSneeze