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

2012 by Chris Chamberlain and Bryan Curtis

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Photography by Ron Manville

Food Styling by Teresa Blackburn

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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, AmericanSouthern style. 2. RestaurantsSouthern StatesGuidebooks.
3. Southern StatesGuidebooks. I. Chamberlain, Chris. II. Title.
TX715.2.S68C47 2012
641.5975dc23

2012008644

Printed in the United States of America

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

CONTENTS

S ometimes, 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. Thats 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 mamas 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 theres 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 cant 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.

SEARED JUMBO SEA SCALLOPS WITH
BLACK BEAN AND MANGO SALSA

LUMP CRAB LA LULU OVER
GARLIC CHEESE GRITS

100 Southside Square

Huntsville, AL 38501

(256) 382-9500

www.cottonrowrestaurant.com

C hef James Boyces 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 dcor 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 entres emphasizes seafood and inventively prepared game and beef dishes. If your appetite or your wallet doesnt allow for that much food, Cotton Row is also open for lunch with smaller portions and creative sandwich options.

In the nineteenth century a ploughmans 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 Ploughmans 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 wont be disappointed by the fact that youve left the country on your culinary tour as you enjoy treats like Tahitian Vanilla Bean Crme Brle 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 restaurants 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.