My plan as I adventured across the northern hills of The US South was to hit up a couple of restaurants that have been featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I figured it would be a solid basis to tour Southern Fare. In the end Atlanta's Silver Skillet was the only one that was within my routes of travel. Still I experienced a range of dining atmospheres from ultra casual BBQ joints to a James Beard Award winning chef and restaurant in downtown Oxford, Mississippi.
Silver Skillet's famous for its Country Ham. On the show they explain that the meat is hand cut and soaked, bone-in, overnight in a combination of soy sauce, brown sugar, paprika, and the secret ingredient Coca-Cola; Atlanta is the hometown of this globally famous soft drink brand.
My server warned that the meat is salty. No problem, that's what the water is for. Red Eye Gravy is served aside the meat, which is a mixture of the excess marinade juices and hot, fresh coffee. From a selection of sides I chose macaroni & cheese and fried okra.
The ham was salty indeed much like a cured prosciutto, but not too much so. It was moist and tender inside and seared nicely on the outside. The flavor was certainly unique with the Asian soy sauce complementing the sweet of the cola well like the look of a rough leather jacket layered over a feminine floral dress. And to be honest, the gravy didn't taste much different with the addition of the coffee. Simply, it gave each bite a bit more juice to envelop my tongue.
There's nothing pretentious about the place. At 1:30 on Thursday it was nearly full and you seat yourself. I picked the spot near the window to take-in the afternoon sun over lunch. Each table is stocked with every supply we might need to enhance the meal, including extra napkins, a vinegar pepper sauce that I put on the okra and hot sauce - yea man. There's free WiFi too. Major bonus points for this.
The okra wasn't prepared exactly as I expected. In North Carolina's furniture country I had it 'fried', but really sautéed in butter, and it was phenomenal. Without the pepper sauce they were merely crunchy tidbits. In a blind test I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the vegetable and Rocky Mountain Oysters.
Now the macaroni & cheese was perfect. It had just the right amount of cream and cheese and could take Kraft's Velveeta any day in a contest. As I do, I lathered it in hot sauce.
Home cooked food in a super comfortable setting is what this Atlanta hot spot is all about. If you forgot your reading glasses, there's even a basket full to borrow from, although I think the locals know precisely what they're ordering when the come in. No menu needed. The website Flavortown USA serves as a great guide for finding restaurants visited on Fieri's show when you're moving about the country, hungry and ready to be tantalized by local fare.
Fried Green Tomatoes are often considered a Southern delicacy. Each family and restaurant has its own recipe that's been cherished and touted over the years. At the Moonlight Bistro in Mentone, Alabama near Ft. Payne, the dish can be served as an appetizer to share or as a sandwich with mayonnaise, lettuce and bacon.
The breading remained crunchy wrapped around the hot and juicy fruit. And while the bun was soggy by the time I was finished, the sandwich was very good overall, and the side of broccoli seasoned just right. In fact the dish was recently listed on '100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die'.
The cafe is housed in a small log cabin with a gorgeous fireplace and welcoming front patio. The atmosphere is severely charming.
In flying through the rolling, colorful hills of northern Alabama - more beautiful than I had expected - I needed a spot for a break and replenishment, and frankly, while Subway would have been easiest, I hadn't come all this way for something so ubiquitous.
Then I spotted Smith's in a flash cruising at 80mph down the curvy country highway. Its parking lot was full of cars - always a good sign. After passing it by, I quickly found a place to turn around and went to check it out.
No frills here. Much like other BBQ spots the paper towel sat on a roll at the end of the table lined with condiments.
Unfortunately Smith's didn't have brisket on the menu, which is always my favorite choice, so I tried the chicken and broccoli casserole that was the Friday lunch special. With a side of corn and collared greens, the meal was delivered piping hot and suited my needs.
To my amazement while visiting a friend at Ole Miss, I was told that the best late night food is found at the local gas stations. You've got to be kidding me! But he wasn't. Oof. Ramen noodles is as 'basic' as I'll get and that's because the taste is nostalgic for me and it doesn't involve mystery meat.
Well, nonetheless, when in Oxford...at the corner station just around from the square, we ordered all sorts of fried things - chicken, pizza sticks, burritos. The worker filled a white paper lunch bag with the greasy bits that I have to admit smelled delightful.
The chicken was very, very good. Crispy and flavorful on the outside, juicy on the inside. It didn't take long for us to whoolf the pieces down. The burrito and pizza sticks were nothing more than gas station prepared hot pockets, but they did the trick. And they were certainly more appealing than the two for $1 'roller' dogs at Milwaukee stations.
On the wholly opposite end of the food spectrum, we checked out the scene at Oxford's most fancy and famed restaurant City Grocery that sits right in the town center surrounded by quaint shops and various pieces of local history. Open for twenty years, City Grocery has been featured in the likes of Food & Wine, Bon Appetít and Wine Spectator. In 2009 chef John Currence was awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef South and 'The Big Bad Chef', originally from New Orleans continues to innovate using new ingredients every six weeks.
The menu was still on late summer. We started with the seasonal heirloom tomato salad tossed in fresh herbs and balsamic syrup, dressed easy with cracked telicherry peppercorns and grey celtic sea salt.
The seared scallops 'Minestroni' proved to be a wise choice. The seafood was served atop a succotash of sweet corn, butterbeans, tomato and bacon in lobster broth with chili oil. Cooked until just barely opaque in the center, the scallops meshed well with the al dente vegetables.
The wine list changes weekly offering a varied selection of great options, however the pricing is premium for basics like Stag's Leap. We chose the Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was light yet full flavored with a deep blackberry taste, and nice value.
Dixieland had plenty to offer my taste buds. From casual to internationally renowned, the barbecue and biscuits, the deep fried chicken and creative seafood found below the Mason Dixie welcomed this red blooded Yankee with open arms. Maybe The South will rise again fiercely armed with culinary perfection, local hospitality and comforting recipes.
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