Posted by Erin Zimmer, June 18, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Fried pickles from Wintzell's Oyster House in Mobile, Alabama. When visiting a couple weeks ago, I was more excited for these than the actual oysters.
To save a half-second, just call them "frickles." Snackable like French fries or popcorn shrimp, these deep-fried discs have the briney flavor of salt and vinegar chips and the addictive quality of, well, anything deep-fried. Apparently pickle spears can get too soggy, so most restaurants serve the bread-and-butter kind usually found on hamburgers. To cut the vinegary punch, orders are usually served with a creamy dipping sauce.
See what restaurant kitchens are sizzling pickles, not just potatoes and onions, after the jump. Note: Frickle-making is especially common in a certain region of the country. West Coast, are you listening? Throw some pickles into the deep fryer already!
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Posted by Erin Zimmer, June 14, 2008 at 2:55 PM
From May 22 to May 31, I traveled across country, from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco, California. Here's a snippet from that week.
En route to Montgomery, Alabama, Chuck's Bar B Que, sits off the highway in the nearby town of Opelika. On Saturday, the joint's CHIPPED sandwich is buy-one, get-one free. But only 22¢ more, the CHOPPED sandwich wasn't part of the promo. The difference? Besides a vowel? The cashier, sporting an Auburn University hat one Saturday a few weeks ago, had clearly never been asked this before. People just knew here. She acted like she was explaining a foreign language.
Eventually, we were deep in a convoluted Who's On First–style conversation about the sandwich iterations. The entire Chuck's staff chimed in, attempting to clarify. To make it worse, there was a third option besides CHIPPED and CHOPPED called CHIPPED ON BLOCK. Oh, dear. Below is a menu glossary for Chuck's Bar B Que visitors, to avoid the convoluted barbecue babel we faced.
CHOPPED: Meat is sliced into bite-sized pieces, later topped with a puddle of house barbecue sauce. More definitions after the jump.
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Posted by Ed Levine, February 17, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Editor's note: Occasionally what looks at first glance to be a conventional guidebook transcends the genre in surprising ways. John T. Edge's Southern Belly is just such a read. Yes, you can use it like the discerning guide to eating in the South it most assuredly is. But Southern Belly is also a book filled with so much heart, soul, and good writing that it demands to be read cover to cover like some John Grisham page-turner. Edge blessedly doesn't shy away from discussions of race and class, and the result is a narrative that's compellingly thoughtful and real. That's why I'm pleased that John T. has allowed us to excerpt selected items from Southern Belly in our Eating Out section here Serious Eats. They'll appear every other week. So without further ado, here's the first of them. —Ed Levine
By John T. Edge | BILL BAYLEY was a big man. Big size. Big ideas. Said he was the inventor of West Indies salad, a layered assemblage of onions and crabmeat, cooled in an ice-water bath, beloved by coastal folk. Said he was the first man to batter and fry crab claws, too. During Bayley's lifetime, few people took issue with his claims to fame. I'm not inclined to argue, either, for if you go looking for good eats near the Alabama shore, you will find yourself on his trail.
Before he became a restaurateur, Bayley worked first as a steward, later as a chef for a shipping company. In 1947, along with his wife, Ethyl, he opened a restaurant south of Mobile on what is now Dauphin Island Parkway. They started out small. He worked the kitchen; she worked the front. But talent bears fruit. What began as a one-room grocery was soon a grand dining hall.
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Posted by Ed Levine, January 18, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Southern Foodways appears weekly as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in!
In January 2007, we headed to Atlanta, where we showcased SFA films and celebrated local chefs, musicians, and brewmeisters for the first-ever Potlikker Film Festival*. For those of you who were able to join us, you know what a good time we had. For those of you who missed it, you got another chance when we took the the Potlikker Film Festival on the road to Houston, in July.
In Houston, we headed to St. Arnold’s Brewing Company, where we screened films by SFA filmmaker Joe York. Enjoyed creative munchies prepared by local chefs, including Shade’s Claire Smith. We shook our hips to some Texas tunes. Quenched our thirst with some of the creations from Texas’s oldest craft brewery. And, yep, it was hot.
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Posted by Melissa Hall, October 5, 2007 at 4:50 PM
Southern Foodways appears on Fridays as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in!
Culinary Tourism is a thing—a big thing. So big, it has its own industry group: the International Culinary Tourism Association. Municipalities work to sell their local food scene as tourist-worthy. The National Trust for Historic Preservation names a Dozen Distinctive Destinations each year, cities chosen in part for their culinary diversity and draw. All in all, this probably is a bandwagon worth jumping on because when culinary tourism thrives, it’s local restaurants, artisans, and farmers who benefit.
Engaging in culinary tourism is actually pretty easy. It doesn’t require taking days off work, buying a ticket, or paying an admission fee. Rather, it requires only a commitment to getting off the interstate and resisting the urge to pull into a fast food drive-thru.
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Posted by Melissa Hall, September 28, 2007 at 2:00 PM
Southern Foodways appears on Fridays as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in!
Late in June, the Southern Foodways Alliance staff loaded up a minivan and climbed aboard for a nine-hour drive from Oxford, Mississippi, to Charleston, South Carolina. Not only do we work for an organization devoted to the promotion of Southern food, we are all very good eaters and opinionated ones as well. Where to stop for lunch? That discussion began at 9 in the morning. Somewhere just across the Mississippi-Alabama state line the choice was made—Niki’s West in Birmingham, Alabama.
The cafeteria line at Niki’s West is legendary. Mid-morning you can find folks in line, piling their plates high with some of the freshest and most colorful vegetables in Birmingham. And if the cafeteria line isn’t your style, they also have an à la carte menu where you’ll find even more fresh seafood, steaks, and a few traditional Greek dishes.
Why the Greek food?
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Posted by From Roadfood.com, January 8, 2007 at 7:00 AM
We asked our friends Jane and Michael Stern over at Roadfood.com to give us their top five hot dog picks. Here are their choices, with tasting notes.
SUPER DUPER WEENIE | 306 Black Rock Turnpike,
Fairfield CT 06430 [map]. 203-334-DOGS. superduperweenie.com
Formerly a mobile truck selling hot dogs by the side of the road, Super Duper Weenie is now a stationary restaurant with indoor seating. As you might suspect from its name, the house specialty is a hot dog. It is a firm-fleshed, locally-made weenie that is split and cooked on the grill until its outside gets a little crusty but the inside stays succulent. It is sandwiched in a lovely fresh-baked roll and adorned with utterly amazing condiments -- homemade condiments, including relish made from pickles that Chef Gary Zemora has himself made from cucumbers! The sauerkraut, the hot relish, the meat chili, the onion sauce are ALL made from scratch. (Gary used to be chef at the esteemed South Norwalk Italian restaurant Pasta Nostra. When his passion for hot dogs brought him to Super Duper Weenie about eight years ago, he lost none of that restaurant’s perfectionism.)
Non-dog lovers who find themselves at this jolly joint can get good hamburgers, a sausage and pepper sandwich on a Portuguese roll, a cheese steak, or a grilled chicken sandwich. Amazingly, S-D-W even accommodates vegetarians with a tuna salad sandwich or a veggie burger.
Whatever else you get, you must get French fries. These are beautiful, fresh cut twigs of potato that are utterly fresh from the fry-basket and made extra-delicious by a perfect sprinkle of salt AND pepper. Dine indoors at the always-crowded counter, where you cannot help but feel part of the counter-culture kibitzing that never ends; or choose a picnic table by the side of the eatery, which is also always crowded! Originally reviewed by Michael Stern on Roadfood.com
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