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! Happy New Year! Most of my time in this space is spent talking about the people who are the soul of Southern food—the men and women who grow, harvest, cook, and serve our meals. That’s a huge part of what we do at the Southern Foodways Alliance. We document those stories. But there’s another part to our mission: We also celebrate all aspects of Southern cuisine. How do we do that? Through events—Potlikker Film Festivals, day camps, field trips, fund-raisers, and, of course, our annual symposium.... More

We just got word here at Serious Eats world headquarters that SE contributing editor Adam "The Amateur Gourmet" Roberts will be reading his piece "The Food Bully" at a reading series tomorrow evening. Details, Details, Details What: The food lit series Talking With Your Mouth Full, "an evening of food readings to make you drool." When: Thursday, February 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Where: Jimmy's, 43 East 7th Street, New York City [map] Cost: $10 per person. Reservation required; email var tg=' var name='chloe.lc'; var at='@'; var host1='ma'; var host2='c.com'; var text='Chloe'; document.write(tg+'a hr'+'ef=mai'+'lto:'+name); document.write(at+host1+host2+'>'+text+tg+'/a>'); --> or call 212-799-8075... More

The New York Times food section was full of interesting, fun and thought-provoking stuff this morning, but for me the most mouthwatering (and poignant) story was on page 3. There Kim Severson reported on the Edna Lewis memorial dinner, held this past Sunday in Atlanta. Edna Lewis was, as Kim described her, "an icon of Southern cooking." Although she was born in Virginia and lived out her life in Atlanta, New Yorkers were graced by her presence and cooking skill for many years, first at Cafe Nicholson and then at Gage and Tollner. I recall eating her food many times, first at Gage and Tollner and later at the City Meals on Wheels benefits at the skating rink at... More

I'm exhausted. The night of the Beard Awards I end up hanging out at various after-parties until three in the morning. A couple of things I wanted to mention: The Beard Awards were much more emotionally resonant this year because we dedicated them to New Orleans. The live music was great (for the first time), the recorded music they used to accompany the winners' stroll to the podium was all amazing old New Orleans r and b (think Louis Jordan's Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens), and the food (all from New Orleans chefs) at the reception was real, honest and soulful. I had way too much of Willie Mae Seaton's transcendent fried chicken, and I would have had seconds... More

5:57 PM: Mario Batali is not nervous. 6:01 PM: Jean-Georges Vongerichten looking dapper as usual. 6:05 PM: Cokie Roberts is an extraordinarily gracious and charming host.... More

I'm going to be blogging live from The James Beard Awards tonight. It starts at 5:45, and when there's something noteworthy going on on-stage I'll be posting (photos, stories, anything my Treo allows me to. Anything you want answered or explained just let me know.... More