Hush Your Mouth!

As you may know, I grew up in Alabama. Despite their desire to be super snobby foodies, I have DK+DK to thank for my love of pimento cheese, crinkle fries in Milo’s sauce, fried green tomatoes, (DK’s personal garlic + cheese) grits, Coca-Cola with vanilla syrup, hush puppies, roadside boiled “p-nuts,” Dreamland ribs, sweet tea, and the like.

Traditional Pre-Thanksgiving Dreamland Ribs

So you can imagine my delight when Tommy K directed my attention to this fabulous article:

100 Southern Foods you Absolutely, Positively, Must Try Before You Die by John T. Edge for Garden and Gun (yes, Garden and Gun.)

photo credit: Garden and Gun

TK is trying to figure out a way to hit all 100 spots in 3 weeks or less and chronicle his adventures on a blog. I told Tommy he’d need to factor in a coronary along with his travel time but listen, Tommy is hilarious and really knows his stuff when it comes to All Things Awesome and Amazing…so if he actually goes through with this, I know I’ll be a loyal reader.

On to the list! I was excited to see that 7 places mentioned are right here in the A and they are as follows (with John’s commentary):

Stew Dog
Harold’s Barbecue
Atlanta, Georgia
The barbecue isn’t what it once was, but the cornbread is still shot through with cracklins. The Atlanta Federal Penitentiary is still the neighbor of note. And, of late, the Hembree family has begun ladling their peerless Brunswick on hot dogs. (haroldsbarbecue.com; 404-627-9268)

Salmon Croquettes
Watershed
Decatur, Georgia
Canned red salmon has long been the standard. But not for Scott Peacock. He uses the fresh stuff, which makes for a better croquette. Especially when mixed with chopped onions. And fresh bread crumbs. And bound with melted butter (watershedrestaurant.com; 404-378-4900)

Pot Likker Soup
Mary Mac’s Tea Room
Atlanta, Georgia
You receive a stubby pencil and an order blank. Get whatever you like from the country-come-to-town roster of favorites, but don’t forget the pot likker soup, a kind of supercharged turnip green bouillon. (marymacs.com; 404-876-1800)

Turnip Greens
Taqueria del Sol
Atlanta, Georgia
Chile de arbol. Eddie Hernandez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, spikes his turnip greens with those squat pods. And he forgoes pork in favor of chicken stock. The result violates all the rules and, in turn, sets a new standard. (taqueriadelsol.com)

Cheese Straws
McEntyre’s Bakery
Smyrna, Georgia
Raspy tongues of cheddar and cayenne, these evanescent rectangles are best bought by the box and best eaten with a colder-than-cold twelve-ounce bottle of cane sugar Coke, bootlegged in from Mexico. (mcentyresbakery.com; 770-434-3115)

Fried Peach Pie
The Varsity
Atlanta, Georgia
I speak fluent Varsity, which means I know the difference between a naked steak and a glorified steak. And I know that the sleeper eat at this drive-in on steroids is the fried peach pie, a pillow of dough encasing a cobbler of goodness. (thevarsity.com)

Pecan Waffle
Waffle House
Avondale Estates, Georgia
Waffle Houses are interstate-off-ramp ubiquitous. But they somehow overcome their chain status. Pecan waffles help. Fresh from the iron, they deserve better than the sorry corn syrup Waffle House pours, which is why my son and I bootleg in little bottles of true cane or maple. (wafflehouse.com; 404-294-8758)

I’d encourage you to check out the entire list. Those look like some tasty vittles to me, y’all! Makes me want to whip up a mint julep because…well, because I can.

(Sidebar: To my family in Birmingham: Yes, I noticed that Milo’s made it on there. No, you do not need to call me to tell me you are at Milo’s tomorrow. I’m looking at you, Katie.)

Y’all come back now, y’hear?

xx, L