Photo: Muy Yum

With talks of Southern Food Queen Paula Deen revealing her diagnosis of diabetes, many have started to wonder the health benefits, if any, of Southern cooking. What we traditionally think of comfort or soul food, Southern cuisine has taken many names in recent years, but can always be distinguished by its rib-sticking, deep-fried, cheesy goodness. Yet, what we confuse Southern cooking for, in fact is really just preparation. The basis for classic Southern dishes is really the ingredients not its battered and deep-fried methods.

To bring light to this common misconception, Chef Virginia Willis, has written her third cookbook, “Back to Brillian, Y’all” what shows a lighter side to what we know as heavy Southern cooking. In a recent Reuters interview, Chef Willis clarifies what true Southern cooking entails and why people often equate the cuisine with America’s obesity problem. Read More

Photo: Slideshow Bruce on Flickr

A lot of people will tell you that to get the best crabcake, you need to go to Maryland or for the best tacos, you need to go to California. Sometimes that place will be right near you, but other times you might have to go on a bit of an adventure. Since it’s the summer, now might be a great time to start thinking about taking a food-centric road trip.

There are several ways to start planning an epic food journey. You could travel across the country to seek out one or two certain restaurants or just stop anywhere along the way and eat whatever looks good.  Chance can produce some great meals, but planning your road trip around food will inevitably make for a tastier vacation. To help get you started, check out some of these great travel books. Read More

Sean Brock is a James Beard Award-winning chef famous for his revolutionary take on Southern cooking. He has two restaurants in Charleston, SC: McCrady’s, which combines classic Southern cooking with new molecular gastronomy techniques, Read More

At high school basketball games in the South, concessions are king. Spectating is hard work; it requires specially crafted food to sustain energy levels. Although every town has its own idiosyncratic foods, two unusual items seem prevalent throughout the South’s basketball belt: Read More

In Charleston, South Carolina, Sean Brock is leading a revolution in Southern cooking. Sam Sifton talks about Brock’s career and cooking in “A Southern Chef Doesn’t Stray Far,” tracing Brock’s work at McCrady’s and Husk. Read More