What is it?!

Alton Brown has spoken via video on seriouseats.com: Lorman, Mississippi has the best fried chicken in the world. Pretty sure he’s talking about the Old Country Store (anyone know for sure?). And I quote, “It’s like Colonel Sanders pole dancing. There’s something sexy going on with this chicken.” Do you know a joint that could give Lorman a run? Click comments and tell us about its greasy southern goodness.

Chicken sliders from the Kickin’ Chicken in Charleston. Fried chicken on a soft roll with a couple of pickle slices and a heavenly spicy sauce. Yum. My justification: It’s the day after a monumental election.

Sat, I ate this:

 A fried whole trout. Dave caught this guy in Charleston harbor in the a.m. Dave cleaned him, breaded him in flour (seasoned with S&P), and fried him in hot oil. Drizzled some red wine vinegar over the top, each grabbed a fork, and dug in. My justification: Nostalgia.  Dave’s grandfather used to cook-up trout this way (head on, baby).

Last night, I ate this:

Fried Sheepshead—mild, flakey, white fish—Dave caught in the a.m. He cleaned it and cut it into bit sized pieces. Then we coated each piece in flour (seasoned with S&P), dredged them in a mixture of egg yolks (x2) and milk (1C), and covered them in Ritz cracked crumbs. Dropped them into sizzling oil. The finest fried item of the week! My justification: I ran a 5K Sunday morning.

If you’re wondering why I’m all alone, it’s certainly not because I’ve left the pack in the dust. It’s because I’m the only runner! Yesterday was World Run Day. You sign up and pledge to run whatever mileage you like, and donate money-whatever amount you choose—to your favorite charity. Last I checked, the event had raised more than $50,000 for various charities. I gave to City Harvest, which distributes food to the homeless in NYC. Hope they get some fried sheepshead.

Our neighborhood doesn’t get a lot of trick-or-treaters, so we headed to the beach house this weekend. Caught 30 red fish in the surf. Check out the vid.

On a chilly fall night it Charleston, it seemed appropriate to whip up some sort of hearty comfort food, so I took a stab at chicken pot pie. Now, anytime I’ve ever had CPP, it’s been the herby creamy variety. The recipe I came across however—from Robin Miller at Food TV—had a tomato-based sauce, which I was dubious about. But it claimed to take less than 30 minutes, so I went for it. I was disappointed for two reasons: 1) It took more than an hour (1-inch potato chunks are a bitch to tenderize) and 2) The red sauce—after all that chopping and simmering!—tasted like Campbell’s Minestrone soup. Anyone have a better recipe, that’s authentic and truly easy?

Actually, I find the fact that they’re making a documentary about this poor woman totally depressing. Also, WTF is it doing on the Style network?! This is totally TLC material. 

Here’s the press release…

New Docu-Series Follows 500-Pound Ruby Gettinger’s
Life and Death Battle Against Obesity

Savannah resident Ruby Gettinger is beautiful, charming, charismatic and weighs a life-threatening 500 pounds.  In a new and highly-anticipated TV reality series titled “Ruby,” Style’s camera follow her personal struggle to lose weight, get healthy and battle discrimination. 

With no-holds-barred honesty and unwavering optimism, Ruby shares her story, including her past and present battle with obesity, her efforts to find the lost memories of her childhood and her reunion with an ex-boyfriend who broke her heart.  Along the way, Ruby seeks to inspire others to take the first bold steps towards a healthier and happier future. 

The powerful and heartwarming new series, “Ruby,” premieres Sunday, November 9 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, only on Style.

Ever since we moved to Charleston back in Feb., I’ve been all about taking a Southern roadtrip. There are just so many cool-seeming cities I’ve never been to. Places like Nashville, Austin, Memphis, etc. And, after reading the Best Southern Foods piece in the November issue of Garden & Gun, I have new motivation to fill up the tank and go: This interactive map of things you simply must eat before you die. It’s a Southern roadtrip bible! Side note: the guy who wrote the piece—John T. Edge, author of Fried Chicken: an American Story, and director of the Southern Foodways Alliance—was a judge on Iron Chef last night. He was really great—def deserves his own show.  

Here’s the intro the the piece…

 

Southern food is all about the low and the high. On the one hand, it’s a pig ear sandwich, devoured beneath the glare of an overhead fluorescent at a stand-up counter in Jackson, Mississippi. On the other, it’s a pâté of chicken liver, savored, with a tumbler of bourbon, at a damask-draped table in Charleston, South Carolina. This roster includes both of those dishes. And it maps both extremes. 

For fifteen-odd years now I’ve been documenting the stories told at our collective table, paying homage to our cooks by way of words. Still, the compilation of this list was an exercise in folly, attempted with a 100-count bottle of antacids and a modicum of hubris. I’m sure I’ll be roundly condemned for leaving out the hog’s temple boudin stuffed and steamed by Bubba Frey, proprietor of the Mowata Store, near Eunice, Louisiana. Perhaps I’ll be called a jackass for failing to recognize that the best chess pie in Christendom is baked by the nice ladies at the Whole Truth Lunchroom in Wilson, North Carolina. 

But in the bites that follow, I hope that you recognize the diverse and delicious South I know and love. My idea was not to codify the best Southern eats. My aim was to assemble a sample of the sort of bounty that beckons the curious and the hungry. Upon first bite, each dish announces its peculiar terroir. And commands a second bite. Then a third. 

 

Enjoy.

In light of the crap economy, I thought I’d pass along this $5 coupon to Whole Foods (redeemable with any $25-plus purchase). How many beets do you think I can get for that?