What do you think of the Southeast US?

[wicshade]

double post.

 

[wicshade]

Sarcasm does not exist in the south.

Instead we use the phrase "bless your heart"; we use that phrase before we say something mean.

 

[Oerdin]

Anyone who calls Southern food bland isnt doing it right. Go watch some Emeril Lagasse and learn something.

That's a fairly arrogant comment given I already said NOLA is the one true exception to the rule. Emeril Lagasse is cajun and based out of NOLA. As has been said repeatedly in this thread cajun is entirely seporate from traditional southern and unlike traditional southern cajuns actually have world class food. I'm sure patty is still insisting grits are some how a culinary wonder rather then just bland peasant food. My whole point is that Patty kept claiming that southern cuisine was some how special and better then anything else in the US when in fact by and large it just isn't. Not even close. It's not the worst in the country but that's only because it manages to edge out the midwest for worst food in the country.

Notice how in every food and restaurant review the south is always an also ran? Here's a list of the top 40 restaurants in the country; notice how the south has exactly one restaurant worth mentioning? (Not counting NOLA as we all agreed that's not "the real south") To compare California has 12 which is by far the most on the list.

http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/restaurantissue/top40/main.html

That's just one example and we could look at dozens but the results are always the same. The south is just a food under performer both in the restaurant scene and in the daily standard food people eat. It's just not a culinary center, not even close.

 

[Oerdin]

http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners

That's the 2010 list of the 50 best restaurants in the world and you'll notice there is nothing in the south. The American winners mostly come from NYC with Illinois and California being the other states worth mentioning.

Even if we look at the top 100 restaurants in the world you still find several entries for NY and California yet not a single entry for the entire south.

http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/51-100-winners

All I want is for Patty to man up and admit he was wrong when he claimed southern cuisine was the best in the country. Will he do it or will he keep playing this game?

 

[Patroklos]

I just want to point out again that Oerdin has not given any reason why cajun food is not Southern other than somehow his regional bigotry not somehow alowing him to reject reality to disqualify it outright as well, and then point out the hilarity of him attempting to say cajun is somehow not peasant food. I would also like to point out the snobbery of you thinking that because food is simple and traditionally peasant food it is somehow inferior, so much for you the only thing California does well, Mexican (thats right, your food culture is named after another country, very original ) being somehow relevant in your eyes.

News flash Oerdin, fish tacos are peasant food too. I've asked you before, and you predictably failed to answer. Please tell us all about indigenous unique California food culture.

How was that Carl's Jr you had for lunch? Did you wash it down with your 48" pizza? Tell me again about all the tourists that go to LA for its food. Oh, right...

The most hilarious thing about this whole thread Oeridn is the simple fact that Southern cuisine is known worldwide and is generally well recieved as his thread shows. Can we say the same about California?

 

[Mango Elephant]

Please no flaming or trolling. Attack the argument, not the poster.

 

[Patroklos]

Thats what I said. Oerdin, please tell us how many years you lived in the South so we can establish your opinion is based on something other than unjustified regional bigotry. And to be clear, I am talking about Oeridn's unsupported position relative to world renowned Southern cuisine, not him personally

 

[Red Door]

Create completely absurd strawmen instead of addressing the issues much?

The only issue you have discussed is making a blanket statement about Southerners being bigoted and then backed it up with an unrelated story from South Carolina. See you later black pot.

 

[MobBoss]

That's a fairly arrogant comment given I already said NOLA is the one true exception to the rule.

NOLA food isnt the only tasty food in the South.

And its not an arrogant comment at all. Arrogant is blandly dismissing all Southern cusine as bland. Thats arrogant.

Emeril Lagasse is cajun and based out of NOLA.

Rofl, Emeril was born in Massachusetts. He simply isnt 'cajun' at all, but was tremendously fond of the cusine and its flavors and adopted it as his own.

As has been said repeatedly in this thread cajun is entirely seporate from traditional southern

No, its not. Its actually part of Southern cusine. Its unique to the South in its origins.

and unlike traditional southern cajuns actually have world class food.

Sigh. What are your qualifications to determine what is 'world class' food? Have you traveled a lot? Are you a chef?

I'm sure patty is still insisting grits are some how a culinary wonder rather then just bland peasant food.

What was that you said earlier about arrogant?

Notice how in every food and restaurant review the south is always an also ran? Here's a list of the top 40 restaurants in the country

Thats not an indication of whether southern food is world class or not, but more of an indication of where top restaurants are located: in large urban areas.

notice how the south has exactly one restaurant worth mentioning? (Not counting NOLA as we all agreed that's not "the real south") To compare California has 12 which is by far the most on the list.

I am not sure where you get that NOLA is not the 'real South'...its absolutly a part of the real South by any definition of the word.

And California having 12 doesnt mean a thing. Again, its more along the lines of where the money is located and such restaurants can attract the people that can pay their 'world class' prices. But its not an indication on whether their food is actually good or not. Again, if I pay 25.00 for a plate of bean spouts with a garnish on it as some trendy California restaurant, such it looks great, but....its still bean sprouts.

Again, you utterly disqualified yourself by calling Southern food bland. Its not. I dont think you have ever even had any real southern cooking if you call it bland. And I say that as a guy who has eaten food from Japan all the way to Germany.

 

[Oerdin]

I just want to point out again that Oerdin has not given any reason why cajun food is not Southern other than somehow his regional bigotry

Except there are pages of posts by people all saying NOLA is not part of "the real south". Culturally it is completely different though I can understand why people from a cultural backwater would want to claim their culinary superiors. Let's face it the French, African, and even Spanish influences are much stronger on NOLA then the generic southern ones. It's different, everyone knows it is different, even if your sense of inferiority (which is well deserved btw) makes you want to claim it as your own. We've even have maps in this very thread stating NOLA wasn't part of "the real south". Knock that chip off your shoulder and learn to accept reality.

 

[Oerdin]

Thats what I said. Oerdin, please tell us how many years you lived in the South

One year in Maryland, 4 months in Virginia, and two months in South Carolina. I've also traveled extensively in the south and visited Georgia several times for at least a week to visit my aunt. The reality is the food sucks compared to more civilized places. I admit to living most of my life in California or Europe but you claimed the south was a culinary capital but the reality is it is a cultural backwater which no one would miss if it fell into the ocean. As I said the only exception in NOLA but everyone claims that's not part of the real south, except for you, but that's only because you're so desperate to claim the south is a world culinary hub. Just accept the fact that southern food sucks, that even homely Mexicans have developed a higher level of cuisine and stop trying to pretend you're something you're not. You'll be happier in the long run.

 

[downtown]

I'm not sure if NOLA is part of the "south" or not culturally (anybody who has ever read a history book or spent more than 3 days in the city can tell you it has some MAJOR differences from say, Alabama though), but I don't see how any sensible person can say that it is part of the same genre of Southern Cooking. New Orleans Cuisine is an entity unto itself.

What make NOLA food unique is the confluence of foreign cultures and influences on the city (Spanish, French, Caribbean) which are notably absent in the rest of the deep south. Birmingham wasn't a French colony.

This doesn't mean they don't drink sweet tea and eat grits in New Orleans, because they do, but lets not equate what they're doing to what is going on in Alabama.

I lived and worked in New Orleans.

 

[Formaldehyde]

The only issue you have discussed is making a blanket statement about Southerners being bigoted and then backed it up with an unrelated story from South Carolina. See you later black pot.

I have done nothing of the sort! Once again, I suggest you stop deliberately creating absurd strawmen instead of even trying to address the issues!

My contention is that there are more bigots in the South and I have used public statements by elected officials to show that is actually true, even though it is quite obvious to most people. Can you find any elected officials in northern states who have recently made clearly bigoted comments and are not immediately removed from any political consideration for doing so?

I'm not sure if NOLA is part of the "south" or not culturally (anybody who has ever read a history book or spent more than 3 days in the city can tell you it has some MAJOR differences from say, Alabama though), but I don't see how any sensible person can say that it is part of the same genre of Southern Cooking. New Orleans Cuisine is an entity unto itself.

Indeed. I couldn't agree more.

What make NOLA food unique is the confluence of foreign cultures and influences on the city (Spanish, French, Caribbean) which are notably absent in the rest of the deep south. Birmingham wasn't a French colony.

It is truly great food. I made the pilgrimage to Antoine's when I visited, but I couldn't get into Arnoud's because I didn't bring a sports coat.

 

[downtown]

My contention is that there are more bigots in the South and I have used public statements by elected officials to show that is actually true, even though it is quite obvious to most people. Can you find any elected officials in northern states who have recently made clearly bigoted comments and are not immediately removed from any political consideration for doing so?

I don't think that necessarily means that means that the South is MORE bigoted, merely that they are more open about being bigoted, which several posters have already said. This is a cultural difference I think. I've worked for enough Ohio politicians to know that several of them prob agree with the whole raghead bit, but they know they have to be more creative in saying it.

A Southerner is just going to say Raghead. If he's rasist, he'll let you know (and that goes for southern blacks too).

 

[MobBoss]

I'm not sure if NOLA is part of the "south" or not culturally (anybody who has ever read a history book or spent more than 3 days in the city can tell you it has some MAJOR differences from say, Alabama though), but I don't see how any sensible person can say that it is part of the same genre of Southern Cooking. New Orleans Cuisine is an entity unto itself.

What make NOLA food unique is the confluence of foreign cultures and influences on the city (Spanish, French, Caribbean) which are notably absent in the rest of the deep south. Birmingham wasn't a French colony.

This doesn't mean they don't drink sweet tea and eat grits in New Orleans, because they do, but lets not equate what they're doing to what is going on in Alabama.

I lived and worked in New Orleans.

Thats simply like saying the food on the Mississippi Coast is vastly different that the Mississippi food found in the North/Central part of that state. Quite different, but still both Mississippi. Ditto with Louisiana cooking and fare, quite different, but still a big part of the South.

For me, the meal that defined the South where I lived more than anything else was Fried Catfish with hushpuppies, fresh corn on the cobb, w/fresh picked beans or peas and also Bananna puddin. And how it was made meant it was never, ever bland. I grew up in the South and I have no idea how someone could ever get the idea that Southern food was bland. Unhealthy? No question something like a deep-fried twinkie or snickers bar is unhealthy....but bland? /whatever.

 

[warpus]

What's a good southern dish that isn't bbq or deepfried? Just wondering. (I know little about southern food but want to expand my culinary horizons)

 

[Cynovolans]

What's a good southern dish that isn't bbq or deepfried? Just wondering. (I know little about southern food but want to expand my culinary horizons)

Potato salads or poundcakes? That's the answers I got from asking my parents.

 

[warpus]

I have a friend who makes amazing potato salad.. he puts tons of bacon in it.. mmm.. and Poundcakes are good.

But what about a main dish type thing?

 

[MobBoss]

What's a good southern dish that isn't bbq or deepfried? Just wondering. (I know little about southern food but want to expand my culinary horizons)

Some revolve around dessert dishes, especially pies and puddings. Bananna pudding and Pecan Pie are good examples.

Other dishes, neither fried or bbq would be baked hams, deviled eggs, pickeled okra (I could probably eat my weight in good fried or pickled okra). Smoked meats were also a staple. Where I lived, duck hunting was hugely popular during wintertime, so duck (and to a lesser extent, rabbit) was also eaten fairly often. Some families would take the making of cornbread to be high science.

But its just a fact of the South that a lot of food was indeed deep-fried, and how you made up your frying batter made all the difference in the world on how your food tasted.

 

[warpus]

Got any good batter recipes, MobBoss? I made chicken fried cube steak a couple weeks ago (that's a southern dish, or so I was told...), and the batter was OK, but nothing special. Should post some in the 'whacha cookin' thread