Trends
What’s happening in Southern foodways.
49. VEGGIES GETTING THEIR DUE
There has been a growing connection between Southern restaurateurs and their local artisans and farmer compatriots for nearly a generation. Products like McEwen & Sons grits (from Alabama) and West Virginia’s J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works salt became mainstays on menus throughout the region as chefs did their honest best to highlight the diligent folks behind some of their signature dishes. Chefs would tout their connections to area farms and farmers—calling out special tomato varieties or an exclusive source for freshly picked watercress harvested from an undisclosed locale—but it wasn’t until more recently that they began to devote more real estate on their menus to vegetable-forward dishes. Chef Sean Brock devotes about half of his menu at Audrey Nashville to bold takes on the vegetables that formed his Appalachian upbringing (including BBQ Lion’s Mane Mushroom served with Cushaw Squash and Pecans, as well as a potato confit served with grilled soft cheese). In Birmingham, Alabama, Chef Rob McDaniel’s menu at Helen reserves a similar percentage to produce, with some highlights including Corn Ribs and Tomato Pie. “I wanted to create a menu that gave us the opportunity to highlight our local farmers while offering our guests options and the opportunity to choose,” Rob says. “We have devoted that space to vegetables because we wanted to be known for more than our amazing steaks.”
50. RESTAURANT RESURGENCE
When COVID-19 crashed into our lives about three and a half years ago, all our lives changed. Restaurants, along with all their adjacent and supporting industries, had a particularly rough time considering mandatory closures and then the fits and starts of easing safety measures. While many beloved restaurants closed, others were able to hold on, and fewer still opened their doors during those difficult few years. It wasn’t until earlier this year that we started to see what we hope is the turning tide: many more restaurants opening than closing. The experience has certainly changed, with fewer, more spaced-out seats in some restaurants and the continued disappearance of paper menus in others, but if that’s what it takes to experience interesting takes on Southern classics in the company of our family and friends, then we’ll take it.
Find more of your favorites when you pick up your copy of the July/August 2023 issue or by visiting tasteofthesouthmagazine.com.
