Southern Food - (Chapel Hill Books) 2nd Edition by John Egerton (Paperback)

About the Book

Egerton explores southern food in over 200 restaurants in 11 Southern states, describing each establishment's specialties and recounting his conversations with owners, cooks, waiters, and customers. Includes more than 150 regional recipes.

Book Synopsis

Hailed as an instant classic when it appeared in 1987, John Egerton's Southern Food captures the flavor and feel of what it has meant for southerners, over the generations, to gather at the table. This book is for reading, for cooking, for eating (in and out), for referring to, for browsing in, and, above all, for enjoying. Egerton first explores southern food in more than 200 restaurants in eleven southern states; he describes their specialties and recounts his conversations with owners, cooks, waiters, and customers. Then, because some of the best southern cooking is done at home, Egerton offers more than 150 regional recipes, including barbecue, spoonbread, muscadine jam, and key lime pie, with informative and amusing information about each one.

Review Quotes

"A rich history of Southern food, with a great section devoted to the humble start and subsequent rise in status of the catfish."--Saveur

"A superb book."--Barbara Fairchild, Editor-in-Chief, Bon Appétit

"I defy anyone to read so much as a page of Southern Food without developing a powerful longing for a plate of barbecue, Brunswick stew and hush puppies."--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

"The best contemporary book on Southern cuisine."--Memphis Commercial-Appeal

About the Author

John Egerton (1935-2013), a journalist known for his work in southern race relations, education, and food, was co-founder of the Southern Foodways Alliance. His articles appeared in the Washington Post, Saturday Review, New York Times Magazine, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and many other publications. He is author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including The Americanization of Dixie and Speak Now Against the Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South.