Category Archives: Uncategorized

Food Fight! In the cafeteria scene of the 1978 movie Animal House, John Belushi pops up from behind a table and yells, “Food fight!” Chaos ensues. That was my first exposure to the phenomenon of thrown food. There is a cafe near an outlet mall in Alabama where the employees of the restaurant throw yeastContinue reading “Food Fight!”

Under the Wire and Off of the Press Today is the fifth anniversary of the release of a cookbook that almost wasn’t. Watercolor artist, Wyatt Waters, and I combined forces five years ago and published a coffee-table cookbook entitled A Southern Palate. The cookbook’s printer was located in Portland, Oregon, but the book was toContinue reading “Under the Wire and Off of the Press”

Food Quirks Everyone has food quirks. We all prefer certain foods over others. There are plenty of foods that I eat that some folks would never touch, and vice versa. My daughter has a very versatile palate. She’ll try anything once. My son— though not a soldier in the adolescent chicken-tender army— would live onContinue reading “Food Quirks”

A Fall Break Diary WATERCOLOR, Fla.— It’s fall break at my children’s school. I don’t remember having a Fall Break when I was in school. We were set free the day before Thanksgiving and a week or so at Christmas and that was it. No fall break, no spring break, no teacher’s meeting break, IContinue reading “A Fall Break Diary”

I Am the Egg Man, Goo Goo Ga Joob I am in an egg phase. As I look back over my 46-year eating career, it’s easy to chart my personal dining tendencies. I’ll get on a barbeque kick for a few weeks, or go for months eating a certain dish from the same restaurant overContinue reading “I Am the Egg Man, Goo Goo Ga Joob”

The Sleepy Shank “Drugged lamb shanks missing from clinic.” I can’t imagine how anyone could read a newspaper headline such as that and not take the time to dive into the rest of the story. I certainly bit. The story came from the Sydney Morning Herald. I’m not in the habit of reading Australian newspapers,Continue reading “The Sleepy Shank”

Viking Classic Growing up in Hattiesburg, Miss. in the late 1960s and early 1970s I always looked forward to the Magnolia Classic. The Magnolia Classic was a Professional Golf Association sanctioned event that was held in Hattiesburg every April opposite The Masters tournament in Augusta. Tom Watson and Nick Faldo played here but never won.Continue reading “Viking Classic”

As I sat at the breakfast table this morning I stared at my glass of orange juice and contemplated the beverage’s evolution. As a child, orange juice was kept in a small can in the freezer. One opened the can, dumped the syrupy, icy, orange clump into a pitcher, filled the empty can with tapContinue reading “Donald Duck Orange Juice”

Southbound The restaurant business is full of chef/owners with atypical success stories. The restaurant business is full of culinary twists on tried-and-true recipes. The restaurant business is notorious for its 90-hour work weeks for owners who are willing to open on a shoestring and do what it takes— whatever it takes— to build a business.Continue reading “Southbound”