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In Georgia, on the border of North Carolina, sits a restaurant and inn that has been serving great home-cooked meals since 1917. I discovered The Dillard House several years ago on the recommendation of a former classmate. I have returned every year since, when my friends and I gather for our annual whitewater rafting trip.Continue reading “From Sausage Gravy to Snails”

One of the benefits of being a writer is that I am always on the receiving end of humorous and informative stories reported to me by the people I meet. Last week I heard one of the best yet. A friend of a friend was recounting a recent Fourth of July meal with his family.Continue reading “Fireworks and Food Foibles”

Food For Thought “If I was a doughnut, I‘d eat myself.” Those words were spoken by my six-year old son as I sat watching him eat doughnuts yesterday. Our family talks about food a lot. My daughter talks about what we should have for supper while we are eating lunch. It’s genetic. “Daddy, Jesus isContinue reading “Food For Thought”

Icees, Bikes, and Brain Freezes Over the past few weeks my family has been catching up on movies, sometimes seeing two films in one day. I love movies. As a matter of fact, the two things I love most about owning my own business are— getting to wear whatever I want to work (no neckties,Continue reading “Icees, Bikes, and Brain Freezes”

This weekend I took my children to see the new Disney/Pixar film, Ratatouille. It’s about France’s greatest chef—a rat. The food in the animated feature looks good enough to eat. A majority of the movie takes place in a French restaurant kitchen and most of the main characters, sans the rat and his family, areContinue reading “Ratatouille”

SEASIDE, Fla.— The hippest restaurant in the Florida Panhandle just might be Café Rendez-Vous in Seaside, the small community which serves as ground zero of the New Urbanist movement. I happened upon Café Rendez-Vous through the girlfriend of a friend who told me to take my wife there to check out the Tahitian pearl andContinue reading “Café Rendez-Vous”

Sal and Mookie’s JACKSON — In the world of independent pizza joints one has three primary choices outside of the chain-pizza realm: California pizza, Chicago pizza, and New York pizza. The California pizza movement originated in the early 1980s with Wolfgang Puck who brought the simple art of pizza making into fine-dining restaurants using upscaleContinue reading “Sal and Mookie’s”

The World’s Best Smoked Tuna Dip WATERCOLOR, Fla.— Twenty years ago, before I opened my first restaurant, I lived in the Florida Panhandle and worked as a waiter. I was single, the money was good, and I had the stress level of a turtle. In my Florida days I awoke around 10 a.m., traveled acrossContinue reading “The World’s Best Smoked Tuna Dip”

The Camellia Grill On a hot August day in 1989, I took a young, beautiful, and adventurous 22-year old girl to New Orleans for our first, out-of-town date. We spent time in the French Quarter and then drove down Canal Street to admire the houses and their architecture. We were at the testing phase ofContinue reading “The Camellia Grill”