edge

Camp Nashville was, in my opinion, our best event. I say that because we did the best job of giving back to the community. We produced two Joe York doc films, one on Prince's hot chicken, another on EW Mayo, king of sweet potato fried pies. And we did three oral histories. The lattter are online at www.southernfoodways.com. The films will be soon. Here's a stream of consciousness report from a member, Fred Sauceman. And he's not fibbing about the catfish BLT's from Sean Brock, JTE The sting of a lime popsicle from Las Paletas, and the salve of a second one, in plum. An echo of Bill Monroe’s mandolin at The Station Inn. Hap Townes’ recollections of stewed raisins. E.W. Mayo hoisting the Tabasco Guardian of the Tradition Award high above his wheelchair while sweet potatoes ooze from his fried pies. Mahalia Jackson’s music. Mennonite-made tomato cocktail, with a whispered suggestion of Bloody Marys. Quartered Cherokee Purples. Ronda and Jonda jarring The Lipstick Lounge. The symbiosis of Allan Benton’s bacon and a plank of Sean Brock’s fried catfish. Sideshow Benny slapping his jaws when he makes Tomato King. Tales of Phila Hach feeding the United Nations General Assembly beaten biscuits on the grounds of Nashville’s Parthenon. A painted pig for Jim N Nick’s. Pink Ping Pong tomatoes at The Turnip Truck. Dill pickle counterpoint to hot chicken melody and cayenne-stained light bread as coda. Guardian Award winner André Prince Jeffries telling filmmaker Joe York about a customer who eats Prince’s hot chicken in a bathtub of cold water. Guardian Award winner David Swett, Jr., describing his “restaurant without recipes.” Habanero-spiced sausage and Yazoo brew among bricks at Marathon Motor Works. White beans green beans roast beef meatloaf macaroni fried green tomatoes banana pudding chocolate pie: Arnold’s. Praise for Mary Beth.

Hey y'all, John T Edge here. I noticed the topic and figured it might make sense for me to chime in. I know some of the correspondents. Others should know I'm the director of the SFA. Defenders of our pricing scheme have made emotional and intellectual arguments. Good ones. So I'll break down the dollars. Our true cost for the event is about $125 dollars per person. About 100 people will attend. We'll spend dollars on making a short film about E.W. Mayo of Mayo's Mahalia Jackson Fried chicken, maker of the best fried sweet potato pies you ever tasted. And then we'll show the film at the event. And give copies to Mayo and his family. We'll also spend dollars on a meat-n-three panel, chaired by John Egerton and featuring the Swett family and Hap Townes, two of the old line meat-n-three dynasties in Nashville. We're bringing Sean Brock (late of Capitol Grill in Nashville, now of McCrady's in Charleston) back to Nashville to do catfish BLT's. And we'll pay these folks for their time and energy and intellect. There are a lot of costs that aren't evident: renting tents for the parking lot of Arnold's, renting fryers for the tomato festival, etc. But I'm boring you by now. Hell, I'm boring myself. Here's the bottom line: If -- and this never happens -- our true costs end up being in line with our budget, we'll plow the $50 per person back into our oral history effort, specifically documenting the lives of the meat-n-three cooks of Nashville. Thanks and should you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask: johnt@olemiss.edu.

I would like nothing better, Purvis. Please do. And in exchange I'll dig up my old cassette of songs by the screaming-banshee Athens band of the late 80s, the Barbecue Killers...

I'm pretty darn sure it was Al. Though I have heard heretical talk of cream of wheat as the offending porridge, JT Was that Sam Cooke? I thought it was the Rev. Al Green ("Let's Stay Together"). ←

I'm working on a brief article on food and violence in the South. I've found some great stuff: two cousins in Conechuc county Alabama who cut each other up w scythes over whose wife cooked the best cornbread, jelly, and chitlins; a sweet potato pie muder in Atlanta; and a bunch of lesser food-as-mayhem stories involving, among other things, pilfered nacho cheese and nudity. I'm looking for more: Appalachian murder ballads that reference food, scenes from literature, you get the picture. Any help will be much appreciated. And, going forward, I promise to be more active on these boards: at least once a week, John T

Hey, I live in Oxford. We look forward to having you here. My favorite bbq hereabouts is Westside BBQ -- 25 miles east of here along Hwy 30 in New Albany. Great caramel cake too. Speaking of cake -- and of fried pies -- Buck's One Stop in Calhoun City (20 miles south of here) has wonderful caramel cake. And if you're thinking bbq, you will be just an hour south of Memphis where Payne's is the place for shoulder sandwiches crowned with mustard slaw and Cozy Corner is the place for ribs. In town you want to try L & M Kitchen and Salumeria for house-cured salamis and such as well as City Grocery for frog legs wrapped in a caul of coutry ham. John T

On your way out of New Orleans, stop by Morining Call in Metairie for beignets. It's a couple blocks off the interstate and worth the detour. It was once a competitor of Cafe Du Monde in the Qtr. Less than an hour out is Middendorf's, where they slioce the catfish thin as tater chips and fry it hard. The Dinner Bell in McComb still serves revolving table style. I remember their fried eggplant as fine and crunchY and realtively greaseless. As you pass the exit for Crystal Sprinks, you can delight and astound your seatmate by telling them that this little burg was once a truck farming center and was known as the Tomatopois of the World. In Jackson, there's a good bbq shack alongside a Chevron at the same exit as Lemuria Books (amazing bookstore too). That's just north of downtown. There's also a great tavern bar in Jackson, Hal and Mal's. In an old railroad depot near the state capitol. Also in and around Jackson, there's Jack's Tamales, across the river in Flowood. North of Jackson in Bruce is Buck's One Stop, a little convenience store I wrote about a while back in the Oxford American. I have attached the text of that piece. (Try the fried pies and the caramel cake.) Hope this helps. Show up hungry, John T Bucks_One_Stop_Postmodern_Southern_Cooking.doc