Your opinion: Best Dish in the Southeast?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Because we are all spread out in the enormous area known as the Southeastern United States, and because we all have tried a sizeable number of diverse meals in the places we have eaten, I ask the following question of you:

Pick one dish served in a restaurant in the SE which you truly loved, where you ate the dish, and tell us why you chose it.

That's it ... no extended discourse ... just "the best" of the SE dishes.

Waiting with baited breath for your answers!

Think any of the responses might happen to overlap?

[detlefchef]

I've certainly had more interesting dishes and definately more southern dishes. However, the one that leaps out at me as the most hedonistically outstanding plate of food served to me in these parts was a platter of Kobe Strip Loin cooked to a perfect 120 degrees. It was simply topped with grilled onions and served family style to our table at Spice Street in Chapel Hill, NC.

Again, this may not be exactly what you were looking for with this thread but I practically started crying tears of joy as I ate it. Devouring a steak like that is a pleasure beyond description.

[DTBarton]

Not a restaurant, per se, but I love fresh Pamlico sound shrimp steamed up at Risky Business seafood at Oden's dock in Hatteras, NC. Get a cold beer next door at the marina store, sit and watch the boats, peel and eat the shrimp.

[Bill_H]

Hmmmm. My first reaction is, although I am a champion of the dining scene in the Southeast, I'm still searching for the single dish to match the black cod at Nobu in NYC.

But top of mind I can think of two: The Florida Black Grouper in pecan butter at Chatham's Place in Orlando and a delicious grilled rib-eye in Latin spices served with a fried egg on top at Norman's at the Orlando Ritz. Best appetizer was the Kumomoto oysters with Meyer lemon and sea salt served with a champagne vigionet (sp?) at Woodfire Grill in Atlanta.

Man, my dinner is gonna tast lame tonight now! Thanks a lot Melissa!

[ecruz1026]

Key lime pie. What else can taste so good with so few ingredients?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Again, this may not be exactly what you were looking for with this thread but I practically started crying tears of joy as I ate it.  Devouring a steak like that is a pleasure beyond description.

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No, actually, that was precisely what I was looking for!

Something so incredibly fine that it brings tears to one's eyes! Perfect!!

Best appetizer was the Kumomoto oysters with Meyer lemon and sea salt served with a champagne vigionet (sp?) at Woodfire Grill in Atlanta.

Bill, I have to say, having had the same appetizer, you got that one just right!

[Catherine Nash]

My vote goes to the hot dogs at Second Street Lunch in Roanoke Rapids, NC. They're that bright red color, and come squashed in a warm bun "full-dressed" with raw onion, hot dog chili (no beans), sweet cole slaw, ketchup and mustard. I usually leave off the onions for the sake of the neighbors.

It's a little more down-home than the other answers but hey, I gotta tell the truth. It's the one restaurant I visit EVERY time I head back east.

[detlefchef]

Best appetizer was the Kumomoto oysters with Meyer lemon and sea salt served with a champagne vigionet (sp?) at Woodfire Grill in Atlanta.

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FWIW, it's mignonette. I only even mentioned the spelling since you added "(sp?)" and thus seemed to care.

[chefdg]

Brunch at the Ritz Carlton Naples. 2nd place goes to short ribs braised with balsamic, served over anger hair pasta; Campiello.

[Bill_H]

Best appetizer was the Kumomoto oysters with Meyer lemon and sea salt served with a champagne vigionet (sp?) at Woodfire Grill in Atlanta.

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FWIW, it's mignonette. I only even mentioned the spelling since you added "(sp?)" and thus seemed to care.

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Thanks for the help! Now that I see it I remember it. Always good to get some learnin', please feel free to correct more in the future.

[Singapore]

Deep fried lobster tails from the Hunter's Pub in Hamilton, GA. Picture a lobster tail, shell on, dipped in beer batter then deep fried until the batter is crisp, then served with two other companion tails next to a sweet, buttery dipping sauce.

A co-worker is a regular there, and since he masses as much as I do, his heartfelt recommendation was cheerfully adhered to.

If someone can tell me how to attach a picture to the post, I'll be happy to do so.

[BetsyinKY]

Shrimp with mushrooms, shallots, and chopped bacon over cheese grits at the Hominy Grill in Charleston. Served with a large wedge of warm cornbread and a tall glass of sweet tea...a little more "down home" than some other choices, but it was so good that I was practically purring like a cat as I ate!

[Busboy]

I'm always the crank, but I'd be more interested to see wonderful dishes eaten in the southeast that you could likely only get in the southeast. You can't hardly swing a dead cat anymore without whacking kumimotos or kobe beef or a bottle of balsamic off the sideboard, no matter where you are.

As someone currently planning a two-week roadtrip through the south, BetseyinKY's is a boatlaod more interesting to me than more generic worldbeat cusine. Tell me about something I can't get here in DC!

For me, it will always be grandma's biscuits with honey from grandpa's hives, served with fried chicken, but that's perhaps more fond memory than culinary criticism.

[hazardnc]

Okay Busboy!

Now, these aren't fine dining dishes, but here are a couple. For apps, try the fried pickles at the Penguin on Thomas Street or the pan fried chicken livers with country ham and Madiera gravy at the Charleston House.

In Mt.Pleasant, SC - go to the Wreck. You will be served a fabulous free bowl of boiled peanuts to nibble while you decide which fried seafood entree to order.

Where are you going in the South? It's a big region!

Edited April 13, 2005 by hazardnc (log)

[Bill_H]

I'm always the crank, but I'd be more interested to see wonderful dishes eaten in the southeast that you could likely only get in the southeast.  You can't hardly swing a dead cat anymore without whacking kumimotos or kobe beef or a bottle of balsamic off the sideboard, no matter where you are. 

As someone currently planning a two-week roadtrip through the south, BetseyinKY's is a boatlaod more interesting to me than more generic worldbeat cusine.  Tell me about something I can't get here in DC!

For me, it will always be grandma's biscuits with honey from grandpa's hives, served with fried chicken, but that's perhaps more fond memory than culinary criticism.

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Just a quick question? Are you saying that if something tasted fantastic it can't be "best" just because it is served elsewhere or is popular? Just because something is ubiquitous doesn't mean it is generic. If the question had been "If you didn't live in the South, what would you eat when down there?" then I'd see where the answer should be unique to the region, but it looks to me as if Melissa was looking for the best dish.

If you're lookin' for somethin unique to the region, there are some places 'round here that prob have that dead cat you're swinging around on the menu

[Gifted Gourmet]

Just a quick question?  Are you saying that if something tasted fantastic it can't be "best" just because it is served elsewhere or is popular?  Just because something is ubiquitous doesn't mean it is generic.  If the question had been "If you didn't live in the South, what would you eat when down there?" then I'd see where the answer should be unique to the region, but it looks to me as if Melissa was looking for the best dish.

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Bill, as usual, you have hit the proverbial nail on the head ... any best dish irrespective of regional cuisine and someplace that "got it just right" ... a dish that brought tears to your eyes as someone mentioned ... the "ne plus ultra": the highest point, as of excellence or achievement; the acme; the pinnacle; the ultimate; the most profound degree of a quality ....

[Busboy]

When I hear "Best dish in the Southeast" my tastebuds get primed for something both addictive and rooted in the region. Thus, tastebuds being fickle creatures, mine react with a "big deal" when, in this context, the conversation turns to Japanese beef and those overrated little bivalves. Generic may be too strong a term, but "ubiquitous" is damming enough, in my eyes. And I don't doubt the talents of the chefs putting this stuff out but brunch for God's sake, or the year's trendy beef cut, short-ribs. I'm a thrill junkie, I need more than Saveur Magazine highlights to drive out of my way. Something that is not only "the best in the South," but "the best anywhere, and only available in the South."

Hazardnc -- May be a dumb question, but what city are these august establishments located in? (Not Mt. Pleasant, the other town).

We are unsure where we're going, save that it will be a two-week-ish road trip running roughly from DC to Louisiana to Atlanta and back. I know, much more ground that we can cover well, but what can we do? I will be shaking down this forum for suggestions in a much more serious fashion as the trip draws nigh.

[chefdg]

Something that is not only "the best in the South," but "the best anywhere, and only available in the South."

Too bad that wasn't the question. I like your analogy about swinging a dead cat though.

[Foodie_Penguin]

<<snip>>

In Mt.Pleasant, SC - go to the Wreck. You will be served a fabulous free bowl of boiled peanuts to nibble while you decide which fried seafood entree to order.

<<snip>>

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Just some comments about the Wreck. I dined there last summer. I think it's overrated.

The boiled peanuts were OK but I bought (from a roadside stand) and ate better ones on the way back from Beaufort, SC to Charleston on that same visit to the area.

As for there famed she crab soup, it was disappointing. I had she crab soup twice in Charleston and the Wreck's version was the weaker of the two. It lacked body and depth. Maybe it had been watered down. Not much crab in there as I recall.

Foodie Penguin

Edited April 14, 2005 by Foodie_Penguin (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Foodie Penguin, what I am hoping for is more along the lines of :any best dish irrespective of regional cuisine and someplace that "got it just right" ... a dish that brought tears to your eyes as someone mentioned ...

looks like The Wreck isn't going to "make the cut" on this topic ...

[The Cynical Chef]

Pimento Cheese Burger at the Northgate Soda Shop....no wait, maybe the Pork Ribs at the Rendezvous in Memphis.......no wait, Bread Pudding Souffle at Commander's Palace...........maybe the mussels with white wine & brioche at Rathbun's....I know! The Pork Osso Bucco at Magnolia Grill..hhhmmm...I got it, the crayfish etouffe at the Yellow Bowl in Jeanerette, LA! That's it!

Crayfish Etouffe at the Yellow Bowl in Jeanerette, LA! That's my favorite!

But there is that fabulous chocolate jack daniel's ice cream sundae that my wife occasionally makes

[Busboy]

I knew I could count on TCC, The (Southern) Chauvanist Chef.

Edited April 14, 2005 by Busboy (log)

[WHT]

Well made Red Beans and Rice, could live off it.

[catdaddy]

Shrimp and Grits ala Bill Neal.

[Milt]

In my mind, without any particular restaurant in mind, the best dish - meal - which conveys "South" is fried chicken, black eyed peas, grits and biscuits.