Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History (Paperback)

by John Egerton (Author), Ann Bleidt Egerton (Author), Al Clayton (Photographer) "When they stepped ashore at the place they named Jamestown on May 14, 1607, after almost twenty-one weeks at sea..." (more)
Key Phrases: plain white cornmeal, spiced round, southern cookery, New Orleans, South Carolina, North Carolina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Egerton (Generations, Nashville, etc.) writes here not as a food critic or professional historian but as an affectionate observer. The book commences with an informal history that suffuses the entire volume, from notes on 19th century meat packing in Nashville to the invention of the hot Brown sandwich at the Brown Hotel in Louisville in the 1930s. However, aside from a few wistful observations, such as a comment that the golden age of oysters peaked in 1850, the book celebrates the here and now of Southern food. Extensive travel and tasting produce a narrative account of more than 200 restaurants, from unique pockets of homestyle cooking to the Po Folks franchise, which has 167 restaurants in 24 states. Home cooking also is well represented with descriptions of dishes and the people who prepare them. Included are recipes for a number of traditional items such as burgoo, a hearty stew, which can be made entirely with grocery-store ingredients though "a squirrel or two would have added much in the way of both flavor and history," pecan bourbon cake, deviled crabs, red-eye gravy and buttermilk pie. Photos.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Southern food and cooking viewed with a critical but not jaundiced eye, and with a sense of urgency about capturing the past before it disappears forever. Egerton follows a short history of Southern food with a report on eating placesfew of them fancy but each with a regional specialtywhich he visited on a tour of 11 states. A chapter on eating at home includes 160 recipes chosen to show Southern food at its home-cooked best. His roster of 225 restaurants listed by state is a gold mine for travelers who would like to sample the past at meal time; a 300-item annotated bibliography is a gold mine for readers. An odeno, a symphonyto what is left of a glorious past: less than it ought to be but infinitely better than nothing. Ruth Diebold, M.L.S., Upper Nyack, N.Y.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807844179
• ISBN-13: 978-0807844175
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #174,249 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best book in my library, October 27, 2000

By	Timothy B. Tyson (Madison, Wisconsin USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a Southerner exiled to the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, John Egerton's SOUTHERN FOOD has been food for the soul. And no matter where you are from, this book offers fascinating historical and cultural information about Southern food and many, many wonderful recipes. I have learned as much about Southern cooking in Wisconsin as I did in all my years back home, all because of this wonderful book. It's charming and often lyrical, immensely well-informed, and points the way to both restaurants and recipes. The barbecue instructions have been a lifesaver. I have bought five or six copies of this book--one because I wore out the first copy, and the others because it makes a great gift for practically anyone.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will make your mouth water and your belly growl, March 21, 1999

By A Customer

This is a wonderful book about eating in the South, eating out and eating in, about a whole host of things like family and fellowship that gather around any groaning board in the south, and what you want to eat where and what the people who live there eat, how to cook it and where you're likely to find it at a reasonable price made by food-loving hands. John Egerton clearly ate his way across the south to write this book, and he was careful to stay well off the beaten path. It's anthropology, sociology, recipes, culture and good humor, from the North Carolina mountains to the swamps of Cajun country. This book will make your mouth water and your belly growl, but most of all it's a fine read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read/resource, June 1, 2009

By	M. Ivey "M Ivey" (Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Any foodie that's living in or heading South needs to read this book.

A comprehensive "social history" of southern food spiced up with a few recipes... it's a great read and even though it was written over 20 years ago many of the restaurants mentioned are still in business.

I highly recommend this book!
M Ivey, Westerville, OH