Friday, October 31, 2008

White BBQ Sauce


The color spectrum of barbecue sauce is rich and diverse--one reason why sampling different styles from all over the South is so much fun and so delicious. Ask the average person the color of their favorite sauce, and you’ll probably get answers such as brick red, mahogany, or caramel.

I read today that if you pose the same question to a resident of North Alabama, though, and you’re sure to get only one answer: white.

From Southern Living:

"It’s the only sauce we know here, because it’s what everyone grows up on," says world barbecue champion Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. Bob Gibson is credited with concocting white sauce back in 1925. Today, this tangy, mayonnaise-based condiment, traditionally used to dress chicken, is as synonymous with the state of Alabama as legendary football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. "We marinate with it, use it to baste, plus we use it as an all-purpose table sauce," explains Chris.

Yet because white barbecue sauce is such a regional anomaly and because grocery shelves are dominated by the myriad incarnations of tomato-based sauces, many Southerners have never tried it. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s time to get out the chicken and fire up your smoker or grill.

Yes, We Have No Tomatoes

Like its tomato- and mustard-based cousins, white barbecue sauce comes in shades ranging from porcelain to putty. There are also differences in consistency. Some sauces flow like fat-free milk, while others are more reminiscent of a creamy dressing. As for the ingredients, well, purists such as Myra Grissom, owner of Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Q in Birmingham, insists there are only four: mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, and coarsely ground pepper.

"Everyone says they have a special recipe, but there’s really no secret. You start with the basics, and you can’t go wrong," recommends Myra, whose family tree leads back to Decatur. She’s been serving up her version of white barbecue sauce in Birmingham for more than 19 years. "I love it as a dip for pretzels," she says with a smile, "but we also use it to perk up salads and to top pulled pork sandwiches and grilled fish."

One taste and you’ll understand why Myra says, "no Southern home should be without it."

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper
1 tablespoon Creole mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

Preparation:
Whisk together all ingredients until blended. Store in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Yield:
Makes 2 cups

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Blind Lemon Jefferson


Country blues guitarist and vocalist Blind Lemon Jefferson is indisputably one of the main figures in country blues. He was of the highest in many regards, being one of the founders of Texas blues (along with Texas Alexander), one of the most influential country bluesmen of all time, one of the most popular bluesmen of the 1920s, and the first truly commercially successful male blues performer. Up until Jefferson's achievements, the only real successful blues recordings were by women performers, including Bessie Smith and Ida Cox, who usually sang songs written by others and accompanied by a band. With Jefferson came a blues artist who was solo, self-accompanied, and performing a great deal of original material in addition to the more familiar repertoire of folk standards and shouts. These originals include his most well-known songs: "Matchbox Blues," "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," and "Black Snake Moan." In all, Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded almost 100 songs in just a few years, making his mark on not only the bluesmen of the time (including Leadbelly and Lightnin' Hopkins) but also on music fans in the years to come. The legacy of Jefferson's unique and powerful sound did not fade with the passing decades.

Many specifics on the life of Blind Lemon Jefferson are not available, but general information on the man and his career can be traced somewhat through recordings, a few public records, and the memories of those who knew him. Although his birth has long been placed in July of 1897, research almost a century later uncovered a census record that listed his birth in September of 1893. Despite the uncertainty surrounding his birth date, a few things are certain: Jefferson was born on a farm in Couchman, TX, outside of Wortham, and, blind from the time of birth, he grew up as one of seven children. Around 1912, he began playing guitar and singing at picnics and parties in his home area. His musical influences included not only the singing of the cotton pickers and local guitar players but also the guitarists among the area's Mexican workers who often incorporated flamenco patterns in their playing. These influences eventually led to Jefferson's unique style of complex phrases and intricate, yet fast, finger work. Within a couple of years, Jefferson widened his performing radius to include Groesbeck, Buffalo, Waco, and other surrounding towns. Sometime around 1915, Jefferson also began playing in Dallas and, by 1917, was a resident of the city. He was most often found playing in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas where he eventually met another bluesman who would one day be famous, Leadbelly. Although Leadbelly was the senior bluesman of the two, it is generally recognized that Jefferson was the better guitarist. Leadbelly was so impressed with Blind Lemon Jefferson, in fact, that he would later record songs in tribute to Jefferson's ability, including the song, "Blind Lemon's Blues." The two men even played together for a short while, sometime before Leadbelly's first prison sentence.

From the late teens into the early '20s, Blind Lemon Jefferson traveled and performed his passionate brand of blues, hitting (at the very least) the Mississippi Delta and Memphis regions, although it is likely that his travels took him further. In 1922 or 1923 he married a woman named Roberta with whom he would have children, including a boy in the mid-'20s. It was in 1925 that a Texas talent scout finally made a demo recording of Jefferson and sent it to Mayo Williams at Paramount Records in Chicago. Jefferson was soon (circa 12/25 and 1/26) brought to Chicago to record for the first time. The results were two gospel songs: "I Want to Be Like Jesus in My Heart" and "All I Want Is That Pure Religion," both of which were released under the pseudonym Deacon L.J. Bates. Two months later, Jefferson began recording blues 78s under his own name, but that initial session wasn't the last time Jefferson recorded under a pseudonym. In 1927, "He Arose From the Dead" and "Where Shall I Be?" were released under the names Deacon L.J. Bates and Elder J.C. Brown for the Paramount and Herwin labels, respectively. Jefferson recorded over 90 songs total in less than four years' time. Almost all of his recordings were for the Paramount label, with the exception of his two-day session for Okeh, which took place in Atlanta in March of 1927. This session resulted in the second version of "That Black Snake Moan," (11/26) this time entitled "Black Snake Moan," as well as the first recording of another song that became one of Jefferson's most famous originals, "Matchbox Blues," which he recorded again for Paramount just one month later. Jefferson's records did well immediately, making him one of the best-selling race recording artists of the time. This is surprising considering his decidedly noncommercial sound; his high, eerie voice (often described as having a "lonesome" sound), the desperate (and sometimes suggestive) nature of his lyrics, and his often-complex guitar work all combined into a particularly raw and hard-hitting blues.

In addition to his frequent recording sessions in Chicago throughout the late '20s, Blind Lemon Jefferson still performed in Texas and traveled around the South. He played Chicago rent parties, performed at St. Louis' Booker T. Washington Theater, and even worked some with Son House collaborator Rev. Rubin Lacy while in Mississippi. In late September of 1929, Jefferson went to Paramount's studios in Richmond, IN, for a fruitful session that included two songs — "Bed Springs Blues" and "Yo Yo Blues" — that were also issued on the Broadway label. Jefferson was back in Chicago in December of 1929 when, sadly, he was found dead following a particularly cold snowstorm. There are several stories regarding his death: It has been said that he got lost in the storm after leaving a friend's party at a late hour, or that he was abandoned by his chauffeur, or was killed in a car accident, while yet another version claims Jefferson had a heart attack and froze in the snow. Regardless, the influential bluesman was still in his thirties when he died, and no death certificate was issued, so the date of his passing is only known to be toward the end of December. Pianist and labelmate Will Ezell escorted Jefferson's body back to Wortham, TX, where Blind Lemon Jefferson was laid to rest, purportedly on New Year's Day, 1930. Unfortunately for the author of the pleading "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," the grave itself went unmarked. This was finally remedied in 1967 when a metal Texas Historical Marker was placed on the approximate spot. By the 1990s, however, Jefferson's grave was discovered to be in disrepair. A fundraiser was organized and, thanks to the efforts and donations of blues fans around the world, a granite headstone was finally placed upon Jefferson's grave, inscribed with his lyric, "Lord, it's one kind favor I'll ask of you. See that my grave is kept clean." It was also discovered during the preparation of the headstone that there is no support for the date widely believed to be that of Jefferson's birth — July 1897 (which even appeared on the original grave marker) — while the census documents in the State Archives listed Lemon Jefferson's birth to be in September of 1893. Thus, the new date was put on the gravestone.

Blind Lemon Jefferson was to Texas blues what Charley Patton was to Mississippi blues. His performances had a direct influence upon such legendary Texas musicians as Lightnin' Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, and Leadbelly, while his recordings helped bring his influence to an even larger audience. In the decades since, Jefferson's songs have been covered by countless musicians including Bob Dylan, John Hammond, Jr., and Kelly Joe Phelps, to name just a few. The late '50s and early '60s brought the reissue of some of Jefferson's recordings on the Riverside and Milestone labels, sparking a renewal of widespread public interest in the bluesman. As a result, Blind Lemon Jefferson Clubs were opened in California and New York during the '60s, and the rock band Jefferson Airplane reputedly chose their name after the great bluesman. A good single album compiling selections of Jefferson's music remains the Yazoo label's appropriately titled King of the Country Blues, which was eventually remastered for CD release. For completists, the Document label has since issued his entire recorded works in a four-volume CD series. In 1980, Blind Lemon Jefferson was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Thursday, October 16, 2008

New Catering Offer!



This offer is valid at participating Washington DC area locations.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

How to Sing the Blues

1. Most blues begin “woke up this morning.”

2. “I got a good woman” is a bad way to begin the blues, unless you add something nasty on the next line. “I got a good woman- with the meanest dog in town.”

3. Blues are simple. After you have the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes. Sort of. “Got a good woman With the meanest dog in town. He got teeth like Margaret Thatcher And he weighs ’bout 500 pounds.

4. The blues are not about limitless choices.

5. Blues cars are Chevies and Cadillacs. Other acceptable blues transportation is the Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Walkin’ plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin’ to die.

6. Teenagers can’t sing the blues. Adults sing the blues. Blues adulthood means old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis or Ann Arbor. But Memphis sounds better.

7. You can have the blues in New York City, but not in Brooklyn or Queens. Hard times in Vermont or North Dakota are just a depression. Chicago, St. Louis, Ann Arbor and Kansas City are still the best places to have the blues.

8. The following colors do not belong in the blues: a. violet b. beige c. mauve, d. taupe.

9. You can’t have the blues in an office or a shopping mall, the lighting is wrong.

10. Good places for the Blues: a. the highway b. the jailhouse c. the empty bed. Bad places: a. Ashrams b. Gallery openings c. Weekend in the Hamptons

11. No one will believe it’s the blues if you wear a suit, unless you happen to be an African American man in his advanced years.

12. Do you have the right to sing the blues? Yes, if: a. your first name is a southern state-like Georgia b. You’re blind c. You shot a man in Memphis. d. You can’t be satisfied. No, if: a. You were once blind but now can see. b. You’re deaf c. You have a trust fund, d. Your baby didn’t leave you.

13. Neither Julio Iglesias nor Barbara Streisand can sing the blues. Somewhat suprisingly, Willie Nelson can sing the blues.

14. If you ask for water and your baby gives you gasoline, it’s the blues. Other blues beverages are: a. wine b. Irish whiskey c. muddy water. Blues beverages are NOT: a. Any mixed drink b. Any wine kosher for Passover c. Yoo Hoo (all flavors)

15. If it occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it’s blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is a blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse, or being denied treatment in an emergency room. It is not a blues death, if you die during a facelift or a liposuction treatment.

16. Some Blues names for Women: a. Sadie b. Big Mama c. Bessie d. Bertha e. Josephine f, Lucille.

17. Some Blues Names for Men a. Joe b. Willie c. Little Willie d. Big Willie, e. Willie B., f. Lightning, g. Blackburn.

Note: Persons with names like Sierra, Sequoia or Skye will not be permitted to sing the blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

17B. Other Blues Names (Starter Kit) a. Name of Physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Asthmatic) b. First name (see above) or name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi) c. Last Name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)

18. A Blues way to communicate is to dial up the telephone or to “holler.” E-mails (sorry) or faxes are not Blues ways to communicate.

19. People with the Blues eat barbecue, corn bread, beans, and their last meal.

20. Good blues instruments: Guitar, Slide Trombone, Saxophone, Harmonica. Bad blues instruments: everything else, especially the oboe, french horn, viola.

21. You got the blues if you have lumbago or a bad back. You don’t have the blues if you have a mental disorder ending in “syndrome.”

22. Black Jack is a good blues game. Keno is not a good blues game.

23. Blues jobs include working on the railroad, picking cotton, musician, just got fired.

24. Blues animals include the junkyard dog and mule (not donkey).

25. Most country songs can be interchanged with blues songs (woman left me, crop didn’t come in, dog died, etc pretty much work in the blues). Most alternative songs cannot be interchanged with blues songs for obvious reasons.

Finally: Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone:
“I didn’t wake up this morning”

Searching for Robert Johnson


Vanity Fair.com's culture and entertainment section has a very interesting article on Robert Johnson titled Portrait of a Phantom: Searching for Robert Johnson. It chronicles the control for the rights of Johnson's music and even his images.

The article does a good job of reporting on the few known images of Johnson and how they were found and where they come from. Specifically the article tells the story of Zeke Schein and a photo that he bought on eBay.

The article also gives details from those who were inspired by Robert Johnson's music over the years. For example, Eric Clapton is quoted;

“At first the music almost repelled me, it was so intense and this man made no attempt to sugarcoat what he was trying to say, or play,” Clapton writes in his recently published memoir, Clapton: The Autobiography.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

An Introduction to BBQ



Barbecue, barbeque, bar-b-q, BBQ: there are almost as many spellings as there are kinds of barbecue, as if the proliferation of words could express the mastering tastes and aromas of the food, all the experiences that can fill the mouth, the place where also words begin.

Today, barbecue is more popular than ever and can be found by a hungry Southerner in almost any American city, but barbecue will always be Southern because, as an American cuisine, that’s where it began and because that’s where it continues to evolve most interestingly.

Though the word barbecue devolves from Taino, a pre-Columbian Caribbean language, the native method described by the word — the slow drying of sliced, spiced meat, over a low, smoky fire — seems to have been fairly widespread in the eastern Caribbean at the time of European contact, being practiced in what would become Brazil as well as in what would become Virginia.

But it was in Virginia and in the Carolinas that barbecue as we know it would begin to evolve. In Virginia, British colonists observed the Native American method of drying meat on a grill of green sticks over a smoking fire and soon married this method to their own interest in spit-cooking hogs and other small animals. The British introduced their own native practices, including basting — either with butter or with vinegar — to keep the meat from drying while cooking.

Slaves of African descent, imported from the Caribbean, brought a taste (developed in the islands) for New-World peppers, especially red pepper. Along the Atlantic seaboard, then, when the vinegar and butter combined with the spices and peppers, barbecue sauce arrived on the Southerner’s and the Briton’s favorite hog. Even today in eastern North Carolina, you can find whole-hog barbecue, lightly seasoned with vinegar and black and red peppers, colonial style.

In South Carolina, in the Broad River Valley, German and French immigrants brought their taste and recipes for mustard, which helped repel malarial mosquitoes, and these mustards found their way into that colonial food, barbecue, and remained there, through the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and two World Wars, to be found even today in the same Broad River Valley.

To the west, in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, probably toward the end of the 19th- or the beginning of the 20th-Century, barbecue cooks began using just the shoulder of the hog when barbecuing, an innovation perhaps encouraged by the growth of the meat curing and packing industries. In this same area, populated largely by Germans, German-style coleslaw, both sweet and spicy, dressed the pork, and the tomato, only recently determined edible, sweetened the fare.

From these come all the rest, or almost all the rest. The whole-hog style that developed along the Atlantic seaboard has drifted into western Tennessee, and the Piedmont style, with some variations, can be uncovered in northeast Alabama and, with American-style coleslaw, in Memphis. Mustard-based barbecue, though still centered in South Carolina, can be found as well in Georgia and eastern Alabama, where one can also find an orange sauce that combines mustard and tomato-based sauces, as if to say, Does one really have to choose?

Of course, Kentucky has its barbecue mutton and its burgoo, which resembles Georgia’s own Brunswick Stew, a traditional barbecue accompaniment. In Texas, German settlers in a cattle-friendly land developed barbecue sausage and the holy brisket, where today Mexican influence directs the emergence of barbacoa and other delicacies. And in that far edge of the South, Kansas City, have Missouri and half Kansas, it has all come together, as it has come together now in so many cities across the South and across the United States.

But there are still new barbecue plates being dreamed up by the hungry and the resourceful. How about north Alabama’s white-sauce chicken, northwest Mississippi’s taste for goat, or the barbecued gator that turns up in Louisiana and Florida?

Whatever it is, it is slow-cooked. If it’s done right, it’s smoked. Honestly, it could be anything. But, whatever it is, it better be good.

– Jake Adam York

Monday, October 13, 2008

Washington Area Radio Partner WJFK



Here is a rundown of our current advertising with WJFK in Washington, DC - this link also includes the spots we are producing for nationwide usage.

Link

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Friday, October 10, 2008


RED HOT & BLUE NAMED A 2008 BEST OF CITYSEARCH - 2008 WINNER

Citysearch, a leading online local guide, announced Red Hot & Blue as its 2008 Best of Citysearch 2008 winner in the Best Barbeque category.

Red Hot and Blue offers the best in barbecue and catering. They make sure that the barbecue is authentic, using hickory logs, low temperatures and long cooking times with only top quality meats and ingredients.
About Citysearch
Citysearch is a leading local search and directory company that provides the most up-to-date information on businesses, from restaurants and retail, to travel and professional services. Citysearch empowers consumers to make informed decisions about where to spend their time and money by delivering trusted content, local expertise and helpful tools, including 18 million local businesses listings and over 1.5 million user reviews nationwide. For more information, visit: www.citysearch.com

Review - B.B. King / One Kind Favor

From Rolling Stone (9/4/08):

This isn't just B.B. King's best album in years, it's one of the strongest studio sets of his career, standing alongside classics such as Singin' the Blues and Lucille. Where those early titles highlighted his youthful, wailing vocals and stinging guitar, this one plays to King's current strengths: the tear-stained vibrato of his mature voice, punctuated by raunchy licks. For too long, King has drowned in slick production, propped up by stiff duets with the likes of Eric Clapton. Here, King is front and center, with a killer backing band — Jim Keltner (John Lennon, Mick Jagger) on drums, Nathan East (Clapton) on stand-up bass and Dr. John on piano — that remains in the background. King is heartbreakingly intimate on standards like Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and Leroy Carr's "Blues Before Sunrise." How did the 82-year-old find his old passion? With T Bone Burnett, naturally — the producer whose understated touch helped bring Robert Plant and John Mellencamp into their twilight years with dignity. Those projects were mere dress rehearsals for this one.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

The All In Burger


This was recently posted to the blog "A Hamburger Today" -
Dear AHT: The All-In Burger at Red Hot & Blue in Dallas, Texas
Posted by Robyn Lee,
"I was in Dallas last weekend and stopped in for lunch at barbecue chain restaurant Red Hot and Blue. I don't normally eat restaurant barbecue, so I skipped over the barbecue and checked out the burgers.There it was—a burger fit for a king. The All-In Burger—half a pound of beef, topped with pulled pork, onion rings, cheddar cheese, and barbecue sauce.

The burger would have been very good even without the extras. I ordered it medium and it had a good amount of pink in the middle. Toasted bun, lettuce pickles and tomatoes served on the side. We're off to a good start.

The pulled pork was surprisingly good for restaurant barbecue. I do barbecue competitions, so I get a bit picky about barbecue. The pork was juicy and had a small amount of bark on it. I would have liked a heavier smoke flavor and more bark, but still very tasty.
If you ever make it down to Texas, you should give it a try."

Kirk, Thanks for the tips. I work from home and our company office is out in Dallas. I have been trying to make a short list of places near Irving/DTW area to hit when I'm there and this one looks great.
mmakis at 11:22AM on 08/29/08

And they serve it with fries? The only thing that should come with this burger is a lobster bib.
JudgeFudge at 11:31AM on 08/29/08

Those fries look amazing though!!!
nichole at 11:35AM on 08/29/08

I don't know about the pork beef combo - I would have to taste it for myself. I do love the idea of onion rings on a burger.
AliNC at 12:02PM on 08/29/08

Red Hot & Blue isn't just a Texas chain.
Click the "outside Texas" button on the linked site, and you'll find it in a number of other states. I'm in Washington, DC, and regularly visit a Virginia branch. This write-up made me realize I'm overdue for another visit.
bcarter3 at 12:52PM on 08/29/08

Maybe they should call it the "do you in" burger instead of "all in."
lambowner at 1:03PM on 08/29/08

@bcarter3: Thanks for the info; I've updated the post!

I eat lunch at this RH+B location at least once a week...but have never tried the burgers.
MMmakis...try these very good burger joints next time in Dallas.
-Snuffers-Root Burger-Keller's Drive In-Goff's-Burger House (Hillcrest Road)-my backyard (un-disclosed Dallas location)

A small restaurant near me does the BBQ + Burger combo. I've always thought it was interesting, though not my cup of tea.
Prairie at 8:30PM on 08/29/08
I used to eat at their original restaurant in Arlington, VA, I was never disappointed by any of their food. I particularly liked their key lime pie which is nice followup to a half pound burger.
redfish at 12:38PM on 09/02/08

New Washington Wizards Contest in the DC Area!


from The Richmond Times Dispatch, Wednesday, October 8

Barbecue in, out or catered
WORKING LUNCH: Red Hot & Blue
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2008 - 12:06 AM Updated: 10:13 AM
By OLYMPIA MEOLA

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

I am not a barbecue expert. I can't tell you which regions certain varieties come from and why folks there do things the way they do.
But I enjoy tearing into a barbecue sandwich every now and again, and this time, I took a crack at Red Hot & Blue on West Broad Street.
It's tucked back from the street, and even its large sign featuring guitar-wielding pigs is camouflaged in the commercial corridor's clutter.
I went early to avoid the lunch crush and was the only customer-- so A+ for speedy service, and for not making me feel like a weirdo for arriving so early for a chicken sandwich.
The blues stars whose pictures hang on the walls kept me company as I waited at the bar, which is separated from the restaurant by a low barrier. For cubicle dwellers who want a little sunshine with their rib platter, there is an outdoor patio. Others may prefer the video poker machine at the bar.
The menu features about what you'd expect: wings, catfish fingers, meat-topped salads, chili, St. Louis-style ribs (half rack for $13.99 and $22.99 full slab), pork and chicken sandwiches, barbecue platters, burgers, stick-to-the-ribs sides and entrees such as meatloaf.
Most of the burgers, barbecue sandwiches, salads and stews won't set you back more than a Hamilton. Several lunch specials -- offered through 2 p.m. -- were also offered.
I ordered pulled chicken, which was piled on a pretty typical hamburger bun. The accompanying coleslaw wasn't too "mayonnaisey," which "Grandma's potato salad" made up for. All that and a pickle cost $7.99. Barbecue sauce comes on the side, and you can pick from a handful of varieties: mild, sweet, spicy, etc.
The portion should satisfy a healthy appetite, though the chicken was a little dry for my liking. The more sauce I added, the better it tasted.
A separate entrance off the parking lot caters to the takeout crowd; you can also order party-sized portions of food. You can pick it up or they will cater.
The Richmond location of Red Hot & Blue joins others in the chain across Virginia, and several other states you automatically think of when you think of barbecue -- such as New Jersey.
Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or Omeola@timesdispatch.com.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Southern Hospitality


BBQ in the south is part of the culture – inseparably linked to gatherings from friends and family to civic groups and business communities. At Red Hot & Blue southern hospitality is not an option. It’s an injunction. Everybody is family, and every gathering is a reunion.


Southern Hospitality means:

  • you will be treated with kindness and respect

  • you never walk away from the “dinner table” hungry

  • friends and family are always welcome…the more the merrier

  • there are no strangers…only friends we haven’t met yet

  • you always have a choice of meats to go along with your “sides”

  • there is always something sweet to finish off a great meal

  • there is always an extra pecan pie or fruit cobbler in the fridge; just in case friends or family show up announced

  • the host/hostess will do everything they possibly can to make you comfortable and happy while in “our house”

  • you will be sent on your way with good memories and a little something extra “for the road”

It’s impossible to say “Southern” without smiling. Nothing puts a smile on your face like the words, “Southern Cooking”.