Home cookin' buffet style

Back in the small town of Baxley, GA is a restaurant that is known all over the county for it great southern food and it's named Apple Dumpling. To clarify, when I say southern food I don’t mean just any type of food from the south I’m talking about the good ole home cooked type of meal. They have foods ranging from traditional fried chicken to a more common beef stew. The vegetables are cooked just the way the people in the south love too, fried to a brown crispy goodness. While you could argue that if one wanted these types of foods then just cook them at home, you have to take into consideration what makes this worth getting out of the house for, buffet style service. This characteristic makes this place more popular among the people of my home town because people can come in on a Sunday after church dressed in their best or they can waltz right on in on a weekday with grease on their t-shirt and jeans. It’s a place for all people who love to have as much good ole southern food as their heart’s desire to come, fellowship, and enjoy a delicious meal.

Angus Barn

One of the most famous restaurants in Raleigh, NC as well as most of the state is the Angus Barn. The Angus Barn is a fine dining experience close to the RDU International Airport that caters to all demographics. Its famous wine cellar is a popular place to host weddings and special occasions in Raleigh. The Angus Barn is best known for its excellent service and atmosphere. I've been to the Barn a few times for special occasions and loved it each time. The name is not deceiving you, the Angus Barn is in fact a barn that has been restored, remodeled, and expanded. The service is fantastic and the food is great (possibly the best baby back ribs I've ever had). The restaurant also gives back to the community through donations and sponsorships as well as hosting numerous charity walks/runs on weekends. I've been to a couple of these as well, and the Angus Barn gives a great atmosphere as well as some great free food. This restaurant truly represents what people think of when they picture the South through its hospitality, excellent service, and fabulous food.

Southern Restaurants

Although Florida is America's most Southern State, it is the farthest thing from Southern Culture one could possibly imagine. In fact, Southern traditions are mocked there! As was mentioned in the post above, cook outs and restaurants typical of a region are popular in the South; something that is rarely seen in South Florida. Most restaurants that are typical of a region in Florida are certainly not Southern, rather they are ethnic restaurants-- Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Peruvian, Venezuelan, and Colombian cuisine.
However, when I came to Georgia Tech and began running around the city, I saw one restaurant that particularly caught my attention. It's name is Mary Mac's. As we ran by it, the smell penetrated my nostrils, and instinctively I asked my friend what that type of food was served there. She retorted back with a smirk, almost as if the questioned I asked was self-explanatory. She explained to me that they served, I quote, "some of the delicious Southern Food I have ever tasted... and I'm from the South!" Then I wondered why I hadn't seen those in any other Southern States-- what about Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, and even Louisiana? I've traveled to those states, but never seen this famous "Mary Mac's." I have yet to visit, and hopefully experience Southern Hospitality, chicken and dumplings, gravy, biscuits, and casseroles in their true delight.

Southern Restaurants/Fast Food

As some of you may know, I am from Baltimore, MD. This weekend I went to go visit my family and to go pick up my car. As I was driving the LONG twelve hours back to Georgia Tech, I constantly noticed a restaurant entitled, "The Cookout." Back at home, we do not have any unique restaurants that are just strictly in Baltimore. However, as I was driving through North Carolina, I constantly kept running into "The Cookout" restaurants. I thought it was very interesting that southerners can simply go through the drive-thru and get fast food that they would usually eat at a cookout. Their menu includes barbeque, grilled chicken, chicken wings, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. I must admit that this fast food restaurant definitely goes along with the stereotypes that southerners LOVE to have cookouts all the time.

For those of you who are in the south, are there any restaurants, like The Cookout, that are unique only to your state or city? If not, do you know of any restaurants from another state that stick out to you. What were your experiences like at the unique restaurant that you visited?

Southern Hospitality

As I was looking for a music video for my analysis project, I came across Ludacris' music video, entitled "Southern Hospitality." The video captures so many different types of stereotypes of black people in the south. It starts off with a sign that says "Welcome to Atlanta" to verify that they are in the south. The video makes it seem as if black men are always riding around in cadillacs looking for "hoes." Every male in this picture is wearing baggy clothes with bandannas and chains. Females are definitely degraded in this video as well. They are all wearing short shorts, panty hoes, stripper heels and shirts with their cleavage out.
As a black woman, I can honestly say that I am sick of being looked upon as another one of the southern girls who wears tight, short clothing who is on the streets trying to make money by selling my body. I think videos like these are absolutely ridiculous because they categorize black people as a whole. In reality, there are successful black people in the south who are walking around in suits and owning multiple businesses. Stereotypes like these are degrading to African Americans living in the south and I hope that a change in the way we are portrayed in music videos is made in the near future.

You tube one of the best, if not the best, site for looking up any sort of video. Before reading this post, I never googled "Southern Videos," but as soon as I did, many interesting things popped up. For one, most videos included the word "redneck," and seemed to be located in a very country place. The grass was green, the houses were old, and people were 'round and about, strolling this way and that way. One particular video caught my attention, for it was titled "Funny Redneck Videos." When I clicked to watch it, I was not surprised that it was accompanied by Country music. I was surprised, however, that most of the "funny" things were actually quite silly. For example, one dealt with a truck (oh-so typical of the South), speeding and then flying high up in the air. I personally did not find that very "funny." Then there was one were something exploded and it seemed like fire was floating over a lake... not funny, per se, but perhaps amusing.
It seems like these videos, though trying to portray the South as a "funny" place, are actually ridiculing it and its people.

Ridiculous Southern images in Media

While looking for an artifact for the visual analysis project, I ran across some fairly out there clips portraying the South. Have you run across any of these clips too? If so, what were your views and opinions on the clip as a whole as well as its portrayal of the South?

For me, I ran across this "Saturday Night Live" clip called "Suel Forrester Southern Lawyer". The clip is pretty funny because it hits about every stereotype of a lawyer from the South that one scene can capture. While most lawyers are not like Chris Kattan's character, the portrayal provides a satirical insight to what other people may think of when they picture a true Southern Lawyer. I love SNL's portrayals of the South not because they are accurate, on the contrary, they are about as far from accurate as one can get, but because they add comedy and poke fun at stereotypes and assumptions people may take seriously.