What's cooking in the South!

Photo credit: Travis Nelson 

Last night, the James Beard Foundation held its annual awards ceremony in New York City. This morning, I woke up to a wonderful piece about one of the winners, Jones Bar-B-Q Diner, on the CBS This Morning. I also logged onto Facebook to find many of my southern friends (mainly the Alabamians) bragging on the winners from their region.

It got me wondering: Is the south still a place where home-cooking matters? Is it dying off more and more as the newer generations want and demand the quickness of "convenience?" Does food still hold the same reverent focal point in family and other gatherings as it once did? Who's making sure to carry on the tradition? Do people still share (or guard) their recipes? I have the question floating out in the email ether to one dear friend from Bessemer, Ala., but I welcome feedback from everyone. What do you think?

In the meantime, here's a list of the southerners who took home awards last night:

BOOK:

ANew Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen

by Hugh Acheson

(Clarkson Potter)

WRITING:

MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award

John T. Edge

Saveur

“BBQNation”

And the biggies:

BEST CHEF: SOUTH (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS)

Chris Hastings

Hot and Hot Fish Club

Birmingham, AL

BEST CHEF: SOUTHEAST (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

Hugh Acheson

Five and Ten

Athens, GA

Linton Hopkins

Restaurant Eugene

Atlanta

AMERICA’S CLASSICS (Presented by The Coca-Cola Company)

Jones Bar-B-Q Diner

219 West Louisiana St., Marianna, AR

Owners: James and Betty Jones

R.I.P. Levon Helm

Being that I married a Georgia boy I often have fun reminding him that "we" won the war. And he has fun taking me places like "the bloody elbow" in Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park so I can see the spot where the most Yankees were killed. With the passing of Levon Helm I've found "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" running through my head for the past few days. The song had organically become part of my cultural currency, like so many songs that you just know although you never purposefully learned them. I never thought much about what the song addressed and why it would be important to "make General Robert E. Lee come out with all due respect." I guess sometimes your most important education about things comes from the radio rather than a book.

STAGE: Can you Hear Their Voices

From Theatermania: Before the New Deal's Works Progress Administration and the Federal Theatre Project, there was Can You Hear Their Voices? (A Play of Our Time) written by Hallie Flanagan and Margaret Ellen Clifford. The play, based on the true story of a 1931 Arkansas drought, revealed a rural world of hunger and privation that was horribly neglected by government bureaucracy. With today's frequent and casual use of labels like "Communist" and "Socialist," Peculiar Works Project mines this landmark agitprop play to uncover how such words were interpreted in an earlier--yet remarkably similar--era. The news media constantly reminds us how our current economic situation is the worst "since the Great Depression;" Voices shines a spotlight on the root causes for radical political movements then and now.

Closes 6/27

BOOK: A Ticket To The Circus @ PowerHouse Arena

Mailer was born in a tiny Arkansas town and became a model, an actress, a painter, and writer. In the 1970s she dated a little-known, aspiring politician named Bill Clinton, then went on to marry Norman Mailer (and stayed married to him, for over 30 years). She faced down ex-wives and lovers by the dozen; she became mother, stepmother, and grandmother to an ever-growing brood.

From age three when she was crowned Little Miss Little Rock, Norris Church Mailer has gone from one wild adventure to the next, and she shares it all in her beautifully written, delving memoir A Ticket to the Circus. Reading her stories is like sitting down with an old friend: Norris holds nothing back, from showing up to dinner with Oscar de la Renta wearing only a nightgown, to serving coleslaw to Bob Dylan; from the heartbreak of first discovering her husband's affairs, to saying goodbye to Norman on his deathbed.

In a winning narrative voice that evokes her native Arkansas, Norris recounts her days as a bright, talented girl who knew her life would one day be full of adventure. With clear eyes and startling frankness, she depicts the full evolution of her marriage to Norman Mailer, from the white-hot beginning through the very rocky patches to the mournful end, offering an incredibly intimate perspective on this legendary man of letters. A Ticket to the Circus is an intelligent, bittersweet book that will enchant readers with its charm and insight into how we grow up and how we love. (source)

SCENE: World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade

The gold at the end of the rainbow is found in Hot Springs, Arkansas, along with celebrity Grand Marshal Bo Derek, green fireworks, Irish belly dancers, floats, Irish Order of Elvi (a group of Elvis look-alikes), marchers, Irish Wolfhounds, and let's not forget the Pub-Crawl. Great fun for everyone!

The World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade is always held on March 17th on historic Bridge Street in downtown Hot Springs. Bridge Street became famous in the 1940's when Ripley's Believe It or Not designated it "The Shortest Street in the World." Having earned this distinction, the Hot Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau deemed Bridge Street the most logical location for this novel parade.(source)

EAT: Second Annual Arkansas Pig Roast (8/22)

Second Annual Arkansas Pig Roast 8/22 @ 1:00 PM EST

Overlook Bar
Air Conditioned Room Inside & Outside Patio
225 East 44th Street
Between 2nd & 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Bar: (212) 682-7266
Time: 1:00 to 5:00 PM

Cost, Food & Drink Specials:

$40.00 for all you can eat and drink draft beer of the day (either Bud Lite or Miller Lite).

$20.00 for all you can eat and drink sodas of the day (includes Ice Tea, Lemonade, Diet Coke and Regular Coke).

All you can eat includes a slow roasting pig, hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers (with all of the fixings), grilled corn, baked beans, potatoes salad, spicy okra, green salad, corn bread and rolls.

Entertainment:Live acoustic music provided by “singer/songwriters Jon D’ Angelo and Jeff Fiorello.

SCENE: VOV Music Fest kicks off today in Hot Springs, AR

Small venue, small town Arkansas, completely run by volunteers

The Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival (VOV) is gearing up for its 5th and biggest year yet with bands traveling from as far away as Australia, Canada, Israel, New York, California and all points in between. These bands make up the fabric of a global community of DIY'sters who focus on sound, measure, tempo and theme and leave the pop writing formula on the backburner, so they may be someday noted for their musical innovation and not the gross total of records sold.

But The VOV is more than the bands it attracts - The VOV is not the bloated idea of "festival" that has been defined by Lollapolooza, Coachella, or Bonarroo where 876545677896 bands play on 7654329007 stages, in front of 87887866669808708098098 people who will fight you for a spot in line at one of the 13 port-a-potties. No, The VOV is about community. We are a festival organized and run by volunteers who need something more, something raw, something real to inspire them. We hit the streets and ask for donations, grants, food, drinks, microphones, hammers, nails and duct tape - whatever it takes to make it happen just one time a year.

THIS YEAR’S LINEUP, ncludes Monotonix. Pretty & Nice, AIDS Wolf, The Queers, Poison Arrows, Pink Spiders and more.

The VOV is a 501(c)3 public charity. With the help of dedicated sponsors and volunteers The VOV has been producing original, forward-thinking and independent music in the small town of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas since 2005. In four short years, The VOV hosted nearly 700 cutting edge, internationally touring artists who performed to a combined audience of about 7000 music lovers over the course of 6 festivals. The 5th Annual VOV will be held in March 2009 and is the perfect pit stop to those of you traveling to or from SXSW. The VOV also holds sporadic shows throughout the year.

The VOV Independent Music Festival Kicks off today (3/17/09) at Low Key Arts in Hot Springs, AR with the world's shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade and runs thru 3/22/09.

ART/SCENE: 2009 Ozark Folk School (3/15 - 20)

Go see what the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas is really about! Study for a week under a serious craftsperson or musician and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere of camaraderie and fun.

The 2009 classes for Ozark Folk School are being lined up now. Over 20 Craft classes will be offered including Blacksmithing, Pottery, Jewelry Making, Knife Making, Quilting, Basketry, Wood Carving and Loom Weaving. Tuition is $250 for the five day workshop week, with some instructors charging additional materials fees. Extracurricular activities include free Southern Mountain Folk Dancing, a "Gallery Walk" of instructor and student work, Blanchard Springs Cavern tour, a documentary film showing and a Music Instructor's Concert. Contact them at (870)269-3851 for more information. Enrollment is limited so when you see the class you want, register! A 5 Night lodging package is available for $305.25 as well as a complete or partial meal plan.

The Ozark Folk Center is America’s only facility that works at sharing the heritage and way of life of the Ozark Mountain People. It’s lively. It’s entertaining. It makes learning about Ozark history and heritage loads of fun. It’s an adventure to yesterday’s Ozark way of life that you can see, touch and enjoy today.”The Ozark Folk Center, dedicated to providing living history exists to: preserve, document, display and interpret the cultural and social history of the Ozark region, an area that takes up part of five states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

SCENE: Pedal Power 09 - Hot Springs, AR

Get your bike on one week from today in Hot Springs, Arkansas at Pedal Power 2009!

HELP SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR

THE VALLEY OF THE VAPORS INDEPENDENT MUSIC FESTIVAL

AND A MORE BIKE FRIENDLY HOT SPRINGS!

Meet us at the transportation depot Tuesday, March 17th @ 5:30pm with your human powered vehicle and join us in the world's shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade. After the parade, we will all travel through beautiful downtown Hot Springs to the first night of the 5th Annual VOV Festival located at the Low Key Arts Building, 118 Arbor Street. Anyone with a bike is asked to attend however; creativity and costume is encouraged:

Four "Art/Freak Bikes" will be chosen and put on display the length of the fest, and will be voted on during the events of the 2009 VOV. If you are interested in riding please visit and RSVP to Pedal Power 09.

PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED!

STAGE: Disfarmer @ St. Ann's Warehouse

In the small mountain town of Heber Springs, the Arkansas artist known as Disfarmer captured the lives and emotions of the people of rural America between 1939-1945. Critics have hailed Disfarmer's remarkable black and white portraits as "a work of artistic genius" and "a classical episode in the history of American photography."

JAN. 27 - FEB. 8 @ St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn: Dan Hurlin, who last presented at St. Ann's Warehouse in 2004 with his award-winning puppet-theater work, Hiroshima Maiden, returns with the World Premiere of Disfarmer. The story is inspired by the over forty-year career (1915-1959) of portrait photographer Mike Disfarmer, who for decades shunned his family and neighbors while operating the only portrait studio for miles around Heber Springs, Arkansas. Using "Table-top puppetry," an oddly funny text by Sally Oswald and an original banjo score by Dan Moses Schreier, Hurlin's Disfarmer seeks to create a visceral sense of the photographer's interior and exterior worlds, illuminating the contradictions in the life of this American hermit whose intimate and revealing portraiture documented an entire community.

In addition, for the first time since the discovery of Mike Disfarmer's unique body of work, archival quality limited edition Disfarmer prints are available for purchase online authorized through Disfarmer.com.

SPORT: SEC IN THE CITY: Football Game Watching Parties

Because No Dawg/Gator/Tiger Should Bark/Chomp/Roar Alone!

ALABAMA Crimson Tide @ the new Brother Jimmy's location in Murray Hill at the corner of Lexington Avenue & 31st Street.

ARKANSAS Razorbacks @ The Mad Hatter Saloon 360 Third Avenue at 26th Street.

AUBURN Tigers @ Meet at Bar 515 515 3rd Ave, between 34th & 35th

FLORIDA Gators @ The Gin Mill 442 Amsterdam Avenue at 81st St. AND Sidebar 120 East 15th Street at the corner of Irving Place AND Town Tavern 134 West Third Street.

GEORGIA Bulldogs @ Firefly Bar 54 Spring Street (Between Lafayette and Mulberry Streets)

KENTUCKY Wildcats @ Mercury Bar at 33rd and 3rd

LSU Tigers @ Legends 6 West 33rd Street, bet. 5th & 6th Ave (212)967-7792

OLE MISS Rebels @ XII Bar 206 East 34th Street (@ 3rd Ave)

MISSISSIPPI STATE Bulldogs @ Mercury Bar 493 3rd Avenue

SOUTH CAROLINA Gamecocks @ Copper Door Tavern 272 3rd Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets)

TENNESSEE Volunteers @ The Wharf Bar 587 Third Avenue

VANDERBILT Commodores @ Village Pourhouse 64 3rd Ave (at 11th St) AND Southern Hospitality 1460 2nd Ave (at 76th St) - please check the Vanderbilt Alumni website to see which bar each game will be playing at!