Taste of the South October 2019

Nestled just between Charleston and Myrtle Beach and hidden from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the picturesque oceanside community of Pawleys Island creates the perfect opportunity to reconnect with loved ones while giving yourself a much-needed reboot. One of the oldest seaside destinations in the country, the four-mile-long island is completely uncommercialized and feels like a true step back in time. Lined with understated vacation homes, there are no grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, or hotels, aside from two classic inns—the Sea View Inn and the Pelican Inn. The Sea View Inn features rustic rooms with relaxed décor and ocean views. All meals are included for those who don’t want to worry about cooking or driving, and the quaint atmosphere includes plenty of rocking chairs, a library, and a cozy…

Biscuits are the first food I remember making as a child. From an early age, I had a love for tender, flaky biscuits, but the thought of pairing them with gravy didn’t come until later in life. Thankfully, one of my wife’s weekend specialties is warm biscuits topped with spicy sausage gravy. We eat it year-round, but even more so once the summer’s heat begins to fade. With all the delicious riffs on biscuits and gravy in this issue, I will certainly be mixing a few of those into our normal repertoire. While I’m always a sucker for a classic buttermilk biscuit (page 59), I can’t wait to bake up a few batches of Sweet Potato Angel Biscuits and the super-simple Cornmeal Cathead Biscuits (both on page 60). These twists on…

Soup Beans and Herb-Pecan Cornbread My wife, who grew up in West Virginia, introduced me to this classic Appalachian dish, and now it’s one of my favorite things to cook once the weather gets chillier. Tomato-Shrimp Gravy and Cornmeal Cathead Biscuits Oxford, Mississippi, Chef John Currence serves a similar version of this dish at his Big Bad Breakfast restaurants, though his calls for grits instead of biscuits. Fennel Chicken and Dumplings Parsnips and fennel jazz up this traditional chicken and dumplings. This version can be made ahead and frozen for an easy weeknight meal. Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake There are basically two types of people when it comes to chocolate mayonnaise cakes: those who love them, and those who haven’t tried them yet.…

Matthew McClure is the award-winning executive chef behind The Hive, one of Bentonville’s premier restaurants for refined country cuisine. He is also one of Arkansas’ chefs kick-starting a revival of “high South” cuisine, a style that originated in the northwestern part of the state. What was once a dying art is seeing a resurgence that Matthew believes is long overdue. Can you tell us a little more about what high South cuisine is? It all goes back to the subsistence farmers who have dotted the Ozark Plateau region for generations. They’ve grown and collected our area’s unique crops, like Arkansas Black apples and morel mushrooms, and combined those flavors with traditional Southern dishes in ways you can only find here. How would you describe Arkansas’ role in the Southern food landscape? This state…

1 CAPTAIN RODNEY'S BOATSWAIN'S BREW COFFEE BARBECUE SAUCE This rich and tangy Tennessee-made sauce combines roasted coffee and a hint of balsamic vinegar to strike the perfect balance between bold and sweet. So if you can’t make it to one of our favorite barbecue spots across the South (we list 10 of them starting on page 89), grab a bottle and make your own at home. The only problem you’ll face is keeping yourself from using it all too quickly. $12.99; bellbucklecompanystore.com 2 SRSLY CHOCOLATE TEXAS MESQUITE BAR Local Austin-area ingredients make their way into each bar of this Texas company’s chocolate. But the base of this particular bar isn’t just any everyday white chocolate. This is SRSLY’s “Dirty White Chocolate,” made with unfiltered cacao butter and flavored with mesquite pods, giving it…

BENNE ON EAGLE Asheville, North Carolina The soul food traditions of one of Asheville's historic neighborhoods are being kept alive in the kitchen at Benne on Eagle. The menu represents the area’s intersection of African American and Appalachian roots translated into modern dishes like Potlikker Braised Chicken Wings, Collard Green and Fennel Salad, Buttermilk-Cornbread Soup, and golden Crispy Quail. Come experience the life and soul of Asheville, and enjoy a great meal while you’re at it. benneoneagle.com 24 HOT CHICKEN & WAFFLE BAR Plano, Texas Spicy food lovers, take note. This Texas joint is giving you five levels of spicy Nashville hot chicken to add an extra kick to your next plate of chicken and waffles. Just make sure to carefully consider your heat level of choice before ordering—the hottest, “Video This,” is no joke.…