The Southern Experience

The South. Where does it end, where does it begin... coming from the coast of southern California, I couldn't really tell ya. My first time to Texas was during my junior year of high school, when I came to Dallas for a volleyball tournament, and ended up visiting SMU and UT. I remember being totally out of my element, but only because I was expecting cowboys, saloons, roaming cattle and horses, and the works. Guessing that vision came from a scene in one of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns? Disregarding where my vision of the South had spurred from (no pun intended...my apologies), I still feel like Dallas is not a truly full-fledged southern city. Granted, republicans make up the clear majority of the city, there is a Bubba's across the street from SMU, and Tex-Mex and serious steakhouses are plentiful (all of which I consider amenities of the South, but correct me if I'm wrong), but until this past spring break, I felt as though I was still missing out on some true southern grit.

My search for the South was completed in due course, by way of a 12-hour road trip to Destin, Florida with some of my favorite guys and gals at SMU. We pushed through east Texas at warp speed, but I was able to convince the guys that we needed at least one "authentic" pit stop in every state. My favorite side-of-the-road find was somewhere in Mississippi (quite possibly could have been Alabama...), and exuded the comforts of southern cuisine...

 

Boiled peanuts??? What a concept. Kind of had the consistency of lima beans, but the Cajun spice was awesome! Needless to say I purchased a pound of the suckers and continued on my way into Florida, thinking that my tour of southern comfort would be over as soon as we crossed the border. Little did I know that the Gulf side of Florida would offer authentic southern "Cajun" cuisine like I had never experienced. Who knew that crab legs, corn on the cob, potatoes and "hushpuppies" could make a perfectly suitable and absolutely delicious meal? I am now a believer. I don't think I've ever eaten so much seafood in my 20 years of living. My favorite was a place called Stinky's...at first I was dubious about the naming choice, but soon discovered that the only thing stinky about the place were everyone's hands after manhandling the undersea critters in front of us. I made the wise decision to order the famed Stinky's Stew, preempted by a set of Rockafeller style oysters(YUM!!) The Stew consisted of shrimp, mussels, oysters, fish, crab legs flying out of the bowl, in a broth filled with corn, potatoes and tomatoes....I died a little that night. Even in a stew, seafood in Florida cannot go without the potatoes and corn....I feel like I've had a revelation. Somehow my mind digressed from  contemplating the image of the South to an off-skew of Southern cuisine... it's quite possible that I have a minor food obsession, and I'm perfectly fine with it. So thank you, Gulf Coast of Florida, for showing me some good ol' Southern hospitality (and food).