Strip dining

Several things are out of adjustment.

Bob didn't understand, and I'm sure you don't, that in response to Mark's comment, I was making a funny as well.

Funnies are often not recognized here, Kevin.  I guess it depends on one's brand of humor.

The main point I meant to make about Strip dining, and as usual I went on too long, is the regional differences in cooking that some of us get used to.  Not that trying new places is not a good thing to do.   

Kevin, sorry your mom wasn't a great cook.  I was kid #3 to come along, so I don't know if she had simply amassed a lot of good recipes by the time I arrived, but her cooking was the best.  She was from Ohio, my dad from North Carolina, and I believe she got most of the good stuff from dad's side of the family, plus church pot-lucks/cookbooks, etc.   I could tell you about our family strawberry shortcake which is like no other.  No sponge cake with some strawberry jam and a dollop of whipped cream from the can.  I honestly believe our version lives only within our family, and rarely made because it does take a bit of extra effort (two sheets of shortbread, for starters).   Plus we always waited until strawberries were actually in season.  Again, I digress.  Sorry.

The times we visited the Ohio kin (alternated summers Ohio, NC), well, most memorable is that they had no idea what barbeque was.  If we ordered it in a restaurant we'd get puzzled looks and a plate of what might have been roast beef with ketchup on it.  At best they used store bought barbeque sauce.

Candy

Yeah, the American South grosses me out, but one indisputable fact is that the food is terrific. BBQ, of course, and seafood on the coasts...and yeah, desserts that'll send you into a happy coma. There's a reason why everyone in the South weighs 400 pounds and moves (and talks) very slowly.

Like you, I've observed that Southern cuisine just doesn't export well, for whatever reason. It's hard to find elsewhere, with the one exception of BBQ--though I'm given to understand that the "real thing" is much better than what you get in, say, California. Nonetheless, the country's premier BBQ competition is in...Sparks, Nevada.

And where did all this delicious variety in cuisine come from? African and Caribbean slaves, who brought their recipes and traditions with them when they were dragged here. Slaveholders found out how good it was as soon as they installed Negro cooks in their kitchens. Fun fact: one of the first, if not the first diplomatic dinners was during the Madison administration--a big BBQ cookout held on the White House lawn. Prepared and served by slaves, of course.

I wonder if in the South, credit for the origins of the food is given where credit is due.

Another astounding statement of fact by Kevin:  "Everyone in the South weighs 400 lbs and moves and talks very slowly." 

Ahem...I weigh 125 lbs.   I am a fast walker, likely a result of my nursing career.  So Kevin's "everyone" is not completely accurate.

We do have our southern accent (which some consider charming), as does NY and Boston and Joisey have theirs.  And Maine with their caas (those things on four wheels driven by humans), which I consider charming.

As for origins of the food, I am 99.99% sure that our family strawberry shortcake originated with my grandmother or great grandmother (who never owned nor employed slaves).  Indeed a family treasure.

Candy

Obviously, I was exaggerating...but nowhere else have I seen so many Goodyear-blimp-sized people. I'm sure I would look that way, too, if I grew up within smelling distance of jambalaya, catfish, BBQ ribs, and fried chicken.

I didn't say that everything that is prepared and consumed in the South originated from Negro slaves. I said that much of it did. Strawberry shortcake originated in England and the first written recipe dates to Shakepeare's time.

Thar tain't nuthin' wrong with a Southern ayucksent. It's kind of iconic and American, actually. I must confess that earlier in life, I associated it with a kind of intellectual thickness, like molasses. (And Hollywood used to think the same way, as actors with such accents were strongly encouraged to "unlearn" them, unless of course such accents were integral to a role.) But I realize that it's nothing more or less than a regional affectation, like electing officials who try to keep Black people from voting (an ongoing effort dating back to 1865).

Apropos of the above, I've observed over the years that racism is baked into Southern culture, to the extent that "of course they ain't the same as white folks" is taken as a given, not as a point of debate. I'm sure it's not nearly as horrific as it was during the cross-burning era or the time of civil rights marches.

Kevin abores generalizations about groups of people, except when he doesn't.

Lern to spel.

Of all the crazy threads in the kitchen sink, I can't believe there is actually a food fight.  What's next?  A pillow fight?

Good lord Rosemarie, don’t bring up pillows. Kevin will rant for days about the my pillow guy. 😉