I tend to wince out of reflex whenever the New York Times writes its way down South, but just the other day they ran an informative, mouth-watering, and minimally condescending article about Southern farming and Southern cooking.
Southern food may be our most durable signifier (though an NYC soul food joint will have pretty much the same menu as a Birmingham meat-and-three). Nothing else evokes the South quite like corn bread or catfish. And, yes, I did make sure to eat my corn bread, black eyed peas and turnip greens on New Year’s Day.
Dixie Babble 