In this Book
- Eat Drink Delta: A Hungry Traveler's Journey through the Soul of the South
- Book
- 2013
- Published by: University of Georgia Press
summary
The Mississippi Delta is a complicated and fascinating place. Part travel guide, part cookbook, and part photo essay, Eat Drink Delta by veteran food journalist Susan Puckett (with photographs by Delta resident Langdon Clay) reveals a region shaped by slavery, civil rights, amazing wealth, abject deprivation, the Civil War, a flood of biblical proportions, and—above all—an overarching urge to get down and party with a full table and an open bar.
There’s more to Delta dining than southern standards. Puckett uncovers the stories behind convenience stores where dill pickles marinate in Kool-Aid and diners where tabouli appears on plates with fried chicken. She celebrates the region’s hot tamale makers who follow the time-honored techniques that inspired many a blues lyric. And she introduces us to a new crop of Delta chefs who brine chicken in sweet tea and top stone-ground Mississippi grits with local pond-raised prawns and tomato confit. The guide also provides a taste of events such as Belzoni’s World Catfish Festival and Tunica’s Wild Game Cook-Off and offers dozens of tested recipes, including the Memphis barbecue pizza beloved by Elvis and a lemon ice-box pie inspired by Tennessee Williams.
To William Faulkner’s suggestion, “To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi,” Susan Puckett adds this advice: Go to the Delta with an open mind and an empty stomach. Make your way southward in a journey measured in meals, not miles.
There’s more to Delta dining than southern standards. Puckett uncovers the stories behind convenience stores where dill pickles marinate in Kool-Aid and diners where tabouli appears on plates with fried chicken. She celebrates the region’s hot tamale makers who follow the time-honored techniques that inspired many a blues lyric. And she introduces us to a new crop of Delta chefs who brine chicken in sweet tea and top stone-ground Mississippi grits with local pond-raised prawns and tomato confit. The guide also provides a taste of events such as Belzoni’s World Catfish Festival and Tunica’s Wild Game Cook-Off and offers dozens of tested recipes, including the Memphis barbecue pizza beloved by Elvis and a lemon ice-box pie inspired by Tennessee Williams.
To William Faulkner’s suggestion, “To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi,” Susan Puckett adds this advice: Go to the Delta with an open mind and an empty stomach. Make your way southward in a journey measured in meals, not miles.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. 2-7
- Eating and Drinking Venues by Chapter
- pp. ix-xii
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xiii-xvi
- Introduction
- pp. 1-12
- 1. Memphis: Gateway to the Delta
- pp. 13-64
- 4. Como: Hill Town with a Delta Rhythm
- pp. 101-108
- 5. Tallahatchie County: Wild and Mysterious
- pp. 109-118
- 7. Greenville: Athens of the Delta
- pp. 151-170
- 9. Sunflower County: Homegrown Legends
- pp. 181-202
- 11. Humphreys County: The Catfish Capital
- pp. 225-232
- 12. Yazoo City: Half Hills and Half Delta
- pp. 233-242
- 13. Vicksburg: Red Carpet City of the South
- pp. 243-272
- About the Recipes
- pp. 279-280
- Selected Reading
- pp. 281-284
- Photo Credits
- pp. 285-286
- Index of Restaurants and Places of Note
- pp. 287-290
- Index of Recipes
- pp. 291-294
Additional Information
ISBN
9780820344935
Related ISBN(s)
9780820344256
MARC Record
OCLC
854974331
Pages
296
Launched on MUSE
2013-10-21
Language
English
Open Access
No