Innholdsfortegnelse for August/September 2024 i Garden & Gun

WE ASKED… What’s the strangest thing your dog has brought home? In our Talk of the South newsletter, readers told us some of their pups’ top retrieves. A man’s bathing suit with keys in the pocket. Bill K. A skunk. This dog is fearless and apparently lacks a sense of smell. Michelle K. A tumbler half filled with bourbon on the rocks. Jane C. After being rewarded each day with a doggy treat for fetching the newspaper, my Lab started finding other newspapers in the neighborhood and bringing them home. Her record was sixteen in one day. Matt D. A jelly doughnut. Sheran S. A stovetop pressure cooker pot. How he managed it, I will never know. Peggy K. My third ex-wife (he was a very friendly, outgoing dog). Jim…

Back in 2021, while on a book tour in North Carolina, the baker, cookbook author, and fifth-generation Tennessean Anne Byrn found herself stumped by an audience member’s query: “What makes Southern baking so special?” A softball, at first blush, yet unable to formulate an answer, Byrn tried polling the audience: “It’s your mama’s cooking,” one person said; “it’s the biscuits”; “it’s the flour,” said another; “it’s the people.” But none of these responses, to Byrn, felt quite definitive. Three years later, Byrn has her answer. It’s 485 pages, entitled Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories, and, yes, it feels definitive. For proof, thumb through to, say, Byrn’s cornbread chapter. There you’ll find twenty-two variations, from buttermilk corn muffins at Atlanta’s iconic Colonnade restaurant to Grand…

Ashleigh Shanti could talk all day about the intricate regionalities of Southern food. The former Top Chef contestant ran the prestigious kitchen at Benne on Eagle in Asheville, where she explored Black Appalachian foodways, before recently opening Good Hot Fish, her take on a Southern fish camp. She grew up in coastal Virginia, where oysters and Brunswick stew are popular. She’s heavily influenced by the Gullah Geechee cooking traditions around her father’s hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. And she can really get going when she talks about cabbage. “Cabbage is such a humble vegetable and so universally loved in the South,” she says. “It was always just so present in my life growing up.” Shanti uses it in several recipes, but she’s especially fond of a good coleslaw. Few dishes…

THE BEST OF SOUTHERN HOMES, GARDENS, STYLE, AND MORE When Beth Buccini sifts through her memories, often it’s the clothes that stand out most. The pink, sleeveless, ostrich-feather shift dress she wore to a fundraiser last night? Fabulous, she says. The puff-sleeved, pin-tuck blue jumper that tied in the back with smocking across the front that she donned in first grade in Norfolk, Virginia? A classic. The blue mohair sweater with pink checks she paired with fuchsia pants for her thirteenth birthday? A perfect way to usher in her teenage years. In high school, she kept a notebook tracking her outfits so she wouldn’t repeat a look for weeks. In the past quarter century, Buccini has translated that knack for creating memorable ensembles into her series of Kirna Zabête boutiques,…

In the entryway of Charlie Smith and Louise Alexander’s Greenville, South Carolina, home, a pink banquette tucks neatly into the corner. Against a bouncy lotus wallpaper and springy yellow trim, the newlyweds often meet there for lunch dates during the week—in between Alexander’s anesthesiology shifts at the hospital—or for coffee before shuttling the kids to school. Alexander had the banquette specially crafted for her house in Nashville, before a job brought her to Greenville and fate brought her to Smith. “But it fits perfectly, as if it were made for this space,” says the couple’s interior designer, Whitney McGregor. “If I had it custom-made, it would have been the exact same dimensions.” Some things, as they say, are meant to be. If it had been up to Smith and Alexander,…

He’s been called a Sandwich King and the Dr. Frankenstein of sandwich making (and he also rocks a Duke’s tattoo), so when we asked Mason Hereford to mastermind the ultimate Southern sandwich for G&G, we had faith he would come up with something spectacular. The owner and chef of the game-changing New Orleans sandwich joint Turkey and the Wolf, Hereford started by considering his essential elements: crunch, tang, creaminess, spice, something sweet, something sour, and a hit of richness. A bit of nostalgia also came into play. “When we opened Turkey and the Wolf, we had a chicken-fried steak sandwich on our menu, and it was by far our most popular item,” he says. “I knew I wanted to revisit chicken-fried steak, because I consider it a pretty ultimate Southern…

Sleeper Sammies Chopped Mutton Sandwich WESTERN KY As any bourbon lover knows, Kentuckians can work magic with wood and time. That’s how cooks in Daviess County and environs turned a nineteenth-century surplus of aging sheep (wool producers that were past their tender lamb stage) into one of the South’s most distinctive barbecue traditions. Today Western Kentuckians cook mutton low and slow over hickory at church picnics and family gatherings, and the chopped mutton sandwich is a go-to at Owensboro institutions Old Hickory Bar-B-Q (est. 1918) and Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn (est. 1950 or so). Colita de Pavo (Turkey Tail) Sandwich EL PASO, TX When it comes to turkey tails, most Americans don’t know what they’re missing. It’s standard practice for U.S. meat processors to clip the tails off turkeys and ship…

Every garden tells a story, but it always takes time to unfold. As a first-time homeowner, when I stood in my bare-bones yard in Charleston, South Carolina, flanked by patches of mulch and trimmed lawn, I longed for the sense of place I’ve witnessed in the old Southern gardens I write about. The grass is always greener, right? Only I didn’t want grass. I wanted a layered oasis full of ferny, mossy textures, tons of patina, and gracious character. And I’m hardly alone. “I always hear this romantic reaction to a garden we might have grown up with,” says the renowned landscape architect Chip Callaway. “Perhaps it was a grandparent’s garden, where everything had some happenstance, and it wasn’t so organized and crisp.” Even though Callaway has built green spaces…

Melissa Koby ILLUSTRATOR ■ “My favorite thing to do is go hiking and decompress, especially in the mountains,” says Melissa Koby. Slight problem: She lives and works in Tampa. “Do I love living in flatland Florida? Not always, but I do love being among the trees, greenery, plants, and flowers here. And I get away to the Pacific Northwest as often as I can.” Nature inspires Koby’s watercolor and digital illustrations, which have appeared on book covers,stationery, paddle-boards, and clothing, and in a promo for ABC’s sitcom Black-ish. In this issue, she turned her artistic lens to Latria Graham’s This Land column (p. 84). “I love illustrating people—especially women—being in an environment that’s relaxing and easeful,” she says. “Even if I’m telling a story about struggle, I like to make…

INTERVIEW YOUR GUIDE TO SOUTHERN CULTURE In the exurbs of Charlotte, Paul Finebaum walks outside his ESPN office and drives to Smoothie King. He has only thirty-five minutes before The Paul Finebaum Show begins live on the SEC Network, and in a purple blazer and polka-dot tie, he stands in line. Someone there recognizes him— Are you ready for the show? Finebaum chuckles and says: “Do I look nervous?” No. He’s been one of the leading voices of college football for forty years, first as a radio loudmouth in Birmingham, then for his own network, and for the decade the SEC Network has existed, for ESPN. He returns to the studio with just minutes to spare, to entertain callers named “the Jim Reaper,” “Bash,” and “G,” who describes the ordeal…

Like any teenager, sometimes Grace Bowers needs a little space. She’ll jump in her Jeep Wrangler with George, her Goldendoodle, and blast Funkadelic while cruising Tennessee back roads. She has a thing for abandoned buildings, once finding a battered old farmhouse with three grand pianos sitting out in the open. On another drive, she came across Water Valley, a tiny hamlet near Williamsport. The whole town was for sale (for $725K). For now, Bowers lives with her family outside Nashville. But given her meteoric rise, she’ll probably be able to buy her own town someday. Even more arresting than her naturally curly locks are her ridiculous guitar chops, which have propelled her onto stages with Dolly Parton, Tyler Childers, Lainey Wilson, Susan Tedeschi, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. She’ll make her…

Long and skinny with glossy, blaze-red skin, the Jimmy Nardello looks like the type of pepper that would hang with habaneros on the spice scale. But this Italian heirloom is actually one of the easiest-eating, easiest-cooking peppers at the farmers’ market. “It’s sweet and fruity, similar to a shishito but slightly less herbal and earthy tasting,” says Michael Zentner, owner of the Drifter catering company and Merci restaurant, slated to open in late summer in Charleston, South Carolina. Zentner discovered the pepper while cooking in Boston (the Nardello family brought the seeds to New England from Italy in the late 1800s) and now buys it locally from growers around Charleston. In late summer, the ripe peppers range from five to ten inches long, and they have thin walls, making them…

In a sloping green bowl of earth in the Shenandoah Valley, Leigh Ann Beavers listens to the vibrating dawn chorus, her head still resting on her pillow. Above the roof of her clapboard German farmhouse in Raphine, Virginia, a raven and a red-tailed hawk each protect their young, chasing each other across the nine acres dotted with native oaks, black walnut, and witch hazel. Outside the bedroom windows, phoebes feed their babies, tucked into mossy nests built into the crooks of the house; in the brick chimney, swifts and their nestlings purr. The entire hollow trembles with the sounds of life, but it hasn’t always been so loud. It took decades of rewilding the land, planting natives and purging pesticides, to bring back the natural orchestra. “The most important aspect…

Grilled Peach Chutney TRY IT ON: grilled cheese Yield: 1½ cups At Papi Queso, his grilled cheese–focused sandwich shop in Charlotte, owner and executive chef Brian Stockholm stuffs the gooey sammies with all sorts of things, from smoked brisket to spaghetti. For what might be the ultimate grown-up grilled cheese, he loves a combo of burrata, country ham, and this off-the-charts chutney that mixes flame-kissed peaches and Vidalia onion with vanilla, spices, and a touch of bourbon. “It is sweet and tangy with a hint of smokiness,” he says. “The recipe requires a little extra effort, but it’s worth it.” INGREDIENTS 1 lb. firm ripe peaches, halved and pits removed ½ small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and quartered ½ small Vidalia…

TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE FOR THE SOUTHERN SOUL In 1978, when she was in her sixties, Eleanor “Sandy” Torrey West, the owner of Georgia’s third-largest barrier island, reluctantly sold it. But she was canny: She negotiated for herself a life estate, which allowed her to continue to live in the 1926 Spanish Colonial Revival mansion her family had built on Ossabaw. I’m betting whoever drew up the document imagined they might soon get their hands on that mansion—but the spry West lived for four more decades, dying on her 108th birthday. I’ve heard it said that she died at the stroke of midnight, which might be a tall tale. But Ossabaw is the kind of place that makes you believe in tall tales. A heart-shaped island, uninhabited—well, with one exception; more…

“No, you can’t wear flip-flops when not at the beach, with jail time for wearing them on an airplane” SANDAL SQUABBLES Sid Mashburn is an icon in the men’s fashion business. However, I disagree with his take on flip-flops and men’s sandals (Southern Conundrum, June/July 2024). There is no occasion when a man’s feet are attractive. While exceptions can be made for pool or beachwear, that’s it! Society has gone beyond being reasonable with the silly outfits people wear in public, but good taste never goes out of style. Chris Borders Woodstock, Georgia On Maui, you can wear flip-flops every single day, and to every single place, including the nicest of restaurants. But you’ve got to keep those dogs well maintained. Joshua Comstock Kihei, Hawaii The only correct answer is…

American Aquarium THE FEAR OF STANDING STILL ■ “Crier,” the blistering opening track on American Aquarium’s new album, The Fear of Standing Still, displays the North Carolina band at its most anthe-mic, with front man BJ Barham blowing up toxic notions of masculinity. But after that blast of fist-pumping gritty country rock, the group dials it down as Barham, one of music’s most unsung and incisive storytellers, mixes thought-provoking lyrics about growing old, women’s rights, and, on the gorgeous highlights “Cherokee Purples” and “Southern Roots” (a scintillating duet with Katie Pruitt), youthful nostalgia and perceptions of Southern identity. The chill vibes give way with “Head Down, Feet Moving,” a soaring finale that matches the ferocity of American Aquarium’s live shows. Guitarist Grace Bowers, photographed in Nashville. The debut album from…

A CELEBRATION OF SOUTHERN FOOD AND DRINK A centuries-old fermented beverage, usually made from pineapple, tepache has never been noted for its refinement. “Tepache not only causes drunkenness,” reported a Pennsylvania newspaper in 1917, “but its use results in insanity as well.” If there’s any proof for that, it hasn’t yet surfaced. Brewed in the Americas since well before the arrival of Columbus, the drink passed from the Mayans and Aztecs to the Spaniards, then persisted as a popular sipper, often made in backyards for holiday celebrations across Mexico. For the past decade, tepache has been steadily making its way north, both in bottle and idea. Restaurants serving fresh pineapple juice or tacos al pastor often found themselves with leftover rinds destined for the dumpster. Mexican kitchen staff knew a…

Zak Walters ducks out from the kitchen of his Oklahoma City restaurant, Sedalia’s, to hand deliver three jewel-toned slabs of tuna to the front counter. Streaked with beautiful white fat, set atop crisp turnips and marinated radicchio, those sashimi cuts gleam red like prime beef. Two guests, deep in conversation, stop to stare at the trompe l’oeil before them. Smiles tease the corners of their mouths. Kitty-corner from a strip-mall church and a Guatemalan taco shop that looks like a beached pirate ship, Sedalia’s sits in a compound where Rex Playground Equipment once welded swing sets. Zak’s grandfather founded the company, naming it for his father, Roscoe, whom everybody called Rex. The family stopped selling play sets nearly a decade ago. And during the pandemic, Zak returned home from California,…

CROGHAN’S JEWEL BOX The family-run Charleston, South Carolina, shop Croghan’s Jewel Box curates one of the region’s widest, finest collections of antique and vintage jewelry. The allure lies in the pieces’ history and patina—subtleties new designs simply cannot replicate. TINY GODS Perhaps no other fine-jewelry spot in the South boasts more rainbow-bright pieces than Tiny Gods in Charlotte. The boutique showcases fun, modern, and sophisticated designs in saturated hues from such contemporary artisans as Silvia Furmanovich and Jenna Blake. GREENLEAF & CROSBY Palm Beach’s Greenleaf & Crosby offers all manner of glittering jewels and baubles inside its Worth Avenue atelier, but the array of vintage timepieces for men and women in particular shines for collectors.…

AN ODE TO… My Hometown Cuban Growing up in Tampa, I learned through osmosis that Cuban sandwiches are, in a way, like afternoon thunderstorms—commonplace and also a vital means of renewal. Then I moved away and discovered that Cuban sandwiches elsewhere (I’m looking at you, Miami) don’t abide by Tampa tradition. Let the recipe show, a proper Tampa Cuban arrives on bread hand rolled in a local bakery, scored with palmetto fronds, and layered with sweet ham, slow-roasted pork, and that third meat so elusive to Miamians, spicy Genoa salami. It’s then hot pressed with funky Swiss, pickle chips, and a mustard-mayo combo. Whenever I return to Tampa, I stop at La Segunda Bakery in Ybor City and beeline to Centennial Park, brown bag in hand. One bite as the…

Good sandwiches are feats of engineering and economy, which is another way of saying the tomatoes don’t slide out the back end and the tab doesn’t break the bank. Compared with dinners that unspool like novels, the best sandwiches, eaten on the fly, are short stories, swift and smart and telling. ¶ My wife, Blair, remembers a family drive home from the beach, when she was eight and sick with a sinus infection, and the curative power of a corned beef and potato salad sandwich on rye from a long-lost Montgomery, Alabama, deli. I talk about our son at five, and of a debate Blair and I had about whether we would let him play with toy guns, until, on a visit to a New Orleans po’boy shop, Jesse settled…

Butterfly pea flower tea at the Laurel Hotel’s 1856–Culinary Residence restaurant in Auburn, Alabama, arrives at the table a deep blue. But a pour of basil-and-sage-accented lemonade triggers a chemical reaction, and it suddenly swirls into a vibrant magenta hue. More than an eye-catching, refreshing sip, it’s the fruit of a collaboration between Auburn University students and faculty, as well as hospitality industry experts, who work and learn together to delight and impress guests. “My students figured out how to grow butterfly peas for the restaurant,” says horticulture department head Desmond Layne, “and hospitality program students learned to dry the flowers to make the tea.” The Laurel opened in 2022, and its emphasis on service, plus its sumptuous spaces—1856’s fine dining, a rooftop oasis, a modern spa, and sleek rooms…