Month: June 2010

In Mississippi:

American Artisan Festival, Nashville – this is a *great* art festival

This is a video of Shape Note singing I made at the Archives building in Montgomery – it has more than 20,000 views on YouTube:

On Sunday, we were in Chattanooga and met the boys’ Uncle Doug who had flown into town for a couple of days for a project of his. The first place we went together was the Chattanooga Market – what a fantastic place:

All this gorgeousness plus more fruits, vegetables, pottery, wooden cutting boards, handmade toys, art, candy, fresh eggs, orchids, a glamorous older lady selling fudge…

We had lunch there, too – we all shared fried pickles plus Doug had a hotdog, Av had a hamburger from the bbq stand advertising possum (although they weren’t really selling it), and the boys and I shared a lamb sandwich from the Yellow Deli (kind-of interesting: they’re a group of people living in a commune, working for free, with a shared religion).

We ate lunch in an area in front of the stage while a really great group was playing:

*Oh* those were fantastic. We got four different cupcakes so we’ll have a couple in the refrigerator for the next day or two also: Italian cream, something super-chocolate, wedding cake flavor, and red velvet. Can’t even tell you how good those are.

First opened by Felix Weidmann in 1870, the restaurant was run by the same family all the way through the 1990’s.

Under the Weidmann family, Weidmann’s became one of the most well-known restaurants in Mississippi, beloved for its history, food, and quirky atmosphere. Among other things, the restaurant was known for its black bottom pie, peanut butter crocks on each table, and hundreds of pictures of famous patrons hanging on the walls.

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“You could go anywhere in the U.S. and tell somebody you were from Meridian, and they would ask you about Weidmann’s,” Martin said. “We thought that was a valuable part of our city’s heritage, and that we could not allow it to fade away.”

Frazier said his goal is to blend Weidmann’s history with the modern practicality of the renovated building.

“We won’t be the same restaurant,” he said. “We can’t be the same restaurant, but I think we have to bring back some of it. You can’t turn your back on 140 years of history.”

To bring back that legacy, Frazier is planning to offer some of the menu items from the “old” Weidmann’s, along with new dishes.

He’s also brainstorming ways to bring back some of the old atmosphere. He said he hopes to recover some of the pictures that once hung on the wall, but that many of the quirky aspects of the “old” Weidmann’s will be impossible to resurrect. The peanut butter crocks on the tables, for example, are against today’s health codes.

Frazier also wants to make Weidmann’s accessible to more Meridianites by lowering prices, which were relatively high under McGehee.

“In a sense, the restaurant belongs to the citizens of Meridian,” said Frazier,” and it needs to be accessible to them… We’re ready to welcome Meridian back to their Weidmann’s.”

When it reopens, Weidmann’s will serve lunch and Sunday brunch along with dinner. Frazier said that, thanks to many requests, vegetable plates will be on the lunch menu.

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In that spirit of community, Frazier is reaching out to the public in his plans for Weidmann’s, asking for e-mails with suggestions for improvements to the restaurant.

“I’d…like to hear from the public as far as what they would like to see there,” he said. “I’d also like to hear their memories of (Weidmann’s).”

Suggestions can be e-mailed to weidmanns1870 AT yahoo –dot– com.

Really wish we had been able to go to the festival – there was a biscuit cook-off, a huge biscuit tasting, a breakfast and brunch, biscuit eating contest, music, art, books…and the crowning of Mr. and Miss Biscuit.

A Carol Fay biscuit from a visit to the Loveless:

(I am so sorry to have to mention this, but Carol Fay passed away back in April. Sure do wish she had won on the Throwdown show with Bobby Flay!)

These biscuits are from The Beacon Light in Bon Aqua, Tennessee:

I loved these tiny ones from Carriage House Restaurant at Stanton Hall in Natchez:

Biscuits, mint julep, yes.

Saturday morning, we left home for Aldridge Gardens in Hoover, where they were having ‘Art in the Gardens‘. Aldridge is known for its beautiful surroundings, including a nice-size lake and variety after variety of hydrangea.

On Friday, I mentioned some of the artists I was most looking forward to seeing: Paveen Chunhaswasdikul, Toby Klein, Tena Payne, Robert Taylor…everyone had terrific things to show.

I have to show you these pics of Susan Brown Freeman’s pottery:

 

…even had to bring a couple of her pieces home.

Next we were off to Gordo for Mule Day / Chickenfest and stopped in Tuscaloosa for lunch at Wintzell’s Oyster House. Ordinarily we don’t do chain restaurants but we have a soft spot for Wintzell’s – it’s a ‘local’ chain and when some of Av’s family first came to this country from Russia, they opened a fruit stand in Mobile on Dauphin Street, practically right across from the original Wintzell’s location.

Gordo was celebrating Mule Day / Chickenfest – some of these pics were taken inside Glenn House Sr. and his sweet wife Kathleen Fetters’ gallery downtown:

One of the letterpress posters Kathleen made for the event:

…then it was back through Northport for supper from Av’s favorite rib joint anywhere – Archibald’s:

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There were two festivals that I didn’t learn about until after Friday’s post first went up – one was the first annual New Orleans Oyster Festival – the Times-Picayune wrote in part:

Raw oysters, chargrilled oysters, oysters Rockefeller — the oyster in all its forms was celebrated Saturday at the first New Orleans Oyster Festival, but with a sense of urgency for some, as the BP oil spill continues to threaten the future of the local seafood industry.

“I’m trying to eat as many oysters as I can before they’re all gone,” said John Cameron of New Orleans.

The festival, which will continue Sunday in the 500 block of Decatur Street in the French Quarter, was the idea of Sal Sunseri of P&J Oyster Co.

 

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The goal of the festival is to extol the virtues of Louisiana oysters and to honor the restaurateurs and oyster farmers who prepare and provide them.

Part of the proceeds from the festival will go to the “Save Our Coast” program of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to protect the Gulf Coast and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, and to support local industry workers.

The festival has become more important with the oil spill looming in the Gulf, Gunter said.

“Obviously we’re trying to make a statement that Louisiana seafood, Louisiana cuisine is still alive,” he said.

Gunter said Acme, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, has not been badly affected by the oil spill. Tourists are continuing to come to the city and its restaurants, but some locals are coming to Acme with the notion that the oysters may not be around for much longer, he said.

“It’s almost that Last Supper mentality,” he said.