Month: June 2015

On Eva Road in Vinemont, Alabama

The boys don’t have camp this week so I took them on my own fieldtrip: Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, where I got my love of art environments.  And now that they’re older and able to better consider construction, this will be great for a project we have coming up this summer: art-a-day.

I have a set on Flickr of some previous visits to the Grotto. Here are some from this visit:

Brother Joseph’s last piece was completed in 1958.  Just in the last few years, another craftsman has come forward to add pieces to the Grotto.

Shrine to Our Lady of Knock:

‘Bascilica of Jasna Gora’:

The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help:

Basilica of Guadalupe:

Once we were done, we walked over to the Abbey Church.

As always, all images here unless otherwise noted are copyright DeepFriedKudzu. Like to use one? Contact me. 

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The inaugural Alabama Barbecue Hall of Fame (restaurants which have been in business 50+ years).

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above: Columbus Wall by Christenberry at the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia

Interview with William Christenberry by WFDD for his new show at Hemphill Fine Arts in Washington, which is up through August 1.

August 22, the Montgomery Museum of Art will put on exhibit “William Christenberry: Tracing a Line” a survey of works on paper.

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The recipe for blackberry bourbon barbecue sauce from Southern Gentleman’s Kitchen.

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above: from a visit to Pasaquan in 2012

Restoring the Art and Mystery of Pasaquan from Georgia Public Broadcasting

“Fort Benning is only a few miles from here,” says Fussell. “Kids would come down who were about to be deployed and get some advice about what their future might hold. He didn’t really forecast the future and all. He gave what amounts to life advice.”

On some mornings, Fussell says carloads of people including housewives, gamblers and bankers would be parked out front, waiting for Martin to get out of bed to tell their fortunes. “He called himself the poor man’s psychiatrist.”

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WLOX reports that:
The Ohr O’Keefe Museum in Biloxi is changing its mission and bringing new ideas. Instead of showcasing art, its board members are branching out to new ideas to keep the doors of the museum swinging open with visitors.

Is the takeaway that they’ll be doing exhibits that take up more of the entire campus from now on, like the new Katrina+10?

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above: lunch at Greenbrier Restaurant

Men’s Journal: Why 2015 is the Year of Alabama BBQ

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The Depths of Poverty in the Deep South (this was posted last week but much of the interviewing must have taken place last year as they were talking about the cotton harvest)

Uprooting the widespread alcoholism in Tchula will prove to be tough task, considering the extent to which it’s become normalized in day-to-day life. Police officers look the other way when people drink in public because, according to the mayor, they know most residents can’t afford the ticket for public intoxication, and the town can’t afford to pay the county jail to house an offender if an officer makes an arrest. Every afternoon, 18-wheelers from various beer companies pull into the gas stations on Route 49 like clockwork, restocking their inventory and providing a seemingly endless pipeline of intoxicants to the town. Even the calendar on the mayor’s desk, which contained all of her meetings and appointments, was a promotional Bud Light calendar.

After visiting Kenny and Ziggy’s for the first time last summer and seeing how they serve their matzah ball soup:

I was inspired with this idea, which we published in an issue of SJL last year — matzah ball soup bar.

Chicken, noodles, matzah balls, carrots, onions, celery, snap peas, mushrooms…

(of course there are the matzah balls, which I go ahead and put in individual bowls, then guests just add whatever of this they like)

We’ve all been to wedding pasta bars, cupcake bars, popcorn bars, mashed potato bars…so…

I set up a charoset bar at seder so people can make their own (because that way people can go extra raisin — or golden instead of the usual purple, and use pecans or pistachios or walnuts or cashews, do a white wine instead of red…that’s the whole idea.  A variety of honeys is interesting.  Plus then I don’t have to worry about putting nuts in a group charoset when someone might have an allergy or just plan preference against something or another).  Here’s one that I was in the midst of setting up.  And it’s just fun.:

Love it.

Shug’s birthday is coming up — last year, he had his birthday while we were in Louisiana and Texas, so he had a little party at camp there, then a party with his B’ham friends, then a small thing with just family,  I think altogether he had three or four birthday celebrations.  Since we were in Houston on his actual birthday, we I did a little research and decided we would visit Revival Market for some things from Fluff Bake Bar.

If you watched Top Chef Desserts, one of the contestants, Rebecca Masson, has Fluff Bake Bar and now (since last summer when we went to Revival) she has her own bakery at 314 Gray Street in midtown Houston.  We were able to get one of her ‘Veruca Salt’ creations — devil’s food cake, salted caramel buttercream, pretzel crunch and crunchy pearls, and another of her birthday cake ‘CUP|CAKES’: funfetti cake, vanilla buttercream, and cake crumbles.

Revival is so…well…everything has been impeccably sourced to have just one or two of the best / most interesting of whatever.  Do you have daydreams about starting this tiny little grocery with the best of everything? And you’re best friends with all the makers and growers? And it’s so super-cute yet super-sophisticated and the customers have incredible taste and it’s all Shop Around the Corner except instead of books it’s gourmet terrines?  Sorry, I got away from myself there.  But yes:

The ultra-cuties.

What we came here for — the Veruca Salt:

Macarons for me. And is that a whoopie pie?–something Av ate.

A one-person birthday cake.  This is kinda perfect.

I’m not certain if she is still making deliveries to Revival (check with her) — especially since her own bakery just opened this summer — it was all pretty amazing.

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Av grew up with Putt-Putt parties (my dream of dreams as a kid!). I don’t think there are even any Putt-Putts around anymore, so in the past we have always done gymnastics or pool parties.  Although…now many of the boys’ friends think they’re getting ‘too old’ to have a big party (too old at 6/7/8! What!?). In fact, this year Shug opted out of having a birthday party, instead to have this great trip later in the summer that he planned out with a brand-new hotel and everything.  It’s the same amount of money and it will be a great experience, so I’m okay with it, but have to admit there’s a part of me that’s going to miss all the kids getting together.

And I’ve decided after reading this: instead of doing goody bags ever again, like for Shugie’s parties since he isn’t “too old” yet, I’m going to make cards that let each guest know that we made a donation in their honor toward presents for JCRS kids or some other charity that they kids are in to.

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So on your birthday, you get to eat whatever your favorite thing is.  Shug’s favorite food is matzah ball soup, so where’s the best place in Houston for that?

*That’s* a menu.  And Av got to meet and talk with Ziggy, so he’s great:

And this is what gave me inspiration for the idea I had in the magazine: putting together a matzah ball bar — I’ll post that tomorrow…

Shug loved it!  When we went back this year, that’s what he ordered again.  But you know who makes the best matzah balls in the whole world?  Not me (even though we have a regular matzah ball soup night every week thanks to him).  His Mimi.  As it should be.

I had a blintz (nice):

Shugie had a hamburger and Av had this — brisket in the middle and a latke instead of bread. And that’s how you eat it. He loved it.

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The documentary about Jewish delis that Ziggy is in — Deli Man — is about to be released on DVD July 7. If you haven’t seen it at the closest film festival, it’s still on the circuit so it’s still possible to catch it that way.

My people!  Yessss:

Not all, but some of the sculptures — there are over 60 — at the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA:

Jaume Plensa, Overflow:

Lynn Chadwick, Sitting Figures (2)

Fernando Botero, Mother and Child

Ida Kohlmeyer, Rebus 3D-89-3

George Rodrigue, We Stand Together, 2005

Robert Indiana, LOVE, Red Blue

Deborah Butterfield, Restrained

Do-Ho Suh, Karma