Obviously processed…but enamored with this building in Eufaula (and its old Diet Rite sign). Pic I took in 2017.
This Week’s Various
above: a pic I took of one of the signs Mississippi put up in response to Katrina help in 2005
Bitter Southerner Season 2 Ep 1 podcast (in collab with GA Public Broadcasting): What We Talk About When We Talk About How We Talk on…how we tawk.
above: a Soundsuit I took a pic of from the Nick Cave exhibit at the Jepson in Savannah in 2017
There’s a 2011 Nick Cave Soundsuit in tomorrow’s MCA Chicago: Life Benefit Auction and the starting bid is $60k.
People are good. When only one man was working the kitchen at a B’ham-area Waffle House, this happened (from the WaPo):
“There was literally no one else working but him,” Crispo said in an interview with The Washington Post…
…“It was a transition so smooth I initially assumed it was a staff member returning to their shift,” Crispo wrote in an email he gave The Washington Post. “It wasn’t. It was a kind stranger. A man who answered the call. Bussed tables, did dishes, stacked plates.”
AD
…Soon after, Crispo said, a customer in a dress got up, walked behind the counter and started making coffee.
…Soon after, Crispo said, a customer in a dress got up, walked behind the counter and started making coffee.
“She figured out how to do the coffee maker. She was in a sequined dress and heels,” Crispo said. “She tried to take an order or two but then she went to busing tables. It was bizarre to see someone doing that in a sequined dress and heels.”
above: the Lemann building in Donaldsonville has been on the list for several years now
The Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation has published its 2019 list of most endangered places.
above: a pretty Greenberg smoked turkey (Sam Greenberg is so nice!) we had a few years ago
So according to Google Trends, the most-searched Thanksgiving recipe by state goes like this:
Alabama & Tennessee — sweet potato casserole
Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas — dressing
Georgia — honey baked ham (wha?)
Oklahoma: deviled eggs
Southern Interiors: Photographs from the Do Good Fund is on view at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art in Auburn.
In college, my HS boyfriend Jeff and I thought we were living the high life when we’d spend dining credits at the place on campus with cloth napkins. Um, this is next level.
above: just a slice of an an easy, one-layer red velvet I made one night with supper
Never had the red velvet cake at Bob Sykes (the pies are pretttttty good, though!), and apparently it is so amazing that it has its own carry-out line at the holidays. Here’s the surprising part: theirs has no cocoa. This is no criticism, but red velvet aficionados: isn’t cocoa a prerequisite (otherwise you’ve got a red, food-colored yellow cake)? That doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious. I bet it’s crazy good. In any case, good on Van Sykes for recognizing the value of Sharon Mayes, who the article reports has made the desserts so popular that he pays her a percentage of the dessert sales in addition to her regular earnings.
above: hahaha! Cal and me at Orbix. He does the real-artist part.
The Cal Breed: Signs of Lift exhibit is going on now at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts through January 12, 2020. In past years, I’ve gone with some friends to do glass blowing at his studio — Orbix Hot Glass — in NE Alabama, and (’tis the season) he offers ornament classes.
above: an upstairs dining room at Brennan’s
Hungry, Hungry Hippocampus: The Psychology of How We Eat at NPR:
“Food is not just nutrition that goes in your mouth or even pleasant sensations that go with it. It connects to your whole life, and it’s really a very important part of performing your culture and experiencing your culture.”
Love, love, love getting all your emails, and so glad to be posting again! xoxo!
Tatte, And Pies Forever
Oh yeah. I’m starting to get in full pie mode.
I saw a post at Food and Wine a few days ago about the Boston-based bakery, Tatte — that happens to be one of the first places that Suzanne (my Cambridge bestie — she works at Harvard) and I went when I visited her.
From F&W: The first time I walked into Tatte Bakery’s Harvard Square location, I’m pretty sure I gasped. The space was striking: stark black chalkboards adorning white-tiled walls, shelves stacked high with packs of candied nuts, pastries as pretty as the custom mosaic floor. Every aspect of the place felt deeply curated, homey, and warm. Stylized just enough to be beautiful but not intimidating, the bakery was unlike any I’d ever experienced.
Here are some pics I took of our visit to the Harvard Square Tatte:
Tatte in DC will open spring 2020.
I’m starting to figure out how many pies to make this year, and leading up to that is figuring out what flavors to make. Email me your flavors and let’s collab on ideas!
I also thought this piece about pies in bar form at F&W was interesting — it would be somewhat easier to get a bunch of servings done at one time, but considering that all but a handful that I make for family and friends goes to various places in Birmingham that feeds the homeless or the food insecure, my heart wants them to be traditional, not just cranked out for the sake of efficiency. Still, though, bars are fun.
I might try that for some kind of low-key Friendsgiving one evening with people just coming in and out over the course of a few hours rather than having a set “please arrive at 7p” kind of thing. Lots of fall-inspired cocktails and savory bites set on platters everywhere. And dessert…I mean, chocolate-espresso pie bars? Yasssss.
Since I love pie, thank so many of you for sending me fun pie things all the time (and I’m a little behind on answering DFK emails since I started posting again, but I’m getting there! Thank you!). Really nice is this one of a bakery in Toronto called Lamanna’s that does a dessert pizza that *has little pieces of pie on it*. And ohmystars THIS isn’t even pie but gets my full endorsement. COOKIE.
Really considering adding this to the repertoire: creme brulee pie from the NYT
More pie talk as we get closer to Thanksgiving. Loving hearing from all of you! xoxo!
Empty Barber Shop Series: Courthouse Square
Found in the courthouse square in Canton, Mississippi
Avalon, Tesla, And a Million Dollar McLaren
We had an amazing weekend in Atlanta. It was part of Shugie’s birthday, and he loves
- a/ great restaurants, which, ha. We really didn’t go anywhere great, and the most interesting thing we did was get carry-out from BurgerIM (see?) an Israeli hamburger chain (due to wanting to be in the room for the Bama-LSU game). The boys said the hamburger tasted like Five Guys, so pretty meh to them, but I had a grilled chicken which was delish.
- b/ great hotels, and while we didn’t stay at his fave, the Atlanta Ritz, we did stay at an Autograph Collection, which had more character than your garden variety Marriott.
- c/ cars, and he totally scored in that regard
We checked in Friday evening at the Hotel at Avalon, in Alpharetta. Avalon, as it turns out, is a shopping village including valet service, with the usuals (Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, etc) but also Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Sundance, a pretty big Apple store
— and because I’m always trying to get that good-Mommy gold star, a Tesla dealership. Or Tesla shop? Or Tesla place-where-they-have-a-three-cars and you-can-place-an-order?
The people there are super nice. Shug was spending quality time at Apple, and Shugie and I went over to look at our choices. I’m open to getting a Tesla at some point, but really would like to wait until the battery will allow more output in miles. I like driving in the middle of nowhere and not have to really consider tethering myself to a radius involving a 240v outlet. Shugie on the other hand, is just in love with cars and they were so kind in showing him how to open the door (make an ‘L’ shape with your hand, press down on one side), encouraging him to get behind the wheel, answer his questions, and we talked colors and wood trim. I was starting to come around by the time it was time to go.
A cousin of ours has a couple of Teslas and really enjoys them, and maybe Shugie will get one when it’s time.
We also drove over to the Lamborghini dealership. They were incredibly nice and helpful there, too. I joked to the salesman that our family “are merely Lexus drivers” (but let’s not forget I drove a series of junky cars in college which included a LeBaron with a blown head gasket that was eventually also a car-b-que, a Buick sporting a lovely primer & Bondo combination, and okay another Buick that had such substantial electrical problems that I was out an alternator every couple of months). Anyway, we had a good laugh about it — I didn’t want him to think we were truly in the market for a $100k+ car — but explained how much Shugie loves next-level cars, and we were encouraged to look at everything, ask any questions, etc.
Shugie would really like to get some sort of internship at Lamborghini in college, and in the next couple of years take a factory tour, and we were even told who to get in contact with in Atlanta and Italy to get that scheduled when we’re ready. Just so, so, so nice and helpful.
Motorcars of Atlanta also stocks Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, McLaren…
And here is a $1M McLaren that is truly a work of art
Our stay was at the Hotel at Avalon, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Very pretty, and we were within super-easy walking distance to all the shops and the theater there. The boys were very happy to wear the robes provided. We’ll definitely consider staying here again.
Ummm I ordinarily wouldn’t share this pic but the library wallpaper here is something else:
Oh! Marriott is in the midst of a roll-out of bulk toiletries rather than the little individual bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc. and here, they were stocked with fabulous Molton Brown in Indian Cress for hair, and body wash and lotion in Orange & Bergamot. Love.
This Week’s Various
Cullman County, Alabama longhorns.
Super-short various this week for whatever reason. xoxo!
Lowland Kids: Growing up on a Disappearing Island about Isle de Jean Charles in Louisiana showed at this year’s SXSW and can be viewed in its entirety here. From the HuffPo piece:
As a result of rising sea levels, coastal erosion and hurricanes, Isle de Jean Charles is starting to disappear. Since 1955, the 22,000-acre island has lost roughly 98% of its land, and the future looks bleak. Some estimates predict it will be fully submerged under water in five to 25 years. It’s why the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved a $48 million federal grant ― the first of its kind ― to relocate the community, primarily Native Americans, to higher ground by 2024. As part of the voluntary resettlement project, Louisiana is developing a new area about 40 miles northwest of the island on some 515 acres of land.
On view in Times Square, Kehinde Wiley’s 27′-tall bronze ‘Rumors of War’ in the CSA-general-atop-warhorse genre (except this time, not) has been acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. It’s slated to be installed permanently at the VMFA on December 10. The piece was purchased via Sean Kelly Gallery in NY. From the press release:
Sean Kelly states, “Kehinde’s work has always sought to address the historical imbalance of the representation and depiction of the black body in art historical and cultural contexts. Rumors of War extends that investigation into the sculptural realm with his largest three-dimensional work to date. The work deals head-on with the history of racially divisive and provocative Confederate monuments which venerate the American Civil War.”
How Three Guys from Houston are Cooking up a Revolution in Texas Barbecue by Brett Martin at Smithsonian:
“We don’t want to be a novelty.” They have added their distinctively Asian items slowly. A sensational Vietnamese banh mi—stuffed with pickled vegetables, chicken liver pâté and Hoang’s smoked turkey breast. That loamy, tingling Thai green curry boudin, which is a profound tribute to both Southeast Asia and Cajun Country. A frequent special of fried rice made with leftover nuggets of smoky brisket. “It’s not really Chinese. It’s not Vietnamese. It’s just fried rice,” says Robin.
Jack Daniels Tennessee Apple is a thing.
“There is a misconception that just because we come from a different background, we can’t like the same things other Americans like,” Ms. Kucher added. “But I’ve been in America for so long. It’s hard not to adapt to the culture. Football is a big part of American culture.”
It has been announced that the new 183528 sqft Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will open Fall 2020.
Popular Photography with William Christenberry, an unlikely icon of Southern photography and the Ogden exhibit going on now
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