It’s a Southern Thang

For decades, “Southern Cuisine” was firmly ensconced below the Mason Dixon line. Back in the day, if you wanted grits, sweet tea, or a Krispy Crème Donut, you had to jump in the Rambler and drive deep into Georgia or Mississippi or South Carolina to find it. Oh sure, you could always find fried chicken at a KFC north of the 46th parallel but you sure weren’t going to find anything else on the menu from Kentucky (Hot Brown or Burgoo anyone?). Then came the Creole Invasion of ’79 lead by Paul Prudomme and K Paul’s and the rest of the country began to truly appreciate the wonders of regional Southern cuisine. In 1982 Justin Wilson, Cajun chef and humorist, who, with his signature “I gar-ron-tee”, assured viewers of his PBS based “Louisiana Cooking” TV show that they would love every Southern dish he prepared. In 1996 the iconic southern donut brand Krispy Crème opened its first store north of the border in NYC on West 23rd street. Soon Krispy Crème stores were spreading like kudzu across the nation, to throngs of enthusiastic Crème-a-philes. In 2003, Krispy Kreme opened a store in Boston, the heart of Dunkin Donuts territory (the company is headquartered in Canton, MA). The store set a new opening day retail sales record with first day sales totaling $73,813.

Today chains of every size that feature Southern influenced cuisine (as well as any number of independents) abound. Those chains range in scope and scale from Top 500 national chains such as Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen (1,571 units) and Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen (578 units) to smaller regional chains such as Yat's, Johnny Rebs, Grandy's and Boudreaux's Cajun Kitchen. Even mainstream chains in other menu segments are tapping into Southern traditions.

• McDonalds - offers a Southern Style Chicken Biscuit, a Southern Style Chicken Sandwich, and Sweet Tea.
• Camille’s Sidewalk Café - is testing 6 new entrees including a Seared Pork Chop with a garlic fig sauce, Southern grits and roasted vegetables.
• Dunkin Donuts - introduced a Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Sandwich to its all day Oven Toasted menu. Dunkin cited findings from NPD that biscuits are the #1 carrier of QSR breakfast sandwiches.
• Hardee’s - introduced a fried bologna biscuit. It features a thick-cut slice of grilled Oscar Meyer bologna topped with American cheese and an egg on a biscuit. Brad Haley, the executive VP of marketing for CKE Restaurants, the parent of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. brands, remarked that fried bologna was popular through the South and that several of their Southern franchises had been asking them to try it. In tests, the fried bologna biscuit received one of the highest consumer research scores that the company has seen in a market test.

I have no doubt that other Southern traditions will be making their way on to mainstream menus. Some of the early favorites include:

• Fried Dill Pickles – legend has it that the first fried dill pickle slices were sold in the summer of 1963 by Bernell “Fatman” Austin at The Duchess Drive In, a small pink building, just across the highway from Atkins Pickle Plant, the pickle capital of Arkansas. Fried pickles already have a place on the menu on a number of independent restaurants. Coating can vary from batters to breadings.
• Creole Calas- a fried rice fritter, the calas is a New Orleans street food tradition. Years ago, each morning, the streets of the French Quarter would fill with the sounds of the Calas Woman, shouting “Belle Cala! Tout Chaud!” Calas are made with cooked rice, yeast, nutmeg, cinnamon and mace. The batter is deep fried and served with powdered sugar like beignets. Exotic rice such as Basmati or Jasmine could be used to add additional layers of flavor.
• Fried Okra – a staple on Southern menus, fried okra is a simple Southern classic that is prepared by slicing okra into small chunks and coating with buttermilk and corn meal. In terms of mainstream acceptance the dish might benefit from contemporizing along the lines of the classic Indian preparation for Bhindi Amchor, paper thin cut okra, seasoned and lightly floured.