Five states to visit for a true taste of the Deep South

The delicious Deep South is justly renowned for its sumptuous, stick-to-your-ribs dishes. Whether you’re dining on succulent, southern fried chicken or maddeningly moreish Mississippi mud pie, you’ll know you’re not in the land of bland and you’ll be coming back for more.

But a road trip across the Deep South – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, to name a few – is more than a culinary odyssey. It is an exploration of the region’s history and identity, a journey into its soul.

The food of the South, much like its music, tells the tumultuous but fascinating story of these southern states, which have been shaped by Native Americans, European colonisers, Acadian refugees and African slaves, among others. These diverse ethnic groups have all left their mark on the region’s cuisine.

Indigenous recipes remain a staple in some states, particularly Georgia, which is famous for its grits – a cornmeal porridge that originated with Native Americans. This modest dish is often served at breakfast alongside bacon and eggs (European accoutrements that came later) or with shrimp.

Acadians – shortened to “Cajuns” – also exert a heavy influence on the region, particularly in Louisiana, a former French and Spanish colony where they settled after being pushed out of Canada by the British. Their culinary traditions live on in must-try dishes such as boudin (Cajun sausage), étouffée (spicy seafood stew) and crawfish (freshwater shellfish).

The influence of African slaves cannot be overstated. Cooking was one of the few areas in which they could express themselves – music being another – and this pseudo-freedom was used to create delicious soul food with whatever ingredients they could find.

Their hearty dishes remain staples throughout the Deep South: highlights include shrimp and red rice, fried okra and pulled pork, though the list invariably goes on.

Caught along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean coastlines, shellfish also plays a starring role in the region’s cuisine. Barbecuing, meanwhile, is almost a religion, particularly in Georgia and South Carolina, which even has its own barbecue trail.

Do save room for dessert, which is one of Alabama’s specialities: immortalised in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the state’s legendary lane cake is one of many reasons why visitors to the Deep South will soon be loosening their belts.

South Carolina

The smallest state in the Deep South is punching well above its weight in the culinary stakes and epicureans are all aflutter about the South Carolinian culinary scene.

As you might expect from a state that opens on to the Atlantic Ocean, seafood features heavily on local menus – particularly in historic Charleston, the state’s largest city, where the day’s catch dictates local menus. If there’s one dish that typifies the state, it’s she-crab soup. Similar to bisque, this regional speciality is made with Atlantic blue crab, cream, crab roe and a soupçon of dry sherry. Its name is a reference to the roe of the female crab.

One of the undisputed champions of this local speciality is Charleston Crab House, where diners can slurp the soup on a rooftop terrace that offers fine views of the city’s antebellum architecture.

Another local speciality is shrimp, which South Carolinians like one of two ways, either with buttery grits (cornmeal porridge) or in Frogmore stew, a casserole containing corn, sausage and red-skin potatoes.

Claiming to be the oldest independent restaurant in Charleston, Poogan’s Porch is famed for its shrimp and grits. Likewise Hudson’s Seafood House on Hilton Head Island, where it is served with live music.

Do you have eyes bigger than your belly? Then the island’s wildlife-rich nature reserves, such as Pinckney Island or Audubon Newhall, are the perfect places to walk off those extra calories.

Time for tea

In the early years of America’s settlement, the French planted tea just outside Charleston, South Carolina. Today those leaves belong to the Charleston Tea Plantation, which turns them into one of South Carolina’s most refreshing libations: iced tea.

You will be drinking plenty of that (and local beers, we suspect) if you follow the South Carolina Barbecue Trail, which joins the dots between some of the state’s very best barbecue restaurants. The trail exists to show how seriously South Carolinians take flame grilling.

South Carolina is also serious about peaches – in this case sweet, juicy and tree-ripened. In the town of Gaffney there’s a famous water tower shaped like a giant peach, built to honour the region’s fruit farmers, which once featured in an episode of House of Cards.

Gaffney also hosts the annual South Carolina Peach Festival, when prizes are given to residents deemed to have cooked the best peach desserts. It’s an all-American jamboree that provides a taste of local life in more ways than one.

Mississippi

Did you know that the Mississippi town Belzoni is the self-proclaimed “catfish capital of the world”? Thought not. It even puts on an annual jamboree to honour its freshwater friends.

Now in its 44th year, the World Catfish Festival has become a major draw for tourists in the Mississippi Delta. It also features a Little Miss Catfish Pageant, a Miss Catfish Pageant and a catfish-eating competition among other events.

Can’t make it? Then fear not, because catfish is on the menu throughout the state, where it regularly appears in the names of local eateries (Aunt Jenny’s Catfish Restaurant in Ocean Springs and Rocky Creek Catfish Cottage in Lucedale being notable examples).

Purists looking to sample the battered and deep-fried fish, though, should probably head to the source, Belzoni, where Alison’s, The Lunch Basket and Varsity Restaurant are among the outlets vying for top honours.

There’s more to Mississippian cuisine than catfish, though. This is, after all, one of the birthplaces of soul food, which originated on the plantations. After periods of Spanish, French and British rule, Mississippi became a centre for the US cotton industry and had an enormous slave population. These bondservants had little choice when it came to ingredients but managed to find inventive ways of using leftovers to make hearty dishes that warmed the soul.

Mud in your eye

The staple with which we’re all familiar is fried chicken, a dish at which myriad Mississippi restaurants proclaim to be the best. The Two Sisters Kitchen in Jackson has a stake to the claim, having won awards for its fried chicken.

Another Jackson institution is the Mayflower Cafe, which featured in the Civil Rights Movement-era film The Help. Founded in 1935, the lauded restaurant specialises in another state staple: seafood – namely oysters, shrimp and crabs.

And to finish, what else other than Mississippi mud pie, so named because of its resemblance to the banks of the Mississippi River? The recipe for this decadent dessert differs in almost every household, but broadly consists of a chocolate brownie-like cake, chocolate sauce and pecan nuts. The Chimneys in Gulfport is well known for its take on this classic, which it calls Mississippi Mud Cake.

Louisiana

A one-time French colony that briefly turned Spanish, the Pelican State was also settled by Acadian refugees and African slaves, a mix that made Louisiana one of the great melting pots of the USA.

Creole culture is particularly strong in Louisiana, where music and food are woven into the fabric of local life. No more so than in New Orleans, a sultry city: expect wild nights of jazz, cocktails and Creole cuisine – and expect to enjoy every minute.

Louisiana’s long coastline exerts a heavy influence on local cooking. Shrimp, crawfish and oysters are de rigueur on dinner tables across the state. Arnaud’s fine-dining restaurant in New Orleans has a reputation for its shellfish dishes and is credited with inventing Bienville oysters (oysters baked with shrimp, mushrooms, peppers, sherry, butter, parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs).

Mix and match

Crawfish étouffée is another state speciality and one with Acadian roots. The spicy Cajun stew is typically served over rice. Bon Ton Cafe in New Orleans is lauded for its étouffée, though it has brought other Cajun dishes to prominence, including broiled speckled trout.

Perhaps the most well-known Louisianan dish, though, is jambalaya, which epitomises the state’s exotic ethnic mix. Inspired by Spanish and French cuisine, with Acadian and African influences, this spicy stew consists of rice, meat and vegetables, and is cooked in one pot. It’s reminiscent of paella, but remains uniquely Louisianan.

From rustic roadside cafés to fine-dining restaurants, jambalaya is menu mainstay across the state. Mother’s Restaurant and Coop’s Place in New Orleans are two eateries renowned for jambalaya; for a fancy twist on the classic, though, book in at GW Fins, one of the city’s top-rated dining spots.

If you’re in Baton Rouge, the state capital, try one of its Jambalaya Shoppe outlets, which serve huge portions to much acclaim.

Louisiana also lays claim to its own sandwich: po’boys seems to describe pretty much any fried fish or meat stuffed into a baguette. Killer PoBoys, Johnny’s Po-Boys and Domilise’s Po-Boy are among the New Orleans establishments battling it out to serve the best.

Alabama

Alabama’s nascent dining scene was elevated to legendary status recently when TV chef Andrew Zimmern proclaimed

Birmingham to be the “hottest small food city in America”. This wasn’t news to diners familiar with the city but his comments have piqued interest beyond the state lines. Birmingham’s ascent to gastronomic greatness has been a collaborative effort with pioneering chefs and producers setting the stage for a mini culinary revolution.

One restaurant to be name-checked is Highlands Bar & Grill, where chef-owner Frank Stitt and pastry chef Dolester Miles recently won national awards for their thoughtful but unpretentious food.

The restaurant remains true to its southern roots (Creole influences abound and seafood features prominently) but it borrows from Europe’s larder with impressive results. If triggerfish served with ragout, rattlesnake beans, tomato, garlic and basil doesn’t make your mouth water then nothing will.

Cakes and ale

It’s almost a cliché nowadays to talk about craft beer but there are some exciting breweries in Alabama. Straight to Ale in Huntsville is one of them. Since opening a decade ago it has become one of the state’s best-known breweries, though it remains true to its artisan roots.

Like neighbouring Mississippi, Alabama was known for its cotton plantations and slave trade. Soul food, therefore, features heavily on local menus. Dishes to look out for include pulled pork, skillet cornbread and pimento cheese, known locally as “the caviar of the South”.

Montgomery, the state capital, has many soul food restaurants to speak of: Simply Southern Cafe, Mrs B’s Home Cooking and A Touch of Soul Cafe are local favourites.

To feed your mind, however, take a tour of the city’s Civil Rights Movement sites, including Martin Luther King Jr’s church, the location of Rosa Parks’ arrest and the capitol building, destination of the epoch-defining Selma March.

Montgomery was, of course, also where Atticus went to read law in To Kill a Mockingbird, which alluded to Alabama’s sweet tooth when it referenced the beloved lane cake. This bourbon-spiked pecan, raisin and coconut dessert is one of many sweet treats – other favourites are pecan pie and banana pudding.

Georgia

An item of trivia: in Gainesville, Georgia it’s illegal to eat fried chicken with anything but your hands. Oddly enough this law is actually enforced: the last known violator was the late Ginny Dietrick, who was arrested on her 91st birthday for eating the local speciality with a knife and fork.

We know you’re thinking: “Are you for real?” And the answer is no; because while this law does apparently appear on local statute books, its addition was merely a marketing ploy to promote Gainesville as the “poultry capital ~ of the world” (only in America). Dietrick, therefore, did not have to spend her birthday behind bars – in fact she was the victim, having been embroiled in an elaborate PR stunt.

As you might expect from a place where it could be illegal to eat fried chicken with cutlery, Georgia is a destination that takes its food very seriously. The state’s culinary roots can be traced back to the Native Americans and, as with neighbouring states, Georgia is devoted to the southern staple of grits. This popular, humble cornmeal porridge is how many Georgians start the day.

Heading to Atlanta? Then swing by the Flying Biscuit Cafe, which is one of the best places to try grits locally. Almost completely destroyed during the Civil War, Atlanta (the birthplace, incidentally, of Martin Luther King Jr, REM and Coca-Cola) has a cosmopolitan dining scene and takes many of its culinary cues from overseas.

Thrill of the grill

The fact that local celebrity chef, Kevin Gillespie, felt bold enough to open a Brazilian-Chinese restaurant in the city is indicative of the state capital’s broad-minded ethos. Dubbed Gunshow, the eatery is located in the trendy Glenwood Park neighbourhood and is regularly packed with diners.

Barbecuing is considered a competitive sport throughout Georgia and across the state there are numerous celebrations dedicated to flame-grilled food, including the annual Atlanta BBQ Festival, which also serves up live music and local beer.

Georgia is also renowned for producing the three Ps: pecans, peanuts and peaches (hence the nickname, Peach State). If you find yourself driving through Jackson, Georgia, pull over at Buckner’s Family Restaurant, which serves what many claim to be the best peach cobbler in the state.

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