The All Star Southern Special

I have been eating at Waffle House all my life. One the earliest memories of my childhood was my dad and I eating breakfast at Waffle House when I was three or four years old. My Dad would always order a large bowl of grits and I would get a waffle and some bacon.

Many people believe that Waffle House is a trashy, southern joint, but it has the cheapest and the best tasting breakfast in towns in twenty-five states. Most Americans don't want to pay over ten dollars for a waffle, eggs, bacon, grits, and toast, which is why Waffle House provides their customers with the All-Star breakfast for $7.

The idea of fast food has taken on in the south as many fast food businesses were founded and or have corporate offices in this region. Chick Fil-A, Zaxbys, Arby's, Bojangles, Waffle House and Burger King are just a few to name. Three of the six I mentioned (Chick Fil-A, Zaxby's, Waffle House) were founded in Georgia and Arby's has a corporate office in Sandy Springs. The South takes pride in their deep fried delicacies, tasty fixings, and grits, which is why these restaurants have taken on down here.

A southern breakfast is hard to beat and I believe Waffle House provides a great southern meal for its customers. The idea of having a 24 hour breakfast place is appealing to the south because of the pride southerners take in their breakfast. The 24 hour service also gives the customers the option to eat breakfast at anytime of the day, even for a midnight snack.Grits definitely are a delicacy and a must for a true southern breakfast. The best way I can show that grits are only a southern treat like sweet tea, is in the movie My Cousin Vinny (1:30). The northerners, or Yankees, are in the dark until they try some homemade grits. Later on in this movie, on of the witnesses of the murder claims that only respectable southerners make homemade grits. Some northerners may have had some instant grits, but they cannot judge until they have tried the real thing.

Good Cookin' in the South

Honestly, I haven’t been to a Waffle House in years. However, I would definitely agree that many of its patrons are there for the experience and atmosphere (or lack thereof) rather than the cooking, which can sometimes leave a bit to be desired. I would even argue that sometimes folks go there just an excuse to not have to open the refrigerator door at 2AM. I’ve been guilty of this on more than one occasion.

So why do Southerners enjoy occasionally eating breakfast for a meal other than, err, breakfast? Well, take this with good humor, but perhaps it’s because Southerners actually know how to prepare a hearty and tasty breakfast meal. Really, who wants to eat bagels and cereal for dinner. It’s just no good, especially not for dinner. On the other hand, I’ll take eggs, grits (hold the gravy), and sausage any day - or time - of the week.

I would speculate also that the regional differences in meals are rooted in the days where you ate what you grew. In the days before refrigeration and rapid transit, there was no feasible method for obtaining non-native foods in a particular region. Hence, a certain culture develops around the locally available foods. Grits, which are made from corn meal, are a good example of this. These regional differences are also closely related to immigration patterns. According to this Wikipedia Article, Southern cuisine was derived from certain British traditions as well as from Southeastern Native Americans’ traditional foods and traditions.

WaHo

Waffle What?

First and foremost, I too have seen the great trend of breakfast for dinner that is so common in the south. I wish I knew why it seems to be occurring everywhere. In reality, I think it is just one of those things that evolved from the laid back perception of the south. More and more people saw the ideal southern breakfast foods and fell in love. Warm biscuits, hot grits, and old-style hash browns are just breakfast comfort food.

Without a doubt in my mind, I believe that Waffle House greatly influences the south. The south was composed of many different people of European descent and African slaves. This melding of flavors greatly helped in creating a culinary identity which is defining of the south. It is this identity and the association with other cultural aspects of the south that create the overall southern identity. For this reason, Waffle House is something that is embedded into southern culture. Another reason why Waffle House influences the south is because of the modern associations. Yes the food is not great, but it is cheap. It is the place to go at 2:00 A.M. when you're starving. I think comedian Jim Gaffigan puts it well...

A specific southern food that has come to affect southern culture is collard greens. Collard greens were around during prehistoric times, but the African slaves were the first to bring collard green to the south. Like a lot of the great southern delicacies, collard greens and the way they are cooked came into existence because African slaves were forced to feed themselves and their families using only the leftovers from the master. Families all across the south cook and eat collard greens with many meals, and they do so because it has become a southern staple which has a rich taste and rich history.

Topic 2: Looking at the South Through its Food

The first Waffle House restaurant opened in 1955 in Avondale, Georgia and there are now 1,500 Waffle Houses. The first time that I came to Atlanta we drove by four Waffle Houses within a very short proximity of each other, and it seemed to me that they were just as common as Dunkin Donuts is where I am from (Massachusetts). All of my friends in Atlanta were extremely surprised that I have not heard of nor been to a Waffle house before and my sorority sisters decided that it would be a better experience for me to go to the Waffle House instead of a nice restaurant on my initiation night. When we were there, I heard many stories about experiences at the Waffle House and it seemed like it had become a place where people who live in the south go to for the experience and not for the mediocre food. Waffle House and the idea of eating breakfast all day from my experience seems very common. Even the Georgia Tech dining hall serves breakfast for lunch or dinner during the week. Why do you think that this has become so common in the South as opposed to any other place in America? Do you feel that this restaurant chain influences the Southern culture? How does food play a role in the culture and history of a place? Give examples of specific type of food in the south, its history, and its effect on the southern culture.

A Special Place in Augusta

The Augusta National - a place of mystique and wonder for golf lovers and the yearly host of the world-renowned Masters Tournament - is more than a mere symbol of the game of golf and those who cherish the sport. The Augusta National is a hallmark of the South and epitomizes the values, finesse, and etiquette of the old South.

Strolling down Magnolia Lane toward the clubhouse, you are transported to a different time and place, from the South of the modern era, with its bustling cities and traffic, offices and factories, and malls and supermarkets, to an exclusive men’s club with all the best attributes of the old South at its very heart. While living, playing, and watching the game which the club’s members hold so dear, they dutifully exhibit the unbreakable codes of etiquette, honor, and basic hospitality which make the club uniquely Southern. While the rest of the world flies by, the Augusta National makes a subtle statement about the core values of old which are sometimes forgotten in the region today.

My grandfather was a member of the Augusta National, and as you might expect, he absolutely loved the game of golf. Originally from the wild western state of Montana, he also loved the traditions associated with the South and with the club. From the club’s continued insistence to remain a men’s only club - well within their rights as a private club - to their classic stance on continuing to use traditional, rather than digital, leader boards, the club maintains important traditions and values of old. For anyone who has ever been to the Masters tournament, you know what I mean when I say that Southern Hospitality is alive and well in Augusta. However, at the same time, strict codes of conduct are enforced. If you were to sneak in a cell phone or a camera at the Masters and interrupt a player’s thought process, you would likely be escorted from the grounds by a Pinkerton and have your badges revoked in perpetuity. Running, lying down, and a plethora of other behaviors are strictly prohibited on the grounds as well.

The layout of the course and the architecture are also very reminiscent of the old plantations of the South. The wonderful magnolias, azaleas, and even the pine trees make the course a special place, as the groundskeepers and crews can attest. And while there are more than a few aspects of our Southern heritage that are downright shameful, somehow, the best of the our history seems to survive through this golf course. This is a representation of the old South; this is the Augusta National.

As an aside, I think it’s important for all of you Techies to know that Bobby Jones graduated from none other than GA Tech in 1922 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He was also the President of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at GT.

[Image c/o http://www.legacygolfart.com/]

The Musical Culture of the South

The artifact that that offers a representation of the South is the song, “Walking in Memphis” by Marc Cohen. Marc Cohen grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and wrote this song after his first visit to Memphis. He was amazed by the way that the southern culture was expressed through music. This song was released in 1991 when Beal Street was full of restaurants and bars that were based on the Blues culture which was created by African-American community. He refers to Sun Records where many famous rock and blues songs were recorded.

Marc Cohen introduces a representation of the South through his own travel experiences. Since I have never lived in the South before, all of my opinions about how the South is like are based solely on movies, songs, and places that I have traveled to. Through my experiences, I think that this song’s representation is accurate. Beal Street is still a popular street where the culture of the Blues is preserved. I first heard this song two years ago when I was traveling through several southern states on a school trip. I visited Beal Street and Elvis’s house, and this song describes the emotion, history and culture in these places exactly as I felt when I was there. Marc Cohen mentions W.C Handy and Elvis Presley who are both famous and important figures in the musical part of the southern culture. The Blues represent the struggles many African American’s faced in the early history of the South. Through my studies at school I have learned that African Americans greatly influenced the way that the South is today and it is important to look at the history to understand what the South is about. Furthermore, the part of the song where someone asks Marc Cohen, "‘Tell me are you a Christian child?’ And I said ‘Ma'am I am tonight’” is significant because it represents the South as a religious place. I think that this is accurate in many places in the South. I lived in Massachusetts before I came to college and I noticed that the Church is a bigger part of families’ everyday life in the South than it is in many places in the North. This song represents the South as a spiritual, calm, and religious place full of inspiration.

ten hole diatonic

I have lived my entire life in Georgia, while my father's entire family is either straight from Italy or New "Joisey" and my mother grew up in Michigan, but has had family roots in America for hundreds of years, which, as far as I'm concerned, makes me a...nonperson. I don't have an accent (of any sort), and don't consider myself "Southern" culturally. Yes, I grew up here geographically, but I was raised in the comfortable bubble of suburbia, sheltered from the polarized mindset of those from overcrowded cities or sparse countrysides. I went to school with Blacks, whites, asians, weird European kids, etc, so I was exposed to a little of everything. I feel like this has made me more adaptable, as opposed to someone who grew up in either extreme. And while I feel inclined to be proud of this "cultural homogenization," I am simultaneously sad that I am a nonperson, that I don't associate with a unique culture.
Recently, a good, long-time friend and I were in quite the discourse about how much we hated visiting our northern cousins, who seem to take joy in poking fun at us "Southerners" and how racist and stupid we are. They have this delusional image in their heads about how we all sit on our front porches with shotguns, adorned in dirty suspenders, chatting about the weather and talkin' all slow like. This upset me, not because I associate with the South, but because I don't associate with the South. I don't know much about it's varied and dynamic cultures.
Another good friend of mine goes to LSU and was telling me about the culture there, and it just seemed so fascinating to me. For some reason I conjured up the image of some blues musician playing the harmonica in front of a seafood restaurant serving gumbo (which, apparently, is more or less accurate). And for whatever reason, I became really interested in the Harmonica and Blues musicians.
This year for Christmas I didn't ask for Modern Warfare 2, or the shiniest new iPod, I asked for a harmonica. A cheap, little ten hole diatonic harmonica. My musical abilities, which rival that of a deaf hamster, would typically persuade me otherwise from an endeavor, but I couldn't resist. The pocket-sized instrument holds so many cultural implications, and has so much history. The harmonica found its way over to the US through Austrian immigrants in the 19th century. It exploded in popularity and before anyone knew it, Abe Lincoln had one in his pocket, soldiers carried them during the Civil War, even Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid played them. Because the harmonica was cheap to manufacture and was relatively new (compare it to a violin for example) it was associated with the lower class. The harmonica then found its way up to black blues musicians in St. Louis and Chicago, and even further north. "Little Walter" revolutionized the instrument by amplifying it through a microphone, and other blues musicians began to experiment with its effects and abilities, further ingraining the little reed instrument more and more of as an icon for that style of music.
The harmonica really does offer a good representation of the South. The harmonica is linked to the Blues, which is linked to the South. Culturally, the music derives from people of African American descent in the Deep South, and is expressive of their struggles and adversity they faced in early American history. The harmonica is such a simple, cheap instrument, making it appealing to poor Blacks growing up in the post-civil was era. It inevitably found its way into the Blues culture and has rooted itself in the history and culture here; and is nigh impossible to separate. The harmonica is a perfect representation of southern culture because it espouses a rich history and dynamic influences which persevere today.

Sipp'n Sweet Tea

My entire family lives in the south, and they have been ever since my grandfather brought our family here in the 70's. Being Indian, I always felt that I was only southern because it was where I was born and raised. On top of that, I always thought of the south as the place depicted in movies. It is a quiet and calm place, and in some cases it is a little backwards and underdeveloped. It took a long time for me to see that I was wrong. The south has a rich history and an unpredictable future. It is filled with bustling cities and scenery that I believe not even the best poets can describe. The south is a region unlike any other, and I saw this all through my absolute favorite drink, sweet tea.

Yes, it was a simple and delicious glass of sweet tea that made me see what the south actually was. The scene above is one that I used to associate with the south. A nice porch with a rocking chair and of course a tall glass of ice cold sweet tea. This image if looked at shows the "simplicity" of the south, but in reality it shows that the south is anything but simple. Everything that I used to associate with the south actually contains a rich and complex history. Even sweet tea has a history that should not be taken lightly.

I looked into the history and stumbled upon a timeline that describes the major points in the history of sweet tea. I can see from this timeline that sweet tea in it of itself may be simple, but like many other things has become part of what the south is known for because of its rich history. Yes, somewhere down the line sweet tea was invented, but that was not the end of it. Sweet tea became part of the south because it continued to be assimilated into what the majority of people believed the south to be. The south is something that varies from person to person. I used to associate myself with the physical region of the south. That is why I was unable to move past these fake notions of what the south truly is. The south is not a finite place. The south is the history I choose to understand and remember. In my south, we have sweet tea, soul food, big cities, small towns, breathtaking scenery, and a melting pot of different kinds of people. What's in your south?

Seersucker Suits... for the Southern Gentlemen

When one thinks about the south and summer, the word hot comes to mind. In todays culture, business people dress very casually compared to the days of the early and mid 1900's, but most working environments still encourage employees to wear the classic suit. The image to the left is a seersucker suit worn by many

southern businessmen, especially Charleston, in the scorching spring and summer months. I target Charleston because I lived there the past three years and have seen where this style thrives. Last year for my graduation, students were encouraged to wear the seersucker suit to continue a tradition. Walking down King, Meeting, or Broad Streets on Sunday through Friday on a warm day, one would see these suits, especially after church on a Sunday.

It is typically white and blue striped, but also comes in other colors. The material is very light and doesn't absorb the sun like a dark suit does. The suit is sometimes seen in other parts of the country, but it is not common. Over the past few summers, I've taken trips to big cities like San Francisco, Chicago, Phoenix, and Louisville, and I have not seen one seersucker suit.

The seersucker shows that the south has adapted to its climate with a suit that is comfortable and classy. Seersucker originated in the Middle East and India and spread west through trade. It took on in warm climates of the south and is now the typical southern "fratty" fashion. It comes out in the late spring, summer, and early fall seasons or whenever the humid and sticky weather blows in. These suits are a great representation of the Charleston businessman, but also many other southern cities.

Source: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/4/11/suck-it-seersucker-now-that-easter/

Link to image hyperlinked

Topic 1 - Representation of the South

This week's topic should identify an artifact which provides a representation of the South or of Southern identity in general. Artifacts may include virtual or tangible objects - from a video or image to a newspaper article, building, or published work.

It is important to recognize that this artifact should not simply be generally representative of the South, but rather should offer a particular representation of the South.

[This topic was introduced by Dr. Hoefer]