Snacking State-by-State: Georgia III - The Many Uses of Coca-Cola

Peaches and peanuts aside, by far Georgia's biggest export is Coca-Cola. First made in Atlanta in 1886, Coke is now bottled all over the world. Is it really any surprise that the Coca-Cola corporation has not just a handful but an entire collection of recipes from enterprising Southern and other'n cooks (not to mention all those chefs in the Coca-Cola test kitchens) using Coke products as ingredients in cooking.

Official Name: State of Georgia
State Nicknames: The Peach State, Empire State of the South
Admission to the US: January 2, 1788 (#4)
Capital: Atlanta (largest city)
Other Important Cities: Augusta (2nd largest), Savannah (4th largest), Columbus (3rd largest)
Region: South, Deep South, Lowcountry (specifically along the coast); South Atlantic (US Census)
RAFT Nations: Cornbread & BBQ, Crabcake, Gumbo
Bordered by: Alabama (west), Tennessee & North Carolina (north), South Carolina (northeast), Atlantic Ocean (east), Florida (south)
Official State Foods and Edible Things: grits (official state prepared food), peach (fruit), Vidalia onion (vegetable)
Some Famous & Typical Foods: again, grits, peaches and Vidalia onions, among many other things, among them: Coca-Cola, boiled peanuts, pecans, pralines, okra, and other typical foods of the Deep South

Elizabeth Candler Graham, direct descendant of Coke founder Asa Candler co-authored the Classic Cooking with Coca-Cola cookbook with Ralph Roberts in a quest to find some recipes, hoping to find 20 or 30.

As the research progressed, we found to our pleasant surprise that in the over one hundred years of its existence, Coca-Cola has inspired a lot of recipes. So instead of just a few, we found literally hundreds of recipes using Coca-Cola or other products of The Coca-Cola Company. In fact, we found ourselves with too many recipes and were forced to leave out some of the lesser ones. [Candler Graham and Roberts 1998, p. 4]

I almost considered making an entire meal using Coke as an ingredient, but stuck with an entrée and a side instead. These may have been two of the rejects from the book, though I had great success with one of them.

The recipes: Fruited Coca-Cola Pork Chops with Caramelized Sweet Onions

To make both recipes, you need the following.


The entrée: Fruited Pork Chops

* shoulder or loin pork chops (4 about 1/2" thick - I got a package of 5 leaner, skinnier ones, which I now somewhat regret as I will explain below)
* salt, pepper and ground ginger (got them all)
* one apple and one lemon or orange (each less than a dollar - for the citrus I went ahead and used a tangelo instead, with little change)
* 1/2 cup Classic Coca-Cola (you can get the corn syrupy stuff, or splurge and get a bottle of the Mexican stuff with real sugar for about $1.50. Not too easy to find, but you can get it at Wegman's or Eddie's of Roland Park. Drink whatever you don't use)
* brown sugar and corn starch (got 'em)


Quickly brown the pork chops in a greaseless pan, then sprinkle them the salt, pepper and ginger, set them in your baking dish, and add the following: an apple slice on top of each pork chop, a citrus fruit slice on top of each apple slice, brown sugar over each pork chop, and Coca-Cola around the pork chops.

Like so.

Bake for about 45 minutes at 350° (the thinness of my pork chops probably necessitated a shorter baking time, which I did not consider at the time). Next stir in the corn starch and put in for about 15 minutes more.

The side dish: Southern Caramalized Vidalias, er, Mayans


For this recipe, you need a liter of Coke, a little A1 and two nice big sweet onions. The recipe, of course, calls for the very Georgian Vidalia onion. I could not find these anywhere at this time of year, so I begrudgingly settled for the not-as-special Sweet Mayan variety from Mexico. It wasn't the same, but it was doable.


Chop the onions into pieces, and pour in enough Coke to cover - the recipe says you will "float" the onion pieces in the Coke.
Next, add A1 Steak Sauce or a reasonable facsimile, cover and microwave on high for 20 minutes. When done you will have a mess of sweet, caramelized onions that you can serve on steak, mashed potatoes or anything else you like. I mixed some with some homemade tomato sauce and ate it on linguine. It wasn't as disturbing as it sounds.


I have to be frank: the onions clearly turned out better here. I could almost see myself just eating them straight out of the bowl. They certainly made the pork chops more interesting. I am largely to blame for how they turned out, since I did not adjust the time for the thinness of the chops, resulting in a drier, less juicy pork chop. Yes, even with all Coke and those fruit juices, the pork chops ended up pretty flat. Not so the onions, which I have eaten with potatoes, taro root and that linguine I mentioned above. I'll be making the onion dish again

Served with a Coca-Cola-free potato salad

Now heading out of Atlanta Hartsfield, the world's busiest airport, for the only state in the union that is not landlocked at all. In fact, it's our only Polynesian state, and the absolute southernmost state in the Union (sorry, Florida and Georgia). It's Hawai'i, the land of mahi mahi, poi and Spam.

Sources:

Candler Graham, Elizabeth, and Ralph Roberts. Classic Cooking with Coca-Cola. Hambleton Hill Publishing: Nashville, 1998

Coca-Cola Company. "Recipe: Fruited Pork Chops". Copyright The Coca-Cola Company, 2006.

Coca-Cola Company. "Recipe: Southern Caramelized Vidalias". Copyright The Coca-Cola Company, 2006. Originally submitted by Rod Rives of Birmingham, AL.

Deen, Paula. "Boiled Peanuts". Featured on the Paula's Home Cooking episode "Boat Day". Copyright The Food Network, 2010

Fairweather, John. "How to Make Boiled Peanuts in a Slow Cooker". From eHow Food, date unknown.

Georgia Peach Council. "Rich History of GA Peach". Copyright Georgia Peach Council, date unknown.

Hanley, Lucy (editor), and Alice Moffatt (food editor). The Best Basic & Easy Recipes of Savannah. John Hinde Curteich: Savannah, 2000. Distributed by Dixie Postcards & Souvenir Sales.

Yearwood, Trisha, with Gwen Yearwood and Beth Yearwood Bernard. Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen: Recipes from My Family to Yours. Clarkson Potter: New York, 2008.

Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "Georgia" page and other pages, and the Food Timeline State Foods link to "Georgia".

Snacking State-by-State: Georgia II - That's What I Like About Peaches

Georgia is one of the leading producers of peanuts in America, and it is also a leading producer of peaches. According to the Georgia Peach Council, the peach has been grown by Cherokee farmers since the 1750's, and harvested for sale in Georgia since before the Civil War, started by Raphael Moses in 1851. Georgia sells over 2.5 million bushels of peaches annually - down from an all time high of 8 million in the 1920's, but still a lot (Georgia Peach Council 2011)

Official Name: State of Georgia
State Nicknames: The Peach State, Empire State of the South
Admission to the US: January 2, 1788 (#4)
Capital: Atlanta (largest city)
Other Important Cities: Augusta (2nd largest), Savannah (4th largest), Columbus (3rd largest)
Region: South, Deep South, Lowcountry (specifically along the coast); South Atlantic (US Census)
RAFT Nations: Cornbread & BBQ, Crabcake, Gumbo
Bordered by: Alabama (west), Tennessee & North Carolina (north), South Carolina (northeast), Atlantic Ocean (east), Florida (south)
Official State Foods and Edible Things: grits (official state prepared food), peach (fruit), Vidalia onion (vegetable)
Some Famous & Typical Foods: again, grits, peaches and Vidalia onions, among many other things, among them: Coca-Cola, boiled peanuts, pecans, pralines, okra, and other typical foods of the Deep South

Since Georgia is the Peach State, this post needs a good standard peach recipe. And where better to turn than that most famous of Georgia chefs... Trisha Yearwood!? Yes, the Grammy award winner, Grand Ole Opry member, Garth Brooks family member (he's her hubby) and Monticello native. Yearwood now calls Oklahoma home (again, the Garth Brooks thing), but brings America her Georgia family recipes in her book Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen. Yearwood says her family knows her as much for her food as her singing.

As the singer notes, the peach cobbler is an important part of the Southern home cook's repertoire: "You can't be considered a serious southern cook if you don't know how to make peach cobbler" [Yearwood 2008, p,. 192]. Her recipe is quite the easy one, and it worked out well for me.

The recipe: Peach Cobbler


For this peach cobbler you will need:

* peaches (two 15 oz or four 8.5 oz cans, in syrup - Yearwood recommends canned peaches instead of fresh, which she says work better in recipes such as this. More so, she suggests you use freestone instead of clingstone peaches "because they are tender and tasty" [Yearwood 2008, p. 192]. You would not believe just how difficult it is to find canned freestone peaches here.)
* 1 stick butter (got it)
* self-rising flour, or all-purpose flour mixed with a little baking powder and salt (got 'em all, too)
* sugar and milk (got those)

This recipe is, as Yearwood notes, easy. Melt the butter in a 9 x 13 pan in the oven.


While you melt the butter, dump out the peaches and save half of the liquid (so drain half the peach syrup into a bowl, and the rest of the syrup just dump out). Mix the drained syrup with the milk and dry ingredients.


Next, pour into the pan, and arrange the peach slices in the pan before baking at 350° for an hour.

Mmmm. Peachy.

What can I say? It was easy, and it was very buttery and luscious. I have to agree: I definitely like freestone peaches better than the clingy variety. And while it is definitely best right out of the oven, especially with vanilla ice cream, it is almost as good after being nuked for a minute in the microwave.


And that's what I like about Trisha Yearwood's cobbler.

Sources:

Candler Graham, Elizabeth, and Ralph Roberts. Classic Cooking with Coca-Cola. Hambleton Hill Publishing: Nashville, 1998

Coca-Cola Company. "Recipe: Fruited Pork Chops". Copyright The Coca-Cola Company, 2006.

Coca-Cola Company. "Recipe: Southern Caramelized Vidalias". Copyright The Coca-Cola Company, 2006. Originally submitted by Rod Rives of Birmingham, AL.

Deen, Paula. "Boiled Peanuts". Featured on the Paula's Home Cooking episode "Boat Day". Copyright The Food Network, 2010

Fairweather, John. "How to Make Boiled Peanuts in a Slow Cooker". From eHow Food, date unknown.

Georgia Peach Council. "Rich History of GA Peach". Copyright Georgia Peach Council, date unknown.

Hanley, Lucy (editor), and Alice Moffatt (food editor). The Best Basic & Easy Recipes of Savannah. John Hinde Curteich: Savannah, 2000. Distributed by Dixie Postcards & Souvenir Sales.

Yearwood, Trisha, with Gwen Yearwood and Beth Yearwood Bernard. Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen: Recipes from My Family to Yours. Clarkson Potter: New York, 2008.

Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "Georgia" page and other pages, and the Food Timeline State Foods link to "Georgia".

Snacking State-by-State: Georgia I - Boilin' Goober Peas

We head a little farther north, to the capital of the New South and its sister cities throughout the Peach State. I have lots of family in Georgia, and I'll have more once my sister moves there later this year. Maybe this post will help her acclimate a little better.

Official Name: State of Georgia
State Nicknames: The Peach State, Empire State of the South
Admission to the US: January 2, 1788 (#4)
Capital: Atlanta (largest city)
Other Important Cities: Augusta (2nd largest), Savannah (4th largest), Columbus (3rd largest)
Region: South, Deep South, Lowcountry (specifically along the coast); South Atlantic (US Census)
RAFT Nations: Cornbread & BBQ, Crabcake, Gumbo
Bordered by: Alabama (west), Tennessee & North Carolina (north), South Carolina (northeast), Atlantic Ocean (east), Florida (south)
Official State Foods and Edible Things: grits (official state prepared food), peach (fruit), Vidalia onion (vegetable)
Some Famous & Typical Foods: again, grits, peaches and Vidalia onions, among many other things, among them: Coca-Cola, boiled peanuts, pecans, pralines, okra, and other typical foods of the Deep South

As its capital, Atlanta, is also "capital of the New South", Georgia is not just the nexus of all edible things Southern but home to great food diversity - again, Atlanta is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the country. But Georgia also has a few foods that are its own, at least at first. Though I've already discovered that Delaware was a center of peach production on the East Coast at one time, most of us think of Georgia when we think of peaches. Georgia also comes to mind (can you hear me, Georgia?) when sweet, sweet Vidalia onions or the world's most popular soft drink pops up. I will touch a little bit on all of this in the paragraphs that follow.

Driving from Maryland to Georgia a few years ago on a visit to my brother-in-law in Hinesville, I had to stop a few times to abate the hunger. Once I passed into South Carolina I started seeing constantly heated containers of boiled peanuts in every convenience store. No I did not see them in North Carolina, though my cousin's wife, born and raised in the Tar Heel State, fondly remembers them. They are also a staple snack all over Georgia, so states one "postcard cookbook" I picked up in Savannah a few years ago:

Peanuts are Georgia's most valuable crop. Every Southerner knows that "goobers" or "goober peas" is another name for peanuts. This much-loved legume was immortalized in a Confederate ballad, that says, in part, "...But another pleasure enchantinger [sic] than these / Is wearing out your grinders, eating goober peas" ... "I wish this war was over, when free from rags and fleas / We'd kiss our wives and sweethearts and gobble goober peas!" [Hanley and Moffatt 2000; note: I sang that song on stage in fifth grade]

No less than the Lady herself Paula Deen gets all giddy over her goober peas in the "Boat Day" episode of her show. I've made them before, and I'll make them again, this time the Lady & Sons way.

The recipe: Boiled Peanuts


For boiled peanuts, all you need are:

* peanuts (these must be raw, not roasted, which is not that easy to find in Baltimore - I figured the North Carolina-based supermarket chain Harris Teeter would obviously have raw peanuts, but no - not at their Columbia location, and not at their Arlington location. Fortunately, I remembered that Giant does indeed sell bagged raw peanuts from Jimbo's Jumbos. This is the best we're going to do here unless we grow our own - which I am planning to do this summer. A bag of jumbo raw peanuts cost $4.)
* salt (a lot of it - kosher preferably)
* You don't need any other seasonings, and Miss Paula doesn't use them. But I decided to Ches-ify mine by adding a generous helping of Old Bay (about 2 or 3 tablespoons). Fortunately, Old Bay is well-loved throughout the South, so this may not sound as strange as you might think.


Boiled peanuts are particularly easy to make: take a pound of raw peanuts and about a 1/2 to 3/4 cup salt per pound, boil for a few hours and there you go. But I decided to save myself the need of having to constantly watch over it by throwing them in the slow cooker (okay I lied - I did not do this the Lady& Sons way).


When I threw them in the slow cooker, I should have put them on high for 5 to 7 hours, as this eHow article suggests. I started on low for 4 hours, and then bothered to look up the article (wah waaaaaaah). But what turned into a day of boiling peanuts paid off, as I finally got soft, hot boiled peanuts!

I have to differ with Paula Deen on the salt amount. I know they're supposed to be salty, but these had so much of it! I am not alone on this, as even proper Southerners have told Miss Paula as much in comments to her recipe. My favorite comment comes from "bradfordrb" from Columbia [I assume South Carolina]:

Lord have mercy, Paula! I do declare, there is too much salt in that there recipe of boiled peanuts. You trying to send us all to meet our maker and give us a blazin' heart attack? [comment on Deen 2010]

In addition, my attempt to Old Bay-ify these peanuts didn't bear any fruit, er, legumes, as the Old Bay taste completely got washed away by the salt. In the future, I will turn up the Old Bay and turn down the salt. But the peanuts were still good, and I ate some on the way to Rehoboth Beach recently.


Sources:

Candler Graham, Elizabeth, and Ralph Roberts. Classic Cooking with Coca-Cola. Hambleton Hill Publishing: Nashville, 1998

Coca-Cola Company. "Recipe: Fruited Pork Chops". Copyright The Coca-Cola Company, 2006.

Coca-Cola Company. "Recipe: Southern Caramelized Vidalias". Copyright The Coca-Cola Company, 2006. Originally submitted by Rod Rives of Birmingham, AL.

Deen, Paula. "Boiled Peanuts". Featured on the Paula's Home Cooking episode "Boat Day". Copyright The Food Network, 2010

Fairweather, John. "How to Make Boiled Peanuts in a Slow Cooker". From eHow Food, date unknown.

Georgia Peach Council. "Rich History of GA Peach". Copyright Georgia Peach Council, date unknown.

Hanley, Lucy (editor), and Alice Moffatt (food editor). The Best Basic & Easy Recipes of Savannah. John Hinde Curteich: Savannah, 2000. Distributed by Dixie Postcards & Souvenir Sales.

Yearwood, Trisha, with Gwen Yearwood and Beth Yearwood Bernard. Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen: Recipes from My Family to Yours. Clarkson Potter: New York, 2008.

Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "Georgia" page and other pages, and the Food Timeline State Foods link to "Georgia".

Food finds I haven't gotten around to posting...

Just a few odds and ends - things that have gotten away from me over the last month or so. I meant to write about 'em but I never bothered.

1. Poorman's Mess

You remember that little old lady who kept talking about Depression-Era cooking on YouTube? I made Clara's recipe for Poorman's Meal. It really doesn't taste very good. But hell, are you gonna care about that if you're living through a depression? Considering that, it's damn near haute cuisine!

2. Kroger's Deli
The Cincinnati-based Kroger's food chain spans much of the Midwest and South. The one in Hinesville, GA, has just about the best ready-to-eat food of any spermarket deli counter I have ever ordered from. I got three BBQ ribs (which actually amounted to six), mac & cheese and Western fries. I could only finish half of it.

3. Southern BBQ done right

My sister and her husband introduced me to the delicious BBQ at the Clubhouse in Rye Patch in nearby Ludowici.

The fried pickles were definitely different from those you might find at Sonic: saltier, lighter, picklier, a little less greasy. This is the type of thing that I would eat all day, even though I know it would kill me.

Their sampler plate was very filling, and again I could not finish half of it (I left for home before I could finish it, and James finished the rest for me). The meats really outshone the sides - the cole slaw was tasty and had a flavor I can't quite place, though the mac & cheese was okay. I just can't begin to describe the ribs, sliced butt and chicken. Soooooooo good.

4. Mrs. Holmes' Boiled Peanuts

You can find these at convenience stores all over Georgia and South Carolina, in the same type of hot containers you might find nacho cheese. Margaret Holmes' Boiled Peanuts - I got a small container for about $1.50 in several places. Available in original or Cajun. Oh good Lord, I feel like I'm shilling for peanuts now.

5. In-N-Out

We may not have a Sonic closer than 50 miles to Baltimore, but we could one day. We will never have an In-N-Out anywhere near us. For my last meal before setting foot on the plane to BWI last month I had to stop at the Ontario Mills In-N-Out, the fabled hamburger place that makes everything from scratch and to order, and makes the BBQ ribs I got from Kroger's look like health food. Some of you may know that In-N-Out serves three value meals, and that's it: the hamburger, the cheeseburger and the fabled "Double Double" (two patties). By default, each comes with tomatoes, lettuce, thick onion slices and "special sauce" (it's Thousand Island Dressing). It comes with fries that are cut on site from actual potatoes, and a drink that is either soda or milkshake. Their milkshakes are fabled, too.

What's perhaps as famous is their "Secret menu" that isn't listed on their drive thru menu. Instead, you have to be a local "in the know." Or else find it online, either on In-N-Out's website or listed by others (such as this compilation from Badmouth.net). I didn't get too secret-menu-ish, and merely order the burger "toasted" - that's a regular burger on a toasted bun - with "light" (underfried) fries. I wasn't too crazy about them.

I wanted to order the Animal Burger - a patty with mustard mixed into it, and extra sauce. But I forgot the name so I didn't want to sit there for five minutes trying to remember, holding up the drive thru line and missing on dropping off my rental car and, from there, catching my flight.

I devoured the burger in the airport, plus half of the lackluster fries (I'm not a fry person anyway). And you should've seen me suck down that milkshake, since they wouldn't have let me take it through the security line. Ice-cream-headache-induced painful bliss, that's all I can say.

You should've seen the milkshake-related pun I was going to use to segue into the next bit...

6. Gay Pride Block Partay!!! (and Parade)

Unlike most major cities, Baltimore's Gay Pride Parade is kind of, um, (What's the word I'm looking for?) low-scale. Though I did get pelted by paraders throwing both Mardi Gras beads and Tootsie Rolls in festive rainbow-colored papers. Was I the only one who thought it strange that Chipotle had a float? Ah well, at least we're in the age when corporations are more likely than they used to be to even show their faces in a gay pride parade! And you gotta love that slogan - yes, the guy's T shirt does say "¿Homo estás?"

My friends were right, though - the Block Party is better than the following day's festival, which I didn't even bother with. After flitting back & forth between the Hippo and the Central Station, with some quality time in Minato for supper - I didn't even want to bother.

Mind you, the food was pretty lackluster at the Block Party. I mean, LGBT pride events aren't exactly known as culinary meccas. But this one sign was just too strange to pass by:

What famous Thai Mexican Food do they mean, anyway? Much better was the gelato I got at Marie Louise Bistro (I'm glad I gave them a second try), though their mimosas were pretty watered down for my tastes.

7. Stuff what was shipped to me from California

Because it wouldn't fit into my luggage, I had to mail some food back to Baltimore. Most of it was from the Chinese-American supermarket chain 99 Ranch and the British-based supermarket chain Fresh & Easy.

My last day in SoCal last month, I went crazy with non-perishable groceries in the Fresh & Easy. I haven't had a chance to try any of these goodies yet, but I did score some brownie mix, raspberry-chipotle and peanut sauces, chai and chocolate black teas - all Fresh & Easy brand - and Singapore Noodles from the Sof'ella Food Company, whose products I have never seen this side of the Mississippi River. I look forward to trying them all, especially the brownie mix. I had an actual brownie from Fresh & Easy, and if it's from the same ingredients then the mix should be good.

From 99 Ranch, I picked up some loose tea in a lovely decorative jar (Gil already had some and made some for us at his place). I also picked up two cans of Chaokoh coconut milk, a highly recommended brand, before realizing that you can, in fact, find this brand in Maryland after all. I also got some desserts. One was a confection of taro paste covered in white chocolate. It tastes better than it sounds. Actually, it tastes pretty good.

The other thing I got was a heart-shaped plastic container filled with - you won't believe this - candied olives.

Yes, candied olives.

In a moment that I can only describe as Andrew Zimmern-esque in its bizarreness, I bit into the candied olive, an uncured olive coated in sugar, with the pit still in it of course. I can proudly say that I tried it. I can firmly say that I not only will not be eating this again, but I that I could not even finish the one olive I bit into, and threw it and the rest of the container away - but only after spitting out what little was in my mouth. I mean, yeeeeekhkh.

Georgia on My GPS Part 4: On to Raleigh

As you are reading this, I am heading back to Baltimore (I love auto-scheduled publishing). I wanted to go to Atlanta, but I've been hemming and hawing for a while because I wasn't sure I'd have the time or the money, or that my car would be able to take the extra driving (this trip pushed it over the 150K mark). That, and Atlanta is too fabulous a city to devote just one quickfire night to exploring - and I'd rather have seen it on a Friday or Saturday night when more bars are actually open!

So Atlanta is off my itinerary for this road trip. But it'll still be there when I get back (since Cathy's moving down here at some point, that isn't too far off), and I can spend a good few days in the ATL. But I've already planned for when I do get back. I asked Leslie at the Southern Social blog what is best to eat in Atlanta (thanks, Leslie). She quickly recommended a favorite Chinese restaurant off of Buford Hwy., Chef Liu. From the photos I've seen, this place looks like a dive from the outside (as many good places do), but serves delicious authentic Chinese - think more Mandarin Pork Cakes and Soup Filled Dumplings, and less General Tso's Chicken and Crispy Orange Peel Beef. Atlanta's Blissful Glutton blog corroborates Leslie's recommendation, in this post from four years ago. Since this place has been making damn good food for a while, and since it was recommended to me, it'll be the first place I stop when I finally do get to Atlanta.

But alas, I am instead heading back up the 95. I had already planned a stop in Raleigh - ATL trip or not. Raleigh is about a half hour off of I-95, but it's the perfect place to stop for the night since it's about halfway between Savannah and Baltimore. Besides, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has this amazing looking exhibition about chocolate that I would be a damn fool to miss.

Georgia on My GPS Part 3: Moon River Brewing Company / Savannah Candy Kitchen

Today we finally got out to Savannah. We weren't there long - we had a late start. My brother-in-law offered to bring me back late but I wasn't sure I'd be up for it.

Still, with this short visit there is much to mention. Too much. It's not a fun city to drive around, that's for sure, especially when you get stuck behind the minivan that's afraid to drive down the bumpy brick-paved River Street anywhere faster than, oh, 2 miles per hour. It is indeed a fun city to walk around, despite the heat and humidity (no, we have no idea what that's like back home). And it's a lovely city to look at - at least the downtown historic area, which is where most tourists end up.

My sister and her husband sprang for dinner and let me choose. I went with the Moon River Brewing Company, Savannah's only microbrewery. It may not be the fastest service, but it had a very impressive sampler of 7 of its microbrews. Most were very good, but I had my favorites: the IPA and the chocolaty stout. My brother-in-law James also got it, and had much the same opinion. They also had one they created for an employee who just got married. He should hope his marriage is not as forgettable as that beer. One particularly unforgettable brew, however, was aged in wine barrels. It tasted and smelled like whiskey, and was about as strong as any beer I have ever drunk.

Microbrews Parts 1...

...and 2

For appetizers, we got a standard quesadilla and some crinkle-cut sweet potato fries. The fries came with a cinnamon-chipotle dipping sauce that was wonderful. I will need to figure out how to make this at home because it went quickly. It was a favorite of the meal.

Sweet Potato Crinkles

For our entrées, we went in different directions. I saw crab cakes on the menu, but I knew these would not be the type I am familiar with. Two tenets of seafood in the Chesapeake are that you never boil anything, and you always put the breading inside the crab cake, not outside. Lowcountry cooking dispenses with that first tenet, though Old Bay is still quite popular throughout the South (Did you know that Old Bay makes a seafood boil bag?). That second tenet is pretty much thrown out the window as soon as you get a reasonable distance away from the Chesapeake Bay, north or south.

These are not in the running for "World's Biggest Crab Cake"

The blue crab cake platter ($17) threw both tenets out the window and into the Savannah River. These three small crab cakes were accompanied by Carolina cole slaw and Lowcountry rice, along with a roasted red pepper salsa. The flavor of the delicious special crab meat (who says you always have to use lump? I don't - not as sweet) was creamier than a typical Maryland crab cake, because - again - the bread was on the outside. The coating, a cornbread-type coating, was firm and flavorful and was a nice addition. Would I take this over a standard crab cake back home? No, of course not. But for what it was, it was still a tasty crab cake. The long grain rice was kind of a dirty rice, and I could eat it all day. Same with the slaw, though I have had as good slaw elsewhere.

On the way out, I stopped in the Savannah Candy Kitchen. Most people will only be able to see it in the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport (the busiest in the world). With four locations in Georgia and South Carolina, it is a damn dangerous place, because you will spend money there. Lots of money, on delicious candy. That goes quintuple for their pralines, freshly made on the premises (Do they do that at the airport? I would suppose not). And yes, they give out free samples. One praline is pretty big, so you will either eat just one for dessert, or break off pieces and eat them here and there (like me). Today they offered a free 1/2 lb of pralines (or 1 lb of taffy) for every 1 lb of pralines bought. So I went in on that deal: 1 lb of regular pralines, plus and extra 1/2 lb of chocolate ones (sssssssiiiiiiinnnnnnnful). Total so far: $17. Then I got an extra 1/2 lb of fudge (also $17 per lb). Grand total: $25. But I don't usually get down here to buy this stuff, so it was excusable.

Free samples!!!

Oh, did I mention that Savannah Candy does mail order?

Epilogue: You may be wondering if I saw Paula Deen's restaurant. Yes, we did drive by it. It was about 4 PM, and there was no line! That was soon explained by the big sign saying "Sorry - We're booked for tonight."

Yup, they're all full up, y'all.

Big shocker there.

Georgia on My GPS Part 2: Snacking around Augusta

I just got back from visiting my cousin's family in Augusta. Mostly it was just going around running errands with his wife and the girls, but I was happy - the important thing is that I got to spend some time with them. Much of what we ate was in house, so not a lot of eating out. But my cousin's wife discovered by accident a very good way of making your pork loin extremely tender (we're talkin' cut-with-a-fork tender): cook on about 250°F for 30 minutes before cooking at normal temperature. I didn't catch the normal temperature (note to self: call or email her and ask her what it was). It was about two pounds, enough to feed five people and then some. That, and her neighbor just dropped by and gave us some homemade manicotti. It was a nice appetizer.

One thing I am kicking myself over not having done was stopping by the various produce stands in Augusta and on the extremely scenic drive back to the Savannah area. One thing that I really wanted to peruse was a stand of fresh strawberries and peaches (they don't call it "the Peach State" for nothin'). Yeah, I know we have fresh produce stands in Maryland, too. But here's the thing: you're going to find what is locally grown. Our peaches probably won't be as good as Georgia's, though you can still find them locally grown in Maryland. The same goes the other way for our blue crabs. What bums me out is that I rarely get the chance to support locally grown produce away from my own home. So before I leave Hinesville (near Fort Stewart, where my brother-in-law is stationed) in a few days, I must root out the local produce. I am determined to bring some locally-grown Georgia peaches home with me (easier since I drove instead of flew).

Oh, in case you decide to make the 3 hour drive between Augusta and Savannah (especially if you have made that drive before), be prepared for the following: Unlike the drive between most of Georgia's major cities, the drive between Augusta and Savannah is not connected by any major interstates. But at least it's mostly 55 mph. To wit, some photos of life along Hwy 196 and US 25:

I got more of those delicious boiled peanuts at the Dixie USA while pumping gas. I'm getting better at eating them while driving, though splitting them with your teeth isn't really the correct way to do it. Oh, don't eat them while driving.

Down a street in Claxton, GA - a thrift store, an income tax preparer, and a Chinese restaurant. Jennifer 8. Lee was right: there are Chinese restaurants everywhere in America!

A kudzu-encoated silo along US 25. Kudzu: the scourge of the South

Along the way, I got to see where golf carts are born.

Um, where am I again?

I didn't get to visit Augusta's Salsa's Bar & Grill, but it is one of many Mexican restaurants in the area. In fact, it was perhaps the most common cuisine I've seen in either Augusta or Hinesville.