A New Southern Blog About NYC

By Jessica Mischner | August 31, 2010 | NYC

Jessica Mischner in NYC for the G&G April/May issue launch party at Billy Reid.
 
Earlier this year Garden & Gun ran a cover story I wrote about the “Southern Invasion of NYC” (April/May), a look at the explosion of Southern chefs, musicians, designers, and entrepreneurs in the Big Apple. The response was overwhelmingly positive, so we’re going to continue the coverage on my new blog, “Southern in the City.” I’ll be doing twice-weekly updates on all things Dixie in NYC, from Brooklyn’s best fried-chicken joints to hidden bluegrass bars to the rising influence of Southern designers.

Southern culture isn’t just present in New York City. It’s thriving like never before. The best new bars, shops, and restaurants all seem to have Southern roots. A majority of the tastemakers and trendsetters are Southern, too. Everywhere you go, someone’s pickling something or preserving something or handcrafting something or distilling something. Even the city’s social life has taken on a twang. This summer alone was filled with Southern happenings and events, many of which I had the pleasure of attending (our Southern community may be expanding, but we’re still a pretty tight knit circle). The Big Apple BBQ Block Party united barbecue lovers of all states and stripes, with everyone from Charleston’s Jimmy Hagood to Louisville’s Julian Van Winkle joining in. Bespoke suitmaker Alton Lane celebrated its launch with a Southerner-studded party at the Yale Club (which offers reciprocity to University of Virginia alums), and Mississippians converged on Central Park for their annual Mississippi in the Park picnic. At the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic on Governor’s Island, even those of us in the cheap seats got an up-close-and-personal glimpse of Prince Harry when he fell off his horse (much to his extreme embarrassment). And that’s not including all the crawfish boils, state society happy hours, and other get-togethers that dominate social life up here in Gotham—especially now that football season has arrived.

Mischner and Hagood at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party

In the weeks and months ahead, I’ll cover the people, places, and experiences that bring Southern culture to life in the Big Apple. I’ve got a front row seat to the excitement unfolding, and now, thanks to Garden & Gun, you do, too. Welcome to the party and welcome to my blog.

Football Blues

By John Currence | August 20, 2009 | Food

I love summer for the bounty it brings — the tidal wave of tomatoes, okra, squashes, etc. But April 1 to September 1 is a difficult four months for me. Why? There’s no football. Sorry, folks, but baseball does as much for me as reruns of Mama's Family, and the thrill of the NCAA basketball tournament only lasts so long. Of the things that make that time tolerable, though, the summer berry crop ranks right at the top, and blueberries are my hands-down favorite.

August is the most difficult time in the stretch. Summer's blueberries are drying up and disappearing for the next nine months. Bess and I talk weekly about buying as many as we can get our hands on and freezing them, but we never manage to get from one market to the next without eating everything we’ve purchased. Smoothies, cobblers, and pies fill our lives, and it is a happy antioxidant-filled couple of months.

But now the end of the season is upon us, and blueberries are becoming scarce. Our great berry carnival is coming to an end. My advice to you: Scour the markets and enjoy what you can find. It'll be May before we are blessed again, and football only gets you part of the way there.

Get Toasted

By John Currence | July 17, 2009 | Food

John T. Edge, as most know, is an almost bottomless vessel of food knowledge, so when he collared me, painfully hungover, on a hot summer morning several years back to share a culinary secret, I didn't bat an eye.

He told me that deep in the Lower East side of Manhattan, beyond the hidden and trendy über cocktail bars of the post-midnight hipster crowds, is an even better secret. A secrets that happen to be open at more civilized hours and offer its finest for more palatable price.

From a décor standpoint, The Dumpling House (118 Eldridge Street) is not particularly inviting, but it serves one of the finest and affordable snacks on the island: the sesame pancake—a pizza-sized pancake covered in perfectly toasted sesame seed; cut into wedges; filleted; and filled with shredded beef, pork, or duck, carrot/cilantro relish, and a thick soy glaze. And practically given away for about $1.50.

  My pal Joe York digging the sesame pancake, too

I love you John T. for sharing this with me. It has saved my life on more than one occasion. It can save you too, people.