By this point on the culinary calendar—our R-month days decidedly numbered—we have had oysters fried, raw, steamed, roasted, Rockefeller; you name it. After this week’s James Beard Foundation dinner at historic Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island, outside Charleston, South Carolina, we can add pickled to that list. The briny bi-valves topped a pork rib roast prepared by chef Robert Stehling of Hominy Grill, who along with the Holy City’s other James Beard Award-winning chefs Mike Lata, Sean Brock, and the thrice-nominated Craig Deihl led teams of Charleston chefs to prepare a veritable Lowcountry feast.

Charlottesville, Virginia residents Christy Ford, owner of the home store And George, and local blogger Susie Matheson had grown accustomed to playing small-town tour guide to visiting friends and family. Enthusiastic about the charms of their city, the two put their heads together to create a city guide reflective of the creative soul and entrepreneurial spirit of Charlottesville—an angle they felt wasn’t getting the attention it deserved

Four-poster rice beds and chintz-covered settees have their place, just don’t expect to find any at Zero George, Charleston's new boutique hotel. Owned by Dean and Lynn Andrews, the historic, eighteen-room hotel is set apart by its fresh contemporary design. A veteran in the hospitality business, Dean helped develop and then manage Charleston Place hotel before decamping to New York and then Charlottesville, where he and Lynn run Easton Events and Pippin Hill Vineyards—a winery, restaurant, and events space overlooking the Blue Ridge mountains. But, Dean says, "I was always trying to come up with a reason to return to Charleston." After a tour of Zero George (it’s just a few blocks from our office), we’re glad he finally did.

Come Election Day, states are seen as either red or blue. But Nashville-based graphic designer Joel Anderson’s vintage-inspired poster series, Art & Soul of America, is a reminder that the cities and states that make up our country are a whole lot more colorful. Fascinated by classic illustrated poster art and advertising spreads from the late-1800s to mid-1900s, Anderson and his team of artists have created a series of WPA-style travel posters that hit on the history, heritage, and charm of American cities from coast to coast, including more than a few Southern spots