In the coastal South, crab dip is a classic summertime treat. Fresh crab, blended with mayonnaise, cheese, and spices, brings the flavor of the sea to picnics and cocktail parties alike. Grocery-store crab dip rarely amounts to much, but a new product from Charleston, South Carolina’s Big T Coastal Provisions, a husband-and-wife operation run by Tony “Big T” and Tracy Blanchard, gives the homemade stuff a run for its money. Rich, creamy, and packed with tender claw meat, the Blanchards’ crab dip, available in regular and jalapeño varieties, has spread to grocery stores all over the South in the five months since the couple launched it. We caught up with Tracy earlier this week to ask her a few questions.

These are busy times for Edward Lee, longtime head chef at Louisville’s 610 Magnolia. Three months ago, he opened MilkWood, an Asian-inflected bar and restaurant, to big crowds and rave reviews. Three days ago, he and his wife welcomed a new baby girl. Next Monday, after the Derby, Lee will be headed to New York City to attend the James Beard Awards as one of the finalists in the Best Chef: Southeast category. 

Today, on what would be Thomas Jefferson’s 270th birthday, you are sure to see our third president remembered as the voracious intellectual who drafted the Declaration of Independence and founded the University of Virginia. In the world of Southern food, however, Jefferson boasts another, lesser-known accomplishment: He played a major role in bringing macaroni and cheese to the American dinner table.

In a state best known to the rest of the country for its bourbon and fried chicken, Louisville’s Benedictine spread is an under-the-radar local favorite