Things to do / Travel Guide
Dining in the great state of Georgia and along the coast of South Carolina should be a tasty and exciting experience.
Breakfasts (like at the bed and breakfasts) usually include Southern-style biscuits, salty ham, red-eye gravy, and butter-laden grits (an especially-Southern delicacy made of coarsely-ground corn), Jimmy Dean sausages, buckwheat pancakes with sugar cane syrup or molasses, and fried eggs. Fruits such as peaches, and vegetables such as carrots, are known to occasionally slip their way into a meal. Locally-raised meats, and freshly-fished seafood reeled in from the lakes, rivers, and the Atlantic Ocean, play a prominent role on dinner menus.
Soul Food and Fried Food in Georgia and South Carolina
Soul food is a term used to describe a large number of regional Southern dishes. Many soul food dishes are rooted in old African recipes. Some of the more common dishes falling under the heading of “soul food” include country-fried steak (deep-fried beef in batter with gravy), fried chicken, chitlins (slow-cooked pig intestines), smoked ham hocks, meatloaf, pig's feet, ribs, collard greens, lima beans, okra, biscuits, cornbread, grits, and fried catfish. Other southern delicacies like pickled peaches and boiled peanuts also have their roots on the plantation.
Aside from the soul food, you'll find that Georgians and South Carolinians have a love affair with all things fried. In these parts, folks will fry virtually anything from chicken to vegetables to chocolate bars - if you can eat it, you can fry it. Crackling bread (corn bread with crispy pork fat) and collard greens are also popular throughout the American South and especially in the small towns of Georgia and South Carolina.
Ma Kettle, the famous fried chicken queen of Georgia, was known for wringing a chicken's neck, de-feathering it and fryin' it up good for the folks gathered around her kitchen table. Her secret was frying anything and everything in bacon grease in a big black skillet - hence the kettle epithet.
Of course, not all Southern-tinged food is fried. In many places throughout the South, you're bound to find little stands off the side of the highway selling fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, boiled peanuts, and other local delicacies.
Seafood in Georgia and South Carolina
Seafood is also a popular treat in the Georgia and South Carolina region. Catfish, fried and peppered with local herbs and spices, is almost always served with lime-and-mustard sauce and hushpuppies. You don't know what hushpuppies are? They're deep-fried balls of cornmeal, and they got their name from hunters who would feed them to their dogs to keep them from barking.
Along the coast, some of the more popular seafood dishes include crab legs, raw oysters, soft-shelled crab, shrimp and grits, and she-crab soup. Oyster roasts are accompanied by Confederate bean soup, a mixture of onions, celery, bacon, sausages, ham stock, brown sugar, baked beans, and lots and lots of cream.
Hunting is big in Georgia and South Carolina. Therefore, wild game is certainly found on many restaurant menus throughout the region. The region has an abundance of quail, which, when cooked up and served Southern style, comes sautéed in butter, sherry, and/or wine. Duck is also a popular delicacy in these parts and it can be served roasted or stuffed with potatoes and apples. From time to time it's even possible to find a bit of alligator tail on the menu.
Barbecue in Georgia and South Carolina
“World-famous” barbecue shacks can be found littered all over the South. It's a challenge to find one that isn't world-famous. Usually, barbecue, such as pork shoulder, is prepared by slow-roasting and smoking with hickory wood or charcoal. Then comes the inevitable “sauce debate.” In South Carolina, they like to use a sweet mustard-based sauce with the barbecue, whereas in Georgia they prefer to use a ketchup, tomato, or vinegar-based sauce.
Waffle House
No trip to the South could really be complete without at least one stop at a Waffle House. Waffle House has been serving waffles (as well as omelets, patty melts, hashbrowns, T-bone steaks, and pork chops) for over 50 years. This is the South's version of “fast food,” and these 24/7 restaurants serve everything up with good ol' Southern hospitality. In Georgia you literally can't pass more than two or three exits on the Interstate without seeing the ubiquitous yellow and black sign beckoning you - make sure you heed its call.
Coca Cola
Soft drink consumers take heed: in the state of Georgia, all soft drinks are referred to as “Coke.” In restaurants, for instance, you'll often be asked “what kind of Coke do you want?” As Atlanta is the world headquarters for the super-popular Coca Cola beverages, could you honestly expect anything less?
Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Savannah, Georgia
Restaurants-Fine-Dining
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