The Southern Fork

Do you ever consider going to Hilton Head Island, SC for a fresh-out-of-the-oven French baguette or a raspberry tart that’s perhaps gilded with gold flakes and filled with lemon curd? Maybe not, but you might want to reconsider because Hilton Head Social Bakery, with two locations on the island, has been baking that and much more since Chef Philippe Feret and his wife Marissa opened the bakery in 2016. Phillipe was an apprentice in his father's Paris bakery from the age of five, and he soon made restaurants his life, from the famous Parisian restaurant Taillevent, to New York City where he was enlisted to reopen Windows on the World in 1996. He subsequently served as executive chef at Tavern on the Green, The Regency Hotel, Cafe Centro and eventually owned his own restaurant and catering for 15 years. The bakery and his life on Hilton Head seems his most joyous chapter yet, using his father’s croissant recipe, and also letting his creativity, enthusiasm for new flavor combinations, classic recipes, and the artistry of sugar work fill the pastry cases daily. He’s embraced the island life and given up his chef’s coat for shorts and t-shirts in the kitchen, but he admits he still dons it for special occasions.

Despite the bio I’m about to share, I think Ray Isle is one of the least pretentious people in the wine world today. He grew up in Houston, and he learned to see wine as an adventure, an adventure that’s taken him all around the world. Ray is the longtime executive wine editor for Food & Wine as well as the wine and spirits editor for Travel + Leisure. He writes Food & Wine’s monthly “What to Drink Next” column as well as regular feature articles for both magazines. His writing has also appeared in Departures, Wine & Spirits, Time, The Washington Post, and many other publications, and he’s been nominated three times for a James Beard Award. His new book is The World in a Wine Glass: The Insider's Guide to Artisanal, Sustainable, Extraordinary Wines to Drink Now.

Augusta Road in West Columbia, SC, isn’t a storybook setting. Strip malls are lined up down the road, flanking a Wal-Mart and a sprawling old school U Haul campus. But just keep going and turn off the road at the Aldi and there’s a summer camp style building tucked in some trees and a modest BBQ sign. That’s when you know you’ve reached the city limits, City Limits BBQ to be exact. Owner and pitmaster Robbie Robinson grew up in nearby Red Bank, SC eating his fill of SC Midlands BBQ. While living in Houston in the early 2000s, he acquired his first Texas-style offset wood smoker and began his journey to unlock the subtle mysteries of smoking meats. He’s been serving the people of West Columbia for eight years, including the last year in this building on the edge of town, a town that he is representing this year as a James Beard Foundation finalist for Best Chef: Southeast. Every time we visit, we end up at the smokers, where we get down to the business of conversation. And I invariably mispronounce chicharrons, which you’ll hear here. I’m working on it, I promise.

According to Saveur magazine, Border Food is defined as Mexican food with a distinct identity —influenced by the cooking of Chihuahua and Texas, but with a number of little twists. Because Texas is so large and diverse, it’s a more nuanced label than the overarching Tex-Mex, and one surprising spot that it is celebrating with abandon is in Greenville, SC. Dayna Lee is the chef and operator of Comal 864, a petite spot with a big heart and a smoking hot flattop. With her clear vision of the food of her childhood and a combination of grit and introspection on her own life path, she’s gained some well-deserved attention, from being named of Eater's "18 Essential Greenville Restaurants" to a nomination as a 2023 James Beard semifinalist. Originally from South Texas and specializing in Mexican American cuisine, she began her work in a series of brewery pop-ups, teaching herself to channel homesickness into cooking and making more room for others at the table along the way. Last summer, I had the chance to eat my fill of tacos at Comal on a hot June night, and I’ve been wanting to sit down with her ever since, so we finally got the chance to record at this year’s Charleston Wine + Food Festival. The only thing missing? More tacos.

Chef Nikko Cagalanan was born and raised in the Philippines. After immigrating to the states in 2011 and working as a nurse, he found himself inspired to pursue cooking with the desire to share his passion for Filipino food. He moved to Charleston, SC in 2018 and began Mansueta’s, a series of pop-ups in the city and the region that helped him hone his craft, his culinary point of view, and build his community, and he’s never looked back. His restaurant Kultura opened in 2022 and was promptly named best Filipino Restaurant in SC by Food & Wine magazine. Then he won on Food Network’s Chopped. Next, Kultura was named one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in America. And earlier this week, Nikko was named a Finalist for Emerging Chef by the James Beard Foundation. So I’m far from the only person who thinks that his cooking is a special combination of skill, consistency, and a quality that is infinitely welcoming and delicious. He’s very clear about the foundation of his work -- community -- and it shines through in everything, from chef collaborations and local sourcing to occasional impromptu signalongs in the restaurant if a Beyonce song comes on the sound system.

Hi y’all, It’s Stephanie, I’m excited to share with you another podcast you should check out through this episode of The One Recipe from APM Studios. On The Southern Fork I've talked to a lot of people about their food and their recipes. Pretty much everyone who cooks aspires to have a clutch of recipes they can make their own. The ones that we send to friends because we know it’s going to work every single time. The One Recipe is about building that library, one recipe at a time. Host Jesse Sparks, Senior Editor at Eater, talks to chefs and gifted cooks from all over the world about their One and the story behind it. This episode features Award-winning culinary historian Toni Tipton-Martin and her one recipe: a Blackberry-Ginger Bourbon Smash, the perfect drink to end dry January. Here is The One Recipe.

Hi! Stephanie here. It’s been a while since you’ve heard from me, but as we get close to Thanksgiving, I want you to know that I’m thinking of y’all, and I’m thankful for every one of you who listen to The Southern Fork. I’m working hard over here in the background making podcast plans and interview itineraries for 2024, but in the meantime, I wanted to share with you a little audio treat -- an episode of The Broadside from WUNC. Since you’re subscribed to The Southern Fork, you might like to check it out too, and this particular episode covers one of my favorite words: y’all and how it’s become a part of culture beyond the South. It’s a short listen for a big subject, and a perfect partner while you’re commuting this next week, or prepping those appetizers for your Thanksgiving table. I wish you all a great holiday and I hope you enjoy The Broadside.

Host Stephanie Burt recaps Season 8 of the show, sharing the most listened to podcasts, her favorite bites of the season, and other details to keep the conversation going. Let’s Dig In.

Charleston Wine + Food is a multi-day wine and food festival that takes place the first full weekend each March, and I have covered it as a media person, and/or participated as talent for all of its going-on 18 years excepting one. The following interview took place live in the midst of the Culinary Village at this year’s festival, and I’m sharing it now because I already have the 2024 festival on the brain. Not only is my behind the scenes planning well underway, but tickets go on sale to the public on October 19. I lovingly call it my Super Bowl, because it is, and the connections and education from it seeds much of the work I do. One of those relationships is with Alyssa Maute Smith, my conversation partner here and the festival’s Executive Director. Alyssa, a native Charlestonian, stepped into the Interim role in April of 2022, having successfully served as the festival’s Marketing + Communications Director for 6 years, then in 2023 was officially granted the title. There’s no mistaking the energy of Charleston Wine + Food, and Alyssa's enthusiasm for the work and for this community she calls home is a good compass for its future. And I’m proud to call her my friend.

Although The Southern Fork Summer Tour is over, we still have a few weeks together, and the weather has started to turn in much of the South. I don’t know about you, but soon after I feel that first cool breeze, I can’t wait to have a plate of barbecue. Maybe it’s because in my North Carolina childhood, barbecue “stands” as it were, popped up at church parking lots and auxiliary halls each Autumn, using good food to raise money for good causes, but no matter where I am this time of year, I’m thinking about the combo of time, smoke, and the skill of a pitmaster to create this iconic Southern food. The South is full of barbecue styles, each with throughlines of technique but different nuances, and unlike a barbecue purist, I love them all. So in honor of the Fall Equinox, today we dive into the archives for some barbecue inspiration from three who know their way around hot coals: Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson in Decatur, AL, Tuffy Stone, the Professor of Barbecue, out of Henrico, VA, and Hector Garate of Palmira BBQ in Charleston, SC. Full episodes: Chris Lilly: Big Bob Gibson (Decatur, AL) Tuffy Stone: Professor of Barbecue (Henrico, VA) Hector Garate: Palmira BBQ (Charleston, SC)

Alabama native Scott Peacock is a James Beard Award-winning chef and one of the foremost authorities on American Southern cuisine. He might be best known for his work at Watershed restaurant in Decatur, Georgia, and his partnership with culinary icon Edna Lewis, but his recipes and writing have appeared in numerous publications as well, including The New York Times, Better Homes & Gardens, Gourmet, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit. Although I was very aware of his reputation, it was through one of those recipes that I first personally encountered Scott, since I believe recipes well-written by one and well-executed by another become a sort of strange collaborative alchemy. Soon we connected further over the familiarities of food, common friends, and special Southern locales, and one such place for Scott is Marion, Alabama—the heart of Alabama’s Black Belt region — where he has opened the historic kitchens of Reverie mansion for the Black Belt Biscuit Experience. These intimate, small-group workshops on the fine art of traditional Southern biscuit-making are built on his celebrated biscuits that have been on the covers of Gourmet and Food & Wine, and which Food & Wine named one of their 40 best recipes ever published, but the class is as much meditation as it is method. I could think of no better baking and conversation partner to end this year’s Southern Fork Summer Tour, and here he invites us deep beyond ingredients and techniques into the art of presence, the commitment to a creative path, and the power of passionate attention to detail.

Despite the name, I was still so unprepared for how very clear much of the water is in the Crystal River region of Florida. From snaking like a teal ribbon around trees and under bridges, to reflecting clouds like a salty mirror, on the day I went out on it, our boat sped closer on its glassy surface to a horizon already dotted with other anchored boats. Every year, fishing folks make the pilgrimage to this area of Florida to dive for bay scallops, and for those who grow up in the region, scalloping season is a cultural tradition, and usually one that begins as soon as a child can swim. Katie Jo Davis, owner of KD Outdoors Fishing Charters, remembers taking naps in the fish box on a boat before she could even walk. She’s been fishing and scalloping these waters her whole life, and after 6 years in the U.S. Army, worked as a fishing guide in Canada before making her way back to her home waters. Bay scallops are the more petite cousins of sea scallops, the common “scallops” that show up on restaurant menus, but commercial harvest of bay scallops is prohibited in Florida, so one of the easiest ways to taste this very local delicacy is to catch them yourself. Captain Katie Jo knows just where to find them.

In 1905, Saloon Columbia in Tampa, FL officially became Columbia Restaurant, a place helmed by Casimiro Hernandez Sr. where cigar workers in Ybor City could rest and enjoy Spanish and Cuban food, or snag a sandwich to eat on the job. Through the years, the restaurant grew to envelop the entire city block, and today, the family-owned landmark is Florida’s oldest restaurant and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world with 15 dining rooms and 1,700 seats. Andrea Gonzmart Williams is the great-great-granddaughter of Casimiro Hernandez Sr., and she began working at Columbia at the age of 10 by doing filing in the corporate office. She continued working in various positions through high school and then after graduating from the University of South Florida, joined the family business full-time as the fifth generation of the 1905 Family of Restaurants. She is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of not only the flagship Ybor City location but also the other Columbia Restaurant locations in Florida, the Columbia Cafes at Tampa Bay History Center and Tampa International Airport, and other restaurant concepts within the company. But the Columbia isn’t just a family tradition for those who work there and grow up in the business; it’s also a traditional place of celebration for countless Florida families throughout the last 117 years.

Rocca, located in the Tampa Heights neighborhood of Tampa, FL, is Chef Bryce Bonsack’s love letter to the family who he worked for and lived with during his tutelage and pilgrimage in Italy. Showcasing fresh handmade pasta, mozzarella pulled tableside, and dry aged meats, Bryce creates an ever changing menu influenced by both classical recipes and modern techniques. A Tampa native, his culinary background includes multiple years of experience working in two Michelin-starred New York City restaurants -- Blanca and Corton -- and Rocca is his first restaurant as chef and owner. It received the first and only 10/10 rating from Tampa Bay Times’ restaurant critic, and most recently, Bryce followed in his mentors’ footsteps when Rocca received a highly coveted Michelin Star from the Guide in 2023, as well as a Bib Gourmand. The vibe is lively, the seasons and the local bounty are always represented on the plate, and the service is some of the best I’ve ever had. But the pasta? The pasta is magic.

The day dawns humid and the waters of Sarasota Bay seem like a glassy mirror reflecting a pale blue sky. There are the sounds of birds as well as the gentle lapping of water up against a boat, sure, but more often than not, those sounds are drowned out by the sounds of fishermen calling out to each other to set the lines as they dock, or the beeping of a refrigerated truck backing up to the loading dock, ready to receive a truckload of fish. This is just a day in the life for Karen Bell of A.P. Bell Fish Co, a seafood wholesaler that sits on the water of the aforementioned bay in the small fishing village of Cortez, FL. Since 1940, the Bell family has worked the docks, sorting, storing, and selling grouper and mullet, along with a variety of other seafood. In 1986, after completing college, Karen began working at the company and learning this male-dominated business alongside her father. Now 35 years in, she’s a strong advocate and ambassador of the fiercely proud and independent Cortez community, including as a founding member of FISH, the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage, where she acted as the lead negotiator on the purchase of the 100-acre FISH Preserve east of the village. She’s also the brains behind Star Fish Co., the dockside restaurant that’s part of the A.P. Bell Complex, serving fresh catch, sea breezes, and some of the best hushpuppies I’ve ever had.

I’ve been covering food for close to two decades, and throughout my career, most of the high volume places I visit, and especially those in tourist areas, don’t present menus that follow local seasons, feature local produce, or work with local farms. However, on Anna Maria Island, FL and neighboring Longboat Key, the restaurants of Chiles Hospitality Group: Beach House, Sandbar, Mar Vista, and Anna Maria Bake House, are a delicious exception. Beyond the restaurants, the company also includes Gamble Creek Farms, a certified organic farm in Parrish, FL, that supplies sustainable farm-to-fork produce to all of the restaurants, as well as composts the food waste from serving the thousands of tourists weekly. Zack Rasmussen and Natasha Ahuja are part of the leadership team of Gamble Creek, and both have extensive experience in permaculture design as well as an intense curiosity about the interrelatedness of the natural world. Begun in 2021, this 26-acre farm is still in its infancy, but a visit to Gamble Creek is already a kaleidoscope of flavor, mini ecosystems, and creative possibilities of how care for the environment and commerce can co-exist instead of being a forgone dichotomy.

Founded in 1959 by Inez Hill and Louise Hudson, otherwise known as Mama Hill and Mama Louise, H&H Restaurant in Macon, GA is a Southern institution. In the 70s, Macon was home to the newly minted Capricorn Records, and H&H fed many of the musicians coming through the town, though it is most famous for its founders’ unique friendship with the Allman Brothers Band, where the story goes if the band was high they had to come in through the kitchen door. That friendship took Mama Louise on quite a ride that included a seat on the Allman Brothers tour bus in 1972 and lifelong friendships with Gregg and the rest of the band. After Mama Hill died, H&H was closed for a little while, but in 2014, the Moonhanger Group reopened the historic restaurant in cooperation with Mama Louise, and soon after Tangie Myers and Kayla Price joined the restaurant to keep its legacy alive with crispy fried chicken, fluffy biscuits, and all the collards they could cook. H&H was named one of the top five meat-and-three joints by the Wall Street Journal in 2016, and the small place is not only filled with people six days a week, but it’s also decorated with photos and concert posters of some of the musicians the restaurant has served through the years.

Parnass Savang is a first-generation Thai American who grew up in his parents’ Thai restaurant in the Atlanta suburb of Lawrenceville. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, he came back to Atlanta to cook in some of the best kitchens in the city, including Kimball House, Staplehouse, and the now shuttered Empire State South. When he and fellow chef Rod Lassiter teamed up with dreams of a Thai restaurant, they tested menu items, built capital and a following by becoming one of the most exciting pop-ups in the city. In 2018 when they were still operating as that pop-up, Parnass was nominated as a James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef, and Bon Appetit named Talat Market one of the best 50 eateries in America. The two launched a Kickstarter campaign, raised capital, and what resulted is the brick-and-mortar coming to life of a comfortable and vibrant neighborhood restaurant that melds Thai technique and local Georgia ingredients. Last year, the restaurant was awarded the Georgia Organics Farmer Champion, and Eater Atlanta named it one of the “22 Restaurants we keep returning to.” Talat Market is located in the Summerhill neighborhood of Atlanta, which is adjacent to Grant Park, a location I erroneously reference as their home neighborhood in this interview.

Greenville, SC is not only a food-focused destination, it is a place that celebrates the active life through its parks and most notably, its Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 22-mile walking and biking greenway that connects the city to nearby Travelers Rest, SC. About halfway between the cities, close to mile marker 31 is the Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery. Mary Walsh, along with her co-founder Jac Oliver, began the business in 2011 to provide easier access to local, responsibly grown and sourced food in the area. Neither of them had entrepreneurial experience or had run a grocery store, but they shared a passion for local farmers and artisans and wanted to connect them with people who had an affinity for quality food. Through the years, they’ve become a powerhouse in the South Carolina food system and have built a brand synonymous with a healthy, active lifestyle. The cafe and grocery is a joyous place filled with bikers stopping off the trail, children playing in the playground, people grocery shopping, tables filling up with a hungry lunch crowd, and fresh breads and pastries coming out of the ovens on the regular.

Dan Weidenbenner moved to Greenville, SC in 2007 via Furman University. While there, he fell in love with the region and decided to stay, and then with the help of more than 50 volunteers, launched Mill Village Farms in 2012. The farm is located in the Greater Sullivan Community of Greenville and includes 30 garden beds, a 60-foot greenhouse, a commercial kitchen, and a produce-processing facility, and since 2018 has distributed close to 81,000 boxes of produce and provided 400 individual training opportunities for the neighborhood youth. Dan serves as the executive director of Mill Village Farms and the parent organization, Mill Village Ministries, and he is also a resident of the Greater Sullivan community.