My South

Thirty years ago I visited my first cousin in Virginia . While hanging out with his friends, the discussion turned to popular movies of the day. When I offered my two-cents on the authenticity and social relevance of the movie “Billy Jack”, one of the boys asked, in all seriousness; “Do you guys have movie theaters down there?” To which I replied, “Yep, and we wear shoes, too.”

Just three years ago, my wife and I were attending a food and wine seminar in Aspen , Colo. We were seated with two couples from Las Vegas . One of the Glitter Gulch gals was amazed, amused and downright rude when I described our restaurant as a fine-dining restaurant. “ Mississippi doesn't have fine-dining restaurants!” she demanded, as she snickered and nudged her companion. I fought back the strong desire to mention that she lived in the land that invented the 99-cent breakfast buffet, but resisted. I wanted badly to defend my state and my restaurant with a 15-minute soliloquy and public relations rant that would surely change her mind. It was at that precise moment that I was hit with a blinding jolt of enlightenment, and in a moment of complete and absolute clarity it dawned on me— my South is the best-kept secret in the country. Why would I try and win this woman over? She might move down here.

I am always amused by Hollywood 's interpretation of the South. We are still, on occasion, depicted as a collective group of sweaty, stupid, backwards-minded and racist rednecks. The South of movies and TV, the Hollywood South, is not my South.

My South is full of honest, hard-working people.
My South is colorblind. In my South, we don't put a premium on pigment. No one cares whether you are black, white, red or green with orange polka dots.
My South is the birthplace of blues and jazz, and rock-and-roll. It has banjo pickers      and fiddle players, but it is also has B.B. King, Muddy Waters, the Allman Brothers, Emmylou Harris and Elvis.
My South is hot.
My South smells of newly mown grass.
My South was the South of The Partridge Family, Hawaii 5-0 and kick the can.
My South was creek swimming, cane-pole fishing and bird hunting.
In my South, football is king, and the Southeastern Conference is the kingdom.
My South is home to the most beautiful women on the planet.
In my South, soul food and country cooking are the same thing.
My South is full of fig preserves, cornbread, butter beans, fried chicken, grits and catfish.
In my South we eat foie grass, caviar and truffles.
In my South, our transistor radios introduced us to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones at everything.
In my South the tea is iced, and almost as sweet as the women.
My South has air-conditioning.
My South is camellias, azaleas, wisteria and hydrangeas.
My South is humid.
In my South, the only person that has to sit on the back of the bus is the last person that got on the bus.
In my South, people still say “yes, ma'am”, “no, ma'am”, “please” and “thank you”
In my South, we all wear shoes… most of the time.

My south is the best-kept secret in the country. Please continue to keep the secret… it keeps the idiots away.

Robert St.John is the executive chef/owner of the Purple Parrot Café, Crescent City Grill and Mahogany Bar in Hattiesburg . If you have any questions or comments, he can be reached at stjohn@netdoor.com or at 601-264-0672. Web site coming soon http://www.nsrg.com/

21st Century Newz Salutes Mr. St. John

I too am a Southerner and have fought against the ignorance of the out side world. 
I have to admit that being a woman from the South has had its unique problems. I have worked around the nation in the professional fields of education and journalism most of my life.
My mother and father always said, "Let them think what they want if you tell them they might just come here."
Much to their dismay I married a man from New York (and he came here and loves it)!

Gwen Lattuca
Editor 21st Century Newz
P.S. They Love him too!

Check Out Great Recipes Here

Don"t Forget Coupons Before You Shop
Be sure to check out our coupon page HERE.

If you want to save money on your favorite brands check their web site. 21st Century Newz has compiled an A-Z list of popular grocery manufacturers for you.


CLICK HERE TO VIEW A-Z LIST OF MANUFACTURERS