Sampling Southern cuisine

One of the biggest differences I've noted in my Northern-to-Southern transition over the last few months relates to diet. As you might imagine, many of the food and beverages offerings in Florida are a dramatic departure from those I was accustomed to in Minnesota. However I consider myself to have a fairly adventurous palate, and thus am determined to experience a full range of unique Southern cuisine (well, within reason). The running list so far includes:

Grits:
I first heard of this dish when my sisters and I pulled into a Waffle House outside Atlanta for breakfast one morning on our cross-country drive down here last June. Grits is an American Indian corn-based food consisting of coarsely ground corn... and it's evidently a long-cherished dietary staple for generations of Southerners stretching from Texas to North Carolina. I personally liken the dish to tofu... it's only as good as whatever you mix into it. Some top it with butter or jam. My favorite version of the dish includes the addition of shrimp and cheese. Mmmm!

Gumbo:
A stew that originated in Louisiana and is now found across the South, gumbo typically contains a strong stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable "holy trinity" of celery, bell peppers and onion. It's warm and rich and makes for excellent soul food in cold weather. I recently cooked up a big pot of the stuff from a recipe that called for chicken and okra... and discovered that it also makes for an excellend nasal decongestant!

Gator:
Yes -- people EAT GATOR down here. And last weekend I became one of those people. Alligator farms in Georgia, Florida, Texas and Louisiana, in addition to producing a combined annual total of 45,000 hides, yield approximately 300,000 pounds of meat that is often used in preparing jambalays, soups and stews. My sampling of this delicacy came in the form of "deep fried gator tail," which is best complemented by either ketchup or honey mustard.

Sweet tea:
A signature drink in the South that is usually consumed daily as a staple soft drink... and the sweeter the better! Because it is relatively cheap, some restaurants place a pitcher of sweet tea on the table for the entire dinner party to share, and keep refilling it for free. I usually ignore this pitcher and beseech the waitress to bring a water carafe.

Tabasco sauce:
To be fair, this hot, spicy flavored sauce derived from tabasco peppers is not exactly unique to the South -- it's popular in many parts of the world. What is unique about tabasco in the South is the frequency and regularity with which it appears as a table condiment! I was shocked to find the campus cafeteria adorned with more bottles of the stuff than containers of ketchup, mustard, Splenda, Equal, creamer, salt, and pepper COMBINED.

Key lime pie:
When you think of REALLY good key lime pie (and really fresh orange juice, for that matter) Florida should definitely come to mind. The dish is named after the small key limes that are naturalized throughout the Florida Keys. For those of you who've enjoyed a slice of the green-colored variety, there is a good chance you didn't experience the real thing! Because key lime juice is actually pale yellow, the filling in a traditional key lime pie is also largely yellow... not green. Heads up to future Jax visitors: you will be invited to join me at some point for a massive slice of yellow key lime pie. ;-)