While on this trip I discovered many wild and wonderful things, including 7 of the 12 entries below on my list and several of the honorable mentions. I met the amazing food writer John T. Edge whose book “Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover’s Companion to the South” was one of my key culinary guides to my trip and who in turn introduced me to chef John Currence of City Grocery (and James Beard award winner, Best Chef, South) and they both in turn pointed me in the direction of Chefs Frank Stitt and Chris Hastings of Birmingham, AL and Mike Lata, Sean Brock and Robert Stehling of Charleston, SC. More on all of them, later.

Through these folks and Sigrid Tiedtke of the Enzian Theater in Winter Park, FL (home of the Florida Film Festival) I was also introduced to Southern cuisine and a wonderful organization called the Southern Foodways Alliance, with which I hope to have a long and fruitful relationship!

So here, without further rambling, my top food moments of 2009, presented in chronological order.

Unassuming doesn't cover it, but inside is pure pie gold!

March – Craig Brothers Cafe & Mary’s Family Pie Shop (De Valls Bluff, AR):

Good lord. De Valls Bluff is pretty much the capital of Nowhere, Arkansas, has fewer than 800 residents, is a 90 mile drive SW from Memphis and is 8 miles off the interstate but good lord the lunch you can have, there. You’d never run into this place by chance, of course so take heed. The only reason I know about it comes from reading “Southern Belly,” which guided me to a number of fine eateries in the South. Calling Craig Bros. Cafe a shack is not an exaggeration. It’s a small, unassuming building on Walnut Street and is the kind of place unadventurous eaters and “safe” travelers would avoid. Sucks for them, because it’s exactly that kind of place where one can finds sublime eating experiences, as is the case with their BBQ chopped pork sandwiches. Served with mild, medium or hot sauce (I go with medium) the sandwich is the perfect mix of juicy slow-smoked pork and crispy burnt bits served, as is the Memphis-area style, with slaw on the sandwich, wrapped in tissue paper.

After lunch, head across the street to Mary’s Family Pie Shop (look for the house with “Pie Shop” spray painted on it) for some of the most delectable pies on earth. $8.60 for a large! Try the chocolate, coconut or any other kind she’s got. You’ll thank me.

March – Smitty’s Market (Lockhart, TX): My first experience with real Texas BBQ was a serious exercise in excellence in meat. No plates, no forks. Plastic knives & Shiner Bock. And meat. Sweet, spicy, smokey meat!

March/April – New Orleans: From your first “Where y’at, cher?” this city says “Come on in, take a load off and eat well!” A city with its own cuisine, a city with a soul like no other and a city where you can eat a different meal every day for a year and still have something new to eat on New Year’s Day. From breakfast at Stanley on historic Jackson Square in the Quarter http://stanleyrestaurant.com/ to a Johnny’s Special Po-Boy at (duh) Johnny’s http://www.johnnyspoboy.com/ to dinners at Cochon, NOLA, K-Paul’s and Lüke, my 2 visits to The Big Easy were food heaven.

Bread pudding and vintage port, Lüke restaurant, New Orleans.

Spring – Southern Chefs: Sean Brock, John Currence, Chris Hastings, Mike Lata, Robert Stehling and Frank Stitt

Brock, 2009 James Beard Rising Chef of the year nominee, is the executive chef at McCrady’s http://www.mccradysrestaurant.com/ in Charleston and my two dinners there in early May were among the best meals I’ve ever had, with the 7 course tasting menu a magical mix of molecular gastronomy and the locavore ideal. Makes sense, since Brock runs his own farm that helps supply the restaurant.

New Orleans native Currence runs a mini-empire http://www.bigbadbreakfast.com/ in Oxford, MS which includes  City Grocery, Bouré, Big Bag Breakfast (BBB) and Snack Bar, four very different and wonderful eateries in this relatively small University town of 19,000 (almost doubled, when you include students). Johnny Snack, as he’s sometimes known, was named Best Chef, South at the 2009 James Beard Awards and he continues to dazzle, acting also as the culinary coordinator for the Southern Foodways Alliance’s annual symposium (see below). Skip breakfast at the BBB at your peril.

2 eggs, country ham, grits, red-eye gravy and a biscuit at the BBB!

Lata’s joint FIG http://www.eatatfig.com/ (stands for Food Is Good) in Charleston, SC is fine dining in the guise of a neighborhood joint. The proof that one doesn’t have to charge astronomical prices and put on airs to cook extraordinary fresh food. The best chefs are the ones that change their menu according to what’s the freshest, tastiest and local and Lata’s at the top of his game.

Sautéed Young Greens, chile and garlic w/ Anson Mills Farrotto and English peas at FIG.

Hastings’ Hot & Hot Fish Club http://www.hotandhotfishclub.com/ which he operates with wife Idie is a jewel in a surprisingly (to this Yankee) robust Birmingham, Alabama food scene. Sit at the open kitchen and watch them shine. I can’t say enough about the Fudge Farms pork shoulder noodle bowl with poached farm egg. Again, “local” is the word that unites these chefs and their work speaks for themselves.

Fudge Farms pork shoulder noodle bowl with poached farm egg.

2008 Beard Award winner (best chef, Southeast) Stehling’s Hot Pepper Jelly is reason enough to visit his Hominy Grill http://hominygrill.com/ in Charleston. Sure, come for the jelly, but stay for the shrimp and grits. Seriously, Charleston deserves an entry all of its own and could make a case for  being the best per capita food city in America.

Much like Stehling’s hot pepper jelly (which has become a staple on my own table), Frank Stitt’s parmesan souffle at Bottega http://www.bottegarestaurant.com/ in Birmingham is the stuff of dreams. Literally. The godfather of Birmingham chefs, Stitt single-handedly put the city on the culinary map when he opened Highlands Bar & Grill http://www.highlandsbarandgrill.com/ in 1982. I’ve had 3 meals at his joints and they’ve all be exceptional, even revelatory.

Parmesan Soufflé w/Galloni prosciutto, wild mushrooms and thyme at Bottega.

June – Round Swamp Farm http://www.roundswampfarm.com/home.html (East Hampton, NY): There are loads of farm stands out in these parts, but this family-run spot is head and shoulders above the rest. The family have run the stand for over 40 years and come from a long line of farmers and fishers. The fish counter has a sign each day indicating what fish were brought in that morning by local bay men. It can seem pricey, but it’s the best local produce and fish and the friendliest place around.

June – Matt & Ted Lee’s The Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook http://mattleeandtedlee.com/lee-bros/our-first-cookbook/ and Boiled Peanuts Catalog http://www.boiledpeanuts.com/: Along with my Spring swing through the South, this book and catalog from the fabulous Lee Brothers did more to shape my recent culinary explorations than anything else. Combining Lowcountry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowcountry_cuisine and Bonac cuisine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonackers has delighted me (and my many guests) for the better part of this year. Shrimp, local littleneck clams and caramelized leeks over Lady Cream and red-hulled peas or fried local fluke, Peconic Bay scallops and Spanish chorizo over red-hulled peas are just two ways these two coastal cuisines have merged in my kitchen.

Shrimp, local littleneck clams and caramelized leeks over Lady Cream and red-hulled peas.

Labor Day Weekend – My first home-smoked pork butt: It took 11 hours, I didn’t have any meat syringes to inject the brine, had never smoked anything before and had a party full of discerning Southerners but I managed to pull it off. The BBQ sauce I had on hand from Craig Brothers didn’t hurt.

September – Almond Restaurant’s roast chicken (Bridgehampton & NYC, NY): Quite simply, the greatest chicken dish I have ever had. In its current state it’s served over a bed of cavolo nero (Tuscan black kale, w/house-cured bacon in the NYC locale) and celery root puree with natural juices. The thigh and leg are cooked en confit, while the breast is roasted. The difference in textures along with a wonderfully crisp flavorful skin (I usually can’t stand chicken skin) and the pan juices over the kale and celery root make for a rich, hearty and satisfying dish, perfect for an East End winter’s night!

Halloween Weekend – The Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium: I have never experienced something so short (3 days) that so quickly captured the summer camp vibe of my childhood. Run by an organization dedicated to preserving and teaching the legacy of southern food culture, the symposium was part lecture, part cocktail party, part group feed and all fun. I met some people on my first trip this year that I hope will be friends for the rest of my life.

David Chang's Bo Ssäm (slow-roasted pork shoulder) with kimchi Brussels sprouts & whole peanuts.

Halloween – My first Hog Pickin’: After the SFA symposium,  I was lucky enough to be invited to a hog picking. Basically a whole hog roast for about 40 people in a backyard. The pig is roasted for over a day and the host makes his own BBQ sauce. I’d never had it before, but I sure want to have it again. It was one of the most purely community-oriented food experiences I’ve ever had, with the vibe of a culinary barn raising.

Thanksgiving at the Rattray’s – East Hampton, NY: I look forward to this gathering for about 11 months and 29 days each year. Great family friends, good wine and food: local oysters “Rattray,” ham, turkey, ham, cranberries, ham, pumpkin cheesecake (par moi), ham and the sublime persimmon pudding. I’m drooling like Homer….. Next year I plan on bringing one of Colonel Newsom’s aged Kentucky hams! http://www.newsomscountryham.com

Mmmmmm, ham!

Peconic bay scallops with local littleneck clams & chorizo over purple-hulled peas.

December – Maine Shrimp & Peconic bay scallop seasons: This one’s easy. It’ll be on my list every year from now until the day I die. If I lived in Damascus, I’d figure out how to get these delicacies mailed to me. The deep water shrimp are so delicate, only the slightest amount of heat is needed to cook them and in fact, are perfectly good to eat raw (they are served as ama-ebi on sushi menus all along the East coast). Don’t use heavy sauces because much like the bay scallops they are sweet and full of flavor all on their own. If you can get them from your fish market with the heads still on, all the better, since the heads contribute incredible flavor to a wonderful stock. See my risotto recipe: http://www.eatingisfundamental.com/2009/12/18/recipe-maine-shrimp-risotto/

As for the scallops, pretty much everything I said above for the shrimp applies for these bivalves. Infinitely more delicate and sweet than their larger cousins from the sea, bays cook up in no time and make for a marvelous, quick and easy special dinner. At $17/lb more than the Maine shrimp, bay scallops are not really every day fare, but for a special dinner or as a part of a seafood feast, they can’t be beat.

Honorable mentions:

BBQ Spaghetti, The Bar-B-Q Shop – Memphis TN: Seriously. It’s fucking great.

Beef Stew, my house – East Hampton, NY: Yes, I listed something I make myself. Why? It’s that goddamn good.

Coca-Cola Cake at Jestine’s Kitchen – Charleston, SC: Yep. You read right. It’s all good at Jestine’s.

The Candy Kitchen’s Peanut Butter & Bacon sandwich on white toast -  Bridgehampton, NY: Duh. The place has been around since 1925 for a reason.

Hog’s Head Cheese, Cochon Restaurant- New Orleans, LA: If only for teaching me that head cheese isn’t, in fact, some really nasty-ass shit, but can be fantastic.

Nikki’s West – Birmingham, AL: Where I learned of a tasty fish called Scamp, ate of the most wondrous onion rings on earth and was so intimidated by the buffet line that I chose to order off the menu. Big mistake, apparently. Word has it, the buffet is akin to the 8th wonder of the world. http://www.nikiswest.com/

Sam’s Pizza http://www.samseasthampton.com/, East Hampton, NY: 2x shrimp, clams, garlic, gorgonzola and bacon, light on the mozzarella and well done. Perfection. An East Hampton landmark since 1947!