localpalate white
http://cookbook%20icon
http://cookbook%20icon

Cookbook Club • Get your library card and unlock exclusive recipes today.

Join!
close
localpalate white
http://cookbook%20icon
http://cookbook%20icon
Cookbook Club
localpalate
Discover the best of
Southern Food

Plus, receive 10% off at the Local Palate Marketplace

GET THE MAGAZINE

Shreveport-Bossier Chef Beats Bobby Flay in Cooking Competition

Posted on by TLP's Partners
Chef Niema DiGrazia, Sierra Leonian chef in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana, stands confidently in a white uniform with gold details, gold jewelry, and warm makeup.

Back in May, Shreveport-Bossier’s own Chef Niema DiGrazia caught the world’s attention when she took home a win on the Food Network’s hit show, Beat Bobby Flay, with her take on Maafe—a peanut-butter based stew that originates in her home country of Sierra Leone.

Because of Chef Niema’s achievement and her impact on Louisiana ‘s culinary scene, she has been chosen to represent Shreveport-Bossier in New York City this October at the Louisiana Travel Association’s annual event, “Taste Louisiana.” Held in a different city each year, this event gives media personnel the opportunity to try out the best of Louisiana’s cuisine, with a goal of increasing tourism to the state.

A vibrant plate of plantains, vegetables, meat, and grains with a pink flower garnish stuns at Niema's Cookery Corner in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana.

While DiGrazia is starting to make waves around the world, the Shreveport-Bossier community is no stranger to her talent. DiGrazia has owned her own food truck, Niema’s Cookery Corner, since 2020 and is also the head chef at Abby Singer’s Bistro in Downtown Shreveport. Locals and tourists alike love DiGrazia’s unique spin on southern cuisine, which blends Louisiana soul-food with West-African and Caribbean flair. Dishes range from comforting Chicken and Beignets, (her take on Chicken and Waffles) to Jerk Chicken Mac and Cheese and Jollof Arancini, which features risotto balls with mushrooms, parmesan and pureed mushroom.

Located on the top floor of the Robinson Film Center, Abby Singer’s prides itself on featuring an intimate dine-in atmosphere along with Shreveport’s only public dining balcony. Food and drinks purchased at the restaurant can also be enjoyed inside the Robinson Film Center while watching a movie.

DiGrazia is one of many talented chefs feeding the Shreveport-Bossier community. With enough flavor, style and soul for two cities, there are countless mouthwatering dining options in the area. Go to visitshreveportbossier.org to plan your culinary tour today.

keep reading

crawfish5 1
Partnered

Press Play on Fun in Shreveport-Bossier

Summer’s the perfect time for an adventure the family will enjoy in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana– […]

Dining Out

9 Noteworthy Louisiana Restaurants | Listen

From New Orleans to Lake Charles, Louisiana has an incredible variety of top-notch restaurants […]

Fried Shrimp Po' Boy on a tray
In the Field

The Story Behind the Shrimp Po’ Boy

TLP heads to the coastal Louisiana to explore the origin story of the shrimp […]

Seeds of Change | Listen

Posted on by TLP Editors

How one Alabama family is cultivating a new legacy through lotus roots

In the heart of Alabama’s agriculturally rich Black Belt region, where catfish ponds once dominated the landscape, an unexpected revolution has taken root. Lotus flowers bloom each summer, rising majestically above the water—their circular leaves perfectly smooth and round, their petals ranging from the purest white to yellow to the deepest red. The Bancroft family’s journey from tilapia farming to becoming one of America’s premier lotus cultivators is a tale of innovation, adaptability, and unexpected opportunity.

Unknown

Laura Bancroft, a retired educator with a spark of entrepreneurial spirit (and mother to chef David Bancroft of ACRE and Bow & Arrow restaurants in Auburn), never imagined she’d become a lotus pioneer. The transformation began when her son Bill, armed with degrees in horticulture and information systems from Auburn University, received an intriguing offer from a Dutch company seeking to grow ornamental lotus in greenhouses, what became known as the Auburn Lotus Project. The idea of the project had been to create a dual-crop system, in conjunction with catfish farming, to create an additional source of income for farmers in this region of the state. When the three graduate students running the program graduated and Auburn University’s lotus research project concluded, they were prepared to discard their collection of lotus rhizomes. Instead, they offered them to the Bancrofts—a gift that would change everything.

“We received about 25 varieties,” Laura recalls, her eyes lighting up with the memory. “It was also at that point that Bill went back to medical school and I took over running the nursery.” The family’s previously dormant tilapia farm, once a symbol of agricultural tradition, became the perfect canvas for their new venture. The interconnected ponds, meticulously designed by Laura’s father, JP Kennedy, could be easily drained and refilled—an ideal environment for lotus cultivation. “The climate here is just perfect for lotus,” David notes. “The temperatures, humidity—all of it.” What began as an experimental project soon blossomed into a multifaceted business.

The Bancrofts knew their lotus had unexpected commercial potential beyond ornamental gardening. A biochemical firm approached them, interested in the plant’s biomass for skincare products. Suddenly, their lotus was being used by major brands like Neutrogena, Aveeno, Coppertone, and Fresh, a luxury brand under the LVMH umbrella. “In most parts of the world, when you say ‘lotus,’ people think of food,” Laura explains. While the United States has yet to fully embrace lotus as a culinary staple, in countries like China, it’s as fundamental as potatoes are to Americans. A well-managed acre can produce an astounding 26 tons of edible product.

alt imagea

In the kitchen, David has experimented with the roots, showcasing them on the ACRE menu from time to time, creating a full circle pond-to-plate moment in the life of the plants his mother raises. “I confess I am still learning about all the ways we can use the edible lotus,” David says. “I use it for crunch in some broth-based dishes, instead of a water chestnut. I’ve also taken some of our pepper mash and made lotus kimchi. Lotus chips are another great use but I know there is so much more we can do.” He adds that his other brother, Ben, is interested in using the lotus root to make an alcoholic spirit, like vodka. “Mom would love it if we could figure that out,” he adds with a laugh.

The farm now boasts more than 400 varieties of lotus, both ornamental and edible. Their collection includes the prized Hubei #3 variety, a favorite in China. During harvest season, they employ up to 30 workers, transforming the ponds into a hive of activity. Laura, now 73, approaches lotus farming with the same passion she once brought to teaching. “They are such miraculous plants,” she says. “They’re very easy to grow, and even the leaves are spectacularly beautiful.” Her knowledge spans from the plant’s cultural significance in Buddhism and Hinduism to its potential health benefits, including its ability to lower blood pressure and provide antioxidants.

The lotus’s unique characteristics fascinate her. Its leaf surface, for instance, has an extraordinary property that allows water and dust to simply roll off, a feature that has attracted scientific research for potential applications in everything from car windows to The Ten Mile Creek Farm operation serves a diverse market—from individual gardeners to wholesale nurseries, and from biochemical companies to potential culinary innovators. The Bancrofts see tremendous untapped potential, especially with the growing vegan and health-conscious population in the United States. Lotus roots can be ground into a flour that is naturally gluten-free. “It could be a huge market,” Laura suggests, adding, “if marketed by someone with more energy than me.”

Their journey represents more than just agricultural diversification. It’s a testament to family collaboration and the ability to see opportunity where others might see only abandoned fishponds. From the research halls of Auburn University to the global skincare market, from traditional Asian cuisine to emerging American wellness trends, these remarkable plants continue to bloom with possibility.

keep reading

TLP Featured Image ()
In the Field

10 Southern Innovators Changing the Game

These 10 innovators are taking action to tackle big food-focused issues around the Southeast and working hard to change the game.

Womens Hands Thumbnail
In the Field

8 Stories of Women Shaping Southern Food

From thought-provoking authors to pioneering chefs to impactful organizers, we’ve gathered some of our most loved female-focused stories.

DSC 3314 1
In the Field

A Forestry Camp Grows in Asheville

In a historic woodland setting in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Burial Beer Company’s sprawling new digs tell the story of the community who helped to shape it, past and present.

Cooking for Comfort

Posted on by Erin Byers Murray

When Kayla Stewart’s mother cooked her version of shrimp Creole, it wasn’t by recipe but by memory. “There’s nothing written down; it’s all been oral,” Stewart says. The dish was part of her mother’s Louisiana heritage, Creole-focused repertoire, and a benchmark of pleasure for Stewart while she was growing up in Houston. When Stewart, now an editor at Eater, attended graduate school in New York, she came across a copy of Toni Tipton-Martin’s cookbook, Jubilee. “I was away from home, away from the South, and I was looking for comfort,” she says. She was taken aback by the beauty of the book, specifically the ways in which African Americans are incorporated in the photography and design. “Toni’s book, in addition to being pivotal in terms of my career, was also extremely helpful in me finding a connection to home.”

Kayla Stewart

The shrimp Creole recipe jumped out as a recall to her mom’s cooking. “It has the holy trinity, the Creole seasoning, the shrimp, all of these ingredients I am familiar with,” she says. “I was just getting into food and I was interested in new places. I would go to a spice shop, Kalustyan’s in New York, and even though you can find the spices for this recipe in a grocery store, I was very excited about getting to know these spices better, getting to know where the peppercorns were coming from.”

The dish delivered in more ways than one. “In her headnote, Toni writes about Lena Richard, who would be considered a Martha Stewart or Julia Child of her time—a Black woman who had a food television show in the first half of the 20th century,” Stewart notes. “For me, the dish was also a way to celebrate the Black women who have entered that space and been able to create their own lanes, even when they weren’t given the same appreciation or regards as others.”

Stewart, who now lives in New Orleans, continues making shrimp Creole when she needs a taste of home—and now, she has a connection to the cookbook author, too; Tipton-Martin has become a mentor. Stewart’s also continued making recipes from Jubilee over the years. But this is the one that always delivers, she says. “I’ve cooked it for celebrations. I’ve cooked it for grief. I’ve cooked it for healing. It makes me feel like I’m back home, sitting at my mom’s table, waiting, that aromatic smell coming out of a big pot of food. It’s a moment of peace, to be honest.”

Shrimp

Shrimp Creole heading-plus-icon

yields

Serves 4-5

    ingredients
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 1 small onion, quartered, plus 1 1⁄2 cups chopped
  • 1 celery stalk with leaves, halved, plus 1⁄2 cup chopped
  • Stems from 2 sprigs fresh parsley plus 2 teaspoons minced parsley
  • 1 large and 1 small bay leaf
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1⁄2 tablespoons plus 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
  • 10 whole black peppercorns
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme, divided
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, divided
  • 1 pound shell-on shrimp
  • 2 tablespoons bacon drippings,
  • vegetable or olive oil, or melted butter
  • 1⁄2 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes
  • Freshly cooked rice
steps
  1. In a large dutch oven or saucepan, bring 1 quart of water to a boil. Add lemon halves, onion quarters, celery pieces, parsley stems, large bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, 1½ tablespoons salt, peppercorns, cloves, and ¼ teaspoon each of thyme and cayenne. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes to allow flavors to mingle.
  2. Add shrimp to the pot and return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook until shrimp just turn pink, about 5 minutes. If necessary, remove faster-cooking shrimp from pan as they are done. Drain and reserve 1 cup of shrimp stock for the sauce. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining stock for later use.) Once cool enough to handle, peel and devein shrimp.
  3. In a large skillet, heat bacon fat over medium until sizzling. Add bell pepper, chopped celery, and chopped onion and sauté until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, reserved shrimp stock, small bay leaf, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon each of thyme and cayenne. Cook until vegetables are tender and tomatoes are saucy, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.
  4. Stir in shrimp and cook just a few minutes to heat through. Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve spooned over rice.

keep reading

Womens Hands Thumbnail
In the Field

8 Stories of Women Shaping Southern Food

From thought-provoking authors to pioneering chefs to impactful organizers, we’ve gathered some of our most loved female-focused stories.

lock cookbook
TLP Featured Image ()
Cookbook Club

 9 Cookbooks from Black Chefs to Celebrate Juneteenth | Listen

To kick off Juneteenth we’re sharing nine cookbooks from renowned Black chefs from rooted Southern classics to new takes on culinary staples.

Shrimp Creole
Recipes

Effie’s Shrimp Creole

Matthew Raiford’s shrimp creole is a traditional Geechee dish from mainland Georgia. This recipe has been handed down through his family.

How Pullman Market Brings the Season’s Best to San Antonio

Posted on by Veronica Meewes

By late summer in Texas, the farmer’s market tables are overflowing—plump tomatoes still warm from the sun, fragrant peaches that perfume the air, and peppers in every color from chartreuse to crimson. But if you’ve ever wished you could capture that same abundance on a Tuesday afternoon instead of waiting for the weekend, Pullman Market is the answer.

Pullman Market at Night (Credit Robert Lerma)

Housed in the historic Samuel’s Glass building at San Antonio’s Historic Pearl, Pullman is part grocery, part culinary playground, and all rooted in the hyperlocal ethos of chef-restaurateur Kevin Fink, founder of Emmer & Rye Hospitality. Inside, you’ll find produce from more than 200 Texas growers and producers—Barton Springs Mill grains, La Babia Cattle Company beef, Minamoto-sourced Gulf seafood—alongside local artisan products like Wildflower Caramels and Oatmeal & Co. granola.

Fink, who grew up in Tucson, says the idea for Pullman took shape during the pandemic, when restaurant shutdowns meant shopping more like a home cook. “The disparity between quality and locality became very apparent,” he says. “Why was it so hard to get restaurant-quality meat or farmer’s market vegetables in a convenient way?”

That question became a mission: to give customers daily access to the same caliber of ingredients his kitchens use while freeing small farmers from the time-consuming demands of weekly markets. The result is a space that marries the quality of a chef’s pantry with the accessibility of a neighborhood market.

Pullman Market Butcher (Credit Robert Lerma)

“Simply put, fresh food is better,” says Fink. “Food that is in your community travels less and can be picked at more ripe times. Which results in less breakdown and just more nutrient and flavor dense foods. We try to listen to our land and environment rather than forcing it to do what we want. Think of this as grocery shopping by what looks best rather than a specific recipe. The depth of flavor you get from cooking with only in season items is amazing. Once you start cooking this way, it is really hard to taste a commodity sauce or protein and not see the lack of depth or flavor.”

In the butcher shop, whole animals from Texas ranchers are broken down with precision, ensuring nothing goes to waste—pork fat becomes soap, tortillas, or salami; beef tallow seasons fries and enriches sauces. The fish counter offers day-boat and nearshore Gulf catch, processed fresh and sold within 48 hours. 

“Japan is a huge inspiration to this,” says Fink. “Their quality and care of seafood is intentional at every level and, because of that expectation, seafood quality is just higher. This is what we are looking to create on a regional level, where the red snapper you buy at Pullman is just better because it is handled that way from the time it was caught.”

Sustainability is more than a buzzword at Pullman—it’s baked into every department. Produce that’s a little past its retail prime becomes soups or sauces. Day-old bread turns into croutons, bread pudding, or even gets milled back into flour. And when a cut of meat isn’t in the case, it may be on a plate at one of Pullman’s four in-house restaurants.

Those restaurants—Fife & Farro (heritage grain pizza and pasta), Mezquite (Sonoran-style grilled meats and tortillas), Isidore (a hyper-seasonal Texas tasting room), and Nicosi (an innovative pastry chef–driven dessert bar)—each carry Fink’s commitment to cooking with the land, not against it. Menus shift with what’s available that week, sometimes even that day.

Tavel Bristol Joseph at Nicosi (Credit Robert Lerma) () ()

“The commitment to only seasonal and local is at a level few other restaurants achieve,” says Fink. “We only buy spices and herbs from our region, we look for oils from our region, or even change a recipe based upon the seasonality of the secondary or tertiary flavor additions.”For Fink, Pullman isn’t just about the food itself—it’s about shaping a community around better eating. “The best markets are community hubs,” he says. “They empower a community to celebrate with them, to build tradition around them, to eat better because of them. We get to see this every day in Pullman, but the story is just beginning.”

Get the Recipe: Isidore’s 12oz Wagyu Denver Steak

Wagyu Denver Steak

Isidore's Wagyu Denver Steak heading-plus-icon

yields

Serves up to 5

    For the Charred Cucumber
  • 3 whole cucumbers
  • ½ cup (100g) fermented green tomato water (see below)
  • ¾ cup (200g) cucumber skin oil (see below)
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt (or about 1% of cucumber weight)
  • 1½ teaspoons sugar (or about 0.5% of cucumber weight)
    • For the Beef & Red Wine Bordelaise Sauce
  • 4 cups (800g) good quality beef stock (preferably low sodium)
  • 2 cups (400g) dry red wine
  • 3 medium onions, halved
  • 1 tablespoon mesquite flour (or substitute with a pinch of smoked paprika for smoky flavor)
  • 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
  • Salt, to taste
  • Sugar, to taste
    • For the Wagyu Denver Steak
  • 12 oz Denver Steak (Quanity: as many as you’d like to serve)
  • Salt
  • Oil
steps

Make the Charred Cucumber

Make the Fermented Green Tomato Water (Advance Prep):
  1. Quarter green (unripe) tomatoes and place in a clean jar or container.
  2. Add 3% kosher salt by weight (for example, 30g salt per 1kg tomatoes).
  3. Cover loosely and ferment at room temperature for 5-7 days.
  4. Strain the liquid and store in the fridge.
Make the Cucumber Skin Oil:
  1. Peel the cucumbers and save the skins.
  2. Place skins in a grill basket or directly on a hot grill until lightly charred.
  3. Blend charred skins with neutral oil at a 1:3 ratio (1 part skins, 3 parts oil) until fully blended.
  4. No need to strain — store in the fridge.
Assemble the recipe
  1. Prep the Cucumbers: Peel cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise. Lay them on a paper towel-lined tray. Sprinkle with kosher salt and sugar. Let sit for at least 1 hour to lightly cure and draw out moisture.
  2. Grill the Cucumbers: Preheat grill or grill pan to high heat. Char the cut side of the cucumbers until deeply colored (1-2 minutes). Remove and let cool slightly.
  3. Marinate: Place grilled cucumbers in a bowl or zip-top bag. Pour in the fermented tomato water and cucumber skin oil to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, for the best flavor.
  4. Serve: Slice on a sharp bias into thin planks when ready to serve.

Make the Beef & Red Wine Bordelaise Sauce

  1. Brûlée the Onions: Heat a dry skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Place the halved onions, cut side down, and cook until deeply charred (about 5-8 minutes). Set aside.
  2. Reduce the Wine & Stock Separately: In a medium pot, simmer the red wine on medium-low heat until reduced by half. In a large pot, simmer the beef stock separately until reduced by half.
  3. Combine & Reduce Further: Add the reduced wine to the reduced stock in the large pot. Add the charred onions and thyme. Simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes until reduced by about 1/3.
  4. Strain: Remove from heat. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot or bowl. Press gently on solids to extract flavor.
  5. Season & Finish: Return the liquid to the pot. Whisk in the mesquite flour (or smoked paprika). Simmer for 5-10 minutes to slightly thicken and develop the smoky flavor. Season with salt and a pinch of sugar to balance acidity.
  6. Blend (Optional): For a smoother texture, you can blend briefly with a stick blender before serving.

Make the Wagyu Denver Steak

  1. Prepare the Steak: Take the steak out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes for more even cooking. Pat the steak dry to remove excess moisture, which helps with searing. Season both sides generously with salt.
  2. Heat the Pan or Grill: For pan-searing, preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet (like cast iron) over high heat until it’s smoking hot. For grilling, preheat your grill to high heat.
  3. Sear the Steak: Add a bit of high-smoke point oil to the pan or lightly oil your grill grates. Carefully place the steak on the hot surface. Sear for about 2-3 minutes per side.
  4. Rest the Steak: Remove the steak from the heat and let it rest for 5-10 minutes, either loosely covered with foil or on a cutting board.
  5. Slice, Serve and Garnish: Slice the steak against the grain for maximum tenderness. Garnish/serve with previously prepared Beef & Red Wine Bordelaise and Charred Cucumber in Fermented Tomato & Cucumber Skin Marinade.


keep reading

Pullman Market Interior (Credit Robert Lerma)
On the Road

River City Reawakening | Listen

Explore San Antonio, Texas, with our editor-in-chief: a city that is steeped in American history and a wealth of culinary culture.

TLP featured image
Dining Out

The Ultimate Texas Dining Guide 2025 | Listen

They say everything’s bigger and better in Texas, and its dining scene – from the latest cocktail joints to local eateries – is no exception.

The kitchen at Isidore
Dining Out

Isidore

Isidore pulls from its home state’s surroundings, featuring Texas ingredients, cooking methods, materials, and a Texas wine program.

Cookbook Review: Brunch Season

Posted on by Brittany Furbee
Brunch Season Cover

In the world of food, there are many things that cause controversy–think pineapple on pizza or a well-done steak. Despite these polarizing topics, there’s one meal I think most people can get behind: brunch. Much like chef Suzanne Vizethann, author of Brunch Season, I believe brunch doesn’t always receive the fanfare it deserves. The recipes in Vizethann’s book, along with the vibrant photography, draw the reader in and invite them to master the art of restaurant quality brunch at home. 

As an organization junkie, I loved how easy this book was to navigate, starting with a “how to use this book” section, something I think every cookbook author should consider adding. It then segways into chapters, starting with recipes from the brunch menu at her restaurant, Buttermilk Kitchen in Atlanta, offering those more seasoned home cooks a chance to create restaurant quality brunch. The cookbook then guides readers on a journey to explore brunch from a seasonal lens, focusing on the fleeting ingredients and fresh produce that come and go throughout the year, starting with spring. 

Join the Cookbook Club

lock

Members Only Content

This page is for Cookbook Club members only.

If you are a member, please sign in and try again.

If you are not a member, click the button below to sign up.

Join the club

Just a Drizzle of Sorghum

Posted on by Tate Jacaruso

Drizzling everything from waffles to grits with sorghum syrup is a Southern tradition. Indigenous to Africa, sorghum cane is pressed, and the juice is cooked down into a golden liquid that’s like a cross between maple syrup and molasses. It was a childhood staple for Dallas McGarity, chef and owner at The Fat Lamb in Louisville, Kentucky. “My grandma used to put it on the table with some homemade biscuits with butter,” he says. “[It’s a] big thing in Kentucky.”

Screenshot at  AM

The taste is more complex than what you usually pour on pancakes. “It’s a little bit like a melted dark sugar,” says the chef. “It has that bitterness to it, but it’s also got a sweetness to it. And I think they play really well together.” McGarity gets it local by the gallon from Bourbon Barrel Foods; it lasts a couple of weeks in the pantry and a month in the fridge.

At The Fat Lamb, the chef uses sorghum syrup in a range of recipes from barbecue sauce to zabaione, a custard dessert. The versatile ingredient shines in their whipped sorghum sweet potatoes served alongside pork tenderloin. “It’s basically like a roasted sweet potato that we blend with some sorghum, a little bit of cream, and it comes out light and fluffy,” McGarity says. “And it gets that earthiness from the sorghum, but also the sweetness.”

Sorghum Sweet Potatoes heading-plus-icon

yields

Serves 4

    ingredients
  • 5-6 medium sweet potatoes
  • Olive oil for drizzling
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1⁄4 pound high-quality butter, cut
  • into chunks
  • 1⁄2 cup sorghum
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
steps
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash sweet potatoes under hot water and allow to drip dry for 10 minutes. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Season with salt and pepper and bake for about 1 hour or until super soft.
  2. Remove potatoes from oven and allow to cool slightly. Peel, then place potatoes in bowl of a food processor. (This may have to be done in two batches.) Add butter, sorghum, and sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately or reheat slowly on a stovetop in a heavy saucepot for serving later.

keep reading

IMG_4442.jpg
Recipes

Crispy Ham Ribs with Sorghum Mustard Glaze

For brine, combine all brine ingredients and warm the water to dissolve all salts and sugars. Allow brine to cool and then submerge the ribs in the brine. Keep the ribs fully submerged for 4–5 days in the refrigerator.

TLP Featured Image ()
In the Field

10 Southern Innovators Changing the Game

These 10 innovators are taking action to tackle big food-focused issues around the Southeast and working hard to change the game.

Catfish Featured 1
Key Ingredient

6 Food and Drink Recipes That Honor Black History Month

Southern bartenders, chefs, and cookbook authors share the stories behind their favorite drinks and dishes to honor Black History Month.

8 Groundbreaking Asian Fusion Restaurants

Posted on by Peyton Hassinger

The Southern culinary scene is constantly evolving, and one of the most exciting trends has been the expansive rise of Asian fusion restaurants, with dining spots pulling from India to South Korea. Boasting traditional flavors with modern twists, these fusion restaurants are transporting diners across oceans. We’re highlighting eight new Asian fusion restaurants with creative takes on classic dishes and unforgettable dining experiences.

Maru | Tampa, Florida

Executive chef Billy Brannen and culinary director Masa Hamaya of the Indigo Road Hospitality Group work to curate an intimate rooftop Nikkei experience that blends bright Peruvian ingredients with precise Japanese culinary techniques at Maru. The expertly crafted beverage selection, directed by Vonda Freeman, features an expansive list of wines and Champagnes as well as classic and contemporary Nikkei cocktails. Enjoy vibrant small plates and shareables while fully immersed in a lounge featuring wood accents and golden hues seamlessly blend onto an outdoor patio overlooking the Tampa Bay skyline.

Lobster Roll, Ceviche Nikkei, Maguro Tiradito from Maru fusion restaurants
Maru; Lobster roll and ceviche

Kura House Asian Cuisine | Memphis, Tennessee

Situated on Memphis’s lively Peabody Avenue, Kura House Asian Cuisine carefully molds the perfect melange of Asian cuisine capable of transporting enjoyers beyond national borders. The menu is unique and abundant, featuring elaborate dishes with the traditional and contemporary palates of Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand. Plates are colorful, light, and bursting with authentic umami flavor, such as miso-glazed eggplant skewers and steak and vegetable kebob kushiyaki.

Latuli Fusion Restaurants
Latuli

Latuli | Houston

Established in the dining destination of Memorial Neighborhood, celebrated Houston chef Bryan Caswell and entrepreneur Allison Knight have opened the much-anticipated Latuli. The restaurant expands far beyond city borders, curating a strong base of beloved Gulf Coast cuisine beautifully accented with Cajun, Mexican, Asian, and Mediterranean influences in an expansive menu. The rustic pastoral setting reflects the restaurant’s farm-to-table sensibilities with earthy tones and natural materials, featuring a reception desk formed from a tree root, wrought iron signage, and curtains made from vintage blankets. 

Katsubō Chicken & Ramen | Charleston

Owners Joe Nierstedt and Abby Leibowitz take their fried chicken expertise and Japanese immersion to North Charleston with Katsubō Chicken & Ramen. Twice-fried chicken is infused with eastern flavors marinated in garlic, ginger, white pepper, and wrapped in Japanese potato starch. In addition to slow-simmered ramen, the menu will also feature Japanese small plates like pork gyoza, shishito peppers, and okomiyaki (cabbage pancakes). 

JMT Kitchen + Bar | Annandale, Virginia

Inspired by the Korean slang phrase “jon mat taeng,” JMT Kitchen + Bar’s name roughly translates to “extremely delicious,” or “just my taste,” setting the stage for this Annandale, Virginia restaurant’s laidback and playful atmosphere. The lively restaurant and bar focuses not only on authentic Korean cuisine meets American late-night favorites, but also creates an electric environment for its customers, staying open until one or two in the morning. Here, you’ll find dishes like the JMT flatbread with spicy pork or bulgogi, volcano omurice, and the seafood gambas, showing the breadth of Mark Chang’s Korean background and his training in French and Italian cuisine.

Refrigerator Noodles from the kingsway fusion restaurants
The Kingsway

The Kingsway | New Orleans

Integrating stories from his Asian upbringing with the distinct culinary portfolio of New Orleans, James-Beard co-nominated chef Ashwin Vilkhu returns with the opening of The Kingsway. The menu celebrates the culinary diversity of Singapore, featuring dishes such as tuna solera, served with Ashwin’s five-year chili sauce and peking-style duck breast à l’orange with honey and pineapple. Bar manager Colin Williams and general manager Taylor Adams work together to handcraft a drink menu that complements the umami-rich flavors of Asian cuisine, while also featuring old world wines from small producers in Georgia, Slovenia, and Hungary.

Bonchon Korean Fried Chicken | Huntsville, Alabama

Translating to “my hometown,” or “my roots,” Bonchon Korean Fried Chicken comes from founder Jinduk Seo, who aspired to transport a taste of his home across the world. Seo, in collaboration with the restaurant’s chef based in South Korea, enhances fried chicken, infusing it with his signature sauces. Their chicken is hand battered, double fried, and hand brushed. Apart from just chicken, their menu features a plethora of classic Korean dishes such as japchae, glass noodles with vegetables, and bulgogi stir fried with soy garlic sauce and sesame oil.

Lucky Danger | Washington, DC

Born from the Chinese-American pop-up in Arlington, Virginia, in the midst of the pandemic, Lucky Danger has since experienced skyrocketing popularity and has just opened a new location in Washington, DC. Chef Tim Ma and executive chef Robbie Reyes have paralleled the restaurant’s growing popularity and expanded the menu to include refined new dishes like allium pancakes packed with whipped tofu and caviar. But, you can still find their club classics like crab rangoons and three cup chicken.

Allium Pancakes from lucky danger fusion restaurants
Lucky Danger allium pancakes

keep reading

PASTA pasta prep Photo by PASTA
Radar

10 New Restaurants with Innovative Twists | Listen

From Asian-American fusion to a classic Southern steakhouse, these 10 new restaurants bring a variety of old and new flavors.

Purl interior in Washington DC
Radar

8 New Restaurants On Our Radar

TLP shares eight new restaurants that have recently opened or are set to open soon in the South that we can’t wait to try this autumn.

TLP Featured Image
From the Magazine

A Natural Pair: Korean Recipes and Natural Wine Pairings

Discover how cookbook author Seung Hee Lee makes a perfect match of traditional Korean recipes and ow-impact wine pairings.

A Year of Food in Louisiana | Listen

Posted on by TLP Editors

Travel bite-by-bite through five parishes

Saying that 2025 is the Year of Food in Louisiana seems as obvious as crawfish swimming in a boil. Isn’t every year the year of food in the Pelican State? But we never miss a chance to take in Louisiana’s culture, geography, heritage, and customs through a culinary lens. While gumbo was made the official state dish in 2004, there are many other iconic dishes that inspire adoration and fandom. Here are some of the state’s top bites from parish to parish, each reflecting something special about Louisiana. These iconic dishes add up to Louisiana’s magnificent, moveable feast.

Caddo Parish

Stuffed Shrimp

Orlandeaux’s Café, Shreveport

You haven’t tasted stuffed shrimp until you’ve tried the original Louisiana Creole stuffed shrimp made famous in Shreveport more than 75 years ago. Always made with Gulf-caught crustaceans, the dish pairs jumbo shrimp with a zesty Creole crabmeat dressing, deep fried into a giant corn dog-sized treat, paired with a side of spicy remoulade-style sauce for dipping.

Orlandeauxs Stuffed Shrimp

Like so many favorites that bubble up organically in a family’s cast-iron pot, stuffed shrimp is connected to multiple generations and a restaurant that first opened in the 1940s called Freeman & Harris Café. Located in the Black business district once known as The Avenue, or Mugginsville, the café was the Dooky Chase of Shreveport. Under the ownership of Van B. Freeman Jr. and his cousin Jack Harris, the restaurant became a hub for Black culture and politics. Along the way, the signature recipe for stuffed shrimp became the house specialty until the restaurant closed in 1994.

Orlandeaux’s Café builds on this long culinary legacy. In 2018, Damien Chapman, a great-great-great-nephew of the original owners of Brother’s Seafood, rechristened the restaurant as Orlandeaux’s in homage to both his uncles and his father, Orlando Chapman, who also owned the place for a while. Chapman grew up working in the café with his father and grandfather. Orlandeaux’s, his Cajun twist to his dad’s name, continues the elders’ tradition of serving homestyle dishes like smothered chicken liver, crawfish étouffée, and of course, stuffed shrimp, a dish that’s become a city-wide specialty in Shreveport.

More Places to Eat Stuffed Shrimp:

Jefferson Parish

Viet-Cajun Seafood Boil

Crawlins Seafood, Terrytown

While the traditional Creole-spiced boil may always prevail, the Viet-Cajun seafood boil phenom is only getting stronger. The blend of flavors was first credited to the Vietnamese community in Houston post-Katrina—which means there were New Orleanians in that number. The trend reverse-migrated to Louisiana as folks made their way home.

Jimmy Nguyen’s popular restaurant, Crawlins Seafood, is in Terrytown on the West Bank, 20 minutes from the New Orleans Central Business District. Nguyen, a New Orleans native, first tasted the Viet-Cajun boil in Houston. His garlic parmesan sauce and particular boil spicing landed his version in Pepsi’s Super Bowl Boil Showdown, a pre-game boil-off in Woldenberg Riverfront Park in the French Quarter in 2025. Out of nine contestants, he and Mr. Shrimp’s founder, Larry Thompson Jr., made it into the finals, with Thompson snagging first place with his Creole-style boil.

The mashup of Asian and Louisiana ingredients is popular in Vietnamese-owned mom-and-pop corner stores and seafood restaurants on both sides of the Mississippi, in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and beyond. “Every restaurant has their own slightly different flavor profile,” Nguyen says. Although his exact spice blend is top secret, fans may detect notes of lemongrass, ginger, and garlic with cayenne, paprika, thyme, and bay leaf. Butter always carries the flavor, no matter what else might be in the mix.

More Places for Viet-Cajun Boil:

Vermilion Parish

Turtle Sauce Picante

Suire’s Grocery and Restaurant, Kaplan

If sisters Lisa Frederick and Joan Suire messed with the Friday plate lunch special at their family-owned grocery and restaurant, Suire’s (rhymes with beers), there would certainly be a dining insurrection.

suires dining room

As the sign on the wall says, “If you want country cooking, come to the country.” And every Friday, regulars line up for a plate packed with turtle sauce picante (piquante in French), an irresistible stew of locally caught turtle meat cooked low and slow for hours in a russet-brown gravy flavored with tomato, onion, bell pepper, and just the right amount of spice. The sisters serve the specialty over rice accompanied by a piece of fried fish, homemade potato salad, bread, and a slice of cake, all for just $16.49. This dish is so popular it’s also carried frozen, giving home cooks the chance to replicate the Suire’s experience.

Both Creole and Cajun cooks use the term sauce picante (though spellings vary) to describe a spicy, tomato-based sauce that smothers some kind of protein, served over rice. It’s not fast food—it takes time to simmer strips of savory, slightly chewy turtle meat. It’s something the sisters have been doing every Friday for more than 25 years.

Suire’s turns 50 next year. It was 1976 when Newtown “Bea” Suire and his wife, Mary, took over what had been a modest grocery in this small hamlet west of Abbeville, the parish seat. The simple white clapboard building has grown into a hopping lunch spot, with catfish, gator, crawfish, shrimp, and crab also on the menu, along with sandwiches and salad for the so inclined.

More Places to Find Sauce Picante:

Natchitoches Parish

Meat Pies

Lasyone’s Meat Pie Kitchen, Natchitoches

Meat pies are nothing new. Savory hand pies have been traced back 6,000 years, to the Neolithic period—a brilliant idea that has made its way into just about every culture. But in Louisiana, Natchitoches (nack-a-tish) is famous as the home of the official meat pie of the state of Louisiana since 2003. Indigenous people were eating a version of the pies when the French showed up in 1714, and the Spanish spiced things up when they arrived in 1762.

Family recipes are handed down generation to generation, with a few commonalities. The crispy pastry is usually made with shortening, not butter, and always deep fried. And inside, it’s generally equal parts ground beef and pork, spiked with ingredients like green onion, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and red pepper.

Marilyn Demars, former longtime employee of Lasyone’s, serves pies with a smile

What started with cooks selling their pies from carts on the street morphed into corner stores and family-owned cafés. One legendary downhome place is Lasyone’s Meat Pie Kitchen, opened by James Lasyone in 1967. Their pies, made with an 80/20 beef-to-pork ratio, are served as a platter with sides of Cajun dirty rice, creamed potatoes or fries, vegetables, and salad. Of course, purists can order them solo, but nobody ever gets just one.

Need More Pie?
Take in the annual Natchitoches Meat Pie Festival, with dozens of vendors to taste test, a meat pie-cooking contest, and naturally, a pie-eating contest. This year’s free festival is September 19 and 20. meatpiefestival.com

Calcasieu Parish

Boudin

Guillory’s Famous Foods, Lake Charles

Drive along I-14 east to west, from Lake Charles to New Iberia, and you’ll pass a string of billboards heralding Cajun boudin, the Acadiana specialty sold at gas stations, grocery stores, and locally owned restaurants. Cajun boudin is its own thing, not related to the much differently spiced French sausage, which is either made with blood (boudin noir) or in the case of the pale boudin blanc, a mild link made with veal or chicken.

Guillory's Famous Foods

So ubiquitous it even inspired a Southwest Louisiana food trail, boudin is a khaki-colored pork sausage filled with a blend of rice and ground pork, emphatically seasoned with onions, green peppers, garlic, and cayenne pepper. It’s considered a fine snack to eat on the run, so it’s common to see locals coming out of a gas station, squeezing the stuffing from the casing directly into their mouths as they walk.

In Lake Charles, one of the best options for boudin is Guillory’s Famous Foods, a no-frills family-owned eatery famous for (as the sign says) boudin, barbecue, and cracklins. Both traditional and smoked boudin are offered in steam tables along the buffet at the front of the restaurant, along with fried boudin balls, an earthier version of arancini, plus the expected barbecue ribs, brisket sandwiches, rice dressing, and mac and cheese. The Guillorys are known as much for their Southern hospitality as they are for their boudin, a vibe that makes everybody feel like family.

For More Bites of Boudin:
Follow the Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail, and stop at gems like Cajun Cowboy’s Store, Brown’s Neighborhood Market, Leonard’s Food Quarters, and Richard’s Boudin & Seafood Mart.
cajunboudintrail.com

keep reading

more fire
On the Road

Snapshot: Austin, Texas

Get a snapshot of Austin, Texas to sample the wide variety of foods in the downtown area. If you decide to stay a while, make a stop at some food festivals.

Lexington Snapshot feat
On the Road

Snapshot: Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky has upped its culinary game in the form of a playful downtown dining renaissance soaked in Southern charm.

CANTLERSRIVERSIDE 030
On the Road

Snapshot: Annapolis, Maryland

Hemmed in part by the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries that carve its lush coastline, Annapolis is a knockout of a town.

Snapshot: Miami New Wave Barbecue

Posted on by TLP Editors

These pitmasters are infusing South Florida into a new style of barbecue

The definition of Miami barbecue, as far as I knew, was an all-you-can-eat salad bar at a halfway-decent chain. Or the almost-too-tender ribs at Flanigan’s. Or the Texas-style brisket at a random gas station food truck.

Then I sat down one day for lunch at Apocalypse BBQ, which had popped up in a former golf course caddy shack. After a bite of brisket sandwich, I licked the sauce from my fingers and tasted guava, mango, and habanero. The guava reminded me of pastelitos, the Cuban breakfast pastries filled with jelly and cheese; the mango tasted like the start of Florida summer; and the habanero was reminiscent of the peppa sauce at Caribbean strip-mall spots. It tasted like Miami. These days there’s a growing list of Miami restaurants infusing the flavors of South Florida into smoked meats. It’s worth a trip to the city just to try them, so here’s a two-day itinerary that’ll get you neck-deep into a very new thing: Miami-style barbecue.

mofongo brisket mb

Friday

Begin by checking into the Mayfair House. It’s fresh off a $50 million renovation of a brutalist-style building designed in 1985 by architect Kenneth Treister, with a leafy central courtyard that rises five stories above. There’s a restaurant on the bottom floor, the Mayfair Grill, where Miami native Giorgio Rapicavoli grills almost everything, including one of my favorite dishes in town, a crispy-skinned whole chicken with cilantro salsa verde.

But for tonight we’re sticking to the barbecue theme and headed to KYU in Wynwood for one dish, a $76 beef short rib that looks ready to topple Fred Flintstone’s car. There’s pickled veggies and spices and sweet soy on the side, but it’s really about that rib, smoked with oak for 48 hours until it’s so tender it’ll fall off as you pick up the bone, which you should proudly gnaw on, even though this is a fine-dining restaurant. KYU’s Raheem Sealey is among the first chefs who began this new Miami-style barbecue trend; during the pandemic he started the pop-up Drinking Pig at the turn-around of a North Miami dead-end street. Nowadays, though, there are newcomers, out-of-towners, and local pitmasters offering new definitions. But for that you’ll have to wait for day two.

Saturday

The second stop on this barbecue weekend is in Allapattah, the up-and-coming Miami arts neighborhood where Hometown Barbecue opened an outpost. Back in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where it began, Hometown’s menu hits Vietnamese hot wings and Texas brisket chili, but for lunch today you’re looking for dishes with Miami’s Latin influence, like a yucca bowl with avocado and Fresno chiles and the smoked wings with queso fresco and mole dust.

smokedflan

It’d be tempting to stay for the banana cream pudding, but instead let’s head south, past farms with banana trees nearly tipping over with bunches, their purple flowers hanging nearly down to Homestead soil as rich as tres leches. Smack in the center of it all is Knaus Berry Farm, a 69-year-old roadside fruit stand famous for tomatoes sweet enough to eat like apples, strawberry milkshakes, and cinnamon rolls. There will be a line on a Saturday afternoon, but it moves quickly, and the wait builds anticipation for the sheet of still-warm rolls that should be eaten in the parking lot off a trunk lid. (Keep in mind that the farm is closed during summer months.)

After a cocktail poolside on the Mayfair’s roof, rideshare your way west to Smoke & Dough, the spot that gave Miami-style barbecue more notoriety than anywhere else, thanks to The New York Times naming it one of America’s Best Restaurants in 2023. Owners Harry and Michelle Coleman couldn’t find jobs after journalism school, so they started a bakery first and then this sit-down barbecue place next door. They took every item on the Smoke & Dough menu and wondered how they could make it more Miami. There are ribs layered in a caramelized sauce of guava and ancho chiles, a Cuban coffee rub on the brisket, and a flan that’s slow smoked for five hours. This is true Miami barbecue—but don’t fill up yet, because it’s a warm-up before the last stop.

Sunday

Burn off the barbecue by borrowing a bike from the Mayfair and heading north on The Underline, a linear park that parallels US 1 all the way to Brickell’s skyline. Grab a coffee and a pastelito, the inspiration for so much of this barbecue, at Cortadito Coffee House, before meandering through Coconut Grove neighborhoods back to the hotel, past the regal Vizcaya Museum and the views of Biscayne Bay.

bbq platter hori

Afterward, lunch at Apocalypse is the best yet. The barbecue joint gets its name from something Jeff Bud said to himself back in 2020: “F— the apocalypse, let’s BBQ!” He started selling ribs he smoked in his backyard, which snowballed into a Wynwood pop-up, then a permanent location. Bud recently moved the restaurant from the old caddy shack into a 190-seat space in Kendall. He has infused everything on the menu with the flavors of his city, like adding guava to the sauce slathered on pork belly burnt ends. He dusted his beef rib with cafecito grounds. And he brewed gallons of colada, the typically thimble-sized rocket fuel of Cuban coffee, and added it to a sauce he used to glaze ribs.

Eating at Apocalypse, it occurred to me that there are no rules to Miami barbecue. This new wave is about finding the flavors of this city, yes. But what comes next is entirely up to pitmasters who are finding ways to define a new culinary identity.

keep reading

more fire
On the Road

Snapshot: Austin, Texas

Get a snapshot of Austin, Texas to sample the wide variety of foods in the downtown area. If you decide to stay a while, make a stop at some food festivals.

Lexington Snapshot feat
On the Road

Snapshot: Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky has upped its culinary game in the form of a playful downtown dining renaissance soaked in Southern charm.

CANTLERSRIVERSIDE 030
On the Road

Snapshot: Annapolis, Maryland

Hemmed in part by the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries that carve its lush coastline, Annapolis is a knockout of a town.