A Nashville chef punches up his late-night menu with this cheap, filling meal
Colby Rasavong
At chef Colby Rasavong’s East Nashville wine bar Bad Idea, the menu reflects both his Laotian roots and his career in fine-dining kitchens (he spent 10 years working with Sean Brock). He has the most fun with his late-night menu, which is all about sustenance—Bad Idea often fills up with industry shift workers once other restaurants have closed for the night. They come in for Rasavong’s golden curry corndog, a caviar sandwich on pain perdu—and the fried bologna sandwich.
Named The Diana for a loyal fan, Rasavong’s fried bologna pulls from his love of the “recession special” (a fried bologna sandwich served with chips, a Moon Pie, and a cold beer for $6) at Robert’s Western World honky tonk, which has long drawn locals, Rasavong among them—and it also pulls in his Laotian ties. “The bologna is based on a Laotian-Vietnamese style sour bologna called cha lua, which has a little bit of aromatics and spices to it,” he says. A butcher shop in Asheville uses his recipe to craft the beef-based bologna that contains a blend of cooked and ground pork skin, toasted jasmine rice powder, lemongrass, and espelette and Thai chile peppers for a kick of heat. Instead of griddle-frying the slices as Robert’s does, Rasavong breads and fries them, similar to an Asian-style chicken katsu, and sandwiches them between two slices of milk bread. In one more nod to the classic, he makes a potato chip aïoli laced with coriander, to bind the sandwich together.
As a final touch, the crusts are cut off. “Growing up, my parents always cut the crusts off the bread, and I always saw that as a labor of love,” he says, adding, “It isn’t necessary but it’s a nice gesture.” The result tastes a bit like a punk rock tea sandwich that’s both familiarly Southern and so much more.
Explore these cozy getaways for you or your family this holiday season. From Kiawah Island to Charlottesville, we’ve got your winter destination choice secured.
Just 40 minutes from Chattanooga, Tennessee, enjoy this northern-Georgian resort named after the iconic Cloudland canyon and state park. While you’re there, stop by the main dining room Auld Alliance for French country cuisine.
Try Oysters rockefeller, venison ravioli, or the Parisian chocolate cake at the Capital Hotel’s restaurant, One Eleven. Nicknamed “The Downtown Anchor of Little Rock,” this stately setting is the perfect place for holiday festivities.
Explore this South Carolinian barrier island’s picturesque coastline with everything from golf to Cherrywood BBQ. And, enjoy a coastal cozy Christmas in one of its beautiful 255 guestrooms.
“The property features 16 tiny A-frame cabins with all the creature comforts,” and is in perfect location to all of Asheville’s iconic scenes. And while you’re there, don some matching merchandise with your fellow travelers and embark on one of the nearby trails.
Old Edwards Inn and Spa has many different room options for your stay: try the Historic Inn, Hickory, The Lodge, or Falls Cottages. All sure to be cozy, sweet, and decorated to the nines.
Another location in Highlands, NC, Trailborn Highlands is a spectacular homage to southern roots across the Blue Ridge Mountains. For curated Southern specialties, check out The Highlands Supper Club as it debuts in January, 2025.
Just recently updated in summer of 2024, 86 Cannon is an 1860s-inspired inn that houses luxury amenities like a library, afternoon wine and cheese, and complimentary bicycles for cycling around the peninsula.
This resort remained open and operating during Hurricane Helene. For holiday activities for the whole family, check out Chetola’ssporting reserve and resort amenities like kayaking and disc golf and support our Western North Carolina cities.
Right in The Local Palate’s backyard, “Hotel Bennett is the culmination of steep tradition, intricate European-inspired architecture, and southern hospitality.” Try Gabrielle, Fiat Lux, Camellias, or La Pȃtisserie, all decked out for Christmas baubles and bells.
“A palatable sense of place where your curiosity awakens,” Highlands, NC’s Skyline Lodge is the perfect romantic getaway with your special someone. Or, bring the whole family, and traverse the Smoky Mountains together.
From brunswick stew and gumbo to bowls of confit chicken and catfish, these winter stews from across the South blend old school traditions with new school ideas
Our chef columnist shares the reasons behind—and intricacies of—pivoting a concept in its first year of opening
Image courtesy of Jessica Ebelhar.
Nine months of running my first brick-and-mortar flew by in an instant. The lessons I’ve learned are growing by the day as the space evolves on its own terms—some of which have gone against what I thought would be the best approach for the business. For example, the city I live in?Totally not ready for a fast-casual Sri Lankan joint. My clientele? They want to sit and hang out instead of having what I thought would be a “take-it-and-go” mentality.
So, our space had to evolve, and I did too.
Initially, I’d wanted the volume of the Snack Shop to support a program I affectionately named The SnackEasy. In my head, The SnackEasy was meant to be a speakeasy just for snacks—if savvy diners knew the way to get in, a world of deliciousness would open up. It was meant as a callback to our early pop-up days: The only folks who could get food there were the ones plugged in and in the know.
Image courtesy of Jessica Ebelhar.
Our few test runs of The SnackEasy concept, which is tucked into the back of the Snack Shop, were packed and massively encouraging; a holiday bar pop-up further solidified the demand for a cocktail-and-higher-end-snack-oriented space. Still, I hoped the fast-casual side of the restaurant would garner the same level of enthusiasm—but being set back in a smaller development and surrounded by other fast food options put a dent into that plan. We could have survived with the original concept, but I knew it would be a long road that, frankly, didn’t seem quite as fun.
As time progressed, our special SnackEasy nights got more attention, and the “cook what I feel like, really, really well” model eclipsed the Snack Shop’s fast-casual program to a point we could not ignore. The tiny dining room I’d planned as my own secret restaurant retreat took over the entire space, and suddenly I was faced with the decision of sticking with the slow growth approach of a more hands-off concept—rooted in fast-casual sandwiches—or to go all in on a menu that is more reflective of me, my journey, and my desire to embrace creativity and fun.
The eye-opener for me was when we put on a spur-of-the-moment caviar, champagne, and fried chicken dinner. Tickets for the intimate event sold out in less than 48 hours, and every diner was enthusiastic and joyful about the entire experience. It was a light bulb moment, and less than a year into opening my Snack Shop, I decided to completely change the concept in order to make us happier as a crew and more concentrated in our efforts. After that wildly successful dinner, with the blessings of my team, I opted to pivot to a completely different service model and dinner-only menu.
Pivoting is a concept I’d hoped to be done with by the end of 2020—endless maneuvers of attempting to feed service industry professionals amid a global pandemic left me weary, hoping for some normalcy in a day-to-day restaurant operation. Normalcy, however, is not what the first year of restaurant operation resembles in any way, shape, or form.
Image courtesy of Jessica Ebelhar.
As I write, the remaining crew is in the midst of the first full week of dinner service—without managers, they’re working together and supporting one another in everything from prep to service to dishwashing. No one person has a singular duty, and the support of one another helps them power through the endless challenges of running a restaurant. I open the kitchen most days, adjusting menus and toying with new ideas alongside my cooks, who work shorter days together, using a team mentality to improve every dish by leaps and bounds. They bond over family meal and use it as a chance to try out ideas for specials and new menu items.
Today, Snack Shop customers have a larger menu with much more variety, including weekly specials that have become a testing ground for menu additions. Housemade pasta is now a main component of our most popular main dish, a creamy crab curry fettuccine with my mom’s recipe as its base. Even though it isn’t quite Sri Lankan, a chicken parm sandwich (rarely available in the South, trust me) has become a menu mainstay as well.
By the time I return home at the end of the night, all I am able to do is melt into my couch, too tired to move. I often opt to just fall asleep in place, ready to lather, rinse, and repeat as soon as one of my hounds decides it’s time for me to get back to the Shop. I may be worn out at the end of the day, but I am also totally energized to push myself creatively—and my staff is as well.
The SnackEasy still exists for 14-person dinners, all based on menus or ingredients I’m feeling at the moment, or offerings from nationally recognized guest chefs—so my secret snack den hasn’t been completely lost; it just shares space with a larger concept from time to time. I am excited for the opportunities to highlight local farmers while finally giving a home to the dishes that helped me build my reputation across the country. It seems only right that I flex my best efforts at home—and if the rapidly filling reservations are any indication, Lexington is as ready for it as I am.
Nicole Cabrera Mills finds the parallels between the Philippines and New Orleans
When Nicole Cabrera Mills sat down with chef Ryan Prewitt to interview for a position at New Orleans’ soon to-open Pêche Seafood Grill 11 years ago, she laid her cards on the table. She had a kindergarten-age son and needed to be able to drop him off and pick him up each day. Her husband, also a chef, was working at a hotel with erratic hours. She needed consistency. “He told me, ‘I get it.’ And we worked it out. It was the first job I’d ever had where they were willing to be accommodating to me as a mom,” she says.
Originally from the Philippines, Mills was more accustomed to the less-accommodating kitchens of New York’s fine dining scene—after getting a degree in the Philippines, she’d moved to New York to attend culinary school and immediately launched her career with Eleven Madison Park. She’d met her husband, who was from New Orleans, in culinary school, and after several years of working their way through Manhattan kitchens, they decided to try the New Orleans scene. They went down to interview—and a week later, Hurricane Katrina hit. After a detour through Los Angeles and then back to the Philippines, they welcomed their son—so they tried New Orleans again. The fateful conversation with Prewitt landed Mills in a prime position.
Since the restaurant opened, Mills’ son has grown, and so has her role—five years ago, when the chef de cuisine position opened up, she knew the timing was right for her to take it.
Mills has also come up with the menu at Pêche. Owned by the Link Restaurant Group, run by chef Donald Link, Stephen Stryjewski, and Prewitt, Pêche was built with a focus on Gulf seafood and the restaurant’s open hearth, so the menu is full of rustic, Louisiana-inspired dishes. Over the years, Mills was able to offer up her own ideas for specials and menu changes. Prewitt, she says, was open to all of it. “He understood my point of view and welcomed it,” she says. You can now see her Asian heritage woven into the menu, especially where there are parallels to be drawn.
“Southern food is very bold in flavor, just like Asian food can be. When I came and got to know Ryan’s food, I found some of the dishes to be very vinegar-forward, which kind of surprised me. I love vinegars—we have so many in our kitchen now. That’s also very distinct in Filipino flavors. There’s sour and many different levels of saltiness in both cuisines,” she says.
Southern food is also strongly tied to rice, as it is in Asia. “I love rice, and there are so many different varieties of rice here in the South. It’s exciting to me to play around with what’s growing right around us,” she adds.
While the dishes at Pêche will always be firmly rooted in the South, Mills says, “I find myself reaching for a little bit of fish sauce to add a little depth to something, or a little bit of soy sauce,” she says. Dishes like catfish with pickled greens and chili broth or cabbage salad with carrots, peanuts, and soy show off her touch. “You might not even know it’s there; it’s just a hint.”
After decades in the US and at least 11 years in New Orleans, Mills finds that her love for Louisiana’s foodways is as strong as it is for Filipino food. Her husband’s family loves to cook, and she finds inspiration anytime they all gather for a feast. “It’s definitely a blended household,” she says.
Meanwhile, at Pêche, the kitchen is now full of women, some of whom are also mothers and immigrants. “I tell a lot of women that they can’t let being a mom stop them from pursuing this career. Or being able to speak English. It can be hard, sometimes very hard,” she says. “But it’s possible.”
Smack dab in the middle of Georgia is Macon, a growing city that’s having an exciting moment in the food scene. Known for breeding music legends Otis Redding and The Allman Brothers Band, this community has undergone a downtown revival in the last 25 years, welcoming dozens of new businesses and transforming into a culinary hub for born-and-raised Maconites, newcomers, and visitors. Recently, bars and restaurants have popped up to fill niches in the market, including Macon Bagels, opened by a couple who wanted a place to get fresh bagels in town, and Black Cat Liquor & Libations, the city’s first underground speakeasy that’s serving cocktails like it’s 1922. Local staples are going strong, too, like soul food spot H&H and burger joint The Rookery.
Best Fried Chicken Biscuit: H&H Soul Food This iconic restaurant opened in 1959 and serves “stick-to-ya-ribs” soul food and meat-and-three plates. The Midnight Rider biscuit with fried chicken, bacon jam, and pimento cheese is the most memorable bite.
Best Rooftop Patio: Quill at The Woodward Guests can sip literary drinks on the rooftop patio at this bar inside The Woodward Hotel. Cocktails like The Bell Jar with bourbon-fig cordial and smoked chile bitters pair with snacks like the rosemary and olive oil kettle chips.
Macon Bagels
Best Bagel Sandwich: Macon Bagels Macon Bagels serves classics and twists. Specials include stunners like the poppyseed bagel with salami, mozzarella, and sun-dried tomato cream cheese and the pork sausage biscuit with kimchi and tangy mayo.
Best Brisket: Satterfield’s BBQ A slow-smoked barbecue restaurant, Satterfield’s serves brisket, pulled pork, and half-chicken plates with sides like collards with turkey and Mom’s potato salad. Brisket sandwiches are up for grabs at Satterfield’s BBQ on Wheels, the food truck.
Best Ramen: Kinjo Kitchen + Cocktails This upscale, Asian-inspired restaurant with a good view serves ramen bowls like the tonkotsu with shaved pork belly, zucchini, soy-and-ginger-braised crimini mushrooms, and an egg, plus craft cocktails like the Bee’s Knees with gin and fresh lemon.
Black Cat Liquor & Libations
Best Hidden Spot: Black Cat Liquor & Libations Hidden below Kinjo Kitchen & Cocktails is downtown Macon’s first underground speakeasy. Punch in the secret passcode and walk downstairs to a dimly lit lounge with a rotating theme and cocktails like The Great Gatsby. @blackcatliquor
Best Sweet and Savory Bite: The Rookery The Hot Pig & Fig at The Rookery is stuffed with ham and swiss, creole mustard, and fig preserves for a perfect balance of flavor. The restaurant is known for its burgers piled high with unusual toppings like peanut butter and Coca-Cola ketchup.
Best Reason to Get Dressed Up: Dovetail Set above The Rookery is Dovetail, an upscale establishment serving seasonal Southern plates like peaches and burrata, grilled quail with okra, and the market vegetable plate with cornbread and salted honey butter.
Claim to Fame
International Cherry Blossom Festival Known as the Cherry Blossom Capital of the World, Macon holds the International Cherry Blossom Festival each spring to celebrate the flowering trees that paint the town pink. It all started in 1949, when real estate mogul William A. Fickling Sr. discovered a Yoshino cherry blossom tree in his backyard in Macon. He began to spread the trees around the city. In 1973, the community planted hundreds more to keep the population growing, and in 1982, the festival was born. The annual event is a week of good food, local music, and charming festivities like wiener dog races. Next year’s festival is set for March 21 through 30, 2025.
Where to Shop
Rabbit Hole After lunch at H&H, diners can fall down the Rabbit Hole, where they’ll find plants, fine art, and goods like books and candles. The shop is co-owned by renowned local artist Cedric Smith. @rabbitholemacon @cedricsmithstudio
Poplar Street Farmers Market This producer-only market offers seasonal fruits, vegetables, and flowers, plus local meats, fresh breads, and handmade goods. The market runs every Wednesday, in all weather, year-round.
Golden Bough Bookstore The bookstore around the corner from Hotel Forty Five is stocked with secondhand books, which, according to a sign on the door, have just as many words as new books at half the price. Readers will spot a cat or two slinking around while they browse. @that_bookstore_downtown
Where to Stay
Hotel Forty Five Hotel Forty Five, part of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio, is right in the thick of things in downtown Macon. Perfect for travelers in town for the weekend, the 94-room hotel is a short walk from restaurants, concert venues, shops, and parks. Guests can dine and sip at the on-site restaurant, Loom, Hightales Rooftop Bar, and Reckon Coffee and Wine Bar. @hotelfortyfive
This November, the Lone Star State turned heads with 15 restaurants earning one Michelin star and two receiving Michelin green stars. Embracing the diverse culinary landscape across the state, recognitions spanned over 116 restaurants and 26 different cuisines, from a distinctive omakase in Austin to French fine dining at Le Jardinier in Houston. Restaurateurs and patrons alike celebrated the recognitions at the Michelin Guide Ceremony at Houston’s 713 Music Hall.
Texas barbecue came out swinging with Michelin stars awarded to Corkscrew BBQ, InterStellar BBQ, la Barbecue, and LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue. This coveted recognition marks a distinctive shift in Michelin criticism, embracing new takes on world-class cuisine and gastronomy.
I had the honor of attending the ceremony in Houston and witnessing the joy of chefs, restauranteurs, bar managers, and staff receiving marks for what is often underappreciated work. One of the most touching moments was seeing chefs from across the state hugging, jumping, back-patting, and whooping for one another as they gathered together. The camaraderie between chefs of different cities and cuisines was apparent, and the culinary community in Texas is clearly close-knit. Whether recipients of Michelin stars or Bib Gourmand (exceptional eateries at an affordable price point), each chef beamed with pride for the work of their team and the support of their state.
A summary of the awards can be found here, noting 15 restaurants that received one star, 44 restaurants receiving Bib Gourmand, and 57 additional recommended restaurants.
To make the most of my time in the Lone Star State, Travel Texas took me on a scenic tour of Texas foodways to visit some recognized restaurants and provide insight into the state’s ever-evolving culinary scene.
After arriving in Houston, I hit the ground running, eating my way across Chinatown, sampling regional cuisines and browsing international markets. Some can’t-miss dishes include the chè (Vietnamese dessert beverage) at Duc Phuong Thach Che, Paratha-dilla (masala and paratha quesadilla) at Himalaya, and bahn bot loc la (Vietnamese steamed tapioca dumplings) at Nam Giao, which was awarded Bib Gourmand.
Late August, a restaurant in Houston’s rising Ion District, is spearheaded by Chris Williams and Sergio Hidalgo and draws inspiration from both soul food and Oaxacan cuisines. From a mezcal-centric avocado sour to Williams’ infamous fry bread, each dish seamlessly blends a story of cultures and flavors. The memelitas were truly unforgettable with field greens masa, refried black eyed peas, and piri-piri sauce.
I can’t leave Hotel Zaza Museum District off this list. If there were ever a stay dreamed up specifically for the Michelin celebration, Zaza embodies that energy. With luxe fixtures, dimmed lighting, and elaborate chandeliers, Hotel Zaza drips with a sensual, nonchalant elegance.
Easily the quaintest bookstore I’ve ever entered, Pecantown Books & Brews is a hub for book lovers in Seguin, Texas. Browse a curated selection of fiction, nonfiction, youth novels, and cookbooks and order one of their locally-sourced lunches or coffee at the bar.
Exploring Texas topography wouldn’t be complete without visiting a pecan orchard. 38 Pecans is rooted in family and undeniably Texan. Witnessing the relationship between the trees and the family that has long tended to them speaks volumes to the nature of food sustainability and growth in Seguin.
Burnt Bean Co. was recognized as a Bib Gourmand, marking it as a major culinary destination for the city, and rightfully so. Ernest Servantes highlights his Tejano roots, regional ingredients, and things he loves (like local band Blue October) in every dish. While I had the joy of experiencing a curated tasting menu, I’ll be returning for his sliced brisket sandwich and Sunday breakfast specials.
Peaches have always played a role in Texas agriculture, and Das Peach Haus has grown from a roadside peach stand to a nationwide purveyor of gourmet jams, jellies, sauces, and spirits. A testament to their values amidst massive growth, Fischer & Wieser has kept their focus on the community, sharing their peach harvest within Fredericksburg.
Becker Vineyards is home to 66 acres of vineyards and lavender fields. One of the largest purveyors of Texas wine, Becker is a testament to the growing acclaim for Texas grapes and a pioneer of sustainable horticulture. The two bottles that must come home with you: 2021 Provencal Rose and 2020 Malbec Reserve.
Feel tucked away in the Texas Hill Country but stay steps from downtown Fredericksburg at The Trueheart Hotel. Each casita has a personality of its own and is equipped with fluffy bedding and cozy amenities. My favorite feature was the (still warm) homemade biscuits, preserves, and butter hand-delivered in a picnic basket.
San Antonio is home to one of the four branches of the Culinary Institute of America, and, as such, has become a hub for budding chefs, mixologists, and hospitality professionals. The institute works as an instructive, altruistic, and mentorship partner alongside students to guide them into their future careers. Savor, the institute’s San Antonio restaurant space, provides the community with a direct dining experience to enjoy the fruits of their instruction firsthand.
Minutes from downtown San Antonio, La Cantera Resort & Spa is an oasis for shopping, golf, relaxation, and, now, a Michelin-recommended dining experience at their on-site restaurant, Signature. With pronounced elegance, Signature is poised to present the finest cuisine of the Texas Hill Country. Observe their open kitchen concept for expert execution of dishes and peruse an impressive artillery of wine and spirits for pairing.
Perched in San Antonio’s historic Peal District, Pullman Market is a beacon of sustainable, local provisions and a one-stop shop for any culinary aficionado. Whether you’re seeking local produce, handmade tortillas, dry-aged beef, or fresh-roasted coffee beans, you can fill your cart at Pullman. Beyond grocery, Pullman houses dining experiences like Isidore, Fife & Farro, Mezquite, and Nicōsi that collaborate and correlate with the market for a fully sustainable food ecosystem.
A new generation of pie makers is molding the future of Southern pastries
Pie is found in every corner of this country. And yet, no one does pie quite like the South.
“When I think of Southern pie, I think of nostalgia,” says Keia Mastrianni of Western North Carolina’sMilk Glass Pie. “It’s about the feeling it evokes through memory and history.” Evan Colibri of Virginia. Pie. Shop. describes it in one word: “tradition.” Lauren Wright of Wilmington, North Carolina’s Pie Slayers agrees: “For me, [Southern pie] is obviously something really traditional, just classic flavors that my grandma would make when I was growing up.”
Today, though, Southern pie is evolving. Bakers like Mastrianni, Colibri, Wright, and more are building on the foundations of the past to construct their own visions of what pie looks like in the region today, from the wetlands of Florida to the foothills of North Carolina to the coastal communities of Virginia. As one new-wave pie baker tells me, “It feels like pie is having a moment right now.”
Mastrianni, founder of Milk Glass Pie, is one of the bakers charting the course. A self-taught baker, she’s been baking pies since 2014, but the business really gained momentum in 2020, when she started delivering pies to people’s front porches during the homebound days of the pandemic. Today, she bakes and sells her pies from the farm where she lives with her husband; naturally, her baking is inextricably linked with the seasons. “I really delved into seasonality when I became enmeshed in North Carolina’s food system,” she shares. “It was a way to get the best ingredients of the moment.”
That hyperseasonality has resulted in a chamomile custard pie made with homegrown chamomile, a banana split cream pie with in-season strawberries turned into a bottom layer of jam alongside fudge-swirled whipped cream, and a PB&J pie with a filling made from muscadines harvested from vines located on the family farm, planted decades ago by her husband’s grandfather. Mastrianni also bakes thoughtful, surprising spins on Southern classics, like a savory tomato pie with heirloom tomatoes and homemade cider mayonnaise, and a Key lime pie with a gingersnap crumb, satsuma marmalade, and salty sour cream whip—the latter a particularly bright spot during the barren days of winter.
Beyond creative flavor profiles, she treats her pies like art pieces, drawing inspiration from classic cake decorating techniques. One thing she’s always asking herself: “How can we make this pie even more beautiful and delicious?” As she explains, “I see pie evolving in that way. Just how artful can we make it?”
Milk Glass Pie’s influence has spread: Across the state, in salt-scented Wilmington, bakers Lauren Wright and Keala Yu of Pie Slayer cite her as an influence for their pie baking. Though their aesthetic—whimsical, boundary-pushing pies with a punk rock sensibility—is uniquely their own.
“Pie doesn’t have to be what grandmas make,” says Wright. “A crust is just a shell—you can put anything in there.”
That anything ranges from a giant cinnamon roll on top of orange zest and cardamom custard, to caramel corn piled on a salted caramel-topped sweet potato pie filling, to a nostalgic ice cream cake-inspired combination of chocolate cake, seasonal jam, and ice cream. Their most popular flavor, the cheekily named Banana Stranger, is inspired by an Icelandic candy and includes a layer of dark chocolate brownie, roasted banana pastry cream, salted marshmallow meringue, and snappy dark chocolate.
Their ideation process is exactly what you might expect from such chaotic mashups; as Yu explains, “It’s nonsense back and forth until we have the perfect idea.” The result is an injection of fun, spontaneity, and much-needed innovation in a baking genre that too often is frozen in a prison of tradition.
Not to say that tradition is limiting. Other bakers are drawing on historical threads to make pies with one foot planted firmly in the past and one in modernity, looking to generations of bakers before them to create their own personal pies.
Keith and Evan Colibri, partners in both life and business, bake in the Virginia Chesapeake, where Evan grew up. At their cottage bakery, the appropriately named Virginia. Pie. Shop., they’re digging up recipes that have fallen by the wayside and using them as inspiration.
They’re particularly drawn to old church cookbooks, which, in their words, authentically speak to a sense of place. One such mid-century cookbook informed their sweet potato pie, which is made by whipping the egg whites separately for a lighter texture. (That technique was also inspired by Virginia-born culinary icon Edna Lewis.) The other key to this classic pie, and their baking more broadly, is an emphasis on the exceptional local produce of the region. That sweet potato pie is made with Bayou Bell sweet potatoes grown on the Chesapeake’s Eastern Shore, which Evan says have such great flavor that they keep the skin on when baking with them.
“The Eastern Shore of Virginia definitely deserves proper attention,” Evan emphasizes. “It’s the gem of the Chesapeake and home to the third regional coastal cuisine of the South, along with New Orleans and the Lowcountry. We must exalt it and protect it at the same time.” This manifests not only in classic Southern pies filled with the produce of the region, but more unexpected iterations, like their peanut butter pie with chocolate ganache. It’s a spin on the more common pecan pie, with a brown sugar and molasses filling but using the ubiquitous Virginia peanut.
Beyond a menu shaped by local agriculture, Evan and Keith aren’t afraid to get a little weird: One of their most notable pies was an unconventional black licorice custard pie that won over even their most skeptical customers.
Many bakers bringing fresh ideas to Southern pie are relatively new to the game; Pie Slayer and the Virginia Pie Shop have both been open for only a few years. But even bakers who’ve been around a while are continuing to reshape what pie means in this region.
All the way down south, in Jacksonville, Florida, longtime baker Allison Vaughan continues to make her subtle spins on classic pies at her bakery, 1748 Bakehouse. The first pie in her life came from her Virginia-born grandmother, inspiring her first pie business, My Grandmother’s Pie, and her dedication to Southern pie culture today. “I ask my bakers to stay true to a more Southern pie, meaning we do a lot of fruit pies,” she says. “But only when they’re in season!” Which means no apple pie for the Fourth of July, no matter how popular it might be. It also means a sweet lime pie, similar to but not the same as Key lime pie, but only during a short period of the year when the limes are in season.
In the off season, there’s chess pie, which you might call Vaughan’s specialty. “Chess pie is so quintessentially Southern,” she says. It’s historically a humble pie, one made with a few affordable staple ingredients. But at 1748, Vaughan uses that simplicity as a blank canvas, spinning out chess pies with flavors like hibiscus, honey and Earl Grey, and strawberry lemon. Lately, she’s been experimenting with liqueurs in buttermilk chess pie. “It’s unexpected,” she explains, “and I’m always looking for things that other people aren’t doing.”
Beyond getting creative in the kitchen, these bakers are united in their dedication to their community. For them, pie is more than a dessert; it’s a gathering point to bring together neighbors and strangers.
In North Carolina, Mastrianni throws pie parties on her farm, collaborating with baker friends for a special bake sale alongside a mini market with artists, makers, and local community organizations. The men behind the Virginia Pie Shop have similar ambitions: They dream of converting an old farmhouse into a space to host events, baking classes, and dinner parties, plus highlight local sourcing and farms to reconnect consumers to the local agriculture system.
The women of Pie Slayer, meanwhile, opened their first brick-and mortar location over the summer, one with their characteristic individual streak: Rather than a traditional pie shop, it’s a late-night dessert bar that serves wine and beer alongside pie slices. And at Vaughan’s Florida bakeshop, she makes the connection to community explicit, with “Community comes first” printed across the front window. “Community for me is not just our neighborhood,” she says. “It’s the farmers and producers. Community is the backbone of who we are, and it really makes a lovely place to work and be.”
These bakers are proving that innovation can be loud and bold, like Pie Slayers, or subtle and nuanced, like 1748 Bakehouse. They’re inspired by tradition and Southern produce, but not bound by it—instead, they’re putting their own spin on this long-standing dessert, reshaping a culinary legacy in real time and creating an exciting new baking landscape.
As Pie Slayer’s Wright says, “Pie is about to have a whole revolution.”
How to deep fry your Thanksgiving dinner with a Nashville chef
Growing up in Middle Tennessee in the 1980s, first-generation born chef Vivek Surti, now the chef and owner of Tailor Nashville, didn’t experience the same Thanksgiving his friends did. It wasn’t until he was in high school that his family made their first Thanksgiving meal, at which Surti roasted the family’s first turkey. By his early 20s, Surti was cooking for friends more formally and met Dave Wingo, a multigenerational Nashvillian who deep-fries his turkeys. When he suggested Surti come check it out, the chef was immediately into it—and the rest is history.
Surti has spent more than a decade frying his Thanksgiving turkey for the perfectly crisped skin. After seasoning heavily with salt, into the fryer it goes. The trick is not to rush, and to use caution: Be sure to set up your fryer well away from any flammable structure, and always turn the propane off before the turkey goes in or out of the hot oil.
Special equipment: large propane-fueled deep fryer, deep-fry thermometer, fryer basket fitted to pot
steps
Place turkey inside the pot of the deep fryer. Fill with water until turkey is covered, making sure to leave a few inches of space at top of pot. Remove turkey and mark the water level. This will be the fill line for your cooking oil. Discard water and completely dry inside of pot.
Pat turkey dry and season heavily with salt, inside and out.
Fit pot with deep-fry thermometer and fill with oil to line. Set up propane burner outside and heat oil to 400 degrees. Turn off heat. (It is essential that you turn off the heat to avoid causing a fire.)
Place turkey in a fryer basket, legs up. Using long tongs or a hook, very slowly lower fryer basket into oil. Once fryer basket lands at bottom of pot, carefully remove tongs or hook.
Once oil bubbling subsides, turn propane back and return oil to350 degrees; maintain this temperature while cooking turkey for 3 minutes per pound, plus an additional 5 minutes. Once cooked, turn propane off. (Again, this step is essential.)
Using tongs or hook, very slowly lift fryer basket out of oil. Transfer turkey to a roasting pan and let sit for 30 to 45 minutes. Brush turkey with Kashmiri-spiced oil right before serving.
For the Kashmiri-Spiced Oil
In a 300-degree oven, toast fennel seeds, coriander seeds, black pepper, and cumin seeds until aromatic, about 10 minutes.Using a mortar and pestle, grind spices until coarse. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add chile powder and turmeric to oil to bloom, about 2 to 3 minutes, then stir in ground spices. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
From the turkey to the pie, these are the wines to pour with every dish.
For most meals of the year, we tend to stick to the basics when it comes to wine pairing—as in, we’ll pick a single bottle of wine and hope it goes with everything on the plate. But the holidays are an excuse to go off script, a time to find a bottle to pair with each dish or to test new ones as a way to mix and match. We say go ahead and open a few—it’s a good excuse to try something new and see what you like best. Here to help is our handy holiday pairing cheat sheet.
Why it Works: Leave it to Dolly Parton to partner with a winemaker to craft a Chardonnay that’s built for a wide range of palates. It’s from California, but it’s not too toasty or oaky and has a nice, light, lemony essence. Its crisp acidity is built to stand up to rich, creamy foods—meaning it’ll perform the ultimate duet with a plate of gooey baked mac and cheese.
Why it Works: New Zealand gamay is like a spicy younger cousin to Beaujolais. It’s all fresh raspberries, dusty roses, and saliva-inducing tannins, but with a light, chewy finish. Chill this one and serve it alongside your traditional Thanksgiving stuffing—the two will play nicely together, which can’t always be said for holiday tablemates.
Why it Works: A little hint of incense jumps through this bold, rich red. There’s more merlot than anything (cab franc, cab sauvignon, and petit verdot round out the Bordeaux blend), which gives it a subtlety that begs for the earthy, heady flavors of fall. It’ll shine alongside this holiday dressing made with mushrooms and rice.
Why it Works: While turkey acts like poultry in the oven—craves butter, herbs, and basting—on the table, it puts on the showmanship of red meat, commanding a wine that can dance with gamier flavors. This Texas wine, made from a grape with Mediterranean roots, has what it takes to do the turkey two-step—berries, a bit of baking spice, and fruit up front with a soft-yet-structured mouthfeel. Plus, it’s alluring enough to bring you back for more.
Why it Works: This light-but-crispy syrah-grenache blend is a steal at $17, meaning you can buy a few bottles to pass around the table. Its bright nose is like dipping your head into a bowl full of raspberries while the body is light and crushable.
Why it Works: Wines from France’s Languedoc-Roussillon are made to drink with food and this brilliantly colored example from winemaker Gérard Bertrand has just the right balance of fruity-spicy intensity to sit alongside a well-lacquered holiday ham.
Why it Works: Fresh and crisp, this zippy sparkler is both a great way to start a party and a fitting toast to end it. We especially like its creamy finish and lingering sweetness when sipping it with a slice of this spice-forward holiday pie.
