Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and marrying their cousins. Or so the line goes. Well, while Southerners do tend to be re-
latively friendly and laid-back, the drawling country bumpkin is more the exception than
the norm. Today's Southerner is just as likely to be a Mumbai-born motel owner in rural
Arkansas, a fast-talking Atlanta investment banker with a glitzy high-rise condo, or a
20-something gay hipster in trendy Midtown Memphis.
Southerners do love sports, especially football, college basketball and Nascar, while
fine arts thrive in historic cities like Charleston and Savannah, and college towns like
Chapel Hill, Knoxville and Athens are famed for their indie-music scenes. Religion is
hugely important here - the so-called Bible belt runs smack through the South, with
about half of all Southerners identifying as Evangelical Christians.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Must-Eat Southern Foods
»
Barbecue
(region-wide, especially in North Carolina and Tennessee)
»
Fried chicken
(region-wide)
»
Cornbread
(region-wide)
»
Shrimp and grits
(South Carolina and Georgia coasts)
»
Boudin
(Cajun pork and rice sausage; Southern Louisiana)
»
Gumbo/jambalaya/étouffée
(rice and seafood or meat stew or a mixture; Southern
Louisiana)
»
Po'boy
(sandwich, traditionally with fried seafood or meat; Southern Louisiana)
»
Hot tamales
(cornmeal stuffed with spiced beef or pork; Mississippi Delta)
»
Collards
(a leafy green, often cooked with ham; region-wide)
»
Pecan pie, coconut cake, red velvet cake, sweet-potato pie
(region-wide)
»
Bourbon
(Kentucky)
DID YOU KNOW?
The South is America's fastest-growing region, with 14.3% of the country's popula-
tion.
