The Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lovers Companion to the South by John T. Edge

The Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lovers Companion to the South Reviews

• 
  Graham Oliver

  I'm not sure I understand the point of this book.
  
  I picked it up originally because I've fallen in love with John T. Edge's work on the Gravy podcast and with Southern Foodways Alliance in general. I learned about him when he was interviewed on Serious Eats' Special Sauce podcast. He is fantastic on the radio, and if he guides their content much, he also has a keen eye for finding stories. If you picked this book up because of the subject matter, I highly highly recommend you go check that out:
  https://www.southernfoodways.org/grav...
  
  But this book is silly. Each place gets maybe two long paragraphs that are superficial to the point of uselessness and quickly become repetitive. The only potential use I see for it is as a guide for a massive roadtrip through the south, but a) hardly anyone will do that and b) that means the book became outdated maybe two years after it was released.
  
  His voice here is fantastic, it's just not used to do anything meaningful. I don't think this is a book that's meant to be read, but instead one that's meant to be placed on a shelf next to other cleverly titled books about the south, which the owner can then pull out to show the entry for some restaurant nearby or that they visited once. It's a shame, too, because if a book existed that took instead 12-20 of these places and wrote in a similar vein but with more depth I would absolutely love it.
• 
  Jeannie Graves

  This is not a cover-to-cover read. This is a book you dip into here and there. And it is pure delight, especially if you are familiar with the culture of Southern foods and John T Edge's other writings. I bought my copy in Oxford, MS, in early February, while visiting my sonm and his family(I live in California). For those who have read the book, I celebrated my 60th birthday with catfish and hush puppies at the Taylor Grocery.
• 
  Crystal

  This is a quaint type of guide book covering canonical territory. It does include a few surprises, though. I have added "slaw burger" to my Tennessee eating list.
• 
  Jennifer

  This book goes on every road trip with my family.
• 
  Rachel

  More of a Road Food of the South than anything else. I intend to keep it in my husbands car as we travel the South for his job.
• 
  eric

  Short pieces about a host of different restaurants (etc.) across the south. Well-written, with a knack for turning what could be tired anecdotes, into lively/colorful stories.
• 
  Heather

  I read the 2012, fully updated version. This is a fun book and one I will consult as a restaurant guide before traveling in the south.
• 
  Amanda

  a must-read!
• 
  Jackie

  A fun read.